There are Two Creation Stories in Genesis

genez said:

Because something was created unseen in Genesis One. That bodies were provided for in Genesis Two.

Google search it. The Hebrew word "nephesh" (soul) is written in reference to man and animals in the Bible.

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Philip_B said:

That is not what I said, and it is not what I intended to say. Myth per se is not a problem anyway, and myth may well be a vehicle of truth. The Big Bang Theory is effectively a myth dressed up in some fancy clothes, and that does not make it wrong or right. It simply shows that we are still interested in this whole area of beginnings. Pierre Teilhard de Chardin discussed this when he spoke of the convergence of the Alpha and Omega Point.

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Philip_B said:

The purpose of stories of origin in any culture is to give us a sense of meaning purpose culture and tradition and give an account of why thing are the way we understand them to be. The accounts in Genesis and the Big Bang Theory on that score are very much on the same level. It is just that in our age we accord the Big Bang Theory the word science, and the Genesis Accounts religion, and in reality they are different approaches to the same mystery.

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(David)DD said:

In the Genesis 2 God did not provide bodies to the sea creature. which was created in the Genesis 1 and Adam did not gave name to any of sea creature.

Genesis 1:20-23 And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven. And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good. And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth. And the evening and the morning were the fifth day.

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genez said:

Its the first Chapter of Genesis where we see the Hebrew word - 'bara.'

Bara means to 'create.' It means to "create something out from nothing." That kind of creating can only spoken of God in that context.

Now... Chapter two begins with a summation of what took place in Chapter One. It begins by tellingl us that God rested and ceased from anymore creating - 'bara.'

Genesis 2:1-3

Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array.
By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so
on the seventh day he rested from all his work. Then God blessed the
seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the
work of creating [bara] that he had done."​

That says? No more creating from God before the Genesis Two account is given!

There were no two creation accounts.

First Chapter is about God creating [bara]. Second chapter is about the Lord utilizing what had already been created to make something out from it.

The body of Adam was not created - 'bara.' Instead, it was like what an artist does when making statue out from clay. In this case, the Lord breathed Adam's soul into this lump of clay which gave it animation.

Adam was not created 'bara' in Chapter Two.

Its was in Chapter One where we read that God created both "male and female" in His image. God is invisible. It was the male and female souls that God created 'out from nothing' in His Image!

Now... those souls created in Genesis 1:27 needed a body.

Guess what happened in Chapter Two? God did not create anything out from nothing like we see in Genesis One. For God rested from 'bara' on the seventh day.

Instead, the Lord took out from the earth what was needed and "molded and formed' (jatsar) a body for Adam.

Molded with what He extracted out from "the elements" of the earth. The same soil that had been created 'bara' out from nothing in Chapter One!

Without knowing what the Hebrew says? Interpretation becomes open season for creative writing class. Becoming a proverbial subjective food fight amongst God's children.

We need to know God's Word as it was written. Not only a translation that can too often leave us scratching our heads, yet making some sure of ourselves if they have a tendency to be naturally stubborn, argumentative, and opinionated by nature.

Bara = to create something out from nothing. To bring something into existence. (Gen 1)

Jatsar = to mold and form something out from something that has already been created! (Gen 2)

grace and peace!

grace and peace.......

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Bruce Leiter said:

Where did you get the definition for "bara" that it is "out of nothing"? It does mean to create; you're right about that. However, I'm not sure about the rest of your definition until you prove it from other similar passages in which it is used. I never wish to argue, but my Hebrew is a little rusty, since it's over four decades old!

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genez said:

Since the creatures of water life were out of sight and below the surface there was no need to unveil the new creation to Adam or before angels to see who watched the whole event found in Genesis Two.

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(David)DD said:

But if you read Genesis 1:24-28 in this passage twice written dominion over the fish of the sea. Once before the creation of man and then God's blessing for the male and female include dominion over the fish of the sea..... So the creature of water life can not be out of sight.

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Dale said:

In the first creation story, Genesis 1, plants are created on the third day.

11 Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.” And it was so. 12 The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. 13 And there was evening, and there was morning—the third day.
Genesis 1:11-13 NIV

Still in the first creation story, God creates fish, sea creatures and birds on the fifth day.

