Preadamite
Charles Buck Theological Dictionary [1]
A denomination given to the inhabitants of the earth, conceived by some people to have lived before Adam. Isaac de la Pereyra, in 1655, published a book to evince the reality of Preasamites, by which he gained an considerable number of proselytes to the opinion: but the answer of Demarets, professor of theology at Groningen, published the year following, put a stop to its progress, though Pereyra made a reply. His system was this. The Jews he calls Adamites, and supposes them to have issued from Adam; and gives the title Preadamites to the Gentiles, whom he supposes to have been a long time before Adam. But this being expressly contrary to the first words of Genesis, Pereyra had recourse to the fabulous antiquities of the Egyptians and Chaldeans, and to some idle rabbins, who imagined there had been another world before that described by Moses. He was apprehended by the inquisition in Flanders, and very roughly used, though in the service of the dauphin. But he appealed from their sentence to Rome, whither he went in the time of Alexander VII., and where he printed a retraction of his book of Preadamites. The arguments against the Preadamites are these. The sacred history of Moses assures us that Adam and Eve were the first persons that were created on the earth, Genesis 1:26 . Genesis 2:7 . Our Saviour confirmed this when he said, "From the beginning of the creation God made them, male and female, " Mark 10:6 . It is undeniable that he speaks this of Adam and Eve, because in the next verse he uses the same words as those in Genesis 2:24 . "Therefore shall a man leave his father and mother, and cleave unto his wife." It is also clear from Genesis 3:20 , where it is said, that "Adam called his wife's name Eve, because she was the mother of all living, " that is, she was the source and root of all men and women in the world; which plainly intimates that there was no other woman that was such a mother. Finally, Adam is expressly called twice, by the apostle Paul, the first man, 1 Corinthians 15:45; 1 Corinthians 15:47 .
Webster's Dictionary [2]
(1): ( n.) One who holds that men existed before Adam.
(2): ( n.) An inhabitant of the earth before Adam.
Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature [3]
Bibliography Information McClintock, John. Strong, James. Entry for 'Preadamite'. Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature. https://www.studylight.org/encyclopedias/eng/tce/p/preadamite.html. Harper & Brothers. New York. 1870.
