Introduction
Adam, whose name in Hebrew means "man" or "humankind" (adam), is the first human being described in Genesis, formed by God from the dust of the ground. His story, from creation in the garden of Eden to expulsion after eating the forbidden fruit, opens the Bible's account of human history.
This article follows the biblical account in Genesis. Where later Jewish, Christian or Islamic tradition adds detail not found in the text itself, the article identifies it as such.
Family
Two creation accounts
Genesis contains two related accounts of Adam's creation. In the first (Genesis 1), humankind, male and female, is created together in God's image on the sixth day. In the second, more detailed account (Genesis 2), God forms Adam from the dust and breathes life into him, places him in the garden of Eden to tend it, and later forms Eve from his rib as a companion.
Eden and the Fall
Adam and Eve are permitted to eat from any tree in Eden except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Persuaded by the serpent, Eve eats its fruit and gives some to Adam; both eat, and their eyes are "opened", bringing shame and the awareness of their nakedness. God confronts them, curses the ground and pronounces that Adam will labour and eventually return to dust, and expels them from Eden.
Descendants
Adam and Eve's sons include Cain, Abel and Seth, and Genesis records that Adam had additional sons and daughters, living, according to the text's chronology, 930 years.