Limitless Word
For God made Adam first, and afterward he made Eve.
1 Timothy 2:13 · New Living Translation
Parallel translations
  • WEB For Adam was first formed, then Eve.
  • KJV For Adam was first formed, then Eve.
  • BSB For Adam was formed first, and then Eve.
  • NKJV For Adam was formed first, then Eve.
  • NASB For it was Adam who was first created, and then Eve.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

Paul appeals to the order of creation, that Adam was formed before Eve. It grounds his instruction in the creation account rather than mere culture.

Overview

Paul supports his teaching by citing the creation order from Genesis. The appeal suggests his concern reaches beyond local custom to God's design. Interpreters weigh how this argument applies, but all recognize Paul rooting his reasoning in Scripture's account of creation.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 5

  • Gen 2:18Yahweh God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make him a helper comparable to him.”
  • 1 Cor 11:8–9For man is not from woman, but woman from man;
  • Gen 2:22Yahweh God made a woman from the rib which he had taken from the man, and brought her to the man.
  • Gen 1:27God created man in his own image. In God’s image he created him; male and female he created them.
  • Gen 2:7Yahweh God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (2)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — 1 Timothy videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on 1 Timothy 2:13YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on 1 TimothyMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

There is 'one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself a ransom for all' — the mystery of godliness, God manifest in the flesh.

How 1 Timothy 2:13 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.