Q: #354. How many twins are in the Bible?
A:The Bible clearly mentions two sets of twins. The first set of twins listed in the Bible are Jacob and Esau (Gen 25:22-26). The second set are Perez and Zerah (Gen 38:27-30). *** Note: Perez was in the lineage of Jesus: (Ruth 4:18-22)(Mt 1:3).
In addition to these, it appears fairly likely that the disciple Thomas also had a twin. The name Thomas means “twin,” and He was also called Didymus in (Jn 11:16)(Jn 20:24)(Jn 21:2) which means “twin” as well.
Some believe that Abel and Cain (Gen 4:1-2), as well as Ephraim and Manasseh (Gen 41:50-52)(Gen 48:8-20) could have been twins, but there is no real solid proof for this. It also seems likely that since the Hebrew word for “twins” (“taom”) was used to describe Jacob and Esau / Perez and Zerah in the book of Genesis, it would have been used for Abel and Cain / Ephraim and Manasseh as well if they were twins.
