11) What are we to make of two creation accounts in Gen 1-2?

In previous posts I have mentioned the existence of two accounts of creation in Gen 1-2 and observed that the existence of the two accounts invites us to reflect on the nature of the two traditions and their respective messages. It also provides a timely reminder that the Bible is made up of many traditions  that were gradually combined over the centuries of Israel's faith journey. We are used to the fourfold Gospel tradition and this provides a useful starting point when examining these Old Testament traditions. Just as we are familiar with the different Gospel writers and their portraits of Jesus, so too, the Old Testament often preserves different traditions that deal with the same event or person from a number of perspectives.

The two creation accounts in Genesis 1-2 both have their own beauty and profound story to tell. They both speak of the wonder of God's creation and the unique role of humanity in that creation. It is interesting to see how the people of Israel saw no need to choose one tradition over the other. It is generally agreed that while the book of Genesis is the first book of the Old Testament it was probably not the first one written. While its traditions relate stories of the founders of the nation staring from the call of Abraham and Sarah and extend back to creation it was probably written in the time of the Exile in 587 BCE. It was both a difficult time and an extremely creative one as well. The Northern kingdom of Israel had gradually been deported at the hands of the Assyrians over a long and painful process from 740 to 722 BCE. In 587 BCE the rulers and the elite of the Southern kingdom were taken into exile in Babylon. It was during this time without land, king and Temple that they were forced to take stock, facing the challenges of maintaining their traditions, their faith, and their Jewish identity. It is said that necessity is the mother of invention, and so it was that confronted with the brutal reality of the experience of being in exile they gathered their traditions and told their stories.

(Image by Gavin Sustantio)

The first creation account extends from Gen 1:1-2:3 and it is majestic in tone and content as it tells of God's creative activity over six days.  God's powerful word separates the light from the darkness, and as each day unfolds the goodness of what is created and God's delight in it is sounded repeatedly in Gen 1:4, 10, 12,18,21. The final refrain in Gen 1:31 speaks of God seeing all that had been created and "behold it was very good." The basic stance of God towards creation is one of blessing and the narrative is punctuated by God's blessing of the creatures of the sea and the air in Gen 1:22, commanding them to be fruitful and multiply, and then the blessing is repeated in Gen 1:28 for the woman and man who have been created in God's image. Astute readers will note how even God rests on the seventh day and that this reflects the tradition of the Sabbath. This creation account is identified as coming from Priestly sources in the exilic and post exilic period.

The second creation account is found in Gen 2:4- 25 and has its own beauty which is quite distinctive. One of the first indications that we are dealing with another tradition is the name for God. The Priestly tradition speaks of God as Elohim whereas the second tradition known as the Yahwist refers to God as Yhwh Elohim. What is striking is that humanity is created last in the Priestly account of creation as a means of identifying our unique role as the stewards of God's creation. In the Yahwist account humanity is created first as God forms us from the earth, and then breathes life into our humanity. It has a beauty all it own and a sense of profound sense of intimacy between the creator and humanity. The first human being is then placed lovingly in Eden to till and care for it. God then sets out to create a partner for the first human being, and all the other living creatures are created and named, but they are not a fitting partner for this one who will tend the Garden. It is not until God forms woman from a rib of the man that humanity is complete and whole - man and woman.

Both the Priestly and Yahwist traditions have their beauty and power to move us a readers and people of faith. Fortunately we do not have to choose between one tradition or the other. The wisdom of those who preserved these traditions for future generations was that we would be impoverished if either were lost.

You may be interested in following the work has done in comparing the Biblical Creation accounts with the Creation accounts from the Ancient Near East by Dr Darrell Bock and Dr Richard Averbeck. In the second link Dennis Bratcher provides an introduction an translation of the Babylonian creation account.

 


 Comparing the Bible to other creation accounts

The Babylonian Creation Account - The Enuma Elish