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Q. Were there OTHER human beings God initially created other than Adam and Eve? If not, how did their family (e.g. the human family) get larger and larger?
(Submitted by: H. Y.) A. Some people believe Adam and Eve were just two representative people among many, but that's not what the bible says. The bible states definitely there were only two people created, Adam and Eve. Since God, himself, created them, they were perfect in every way. Their first three children were Cain, Abel, and Seth: all sons. But Genesis 5:4 tells us they had other sons and daughters. Since Adam, and presumably Eve, lived more than eight hundred years, they had plenty of time to raise a very large family. A footnote in the writings of the Jewish historian Flavius Josephus says tradition gives Adam thirty-three sons and twenty-three daughters. Since Adam and Eve were created perfect, their genetic makeup would be perfect. So would that of their first few children. With no genetic problems to enter the picture, God could allow them to intermarry, and populate the known world. As time went by, however, genetic imperfections would make close-kin marriages impractical. But what would cause these imperfections? Cain had murdered his brother Abel, and even lied to God about it (Genesis 4:8-9). It's obvious he didn't care about God or his law, so he likely didn't care about God's dietary plan either, (Leviticus 11; Deuteronomy 14), and ate whatever pleased him.
Certain animals are not fit for human food, because they are poisonous time bombs. The poisons act slowly and subtly, often taking years before displaying their effects of disease and a weakened genetic code. Through careless eating habits, and who knows what other aberrations the early population indulged in, mankind became genetically distorted, and God had to eventually impose a law against near-kin marriages (Leviticus 18:6).
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