I have always thought that Eve was created on the sixth day, a bit later in the day than Adam. However, I recently discovered that some believe Eve was created on a later day.
What, then, is the basis for the believe that Eve was, in fact, created on the sixth day, a bit later in the day than Adam?
The basis for the belief that Eve was created on the 6th day is a literal interpretation of Genesis 1.
Genesis 1:26-28 ESV Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
Genesis 1:31 ESV And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
I bolded the keys words. It's important to note that the word "man" in this passage can both refer to a single human male or it can refer to mankind, male and female. Note the use of "them".
Also, it sure would be tough to tell a single male to "be fruitful and multiply."
I am adding a bit more to this question as this view point has not been explored in the other answers:
Genesis 2:1-3: Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.
So before day 7 everything that was on this earth had their existence.
Exodus 20:11: For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
The reason God Instituted the Sabbath was to commemorate Creation which was complete before the 7th day could begin.
Hebrews 4:4: For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all his works.
The answer to this question is similar to the answer I gave for your other question.
We read in Genesis 1:27-31 that God created man (as a race) and created both male and female. Jump ahead to Genesis 2:18-25 we see the detailed creation of Eve (and prior to that, Adam). These events both take place on the same day, the sixth, which is supported by following the beginning of Genesis 2 where we find an elaborated version of Genesis 2.
I personally, when teaching this, use the part about the creation of earth's vegetation which is done on the 3rd day, elaborated in Genesis 2:5-9.
There are two separate accounts of creation in the book of Genesis. The first, which occupies the first chapter, describes the creation of the world, life, and humanity in the "7 Day" format. On the 6th day, God creates mankind, both male and female. In the second creation story which starts at Genesis 2:2 recounts the familiar story of Adam (a name which comes from the Hebrew for 'red earth' from which he was formed then given the breath of life), the creation of other life forms for Adam, and his dissatisfaction with these other life forms, which leads God to create Eve from taking Adam's rib out so she will be made from his same being.
In Jewish mythology the first creation story was said to speak of Adam and Lilith. This is vaguely mentioned in one of the Midrashim, but it mostly comes from apocryphal, or extra-biblical (as in, outside of the Bible) stories and texts. Lilith, historically, was a type of demon that was blamed for the deaths of infants and later was cast as a succubus (as can be seen in the Talmud). Of course, the idea of Adam having an original wife is one interpretation, and if one is going to accept both creation stories as inter-dependent, one could also argue that the male and female in the first chapter of Genesis is the Adam and Eve from the second chapter.
Modern historical-critical scholarship views the two creation stories as separate since, when read literally, they have discrepancies (some may say contradictions) in the order of creation, etc., and scholars note that one of the creation stories uses the term YHWH for God (sometimes written in the traditional German-scholarship interpretation as "Jehovah"), generally translated as LORD in capitals with the L being in larger font in most English translations, while the second creation story refers to God as Elohim, with God referencing himself in English translations with a plural pronoun as in "Let us make man in our image after our likeness" and others. There is a lot more to the debate than just this simple gloss, but you get the picture.
Believers who do not accept the critical interpretations of these academics, scholars, and linguists, note that the two stories differ in style: the first being a chronological account; whereas the second is a topical account. This rectifies the "differences in order of creation" between the two, by supplying the argument that God is merely presenting these life forms to Adam, not creating them at the time for him. The chronological/topical difference also rectifies the "male and female He created them"/Adam first then Eve discrepancy since Chapter two is an in depth analysis of the sixth day's brief overview. This reconciliation also accords with the traditional beliefs of some Jewish rabbis over the centuries (and of course of Christian literalists too). I hope that helps you out in knowing the different interpretations applied to these two critical chapters from various groups. This debate is a long and interesting one and further research and investigation is recommended for anyone interested in its many layers of meaning.
I think it is clear enough from the text in Genesis 1 that Adam and Eve were created on the sixth day. On the fifth day God created the fishes and birds, and On the sixth day God created wild animals and Adam and Eve.
Let me post the whole passage for clarification with my own emphasis. Notice that between the "fifth day" and the "sixth day", there is the account on creation of wild animals and Adam and Eve, for it says "God created mankind in his own image", "male and female he created them", "God blessed them" and "said to them".
20 And God said, “Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the vault of the sky.” 21 So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living thing with which the water teems and that moves about in it, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 22 God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth.” 23 And there was evening, and there was morning—the fifth day.
24 And God said, “Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: the livestock, the creatures that move along the ground, and the wild animals, each according to its kind.” And it was so. 25 God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.
26 Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals,[a] and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”
27 So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. 28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”
29 Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. 30 And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.” And it was so.
31 God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.
The biblical basis for the belief that Eve was created on the sixth day is in Genesis 1:27,31. It results from confusion between the first creation story (Genesis 1:1-2:4a), credited by many biblical scholars to the Priestly Source, and the second creation story (Genesis 2:4b-25), widely credited to the Yahwist source.
Leon R. Kass explains, in The Beginning of Wisdom, page 55, why the two stories ought to be read as quite different stories about creartion, and in page 56 says that we must scrupulously avoid reading into the second story any facts or notions taken from the first, and vice versa.
Here is my theory. Let's look at Gen 2 vs 5. This coincides with Gen 1 vs 10 down to 13. If we look deeply, Adam was created on the 3rd day.
Then let's see Gen 1vs 24 and then look at Gen 2 bs 19. This happens on the 6th day.
So Eve was created alongside everyone else on the 6th day which puts the time line as;
3rd day- Adam 6th Day animals, Eve and everyone else.
Gen 2 is a more details account of Gen 1vs 10 down to the end.
I have recently learned that an increasing number of Christians believe the story of creation is allegorical-- I think it's the opposite: A number approaching 100% of Christians used to think it was allegorical, it's only in recent history (specifically as a reaction against Darwinism) that the concept of a literal creation account was even taken seriously.