The creation of the world is narrated in the Genesis of the Bible from a perspective of faith and religion. In this book of creation, God created the world and arranged the first couple to inhabit it: Adam and Eve , who had several children. Man and woman created by God would live eternally in the Garden of Eden accompanied by all the animals and all the plants on the planet.
But the couple, ignoring the only condition that God had imposed on them, bit the apple from the forbidden tree . They were then condemned to descend on Earth forever leaving Eden, and creating offspring for the continuity of the race.
Who were Adam and Eve?
The first and most important thing is to know exactly who Adam and Eve were. Based on the Abrahamic religions, they were the first man and the first woman on Earth . According to the Bible, Adam was created in the first place, and when God saw him, he thought he needed a companion, whom he created with a rib.
«And God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female ».
The creation of Eve occurs at different times depending on the chapter of the Bible that is taken as a reference. In the first chapter of the book of Genesis it is said that both were created on the sixth day, after the creation of animals and plants. Meanwhile, the second chapter points out that Adam was created first, then plants and animals, and finally Eve .
To test their obedience and faithfulness, God told Adam and Eve that every day they had to fulfill a mission: to eat the fruits of any tree in the garden, except those of the tree of life . Otherwise, they would die. Taking advantage of this rule, the serpent deceived Eve, who ate the forbidden fruit, and also fed Adam.
When God found out what happened , he spoke these words: “The human being has become like one of us, because he has knowledge of good and evil. It is not going to be that it extends its hand and also takes of the fruit of the tree of the life, it eats it and it lives forever » .
Lack of obedience and fidelity caused them to be expelled from Paradise. God punished them with work, shame, pain and death: «With the sweat of your face you will eat bread until you return to earth, because from it you were taken; for dust you are, and to dust you will return » .
A curious fact about Adam and Eve is that they lived for many years. He died at 930 years of exhaustion , and when he had his third son Adam was 130 years old, the same as Eve. It is not known for sure how old she lived.
How many children did they have?
According to the texts that are consulted, the number of children that Adam and Eve had varies. The total number of sons is not specifically mentioned in the sacred texts, but Cain and Abel are spoken of as the two official sons of the couple.
Additionally, the name of Set is also mentioned, who would be born after Cain killed his brother Abel who died without issue.
There are many gaps in the stories since the time, which lasts about 800 years, coincides with the post- Babylonian exile of the Jews. For this reason, the dates are mixed and the stories are confusing.
For example, in the Book of Jubilees it is clearly mentioned that Adam and Eve had nine sons and daughters, mentioning Awa and Azura as two of them . According to other accounts, throughout the 800 years that Adam was condemned on Earth he had many sons and daughters, something uncountable for Christian historiography.
For this reason, Cain, Abel, and Set are normally considered the official sons of Adam and Eve.
Offspring
Just as the life of Adam and Eve in the earthly world is confusing and mixed with the texts of ancient times, the offspring of their children is even more difficult to understand.
Abel did not leave any descendants since he was assassinated by Cain, his older brother. This had several children, highlighting Enoch, Irad and Methuselah, a direct descendant of Cain. According to the texts, the entire line of Cain suffered the flood as punishment for the sins committed in his life.
For his part, the third son of Adam and Eve, Set, is one of the protagonists of Genesis , ancestor of Noah. He had several children like Enos and Noam, and is considered the branch of creation from which Jesus would be born.
