Eve: Three Letters Long and Filled with Conspiracies

Eve is a woman in Hebrew mythology. She was created by God in the second of the two
stories of creation in the Book of Genesis. In the first, a man and a woman were created at the
same moment, equally in God's image, but no names are mentioned. In the second account of
creation, a man is made first, named Adam. When God realized Adam was lonely, he took one of
Adam's ribs in his sleep, and formed another human to accompany him. Adam named his
companion Eve, meaning "to live" or "to breathe." Thus, Eve was not born but created.
Adam and Eve lived together in the Garden of Eden, a paradise God created for them to
live in sumptuousness. The only command God said was to never eat from the tree in the middle
of the garden. After a while, a serpent, commonly referred to as a symbol of Satan, approached
Eve and told her the great powers the fruit from the tree God had forbade them to eat of held.
These powers were to see all good and evil, to know everything, to be like God. The serpent
spoke of it with such great honor, he convinced Eve to take one for herself and another for Adam
to eat. As soon as they took a bite from the fruit, they saw just what the serpent told them they
would see, everything. They noticed their nakedness, and felt shame, something they had never
felt before in the their paradise of the Garden of Eden. They fixed clothing for themselves from
leaves and twigs.

God's voice roamed the garden, calling for Adam and Eve to talk to him. But when they
heard God's voice, they feared him and hid in the bushes. Unable to hide from him, God asked
why they hid from him. As soon as Adam answered, saying they were ashamed, God knew they
had eaten from the forbidden fruit. He spoke out to them, in question. Adam explained to God

that Eve had given them the fruit. Eve passed the blame to the serpent, telling of his cunning
tricks. Despite the blame towards the serpent, God cursed all of them for this act of disobedience.
These punishments were placed to affect all of humanity in the future as well as Adam
and Eve. They could no longer live in the plentiful, arable Garden of Eden. The relationship
between humans and the serpent were forever cursed. Adam and Eve were banished to the
outside land, where they were forced to work for their food by growing and taking care of their
crops themselves. A cycle of birth and death was enforced, taking away their immortal life. Eve,
and all woman in the future, were punished with birthing pains. God commanded that Adam, and
all men, should rule over Eve, and all women, because of Eve's misjudgment.
Once Adam and Eve had left the Garden of Eden, they were given clothes and were
protected. Eve gave birth to three boys: Cain, Abel, and Seth, experiencing the punishment of
birthing pains. Their family worked hard. It is unknown where or when Eve died, since she is a
character created from mythology.
The story of Eve is one of the most contemplated subjects in the bible. Hundreds of
scholars and theologians have written essays and books on the topic discussing Eve and Adam's
interactions. Questions are asked throughout the Hebrew Scripture. Pertaining to the snake: Why
did the serpent talk to Eve, and not Adam? Was it because Eve is seen as a superior figure in the
beginning? Or it is because the serpent thought the woman was weaker?
If the second question stated above is expanded and evaluated, is Eve shown as a superior
figure in the beginning of the story, before they are banished from the Garden of Eden. The
evidence shown, suggesting this might be a possibility, is that Adam does not take any action to

stop Eve from giving him the fruit, he does as he is told and eats it. Because of Eve's
misjudgment, Adam, and man as an entire gender, was told to be placed superior.
A contradicting argument that is made to that conclusion is that Eve was created from
Adam. Therefore, since Adam was made first, and Eve was created from him, Adam is superior
to Eve. However, John Chrysostom, a Christian theologian, believed that because Eve is made
from Adam's rib, that makes them equal. "'So, from Adam's rib God creates this rational being,
and in his inventive wisdom he makes it complete and perfect, like man in every detail.' (Kvam,
143)" (Women's Commentary Bible, pg. 46). Similar to this thought of equality, in Apocalypse of
Moses, a Greek writing suggests that Adam and Eve were equal, until Eve took responsibility
and the greatest punishment for their disobedience.
The controversy is not exclusive to theologian's conspiracy theories. Even in the
Christian Scriptures in the New Testament, there is contradicting statements between 1 Timothy
2:13-14 and Romans 5:12. "I permit no woman to teach to have authority over a man; she is to
keep silent. For Adam was formed first, then Eve; and Adam was not deceived, but the woman
was deceived and became a transgressor"(The New Revised Standard Version Bible, Timothy.
2.13-14). In this letter, there is favor of Adam. "Therefore, just as sin came into the world
through one man, and death came through sin, and so death spread to all because all have sinned"
(Romans. 5.12). This passage from Romans is not perfectly clear whether "man" is meaning all
of mankind or the male gender. However, in the Bible it has a subtitle that says "Adam and
Christ," which means the reference to "man" probably means Adam. These two biblical passages
contradict each other, just as theologians' essays and books. One blames Eve, while the other
blames Adam.

The conspiracy theories revolving around Eve never end. Eve is sometimes spoken of as
kind and innocent, while other authors expose her as immature or sexual. All that is certain is
Eve is a woman who is created to be the first woman on Earth in the second story of creation in
Genesis, written in the Hebrew Scriptures. She was made from Adam's rib and lived in the
Garden of Eden until she was banished. A serpent convinced her to eat of the forbidden fruit in
the middle of the paradise God had made for them. She was cursed. Outside of the garden, she
lived and gave birth to twin boys named Cain and Abel. This story is mythology, because there
are interactions with a supernatural power. Nothing can be absolutely proven.

Works Cited
Deen, Edith. All the Women of the Bible. New York City, New York: Castle Books, 1955. Print.
The New Revised Standard Version Bible. New York: American Bible Society, 1989. Print.
Newsom, Carol A. Women's Bible Commentary. Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster John Knox
.

Press, 2012. Print.