Table of Contents
How Did Adam and Eve Die?
Adam and Eve were the first man and woman created by God.
Quick Facts:
- Adam and Eve were also the first human inhabitants of the Garden of Eden.
- Adam was given instruction not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, but the serpent deceived Eve, and she gave the fruit to Adam who didn't object to eating it.
- As a result of their disobedience, death entered the human family.
How Did Adam and Eve Really Die?
Adam and Eve died of "natural causes" that entered as a result of Adam listening to his wife, Eve, who was deceived by the serpent, the devil, in eating the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil that God forbade him to eat from as seen in Genesis 3:4-11.
| Scholar / Source | Perspective / Focus | Cause / Interpretation of Death |
|---|---|---|
| Brevard S. Childs (1974) – The Book of Genesis: A Critical, Theological Commentary | Canonical-theological | Death entered humanity as a consequence of sin (Genesis 2–3); Adam and Eve experienced spiritual separation from God, eventually leading to physical death. |
| Gordon J. Wenham (1987) – Genesis 1–15 (Word Biblical Commentary) | Literary / theological | Physical death is linked to the disobedience of eating from the Tree of Knowledge; mortality is a divinely instituted consequence rather than a natural accident. |
| Nahum M. Sarna (1989) – Genesis: The Traditional Hebrew Text with the New JPS Translation Commentary | Jewish exegetical | Adam’s death is a divinely decreed penalty; spiritual death precedes physical death; the “dust to dust” formula (Gen. 3:19) symbolizes return to mortality. |
| John Calvin (16th c.) – Commentaries on Genesis | Reformed / theological | Death is the just punishment of sin, both spiritual and physical; human life became finite because of disobedience. Eve’s death is indirect, through the “bondage to death” introduced by the Fall. |
| Matthew Henry (1710) – Commentary on the Whole Bible | Devotional / pastoral | Physical death of Adam and Eve followed from their moral failure; death is both a natural outcome and a divine disciplinary act; separation from God is the essential cause. |
| Augustine (354–430) – City of God / Confessions | Patristic / theological | Death entered the world through Adam’s sin (Original Sin); Eve shared in this corporeal and spiritual mortality. Physical death is a result of spiritual corruption. |
| Thomas Aquinas (13th c.) – Summa Theologica I-II, Q. 100 | Scholastic / theological | Adam and Eve’s death is penal and natural: sin corrupted human nature; mortality is both a punishment and a natural outcome of a fallen human condition. |
| Rashi (1040–1105) – Jewish Commentary on Genesis | Midrashic / exegetical | Death is the consequence of disobedience; eating the forbidden fruit caused spiritual and eventual physical death, though lifespan remained prolonged by divine mercy. |
| Gunkel, Hermann (1901) – Genesis | Historical-critical / form-critical | Narrative interprets death as a symbolic consequence; emphasizes moral lesson rather than historical-physical explanation. |
| Delitzsch, Franz (19th c.) – Commentary on Genesis | Lutheran / exegetical | Death is both directly caused by sin and indirectly by the cursed environment (labor, pain, mortality). |
Scripture on Disobedience That Led To The Death of Adam and Eve And The Human Race.
Genesis 3:4-11 “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman.5 “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.
8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?”
10 He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.”
11 And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”
References:
Patristic / Classical Sources
Augustine (354–430). The City of God, Book XIII, Chapters 13–14.
—Explains death as entering the world through Adam’s sin; both spiritual and physical consequences.Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274). Summa Theologica, I-II, Q. 100, Articles 1–5.
—Death is a penalty of sin, corrupting human nature; spiritual and natural mortality.John Calvin (1509–1564). Commentaries on Genesis, 1554.
—Emphasizes spiritual and physical death as the just punishment of disobedience.Matthew Henry (1662–1714). Commentary on the Whole Bible, Genesis 3.
—Death is a consequence of sin and separation from God; instructive for believers.Rashi (1040–1105). Commentary on Genesis, s.v. Genesis 3.
—Jewish exegetical perspective: spiritual and eventual physical death as a result of the Fall.Franz Delitzsch (1813–1890). Commentary on Genesis, 1853–1859.
—Death results both from sin and its effects on human labor, pain, and mortality.Hermann Gunkel (1862–1932). Genesis, 1901 (Form-Critical Commentary).
—Death interpreted as a symbolic consequence of disobedience.
Modern Scholarly Commentaries
Brevard S. Childs (1974). The Book of Genesis: A Critical, Theological Commentary.
—Death is theologically interpreted as entering humanity due to sin; spiritual death precedes physical mortality.Gordon J. Wenham (1987). Genesis 1–15, Word Biblical Commentary.
—Physical death linked to eating from the Tree of Knowledge; theological rather than natural cause.Nahum M. Sarna (1989). Genesis: The Traditional Hebrew Text with the New JPS Translation Commentary.
—Adam’s death is divinely decreed; spiritual separation from God precedes physical death; “dust to dust” symbolic.