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.
Genesis 1: 20-23 NIV

Then God creates land animals and an undetermined number of people on the sixth 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, 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.”
Genesis 1: 24-28 NIV

The second creation account starts in Genesis 2:4.

4 This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, when the Lord God made the earth and the heavens.
Genesis 2:4 NIV

We are specifically told that there is "no shrub" and "no plant" when Adam, the first man, is created.

5 Now no shrub had yet appeared on the earth and no plant had yet sprung up, for the Lord God had not sent rain on the earth and there was no one to work the ground, 6 but streams came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground. 7 Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.
Genesis 2:5-7 NIV

The second creation story gives the impression that plants are made to make Adam comfortable. The tenses here are confusing and I'll say more about that later.

8 Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. 9 The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
Genesis 2:8-9 NIV

In the first creation story, birds (and fish) are created before land animals while in the second creation story, land animals and birds are created at the same time. In the first story, plants and animals are created before people while in the second, Adam is created before plants and animals. Again, the creation of animals is related to Adam's comfort, since the text distinguishes between "livestock" and "wild animals." The creation of land animals and birds is closely connected with their presentation to Adam.

19 Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. 20 So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the sky and all the wild animals.
Genesis 2:19-20 NIV

God announces the intention to create Eve, to create the first woman, in verse 18. He does not actually do so until verses 21-23, after the creation and presentation of birds, livestock and wild animals.

18 The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”
...
21 So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs and then closed up the place with flesh. 22 Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.
23 The man said,
“This is now bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh;
she shall be called ‘woman,’
for she was taken out of man.”
24 That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh.
25 Adam and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.
Genesis 2:18-25 NIV


In summary, in the first creation story, God creates plants, then animals, then people. In the second creation story, God first creates the man, Adam, then plants, then animals, and then the woman, Eve. Each of these stories has its purpose but as literal story they can't be reconciled.

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chad kincham said:

Thus there are not contradictory creation accounts in Genesis, but there is a creation account, followed by a review of it that emphasizes different aspects of creation, such as creation of Adam and Eve.

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genez said:

To be found in the Hebrew.

Only in Genesis One do we find God "creating." In Genesis Two it begins by telling us at that point God rested from all "creating." The Hebrew word is - bara.

In Genesis Two the Lord does not "bara" the body for Adam's soul. The very soul he "created" [bara] in Genesis 1:27. Instead, the takes what was "created" in Genesis One (the earth) and molds and forms [jatsar] from it the body that the Lord is about to breath into its nostril sthe soul that was created in Genesis 1:27.


It can seem tricky at first. But, if one is informed and takes the time to study it, it begins to unfold and become easy to grasp.

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chad kincham said:

Disagree completely for reasons already given.

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genez said:

What reasons? Where to be found?

Sounds like you need to run away.

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chad kincham said:

Post #329.

Let’s cite scholarship:

In Genesis 1 there is a broad outline of the events of the creation week, which reaches its climax with the origin of mankind in the very image of God. In Genesis 2 there is the special emphasis upon man, the divine preparation of his home, the formation of a suitable mate, etc.

Edward J. Young has a good statement of this matter:

There are different emphases in the two chapters...but the reason for these is obvious. Chapter 1 continues the narrative of creation until the climax, namely, man made in the image and likeness of God. To prepare the way for the account of the fall, chapter 2 gives certain added details about man’s original condition, which would have been incongruous and out of place in the grand, declarative march of chapter 1 (1960, p. 53).

This type of procedure was not unknown in the literary methodology of antiquity. Gleason Archer observed that the “technique of recapitulation was widely practiced in ancient Semitic literature. The author would first introduce his account with a short statement summarizing the whole transaction, and then he would follow it up with a more detailed and circumstantial account when dealing with matters of special importance” (1964, p. 118). These respective sections have a different literary motif. Genesis 1 is chronological, revealing the sequential events of the creation week, whereas Genesis 2 is topical, with special concern for man and his environment. [This procedure is not unknown elsewhere in biblical literature. Matthew’s account of the ministry of Christ is more topical, while Mark’s record is more chronological.]

Second, there is clear evidence that Genesis 2 was never an independent creation account. There are simply too many crucial elements missing for that to have been the case. For instance, there is no mention in Genesis 2 of the creation of the Earth, and there is no reference to the oceans or fish. There is no allusion to the Sun, Moon, and stars, etc.

