Did Adam And Eve Have To Sleep Before The Fall?
Bodie Hodge, M.Sc., B.Sc., PEI
Biblical Authority Ministries May 1, 2025 (Donate)
It’s hard to believe how many times I’ve been asked this question!
Too many to count. So, I decided not to *snooze* on the answer.
Pre-Fall World
The
Bible doesn’t tell us much about the world pre-Fall. But let’s try to ascertain
what we can derive from what God has given us.
So the LORD
God caused a deep <08639> sleep <08639> to fall upon the man, and
he slept; then He took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh at that place.
(Genesis 2:21)
This
is specifically a deep sleep (Hebrew: tardemah, Strong’s number 08639). This
implies that normal sleep probably did exist and this deep sleep is much more
than normal sleep. So, I would lean toward Adam and Eve having some sort
of regular sleep—a rest period.
Some
have argued that Adam and Eve could have been created merely with the capability to sleep initially. So, it
does not necessarily show that they needed it. The argument goes that it was
due to sin and Fall that now sleep became necessary. Thus there would be a
connection to a sin-nature for the requirement of sleep.
Post-Fall World
Perhaps
sleep, after the Fall, helps recoup a little of what was lost since man no
longer had access to the Tree of Life
(Genesis 3:22) after sin.
We know that the Tree of Life’s leaves in Revelation is for healing and possibly it was used to sustain man by God’s power so man didn’t need to sleep or needed minimal sleep. Of course, this is speculation so one should be cautious of this understanding of sleep being restricted to a post-Fall world. Perhaps one of the biggest downfalls to this position is that Jesus Christ—the very Son of God in the flesh—slept!
Rest Is Good!
Though
I would strongly suggest that sleep was a part of the original creation as a
mimic of what God did during Creation Week. God, at the end of His work of
creation, rested. Take note that a perfect God rested in a perfect world and we
are to mimic what God did—not that God needed to rest due to His nature of
being all-powerful but He did this as a basis for our workweek.
Moses
presented the Israelites with The 10
Commandments and in Exodus 20:11, God, who directly etched this into the
tablets, points out that the basis for God resting was a pattern for man to
follow. So, man was created to rest. Bear in mind this was in the
context of a weekly rest period.
Rest
though, doesn’t always imply sleep. But due to the fact man was created to
rest, leans toward man needing both physical and mental refreshment. This
further reinforces that the deep sleep, which is also part of a “very good”
creation (per Genesis 1:31) is indicative that sleep is very good.
Today,
proper amounts of sleep often refresh the mind and the body by allowing it to
rest. So, I would lean toward sleep but regardless, I wouldn’t be overly dogmatic
but it is definitely a question to make you ponder.
Originally
here: https://answersingenesis.org/bible-questions/did-adam-and-eve-have-to-sleep-before-the-fall/;
Republished by permission.
