JUDAism - the torah
The story is told in the book of Genesis, contained in the Torah and Bible. These texts have a central role in both Judaism and Christianity. Adam is discussed in Genesis 2 and Genesis 3, with some additional elements in chapters 4 and 5. These present two accounts of the creation story. Several apocryphal books, such as the Book of Jubilees, Life of Adam and Eve and Book of Enoch also contain details of Adam's life.
Creation
According to Genesis 1, God (Elohim) created human beings. "Male and female created he them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam..." (Genesis 5:2). "Adam" is a general term, like "Man" and could refer to the whole of humankind. God blessed them to be "fruitful and multiply" and ordained that they should have "dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth" (Genesis 1.26-27)
The account in Genesis 2 records that God first formed Adam out of "the dust of the ground" and then "breathed into his nostrils the breath of life", causing him to "become a living soul" (Genesis 2:7). God then placed Adam in the Garden of Eden, giving him the commandment that "Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die" (Genesis 2:16-17).
God then noted that "It is not good that the man should be alone" (Genesis 2:18). He then brought every "beast of the field and every fowl of the air" (Genesis 2:19) before Adam and had Adam name all the animals. However, among all the animals, there was not found "a helper suitable for" Adam (Genesis 2:20), so God caused "a deep sleep to fall upon Adam" and took one of his ribs, and from that rib, formed a woman (Genesis 2:21-22), subsequently named Eve.
Expulsion
Adam and Eve were subsequently expelled from the Garden of Eden, were ceremonially separated from God, and lost their immortality after they broke God's law about not eating of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. This occurred after the serpent (understood to be Satan in many Christian traditions) told Eve that eating of the tree would result not in death, but in Adam and Eve's eyes being opened, resulting in their being "as gods, knowing good and evil" (Gen. 3.4-5). Convinced by the serpent's argument, Eve eats of the tree and has Adam do likewise (Gen. 3.6).
As a result, both immediately become aware of the fact that they are naked, and thus cover themselves with garments made of fig leaves (Gen. 3.7). Then, finding God walking in the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve hide themselves from God's presence (Gen. 3.8). God calls to Adam "Where art thou?" (Gen. 3.9, KJV) and Adam responds "I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself" (Gen. 3.10, KJV). When God then asks Adam if he had eaten of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, Adam responds that his wife had told him to (Gen. 3.11-12). Herein is the second sin that Adam committed, the first being that he ate from the forbidden tree.
As a result of their breaking God's law, the couple is removed from the garden (Gen. 3.23) (the Fall of Man) and both receive a curse. Adam's curse is contained in Gen. 3.17-19: "Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field: In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return" (KJV).
After they were removed from the garden, Adam was forced to work hard for his food for the first time. He and Eve had many children although only three are named in Genesis: Cain, Abel, and Seth. The Book of Jubilees, in addition, names two of his daughters: Azura, who married her brother Seth, and Awan, who married her brother Cain.
According to the Genealogies of Genesis, Adam died at the age of 930. With such numbers, calculations such as those of Archbishop Ussher would suggest that Adam would have died only about 127 years before the birth of Noah, nine generations after Adam. In other words, Adam's lifespan would have overlapped Lamech (the father of Noah) at least fifty years. Ussher and a group of theologians and scholars in 1630 performed calculations and created a study that reported the creation of Adam on October 23, 4004 BC at 9:00 am and lived to 3074 BC. There was controversy over the fact that Ussher believed the whole creation process occurred on that day.
According to the book of Joshua, the City of Adam was still a recognizable place at the time that the Israelites crossed the Jordan River on entering Canaan.
According to traditional Jewish belief, Adam is buried in the Cave of Machpelah, in Hebron.
Christianity - Old Testament
The relevance of Adam is not solely with the Old Testament. In the New Testament, the first Adam is compared with the second Adam. The first Adam brought about the Fall of Man, which cursed man with the knowledge of sin. Adam and Eve were cast out of the Garden of Eden and out of God's presence. The second Adam (Jesus) came to the world to save mankind from Adam's original sin that everyone inherits. With the first Adam there is death, but with the second Adam there is life.
The Theological Significance of Adam
The theological significance of Adam is great in the grand scheme of things. On the other hand, there is more than just the straightforward fall of man that meets the eye. The fall of man is just one pertinent aspect of the Adam. There is, however, a dichotomy when talking about Adam—the Adam of old and the Adam of new. The original Adam sinned and man fell from God bringing all of Adam’s descendants along with him. The fall of man tarnished God’s image in man, beginning with Adam and Eve as well as their descendants. The image of God is still present in mankind, but the spiritual resemblance to the Creator has receded into the backdrop. Man is a slave to sin. In order to regain this likeness of God, man must have help—man must have salvation.
The origin of sin is the fall of Adam, the first man. In order to be redeemed, it took a sacrifice that was beyond anything man could do, or ever possibly do. The redemption of mankind had to come from God; only God had the power to save us. Samuel J. Mikolaski states:
In Romans 5:12-21 Paul refers to a condition and power of sin in human life that is other than actual sin. This is not an anachronistic idea peculiar to Romans 5, but comprises the backdrop of other [New Testament] teaching on the human condition, grace, and redemption. Nowhere does the [New Testament] assume or say that humanity is born into Adam’s pre-fall state. Rather, fallen man has no capacity for the kingdom without rebirth (John 3:1-21); he is natural, not spiritual (1 Cor. 2:14); his carnal mind is at enmity with God and cannot be subject to God (Rom. 8:7, 8, 11); he is dead in sin (Eph. 2:1, 5; 4:17-20). The [New Testament] model is supernatural renewal of fallen human nature, rebirth by the Holy Spirit through faith in Jesus Christ."
Romans 5:12-21
The only way man can regain the likeness of God is through justification. In Rom. 5:12-21, Paul gives excellent theological insight into the two Adam’s. The first Adam brought sin into the world. "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" (Rom. 5:12). On the other hand, the last Adam, Christ, brought us out of the world. "For if by one man’s offense death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ" (Rom. 5:17).
Adam was the first man and appointed the head of humanity; however, his sin caused all of humanity to forfeit righteousness. Christ, the last Adam, was sent into the world by God, who made Him the divine head of man. Of course, Christ was not merely made the head of man, but of a new mankind—the saved. Speaking in soteriological matters, man’s fallen nature needed someone to help bring him out of his ignominious state, because man cannot reach God’s presence without God sending His only begotten as a propitiatory sacrifice. When man becomes justified, reconciliation takes place. Reconciliation is not one way, man is not reconciled to God, but rather man and God are reconciled with each other. It is the believer’s relationship to Christ that undoes the effects of Adam’s original sin. If the effects of Adam’s original sin are not undone before a person dies or before judgment day, then they are doomed.