Archer has pointed out that there is not an origins record in the entire literature collection of the ancient Near East that omits discussing the creation of the Sun, Moon, seas, etc. (1982, p. 69). Obviously, Genesis 2 is a sequel to chapter 1. The latter presupposes the former and is built upon it.

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chad kincham said:

Post #329.

Let’s cite scholarship:

In Genesis 1 there is a broad outline of the events of the creation week, which reaches its climax with the origin of mankind in the very image of God. In Genesis 2 there is the special emphasis upon man, the divine preparation of his home, the formation of a suitable mate, etc.

Edward J. Young has a good statement of this matter:

There are different emphases in the two chapters...but the reason for these is obvious. Chapter 1 continues the narrative of creation until the climax, namely, man made in the image and likeness of God. To prepare the way for the account of the fall, chapter 2 gives certain added details about man’s original condition, which would have been incongruous and out of place in the grand, declarative march of chapter 1 (1960, p. 53).

This type of procedure was not unknown in the literary methodology of antiquity. Gleason Archer observed that the “technique of recapitulation was widely practiced in ancient Semitic literature. The author would first introduce his account with a short statement summarizing the whole transaction, and then he would follow it up with a more detailed and circumstantial account when dealing with matters of special importance” (1964, p. 118). These respective sections have a different literary motif. Genesis 1 is chronological, revealing the sequential events of the creation week, whereas Genesis 2 is topical, with special concern for man and his environment. [This procedure is not unknown elsewhere in biblical literature. Matthew’s account of the ministry of Christ is more topical, while Mark’s record is more chronological.]

Second, there is clear evidence that Genesis 2 was never an independent creation account. There are simply too many crucial elements missing for that to have been the case. For instance, there is no mention in Genesis 2 of the creation of the Earth, and there is no reference to the oceans or fish. There is no allusion to the Sun, Moon, and stars, etc.

Archer has pointed out that there is not an origins record in the entire literature collection of the ancient Near East that omits discussing the creation of the Sun, Moon, seas, etc. (1982, p. 69). Obviously, Genesis 2 is a sequel to chapter 1. The latter presupposes the former and is built upon it.

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Dale said:

In the first creation story, Genesis 1, plants are created on the third day.

11 Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.” And it was so. 12 The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. 13 And there was evening, and there was morning—the third day.
Genesis 1:11-13 NIV

Still in the first creation story, God creates fish, sea creatures and birds on the fifth day.

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.
Genesis 1: 20-23 NIV

Then God creates land animals and an undetermined number of people on the sixth 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, 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.”
Genesis 1: 24-28 NIV

The second creation account starts in Genesis 2:4.

4 This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, when the Lord God made the earth and the heavens.
Genesis 2:4 NIV

We are specifically told that there is "no shrub" and "no plant" when Adam, the first man, is created.

5 Now no shrub had yet appeared on the earth and no plant had yet sprung up, for the Lord God had not sent rain on the earth and there was no one to work the ground, 6 but streams came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground. 7 Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.
Genesis 2:5-7 NIV

The second creation story gives the impression that plants are made to make Adam comfortable. The tenses here are confusing and I'll say more about that later.

8 Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. 9 The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
Genesis 2:8-9 NIV

In the first creation story, birds (and fish) are created before land animals while in the second creation story, land animals and birds are created at the same time. In the first story, plants and animals are created before people while in the second, Adam is created before plants and animals. Again, the creation of animals is related to Adam's comfort, since the text distinguishes between "livestock" and "wild animals." The creation of land animals and birds is closely connected with their presentation to Adam.

19 Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. 20 So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the sky and all the wild animals.
Genesis 2:19-20 NIV

God announces the intention to create Eve, to create the first woman, in verse 18. He does not actually do so until verses 21-23, after the creation and presentation of birds, livestock and wild animals.

18 The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”
...
21 So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs and then closed up the place with flesh. 22 Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.
23 The man said,
“This is now bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh;
she shall be called ‘woman,’
for she was taken out of man.”
24 That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh.
25 Adam and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.
Genesis 2:18-25 NIV


In summary, in the first creation story, God creates plants, then animals, then people. In the second creation story, God first creates the man, Adam, then plants, then animals, and then the woman, Eve. Each of these stories has its purpose but as literal story they can't be reconciled.

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