There has been a suggestion that Adam had a wife before Eve. Kindly clarify and site verses. Thank you in advance.
As we shall see, Scripture is crystal-clear that Adam did NOT have a wife before Eve. Those who espouse the view that Adam had a wife before Eve point to Genesis 1:26-28 to support their view. That passage reads, “Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.’ So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created them, male and female he created them. Then God blessed them, and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth” (NKJV). They claim that the “female” in verse 27 had to be someone other than Eve, for we have the account of Eve’s creation in chapter 2. It sounds logical “on the surface,” but let’s examine some verses in Genesis chapter 2, where God gives us the actual detailed account of Adam and Eve’s creation, and we will see that Eve is indeed the “female” referred to in Genesis chapter 1.
In Genesis 2:7 we read, “And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.” Here is the creation of Adam and no female is mentioned. In verses 8 & 15 we are told, “The LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed…then the LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it.” Here we learn that Adam was to “tend and keep” the garden; in other words, he was the “gardener.” Again, there is no mention of a woman.
Now we will read verses 18-23 which will rule out conclusively the thought that Adam had a wife before Eve: “And the LORD God said, ‘It is not good that man should be ALONE; I WILL MAKE HIM A HELPER COMPARABLE TO HIM.’ Out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them. And whatever Adam called each living creature, that was its name. So Adam gave names to all cattle, to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field. But for ADAM THERE WAS NOT FOUND A HELPER COMPARABLE TO HIM. And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place. Then the rib which the LORD God had taken from man He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man. And Adam 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.” These words are so clear they hardly need to be explained. We are told emphatically that Adam was ALONE yet God purposed to “make him a helper comparable to him.” Adam no doubt saw that each animal had a “help-mate” that was “like them but different” and yet he remained ALONE. Then God, in His grand design, created Adam a perfect “help-mate” by forming a woman from his side and they became man and wife! Later Adam named the woman Eve (see Genesis 3:20). Together they had dominion “over all the earth” (as we saw in Genesis 1:27-28). These scriptures should teach all who bow to the authority of God’s inerrant and infallible Word that Adam did NOT have a wife before Eve. (429.1) (DO)