What is the Yahwist account of creation compared to the Priestly version?

Answer 1

The Yahwist ('J' source) creation account starts in the second sentence of Genesis 2:4 and continues through the creation of Adam, then the beasts of the field and fowl of the air, and finally the creation of Eve in Genesis 2:20.

The Priestly ('P' source) creation account starts in Genesis 1:1 and proceeds in a very different sequence through the creation of night and day, the firmament, plants, the heavenly bodies, fish, beasts and fowl, then finally man, both male and female. This account ends in the first sentence of Genesis 2:4.

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

Answer 2

The Yahwist account of creation, found in Genesis 2, is more focused on a personal and intimate portrayal of God creating humans and the world, emphasizing a relational aspect. The Priestly account, found in Genesis 1, presents a more structured and orderly creation where God creates through a systematic process over six days, culminating in the Sabbath.

Answer 3

It is an artificial chopping up of the complete traditional narrative, based on no physical evidence other than the arbitrary desire to see something non-divine in nature. 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). In ch.1, God created the universe from nothing (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