Where in the bible does God ever rebuke or correct Adam for failing to protect Eve during the Tempter’s enticement? There is no evidence that Adam failed in this regard. This is just clever, but wrong musing that misses the mark.

Adam and Eve were created good and innocent by God’s perfect creation. If Adam failed to protect Eve, that would be a sin before the actual Fall. This would impinge against the Creator’s good design. This false view also charges God of ignoring Adam’s true sin if it were the case that Adam failed Eve. If through the ages the very core and initial sin was Adam’s failure to protect Eve, then where are the writings about it? There is not a single word in scripture affirming this idea. If this was the core problem, wouldn’t there be teachings in scripture alerting us to this doctrine?

It is helpful to recreate the scene. Gen. 3.1-5 is a dialog between the serpent and woman without Adam. It seems that the clause in verse 6, “who was with her” refers to a later time when Adam rejoined her. He would have been working and cultivating the garden as purposed. Notice how the text mentions the musing of Eve earlier in verse 6, 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, that Satan had already left the arena. There seems to be a time after Satan’s lies that Eve thought on the offer when Adam was with her.

In Gen. 3, both Adam and Eve tried to hide from God, showing they had both transgressed (vs. 8). God, however, only called Adam, reflecting male priority and accountability (vs. 9). While the proponents of the “protection failure position” will recognize Adam’s responsibility, they misread it and ignore God’s words about Adam’s specific sin: Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it,’ (Gen. 3.17 NIV). Adam failed by listening to Eve instead of God, and not from failing to protect her from temptation. Just how are the proponents of this view going to apply the principle for moderns? They can’t since temptation comes to all of us and no human intervention is possible. The teaching only sounds clever. After a sober review its deficiency is laid bare.

If this view is true (that Adam failed to protect Eve from Satan), then Paul was wrong to call Eve the first sinner: “And Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner.” (1Tim. 2.14 NIV). Where does the scripture ever claim this position, that Adam didn’t adequately protect Eve? The bible is very clear about what happened. Adam was purposed to work and cultivate Eden (Gen. 2.15) and only given one command: but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die (Gen. 2.17 NIV). Only Adam was commanded since Eve was not created when this instruction was given. When Eve was questioned by Satan at the temptation, she would have said what Adam had told her. I do not see a failure from her or Adam in the reply she gave to the serpent. Again, if there was a substantial failure of communicating the command, we would have a fall before The Fall. Also, if Eve or Adam failed to understand the one command in any substantial way different from what God intended, then why doesn’t scripture point out the failure of understanding? The bible is silent about Eve misquoting scripture.

Christians do not have the option of making things up from the bible even if they sound plausible and cool to the current generation. We should be wary of both patriarchal and matriarchal formulations that don’t align with God’s word. God gave Paul a prophetic utterance about this age: For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths (2Tim. 4.3-4 NIV). The remedy is found in the preceding verse: Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction (NIV).

The Fall occurred when Adam ate the forbidden fruit (Rom. 5.15-19). All of humanity, except Eve, sinned and died at this time since all were contained in Adam (Rom. 5.12). Theologically, this is called Natural Headship with the concept illustrated by Heb. 7. 9-10. The concept is also reflected in Gen. 5. 1-2 where God calls the human race something resembling the term “Adamites.” In love, God forgave and redeemed both Adam and Eve after their sin. Though Eve came out of Adam, she sinned separately from him and all the rest of humanity as previously stated.