How many children did Adam and Eve have? Bible verses about their family tree
Adam and Eve are known to be the first humans created by God. The origin of humanity can be traced to the two, as narrated by the book of Genesis in the Bible. In their story, after the two were banished from the Garden of Eden, they had children, but the exact number remains unknown. So, how many children did Adam and Eve have?
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The Bible's creation story reveals how God created the first man, Adam, and later brought him a companion, a woman called Eve. Adam and Eve's stay in the Garden of Eden was cut short after they reportedly disobeyed God and committed a sin. After their expulsion from the garden, they started bearing children, with the Bible hinting that they had more than two.
How many children did Adam and Eve have?
Adam and Eve, the first humans, reportedly had several children after they were exiled from the Garden of Eden. However, the Bible mentions only three: Cain, Abel, and Seth.
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1. Cain
Cain was their first child, born after they were expelled from the Garden of Eve. He was a farmer, tilling and growing crops. Cain was infamously known for killing his younger brother, Abel, when he became jealous of him after God accepted Abel’s offering but disapproved of what Cain brought. According to Genesis 4:1 (New International Version):
Adam made love to his wife Eve, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain. She said, “With the help of the Lord, I have brought forth a man.”
2. Abel
Abel was Adam and Eve’s second child. Unlike his older brother Cain, he chose a different type of farming, focusing on shepherding. When the time came to offer sacrifice to God, he presented the firstborn lambs of his flock, which God accepted and rejected Cain’s crops of his harvest.
Later, she gave birth to his brother Abel. Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil. – Genesis 4:2 (New International Version)
3. Seth
Adam and Eve’s third known child was Seth. Seth was born after Cain killed Abel. He is considered a righteous line of descendants through whom the godly heritage continued. Adam was reportedly 130 years old at the time of his birth, and Seth lived up to 912 years. As per Genesis 4: 25 (New International Version):
Adam made love to his wife again, and she gave birth to a son and named him Seth, saying, “God has granted me another child in place of Abel since Cain killed him.
Additionally, Genesis 5:3 states:
When Adam had lived 130 years, he had a son in his own likeness, in his own image; and he named him Seth.
4. Other sons and daughters
Did Adam and Eve have daughters? While the Bible mentions Cain, Abel, and Seth, Adam and Eve had other children. The primary focus is on the three sons because they are essential to human history.
The Bible does not mention Adam and Eve’s other sons and daughters or disclose their details, including their descendants. However, Flavius Josephus, a first-century historian, indicated in his book Antiquities of the Jews that they had 33 sons and 23 daughters. According to Genesis 5: 4-5:
After Seth was born, Adam lived 800 years and had other sons and daughters. Altogether, Adam lived a total of 930 years, and then he died.
Bible verses about Adam and Eve's descendants
Although Cain, Abel, and Seth are explicitly mentioned in the Bible as Adam and Eve's children, several verses suggest the two had more children. Below are Bible verses about Adam's children.
- And the days of Adam after he had begotten Seth were eight hundred years: and he begat sons and daughters. – Genesis 5:4
- And Adam knew his wife again; and she bare a son, and called his name Seth: For God, said she, hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew. – Genesis 4:25
- And God blessed them, and God said unto them, be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. – Genesis 1:28
- Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. – Genesis 3:16
- Which was the son of Enos, which was the son of Seth, which was the son of Adam, which was the son of God. – Luke 3:38
- And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints. – Jude 14
- And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation. – Acts 17:26
- And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit. – 1 Corinthians 15:45
- Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned. – Romans 5:12
- I have made him fair by the multitude of his branches: so that all the trees of Eden, that were in the garden of God, envied him. – Ezekiel 31:9
If Adam and Eve had three sons, where did their wives come from?
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The question of where Adam and Eve’s sons got their wives has perplexed many. Since they had only sons, where did the sons get the wives necessary to continue the human race? Several scholars and theologians have tried to answer this mystery. However, according to Genesis 5: 4-5:
And the days of Adam after he had begotten Seth were eight hundred years: and he begat sons and daughters. And all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years: and he died.
From the scripture, it means that Cain, Abel, and Seth had other brothers and sisters. Therefore, Adam’s sons apparently married their sisters to continue the human race.
While today, the practice of having sexual relations between closely related people is illegal and sinful, in the days of Adam, it was a normal and healthy practice. Therefore, since Adam had many sons and daughters, they married each other and procreated.
How many wives did Adam have?
According to the Bible, Adam had only one wife, Eve. In Genesis 2:21-22, God created a woman called Eve from Adam’s crib. Adam was delighted to have his mate, Eve, who became his wife.
However, other sources claim that Adam had three wives. His first wife, Lilith, who was made from earth, left him, and then God created another wife for him, whom he did not like. Eve was Adam’s third wife, made from his ribs while he was asleep, and he liked her. Their story in the Garden of Eden has been narrated in the book of Genesis.
How many daughters did Adam and Eve have?
Who was Adam's daughter? Although the Bible mentions that Adam had daughters, their names are not mentioned. The Holy Book only focuses on the three sons of Adam: Cain, Abel, and Seth.
Many wonder, "How many children did Adam and Eve have?" According to the book of Genesis, they had several sons and daughters, but Cain, Abel, and Seth are the only known ones. Seth’s lineage is considered the most important among Adam's children, as his descendants have played significant roles in the Bible and the human race.
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