Claim CB381:
As related in Genesis 2, Eve was created from one of Adam's ribs. As a
consequence, men have one fewer set of ribs than women do.
Source:
reported by Root-Bernstein, 1995. (see below)
Response:
- Men and women have the same number of ribs.
- The Genesis account may be an explanatory myth for the absence of a
different bone. Most male mammals have a baculum, a bone for
stiffening the penis. Humans are one of the rare exceptions, relying
on hydraulics instead. Genesis 2:21-23 could refer to its removal from
Adam. A baculum, unlike a rib, is associated with reproduction. The
closing of flesh mentioned in Genesis 2:21 could refer to the raphe, a
seam on the penis and scrotum. Biblical Hebrew has no word for penis,
so another term would have to be used. The Hebrew word for "rib" has
other meanings such as the supporting columns in trees, or planks in
doors; it could have referred to a structural support generally
(Gilbert and Zevit 2001).
References:
- Gilbert, Scott F. and Ziony Zevit. 2001. Congenital human baculum
deficiency: The generative bone of Genesis 2:21-23. American Journal
of Medical Genetics 101(3): 284-285.
Further Reading:
Root-Bernstein, R. S. 1995. Darwin's rib. Discover 16(9)
(Sept.): 38-41.
http://www.msu.edu/~rootbern/evolution/darwinsrib.html
created 2004-6-26
