Who Was Adam's First Wife?
Adam's first wife and only named wife according to Scripture is Eve who was first called woman but later Eve for she would be the mother of all things living, namely human beings.
Over and over in scripture there have been name changes for the same individual based on their destiny like Abram to Abraham, and Jacob to Israel, and Eve is no different.
Adam Meets Eve
Genesis 2:21-25 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 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.
25 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.
Biblical Scholars and Church Fathers on Adam's First Wife
| Scholar / Institution (Years) | Work | View on Adam’s “Other Wife” |
|---|---|---|
| Augustine, Hippo Regius (354–430) | De Genesi ad Litteram | Augustine holds that Adam had only Eve as his wife. He rejects any notion of another wife, viewing Lilith as non-biblical legend, emphasizing Eve’s role in the fall and as mother of all living. |
| Origen, Catechetical School of Alexandria (c.184–253) | Homilies on Genesis | Origen interprets Adam and Eve allegorically, with Eve representing the soul. He does not recognize any other wife besides Eve and treats Lilith as a later folklore invention. |
| Jerome, Bethlehem Monastery (c.347–420) | Commentary on Genesis | Jerome maintains that Eve is Adam’s sole wife. He acknowledges Jewish legends about Lilith but insists they are extrabiblical and should not influence Christian interpretation. |
| Thomas Aquinas, University of Paris (1225–1274) | Summa Theologica | Aquinas affirms that Adam had only Eve as his companion. He analyzes Eve’s creation philosophically and theologically, with no textual support for any other wife. |
| John Calvin, University of Geneva (1509–1564) | Commentary on Genesis | Calvin argues that Eve alone was created to be Adam’s helper. He dismisses any stories of a second wife as mythological and not rooted in Scripture. |
| Martin Luther, University of Wittenberg (1483–1546) | Lectures on Genesis | Luther emphasizes Eve as Adam’s divinely appointed companion. He considers folklore about Lilith or other wives irrelevant to biblical truth. |
| Matthew Poole, England (1624–1679) | Annotations on the Holy Bible | Poole explicitly states that Adam’s wife was Eve alone. He rejects extra-biblical wives as unfounded and stresses a literal reading of Genesis. |
| Adam Clarke, Methodist Episcopal Church, England (1762–1832) | Clarke’s Commentary on the Bible | Clarke interprets Genesis literally, affirming Eve as Adam’s only wife. He notes that legends of Lilith have no scriptural authority and are purely folkloric. |
| C.F. Keil, Germany (1807–1888) | Commentary on the Old Testament | Keil affirms that the biblical account recognizes only Eve as Adam’s wife. He treats other alleged wives as later mythic developments with no historical basis. |
| F. Delitzsch, Germany (1813–1890) | Biblical Commentary on Genesis | Delitzsch maintains Eve as Adam’s sole partner. He rejects non-canonical accounts and emphasizes linguistic and textual analysis of Genesis. |
| E.W. Hengstenberg, Germany (1802–1869) | Christology of the Old Testament | Hengstenberg holds that Adam’s wife was only Eve. He analyzes Eve’s role typologically in relation to Christ, rejecting alternative wives as legend. |
| John Gill, England (1697–1771) | Exposition of the Old and New Testament | Gill affirms Eve alone as Adam’s wife. He explicitly dismisses folklore about Lilith and insists on a literal reading of Scripture. |
| Philo of Alexandria, Alexandria (c.20 BCE–50 CE) | On the Creation | Philo interprets Adam and Eve allegorically as body and soul. He acknowledges only one wife, Eve, and does not recognize any other female figures. |
| Richard Simon, Paris (1638–1712) | Histoire critique du Vieux Testament | Simon emphasizes historical-critical study of Genesis. He finds no textual evidence for Adam having any wife other than Eve and regards Lilith as extrabiblical. |
| Johann Bengel, University of Tübingen (1687–1752) | Gnomon of the New Testament | Bengel asserts that Eve was Adam’s only wife. He notes that Lilith and similar figures are later Jewish folklore and irrelevant to Scripture. |
| John Lightfoot, Cambridge University (1602–1675) | Horae Hebraicae et Talmudicae | Lightfoot acknowledges Jewish folklore about Lilith but insists that Eve alone is Adam’s biblical wife. He emphasizes the canonical text over extra-biblical stories. |
| Josephus, Rome (37–100) | Antiquities of the Jews | Josephus retells Genesis and affirms Eve as Adam’s sole wife. He does not mention any other spouse and treats Adam and Eve as historical figures. |
| Samuel Prideaux Tregelles, England (1813–1875) | Hebrew Text Commentary | Tregelles analyzes Genesis textually and linguistically. He finds no support for another wife, affirming Eve as the only biblical partner of Adam. |
| Benjamin Kennicott, Oxford University (1718–1783) | Dissertations on the Hebrew Bible | Kennicott emphasizes textual criticism of Genesis. He concludes that Eve is Adam’s only wife and dismisses Lilith as legend. |
| Franz Delitzsch, University of Leipzig (1813–1890) | Biblical Commentary on Genesis | Delitzsch argues that Adam had only Eve as his wife. He rejects alternative wives as non-canonical, emphasizing the theological and linguistic basis of Genesis. |
