Havah: The Story of Eve

What was it like to be the first woman on earth, to wake to a brand-new creation---and Adam? Why did she become so beguiled by the serpent? In this lyrical retelling of the biblical narrative, Lee brings Eden to life, revealing the dawn of mankind from Eve's viewpoint! (Contains some mature imagery.) 416 pages, softcover from NavPress.

Like Demon: A Memoir, I wrote Havah to examine aspects of my own faith more deeply and to revisit ideas so ingrained in our pop and religious cultures as to be cliché. I don’t know about you, but I hate cliché.

Three resources I found to be invaluable: Amy-Jill Levine’s lectures on the Old Testament (The Teaching Company, 2001); Genesis, Robert Alter, ed. (Norton, 1996); and The Bible as It Was, James L. Kugel, (Belknap, 1997).

Other sources that never left my desk: The Jewish Study Bible (Tanakh translation, Oxford University Press, 1999); Word Biblical Commentary: Vol. 1, Genesis 1–15, Gordon Wenham (Word, 1987); The Pentateuch as Narrative, John Sailhamer (Zondervan, 1992); The New International Commentary on the Old Testament: The Book of Genesis, Chapters 1–17, Victor Hamilton (Eerdmans, 1990).

References of additional interest: Biography: Adam and Eve (A&E Home Video, 2005); The Learning Channel’s “In Search of Eden” (2002); A&E’s Mysteries of the Bible: Cain and Abel (1996); A Biblical Case for an Old Earth by David Snoke (Baker, 2006); Apocryphal and Pseudepigraphic texts, including The Apocalypse of Moses, The Book of Jubilees, The Books of Adam, and the Midrash.

In addition to the questions with which I plagued academic and theological thinkers alike (“If the no-death-before-the-fall thing applies to animals, wouldn’t the earth have been overpopulated if Adam and Eve hadn’t eaten the fruit?” “Uh, is it possible that the garden might have existed . . . but in another dimension and that’s why we can’t find it?”), were other questions of translation (Did God increase Eve’s pain in childbirth or her pregnancies? Was she Adam’s helper or his sustainer?), and even whether to include rain or meat-eating in the antediluvian world—a matter of significant theological interest to some.

If one assumes a literal garden and literal first couple, there are many things we simply cannot know: the location of the garden, the number of Adam and Eve’s children, the population at the time of Adam’s death, if Adam and Eve were faithful to each other, how long they lived in the garden before the fall, what the infamous fruit was, the age of Abel when he was killed, the location or meaning of Nod, how long Eve lived, and what manner of adopted or natural law by which they would have lived.

There is also no way to determine the kind of language that an adam might have spoken with his god. Some Midrashic sources assume it to be Hebrew, but the Torah was written in the vernacular of the Israelites. I did choose Hebrew names for my characters and nontransliterated names for the principals mentioned in Genesis, simply to help escape the felt-board Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel. I wanted to examine them anew.

I used the adam for most of the book because, as Havah notes in the story, Adam was never properly named. Ha-adam means merely “man from the (red) earth,” or “earthling.” Additional sources reason that the adam became distinctly male (Ish) only after Isha was created from him. here are dozens of great morsels like these—too many to list here—within the footnotes of Alter’s Genesis and the other sources listed above that you may find useful in your own investigation.

“Eden,” or the “fertile plain,” was the place within which the garden was situated—but not the garden itself. I have refrained from openly basing the garden of this book on any one location, but found Legend: The Genesis of Civilisation by David Rohl (Arrow, 2000) and investigation into the theories of American archaeologist and Middle East specialist Juris Zarins fascinating.

Regardless of the compelling nature of these and other theories, if one believes in a literal Eden, we can safely assume that we know more about the terrain of Mars than we do about Eden’s garden today. It is my opinion that we have placed far too great a weight on English translations of the Scriptures.

It is my personal belief that those of us who base our conduct on biblical principles even do ourselves and our relationships potential harm by not investigating the more complex subtleties of the Hebrew Scriptures. We also miss out on the delightful intricacies, poeticisms, and even puns of the text by going no deeper than our English versions.

Last, and from my heart, I think we are remiss if we do not examine the nature, meaning, and equality of genders as designed by God, recorded by the Genesis author and influenced—for good or ill—by the world. Too many poorly applied translations of this story have fueled the subjugation and even abuse of women throughout history (and to this day). I do believe it is possible to seek the heart ofGod with the best of intentions and still grossly miss the mark—and injure ourselves or others in the process.

I was challenged and encouraged by Katherine Bushnell’s God’s Word to Women (Christians for Biblical Equality, 2003), [http://godswordtowomen.org/gwtw.htm], and Susan Greiner’s article “Did Eve Fall or Was She Pushed?” (Bible Review, August 1999), [http://fontes.lstc.edu/~rklein/Documents/did_eve_fall_or_was_she_pushepushed.htm]. As I find more articles or sites of interest, I will post them on my site: [http://toscalee.com].

Whether you subscribe to a literal or figurative Eve, a young or old earth, one thing remains unchanging: the aspects of our nature formed in the image of the One—the propensity to love, Selah.

