The “Problem”

Genesis 1 and 2 seem to indicate different times for the creation of Eve. Here are the relevant passages.

So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” And God said, “See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food. Also, to every beast of the earth, to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food”; and it was so. Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day. (Genesis 1:27–31)

So Adam gave names to all cattle, to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper comparable to him. And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place. Then the rib which the Lord God had taken from man He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man. (Genesis 2:20–22)

According to Genesis 1:27, God created the first male and female on Day Six. Eve was even called the mother of all the living (Genesis 3:20). How could this be true if she was not created until the events of Genesis 2:20–22? Isn’t this a clear contradiction?

The Solution

People may think the creation of Eve happened later, because the Bible doesn’t go into full detail about Eve’s creation until Genesis 2. However, if you look at Genesis 1:27–31, you find that God created both Adam and Eve on Day Six (male and female). Genesis 2:7–25 provides more detail about the sixth day of Creation than Genesis 1:24–31 does. The fact that they’re both actually describing the same events explains away any contradiction.

Also, we need to read carefully and not add our own ideas into the Bible. For example, some people claim that Adam couldn’t have possibly named all the living creatures in one day, so they think the creation of Eve, which occurred after this event, had to take place later. However, Genesis 2:20 says, “Adam gave names to all cattle, to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field.” It doesn’t say anything about his naming sea creatures or creeping things.

Also, “all cattle,” and “every beast of the field” (Genesis 2:20) may not mean the same thing as every “beast of the earth” (Genesis 1:24); it was probably a smaller set that represented all types of beasts of the earth. Adam only named the animals God brought to him, and besides, he had most of the day to do it. Before the Fall, Adam’s brain was perfect, so he shouldn’t have had problems coming up with names. It has been estimated that only a few hours would be needed to name the animals.

Conclusion

So Adam had plenty of time to name all the animals God brought to him—leaving plenty of time for Eve’s creation on the same day. Eve was created on Day Six, just like the first two chapters of the Bible say.