Biblical+Allusions+1

= **The Six Day Creation** = Genesis 1:1-2:3 toc

The Creation of the universe came about over a period of seven days. First, God created the heavens and the earth,and the darkness that covered the earth was rescinded when He said, "let their be light," washing the land in light. He then separated the light and dark, calling them day and night. "There was evening and there was morning, the first day." On the **FIRST** day, God separated the waters of the earth and above, creating the sky. On the **SECOND** day, God separated the water from the dry land, calling the dry land that emerged earth, and the water seas. He then told the earth to set forth vegetation, plants the bore seed and fruit. Then God saw it was good, and there was morning. On the **THIRD** day, God made the seasons and during the night He created the moon and the stars. On the **FOURTH** day, from the waters God made living creatures. God created the birds in the sky and great sea monsters, and every creature that moves of every kind, and after He saw that they were good, He blessed them and told them to go forth and multiply, and then it was morning. On the **FIFTH** day, God created domesticated and wild animals, and all creeping animals. When He saw that it was good He stopped, and then it was morning. On the **SIXTH** day, God said, "Let us make human in our image." When He created human in his image He created both male and female, and when He was finished, He blessed them and saying, "go forth and multiply," filling and subduing the earth. God stated, "the humans will have dominion over all fish of the sea and over the birds of the air, and over every thing that moves upon the earth, and all of the plats yielding seed and fruit, and to give you everything that creeps on the earth and everything that has a breath of life." On the **SEVENTH** day, **Sabbath**, God was finished and He rested. He blessed and hallowed the seventh day because on the seventh day God rested from all of the work He had done.

= **Cain and Abel** = **Genesis 4:1-16**

Cain and Abel were the sons of Adam and Eve. Cain was a farmer and Abel a shepard. They both brought offerings to God in an attempt to please Him. Cain brought fruit and Abel brought the first sheep of his flock. God looked more highly upon Abel's gift, and Cain was distraught. Later, when both Cain and Abel were in a field, Cain killed Abel out of jealousy. When God asked Cain where his brother was, already knowing the answer, Cain replied that he did not know. "I know not: Am I my brother's keeper?" (4:9). For lying to God, Cain was marked by God as a fugitive and a vagabond. However, God protected Cain from being killed showing His compassion. **"**Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold."(4:15)

Source: http://whomurderedrobertwone.com/2009/04/10/beyond-the-horizon/cain-and-abel/

= **The Tower of Babel** = **Genesis 11:1-9**

According to the Book of Genesis, a united humanity of the generations following the Great Flood, speaking the same language and migrating from the east, arrived at the land of Shinar. In Shinar they resolved to build a city with a tower with its top in the heavens. God was unpleased with what they were trying to do, saying " They are one people and have one language, and nothing will be withholden from them which they purpose to do." And so God scattered them upon the Earth, and confused their languages, and they left off building the city, which was named Babel because there God "confounded the language of all the Earth."

The Tower of Babel was referenced in one of Wislawa Szymborska's poems entitled, "The Tower of Babel." In the poem, there are no other biblical references, however it is 2 conversations going at once, which creates conflict in the communication of the people, similar to the story of the Tower of Babel. It can be reasonably inferred that if there is ever a story in which people can't collaborate because of language or communication barriers, the Tower of Babel may be being referenced.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tower_of_Babel

= **The Garden of Eden** = **Genesis 2:8** Described throughout the Book of Genesis, the Garden of Eden was home to Adam and Eve. God charges Adam to tend to the garden, and specifically commands Adam not to eat from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. Eve is questioned by the serpent concerning why she avoids eating off this tree. Eve illuminates the commandment not to eat its fruits, stating that she would die. The serpent responds that she would not die, rather her and Adam would become divine, knowing all good and evil. Persuaded by the serpent Eve takes fruit from the tree. After consuming the fruit, Adam and Eve become aware of their nakedness and cover themselves. God, confronting Adam and Eve, and he discovers that they have disobeyed his commandment. Then God expels them from the Garden of Eden for disobeying his command. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garden_of_Eden

//Alluded to in Macbeth:// //"Your hand, your tongue; look like th' innocent flower,// //But be the serpent under't..." (Act I.5, Line 64-66)//

When I continued on reading Macbeth I found another spot where the serpent is alluded to. Macbeth is talking with Lady Macbeth and he explains to her, "There the grown serpent lies; the worm that's fled Hath nature that in time will venom breed, No teeth for th' present. Get thee gone. Tomorrow We'll hear ourselves again" (Act 3.4, Line 29-32).

