First Woman · OT
Eve
The first woman, mother of all the living, formed by God from Adam's side.
Eve (Hebrew Chavvah, 'life-giver') is the first woman in scripture. Genesis 2 records that the Lord caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, took a rib from his side, and built it into a woman, presenting her to him. Adam's response is the Bible's first recorded poetry: 'This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh.' Together they were given dominion over creation and the command to be fruitful and multiply.
In the temptation narrative, the serpent approached Eve, twisted God's word, and persuaded her that the forbidden fruit was 'good for food,' 'a delight to the eyes,' and 'to be desired to make one wise.' She ate and gave to Adam, who ate with her. Confronted by God, she answered honestly: 'The serpent deceived me, and I ate.'
After the fall Adam named her Eve, 'because she was the mother of all living.' She bore Cain, Abel, Seth, and other sons and daughters. The New Testament refers to her in the context of marriage and the order of creation (1 Timothy 2:13-14; 2 Corinthians 11:3).
Key moments
Created from Adam's side
A 'helper fit for him,' suited to him as no creature was.
Tempted by the serpent
Genesis 3:1-6 — the first crisis of the human story.
Named 'mother of all living'
Even after the fall, the line of life continued through her.
Bore Cain, Abel, and Seth
Through Seth the godly line that leads to Christ was preserved.
Key verses
"and the rib, which Jehovah God had taken from the man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man."
Read in context →
"And the man said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man."
Read in context →
"And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat; and she gave also unto her husband with her, and he did eat."
Read in context →
"And the man called his wife’s name Eve; because she was the mother of all living."
Read in context →
"But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve in his craftiness, your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity and the purity that is toward Christ."
Read in context →
Frequently asked
Was Eve more guilty than Adam?
Scripture distinguishes their roles — Eve was deceived (1 Timothy 2:14), while Adam sinned with his eyes open — but Romans 5 lays the federal headship of the fall on Adam, not Eve. Both bore real responsibility; only one represented humanity.
Related people