Adam is the first man recorded in Scripture, formed by God from the dust of the ground and given the breath of life; he lived with Eve in the garden, and through disobedience brought sin and death into the world, representing all humanity.
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God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them (Genesis 1:27). This is Scripture's solemn declaration of humanity's origin: human existence springs directly from God's creative act and bears His image. Jehovah God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul (Genesis 2:7). The Hebrew verb "יִּיצֶר" (H3335) portrays God's careful shaping, while "אָדָם" (H0120) itself both names the man and connects to "אֲדָמָה" (ground), hinting at his earthy origin. The breath of life transformed dust into a living being, a motif echoed throughout Scripture (Job 33:4; Ecclesiastes 12:7). Adam was placed in the garden of Eden, entrusted with its care, and given the woman Eve as his companion. Yet, tempted by the serpent, he and Eve ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, breaking God's command. Through this act, sin entered the world, fracturing the relationship between humanity and God. Adam was told: in the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return (Genesis 3:19). Together these words pronounce both the toil of labor and the certainty of death. Yet within the same judgment, God spoke the hope of Genesis 3:15, pointing toward a future offspring who would crush the serpent. Adam's genealogy links creation to the history of God's chosen people, and in Paul's theology he is set in contrast to Christ, the "last Adam" (1 Corinthians 15:45), making him the fountainhead of the redemption story.