Common Myths About the Bible – #2

Myth #2:

Men have one less rib than women, because God took one rib out of Adam to create Eve.

I remember being told this by my Sunday School teacher... I thought it was a neat little piece of trivia, so I told my parents about it. They weren't impressed.

Everyone who has studied anatomy should know that both men and women have twelve pairs of ribs. And the Bible never claims any differently.

Besides, an acquired characteristic (such as losing a rib) is not hereditary. In other words, Adam's loss of a rib could not be inherited by his children. So although Genesis 2 does say that God removed one of Adam's ribs, we have absolutely no reason to believe that this trait would be passed on to later generations.