This scene also contains the murderers so I find this ironic how even though murdering isn't the same as stealing fruit from the tree in the Garden of Eden, but it still is committing a crime against God just like Adam and Eve stole food when they were told not to. Both of these actions are against God's Ten Commandments that he wants us to follow.

Another Snake reference from //Song of Solomon// is on page 55 when Milkman's dad is talking to him about Pilate and how he should never see her or go over to her house, "Well, the man saw this baby snake bleeding and hurt. Lying there in the dirt. And the man felt sorry for it and picked it up and put it in this basket and took it home. And he fed it and took care of it till it was big and strong. Fed it the same thing he ate. Then one day, the snake turned on him and bit him. Stuck his poison tongue right in the man's heart. And while he was lying there dying, he turned to the snake and asked him, 'What'd you do that for?' He said, 'Didn't I take good care of you? Didn't I save your life?' The snake said, 'Yes.' 'Then what'd you do it for? What'd you kill me for?' Know what the snake said? Said, 'But you knew I was a snake, didn't you?' Now, I mean for you to stay out of that wine house and as far away from Pilate as you can" (54-55).

There is an important message here that Milkman's dad is telling and that is, you can't ever trust anybody unless you know them perfectly otherwise they can turn on you anytime they want and stab you in the back. Another reference is about why people do something even if they know it is wrong like when the snake says "'but you knew I was a snake, didn't you?" and this is a question for Milkman as to why he wants to be with Pilate even though he knows she is bad. This is just like when the guy picked up the snake, why would he do it if he knew it was bad? This is just the ultimate question that needs to be answered. This relates to the serpent in the Garden of Eden because Adam and Eve trusted the serpent when he coaxed them into eating the fruit from the tree even though they knew it was wrong and against God. The snake allusion keeps coming up in almost all of the books we have read this and I'm sure that it will continue to be alluded to in the future.

= **Noah's Flood** = **Genesis 6-9** In the book of Genesis, God was unhappy with his people of the world and all of its violence. Therefore he decided to end all life for that time period. Except for Noah who followed God. God decided to save Noah and his family, he instructed Noah to build an ark and put a certain amount of animals of each kind on the ark. This flood would last for 40 days and 40 nights. Noah and his family knew that the flood was over when a dove was sent out and it came back with a green plant. They went outside and there was a rainbow and that was God's promise that there would never be another flood like this one again.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noah's_Ark

= **Plagues of Egypt** = **Exodus 7-12** The Plagues of Egypt are a set of ten miracles used by God through Moses to convince the Pharaoh to free the Israeli slaves. The plagues are: blood (which turned the Nile River into blood), frogs, gnats, flies, diseased livestock, boils, hail, locusts, darkness, and death of firstborns. The final plague continues to be relevant to Judaism today, as the Passover holiday is a sign of thanks to the Lord for not killing the firstborns of the households that painted blood on their door frames.

On page 55, a swarm of locusts descend on Umuofia, alluding to the biblical plague of locusts found Exodus 8:12-15. Yet unlike the Egyptians, the people of Umuofia find sustenance and even beauty in the insects. The contrast between the locusts that eat and the locusts that are eaten reminds us that the Ibo find the forces of nature to be awe-inspiring and useful, while western culture sees it as abnormal, destructive, and arguably controllable, as Moses is a human agent who preforms the miracle.
 * Allusions in __Things Fall Apart__**

//The plague of locusts is also alluded to in// The House of the Spirits //but, instead, is a plague of ants. The plague "began with a humming in the pastures and quickly became a dark shadow that glided everywhere, devouring everything in its path—the corn, the wheat, the alfalfa, and the marigolds" (110). The connotation of "dark shadow" suggests that the ants are not a good thing, like they are in// Things Fall Apart//, but a punishment, like the locusts were for the Egyptians. Esteban Trueba had done some very bad things at Tres Marias, and the ants appeared in response to his actions. Chemicals, fire, and just about every method to kill the ants off did not work so their destruction of Esteban's crops as punishment continued. It took Pedro Garcia, a man who had worked for the hacienda his whole life, to fix the problem by simply talking to the ants and showing them a way out, evoking the image of Moses leading the Israeli slaves out of Egypt.//
 * Alluded to in //The House of the Spirits//**

