Does the Bible say that God created all things in six days and then rested on the seventh?
In my first post on Aug 11, we saw that the Bible contains two very different stories about how God created the heavens and the earth: Genesis 1:1-2:3 and Genesis 2:4-25.
We saw that the two stories were distinct and seperate with the second story neither continuing nor depending upon the first story.
We saw that the order of things created was entirely different in the two stories.
Content: The Process of Creation
In this post, we're going to compare the "process of creation," as it is set forth in both stories regarding the creation of man and woman. As we do so, what we will see is that the two stories have very different descriptions of HOW creation occurred, i.e., the process of creation.
The First Creation Story
In the “Creation in Seven Days” story in Genesis 1:1 – 2:3, God speaks and his creation comes into existence.
Listen this time to Genesis 1:26-27: “Then God said, 'Let us make humanity in our image, after our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.' 27: So God created humanity in his own image, in the image of God he created it; male and female he created them.”
God speaks and the creation of humankind occurs.
Other verses in the “Creation in Seven Days” story in reference to God’s creation of other things make this connection between God speaking and creation coming into existence absolutely clear.
Listen to Genesis 1:3: “And God said, 'Let there be light'; and there was light.” Or listen to Genesis 1:9: “And God said, 'Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.' And it was so.”
The Second Creation Story
In the second creation story in Genesis 2:4-25, God creates, no, God “forms” the first man from the dust of the ground and then breathes “into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living being.” (Genesis 2:7)
The way, the process, in which God creates human life in this second story is very different from the process described in the “Creation in Seven Days” story.
And, of course, when we compare how the two stories describe how woman comes into existence, we see a striking difference. In the “Creation in Seven Days” story, God creates the female half of humanity at the same moment God creates the male half.
Let’s re-read Genesis 1:27: “So God created humanity in his own image, in the image of God he created it; male and female he created them.” God speaks. Humanity comes into existence. It’s composed of both males and females.
In the second creation story, the first woman comes into existence when God takes a rib from the first man and makes the first woman. (Genesis 2:21-22)
As you can see, HOW creation occurs is very different in the second story as compared to the first story. In the "Creation in Seven Days" story, God speaks "from on high" and the heavens and the earth come into existence. The second creation story portrays God as "hands on" in his creation. He forms. He takes. He breathes.
More to come.
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Question 1, Part A - Creation in Six Days, then Rest?
Does the Bible say that God created all things in six days and then rested on the seventh?
The Bible contains two very different stories about how God created the heavens and the earth. The first story in Genesis 1:1 - 2:3 is the very well known “Creation in Seven Days” story.
The second story in Genesis 2:4-25 is not as well known as the first, but the second story does include the very familiar story of God’s creation of the first woman out of the rib of the first man.
Get your Bible out and read these two stories. Keep three questions in mind:
(1) Does the second creation story depend upon, expand upon, or continue the “Creation in Seven Days” story that comes first?
(2) In terms of content, is the second story mostly similar to or different from the “Creation in Seven Days” story?
And (3) in terms of style (i.e., the way the story is told), is the second story mostly similar to or different from the “Creation in Seven Days” story?
Two Distinct and Separate Creation Stories
If you actually read both stories, you noticed that the second story in Genesis 2:4-25 does not continue the “Creation in Seven Days” story that comes before it in Genesis 1:1 – 2:3. The “Creation in Seven Days” story comes to a conclusion and then the second story begins.
You also noticed that the second creation story does not depend upon or expand upon the “Creation in Seven Days” story.
The second story is a complete entity in and of itself. You don’t need to know anything else about how God started things in the beginning in order to understand the second story.
Content: The Order of Things Created
Let’s look more closely at the content of the two stories. For example, what’s the order in which things are created in each story?
In the “Creation in Seven Days” story in Genesis 1:1 – 2:3, man and woman are created last. Furthermore, in this story it’s more like God creates the human race, not just one man and one woman.
Listen to Genesis 1:27: “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” This act is not really the creation of a just one male and just one female.
In fact, the Hebrew word that is translated “man” in this verse here in Genesis 1:27 is a collective noun that would be better translated as “humankind or humanity.” (In fact, from now on when this Hebrew word is used in this way, we will translate it “humanity.”)
According to the “Creation in Seven Days” story, God created the human race in one fell swoop.
In the second creation story, God creates just one man first and then God creates just one woman at the end of the story, after the Garden, the trees, the dry-land animals, and the birds.
And it is from these two characters, the man and the woman, that the rest of humanity is descended, according to the second creation story.
In the “Creation in Seven Days” story, the birds are created before the animals that live on dry land. In the second story, the animals that live on dry land and the birds are created at the same time.
So, the order in which God creates things differs markedly in the two creation stories.
(More to come.)
The Bible contains two very different stories about how God created the heavens and the earth. The first story in Genesis 1:1 - 2:3 is the very well known “Creation in Seven Days” story.
The second story in Genesis 2:4-25 is not as well known as the first, but the second story does include the very familiar story of God’s creation of the first woman out of the rib of the first man.
Get your Bible out and read these two stories. Keep three questions in mind:
(1) Does the second creation story depend upon, expand upon, or continue the “Creation in Seven Days” story that comes first?
(2) In terms of content, is the second story mostly similar to or different from the “Creation in Seven Days” story?
And (3) in terms of style (i.e., the way the story is told), is the second story mostly similar to or different from the “Creation in Seven Days” story?
Two Distinct and Separate Creation Stories
If you actually read both stories, you noticed that the second story in Genesis 2:4-25 does not continue the “Creation in Seven Days” story that comes before it in Genesis 1:1 – 2:3. The “Creation in Seven Days” story comes to a conclusion and then the second story begins.
You also noticed that the second creation story does not depend upon or expand upon the “Creation in Seven Days” story.
The second story is a complete entity in and of itself. You don’t need to know anything else about how God started things in the beginning in order to understand the second story.
Content: The Order of Things Created
Let’s look more closely at the content of the two stories. For example, what’s the order in which things are created in each story?
In the “Creation in Seven Days” story in Genesis 1:1 – 2:3, man and woman are created last. Furthermore, in this story it’s more like God creates the human race, not just one man and one woman.
Listen to Genesis 1:27: “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” This act is not really the creation of a just one male and just one female.
In fact, the Hebrew word that is translated “man” in this verse here in Genesis 1:27 is a collective noun that would be better translated as “humankind or humanity.” (In fact, from now on when this Hebrew word is used in this way, we will translate it “humanity.”)
According to the “Creation in Seven Days” story, God created the human race in one fell swoop.
In the second creation story, God creates just one man first and then God creates just one woman at the end of the story, after the Garden, the trees, the dry-land animals, and the birds.
And it is from these two characters, the man and the woman, that the rest of humanity is descended, according to the second creation story.
In the “Creation in Seven Days” story, the birds are created before the animals that live on dry land. In the second story, the animals that live on dry land and the birds are created at the same time.
So, the order in which God creates things differs markedly in the two creation stories.
(More to come.)
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