Genesis 2: 4b-2
Are there differences in the inspired narratives of Genesis 1 and 2? Of course there are. Many also scholars argue that Genesis 1:1-2:4a and Genesis 2:4b-25 are products of two different sources. It reflect different authors, different time periods, etc. It is further charged that the narratives contradict each other in several particulars. Genesis 1 and 2 provide accounts of what God did during creation. But these two chapters don’t seem to agree. It seem like Genesis 1:1-2:4a and Genesis 2:4b-2 are different from each other in many ways. First, each of these two sections of Genesis contains a different introduction for the creation story. Genesis 1 launches with the eloquent and imminently quotable, "In the beginning God created the heavens
…show more content…
One is written in poetry and the other is written in prose. Genesis 1:1-2:3 is a poetic text. It is in verse and probably the writer(s) intended for it to be sung as a chant. Each section begins with: "And God said . . ." (Genesis 1). Each section ends: "And there was evening, and there was morning--the . . . day." Likewise, after the first two days, we have the artistic repetition of the phrase "And God saw that it was good," leading up to a final buildup, "and it was very good" in Genesis 1:31. This structure is high poetry. In contrast with Genesis 2:4-3:23 is a non-poetic text. It is written in prose rather than in poetic lines--no …show more content…
This is also how the Mebster dictionary define the word myth as “: an idea or story that is believed by many people but that is not true or a story that was told in an ancient culture to explain a practice, belief, or natural occurrence.” Defining myth this way would then imply that this type of literature would never appear in the Bible because the Bible contains the truth revealed by God. However, myth can be understood in more than one way. One of the most helpful definitions is provided by Margaret Nutting Ralph in her book “And God said What” she stated, “A myth is an imaginative story that uses symbols to speak about reality, but a reality that is beyond a person’s comprehension. Societies compose myths to orient themselves in a moral and spiritual world” (And God Said What?, p. 29). This characterize Genesis 3 as myth could refer back to the reference of there are actually two Creation accounts in the Book of Genesis. The first appears in Genesis 1:1—2:4; the second is Genesis 2:4–25. These two stories are very different and yet the meaning and message is the same. At the heart of both of these Creation myths is a sacred truth, namely, that God is the source of all Creation, that all Creation was made good and beautiful, that human beings are created in the “image and likeness”
One is written in poetry and the other is written in prose. Genesis 1:1-2:3 is a poetic text. It is in verse and probably the writer(s) intended for it to be sung as a chant. Each section begins with: "And God said . . ." (Genesis 1). Each section ends: "And there was evening, and there was morning--the . . . day." Likewise, after the first two days, we have the artistic repetition of the phrase "And God saw that it was good," leading up to a final buildup, "and it was very good" in Genesis 1:31. This structure is high poetry. In contrast with Genesis 2:4-3:23 is a non-poetic text. It is written in prose rather than in poetic lines--no …show more content…
This is also how the Mebster dictionary define the word myth as “: an idea or story that is believed by many people but that is not true or a story that was told in an ancient culture to explain a practice, belief, or natural occurrence.” Defining myth this way would then imply that this type of literature would never appear in the Bible because the Bible contains the truth revealed by God. However, myth can be understood in more than one way. One of the most helpful definitions is provided by Margaret Nutting Ralph in her book “And God said What” she stated, “A myth is an imaginative story that uses symbols to speak about reality, but a reality that is beyond a person’s comprehension. Societies compose myths to orient themselves in a moral and spiritual world” (And God Said What?, p. 29). This characterize Genesis 3 as myth could refer back to the reference of there are actually two Creation accounts in the Book of Genesis. The first appears in Genesis 1:1—2:4; the second is Genesis 2:4–25. These two stories are very different and yet the meaning and message is the same. At the heart of both of these Creation myths is a sacred truth, namely, that God is the source of all Creation, that all Creation was made good and beautiful, that human beings are created in the “image and likeness”