1 Corinthians 11:8 reads, “For man did not come from woman, but woman from man.” At first glance this verse seems to state that Adam had to be the first human being ever since Adam “did not come from woman.” 1 Corinthians 11:8 is directly referencing Genesis 1-3. And the “man” in Genesis 1-3 is more than just a literal man, he is a king or patriarch and the animals are the subjects of his kingdom (see Why a Fully Consistent Approach to Biblical Exegesis Implies the Creation of Genesis 1 Is Not About the Physical Creation of the Cosmos and Why Noah’s Flood Also Appears to Have Been an Historical Parable about a War.) Recall that in Genesis 1:26-28 man is created in God’s image. In ancient Mesopotamia where the first chapters of Genesis take place only the king was made in the image of the gods. Echoing this idea that the “first man” is a king we also see in Genesis 1:26-28 that “man” is given dominion over all the earth.
The idea of woman coming from man in Genesis 2:23 and alluded to in 1 Corinthians 11:8 is word play. Genesis 2:23 says, “[S]he shall be called ‘woman,’ for she was taken out of man.” In the original Hebrew, this verse is the first time “man” [Ish] appears. Prior to Genesis 2:23 “Adam” is used to refer to the man. The Hebrew word for “man” is Ish. The Hebrew word for “woman” is Ishaha. In other words, in order to create the Hebrew word from “woman” you simply add the Hebrew letter hey at the end of the word for “man.” Thus linguistically the Hebrew word for woman [Ishaha] is literally created by being taken out of the Hebrew word for man [Ish].
How is it that man did not come from woman but woman, from man in a true, historical sense? Ancient Mesopotamia where Genesis 1-4 took place was a patriarchal society. In this society you would never have a queen unless you first had a king. In other words, the king (man) necessarily preceded the queen (woman).
If “man” is a king in Genesis 1-3 and 1 Corinthians 11:8 refers to this man, then the man in 1 Corinthians 11:8 must also be a king, not just a common man. How could this be since it appears that 1 Corinthians 11:8 is talking about common men and women in the Church? The “common” men and women in the Church are also kings and queens (Daniel 7:27, 1 Peter 2:9, Revelation 3:21; 5:10; 20:6).