What are the two creation stories?

Answer 1

The two biblical creation stories are at Genesis 1:1-2:4a (the first sentence of verse 2:4) and 2:4b-2:25 respectively. There are also fragments of another creation story in the Book of Psalms and the Book of Job.

The first creation story (1:1-2:4a) is believed to have been written during the Babylonian Exile by an anonymous source now known as the Priestly Source. This creation story begins with the pre-existing waters covering the earth and describes a creation event occurring over six days, with the creation of the fish, birds and animals followed by creation of man, both male and female last of all. Then, God rested on the seventh day.

The second creation story (2:4b-2:25) is is considered by biblical scholars to have been written by an anonymous source now known as the Yahwist (or 'J' source). This creation story begins with the pre-existing earth, but plants had not grown because God had yet to make it rain. God created a man (Adam), then planted a garden and created the animals, then finally created a woman (Eve).

It may seem surprising that, in both creation stories, the basics were already there - the waters, the dry land, the wind and therefore the air. Many experts in Hebrew have carefully examined the texts and confirm that this is what they say. The biblical creations were not ex nihilo.

For more information, please visit: http://christianity.answers.com/theology/the-story-of-creation

Answer 2

According to tradition, there is only one Genesis creation-narrative, with ch.2 serving as an expansion of the brevity of ch.1, not a separate set of events (Rashi commentary, Gen.2:8).
The same literary devices which the Torah employs to enrich its text, have been used by Bible-critics in an attempt to reassign its authorship.

The Jewish sages, based on ancient tradition, identified many of these devices, which include:

recapping earlier brief passages to elucidate,

employing different names of God to signify His various attributes,

using apparent changes or redundancies to allude to additional unstated details,

speaking in the vernacular that was current during each era,

and many more. While Judaism has always seen the Torah as an intricate tapestry that nonetheless had one Divine source, some modern authors such as Wellhausen (the father of modern Biblical-criticism, 1844-1918) have suggested artificially chopping up the narrative and attributing it to various authors, despite the Torah's explicit statement as to its provenance (Exodus 24:12, Deuteronomy 31:24). This need not concern believers, since his claims have been debunked one by one, as Archaeology and other disciplines have demonstrated the integrity of the Torah. No fragments have ever been found that would support his Documentary Hypothesis, which remains nothing more than an arbitrary claim:

http://www.apologeticspress.org/apcontent.aspx?category=6&article=1131(a Christian author)

http://www.whoreallywrotethebible.com/excerpts/chapter4-1.php

http://www.pearlmancta.com/BiblicalcriticswrongRShlomoCohen.htm

And see also the wider picture:

http://judaism.answers.com/hebrew/does-archaeology-support-the-hebrew-bible