= David and Goliath = Samuel 1



This story is a battle between Saul, the Israelites and the Philistines. Goliath, the strongest of the Philistines, searches for 40 days and 40 nights for an Israelite to challenge him. All of the Saul people are afraid, however David accepts the challenge because Saul has offered to reward the person who defeats Goliath. David goes to the battle grounds equipped with only a sling shot and five stones. David chucks his sling shot at Goliath after having a small speech about how he will defeat Goliath, and the sling hits Goliath right in the forehead. As Goliath falls to the ground, David takes Goliath's sword and cut off his head, as promised in the speech. All of the Philistines flee in fear and David heads back towards Jerusalem.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goliath

= **Job** = **The Book of Job**

The chief character in the Book of Job, Job is a blessed man who lives righteously. Satan challenges Job's integrity, proposing to God that Job solely serves him because God protects him. God removes Job's protection, allowing Satan to take his wealth, his children and his physical health in order to tempt Job into cursing God. Despite his circumstances Job does not curse God. God appears before Job stating "Brace yourself like a man; I will question you and you shall answer." Job responds with not anger, passion or pity as a result God restores Job to a prosperous state. Job was blesses with seven sons and three daughters. "Job went on to live one hundred and forty years, and saw his children and grandchildren for four generations."

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Job http://starofdavida.blogspot.com/2010_08_01_archive.html

= Joseph and the Coat of Many Colors = Genesis 37



Jacob loved Joseph more than any of his other sons, because he had been born to him in his old age; and he made a robe of many colors for Joseph. All of his brothers were very jealous of Joseph because he was the favorite of their father. This situation got worse when Joseph to a story about of a dream he had were he ruled over all of his brothers. Joseph was out in the field watching his brothers work and when their father left all of his brothers wanted to murder him except one and that was Reuben. So, instead he was sold for 20 shekels. Then his brothers drenched his coat in blood to make his father think that he was killed by an animal. Once Joseph was taken away his life go agat worse and worse and he kept getting sold to and from different people. This all happened just because his brothers were jealous.

Source: http://www.keyway.ca/htm2002/coatcol.htm http://www.crossroadsinitiative.com/library_article/713/The_Apostles_Who_Were_the_Twelve_.html

= Armageddon =



Armageddon is the site of the final battle and the end of the world as said in the bible. According to the Christian bible, Christ will battle the anti Christ and after the Christ wins he banishes Satan to a bottomless abyss for 1000 years, and that time is known as the Millennial age. After Satan is released from the prison, he gathers Gog and Magog and surrounds Jerusalem, and Gog and Magog are swallowed by fire from the heavens, and Satan is banished to hell for eternity.

Satan's fall is also mentioned in the play //Macbeth//, by William Shakespeare. Malcolm, while commenting on how people may hide their true intentions, states that "Angels are bright still though the brightest fell" (4.3.22). The brightest referred to here is Lucifer or Satan, who was once an angel, but fell from grace by disobeying God.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armageddon

= Jonah and the Whale =

God had told Jonah to go to the city of Nineveh to preach against the "wickedness" there. Not wanting to preform this task, Jonah boarded a ship to the city of Tarshish instead. God was angry, so He created a storm that could capsize the ship. The sailors on board knew that God created the storm, but they did not know why He had created it. Jonah reluctantly told the sailors that he had fled from God. The sailors tossed Jonah overboard to stop the storm. The storm ceased, but Jonah was eaten by a whale (The Bible says "a giant fish")



Jonah remained in the whale for three days, thanking God for not letting him drown and praying for forgiveness. God released Jonah, and Jonah was thankful. He resolved to go to Nineveh and finish the sermon he was supposed to give.

