28 THE GARDEN OF EDEN
are blessed with the essence of
divinity. Mankind’s capacity for
rationality and morality is the
reason why no suitable companion
could be found for Adam among
the animals and why God gave
Adam and Eve responsibility
to look after the Earth and rule
over the animals (1:26–28). In
Judeo-Christian philosophy, these
passages have been cited to justify
humans using animals to serve
their own needs.
Yet, despite having divine
spark and being created in God’s
image, Adam and Eve are flawed
(Matthew 19:26). God is everywhere
(Proverbs 5:21) and is superior to
everything else in the universe
(Psalms 115:3), while Adam and
Eve are limited. In the 13th century,
the theologian Thomas Aquinas
defined God as perfect (lacking
nothing), immutable, and infinite,
unlike humans, whom he described
as spiritually, intellectually, and
emotionally limited.Original innocence
Although their flaws are revealed
by subsequent events, Adam and
Eve are created without sin and
in complete innocence. Genesis
2:25 tells us that they are nakedand unashamed. As they are alone
with God, some readers assume
that their days are centered around
worshipping and communing with
Him; their relationship with God is
unlike any other creatures’.
In addition to managing the
animals and tending the garden
(“to work it and take care of it”),
the pair are instructed to reproduce
(“be fruitful and increase in
number”). For now, at least, Adam
and Eve are content with their
bountiful lives and observe God’s
one prohibition: while they are free
to eat the fruit from the Tree of Life,
which grants them immortality, to
eat the fruit from the mysterious
Tree of the Knowledge of Good
and Evil will be on pain of certain
death (2:17).One man, one woman
Adam and Eve are the first couple
(2:24–25 says the pair become
“one flesh”) and their union has
traditionally been the yardstick
for God’s perfect intention for
marriage—one man and one
woman united in matrimony for
life. Crucially, the affirmation in
Genesis that both sexes are made
in the image of God is often
used to support the concept thatGod created all humans as equal,
regardless of gender, race, or any
other characteristics.
Yet the Bible is sometimes cited
in support of claims that women
are inferior to men. Genesis 2:18
refers to Eve’s creation as Adam’s
“helper” (Hebrew ezer) and
therefore potentially subordinate
to him. However, some scholars
suggest that ezer should have
been translated as “companion,”
implying greater equality.The divine “We”
In Genesis and throughout the Old
Testament, God is often talked
about in the plural—for example,
“our” likeness (Genesis 1:26).
This has triggered much debate
and many theories. Possible
explanations include polytheism
(meaning that God himself is
referring to more than one god),
although this is soundly refuted
in passages such as Isaiah 45:6
where God states, “I am the
LORD, and there is no other.”God pulls Eve from the rib of the
sleeping Adam in an image from
a manuscript of 1480 based on
St. Jerome’s 4th-century Latin
translation of the Hebrew Bible.Adam was placed in
Paradise in perfect
estate ... God walked
and did talk with him.
John Jewel (1522–1571)
Bishop of SalisburyUS_026-029_Let_us_make_man.indd 28 21/09/17 11:25 am