Bible Dictionary: Eve

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Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary

Eve

living; enlivening

Smith's Bible Dictionary

Eve

(life), the name given in Scripture to the first woman. The account of Eve's creation is found at (Genesis 2:21,22) Perhaps that which we are chiefly intended to learn from the narrative is the foundation upon which the union between man and wife is built, viz., identity of nature and oneness of origin. Through the subtlety of the serpent Eve was beguiled into a violation of the one commandment which had been imposed upon her and Adam. The Scripture account of Eve closes with the birth of Seth.

ATS Bible Dictionary

Eve

The first mother of our race, and the cause of our fall. Her history is so closely connected with that of Adam that the remarks made in the article ADAM apply also to her. Her name Eve is from a word signifying life, Genesis 3:20. She was made, we are told in Genesis 2:18-22, both for man and of him; subordinate and weaker, and yet to be loved as his own body. The history of woman in all ages has been a striking fulfillment of the distinct penalties pronounced upon her, Genesis 3:16.

Easton's Bible Dictionary

Life; living, the name given by Adam to his wife (Genesis 3:20; 4:1). The account of her creation is given in Genesis 2:21, 22. The Creator, by declaring that it was not good for man to be alone, and by creating for him a suitable companion, gave sanction to monogamy. The commentator Matthew Henry says: "This companion was taken from his side to signify that she was to be dear unto him as his own flesh. Not from his head, lest she should rule over him; nor from his feet, lest he should tyrannize over her; but from his side, to denote that species of equality which is to subsist in the marriage state." And again, "That wife that is of God's making by special grace, and of God's bringing by special providence, is likely to prove a helpmeet to her husband." Through the subtle temptation of the serpent she violated the commandment of God by taking of the forbidden fruit, which she gave also unto her husband (1 Timothy 2:13-15; 2 Corinthians 11:3). When she gave birth to her first son, she said, "I have gotten a man from the Lord" (R.V., "I have gotten a man with the help of the Lord, " Genesis 4:1). Thus she welcomed Cain, as some think, as if he had been the Promised One the "Seed of the woman."

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary

1. (n.) Evening.

2. (n.) The evening before a holiday, -- from the Jewish mode of reckoning the day as beginning at sunset. not at midnight; as, Christians eve is the evening before Christmas; also, the period immediately preceding some important event.

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

EVE IN THE NEW TESTAMENT

(Eua; Westcott and Hort, The New Testament in Greek, Heua):

"Eve" occurs twice in the New Testament and both references are in the Pauline writings. In 1 Timothy 2:12-14 woman's place in teaching is the subject of discussion, and the writer declares that she is a learner and not a teacher, that she is to be in quietness and not to have dominion over a man. Paul elsewhere expressed this same idea (see 1 Corinthians 14:34, 35). Having stated his position in regard to woman's place, he used the Genesis account of the relation of the first woman to man to substantiate his teaching. Paul used this account to illustrate woman's inferiority to man, and he undoubtedly accepted it at its face value without any question as to its historicity. He argued that woman is inferior in position, for "Adam was first formed, then Eve." She is inferior in character, for "Adam was not beguiled, but the woman being beguiled hath fallen into transgression."

See CHILD-BEARING.

In 2 Corinthians 11:3, Paul is urging loyalty to Christ, and he uses the temptation of Eve to illustrate the ease with which one is corrupted. Paul seems to have had no thought but that the account of the serpent's beguiling Eve should be taken literally.

A. W. Fortune

EVE IN THE OLD TESTAMENT

ev, (chawwah, "life"; Eua; the name given, as the Scripture writer says, Genesis 3:20 (Zoe), from her unique function as "the mother of all living"):

The first created woman; created secondarily from Adam (or man) as a "help meet for him" (Genesis 2:18-22), and later named and designated as the mother of the human race.

For the literary type and object of the story of Eve, see under ADAM, i, 2.