Source: http://www.shawuniversitymosque.org/JTaqwa/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=2308

= Moses =



Moses was, according to the Hebrew Bible, a religious leader, law giver, and prophet, to whom the authorship of the Torah is traditionally attributed. Moses was born in a time when his people, the children of Israel, were increasing in number and the Egyptian pharaoh was worried that they might help Egypt's enemies. Moses' Hebrew mother, Jochebed, hid him when the Pharaoh ordered all newborn Hebrew boys to be killed. He ended up being adopted into an Egyptian royal family. After the Ten Plagues were unleashed on Egypt, Moses led the exodus of the Hebrew people out of Egypt and across the Red Sea. Meanwhile, Pharaoh had a change of heart, and was in pursuit of them with a large army. Shut in between his army and the sea, the Israelites despaired, but Exodus records that God divided the waters so that they passed safely across on dry ground. When the Egyptian army attempted to follow, God permitted the waters to return upon them and drown them. At this time Moses received the Ten Commandments, a list of religious and moral imperatives that were given by God to the people of Israel atop Mount Sinai. Despite living to the age of 120, Moses died before reaching the Land of Israel.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moses http://www.comingoutofegypt.com/passover-haggadah.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ten_Commandments

= The Biding of Issac =

**Genesis 22:1-24**

The story behind Abraham and Isaac was God testing Abraham's faith. God told Abraham to take his son Isaac to the top of the mountain and sacrifice him. So Abraham takes Isaac and some servants up to the top of the mountain. When they reach the top of the mountain Isaac asks his father where the sacrifice is and he says that God will bring the sacrifice. The servants leave Abraham and Isaac and Abraham binds Isaac and prepares to slay him when God sends an angel to stop Abraham. The angel says "do not sacrifice your son, but instead this animal in the bushes." Abraham does as he is told and Issac is safe. Even though Abraham never actually sacrificed Isaac, Isaac never forgave his father, and in sorrow Abraham went of to find a bride for his son. With this whole encounter God was testing Abraham to see if he really trusted God and would follow what he said.

= Samson and Delilah =



**Delilah** appears in the Hebrew bible Book of Judges, where she is the "women in the valley of Sorek" whom Samson loved, and who was his downfall. "Samson loved Delilah, she betrayed him, and, what is worse, she did it for money"
 * Samson** is a Herculean figure, who is granted tremendous strength by God to combat his enemies and perform heroic feats unachievable by ordinary humans; wrestling a lion,slaying an entire army with only a jawbone of an ass, and destroying a temple.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samson http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delilah http://cgfa.acropolisinc.com/cranach1/p-cran1-14.htm

= Solomon =

Solomon was, according to the Hebrew Bible, a king of Israel, credited for building the first temple in Jerusalem. Son of David, Solomon was portrayed as "great in wisdom, wealth and power, but ultimately as a king whose sin, including idolatry and turning away from God, leads to the kingdom being torn in two". Solomon had seven hundred wives and three hundred concubines. Yet, the only wife that is mentioned by name is Naamah, mother of Solomon's successor Rehoboam.



Judgement of Solomon, two women came before Solomon to resolve a quarrel about which was the true mother of a baby. One mother had her baby die in the night after rolling over it in her sleep and crushing it; each claims the surviving child as her own. When Solomon suggests dividing the living child in two with a sword, the true mother is revealed to him because she is willing to give up her child to the lying woman, as heartbreaking a decision as it is. Solomon then declares the woman who shows compassion to be the true mother, and gives the baby back to her.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solomon

// Solomon is alluded to in the novel // Song of Solomon, //as the title of the book is from a book of the Bible that he wrote//. Though it is unclear at this point what story of Solomon has to do with this novel, his father, King David, was the inspiration for the reinvestment in African American communities by North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance, the insurance company the eccentric man who kills himself in the beginning of the novel works for.

= Zacchaeus the Tax Collector =

In the time when Jesus was alive, Zacchaeus was a tax collector who grew rich by cheating people of their taxes, and when Jesus visited his town he climbed a tree to see Jesus, and Jesus told him to come down from the tree because he would eat at Zacchaeus's house that night, and the "good" people of the town grumbled that Zacchaeus was not a good person, but Zacchaeus promised Jesus that if he had ever cheated anyone he would give back what he stole four times over, and Jesus forgave him.

