We think this is an interesting question. It may not matter as much as many other questions in the scheme of things but because people have used this question to discredit several eminent writers we think it is important to answer it.
In 1 Timothy 2:14 we see that only Eve was deceived, Adam was not:
And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression.
Now this does not lessen Adam’s guilt but increases it because he sinned knowingly.
If we take this verse at it’s plain meaning we will readily see that Adam could not have been with Eve when Satan was tempting her. Since he was not deceived, if he had been there with her, he would have spoke up and warned her not to talk to the serpent.
Read the following words from Genesis chapter 3 carefully:
Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?
And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:
But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.
And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:
For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. Genesis 3:1-5.
It says plainly, “the serpent said unto the woman” twice and “the woman said unto the serpent” once. It was a two way conversation. Do you think Adam would have stood there and not spoken at all if he had been there? Wouldn’t the serpent have addressed “them” instead of “the woman” if both had been there?
In Genesis 3:6 we find the reason why many believe that Adam had to have been with Eve while the serpent tempted her:
And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.
It says “gave also unto her husband with her.” Many think this means he had to have been there at the tree with her. But why wouldn’t it just mean that when she gave it to him he was with her. It doesn’t say he was with her the whole time. He could have come looking for her right after she had eaten. It could also mean only that he was with her in the garden. We don’t know.
But what we do know is:
- Adam was not deceived (1 Tim. 2:14)
- Eve was the only one who talked to the serpent
- The serpent addressed Eve only
- Adam would have spoken if he had been there, especially since he wasn’t deceived
These facts show that Adam was not there at the tree of knowledge of good and evil when Satan was tempting Eve and that Eve must have wandered away from Adam or at least they were not together.
It is much easier for Satan to deceive one than two. This is one of the reasons God gave marriage. God knew that it would be better to have two so the one could help the other to avoid temptation. When Adam and Eve were separated Satan was able to bring this world into sin.