Bible Answer

Can you explain gender in the Creation account?

If Adam and Eve were created in the image of God, does this make God male and female? What is the male and female name of God?

According the Bible, our Creator does not possess gender, though He refers to Himself in the masculine gender in keeping with His role of “Father” and “Son.” 

Regarding the creation of man, mankind is the pinnacle of God’s creative work, and as such the Bible says He created mankind in His likeness. Notice the text specifically:

Gen. 1:27 God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

We find two statements in the verse with the second statement elaborating on the first. The first statement is: "God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him.” This is a reference to Adam alone, which is confirmed by Chapter 2:

Gen. 2:7 Then the LORD God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.
Gen. 2:8 The LORD God planted a garden toward the east, in Eden; and there He placed the man whom He had formed.

The first human created was man (Adam), who was created in the image of God. Later, God created Woman out of man, as the second half of Genesis 1:27 explains: "male and female He created them.” Genesis 2 also elaborates on this moment:

Gen. 2:21 So the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then He took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh at that place.
Gen. 2:22 The LORD God fashioned into a woman the rib which He had taken from the man, and brought her to the man.

So the phrase “”in His own image” refers to Adam only. Woman was created later out of man. Their names reflect their origins, as the name of the male was Adam, which means earth or dirt, while the name of the female was “Woman,” which means “out of man.”

Finally, the personal name of God is not given to us, though the Jewish people reckoned His name as the unpronounceable “YHWH". God’s own response to that question can be found in Exodus:

Ex. 3:13 Then Moses said to God, “Behold, I am going to the sons of Israel, and I will say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you.’ Now they may say to me, ‘What is His name?’ What shall I say to them?”
Ex. 3:14 God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM”; and He said, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”