Adam and Eve were created differently besides the obvious that one may think. First, let’s consider the general creation of mankind, and then delve into their separate (but equal) roles.
Moses 3:6 says, “But I, the Lord God, spake, and there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground.” We will use the Moses version over Genesis here, because in Genesis, God doesn’t speak anything. There is going to be an echo of this event in the New Testament. Can you guess in which Gospel? (Hint: This event was the central story in President Jeffrey R. Holland’s very last conference address). Yep, you guessed it.
Yes, it’s the healing of the blind man in John 9:6-7. The story reads as follows:
“When he had thus spoken, he spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and he anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay,
“And said unto him, Go, wash in the pool of Siloam, (which is by interpretation, Sent.) He went his way therefore, and washed, and came seeing.”
One of the many lessons we should SEE in this story is that this lucky man (excuse me—blessed man) didn’t merely get his eyesight. He got a whole spiritual re-creation and makeover! He came away seeing! Jesus uses the same technique as Adam’s creation by spitting on the ground to make clay. And the irony (remember, John loves this) is that the blind man can see Jesus, who is a reflection of Jehovah in this case, and the expert Pharisees, who knew the law inside out, could not see their real Messiah standing right in front of them. (I must confess here that it’s good I was born in this dispensation, because I could have been an awesome Pharisee. That’s why the Lord keeps me in Primary with the Sunbeams to keep me grounded—no pun intended).
Because I miss President Holland, I’m going to digress for a minute (my wife hates this!). President Holland masterfully uses this story to teach that the Lord can do His work however He wants, regardless of how silly the means may appear on the surface to us mortals who think we know everything. This story of the blind man definitely has temple ties. There is a washing and an anointing. The pool of Siloam is in close proximity to the temple. It was originally built by King Hezekiah to preserve water and also to serve as a ritual purification (Mikvah) for those enroute to the temple (much like the laver in the tabernacle). But Jesus didn’t pick the closest Mikvah for this blind man to stumble into. The Pool of Siloam is special, however. The name Siloam is the Greek form of the Hebrew word Shiloah. These are the waters spoken of by Isaiah, which waters were “refused” by the people. These waters can be seen as “living waters” provided by the Savior. Isaiah said they “go softly” (Isaiah 8:6), but the local people are more focused on the political alliance between Syria and the northern kingdom of Israel, so instead they get the “waters of the river, strong and many, even the king of Assyria, and all his glory: and he shall come up over all his channels, and go over all his banks” (Isaiah 8:7).
We get a rare translation of Shiloah and Siloam, which means “Sent.” The Greek word for Sent is apostello, where we get the English word apostle. I’m grateful for living apostles and prophets, like President Holland, who have those healing, divine priesthood keys to help us see clearly!
Sorry this post has been derailed into the New Testament, but that’s pretty much it for the creation of the man. You just mix up a little bit of dirt and water to make a mud paste and voila—you have a man. Well, maybe it’s not quite that simple, but this post is running a bit long due to my diversion. Let’s look at the names of Adam and Eve, then I will do a post on some of the Garden of Eden symbols, and then a separate post for the creation of Eve, because that one is a little more complex—at least symbolically.
The name Adam means man or mankind, and thus, Adam becomes a prototype for all men. The name Eve means life or living. Genesis 2:7 states, “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.” The Septuagint, which is the translation of the Old Testament into Greek, uses the Greek word pneuma for “breath of life.” Pneuma means wind, breath, or spirit. Man now has a spirit.
It says that Adam became a “living soul.” But wait, it’s Eve’s name that means life or living, so Adam, in a sense, is still not alive without her.
To be continued . . .