Were Adam and Eve the first man and woman?

In Judeo-Christian cultural traditions, Adam and Eve are regarded as the first man and woman on account of Genesis 2:7 & Genesis 3:20. This view is often fortified by Genesis 9:19, in which it is said that the “whole earth was overspread by the sons of Noah.” This would imply that Noah’s sons are the progenitors of “all” mankind.

In contrast to this popular view, I am inclined to believe that the Adam and Eve story and the story of Noah document the allegory of the progenitors of the middle-east rather than the progenitors of all humanity. My reasons for believing this are based on the following factors: “The Garden of Eden,” was, according to the Bible, an actual location. This location corresponds roughly to modern-day *al*-Baṣrah, Iraq. Furthermore, in Genesis 9:19, the context of the phrase “the whole earth” is similar to the context of the phrase, “the whole world” in Luke 2:1. This phrase is taken out of context by Bible readers more often than not. These phrases do not mean the entire world, as in planet earth in its entirety, it means the whole “domain,” meaning a specific territorial region on the earth. What this tells me, as a Bible researcher, is that the creation story in Genesis chapters 1–3 and the story of the flood in Genesis chapters 7–9, deal with precise geographic regions and peoples namely those of the Levant, other points in the near-east including Turkey, and African regions such as North Africa, and East Africa.

In regards to other parts of the world, including Europe, East Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, Oceania, and the Americas, the Bible does not give clear references to their origins, although, in spite of this, the people of these regions are not exempt from salvation. The Apostle John, in the book of Revelation, reports seeing a vision in which people of all nations achieved salvation (Revelations 7:9).

Ultimately, the Bible should be seen as a book that documents the plight of the “seed of Abraham” and its progenitors from the year 4,000 B.C. - A.D. 100; I have always seen the Hebrew Israelites and the Jewish people, as presented in the Holy Bible, as proxies for all of mankind in the sense that God’s dealings with them are the same as his dealings with everyone albeit in different capacities based upon the times and the geographic regions relative to each race of people.

I wrote an entry on my Quora blog entitled, *The Origins of Man: Scientific and Biblical Examinations*. In this piece, I give scientific and biblical reasons as to why I believe that all of the races on planet earth have different original ancestors.

This blog entry can be read here:

The Origins of Man: Scientific and Biblical Examinations