Question:
Were other humans created before Adam and Eve?
Answer:
The Bible does give a definitive answer to this question. Unfortunately, many people start with the wrong passages of Scripture to find that definitive answer. Though the answer is in Gene- sis, the clearest passage to answer this question is in the New Testament.
Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 15:45, “And so it is written, ‘The first man Adam became a living being.’” This passage very clearly affirms that Adam was “the first man.” Physically, he was the father of all living, just as, spiritually, Christ, “the last Adam,” is the originator of our spiritual lives (15:45-49).
Another New Testament passage also supports this proposition. In Acts 17:24-26 Paul says to the Athenians, “God, who made the world and everything in it...has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth…” If God, in the beginning, had created other humans besides just Adam and Eve then Paul’s statement would be incorrect. Indeed, we would be descendants not of “one blood” but of “many bloods.” Yet, that was not what Paul believed or taught to the Corinthians or Athenians.
Now, with that in mind, why do some people believe there were other humans created before Adam and Eve? Are there consequences to this belief? Beginning with the latter question, yes, there are consequences to this belief. It creates a contradiction in God’s Word. If God did create humans first, then Adam and Eve later, then Paul was wrong in both Acts 17:26 and 1 Corinthians 15:45. Further, Genesis 3:20 is off-base to call Eve “the mother of all living.” So, perhaps our problem is in our understanding of Genesis.
One main problem is when we assume that all of Genesis 1 and 2 is in perfect chronological order. The chronological order of the creation account ends at Genesis 2:3 when God has completed creation on the seventh day. Complementary material is begun in Genesis 2:4 that supplements the creation account and delves into man’s unique relationship with God. Verse 4 indicates such a transition saying, “This is the history of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens…”
Realizing the varied purposes of Genesis 1 and 2 it makes sense to admit that Adam and Eve of Genesis 2 were that “male and female” created in Genesis 1:27. The “man” (in Hebrew “adam”) of Genesis 1:27 is from the same Hebrew word used for “Adam” in Genesis 2:7-5:5.
The position that “there were other human beings in existence,” makes one wonder why Genesis 2:20 states of all the living creatures, “...there was not found a helper comparable to him.”? If there were other women, why not choose one of them?
In addition to the chronology misunderstanding, another reason people choose to believe other humans were created prior to Adam is a misunderstanding of morality. Many argue, “If Adam and Eve were the only two humans, then Cain would have committed incest in marrying his sister!” Some claim this could not be morally permissible with God. Yet, to make this claim is to misunderstand the laws that were in place. The sin of incest was not declared until the time of Moses in Leviticus 18-20. Thus, according to God’s revealed law up to this point, there was no sin in marrying your sister.
Others argue, “Nothing is said about Adam and Eve having any daughters, so Cain must have gotten his wife from some of those created beings.” Yet, Genesis 5:4 does say “Adam...had sons and daughters.” He lived 930 years and that is plenty of time to “be fruitful and multiply” as he was commanded to do (Genesis 1:28).
Again, others quibble, “Why would God have to mark Cain so no one would take vengeance and kill him if there were no other beings?” First, there were other beings. Genesis 5:4 documents that Adam had other “sons and daughters.” It makes perfect sense that God would not want the rest of those children and their children to take vengeance on Cain. Such retaliation could create a cycle of vengeance that wiped out the whole human race!
Finally, some have even pondered, “If no other beings were created, then where did all of the different races come from?” By this question, one must wonder if some believe God created a “special” race separate from all of the races originally created. Assumptions aside, the answer is most likely in Genesis 11. In this chapter, God confounds the languages and those speaking like languages most likely moved together to places “over the face of all the earth” (11:9). Scientifically, as a specific group from a limited gene pool reproduce it creates predominant features within the genetic codes of that people group. Thus, the anthropological phenomenon of the races is likely due to the biological splitting of the gene pool which occurred at the Tower of Babel and not at creation!
Indeed, we can declare, with the apostle Paul, that God “...has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on the face of all the earth” (Acts 17:26).
February 2008