1. The Names Given to Her:

Two names are given to her, both bestowed by the man, her mate. The first, ishshah, "woman" (literally, "man-ess"), is not strictly a name but a generic designation, referring to her relation to the man; a relation she was created to fulfill in default of any true companionship between man and the beasts, and represented as intimate and sacred beyond that between child and parents (Genesis 2:18-24). The second, Eve, or "life," given after the transgression and its prophesied results, refers to her function and destiny in the spiritual history or evolution of which she is the beginning (Genesis 3:16, 20). While the names are represented as bestowed by the man, the remarks in Genesis 2:24 and 3:20b may be read as the interpretative addition of the writer, suited to the exposition which it is the object of his story to make.

2. Her Relation to Man:

As mentioned in the article ADAM, the distinction of male and female, which the human species has in common with the animals, is given in the general (or P) account of creation (Genesis 1:27); and then, in the more particularized (or J) account of the creation of man, the human being is described at a point before the distinction of sex existed. This second account may have a different origin, but it has also a different object, which does not conflict with but rather supplements the other. It aims to give the spiritual meanings that inhere in man's being; and in this the relation of sex plays an elemental part. As spiritually related to the man-nature, the woman-nature is described as derivative, the helper rather than the initiator, yet equal, and supplying perfectly the man's social and affectional needs. It is the writer's conception of the essential meaning of mating and marriage. To bring out its spiritual values more clearly he takes the pair before they are aware of the species meanings of sex or family, while they are "naked" yet "not ashamed" Genesis 2:25, and portrays them purely as companions, individual in traits and tendencies, yet answering to each other. She is the helpmeet for him (ezer keneghdo, "a help answering to him").

3. Her Part in the Change of Condition:

True to her nature as the being relatively acted upon rather than acting, she is quicker than the man to respond to the suggestion initiated by the serpent and to follow it out to its desirable results. There is eagerness of desire in her act of taking the fruit quite different from the quasi matter-of-course attitude of the man. To her the venture presents itself wholly from the alluring side, while to him it is more like taking a desperate risk, as he detaches himself even from the will of God in order to cleave to her. All this is delicately true to the distinctive feminine and masculine natures. A part of her penalty is henceforth to be the subordinated one of the pair (Genesis 3:16), as if for her the values of life were to be mediated through him. At the same time it is accorded to her seed to perpetuate the mortal antipathy to the serpent, and finally to bruise the serpent's head (Genesis 3:15).

4. In Subsequent History:

After these opening chapters of Genesis, Eve is not once mentioned, nor even specifically alluded to, in the canonical books of the Old Testament. It was not in the natural scope of Old Testament history and doctrine, which were concerned with Abraham's descendants, to go back to so remote origins as are narrated in the story of the first pair. The name Eve occurs once in the Apocrypha, in the prayer of Tobit (APC Tobit 8:6): "Thou madest Adam, and gavest him Eve his wife for a helper and a stay; of them came the seed of men"; the text then going on to quote Genesis 2:18. In 1 Esdras 4:20, 21 there is a free quotation, or rather paraphrase, of Genesis 2:24. But not even in the somber complaints of 2 Esdras concerning the woe that Adam's transgression brought upon the race is there any hint of Eve's part in the matter.

(see under ADAM IN THE OLD TESTAMENT, iii, 2)

John Franklin Genung

EVE, GOSPEL OF

A Gnostic doctrinal treatise mentioned by Epiphanius (Haer., xxvi.2) in which Jesus is represented as saying in a loud voice, "I am thou, and thou art I, and wherever thou art there am I, and in all things I am sown. And from whencesoever thou gatherest me, in gathering me thou gatherest thyself."

See LOGIA; and compare Ropes, Die Spruche Jesu, 56.

