The story of Eve and Adam is probably familiar to absolutely everyone. It is also well known that their relationship developed in the Garden of Eden, from which the first people were expelled for the fall. But why and how did the Creator of the first people create? What served him as the material? Not every person is ready to answer these questions. Not everyone imagines how exactly, in what order God created this world, although many have heard about what happened in a few days.
Meanwhile, the story of the creation of the world and the first people is described in detail at the very beginning of the Bible, in the book of Genesis. The description is perceived quite easily. For those who still find it difficult to perceive the biblical syllable, the Children's Bible is useful, on the pages of which the contents of the book of Genesis are presented in a fun and simple way.
What is unique about biblical history?
Modern people perceive this description in different ways. Some read it like a fantasy novel or a beautiful fairy tale. Others refer to the book as a historical source, “catching” from the lines what could correspond to reality, albeit distorted by human fantasies, perception. Still others take what is written literally, and sincerely believe that all things arose exactly as described in the book of Genesis.
But the uniqueness of biblical history is not at all that everyone who reads "Being", the creation of man and everything that exists, understands in his own way. The description of the emergence of the world, given in the first chapters of the Bible, is radically different from various mythical stories that tell the same thing. As a rule, myths, sagas, legends pay much attention to the history of the appearance of the gods and their relationships, and the creation of people and the world in them goes by the wayside, and in some it is completely absent.
In the biblical version of the emergence of all things, there is not a single word about how God appeared. According to this book, it was originally, always existed. And it was he who did the rest, including Earth and humans.
How long did the world arise? Creation Description Feature
God created everything in six days. Many scholars see this as the root cause of why Christians should not do work, work around the house, or work otherwise on the seventh day of the week.
What is curious, according to the biblical text, stars, including the Sun, were created only on the fourth day of creation. It is the description of the fourth day that is the main argument of opponents of the biblical history of the emergence of the world in disputes with supporters of this version.
The priests and theologians, in principle, do not see any discrepancies in the story from the book of Genesis with the scientific theories of the appearance of life. The fact that the stars arose on the fourth day, they explain very simply. The book of Genesis is not a documentary chronicle, but a spiritual work. Of course, the Earth and everything that is on it is given the first place in the description, since it is on it that man lives. That is, from a spiritual position, the Earth is much more important than the Sun and other celestial bodies, and that is why the description of their creation is described in the second place.
Indeed, the fourth day in which God is engaged in the creation of the stars, divide the history of creation into two parts. Until this day, not animate matter was created. The planet itself. But after the fourth day, God was directly engaged in the creation of life. If we take the book of Genesis as an ordinary literary work, then placing the stage of creating auxiliary elements, in this case the celestial bodies, in the middle of the story is a simple artistic device.
From what did God create all things?
Everyone who is interested in God’s creation of the world and man, sooner or later comes up with the question of what served as the material for this. God created the universe, including the earthly world, from the void. The Creator did not use any materials other than his own thoughts and forces. “Out of nothing,” as it is written in Genesis.
Although the creation of the world and man is often seen as a single process that was completed with the advent of people, the very method of creation described in the Bible is different. The world that surrounds people was created from nothing. But for the creation of people, the Creator used the material basis.
So. The creation of man by God took place on the sixth day, and the earth's dust served as the material for creating the body of Adam. As many theologians believe, the description of the creation of Adam tells that there are two principles inherent in man - divine and natural. The fact that he was created from earthly dust speaks about the natural side of nature, and that the Creator breathed life into man’s about the divine. Thus contact with the Holy Spirit took place. That is - the human soul has appeared. The Creator created Eve from the rib of Adam.
What does the description of the creation of people symbolize?
Some theologians see the creation of the first people as a symbolic reflection of the world order and the importance of the constituent elements. The fact that Eve was created from part of Adam’s body determines the place of a woman next to a man, the need to obey him and take care of his house, food, offspring, household and other things. Adam, on the one hand, is, according to a stable verbal expression, “the crown of creation,” but on the other hand, he is only part of the world, and it was created last.
Also, the creation of man, which continued with the creation for him of a pair of his own flesh, symbolizes the dual unity of human nature. But the speech in this case is not about a combination of natural and divine principles. And that people were not created to be alone. Each of them has a complementary “half”, with which the creation of man and the whole world as a whole is completed. That is, only having found a mate for themselves, people are able to feel harmony and peace, to be imbued with God's plan.
How did the first people begin to live?
Many people who are far from religion and are familiar with the biblical history only by hearsay or from mentions in fiction, wonder why the story of Adam and Eve is never interpreted as a narrative of love. Indeed, in the Garden of Eden, where God placed Adam, having finished the creation of man and the whole universe as a whole, there was no place for a marital relationship.
