Symbolic Meaning of the Name Eve

In Genesis 3:20 and Moses 4:26, Adam “called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all living.” This is a play on words in Hebrew. Eve in Hebrew is Ḥavvah, while life is ḥay and ḥayyim. Eve’s name derived from the Hebrew word for life, highlighting Eve’s role as the mother of all living. Moses 4:26 added additional nuance to this point: “Or thus have I, the Lord God, called the first of all women, which are many.” In the same way that Moses 1:34 suggests that the symbolic meaning of the name Adam applies to humanity, Moses 4:26 suggests that the symbolic meaning of the name Eve as “mother of all living” applies to all women.