We don’t know for sure as the Bible does not say. However, there is no reason to think that Adam and Eve did not have a normal relationship as husband and wife while in the garden of Eden. They were told to “be fruitful and multiply” (Genesis 1:28) which suggests that they engaged in sexual relations from the beginning.
No children are described until after they left the garden of Eden. However, the curse on Eve included the words “I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing” (Gen 3:16) which implies that she may have had children earlier.
While it’s certainly not impossible that Adam and Eve had children in Eden, I don’t think it makes a lot of sense. What would have happened to those children? Why weren’t they mentioned?
1. Were they also cast out of the garden? If so, why? Did they too sin? If so, why was it not mentioned?
2. God made clothing for the man and his wife. Why not for these children? Because they were too young?
There is a lot that Genesis doesn’t mention and it would be nice to know more. With regard to children, there are difficulties either way. It also doesn’t make a lot of sense for God to say he would “multiply pain” if there had never been pain in childbearing.
Rob, Why could God not have been speaking about the pain of future childbearing that would be multiplied? He is not limited to increasing that which has already occurred. Although Genesis does not tell us the details that we would like to know, it is unlikely that there were earlier children unless they were daughters because no daughters are mentioned.
I have herd that when Eve concieved she was with child from Adam and from satan, and that Cain was satans child and that Able was Adams child, which would make sence because they were born twins and one was good and one was bad. Anyone??
There’s nothing like that in the Bible. Cain and Abel were both Adam’s children. See Genesis 4:1-2
Adam and Eve may have ‘known’ each other sexually but it seems doubtful they would have had children until after the Edenic expulsion.
“Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it” (Gen 1:28 KJV)
This was God’s ordinance and ideal before the fall but it didn’t mean they had a chance to complete such before their disobedience and eviction. Yahweh indeed wanted mankind to multiply in his ‘sinless’ state, but it seems mankind didn’t get a chance.
“I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.” (Gen 3:16 KJV)
‘Greatly multiply’ in the Hebrew is just ‘rabah’ which can mean ‘great, many or numerous’, but in the original Hebrew there is only one adjective not two. So Eve would have great or numerous ‘pain’ in childbirth. It doesn’t seem to indicate an increase of pain from past experience of childbirth.
“And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD.
2 And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.”
(Gen 4:1-2 KJV)
Perhaps a little more compelling is the above quote. ‘I have gotten a man’ is not an indication she was disappointed because beforehand they were all daughters. It is joy at having reproduced an ‘Adam’ from her womb. A creation of sorts had just taken place.
Citing…
“For as the woman is of the man, even so is the MAN also by the WOMAN; but all things of God.” (1Co 11:12 KJV)
Vs 2 of Gen 4 notes, she ‘again’ is to ‘add to, or increase’. This would indicate this was her second ‘little bag of joy’ (Abel).
“And Adam knew his wife again; and she bare a son, and called his name Seth: For God, said she, hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew.” (Gen 4:25 KJV)
The word ‘again’ here has a different meaning. It means ‘a going around, or continuance of’. So this would indicate that Seth comparatively was born after at least a ‘few tries’. However at this stage exterior to Eden there could have been other daughters born in-between time. Seth was the continuance of Adam/Eve’s seed as Cain was now considered ‘outcast’ by God.
So it would seem fairly unlikely that there could have been children born to Adam and Eve before the fall, as the implications of this would be aberrational. There was expressly no curse on any humans beside them and spiritual conceptions such as the verses below hold Adam (and Eve) wholly responsible for ‘initial sin’ and its consequences.
(Job 31:33 KJV), (Rom 5:12-21 KJV), (1Co 15:22 KJV), (1Co 15:45-50 KJV)
If A and E lived in the garden 10-12 years and if they were busy fulfilling Gods command to fill the earth(Ge.1:28), then it seems quite possible that they would have left the garden with children under the age of accountabilty in tow. If E were having twins on a regular basis( as cain and able? A knew E once and she bore twice,Ge.4:1,2) since A sinned then sin has passed onto all as it would have if they had young children upon expulsion and Cain would have had older and younger sisters to take as wife, also the exponention of growth is sped up and cities are early on the scene.