New Adam
A woman clothed in the sun, standing on the moon, crowned with stars, is about to give birth (Revelation 12). The child is a male ( arsen , v. 5), the shepherd who will rule the nations (v. 5).
He is a new Adam, a point neatly underscored by the sixfold repetition of the tek - root: The woman is about to give birth ( tekein , v. 2); the dragon stands before the woman about to bear ( tekein ) so that when she bears ( teke ) her bairn ( teknon ) he can devour it (v. 4); she bears ( eteken ) a son, but the Lord catches up her teknon to heaven (v. 5).
Six tek-/bear/borne-one point to the man of the sixth day, the original prince-designate, Adam.
Peter Leithart
Peter J. Leithart is President of Theopolis Institute. He is the author of numerous books on theology, literature, and culture, including Theopolitan, Defending Constantine, and Baptized Body.
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