Did Adam and Eve have children before the fall?
God said He would increase her pains in childbearing. It sounds like she had already had children.
Genesis 3:12
ESV - 12 The man said, "The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.
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Asked September 22 2014
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Ruth Deatley
Supporter
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Jennifer Henkel
Supporter
No, Adam and Eve had not conceived a child before their act of sin. Such a child would be without a sinful nature, and would be perfect. No such child is mentioned. 1 Corinthians 15:21-22 makes it clear that the sinful nature passes from father to child. Adam and Eve's first child was Cain, clearly a sinner. The question then arises, "How long were Adam and Eve in the garden before they sinned?" God gives them the command in Genesis 1:28 to "be fruitful and multiply." Since no child was conceived prior to the Fall, and knowing what we do about human fertility, my guess is that they were not together in the Garden more than a few weeks! Satan wasted no time in attacking God's favorite creation. One more thought: since the sin nature passes from father to child, that explains why Jesus HAD to be born of a virgin in order to be without sin, and to be able to pay the price for our sin!
Daniel Dwayne Sizemore
Supporter
I think it's obvious that they did. Gen.1:28-....and God said unto them, "Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it." And verse 1:31-"And God saw everythng that He had made, and behold it was very good. And evening and morning were the SIXTH DAY." So as I can understand it, God said be fruitful and multiply before he had rested on the Sabbath. And personally, I think that's where Cain's wife came from. I mean it's a possibility, but there's no bible verse for that thought, only in Gen4:1: "She (Eve) conceived, and bare Cain, and said, 'I have gotten a man from the Lord.'" Then there's cain's lenage and 4:25-"....And she bare a son, and called his name Seth. (For God she said, hath appointed me another seed.) This sounds to me that she had had only three boys so far since the "fall," maybe even three children. Unless she had had several women without mentioning them, and this is very possible being that women are usually only mentioned in very special occasions and to establish a genealogical line. May the Good Lord Bless you in His Name Jesus!
Dr Dimento
Supporter
The bible is clear that Adam and Eve were commanded to be fruitful and multiply to fill the earth. However, the conception of Cain/Abel occurred outside the garden as Genesis 4.1 establishes when Cain was conceived, and Genesis 3.24 establishes that Adam and even had already been expelled. As part of the replenishment plan God provided, there may have been many females born between Cain/Abel since a female can only conceive one time every gestation period, while a male can inseminate many. Moreover, because Cain/Abel were conceived after the Fall, Cain/Abel were conceived in sin and were sinful creations by a formerly perfect sinless but now sinful Adam and a sinful Eve.
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