Melodie Waddell
Professor Lydia Postell
English 2111-01
7 July 2015
The Two Accounts of Creation in Genesis
"When God began to create heaven and earth, and the earth then was welter and waste and darkness over the deep and God 's breath hovering er the waters, God said, "Let there be light""(The Hebrew Bible 94). This is how readers have always started out studying the Bible. Little did they know there was an entirely different account of creation just a little ways down from the first account they see in Genesis. So, is there really two different accounts of God creating the Earth in the Bible? Some people believe yes, others believe, no. Throughout this essay I will be taking a deeper look into the two accounts of creation by comparing and contrasting the time periods, accounts of vegetation, and the animal life that God created. The Bible can be a tricky piece of literature to read, but I am going to break it down to view the accounts in a more in depth view.
In the beginning of Genesis we are introduced to God and he is beginning to make the Earth as we know it today. The first book of Genesis discusses the way God just had to speak and his words would bring life to the planet. Genesis 1 takes us on a journey through all six days of creation. Throughout the six days God manages to create the heavens and the earth, the sky, land, stars, all the creatures that live in the water, and all the creatures that inhabit the land. Genesis 2 starts out telling us about what God
In Genesis, the first book of The Bible the Christian and Jewish creation story is told. God spoke and his Word was done. He made the heavens and the earth. He made light and drove away the dark. On the earth he created the waters and lands and man and beast.
From Genesis 1.1-2.4a it can be discerned that God is the creator of all. He created the world and its inhabitants from a vast nothingness. The text reflects upon who God is and what His capabilities are through the act of creation. The verses allow that God is communicating with us. It is communicated what Gods will is for man and gives us a history of our beginnings. From the data provided in the verses, scientists can conclude as to the how and why the order of creation came about. For example, light was first, land second, and then plants. Light and land are needed for plats to survive. The passages allude to the fact that He and He
To begin with, the main similarity in these stories was the divine creation of the world and of humans. In the Genesis account, God created everything out of nothing, which started with the creation of the heavens and earth (Gen. 1:1 NIV). Succeeding these creations, God continued to add things to the earth, which included day, night, land, water, vegetation, and also living creatures (Gen. 1:3,6,9,11,14,20,26).
The Drama of Scripture written by Bartholomew and Goheen takes the reader on a journey through the entire Bible in six short “acts.” The first Act discusses creation and the establishment of God’s Kingdom. In the beginning was complete darkness. Then, God created light and divided the heavens and the earth. He then split the waters and the seas, creating dry ground on which the rest of creation could walk. He proceeded to make plants and flowers and the sun, moon, and stars. He created days and seasons and animals of all shapes and sizes. And then, to add the finishing touch, God created men and women, male and female, He created them. The book states that “the Genesis story is given so that we might have a true understanding of the world in which we live, its divine author, and our own place in it” (Bartholomew, 29). Genesis 1-3, the story of Creation, is prevalent because it introduces the author of creation, humanity, and the creation upon which humanity’s drama unfolds.
During the opening of Beowulf, the poet summarizes the beginning chapters of Genesis in the Bible. The poet tells about “ The Almighty making of the earth, shaping beautiful plains, marked off by oceans, then proudly setting the sun and moon to glow across the land and light it”(7-10). In the Bible, Genesis 1:1 reads, “ In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Immediately following this passage, it goes on to explain the history of Creation. Included in this description is how God made light and dark, land and ocean, plant and animal, and finally the ultimate creation, man.
In the first Genesis God creates humans because God loves humans and he thinks the Humans are important in this whole creation, and in the second Genesis God controls Adam and Eve from accessing some knowledge and then he brings them to torments the humans. The first Genesis is told and written a lot nicer then the second Genesis book. No matter how each book is told and the difference they have they are both still very important because they both still share the similarity on how they first created this earth. They are also important because they explain the human existence. Our life is not perfect nor will it ever be and if our story was told like the first book of Genesis then we would have wonder why God would have given us pain. Also if God didn’t approve of humans like he did in the second book of Genesis then we would be wondering why should we believe in God. The reason why each chapter is told different is because if it wasn’t then we wouldn’t be able to understand this crazy life we live in and this life wouldn’t make sense if we based it off one book of the
To begin with, the main similarity in these stories was the divine creation of the world and of humans. In the Genesis account, God created everything out of nothing, which started with the creation of the heavens and earth (Gen. 1:1 NIV). Succeeding these creations, God continued to add things to the earth, which included day, night, land, water, vegetation, and also living creatures (Gen. 1:3,6,9,11,14,20,26).