Lee surprised the evangelical Christian literary world with her acclaimed Demon: A Memoir. Her fans will be equally pleased with her newest, a passionate and riveting story of the Bible’s first woman and her remarkable journey after being cast from paradise. Havah, Adam’s chosen name for Eve, recounts her life from a singular vantage point. From having known only blissful innocence, she must struggle through every post-Garden moment. Frustration compounds her plight as she repeatedly attempts to regain her former idyllic existence and repeatedly fails. Havah’s life becomes a fight for survival once she and Adam are cast from the Garden, and Lee’s poetic prose beautifully depicts the couple’s slow surrender to a world tending to destruction. Havah gives birth, raises a brood of children, watches one son kill another, observes disease and death. Yet all the while, she waits for the fulfillment of “the One” (God) who will bring reconciliation and redemption through her seed. Lee’s superior storytelling will have readers weeping for all that Havah forfeited by a single damning choice. (Oct.) Copyright 2008 Reed Business Information.

Average Rating:

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Reviewed by Diana (O Fallon, IL), October 08, 2009

The story of Eve, that's the subtitle. It could be said it is the The Story of Eve, the story of women. I could not put this book down. I soaked in the words of Havah's story. I felt a kinship with her, felt her guilt, her sorrows, her joy and her grief. I cried when she called in a broken woman's voice, 'Adonai' and didn't receive an answer. How much more grievous it had t have been for her after talking to God and hearing from Him in a way none of us have, to lose that would have crushed most of us. Yet, God made her and Adam strong, equipped them with the strengths and knowledge needed to begin our civilization. Tosca Lee has taken Genesis's very short chapters about Eve and filled in the missing story of what might have been. While it is a work of fiction the possible reality that life might have been much like this for Eve causes one to pause and to think. This woman blamed for the downfall for our sin, sorrows, and discomforts was real. She was a survivor and a daughter of God. And having read Havah I understand so much more of what was lost. This book and Demon: a Memoir, Lee's other book will not be leaving my personal library. Both are books that can be reread knowing a new perspective will be gained.

Reviewed by Trish Perry (Virginia), July 27, 2009

Tosca Lee's sophomore effort certainly doesn't disappoint. While Havah's prose is poetic enough to make you want to read slowly, the story moves along more swiftly than you realize. Lee has managed to choose a heroine with whom every reader has the same thing in common, whether they're willing to believe that or not. Even though the story's timeline goes no further than Eve's personal tale, one reads with a collective feeling while discovering--through Lee's imagination--how we all got from there to here. To call Havah sensual is an understatement. Lee is to be commended for her ability to make the reader feel a part of an environment peopled only by the first two humans ever created. We are there, and we completely empathize with the joy, temptation, devastation, and hope Eve and Adam experience. Never was that more personally evident than at the novel's final line, when my breath suddenly caught with emotion. Absolutely lovely.

Reviewed by Elizabeth (Tyler, Texas), May 09, 2009

This is possibly my favorite fiction of the year. I did not know I would like biblical fiction because I am very leery of the author mixing fiction with biblical fact. However, I feel that if you can enter into this novel with the knowledge that this is not inerrant, this is not scripture but rather the author's imagination of what could have happened, then I recommend this whole hearted. If nothing else, it has shown me how far we have fallen and it makes me want to stand up and fight.

Reviewed by Carol (Indianapolis, IN), January 26, 2009

I returned the book after reading less than 5 pages. I found it so far from scripture within those first few pages that is was unsettling and I could read no further. I suggested to the bookstore from which I purchased it that it should not be on their shelves.

Reviewed by Loretta Fisher (Lake St Louis, MO), January 24, 2009

If you like Biblical fiction, you will like this book. I liked how the author intertwines some of the present day human foibles with her depiction of Adam and Eve. And while you already know some of the story, Tosca pulls you deeper into the story through her rich descriptional imagination. A page turner!

Reviewed by Janna Ryan (North Platte, NE), December 28, 2008

I thought that "Havah" would be this nice little historical fiction book about Eve and I was looking forward to it. I had no idea what I was getting into...WOW! The scope of this project was huge - we are talking covering about 900 years where we have a little fact in Genesis and a lot of speculation. Tosca manages to take all of that and make Eve a real woman who engineered the downfall of man, birthed the world of man, helped form civilization, went from paradise to life as we have never known it and yet dealt with many of the issues we still deal with today. Tosca makes Eve real in a way that I have never thought of her. The hard thing is that like most Biblical fiction books - it can become hard to separate truth from fiction in our heads, but most importantly this book will make you want to go back and reread Genesis and figure it out. It is beautifully written and will make you think about your real roots.

Reviewed by Stacey (Las Vegas, NV), December 20, 2008

Tosca Lee’s “Havah” is a poetic reminiscence of the life of Eve, the mother of mankind. Written in a beautifully romantic voice, this is an incredible love story. The garden of Eden comes alive for the reader in this intelligently written epic with three-dimensional characters from the first moment Eve opens her eyes! This novel made Adam and Eve and their relationship with God and each other more real to me. It was wonderful!

Reviewed by Michelle Sutton (Arizona), November 19, 2008

Havah contains such beautiful imagery that I was literally entranced while reading the story. I was in the Garden with Eve. I was Eve. It's amazing how Tosca does that with her writing. Havah is written with such passion and conviction you will glimpse into the heart of "the One Who is" and will understand how much He truly delighted in the creation of man and His communion with him. The emotional pull of this story is truly divine. When Havah cried for Adonai and tried to find him after the fall, it moved my heart. I know just how she felt. Can you imagine the horror when they realized exactly what they had done? And then there is the blame and betrayal, "It was the woman you gave me." One of the most powerful lines in Havah is very short. It's simply, "We die." But the impact I felt surrounding those words was incredible. This is not a novel for people who like simple stuff. This is the deeply spiritual memoir of Eve. Thankfully we know how the story ends.

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