Marston

A Jewish woman on another site answered my question this way. The short answer? Not necessarily. Adam and Eve aren’t necessarily the first humans in a biological or historical sense—they’re the first in a very particular narrative role. Let’s start with the Hebrew: The word “Adam” (אָדָם) isn’t originally a name. It just means “human” or “humankind.” It’s closely related to adamah (אֲדָמָה), meaning “earth” or “soil.” So when Genesis says God formed ha’adam from the dust of the adamah, it’s playing with poetry: the earthling from the earth. Adam is more like “the archetypal human,” not necessarily a guy named Adam with a birth certificate. Same with “Eve” (Chavah)—her name comes from the root chayah (חָיָה), “to live,” because she’s the “mother of all the living.” Again, archetypal language. Now In Genesis 1, God creates humanity: > “Male and female He created them” (Genesis 1:27) That sounds like a group, not two individuals. In Genesis 2, we zoom in on a specific human, “ha’adam,” placed in Eden, a sacred space with symbolic and theological significance not necessarily the whole earth. This has led many scholars (both Jewish and Christian) to interpret the Eden story as a symbolic or theological narrative, not a strict historical account. It’s about human consciousness, moral awakening, relationship with God, and freedom and responsibility. It’s not necessarily a play-by-play of population genetics. Also, note that in Genesis 4, Cain fears other people will kill him after he murders Abel: “Whoever finds me will kill me” (Gen 4:14) Wait—who? If it’s just Mom and Dad around? And Cain gets a wife (Gen 4:17), then builds a city. So… were Adam and Eve the first? Maybe in spiritual significance, as prototypes of covenantal humanity, but not necessarily the first Homo sapiens if we’re reading the text with honesty and literary sensitivity. They’re the beginning of the biblical story, not necessarily the biological story.

I quoted it several times. It should be easy for you to find.

Exactly. Adam and Eve obviously bore both humans like you and I as well as Neanderthals as depicted in the image below.

Exactly right. Obviously all Neanderthals came from Adam and Eve.

I agree. It's obvious that Adam and Eve bore all Neanderthals.

That seems sensible to me, that there were two (or more) lines of humanity created by God. After all, how do we explain the fossil evidence of Neanderthals? Or do we just pretend it doesn't exist, as most apparently do?

Were Neanderthals considered human? Did they come from Adam and Eve?

Did dinosaurs ever exist?

Yes, fall in line.

Genesis 1 explains that God made humanity. Genesis 2 explains that God made Adam and Eve. Why did Adam and Eve bear modern humans along with Neanderthals and other "species" of humans?

Thanks for sharing. Question. Why did God apparently have Adam and Eve and their descendants bear differing human species such as Neanderthals?

Verse?

How about it @Michael37?

Disagree. Conservative Christians should not, in my opinion, censor speech. Censorship is a tenet of the Godless left, not us.

Some parts of the Bible are a bit mysterious, at least to me. I enjoy the opportunity to explore those mysteries and to expand and even modify my own understanding. Of course I also acknowledge that I won't understand many parts until I am in Heaven. In the meantime, it can be fun and rewarding to discuss. Nobody should be impolite with another for seeking a greater understanding. Matthew 18:10 10 “See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven.

Arrogant people sometimes need to be humbled. Besides, creating a clique on message boards and insulting others can dissuade others from participating. Therefore, it's better to humble the self-righteous know-it-alls. Otherwise we become a cult reliant on the opinions of a few member bullies rather than on the word of God.

Scientists have told us many things over the millenia that turned out not to be true. I respect some of them and their findings as evidenced by my sharing of their "discoveries" of Neanderthals, but I don't take their pronouncements as canon.

I agree completely. Doctrinal discussions aren't for everyone.

https://humanorigins.si.edu/evidence/human-fossils/species/homo-neanderthalensis

It seems to me that many self-righteous Christians believe themselves to have an infallible understanding of every word of the Bible(s) and believe that those whose understanding differs are deceived by Satan.

My goodness. We're just having a discussion.

I think that's an excellent explanation, although not absolute proof it is a distinct possibility. Thanks for the perspective.

Here's another. Did Neanderthals come from Adam and Eve or their offspring?

Genesis 1:26-31 esv 26 Then God said, “Let us make man[h] in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. 28 And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” 29 And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. 30 And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so. 31 And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

Ok. So who were the people in Genesis 1 and what happened to them?