Expert: John A. Tvedtnes - 12/27/2006

Question
I understand God created Adam and Eve.  I also understand that they had two sons with one killing the other.  How then, can we be descendants of Adam and Eve.  Who was the other woman involved and why is it not addressed in the bible?  

Answer
Several points:

1. The Bible is not a complete history of humankind.  All history prior to the time of Noah is summed up in the first four chapters of Genesis.  The stories selected for inclusion there were selected by a much later editor.  There are many genealogy lists in the Bible, some of which disagree with others.

2. Up until the fourth century A.D., there was no Bible as we know it.  Each book of the Bible was kept on a separate scroll.  Only a handful of the codices (bound volumes) from the 4th century collection have survived to our day.

3. According to Genesis 5:4, Adam and Eve had other children besides the three named in the Bible (Cain, Abel, Seth).

4. Genesis generally lists only the patriarchal line, which is why none of the women are named after Eve until the time of Abraham.

5. The book of Jubilees, portions of which were found among the Dead Sea Scrolls along with other biblical and nonbiblical books, lists not only the men in the patriarchal line, but also their wives and even the fathers of those women. Other ancient nonbiblical texts also give more names.

6. The Bible does not require another wife for Adam, but some Jewish texts provide one anyway, naming her Lilith, which means "night."  (Eve means "life-giver.")