The account of Eve is an interesting and important segment of our genetic history. The Bible says that God put Adam into a deep sleep, took one of Adam’s ribs, and made a woman (Genesis 2:21-22). Adam named her Eve and proclaimed that she was “bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh” (Genesis 2:23-24).
So, how does modern science line up with this account? First of all, does the man’s rib contain enough genetic information to make a woman. The answer is “yes,” Adam’s ribs contained many copies of the genetic information required to make a woman. However, it is interesting to note that if the first human were a woman, her rib would not contain enough information to make a man. This is because women do not have the y-chromosome. So, if the Bible stated that the woman was created first and man was formed from her rib, the Bible would be in error; but, the Bible got it right and stands true. This all seems elementary to us now, but remember that the scriptures were given to us long before any discoveries of the workings of genetics and DNA.
It follows, from both a Biblical and genetic perspective, that Eve was Adam’s feminine identical twin. When Adam said that Eve was “bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh” (Genesis 2:23-24), he was confirming this point. Is this possible? Can there be male/female identical twins? Yes, it is possible: if a geneticist takes two identical twin embryos and genetically engineers them so one has two X chromosomes and the other has one X and one Y chromosomes, the resulting two humans will be identical male/female twins. Although rare, there are natural occurrences of male/female identical. For further information on this, just do an internet search on “male/female identical twins.”
A common question to this notion of Adam and Eve being identical male/female twins is: “If Adam and Eve were identical twins, wouldn’t all their children also be identical to Adam and/or Eve?” The answer to this question is “No.” Adam and Eve were identical twins and they each had two copies of every gene: one dominant and one recessive gene. Due to a biological process called “meiosis,” these genes were shuffled differently for each of their children, so the chances of a child having identical DNA to Adam and/or Eve is one out of a number too big to print on this page. This process of meiosis is easily understood, just search on “meiosis” and you will find many videos and detailed explanations.
In addition, it is the consensus of both creation and secular scientists that all humans presently on earth come from one woman: “Eve” (creationists) and “Mitochondrial Eve” (secular scientists).
Genesis 3:20 And Adam called his wife’s name Eve; because she was the mother of all living.
In conclusion, Eve’s genetic heritage is a fascinating bit of our history that helps us understand our origins. It also demonstrates the convergence of modern science with Biblical truth.
Key words: Genesis and genetics, Eve’s DNA, Adam and Eve, marriage of identical twins, identical male female twins
