אָדָם560 H0121
Adam: the first human being in Genesis; also a city near the Jordan River
One of the most resonant names in Scripture, serving double duty as both a personal name and a place name. As a person, Adam is the first human created by God, central to the Genesis narrative of origins, the fall, and the genealogies that trace humanity's descent (Gen 3:17; 5:1-5; 1 Chr 1:1). The name itself is wordplay on 'adamah' (ground), from which God formed him. In Hosea 6:7 'like Adam' evokes covenant-breaking. As a place, Adam is the city beside Zarethan where the Jordan's waters stood in a heap during Israel's crossing (Josh 3:16). German distinguishes 'Adam' for the person from 'bei Adam' for the locale, while Spanish and French use 'Adan/Adam' for both.
2. Adam (place) — A toponym designating the city of Adam, located near the Jordan River beside Zarethan. In Joshua 3:16 the waters flowing downstream 'stood still, rising up in a single heap, far off at Adam, the city beside Zarethan,' enabling Israel's miraculous crossing. The dual occurrence in the same verse (once as the city name, once in the locative phrase) underscores the geographic specificity. German 'bei Adam' and French 'a Adam' mark the prepositional, locative usage that distinguishes the place from the person. 2×
AR["مِن-آدَمَ"]·ben["আদম-থেকে"]·DE["K","bei-Adam"]·EN["K","at-Adam"]·FR["K","à-Adam"]·heb["מ-אדם"]·HI["आदम-से"]·ID["(dari-Adam)","[di-Adam]"]·IT["K","a-Adamo"]·jav["saking-Adam"]·KO["에"]·PT["(de-Adam)","[em-Adam]"]·RU["[кетив]","от-Адама"]·ES["[en-Adán]","desde-Adán"]·SW["(kutoka-Adama)","[kwa-Adama]"]·TR["(-den-Adam'dan)","[-den-Adam'dan]"]·urd["آدم"]
▼ 1 more sense below
Senses
1. Adam (person) — The proper name Adam, the first human being in the biblical narrative. God forms Adam from the ground ('adamah') and places him in Eden (Gen 2:7-8). After the fall, God addresses him directly: 'And to Adam he said...' (Gen 3:17). The genealogies trace descent from Adam through Seth (Gen 4:25; 5:1-5), and 1 Chronicles 1:1 opens its lineage with his name. Hosea 6:7 invokes Adam as the archetype of covenant violation: 'like Adam, they transgressed the covenant.' Job 31:33 may likewise allude to Adam hiding his transgression. French 'Adam' and Spanish 'Adan' preserve the name across traditions. 9×
AR["آدَم","آدَمَ","آدَمُ","كَ-آدَمَ","كَآدَمَ","وَ-لِ-آدَمَ"]·ben["আদম","আদমের","আদমের-মতো","আদমের-মতো-","আর-মানুষকে"]·DE["Adam","Adams","Mensch","[כאדם]","und-zu-Adam"]·EN["Adam","And-to-Adam","like-Adam"]·FR["Adam","Et-à-Adam","comme-כאדם"]·heb["אדם","ו-ל-אדם","כ-אדם"]·HI["आदम","आदम-की","आदम-की-तरह","आदम-के","आदम-जैसे","और-आदम-से"]·ID["Adam","Dan-kepada-Adam","seperti-Adam"]·IT["Adamo","And-a-Adamo","[כאדם]","come-like-Adam"]·jav["Adam","kados-Adam","kadosdene-Adam","lan-dhateng-manungsa"]·KO["같으니라-아담에","그리고-에-아담","아담","아담-같이","아담-의","아담-이"]·PT["Adam","Adão","E-a-Adão","como-Adam","como-Adão","de-Adão"]·RU["А-Адаму","Адам","Адама","как-Адам"]·ES["Adam","Adán","Y-a-hombre","como-Adán"]·SW["Adamu","Na-kwa-Adamu","kama-Adamu","kama-mwanadamu"]·TR["Adem","Adem'in","Adem-gibi","Ve-Adem'e"]·urd["آدم","آدم کی طرح","آدم-نے","آدم-کی","آدم-کے","اور-آدم-سے","جیسے-آدم"]
BDB / Lexicon Reference
אָדָם560 n.m. Gn 1:27 man, mankind (Ph. אדם, Sab. id., CISiv. 1, 1. 4 al.; cf. As. admu, young (of bird) DlW, but NöZMG 1886, 722 identif. with Ar. أَذَامٌ coll. creatures)—Sg. abs. exc. cstr. Pr 6:12 cf. Thes; (בְּנֵי (הָ)א׳ oft. = pl. of א׳ Gn 11:5 + 39 textual, cf. בְּנוֹת הָא׳ Gn 6:2, 4)— 1. a man (= Ger. Mensch) = human being Gn 2:5, 7(×2), 8, 15, 16, 18 +, 16:12 (27 textual J) Lv 5:4 (‖…