Greek

2096. Heua -- Eve, the first woman
... Eve, the first woman. Part of Speech: Noun, Feminine Transliteration: Heua Phonetic
Spelling: (yoo'-ah) Short Definition: Eve Definition: Eve, the first woman ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/2096.htm - 6k

3798. opsios -- evening
... evening. From opse; late; feminine (as noun) afternoon (early eve) or nightfall
(later eve) -- even(-ing, (-tide)). see GREEK opse. (opsia) -- 1 Occurrence. ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/3798.htm - 6k

4315. prosabbaton -- the day before the Sabbath
... day before the Sabbath. From pro and sabbaton; a fore-sabbath, ie The
Sabbath-eve -- day before the sabbath. Compare paraskeue. see GREEK pro. ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/4315.htm - 6k

2073. hespera -- evening
... evening. Feminine of an adjective hesperos (evening); the eve (hora being implied) --
evening(-tide). see GREEK hora. (espera) -- 1 Occurrence. ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/2073.htm - 6k

6. Habel -- Abel, a son of Adam
... Proper Noun, Indeclinable Transliteration: Habel Phonetic Spelling: (ab'-el) Short
Definition: Abel Definition: Abel, second son of Adam and Eve, brother of ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/6.htm - 6k

2535. Kain -- Cain, a son of Adam
... Proper Noun, Indeclinable Transliteration: Kain Phonetic Spelling: (kah'-in) Short
Definition: Cain Definition: (Hebrew), Cain, son of Adam and Eve and brother ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/2535.htm - 6k

Strong's Hebrew

5731. Eden -- the garden home of Adam and Eve
... 5730b, 5731. Eden. 5732 . the garden home of Adam and Eve. Transliteration:
Eden Phonetic Spelling: (ay'-den) Short Definition: Eden. ...
/hebrew/5731.htm - 6k

7014b. Qayin -- oldest son of Adam and Eve
... 7014a, 7014b. Qayin. 7015 . oldest son of Adam and Eve. Transliteration:
Qayin Short Definition: Cain. Word Origin from the same ...
/hebrew/7014b.htm - 5k

2332. Chavvah -- "life," the first woman
... 2331b, 2332. Chavvah. 2333 . "life," the first woman. Transliteration: Chavvah
Phonetic Spelling: (khav-vaw') Short Definition: Eve. ... Eve. ...
/hebrew/2332.htm - 6k

Library

Adam and Eve.
... ADAM AND EVE. In the beginning ... insects. Then God made man. The name of the
first man was Adam, and the first woman was Eve. Both were ...
/.../anonymous/mother stories from the old testament/adam and eve.htm

The Eve of the Restoration
... EZRA THE EVE OF THE RESTORATION. 'Now in the first year of Cyrus king of
Persia, that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture g/the eve of the restoration.htm

The Story of Adam and Eve
... THE STORY OF ADAM AND EVE. The first man's name was Adam and his wife he
called Eve. They lived in a beautiful Garden away in the ...
/.../marshall/the wonder book of bible stories/the story of adam and.htm

Eve and Mary.
... CHAPTER V. EVE AND MARY. ... That woman is worthy of glory or ignominy is the logical
consequence of her being regarded as a daughter either of Eve or of Mary. ...
/.../sainte-foi/serious hours of a young lady/chapter v eve and mary.htm

Address on Easter Eve
... THE DEVOTION OF THE THREE HOURS X ADDRESS ON EASTER EVE. ... 1. The first thought, then,
of Easter Eve must surely be one of profound sorrow and humiliation. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/beibitz/gloria crucis/x address on easter eve.htm

And Adam and Eve -- for that is the Name of the Woman --...
... THE DEMONSTRATION OF THE APOSTOLIC PREACHING Chapter 14 And Adam and
Eve " for that is the name of the woman "� And Adam and ...
/.../the demonstration of the apostolic preaching/chapter 14 and adam and.htm

Why Eve was Formed of Adam's Rib.
... Theophilus to Autolycus: Book II. Chapter XXVIII."Why Eve Was Formed of
Adam's Rib. And Adam having been cast out of Paradise, in ...
/.../theophilus/theophilus to autolycus/chapter xxviii why eve was formed.htm

The Eve of the Resurrection.
... CHAPTER LX. The Eve of the Resurrection. Towards the close of the
Sabbath-day, John came to see the holy women. He endeavoured to ...
/.../the dolorous passion of our lord jesus christ/chapter lx the eve of.htm

