The Story of Adam and Eve

Adam and Eve were the first man and woman, created by God in His own image and placed in the Garden of Eden, as told in Genesis 1–3. God gave them a perfect home and one command: not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. When they disobeyed, sin and death entered the world and they were sent out of the garden. Yet even before they left, God promised that a descendant of the woman would one day crush the serpent. Adam lived to be 930 years old.

How God Created Adam

Genesis 1 describes creation in six days, and the creation of humanity is its high point. On the sixth day God made man and woman, and something about them was different from everything else He had made.

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

— Genesis 1:27 (KJV)

Genesis 2 then slows down and shows us the same event up close. Here God is pictured like a potter, shaping the first man by hand.

And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

— Genesis 2:7 (KJV)

The name Adam is closely related to the Hebrew word adamah, meaning "ground." But dust alone did not make a person. Only when God breathed into him did Adam come alive.

The Garden of Eden

God "planted a garden eastward in Eden" and placed Adam there (Genesis 2:8). Eden was full of trees "pleasant to the sight, and good for food" (Genesis 2:9). A river flowed out of it and divided into four: the Pison, the Gihon, the Hiddekel and the Euphrates (Genesis 2:10–14). The Hiddekel is usually identified with the Tigris, so Eden is often placed somewhere in the region of ancient Mesopotamia, though its exact location is unknown.

Two trees stood in the middle of the garden: the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God gave Adam work to do and one clear boundary.

And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

— Genesis 2:15–17 (KJV)

First comes generous freedom, then one limit. Work was part of paradise, not a punishment, and the single command was an invitation to trust God.

How God Created Eve

For the first time in the creation story, God says something is not good.

And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.

— Genesis 2:18 (KJV)

"Help meet" means a helper suitable for him. The same Hebrew word for "helper" is used of God Himself, so it implies no inferiority. Adam named the animals, but none was a fitting partner (Genesis 2:19–20).

Then God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, took one of his ribs and made a woman from it (Genesis 2:21–22). When Adam saw her, he spoke the first poem in the Bible.

And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.

— Genesis 2:23–24 (KJV)

Jesus quoted these words when He taught about marriage (Matthew 19:4–6). The man and his wife "were not ashamed" (Genesis 2:25). Nothing stood between them, or between them and God.

The Serpent and the Fall

Genesis 3 begins with a new voice in the garden. The serpent was "more subtil than any beast of the field" (Genesis 3:1), and it opened with a question: "Yea, hath God said...?" It did not begin with an open attack. It began by planting doubt.

Eve answered that they must not eat from the tree, and added, "neither shall ye touch it" (Genesis 3:3). The serpent then contradicted God directly: "Ye shall not surely die" (Genesis 3:4). It claimed God was holding back something good, that their eyes would be opened and they would be like gods.

And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.

— Genesis 3:6 (KJV)

The phrase "with her" matters. Adam was there. Both of them chose to trust another voice over God's.

Their eyes were opened, but not in the way they hoped. They saw that they were naked, sewed fig leaves together and hid among the trees when they heard God walking in the garden "in the cool of the day" (Genesis 3:7–8).

"Where Art Thou?"

Then God spoke the first question He ever asked a human being.

And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?

— Genesis 3:9 (KJV)

God knew where Adam was. The question was an invitation to come out and be honest. Instead, Adam blamed the woman, "whom thou gavest to be with me," and the woman blamed the serpent (Genesis 3:12–13). Shame, fear and blame had entered the human heart.

The First Promise: Genesis 3:15

Before God spoke to Adam and Eve about the consequences of their sin, He spoke to the serpent. And inside that judgment is the first promise of rescue in the Bible.

And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

— Genesis 3:15 (KJV)

Christians have long called this verse the protoevangelium, "the first gospel." A descendant of the woman would be wounded, a bruised heel, but He would deal a deadly blow to the serpent, a crushed head. The New Testament identifies the serpent as "that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan" (Revelation 12:9), and Christians see the promise fulfilled in Jesus, who suffered on the cross and defeated sin and death.

