In Genesis 2 - 3, God creates the first human being, Adam, in the garden of Eden from the dust of the ground and puts him in the garden "to till it and keep it" (Genesis 2:14). There, the man names the animals. Because he was still alone, God takes a rib from the man and makes a woman. Then, both Adam and Eve are persuaded to eat the forbidden fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Because Adam eats the fruit, the ground is cursed, yielding thorns and thistles, thereby making his work more difficult. In addition, God drives him and Eve out of the garden, lest they also eat from the tree of life.

Adam and Eve then have three sons: Cain, Abel and Seth (Genesis 4). According to Genesis 5:4, Adam fathered other sons and daughters as well. Adam died at 930 years of age (Genesis 5:5). Little reference is made to Adam in the Old Testament outside of Genesis 2 – 5.

In the period between the Old and New Testaments (1st and 2nd centuries B.C. into the 1st century A.D.), two Jewish writings build upon and interpret the role of Adam in Genesis: The Apocalypse of Moses and Life of Adam and Eve. In Life of Adam and Eve, Adam exemplifies repentance once banished from the Garden of Eden. Other intertestimental writings that pertain to Adam include The Apocalypse of Adam and The Testament of Adam. The Apocalypse of Adam is a Jewish-gnostic writing in which Adam receives a divine revelation that he then tells his son Seth. In The Testament of Adam, part Jewish and part Christian, Adam addresses Seth about revelation also, and prophecies as well. Also in the latter, the deification of Adam through the salvation of Jesus Christ is anticipated.

In the New Testament, the apostle Paul contrasts Adam, the first man in whom is death, with Christ, the new Adam in whom is life. "As in Adam all die," he says, "so in Christ shall all be made alive" (1 Corinthians 15:22; see also Romans 5:12-21).

It is interesting that the personal name "Adam" is the transliteration of the Hebrew noun  'ha-adam'. This word also designates humans as a species among other creatures and simply means "man" generically, as in the King James Version, or the inclusive "humankind" as in the New Revised Standard Version (see, for example, Genesis 1:26-27). Comparing different English versions of the Bible reveals the difficulty in knowing when to first use the personal name "Adam" instead of the inclusive, generic terms "man," "the man" or "humankind." The King James Version, for example, first names "Adam" in Genesis 2:19, while the New Revised Standard Version does not use the personal name until Genesis 4:25.

In addition, 'ha-adam' is the root of the Hebrew word for "ground." Genesis 2:7 includes both words, saying, "then the Lord God formed man ('ha-adam') from the dust of the ground ('ha-adam')," suggesting an organic relationship between man and the ground (see also Genesis 3:19).