Eve and Mary Continued.
... CHAPTER VI. EVE AND MARY CONTINUED. The history of the fall of man, caused
by Eve, and of his restoration, brought about by Mary ...
/.../sainte-foi/serious hours of a young lady/chapter vi eve and mary.htm

Christmas Eve. December 24.
... Christmas Eve. December 24. We will have no sad forebodings on the eve of
the blessed Christmas-tide. He lives, He loves, He reigns ...
//christianbookshelf.org/kingsley/daily thoughts /christmas eve december 24.htm

Thesaurus

Eve (5 Occurrences)
... not at midnight; as, Christians eve is the evening before Christmas; also, the period
immediately preceding some important event. Int. ...EVE IN THE NEW TESTAMENT. ...
/e/eve.htm - 16k

Cause-of-fear-on-every-side (1 Occurrence)
Cause-of-fear-on-every-side. Causeless, Cause-of-fear-on-every-side. Causes .
Multi-Version Concordance Cause-of-fear-on-every-side (1 Occurrence). ...
/c/cause-of-fear-on-every-side.htm - 6k

Seth (9 Occurrences)
... Appointed; a substitute, the third son of Adam and Eve (Genesis 4:25; 5:3). His
mother gave him this name, "for God," said she, "hath appointed me [ie ...
/s/seth.htm - 10k

Immaculate
... The only attempt made to provide a Scriptural argument is by using a vague and
unsatisfactory parallel between Mary and Eve before the Fall, to be found in the ...
/i/immaculate.htm - 16k

Conception (6 Occurrences)
... The only attempt made to provide a Scriptural argument is by using a vague and
unsatisfactory parallel between Mary and Eve before the Fall, to be found in the ...
/c/conception.htm - 19k

Eucharist
... HISTORICAL SETTING OF THE EUCHARIST 1. Other Acts and Words of Christ on Eve of
the Passion 2. Sacrificial Language of the Institution 3. Sacrificial System of ...
/e/eucharist.htm - 38k

Lying (203 Occurrences)
... The origin of lies and lying is traced to Satan who is called "a liar, and the father
thereof" (John 8:44 Acts 5:3). Satan's dealing with Eve (Genesis 3 ...
/l/lying.htm - 44k

Rib (5 Occurrences)
... 13. (n.) An elongated pillar of ore or coal left as a support. 14. (n.) A
wife; -- in allusion to Eve, as made out of Adam's rib. 15. ...
/r/rib.htm - 11k

Endor (3 Occurrences)
... To Endor, Saul resorted to consult one reputed to be a witch on the eve of his last
engagement with the Philistines (1 Samuel 28:7). It is identified with the ...
/e/endor.htm - 12k

Even (10971 Occurrences)
... Noah Webster's Dictionary 1. (n.) Evening. See Eve. 2. (a.) Level, smooth,
or equal in surface; not rough; free from irregularities ...
/e/even.htm - 9k

Bible Concordance

Eve (5 Occurrences)

Matthew 28:1 And on the eve of the sabbaths, at the dawn, toward the first of the sabbaths, came Mary the Magdalene, and the other Mary, to see the sepulchre,
(YLT)

2 Corinthians 11:3 But I am afraid that somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve in his craftiness, so your minds might be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.
(WEB KJV WEY ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

1 Timothy 2:13 For Adam was first formed, then Eve.
(WEB KJV WEY ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Genesis 3:20 The man called his wife Eve, because she was the mother of all living.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Genesis 4:1 The man knew Eve his wife. She conceived, and gave birth to Cain, and said, "I have gotten a man with Yahweh's help."
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Subtopics

Eve

Eve in the New Testament

Eve in the Old Testament

Eve: Beguiled by Satan

Eve: Children of

Eve: Clothed With Animal Skins

Eve: Clothed With Fig Leaves

Eve: Creation of

Eve: Curse Denounced Against

Eve: Messiah Promised To

Eve: Named by Adam