Adam-אָדָם‎

One of my favorite Christian preachers who I like listen to often over the net is JD Farag. He is an Arab Christian who pastors a church in Kaneohe, Hawaii. One of the important principles he repeatedly affirms in his teachings concerning the names of Bible characters is that “the name is the nature”. Unlike our generic names like Tom, Doug or Brian that have little to do with one’s personality or nature, biblical names are reflective of a person’s character.

Today let’s explore the name of the first human that G-d created, Adam. Adam is the root word for the Hebrew adamah which means “earth” or “soil”. This makes perfect sense given that the scripture states that “the LORD God formed a man[c] from the dust of the ground.” The scripture also states the following:


“By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” ...

I think there are quite a few things that can be gleaned from these verses and Adam’s name. First, contrary to what the new agers or pantheists proclaim, a clear line of demarcation has been drawn between the Creator and His creation. While we may be created in the image of G-d, we are not little gods nor will we ever be little gods. We come from the ground of the earth and we are finite. Our L-rd is spirit and He is eternal.

Second, knowing that we all originate from the same ancestor who was formed from the dust of the ground should serve to keep us humble. No person is superior to another. Although the psychologists and psychiatrists of the world frequently stress the importance of high self-esteem, I would stress that a healthy identity is built on the foundation of “proper self-esteem”, which is having a correct biblical understanding of who we are and our origins.

Hence,

"Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.”-Philippians 2:3

Amen