The word for Adam in Hebrew (Strong's Concordance #H120) means "red" or "red earth." His name is a reference to his creation by God who made his life "out of the dust of the ground" (Genesis 2:7, NKJV throughout). The well-known Jewish historian Josephus states the following about the meaning of his name.
"This man was called Adam, which in the Hebrew tongue signifies one that is red, because he was formed out of red earth . . ." (Antiquities of the Jews).
The first man was unique in all creation in that God personally breathed into him in order to made him live (Genesis 2:7). This special, one time only act underscores the awesome fact that Man was designed to be in God's own image (Genesis 1:27). The story of Adam, his wife Eve (whose name means "life"), and their expulsion from the Garden of Eden is known to most. Below, however, is some information related to the first man you might not have known.
The first prophecy recorded in the Bible is given right after Adam and Eve's sin was discovered, when God told the serpent (the devil) who deceived Eve that the seed of the women (symbolic of Christ) would be his enemy and be victorious over him (Genesis 3:15). Cain, the first child born to the first couple, became humankind’s very first murderer and fugitive when he killed his brother Abel.
Written in the footnotes of Josephus' "Antiquities (History) of the Jews" is an old tradition stating our first parents produced 33 sons and 23 daughters!
The long lifespans of early man made possible a tremendous increase in the human population. Mathematicians have estimated that by the time of the Great Flood (about 1,600 years from when God made man), the population of earth could have conservatively reached at least ONE BILLION!
The life of Adam was an incredibly long 930 years! This makes him the fourth oldest human who ever lived, behind Methuselah (969 years), Jared (962 years), and Noah (950 years). He existing for such a lengthy period that he saw his great, great, great, great, great, great grandson Lamech born.
Important events and people during his existence on planet earth include choosing to live by his own standard of what was right and wrong (instead of having faith in God) and being kicked out of Eden. His first child, Cain, murdered in cold blood his younger brother Abel.
Cain is cursed directly by God for his grievous sin. Methuselah, born when Adam is around 685 years old, will live to become the oldest person on record. Man's disobedience to God will also continually grow during his entire lifetime.
Next, we will learn a bit about the life of Noah, who was born about 100 years after the death of Adam and who was one of only eight people saved from the great flood.