What are the similarities of the first and second creation accounts in Genesis?

Answer 1

Chapter 2 of Genesis recaps the creation week and provides extra details on Adam and Eve's mode of creation and of their home in Eden. Chapter 1 sets out all of the creative work in order. Both deal with the same story but with different emphasis of the detail.

Answer 2

Both creation accounts in Genesis depict God as the creator of the universe and emphasize the significance of humanity. They both describe the creation of the world in stages and highlight the role of humans in caring for and stewarding the earth. However, they differ in the order and details of creation events.

Answer 3

The first biblical creation account is in Genesis 1:1-2:4a (first sentence of verse 2:4). The second biblical creation account starts in Genesis 2:4b. The two accounts are remarkably different, pointing to two quite different sources, but do have some similarities.
An important similarity between the two accounts is that, in both cases, God was the creator. Many experts in Hebrew have carefully examined the texts and say that, again in both cases, creation was not ex nihilo. In the first account, there was a pre-existing watery chaos. The ocean was already present and a wind moved across the surface. The seas rested on the dry land, which appeared on day 3 when God gathered the waters together. The second account says that there was pre-existing dry land, but God had yet to make it rain for plants to grow. A spring arose and God took some moist clay and made Adam, then began to create all other living things.

It has been suggested that the first account arose in a culture that was familiar with the oceans, while the second account originated in an arid environment.

Whether the two accounts can be harmonised, and whether they can be understood literally continues to be debated. For more information on this debate, please visit: http://christianity.answers.com/theology/the-story-of-creation

Answer 4

The creation account in Genesis chapter 1 (it actually finishes in the first sentence of Genesis 2:4) is believed to have been written by the 'Priestly source', based on an early Mesopotamian creation myth. The 'Priestly source' was an anonymous writer during or shortly after the time of the Babylonian Exile, who contributed to the Book of Genesis. In this account, the ocean was already there, but no dry land until the third day, when God separated the waters. Man, both male and female was created after the beasts of the earth.

The creation account in Genesis chapter 2 (it actually starts in the second sentence of Genesis 2:4) is believed to have been written by the Yahwist source ('J source'), an anonymous author who represented the traditions of the southern kingdom of Judah early in the first millennium BCE, long before the time of the Priestly source. In this account, there is no mention of the ocean, but the land was already there waitng for God to make it rain. Adam (male) was created first, before plants and beasts, while Eve (female) was created last of all. This account could scarcely be more different from the first creation account.

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

Answer 5

Strictly speaking Genesis 1 can not be compared with Genesis 2, because the first creation account, starting at Genesis 1:1 continues through to the first sentence in Genesis 2:4. The second creation account begins in the second sentence in Genesis 2:4. When the book was divided up into chapters and verses, these issues were not always considered. So, for simplicity, I will call Genesis 1:1-2:4a the first creation account, and refer to Genesis 2:4b-2:25 as the second creation account.

The second creation account is more primitive, as it is the older creation account in Judaism. Scholars attribute it to the 'J' source, or 'Yahwist', because of similarities in style and language. Scholars attribute the first creation account to the 'P' source, or'Priestly source', because of similarities in style and language to other contributions by the Priestly source. They say that the first creation account is remarkably similar to an older Mesopotamian creation myth, and that the Priestly source learnt of it during the Babylonian Exile.

Some scholars say that the first creation account evolved in a maritime or seaside culture, as shown by the initial focus on the ocean. The second creation account evolved in an arid, interior region, with the initial focus on the need for rain.

Both creation accounts seek to explain how we came to be. But the first creation account is broader ranging, explaining the creation of night and day, and the firmament, sun, moon and stars. The second creation account focuses on the creation of humans, but also covers the growing of plants and the creation of animals. In both cases, the basics were already there - in the first account, the waters, the wind that blew across the water and the land underneath; in the second creation account, the dry land was there, but plants had not grown because God had yet to make it rain.
For more information, please visit: http://christianity.answers.com/theology/the-story-of-creation

Answer 6

The creation account in Genesis chapter 1 (it actually finishes in the first sentence of Genesis 2:4) is believed to have been written by the 'Priestly source', based on an early Mesopotamian creation myth. The 'Priestly source' was an anonymous writer during or shortly after the time of the Babylonian Exile, who contributed to the Book of Genesis. The creation account in Genesis chapter 2 (it actually starts in the second sentence of Genesis 2:4) is believed to have been written by the Yahwist source ('J source'), an anonymous author who represented the traditions of the southern kingdom of Judah early in the first millennium BCE, long before the time of the Priestly source.

