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Chava/Eve
Bible-adam-and-eve
Artist's rendering of Eve giving the apple to Adam
Title The first Woman
Born 1 AC (After Creation)
Died Unknown, probably 1000 AC
Gender Female
Religion N/A, no doubt of G-d.
Family First Woman
Spouse Adam
Residence Garden of Eden before being banished from it.

Eve or Chava (Hebrew: חַוָּה) the partner of Adam, is a key figure in the Book of Genesis. She is the first woman in the Tanakh, she is tempted to eat the forbidden fruit of the "tree of knowledge of good and evil" and tempts Adam to do likewise, resulting in the two being banished from Eden and cursed. The name, Eve, comes from the Hebrew for "living one" or "source of life".

The creation of Eve[]

According to Genesis 2, Eve was created by G-d from one of Adam's ribs, Adam having been put into a deep sleep before the rib was removed. Whether or not "rib" is an accurate translation of the original Hebrew text has been debated, it was translated as "rib" in the King James Bible[1] and has been the most familiar form to English speakers ever since. However, it has been suggested that "side" in a more general sense was intended.

Eve was named by Adam, according to the Tanakh.

There has been a belief that Eve was Adam's second wife, Lilith having been the first. The story of Lilith did not appear in written form until the 10th century CE in The Alphabet of Ben Sira but the origins of the story lie in Genesis 1, which contains the first description of the creation of humans. Genesis 1 appears to say that G-d created a man and a woman at the same time, "Male and female created He them", this account appears before that of the creation of Eve.

The two different accounts of humanity's creation have also been explained in Midrash Rabbah - Genesis VIII:1 as meaning that G-d originally created a hermaphrodite that was later split into two individuals, Adam and Eve. Therefore, the story represents two people joining together to form a union of two separate spirits.

Temptation and banishment from Eden[]

Genesis says that Eve was tempted by the serpent to eat the forbidden fruit of the "tree of knowledge of good and evil" and prompted Adam to eat it also, the two then became aware that they were naked. For disobeying G-d's command, Adam and Eve were both banished from the Garden of Eden and each punished with a different curse. Eve's curse was to suffer the pain of childbirth and to submit to her husband's will.

Adam and Eve are said to have had many children but only three are named in the Torah, Cain, Abel and Seth. Seth was the ancestor of Noah and therefore, according to the Tanakh, the ancestor of all the people of the world.

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