Did God Really Make Eve from One of Adam’s Ribs?

Did God Really Make Eve from One of Adam's Ribs?
Hey Andy, if Eve came from Adam’s rib, then why are there still ribs? And if Adam came from dust, then why is there still dust?

Hi, OK, real quick: Christian pick-up line: guy pokes girl in the rib and says, “I believe that’s mine.” 🙂

You know, I used to think that because God used a rib to make the woman, that men to this day had one less rib than women. However, if you look at a skeleton of a male and female, you’ll see that they both have the same number of ribs. How can that be? If God made woman from a man’s rib, wouldn’t it make sense that man would have one less rib? Also, wouldn’t it be a great story to explain why women have one more rib than men?

Was It Really a Rib?

Well, the Hebrew word used for rib is Tselatav, which actually means “side” (not rib). The reason the English translation says “rib” is because Scripture doesn’t tell us actually what part of the man’s side God took to make the woman. It could’ve been his love handles for all we know (wouldn’t that be awesome if we didn’t have love handles because God decided to follow suit after Adam?). This Hebrew word used here is also used in Exodus 26:26-27, 35, Exodus 36:31-32, and Ezekiel 41:6 (“Side rooms” of the tent).

Why is there Still Dust?

anti-evolution from apesThis sounds like the argument, “if humans came from apes, then why do we still have apes,” which many have argued against evolution. Anyway, as for man and dust, there’s a LOT of dust on the earth, so it would only make sense that God didn’t use all of the earth’s dust to make the male.

The Bible also talks about us returning to the dust (Ashes to ashes, dust to dust) when we die. So if you really want to go there, a LOT of people have died since creation. So if God had used all the dust to make the first humans, then all the people who’ve died since would (in this understanding) explain why we have so much dust today.

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