Genesis is the first book in the Bible. In this book, we read about the origin of mankind. Not only does it talk about how God created the earth and the heavens, but Genesis gives an account of how God created the animals and the first man and woman. The details of the first humans leave out their physical characteristics, such as their height or the color of their hair or skin. For some reason, God didn’t think these details needed to be mentioned in this account. For instance, we are left to wonder how tall Eve was, but what else can we learn about her in the Bible?
Who was Eve in the Bible?
In Genesis, we read the account of the creation of the world and of God’s creation of animals and men.
According to Scripture, as God parades the different animals past him, Adam names the animals each according to their characteristics For instance, the word for hippopotamus in Hebrew is isבהמה (behema in English). It means huge beast. According to the Britannica online dictionary,
Behemoth, in the Old Testament, a powerful, grass-eating animal whose “bones are tubes of bronze, his limbs like bars of iron” (Job 40:18). Among various Jewish legends, one relates that the righteous will witness a spectacular battle between Behemoth and Leviathan in the messianic era and later feast upon their flesh. Some sources identify Behemoth, who dwells in the marsh and is not frightened by the turbulent river Jordan, as a hippopotamus and Leviathan as a crocodile, whale, or snake.
After all the animals have been given a name, God decides that his creation isn’t quite complete.
The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”
Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the sky, and all the wild animals.
But for Adam no suitable helper was found. (Genesis 2:18-20 NIV)
God knows Adam needs a suitable companion, but finding one among the animals is a big fail. God being sovereign, wasn’t surprised at this, but for some reason, he had Adam go through this process. It soon becomes obvious to Adam that there’s no companion like himself. As usual, God has a perfect plan in place.
So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs and then closed up the place with flesh. Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. (Genesis 2:21-22 NIV)
God performs the first surgery. He cut open Adam’s side and, removed a rib and formed a woman.
The man said, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’ for she was taken out of man. (Genesis 2:23 NIV)
Adam is overjoyed to find someone enough like himself, yet uniquely different.
The Story of Eve
Eve is the first woman, אשׁה (ishah) in Hebrew. Scripture tells us that God intended her to be Adam’s companion and helper.
The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” (Genesis 2:18 NIV)
The word “helper” in Hebrew is עֵזֶר כְּנֶגְדּוֹ (ezer kenegdo), which means the opposite of or corresponding to. The word ezer is often used in phrases meaning to protect.
A chapter over, we read that Adam named Eve. Adam named his wife Eve because she would become the mother of all the living (Genesis 3:20 NIV).
Eve’s Redemption
Eve may have carried the weight of her decision to eat the appealing fruit from the forbidden tree. She, no doubt, felt the effect of her and Adam’s sin right away when they were kicked out of the garden and later when she gave birth. But, she may have held on to the hope because God promised to make things right shortly after they sinned. Here is what Scripture tells us about what happened to give her hope.
Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?”
He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.”
And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”
The man said, “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”
Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?”
The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
So the Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this,
Cursed are you above all livestock and all wild animals!
You will crawl on your belly
and you will eat dust
all the days of your life.
And I will put enmity
between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and hers;
he will crush your head,
and you will strike his heel.” (Genesis 3:8-15 NIV)
Curiously, God doesn’t ask them how they became naked, but instead, he asks them, “Who told you you were naked?” Obviously, he knew the snake (the devil) was involved. He wasn’t surprised by their sin but wanted to address what they’d lost and how he planned to bring redemption in the future. God planned to send an enemy who would crush or destroy the dead. Eve may have felt the weight lift from her shoulders hearing these words.
There is an interesting parallel between Eve and Mary, the mother of Jesus. Eve was the first woman on earth. She brought forth sin and suffering because she disobeyed God. But later, Mary would come on the scene giving birth to the one who would crush the serpent’s head. This brought not only forgiveness for Adam and Eve’s sins but the sins of all men and women. Christ would undo the curse of death, promising eternal life. Though Adam and Eve failed to believe God, he sent a savior who would undo the effects of their sin.
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16 NIV)
How tall was Eve in the Bible?
The Bible doesn’t tell us how tall Eve was. Adam and Eve were never babies; they never grew up in the Garden of Eden. We know that because Adam and Eve were the first humans, we look similar today.
According to Scripture, people lived much longer in those days than they do today. Perhaps the effects of our atmosphere have shortened our lifespan. We read that
- Adam lived 930 years
- Seth, the son of Adam and Eve, lived 912 years
- Enos, the grandson of Adam and Eve, lived 905 years
What were the average heights for men and women during biblical times?
We humans are curious. We love to know the details about what happened at a party, who was there, and what they wore. It’s interesting that the Bible goes into detail about many things, but for some reason, God left out other details. One such detail is how tall people were. Of course, Scripture says that Goliath was almost ten feet tall.
A champion named Goliath, who was from Gath, came out of the Philistine camp. His height was six cubits and a span. (1 Samuel 17:4 NIV)
In Luke 19:3, we read that Zacchaeus was short, but we don’t know exactly how short.
Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. 2 A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. 3 He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.
According to historians, people living in Judea during the New Testament were, on average, 5 feet to 5 feet 5 inches tall. Jesus was probably around this height.
God looks at the heart
Natural beauty is all around us. Whether it’s a beautiful sunset, a gorgeous mountain landscape, or a person, beauty is a gift from God. Beauty in itself isn’t evil. We can thank God for beauty. But God knows that beauty is short-lived. Erosion, decay, and eventually death affect beautiful things and people. According to Scripture, God knew we would be prone to look at the outside appearance rather than the heart. In 1 Samuel 16:7, he warns Samuel to choose a king, not based on the man’s appearance.
But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
Sadly, our culture praises beauty above the heart. We’re bombarded with how to stay young, healthy, and beautiful. Rarely do we hear about the value of character and godliness. In Pete’s letter to the church in Asia Minor, today’s country of Turkey, he addresses the temptation for the women in the congregation to worry about their looks.
Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. 4 Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight. (1 Peter 3:3-4 NIV)
Peter knew that similar to today, the culture at that time-pressured these women to pursue beauty rather than godliness. Peter knew that God wanted to give them a deeper satisfaction than simply looking good. God knows we need more than physical beauty to satisfy our deepest needs. We need him.
Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you.
My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. (Psalm 73: 25-26 NIV)
Interestingly, part of Eve’s temptation was to not only listen to the serpent’s lies about God’s goodness but also notice the beauty of the fruit and its ability to give her wisdom.
When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. (Genesis 3:3-6 NIV)
Similar to Eve, we are often blinded by beauty and its promises. We must seek to love God and look to him for our deepest satisfaction, trusting that he will give us all we need.
Conclusion
We may never know how tall Eve was or the color of her hair or eyes. In many ways, this isn’t as important as the other details of her life we do know. We see her temptation and sin. We see the downfall of all mankind due to this one act of disobedience to God. Rather than feeling superior to Eve, thinking we would never have done such a thing, her sin should give us pause in our hearts. We must ask ourselves how we value beauty above character. Do we seek to look good for other’s approval or to honor God. It’s a slippery slope, but by keeping our eyes on God and loving him with all our heart, mind, and soul. We can avoid the pitfalls of loving appearance rather than the heart.
