Adam lived to be 930 years old (Genesis 5:5). While we are not told in the Bible how long Eve lived, it would be reasonable to assume she had a long life as well. We aren’t given any reason to believe otherwise. Knowing the first couple lived such long lives, and that God told them to be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth (Genesis 1:28), have you ever wondered how many children Adam and Eve had?
At Least Seven Children
From (Genesis 4:1-2), we know their first son was Cain, and their second son was Abel. Eve gives birth to a third son named Seth in (Genesis 4:25). This gives us a total of three named children.
Adam was 130 years old when Seth was born. The Bible says after Seth was born, Adam lived another 800 years and had other sons and daughters (Genesis 5:4). Because sons and daughters is plural, we know at a minimum there were at least two more sons and two more daughters in addition to the first three children.
That would bring us to a total of seven children that the Bible specifically mentions belonging to Adam and Eve. Is it likely that there were more children than these seven? With another 800 years of life for Adam, there was probably many more children.
According To Tradition
Tradition is certainly not as reliable as the Bible, but it can sometimes provide us with additional insight. The Jewish historian Josephus wrote in The Works Of Josephus, “The number of Adam’s children, as says the old tradition, was 33 sons and 23 daughters.” We of course have no way to verify that this is how many children were born to Adam and Eve, but we can’t rule it out either.
A couple having fifty plus kids today, not possible. Besides, not many could afford the diaper bill. Having fifty plus children spread out over 900 years sounds more reasonable, and more cost-effective as well.
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