Someone passed on a question posed to him for which he did not have the answer, essentially asking, “Did Adam and Eve enjoy marital intimacy while still in the Garden of Eden? Is there a Bible answer for this question?” If there is a biblical answer for this question, it lies in Genesis 1:28; 2:24, Matthew 19:5, 1 Corinthians 6:16 and Ephesians 5:31. One of two explanations that Adam Clarke offers for the phrase “And they shall be one flesh” (Genesis 2:24; Matthew 19:5) is that it refers to procreation. He further notes that by the creation of Eve and God’s presentation of her to Adam, God expressed a preference for matrimony, which he established in the Garden, rather than for celibacy. If God established the institution of marriage in the Garden of Eden as we commonly avow, then the marital intimacy enjoined by 1 Corinthians 7:3 incurs as well. Robertson states what may be the obvious inclusion of marital intimacy respecting each of the “one flesh” passages. Commenting on 1 Corinthians 6:16, he writes, “The words, quoted from Gen 2:24 describing the sexual union of husband and wife, are also quoted and explained by Jesus in Matt 19:5f…”
In addition, the “leaving and cleaving” pertaining to marriage occurs in the first part of Genesis 2:24, despite neither Adam nor Eve as the first couple had parents. It appears clear that God instituted marriage in the Garden of Eden with all that the rest of the Scriptures include therein, including marital intimacy. We have no other reason to think contrariwise about God’s institution of marriage in the Garden of Eden. It would be a harsh and cruel supposition that procreation and offspring (who are innocent Ezekiel 28:15; Matthew 18:3-4) are merely a form of punishment foisted upon mankind as a consequence for the sins of Adam and Eve (Genesis 3:16). The first time the Bible records God instructing mankind to “replenish the earth” appears before the occasion of sin following the creation of Adam and Eve and their subsequent placement in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 1:28).
Works Cited
Adam Clarke’s Commentary. CD-ROM. Seattle: Biblesoft, 1996.
Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament. CD-ROM. Seattle: Biblesoft, 1997.
