2332. Chavvah
Lexical Summary
Chavvah: Eve

Original Word: חַוָּה
Part of Speech: Proper Name Feminine
Transliteration: Chavvah
Pronunciation: khav-VAH
Phonetic Spelling: (khav-vaw')
KJV: Eve
NASB: Eve
Word Origin: [causatively from H2331 (חָוָה - To declare)]

1. life-giver
2. Chavvah (or Eve), the first woman

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
Eve

Causatively from chavah; life-giver; Chavvah (or Eve), the first woman -- Eve.

see HEBREW chavah

NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origin
from an unused word
Definition
"life," the first woman
NASB Translation
Eve (2).

Brown-Driver-Briggs
I. חַוָּה proper name, feminine (life, see Di Genesis 3:20; > WeProl. 1886, 322; Skizzen iii. 217 after Nö who suggests serpent as possible meaning, compare Arabic ; but RSK 177 'mother of every µayy,' see II. חַי below חיה) — Genesis 3:20 and the man called his wife חַוָּ֑ה, because she was אֵם כָּלחָֽֿי׃; compare אִשְׁתּוֺ ׳ח Genesis 4:1 (both J). — II. חַוָּה village, see below below II. חוה.

Topical Lexicon
Name and Meaning

The name חַוָּה (Chavvah, Eve) is inseparably linked with the idea of life and living. Adam’s choice of the name underscores the divine purpose that humanity would flourish through her God-given role.

Occurrences in Genesis

Genesis 3:20 — “The man called his wife Eve, because she would be the mother of all the living.”
Genesis 4:1 — “And Adam had relations with his wife Eve, and she conceived and gave birth to Cain. ‘With the help of the LORD I have brought forth a man,’ she said.”

Narrative Context

Eve enters the biblical record as both companion to Adam and first participant in the tragedy of the Fall. Her creation from Adam’s side (Genesis 2:21-24), her dialogue with the serpent (Genesis 3:1-6), and her naming after the judgment oracles (Genesis 3:14-19) collectively portray a figure who both experiences and transmits God’s blessing of life while bearing the consequences of sin. Her first motherhood in Genesis 4 inaugurates human history outside Eden, revealing that God’s mandate to “be fruitful and multiply” endures despite the curse.

Theological Significance: Life, Motherhood, and Fall

1. Mother of All Living: Eve’s identity anchors the doctrine of the unity of the human race (Acts 17:26). Redemption in Christ is therefore offered to every descendant of Eve (John 3:16).
2. Prototype of Marriage: The one-flesh union established before sin (Genesis 2:24) remains the normative pattern for marriage (Matthew 19:4-6; Ephesians 5:31).
3. Responsibility and Headship: Adam is approached after the Fall (Genesis 3:9), indicating male headship; yet Eve’s personal accountability demonstrates individual moral responsibility.
4. Promise of Deliverance: The proto-evangelium (Genesis 3:15) sets womanhood, and by implication Eve, at the heart of messianic hope: the Seed of the woman will crush the serpent’s head.

Redemptive Themes

• Grace after Judgment: Though Eve hears the sentence of pain in childbirth, she immediately receives hope—her very offspring will play a role in victory over evil.
• Continuity of Lineage: Genealogies in Genesis trace the preservation of the promised Seed through Seth (Genesis 4:25-26; 5:1-4), underscoring covenant faithfulness that begins with Eve’s restored relationship to God.
• Typology Fulfilled in Mary: Just as life enters the world through Eve, eternal life enters through the incarnation via Mary (Luke 1:31-35), drawing a purposeful parallel without equating the two.

New Testament Reflections

2 Corinthians 11:3 warns believers not to be “deceived, as Eve was by the serpent’s cunning,” highlighting vigilance against doctrinal error.

1 Timothy 2:13-14 appeals to the creation order and Eve’s deception to instruct church order. These references affirm the historical reliability of Genesis and integrate Eve into apostolic teaching on holiness and authority.

Implications for Worship and Discipleship

• Human Dignity: All ministry to the unborn, to mothers, and to families springs from Eve’s foundational role as life-bearer.
• Spiritual Vigilance: Eve’s encounter with temptation underscores the necessity of knowing and obeying God’s Word.
• Gender Complementarity: Eve exemplifies the created distinctiveness and mutual dependence of male and female in service to God’s purposes.

Cultural and Historical Impact

Across Jewish and Christian thought, Eve becomes emblematic of both frailty and promise. Early church fathers contrasted “Eve who listened to the serpent” with the “Eve restored” through Christ. Art, literature, and hymnody continue to explore her account to illustrate sin’s entrance and salvation’s hope.

Summary

Strong’s Hebrew 2332 portrays far more than a proper name; it encapsulates the origin of human life, the gravity of sin, and the dawning of redemption. Eve’s legacy calls every generation to embrace God’s grace, uphold the sanctity of life, and anticipate the final victory promised in Genesis and fulfilled in Jesus Christ.

Forms and Transliterations
חַוָּ֑ה חַוָּ֣ה חוה chavVah ḥaw·wāh ḥawwāh
Links
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Englishman's Concordance
Genesis 3:20
HEB: שֵׁ֥ם אִשְׁתּ֖וֹ חַוָּ֑ה כִּ֛י הִ֥וא
NAS: name Eve, because
KJV: name Eve; because she was the mother
INT: name his wife's Eve because he

Genesis 4:1
HEB: יָדַ֖ע אֶת־ חַוָּ֣ה אִשְׁתּ֑וֹ וַתַּ֙הַר֙
NAS: with his wife Eve, and she conceived
KJV: knew Eve his wife;
INT: now the man had Eve his wife conceived

2 Occurrences

Strong's Hebrew 2332
2 Occurrences


ḥaw·wāh — 2 Occ.

2331b
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