Table of Contents
How did Adam and Eve Look Before The Fall?
What did Adam and Eve look like?
- Adam and Eve looked like your father and mother. They are the first man and woman.
- While we do not have pictures of how they looked we know that Adam was male and Eve was female for the Lord Jesus declared that God made them male and female In Matthew 19:4.
- Mention of how God created them is in Genesis 1:27
- It is important here to note that Adam and Eve more than likely would not have a belly button or navel since that is the result of gestation in the womb and neither Adam and Eve came through the womb of a woman like the rest of us.
- They had Perfect Bodies.
- Adam had externally visible male reproductive organs as men do today.
- Adam and Eve were naked before God clothed them.Can A Man Be Shirtless in Public? Find Out
Church Fathers on Adam and Eve’s Appearance
| Church Father | Quotation or Summary | Context / Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Irenaeus of Lyon (c. 180 AD) Source: Against Heresies, Book III (ANF 1)* | “They were both naked and were not ashamed; for as yet they had no understanding of the procreation of children… Their thoughts were innocent.” | Adam and Eve’s nakedness was a symbol of innocence, not shame. Their physical form was good and pure, reflecting divine creation without corruption. |
| Theophilus of Antioch (c. 181–185 AD) Source: To Autolycus, Book II Ch. XXVIII* | Describes Eve’s formation from Adam’s rib, showing divine craftsmanship of human bodies and companionship. Adam’s body is earthly yet animated by God’s breath. | Emphasizes that Adam and Eve’s physical creation was holy, harmonious, and good. No mention of shame or imperfection. |
| Clement of Alexandria (late 2nd – early 3rd century AD) Source: Stromata (Book III), Protrepticus | Describes Adam before the Fall as youthful, innocent, and uncorrupted. Their nakedness indicated purity and spiritual simplicity rather than sensuality. | Clement interprets the “nakedness” as symbolic of purity of soul and mind, not bodily shame. |
| Justin Martyr (c. 150 AD) Source: Dialogue with Trypho (secondary summary)* | Justin notes that Adam and Eve, created in God’s image, were in a state of incorruption before transgression. Their bodies were unblemished and under the Spirit’s dominion. | While not lengthy on physical form, he affirms the goodness and perfection of their original bodies. |
| Tatian the Assyrian (c. 165 AD) Source: Address to the Greeks (secondary synthesis)* | Holds that man’s body was created pure and incorruptible, destined for immortality before sin. | Reinforces early Christian idea of the uncorrupted pre-Fall body. |
| Methodius of Olympus (early 4th century AD) Source: On the Resurrection, Book I | Teaches that Adam’s and Eve’s original bodies were luminous and glorious, clothed with divine light before losing it through sin. | Introduces the idea that they were not “naked” as we now think, but robed in light—a view echoed later by Eastern Fathers. |
| Athanasius of Alexandria (c. 296–373 AD) Source: On the Incarnation §4–5 | “God made man for incorruption and as an image of His own eternity.” The body was originally without corruption or shame. | Adam’s form was good; his corruption and mortality came only through disobedience. |
| Gregory of Nyssa (c. 335–395 AD) Source: On the Making of Man (Chs. 16–23) | Portrays Adam and Eve as glorious beings before the Fall; their physical beauty was pure, not sensual; they were clothed in divine grace, and sexuality became active only after sin. | One of the most detailed patristic treatments of the pre-Fall body—“naked” in innocence, “clothed” in glory. |
| Augustine of Hippo (c. 400 AD) Source: City of God XIV.10–17; Literal Meaning of Genesis | Adam’s body was made sound, whole, obedient to the will, without disorder. They were naked but without shame, because lust did not yet rebel against reason. | Augustine links the sense of shame to post-Fall disobedience of the flesh; before sin, even nakedness was orderly and pure. |
| Ephrem the Syrian (c. 306–373 AD) Source: Commentary on Genesis | States that Adam and Eve were “clothed in glory” before the Fall, and lost this robe of light after sin, discovering their nakedness. | Reflects Semitic strand of patristic theology that sees pre-Fall bodies as radiant and innocent. |
| John Chrysostom (c. 347–407 AD) Source: Homilies on Genesis (12–16) | Interprets their nakedness as symbolic of innocence: “They were naked, yet felt no shame, for the sight of the body did not then arouse evil desires.” | Argues that shame arises from sin’s corruption, not from the created body itself. |
| Theophylact of Ohrid (11th century AD) Source: Exposition on Genesis (derived from Chrysostom)* | Repeats patristic tradition: Adam and Eve were in a state of glory and purity; nakedness was free from shame, bodies perfect. | Byzantine synthesis of earlier Fathers. |
Adam and Eve in Genesis 2
21 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. 22 Then the rib which the Lord God had taken from man He [h]made into a woman, and He brought her to the man.
23 And Adam said:
“This is now bone of my bones
And flesh of my flesh;
She shall be called [i]Woman,
Because she was taken out of [j]Man.”
24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be[k] joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.
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