1. Adam

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I. PRIMORDIAL AND ANTEDILUVIAN LINEAGE: FROM ADAM TO NOAH (Genesis 5; Luke 3:34–38)

1. Name and Meaning

  • Name: Adam (Hebrew: אָדָם, ’āḏām)
  • Meaning: “Man,” “mankind,” or “from the ground” (’adamah), symbolising both origin and mortality

2. Genealogical Placement and Lineage Role

  • Position: First human being; foundational in all biblical genealogies
  • Father: Created directly by God (Luke 3:38 – “son of God”)
  • Son: Seth – appointed to continue the godly lineage after Abel
  • Lineage Role: Progenitor of the human race; initiator of the Messianic line fulfilled in Christ

3. Life Summary and Historical Setting

  • Created in God’s image, placed in Eden to steward creation
  • Disobeyed God, leading to the Fall and the introduction of sin and death
  • Lived in the antediluvian (pre-Flood) era; lifespan: 930 years (Genesis 5:5)

4. Theological and Christological Significance

  • Represents the Adamic covenant – responsibility, command, and consequence
  • Brings sin and mortality into the human condition (Romans 5:12)
  • Typological “first man” contrasted with Christ, the “last Adam,” who brings resurrection and life (1 Corinthians 15:45–49)

5. Legacy and Interpretive Reflections

  • Central figure in Christian doctrines of original sin, federal headship, and human dignity (imago Dei)
  • Mentioned throughout Scripture (e.g., genealogies, Paul’s theology)
  • Viewed symbolically, historically, and theologically in both Jewish and Christian traditions
  • Subject of scholarly discussion regarding literal vs. archetypal interpretation

6. Summary Insight

  • Adam, as the first man and covenantal head of humanity, embodies both the tragedy of sin’s entrance and the theological necessity for Christ’s redemptive mission.

7. Biblical References

  • Genesis 1:26–5:5
  • 1 Chronicles 1:1
  • Luke 3:38
  • Romans 5:12–21
  • 1 Corinthians 15:21–22, 45–49
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