Question 23: Was Adam a red man as rumours, have it?

Answer:

The word Adam means "red" and so also does the word Edom, both having relation to the ruddiness of flesh and the colour of the clayey soil. (See Genesis 2:7.) Some commentators hold that Adam, the first man, was probably of the complexion of the Arabs or Edomites, ruddy though dark, while others take a different view. No definite theory can be formed on this subject.