Leon R. Kass (The Beginning of Wisdom: Reading Genesis) says that pious readers, believing that the text cannot contain contradictions, ignore the major disjunctions between the two creation stories and tend to treat the second story as the fuller, more detailed account of the creation of man (and woman) that the first story simply reported. However, while there are similarities, this is not one of them.

• The major similarity is that both accounts attribute creation to the one Israelite God.
• There is no war in heaven to create the background or motive for creation, as is more usually the case.
• Chaos monsters are a very common motif in ancient Near Eastern creation myths, and they are alluded to in the fragmentary creation accounts in the Book of Job and the Psalms. Neither of the two creation accounts in Genesis mentions chaos monsters.
• Experts in the Hebrew language say that in both cases the earth is pre-existing: in the first account, the ocean was already there; in the second account, there is no mention of the ocean, but the land was already there waiting for God to make it rain.

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

Answer 7

Both chapters mention the creation of humans and animals by God.

Note that 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).It may be noted that the same literary devices which the Torah employs to enrich its text, have been seized upon by "Bible-critics" in their ongoing attempts to undermine it. 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 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 (Exodus 24:12), others such as Wellhausen (the father of modern Biblical-criticism, 1844-1918) attempted to artificially turn the Torah's text into its own undoing. 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, whose falsehood has been pointed out:

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

Answer 8

Scholars now attribute the creation account in Genesis chapter 1, continuing on to verse 2:4a, to the anonymous source now known as the Priestly Source. In this account, God simply speaks things into existence, even the heavenly bodies, which he places in a firmament just above the earth. Men and women are created last of all and in God's image, and given dominion over the earth.
Scholars attribute the creation account beginning in Genesis chapter 2, from verse 2:4b, to the anonymous source now known as the Yahwist, or 'J Source'. In this account, the first creation is Adam and the last is Eve, with the animals created between. In this much earlier account, God's powers are more limited and he can not make living things out of nothing. God models Adam and the animals out of dirt, but makes Eve out of a rib from Adam. Adam is not given dominion over the earth, as in the first account, but is needed to till the ground (Genesis 2:5). Reading further, man is not created in God's image, but becomes god-like as a result of eating the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil (Genesis 3:22, "And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us...").

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

Answer 9

According to tradition, there is only one Genesis creation-narrative, with ch.2 delving into detail in order to fill out the brevity of ch.1, not a separate set of events (Rashi commentary, Gen.2:8). In ch.1, God created the universe from nothing (Exodus 20:11, Isaiah 40:28; Maimonides' "Guide," 2:30; Targum and Nachmanides on Gen. 1:1; Rashi commentary, Gen.1:14), and in ch.2, God performed specific acts within the broader picture.
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://religion.answers.com/theory/debunking-the-jepd-documentary-hypothesis

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

Answer 10

God creates the universe, and this Earth and everything in it.
On day 1: God created the universe in general, light, and this Earth.

On day 2: God created the separation between the Earth and the upper atmosphere.

On day 3: God separated the continents from the oceans, and created plants.

On day 4: God created the sun, moon, and stars.

On day 5: God created birds and fish.

On day 6: God created animals and people.

On day 7: God ceased, thereby creating the concept of rest.

See also:

http://religion.answers.com/controversy/is-there-evidence-against-evolution

http://judaism.answers.com/jewish-philosophy/can-you-prove-that-god-exists

http://www.allaboutscience.org/intelligent-design.htm

http://religion.answers.com/theory/debunking-the-jepd-documentary-hypothesis