There may be an allusion to Zacchaeus in the early pages of //Song of Solomon//, where Mr. Smith climbs up a building looking for release or a better solution to his life, and also that he "came to their houses twice a month to collect one dollar and sixty-eight cents and write down on a little yellow card both the date and their eighty-four cents a week payment... [and] they kidded him, abused him, told their children to tell him they were out or sick or gone to Pittsburg" (8).

I also agree that Mr. Smith in //Song of Solomon// is an allusion to Zacchaeus in the Bible. On the other hand though Mr. Smith was a good man because he never cheated people like Zacchaeus did when he was a tax collector. Even though Mr. Smith was a good man people still didn't like him because he took money from them and most people don't like that, but to Mr. Smith took all of the abuse that just comes with the job like a real man, "They kidded him, abused him, told their children to tell him they were out or sick or gone to Pittsburgh... Mr. Smith smiled through it all, managing to keep his eyes focused almost the whole time on his customers' feet" (9) He felt that even though he hated taking money from people it still needed to be done, so he put on his best face and went about his business. Some of the people associated his job as boring and the furthest thing from interesting, but when he jumped from the roof of Mercy it changed Mr. Smith image from what everybody suspected it to be, "jumping from the roof of mercy was the most interesting thing he had done. None of them had suspected he had it in him. Just goes to show, they murmured to each other, you never really do know about people" (8-9). They thought they knew everything about Mr. Smith, but when he made the jump they realized they knew little about who he really was. Even though Mr. Smith and Zacchaeus's jobs were a little different it still shows the power of the public to control the lives of others and the choices these people make just like in Mr. Smith's case.

= Song of Solomon (Song of Songs) = Song of Solomon is a book in the Old Testament of the Bible. With the shortest number of verses of any book in the Old Testament, Song of Solomon describes the story of a man courting a woman. The story is not strictly biblical, but is generally interpreted as an allegory for Christ's consummation and love for man's soul.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Song_of_Songs

= =


 * Allusion in __Song of Solomon__**

The title of Song of Solomon is indeed an allusion to the Biblical book.

The sister, Pilate, is also an allusion to the Bible. According to the bible, however, Pilate, known as Pontius Pilate, was a man, who authorized the crucifixion of Jesus. However, Pilate tries to make it seem as though he is not a part of Jesus' death. Which is interesting because Pilate is not as much a part of the "Dead" family as Maecon is. However, in the book, Pilate is also one who is going to guide Milkman on his "flight"....much like the biblical character helped guide Jesus to his death.

Differing Interpretations of Names These "alter egos" may have an effect on how the book's characters see themselves. Perhaps they feel as though their identity is predetermined and predefined.

Pontius Pilate: 5th Prefect (overseer) of Roman province of Judaea; judge at Jesus' trial; authorized Jesus' crucifixion. Pontius' wife, Saint Procula, plead with her husband to recognize Jesus' innocence and to free him. It is debated whether or not Pontius felt remorse for Jesus' crucifixion. //Pilate's mother in// Song of Solomon //died while giving birth to her; just as Pontius Pilate is regarded as responsible for killing Jesus Christ, the same could be said for Pilate the character in// Song of Solomon. Saint Helena: Lena, deriving from Helena, was the mother of Emperor Constantine. She converted to Christianity and found the True Cross in the Holy Land. Megilath Ruth: Seen as compassionate, inclusive, loving and kind, Ruth is a matriarch and one of the five heroines of the Eastern Star. Hagar: Slave to Abraham and surrogate mother to Sarah and Abraham's first child, Ishmael. When Sarah gave birth to her on biological son years later, Hagar and Ishmael were forced out of the family. First Corinthians: 7th book in the Bible, written by Paul. The main message of First Corinthians is to love: love ones spouse, or, if one is not married, love God the way they would love their spouse.