Then came the consequences: pain in childbirth, strain between husband and wife, and hard toil from the ground. Death would come: "dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return" (Genesis 3:16–19).

Adam then named his wife Eve, "because she was the mother of all living" (Genesis 3:20). Just after hearing that he would die, Adam gave his wife a name full of hope.

Clothed by God and Sent East of Eden

Adam and Eve's fig leaves were their own attempt to cover their shame. God replaced them with something better.

Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them.

— Genesis 3:21 (KJV)

Many readers see here the first hint of sacrifice: for them to be covered, an animal had to die. God then sent them out of Eden and placed cherubim and "a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life" (Genesis 3:24). The way back was closed, but God's story was not over.

Cain and Abel

Outside the garden, Eve gave birth to Cain and then Abel. Cain worked the ground and Abel kept sheep. Both brought offerings to the Lord, and God accepted Abel's but not Cain's (Genesis 4:1–5). Hebrews explains that Abel offered "by faith" (Hebrews 11:4).

God warned Cain that sin was crouching at the door and that he must master it (Genesis 4:7). Cain refused. He killed his brother in the field. And once again, God came with a question.

And the LORD said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother's keeper?

— Genesis 4:9 (KJV)

In one generation, sin had moved from eating forbidden fruit to murder. Cain was sent away as a wanderer, yet God put a mark on him to protect his life (Genesis 4:15). Even in judgment, God showed mercy.

Later Eve bore another son, Seth, whom she saw as given by God "instead of Abel, whom Cain slew" (Genesis 4:25). Through Seth's line came Enoch, who walked with God, and Noah, who found grace. You can follow that family line in Who Was Enoch in the Bible? and The Story of Noah's Ark.

How Old Was Adam When He Died?

Genesis 5 gives Adam's age precisely. He was 130 years old when Seth was born, lived 800 more years and had other sons and daughters (Genesis 5:3–4).

And all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years: and he died.

— Genesis 5:5 (KJV)

The words "and he died" fulfill God's warning in Eden. By the ages in Genesis 5, Adam's life overlapped with eight generations of his descendants, down to Lamech, Noah's father. The Bible does not record how old Eve was when she died.

What Adam and Eve Mean for Us

The apostle Paul saw the whole human story in two men: Adam, through whom death came, and Christ, through whom life comes.

For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.

— 1 Corinthians 15:22 (KJV)

The story of Adam and Eve explains why the world is beautiful and broken at the same time. It tells us we were made in God's image and for His friendship. And it shows a God who does not stop looking for us when we hide. His question still echoes: "Where art thou?"

An Epic Bible Movies film about Adam and Eve is coming soon on our YouTube channel. In the meantime, you can watch the story of Enoch, Adam's descendant who walked with God, in Enoch – The Movie.

▶ Watch the full movieEnoch – The MovieThe Man Who Walked with God. A free 30-minute cinematic film by Epic Bible Movies.

Frequently Asked Questions

Was the forbidden fruit an apple?

The Bible never says what kind of fruit it was. Genesis simply calls it the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The apple tradition likely grew in Western Europe, partly because the Latin word malum can mean both "evil" and "apple."

How old was Adam when he died?

Adam died at the age of 930 (Genesis 5:5). He was 130 when his son Seth was born and lived another 800 years after that.

Did Adam and Eve have other children besides Cain, Abel and Seth?

Yes. Genesis 5:4 says that Adam "begat sons and daughters" after Seth was born. Their names are not recorded, but they explain where Cain's wife and the early population came from.

Where was the Garden of Eden?

Genesis places Eden where four rivers began, including the Tigris (Hiddekel) and the Euphrates (Genesis 2:10–14). That points to the region of ancient Mesopotamia, but the other two rivers cannot be identified with certainty, so the exact location remains unknown.

What does Genesis 3:15 mean?

Genesis 3:15 is God's promise that a descendant of the woman would crush the serpent's head, while the serpent would bruise his heel. Christians see it as the first prophecy of Jesus, who suffered and died but defeated sin, death and the devil.