Moreover, the Creator provided the first person with an occupation, that is, Adam did not just wander around the Paradise. In modern language, he worked in the Garden of Eden. His responsibilities, according to biblical texts, included the following:
- land cultivation;
- plant care and protection of the entire garden as a whole;
- the choice of names for each bird and beast that God created.
Eve didn’t mess around either. According to the biblical narrative, she was the assistant to Adam in all his affairs. The Bible does not talk about any feelings between them.
Where was the garden of Eden located?
The creation of man according to the Bible ends with his settlement in the Garden of Eden. Of course, many people who are familiar with this story are curious where this place was.
In the story itself, of course, geographical coordinates are not spelled out. But the description of the area is given very clear and very detailed, full of details. Researchers of biblical texts claim that they are talking about the area in the Middle East region, located between the great rivers Euphrates and the Tigris.
But archaeologists today have not found anything that could be the remains of the garden of Eden.
Why did people leave Eden?
The myths about the creation of man that exist in every culture often tell of any violations by people of the rules established by the gods. In this sense, the biblical story is not unique, it also refers to the neglect of the rules established by the Creator for being in the garden of Eden.
While in Eden, the first people did not know sin. Often, this postulate is understood as the absence of physical proximity. However, it is not only about sex, but also about sin in general, as a concept. That is, they did not know the anger, greed, anger, envy and other vicious properties of human nature. The first people and needs did not know, hunger, cold, illness and death.
The Creator allowed them to eat the fruits from any tree in the garden, with the exception of one. It was called the tree of Knowledge or of Good and Evil. It was this ban that was violated. And the direct consequence of neglect, established by the Creator's rule, was the fall, due to which people were expelled from the Garden of Eden.
Why did people violate the Creator's ban?
The biblical creation of man and all things raises many questions. But the description of the causes of the fall of the first people causes them even more. Even those who never picked up the Bible know that it is the people who are guilty of violating the Creator’s rules, the Tempting Serpent, who seduced Eve with sweet speeches and persuaded her to taste the forbidden fruit.
This biblical story has given the world “winged expressions,” proverbs and sayings much more than any other part of the book. That is why almost everyone is familiar with this chapter of the story, at least in general terms or by hearsay.
How did the temptation happen?
People with an inquisitive mindset often have questions about why God placed a tree in the garden that could not be touched? Indeed, if this tree were not there would not have been a reason for temptation. Another common question is a manifestation of interest in how the Serpent got into the Garden of Eden, because he practically personifies the image of the original evil. And the most important question, which even theologians cause difficulty, is how, without knowing sin in principle, not knowing any wicked thoughts or emotions, did Eve succumb to persuasion?
The serpent, according to what is written in the Bible, was more cunning than all other creatures created by the Creator. That is, God also created him, like other birds and animals. It is possible that the first to taste the forbidden fruits was the Serpent, and many scholars of biblical texts adhere to this version. They argue the theory with the arguments that the Serpent leads in a conversation with Eve. However, there are no direct phrases talking about this in the book.
There is no explanation in the text of why the Creator placed a forbidden tree in the garden. Theologians believe that this chapter symbolizes the fact that temptation is always next to a person, it meets on the path of life constantly. And if a person succumbs to temptation, then at first glance, nothing terrible happens to him, he does not get sick, he does not die. But the temptation inevitably comes to fall, because of which a person loses something extremely important.
The description of the temptation itself is quite short. It comes down to a dialogue between the Serpent and Eve. Initially, a woman refuses the offer to taste the fruits, explaining that God forbade it to be done, and if you break the rule, then death will come. The serpent objects, claiming that Eve will not die, but she knows the unknown, will be able to distinguish between good and evil, will gain a concept of the nature of the world. The result of this conversation is the eating of fruits.
What became the true cause of the fall? Why does the Serpent act as a tempter?
What is very curious, neither the Creator nor the Serpent lied to the first people. God said that after eating the fruit, death will come. But he did not promise her an instant punishment for breaking the rules. Death is one of the consequences of being expelled from Eden. The snake also never lied, describing the consequences of eating fruits.
Thus, in this plot both the Serpent and God act as peculiar “poles” between which a choice should be made. Neither one nor the other is forcing people into anything. Violation of the divine prohibition and, as a consequence, the loss of Eden is a voluntary choice of Eve and Adam, a manifestation of their free will. And it is precisely this quality of human nature, combined with curiosity, that is the true cause of the fall.
Why is Eve tempting precisely the Serpent, and no other creature on earth? The answer to this question lies in the peculiarities of Jewish culture. For the Jews, the snake was a symbol of paganism; it personified everything that opposed monotheism and served as a source of evil. It is logical that in the pages of the Bible, the original evil was symbolized by the Serpent.