 * Snake Allusion**

On pages 54-55, Macon explains to Milkman why he should stay away from Pilate. He calls her a snake numerous times. Although this is not a direct alusion to the story about the talking snake in the Garden of Eden, there are similarities between the biblical story and some aspects found in chapter 2. Wikipedia defines the serpent in its biblical context as having the ability to speak and reason, and that it tempts Eve to eat the fruit. In parallel, Milkman questions his father about why he should stay away from Pilate because he sees nothing bad in her. He mentioned he felt "completely happy" when he was in her house. So here, as the reader, I saw a turn in the perception I had about Pilate, she seems nicer, she seems like a good person. Up to this point, we don't actually know how she truly is, so there is a possiblity she is deceiving Milkman in some way. Another reason I thought that Macon calling Pilate a snake alluded to the biblical story is because while Milkman is in her house, Reba and Hagar walk in with blackberries. Blackberries = fruits and Eve was tempted to eat fruit by the snake. So, I think this is a sort of indirect allusion to the snake story in the bible,even though there are only a couple vague-ish connections between the two stories.

=Hagar and Ishmael= Genesis 16 and 21 In the story of Hagar and Ishmael, Sarah and Abraham wanted to have a child, but Sarah could not conceive. Abraham had a son named Ishmael with his slave named Hagar, and Sarah resented Hagar for this. Abraham did not know what to do, because he did not want Hagar to leave, so he asked God for advice. God said to free both Hagar and Ishmael and that Ishmael would found a great nation. In the words of the Bible "And also of the son of the bondwoman will I make a nation, because he is thy seed." Genesis 21:13. The "nation" became the religion of Islam.

In //Song of Solomon//, by Toni Morrison, Pilate Dead's granddaughter shares the name Hagar, and also is not married.

Sources: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis+16&version=NIV http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hagar_%28biblical_person%29 http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt0121.htm#9.

=

= = Reba =

According to Numbers 31:8 and Joshua 13:21 Reba was a Midianite king killed by Moses during an Israelite expedition.

In //Song of Solomon//, by Toni Morrison, Pilate Dead has a daughter named Reba.

Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_minor_Biblical_figures#Reba ==

Magdalene (called Lena), one of Macon Dead's daughters - In the Bible, Mary Magdalene was healed of her demons by Jesus. She was said to have seven devils inside of her that included her emotional, physical, and moral problems. She was also the first to know of Jesus's Resurrection and one of the first to meet him after he rose from the dead. Additionally she is known as the "sinner" of Luke 7:36-50.
 * Magdalene**==

__**Song Of Solomon Allusions**__

-P. 65: "Corpus Domini Nostri Jesu Christi" -This phrase in Latin translates to 'May the Body of Our Lord Jesus Christ keep my soul unto life everlasting. Amen.' This line has significance to several major characters in different ways. For example, Mr. Smith used blue wings to try and reach the heavens, wanting to become immortal and escape his boring job of an insurance agent. Furthermore, there is a sense of irony with Macon's family's last name being 'Dead'. On page 118, Macon explains that he's already 'dead', but still living, therefore possessing a metaphorical eternal life. Therefore, this is an indirect reference to the resurrection of Jesus Christ 3 days after he died.

-Throughout the story, Pilate's main profession is creating liquor with fruit, since her house is described as having a fruity smell all the time. Therefore, Pilate literally creates liquor from water, fruit, and other ingredients. Similarly, in the story of John 2:1-11, Jesus successfully turns water into wine in front of a large crowd. He is also said to have used the fresh grape juice. In this respect, Pilate conducts a very similar task that Jesus does in the ancient past. However, in Pilate's day and age, the task is frowned upon due to prohibition enforcement, where Jesus' skill, on the other hand, is viewed as a miracle.

-P. 95: "Pilate felt her ribs and said nothing was broken. But Reba wanted to go to the hospital."

-In The Bible, specifically the story of Adam and Eve, Adam's rib breaks from his rib cage, and Eve forms as a result of this event. Additionally, on page 95, ribs are mentioned, but they aren't actually broken. However, an allusion to this story is evident because Morrison could have stated any other bone, which wouldn't bear as much religious significance. This allusion also relates to the reoccurring motif of the egg. A common argument is whether the chicken or the egg came first, which directly correlates to the argument regarding Adam and Eve, and whether Adam and Eve came first, or whether there were other much more crude and primitive life forms before their existence.

Sources:

http://bible.org/seriespage/first-sign-jesus-turns-water-wine-john-21-11 http://www.stmichaels.org/mass9a.shtml http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_and_Eve