Still, everyone died—from the time of Adam to the time of Moses—even those who did not disobey an explicit commandment of God, as Adam did. Now Adam is a symbol, a representation of Christ, who was yet to come.
Parallel translations
- WEB Nevertheless death reigned from Adam until Moses, even over those whose sins weren’t like Adam’s disobedience, who is a foreshadowing of him who was to come.
- KJV Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam’s transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come.
- BSB Nevertheless, death reigned from Adam until Moses, even over those who did not sin in the way that Adam transgressed. He is a pattern of the One to come.
- NKJV Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come.
- NASB Nevertheless death reigned from Adam until Moses, even over those who had not sinned in the likeness of the violation committed by Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come.
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
Death reigned from Adam to Moses even over those who did not sin as Adam did, and Adam prefigures Christ. Adam is a type pointing to the coming Savior.
Overview
Paul observes that death ruled over all between Adam and Moses, proving that all were affected by Adam's sin even without a law to break like his. He then names Adam 'a foreshadowing,' or type, of Christ, the one who was to come. This introduces the central Adam-Christ parallel: as Adam brought death, Christ brings life.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 15
- 1 Cor 15:45So also it is written, “The first man, Adam, became a living soul.” The last Adam became a life-giving spirit.
- Rom 5:17For if by the trespass of the one, death reigned through the one; so much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one, Jesus Christ.
- Heb 9:27Inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once, and after this, judgment,
- Rom 8:22For we know that the whole creation groans and travails in pain together until now.
- Gen 7:22All on the dry land, in whose nostrils was the breath of the spirit of life, died.
- Rom 5:21that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
- Gen 19:25He overthrew those cities, all the plain, all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew on the ground.
- Hos 6:7But they, like Adam, have broken the covenant. They were unfaithful to me, there.
- Jonah 4:11Shouldn’t I be concerned for Nineveh, that great city, in which are more than one hundred twenty thousand persons who can’t discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much livestock?”
- Rom 8:20For the creation was subjected to vanity, not of its own will, but because of him who subjected it, in hope
- Exod 1:22Pharaoh commanded all his people, saying, “You shall cast every son who is born into the river, and every daughter you shall save alive.”
- Gen 4:8Cain said to Abel, his brother, “Let’s go into the field.” While they were in the field, Cain rose up against Abel, his brother, and killed him.
- Gen 5:5–31All the days that Adam lived were nine hundred thirty years, then he died.
- Exod 1:6Joseph died, as did all his brothers, and all that generation.
- Exod 12:29–30At midnight, Yahweh struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the captive who was in the dungeon; and all the firstborn of livestock.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Paul unfolds the gospel in full: Christ our righteousness received by faith, the second Adam in whom many are made righteous, in whose death and resurrection we are buried and raised.
How Romans 5:14 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.