Adam and “the man”: history and genre (Genesis 2:5–25)
Says From 2:7 to 2:25 the noun has the article, הָאָדָם, “the man,” fourteen times. It lacks it at 2:5, “there was no man,” and at 2:20, וּלְאָדָם, which the BSB renders “But for Adam,” with the footnote “Or the man.” The man is formed from הָאֲדָמָה, “ground,” a sound-play. The name is plain at Genesis 5:1 and 5:5. The Greek has ἄνθρωπος at 2:7–8, 15 and 18, and Ἀδάμ from 2:16.
Uncertain Whether הָאָדָם is one man, humankind represented in him, or both, and where the personal name begins (2:20, 3:17 or 4:25). The article favors “the man”; the generic sense of the noun allows a representative reading. No lean is taken here.
Implies A real Adam and a real first sin. Genesis 2–3 and 5:1–5 tell of one man, and the Romans notes read them so: through Adam’s one trespass, sin, death and condemnation came to all humanity. See the notes on Romans 5.
Uncertain How the narrative tells it. (1) Historical narrative of a real first man and woman. (2) History told with literary and figurative features, such as God’s forming with hands, symbolic trees and a speaking serpent. Both hold the core above; no lean is taken between them. (3) A purely archetypal or non-historical reading, whose grounds are the generic noun and the symbolic features; it lies outside that core, since it does not fit the Romans reading. Human origins in science are not argued here.
Claims
- SaysFrom 2:7 to 2:25 the noun has the article, הָאָדָם, fourteen times; it lacks it at 2:5 and at 2:20, which the BSB renders “But for Adam,” with the footnote “Or the man.” The man is formed from הָאֲדָמָה, a sound-play. The name is plain at Genesis 5:1 and 5:5. The Greek has ἄνθρωπος at 2:7–8, 15 and 18, and Ἀδάμ from 2:16.
- UncertainWhether הָאָדָם is one man, humankind represented in him, or both, and where the personal name begins, is open. The article favors “the man”; the generic sense of the noun allows a representative reading. No lean is taken here.
- ImpliesA real Adam and a real first sin: Genesis 2–3 and 5:1–5 tell of one man, and the Romans notes read them so. See the notes on Romans 5.
- UncertainHow the narrative tells it is open: historical narrative of a real first man and woman, or history told with literary and figurative features; both hold the core above, and no lean is taken between them. A purely archetypal or non-historical reading is presented fairly and lies outside that core, since it does not fit the Romans reading. Human origins in science are not argued here.
Citations
- BSB public domain Gen 2:1–25
- OSHB CC BY 4.0 Gen 2:1–25 (WLC/OSHB), cantillation removed
- LXX (Swete) CC BY-SA 4.0 Gen 2:1–24 and Swete 3:1 (ENG 2:25), vol. 1, pp. 3–4 (oldtestamentingr01swetuoft, viewer leaves n34–n35); read on the page images
Quotations from LXX (Swete) are used under CC BY-SA 4.0 · Credits
2026-11-10
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