Adam

Adam , [Heb.,=man], in the Bible, the first man. In the Book of Genesis, God creates humankind in his image as a species of male and female, giving them dominion over other life. Elsewhere in Genesis, however, Adam is the personal name of the first man for whom the created order is then fashioned. From his body, Eve is made to be his helper and partner. After the Fall, i.e., their disobedience, they are expelled from the Garden of Eden . The Qur'an depicts Adam's creation and fall. These traditions led to the monotheistic ideas regarding sin and grace . For examples of Jewish and Islamic legends about the biblical accounts, see Lilith and Pseudepigrapha . Higher criticism regards chapters 1-4 of Genesis as the re-workings of Babylonian and Canaanite myths concerning creation. While the myths stress human servitude to the gods, Genesis places humankind at the center of the created order, over which it exercises dominion as God's agent.

Adam In the Old Testament, first man, progenitor of mankind, created from dust by God in his own image. He and his wife Eve were cast out of the Garden of Eden to become mortal after they ate forbidden fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Their sons were Seth, Cain, and Abel.

Adam The postulated male ancestor for all modern humans, who lived in Africa between about 100 000 and 200 000 years ago. ‘Adam’ is based on a change in the human Y chromosome that occurred at that time in one descendant of Adam and is now present in all human males, except for some Africans. See also MITOCHONDRIAL EVE.