How tall was Adam?

Response

The Bible does not mention the height of Adam. While it may appear to be an unusual question, some speculate that Adam and Eve were originally created much taller than the average human today. According to one theory, Adam and Eve may have been around 15 feet tall.

The concept of a larger-than-life Adam stems from the fact that individuals before the flood lived remarkably long lives; for instance, Adam lived to the age of 930 years, as stated in Genesis 5:5. It is also assumed that Adam was endowed with superior intelligence. Over the centuries following the fall, humanity has experienced a decline in lifespan, intelligence, and—by extension—height.

The existence of gigantic animals and insects in the fossil record provides some backing to the idea of Adam’s towering stature. In 1940, the fossilized wing of Meganeuropsis americana was discovered in Oklahoma. This insect, resembling a dragonfly, boasted a wingspan of nearly two and a half feet (Harvard Magazine, Nov-Dec 2007, “DRAGONfly,” www.harvardmagazine.com, accessed 5/20/20). In 2020, colossal turtle fossils were unearthed in northern South America: the shell of Stupendemys geographicus measured almost nine and a half feet long, approximately 100 times larger than its closest living relative (The Washington Post, Feb 13, 2020, “Turtles the Size of a Car Once Roamed the Earth. Scientists Just Found Their Fossils,” Reis Thebault, www.washingtonpost.com/science, accessed 5/20/20). Those who theorize that Adam exceeded the height of modern humans argue that if animals were exceptionally large in “prehistoric” eras, why not humans?

Another indication supporting the notion of Adam’s immense height is the reference to “giants” in the Bible: such as the Amorites of Canaan, the Rephaim, and Goliath the Philistine. When the Israelite spies encountered the people of Canaan, most reported that “the land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are…

Of great size” «And they brought up an evil report of the land which they had searched unto the children of Israel, saying, The land, through which we have gone to search it, is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof; and all the people that we saw in it are men of a great stature. », (Numbers 13:32). Amos states how the Amorites were tall in stature, hyperbolically comparing them to tall cedar trees «Yet destroyed I the Amorite before them, whose height was like the height of the cedars, and he was strong as the oaks; yet I destroyed his fruit from above, and his roots from beneath. », (Amos 2:9). A Rephaite, King Og of Bashan, who opposed the Israelites in Moses’ time, is also described as a giant in the Bible, having a bed that was “more than nine cubits long and four cubits wide” «For only Og king of Bashan remained of the remnant of giants; behold, his bedstead was a bedstead of iron; is it not in Rabbath of the children of Ammon? nine cubits was the length thereof, and four cubits the breadth of it, after the cubit of a man. », (Deuteronomy 3:11). If the bed matched his stature, then Og could have been around 13 feet tall. Furthermore, Goliath is described as being six cubits and a span, which is over nine feet in height «And there went out a champion out of the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath, of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span. », (1 Samuel 17:4). Could the great stature of these historical characters be a residual effect of Adam’s genetics? Some say “yes.”

There is also the occurrence of gigantism in humans. Robert Wadlow was measured at 8 ft, 11.1 in. before his death in 1940 (“The Tallest Man Ever,” www.guin

Guinness World Records website (accessed 5/20/20). It is uncertain, however, that individuals like Wadlow serve as evidence that Adam was also tall: modern gigantism is a physical disorder, and those who reach extraordinary heights typically face challenges with heart and circulatory issues.

The belief that Adam was a giant is also supported in Islam, although the Islamic tradition presents an extreme perspective. In the hadith, Abu Huraira narrates that “the Prophet said, ‘Allah created Adam, making him 60 cubits tall’” (Sahih al-Bukhari, Book 55, Hadith 543). This would imply that Adam was approximately 90 feet tall.

Despite some intriguing assertions, the notion that Adam and Eve were giants lacks biblical evidence. The Scriptures do not provide any indication of Adam’s height. While there have been historical cases of individuals growing exceptionally tall, it is unfounded to suggest a specific height for Adam based on these anomalies. Similarly, estimating the average height of humans by referencing the size of extinct insects and reptiles involves a comparable degree of speculation.