Intersexed Adam

In the Beginning when the world was young, the Lord God planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there placed Adam, the human formed from the ground. And the Lord God also formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky and placed them in the garden as well.

But Adam, the human, was dissatisfied and complained to the LORD God, “You have formed from the ground all the wild animals and the birds of the sky, just as you formed me.  But they are not like me.  Among the animals there are male and female varieties, and also among the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea.  But I am not like them.  I am both male and female, having both breasts to suckle young and a penis.”

And the LORD God replied, “This is true, Adam.  You have been formed in my image, male and female I have created you. And my creation is good.”

But again Adam said, “It is not good for me to be as I am; now make for me a spouse and give us divided genders such as all the other animals have.”

And the LORD God said, “You have rejected me and my image, but now listen to all that I tell you: with the division of genders you will cause division and contempt, confusion and loss of identity. As you are now, you are unified and whole, but if I do as you ask, you will always long and search for your other half.  And when you have found hir you will seek to rule over and dominate hir. Your desire will be for hir and sie will rule over you. 

But Adam refused to listen to the LORD God, “No!” sie said.  “I want to be like the other creatures.”

So the LORD God caused Adam to fall into a deep sleep; and while sie was sleeping God took the breasts and closed up the place with flesh.  Then the LORD God made a woman from the breasts taken from the man, and the LORD God brought her to the man.

The man said,

“This is now bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh;
she shall be called ‘woman,’
for she was taken out of man.”

That is why a man leaves his father and mother to be united to his wife, but they will never really be one flesh.

The image above is Marc Chagall's painting Homage to Apollinaire (1911/12) In it we see Adam and Eve represented as one hermaphroditic or intersexed person.