3 minutes
The Proper Reading of Genesis 2
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I was asked if Genesis 1 and Genesis 2 contradict each other. The question came from a reading of Genesis 2:7-8 which shows Adam being created followed by the creation of plants. I have written the following recognizing that others might desire clarification on this.
Chapter 1 is the overview of Creation. The main character is God. He is the protagonist, the subject of the chapter.
Chapter 2 is the specific account of the creation of Man. Adam is the main character, the protagonist and the subject.
Regarding Chapter Breaks
Before starting, realize a better place for the chapter break[1] would have been Genesis 2:4.
This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made earth and heaven.
Many scholars believe that this verse should be broken up so that the first part of the verse ends Chapter 1:
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This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created.
While the second part begins chapter 2:
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In the day that the Lord God made earth and heaven,
This becomes so obvious, that for the purposes of this writing, from here on, when I refer to Chapter 2, it is with the understanding that it begins in verse 4b.
Jewish Scholarship
It is important to note that Jewish scholars have never thought these two chapters were contradictory. They have always understood these two chapters properly. Jesus, the greatest scholar of Jewish scriptures, also does this. In Matthew 19:4-5 Jesus says,
“Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’?”
Notice what he has done: he has combined verses from chapters 1 and 2 together: Genesis 1:27b (“male and female he created them”) and Genesis 2:24 (“Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.”). Jesus and the Jewish scholars recognize these two chapters are not contradictory but complimentary.
So when Genesis 2:7 describes the creation of Man, followed by Genesis 2:9 pointing out the creation of plants then by Genesis 2:19 mentioning the creation of animals, why don’t the Jewish scholars see this as a contradiction to Genesis 1, which clearly shows the chronology as plants, animals, man? It is because they properly understand that verb tense is determined by context.
For example, in 2:19 the Hebrew word for “form” is “yatsar”. Most of our English translations have translated it in the perfect tense. Thus yatsar = “formed”. However, the Jewish scholars (as well as some English translations such as the NIV and ESV) properly use the pluperfect tense. Thus yatsar = “had formed”. When we read the ESV we have:
Now out of the ground the Lord God had formed every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens and brought them to the man to see what he would call them.
In other words, God had formed them in the past, not that He had just formed them. This removes our concern that Adam was formed before the animals because the animals had been formed already.
Reading Historical Narratives
When we recognize that Chapter 2 is a detailed explanation of the Creation of Man in Day 6 (i.e.: a historical narrative regarding Man), we will treat it the same way we would any other historical account.
First, before getting into the details of the account, a quick summary of important facts is given for context (Genesis 2:5-6). Then, while the historical account itself will usually be in chronological order, supporting facts will be introduced as needed for the best understanding of the historical account.
So the historical account of Man in chapter 2 is chronological: Adam is created, he realizes he needs a helpmate, Eve is created, the first marriage occurs. Throughout this account, facts regarding his situation are given: there was no rain but only a mist that watered the ground, there was a garden in Eden, there were trees in the garden, including the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, there were four rivers, there were precious stones, there were animals. These facts are not given in any chronological order but as they are needed to move the story of Adam forward.
What a Useless Creation Account Might Look Like
Finally, how can we know that Chapter 2 is a detailed account of the Creation of Man rather than another account of the Creation Story? Simply, we can know because Chapter 2 never mentions the creation of the heavens and the earth, of the atmosphere, the oceans and the land, the sun or the moon, or anything living in the waters.
If Chapter 2 is a second Creation Account, then it is an extremely poor one. It doesn’t provide us with information regarding the origins of anything outside of man, with some mention of plants and animals.
If we were to remove Chapter 1 from Genesis, Chapter 2 would never be called a Creation account. Maybe we would call it the Creation of Man. And that’s the point.
Your Turn
Do you still think there are two Creation Accounts in Genesis? What questions need to be answered to prove this is one account? Did this help with your own questions? Let me know in the comments below.
[1] Chapter breaks did not exist in the autographs (original writings) but were added in the 13th century. Hence, they are man-made and not always in the right place. Often, this causes confusion.