Yokefellow
Active Member
Was there actually *two* women created in the Garden of Eden instead of one? The answer may surprise you. We will now go over the supporting evidence.
Babies Named After Birth Circumstances
The Bible contains many stories of babies receiving their names based on circumstances surrounding their birth. For example, I-chabod means ‘without glory’. He was given this name because the Ark of the Covenant was just stolen…
1 Samuel 4:21 – “And she named the child I–chabod, saying, The glory is departed from Israel: because the ark of God was taken, and because of her father in law and her husband.”
Jacob is another famous example. His name was based on how Jacob grabbed his brother’s heel during birth…
Genesis 25:26 – “And after that came his brother out, and his hand took hold on Esau’s heel; and his name was called Jacob: and Isaac was threescore years old when she bare them.”
Even Jacob’s brother, Esau, was named based on his birth…
Genesis 25:25 – “And the first came out red, all over like an hairy garment; and they called his name Esau.”
There are many more examples. Clearly, naming babies after the way in which they came into this world is a major theme in Scripture. This pattern has its beginnings in Genesis with the creation of the first woman.
The Naming of Ishshah
Now that we have a basic understanding of how names reflect birth, we can see that the first woman ever created was also given a name based on how she came into this world…
Genesis 2:23 – “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.”
Man is ‘Ish’. Woman is ‘Ishshah’. Ishshah was taken out of Ish, thus her name reflects that fact.
Do you see the name ‘Eve’ anywhere in the verse? No. The name Eve does not appear until much later in the Creation Account. This is because Ishshah and Eve are two different beings! Again, the way in which Ishshah was named clearly teaches us that she is different than Eve.
The Naming of Eve
In chapter three of Genesis, we come across another created woman who just arrived into the world…
Genesis 3:20 – “And Adam called his wife’s name Eve; because she was the mother of all living.”
Eve was created not from a rib, but from a different process having to do with the Forbidden Fruit. This process involved adding reproductive organs, something that Ishshah did not have. Thus, since Eve was created with a womb, her name reflects that fact.
To summarize, basic exegesis clearly teaches us that Ishshah and Eve were two different people. There is much more evidence of this if one studies this out further.
Babies Named After Birth Circumstances
The Bible contains many stories of babies receiving their names based on circumstances surrounding their birth. For example, I-chabod means ‘without glory’. He was given this name because the Ark of the Covenant was just stolen…
1 Samuel 4:21 – “And she named the child I–chabod, saying, The glory is departed from Israel: because the ark of God was taken, and because of her father in law and her husband.”
Jacob is another famous example. His name was based on how Jacob grabbed his brother’s heel during birth…
Genesis 25:26 – “And after that came his brother out, and his hand took hold on Esau’s heel; and his name was called Jacob: and Isaac was threescore years old when she bare them.”
Even Jacob’s brother, Esau, was named based on his birth…
Genesis 25:25 – “And the first came out red, all over like an hairy garment; and they called his name Esau.”
There are many more examples. Clearly, naming babies after the way in which they came into this world is a major theme in Scripture. This pattern has its beginnings in Genesis with the creation of the first woman.
The Naming of Ishshah
Now that we have a basic understanding of how names reflect birth, we can see that the first woman ever created was also given a name based on how she came into this world…
Genesis 2:23 – “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.”
Man is ‘Ish’. Woman is ‘Ishshah’. Ishshah was taken out of Ish, thus her name reflects that fact.
Do you see the name ‘Eve’ anywhere in the verse? No. The name Eve does not appear until much later in the Creation Account. This is because Ishshah and Eve are two different beings! Again, the way in which Ishshah was named clearly teaches us that she is different than Eve.
The Naming of Eve
In chapter three of Genesis, we come across another created woman who just arrived into the world…
Genesis 3:20 – “And Adam called his wife’s name Eve; because she was the mother of all living.”
Eve was created not from a rib, but from a different process having to do with the Forbidden Fruit. This process involved adding reproductive organs, something that Ishshah did not have. Thus, since Eve was created with a womb, her name reflects that fact.
To summarize, basic exegesis clearly teaches us that Ishshah and Eve were two different people. There is much more evidence of this if one studies this out further.
