Who was Eve in the Bible?

from the old testament

• Eve is the first human female. Adam named her Eve because she is "the mother of all living" (Genesis 3:20).
• Genesis 1:27 affirms that Eve was formed in the image of God: "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them." God blessed Adam and Eve and commanded them to "be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth" (Genesis 1:28). They were to be loving partners in this commission from the Creator in whose image they had been crafted.
• Genesis 2 details God's creation of Eve. God had already made Adam, the first man, from the dust of the earth and put him in the garden of Eden to tend to it, but the Lord saw that it was not good for man to be alone. "Then the LORD God said, 'It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him'" (Genesis 2:18). Adam had named the animals, but no animal would be a suitable match for him. So God caused a deep sleep to come on Adam, "and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. And the rib that the LORD God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man" (Genesis 2:21–22). When Adam saw her, he declared, "This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man" (Genesis 2:23).
• God had told Adam that he could eat of every tree in the garden except for the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, warning that eating from that tree would bring death. One day in the garden, the serpent approached Eve and questioned, "Did God actually say, 'You shall not eat of any tree in the garden'?" (Genesis 3:1). Eve told the serpent that they could eat from any tree except for the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. She added a stipulation that they were not to touch the tree. It is unclear where this extra command came from, since there is no record of God telling Adam or Eve not to touch the tree. The serpent then lied to Eve and said that they would not surely die. In fact, he said, "God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil" (Genesis 3:5). When Eve "saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate" (Genesis 3:6).
• In eating the fruit that God warned not to eat, sin and death entered the world. Both Adam and Eve realized they were naked and made loincloths to cover themselves. When they heard God, they hid. God called to Adam, and when God asked him about eating the fruit, Adam blamed God and Eve, saying that the woman God had given him had given him some. God then questioned Eve, who blamed the serpent, saying, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate" (Genesis 3:13).
• God pronounced curses on the serpent, Eve, and Adam for their sin (Genesis 3:14–19). At the same time, God made a promise of undoing this curse. In Genesis 3:15, God promises a Savior who would crush the serpent. God talks about the Savior specifically as the offspring of Eve (Genesis 3:15). This hints at the virgin birth of Jesus thousands of years later.
• When God banished Adam and Eve from the garden so they would not take from the tree of life and live forever in their fallen state, He made clothes of animal skin to cover Adam and Eve (Genesis 3:21). This is the first picture of the atonement.
• Interestingly, it is not until after the curses are pronounced that Eve is named. Rather than bemoan the realities of living in a fallen world, Adam recognized and trusted in God’s promise that Eve would be "the mother of all living." They continued in their calling to "be fruitful and multiply" and believed God's promise to provide offspring who would crush the serpent (Genesis 3:15).
• When Eve gave birth to Cain, Eve declared, "I have gotten a man with the help of the LORD" (Genesis 4:1). It does not seem unreasonable to assume she thought he would be the offspring who would crush the serpent. Instead, Cain is a demonstration of the brutal reality of sin and its resultant death; he is infamous for killing his brother Abel.
• After Abel died, Adam and Eve had a son named Seth. Eve called him this saying, "God has appointed for me another offspring instead of Abel, for Cain killed him" (Genesis 4:25). It was during the time of Enosh, that "people began to call upon the name of the LORD" (Genesis 4:26). It was also through Seth's line that Noah, and ultimately Jesus, descended.
• Eve and Adam had many other sons and daughters (Genesis 5:4). Her death is not recorded in the Bible.

from the new testament

• The offspring God promised to Eve in Genesis 3:15 was Jesus Christ. He lived a perfect life, died on the cross as payment for our sins, and rose back to life victorious over sin and death. One day He will completely crush the serpent (1 Corinthians 15:20–28; Revelation 20). In the meantime, God is patient, not wanting any to perish but all to come to faith in Christ (2 Peter 3:9). All who put their faith in Jesus are saved (John 3:16–18; 1 Peter 1:3–9).
• In Eve we see both the realities of sin and the realities of salvation. James 1:14–15 describes temptation and sin this way, "But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death." This is exactly what happened with Eve when Satan deceived her. James further states, "Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change" (James 1:16–17). Satan caused Eve to question God; he suggested God was withholding something desirable. But that was not the case. When we expect good from a source other than God, we deceive ourselves.
• In writing to the Corinthian church, Paul expresses concern that they not be led astray, saying, " But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ" (2 Corinthians 11:3).
• When Paul writes about women not being permitted to teach or to exercise authority over a man, he gives the following explanation: "for Adam was formed first, then Eve; and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor" (1 Timothy 2:13).
• Though Eve was the first to eat the fruit, Adam was held responsible for sin entering humanity (Romans 5:12–14). Our sinful choices can have a big influence on those around us.

implications for today

In Eve's story we see the importance of knowing God and knowing what He has actually said. To combat deception, we must know the truth. This is one reason it is so important to regularly read God's Word as well as to regularly spend time with others who know God and are committed to His truth. The Bereans are an example of ensuring we know what God has actually said (Acts 17:11). John encourages his readers to "test the spirits to see whether they are from God" (1 John 4:1; see 1 John 4:1–6). Ephesians 4:11–16 talks about the provisions God has made for the body of Christ and how we are to mature in Christ, "so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love" (Ephesians 4:14–16). Second Timothy 3:16 tells us God's Word is "profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness." Second Timothy 2:15 encourages right handling of God's Word. Hebrews 10:23–25 encourages us to hold fast to our confession of hope and to stir one another up to love and good works. We need to grow in our faith both individually and corporately, making sure we are steeped in truth and encouraging one another to walk with God.

God did not discard Eve for falling into deception or disbelieving His goodness. Rather, He already had a plan of salvation in mind. He does the same for us. When we recognize our own nakedness (the ways we have gone against God and our destitution apart from Him), and turn to God in faith, we can be saved (Ephesians 2:1–10).