Genesis 2 talked about the creation of the earth and heavens. Lord God finished the work and rested on the seven day from the work he had done. The earth and heaven were made when there were no plant in the earth and no herb on the field. At that period God did not send the rain on earth and there was no one to work the ground but stream rise from the earth and water the ground. Then God created man from the dust of the ground.
Genesis starts by saying “in beginning God created the heavens and the earth”. The Bible talks about God speaking things into existence. First God made the light, which He separated into day and night. Next, God created the sky and then the waters. “He called the dry ground ‘land’ and the waters ‘seas’”. This is when God says that “it was good”. God states that his creations are good, which is different from the creations of Enuma Elish. The Creations of the gods in Enuma Elish were made from corpses torn apart and from the need of slaves. God created the vegetation, animals, sea creatures and the stars. On the sixth day, God created humans to reign over things in the world. After each day, God would state that his creations were good. After God created humans, he said it “was very good”. This would be shocking to the nomads because they would not have known of a god loving them before. Genesis is very realistic and accounts for everything that the nomads would know like the sea, animals and stars.
The primary difference between Genesis 1:1-2:3 and Genesis 2:4-24 is that Genesis 1:1-2:3 says that the world was created in seven days, going into detail about what was created each day in a specific order. The basic summary of Genesis 1:1-2:3 is that He creates light and darkness on the first day, sky and water on the second day, land and vegetation on the third day, the sun and moon and stars on the fourth day, fish and birds on the fifth day, and lastly, livestock, crawling beasts, wild animals, and humans on the sixth day, resting on the seventh and final day. Every section ends with, for example, Genesis 1:13, “…and there was evening, and there was morning-the third day.” Genesis 2:3-24 is different in that it does not give any certain
The differences between the two stories is Genesis 1:11, God is creating vegetation on the third day. Genesis 2:5 before the creation of man “no shrub of the field had yet appeared on the earth and no plant of the field had sprung up, for the LORD God had not sent rain on the earth and no there was no man to work the ground.” In Genesis 1 God created water. God created woman in his image. God created Earth before sun and moon. In Genesis 2 Man was created before animals. Adam created then trees then Eve. Water came from the ground. Woman created from Adam’s rib.
Genesis 1 has a broad outline which shows how God created the Earth. The author gives a general account of the creation. Genesis 1 does not have any detailed information in it, but rather some overview on what happened. However, people want to know not just how our world was created, but also how exactly humankind came to life. And Genesis 2 successfully explains how God created man from the dust, and woman from the man’s ribs. It has many details that the first story does not. Therefore, it is easy to conclude that the first story is more chronological and general, whereas the second one is topical. The first story summarizes the whole process, while the second is more specific about man and his environment. Moreover, the second story could never be the only creation story because it does not have a sufficient information needed to explain how God created the Earth. For example, there is no mention of the creation of the day and night. There are no explanations how the oceans and fish were generated. Clearly, these two stories are complementary as they are supplying each other’s
The Bible has two accounts of creation the first centeres in Genesis 1, which is a very linear 7-day timeline. Compared to the second creation story in Genesis 2, which is a much more literary focused story, with characters that possess story arcs that can be interpreted. God comes alive in this story and there are themes and motifs that are being wrestled with by the writer and reader. Similarly, the story of the Enuma Elish follows a story filled with characters and results is the creation of humans as a byproduct of the Gods struggles.
The story of creation begins with Genesis 1 and 2, it explains how the world and it’s living inhabitants were created from God’s touch. From Genesis 1 we see how the sky, seas, land, animals, and mankind were created. However Genesis 2 focuses more on the first of mankind, known as Adam and Eve and how they are made to be. In this paper I will compare Genesis 1 and Genesis 2 and what the main idea for creation is in each one, however in my opinion there is no contradiction between the two. Genesis 2 merely fills in the details that are "headlined" in Genesis 1.
Genesis is the first book of the Bible. It begins with the story of God’s creation of the universe. The Lord is the Almighty Creator of the world, skies, heavens, seas, animals, man, and woman. He governs the universe and develops relationships with man. Throughout Genesis, God acknowledges the fact that human beings make mistakes, and accepts their imperfection. Throughout Genesis, God changes from one who does not tolerate disobedience, to one who shows clemency. Early on in Genesis, God punishes Adam and Eve for disobedience. After making the mistake of flooding the world, the Lord realizes that even He is not perfect, and does not allow Jacob’s deceit of his father to taint his future.