A question about genesis, how can it be true?

Question

Chapter one mentions that god created everything first and then created man; however chapter two says god created man first and then everything else.
How can both chapters be true?

I've heard this a few times abot both chapters

Answer 1

You are correct that the two creation versions are different. There are many different ideas about why this is the case, and by the way, this is not the only instance of two versions of a story being recorded in Scripture-- these are called doublets.

Keep in mind that writing literature in antiquity followed a different format, and the ancients were not quite so troubled as we post-Enlightenment thinkers are by conflicting details. Both versions seemed important enough to preserve.

One theory is that Chapter One is a liturgical hymn. It has a chorus --"The evening and the morning were the first day, etc."

Another theory is known as the documentary hypothesis, which has been known since antiquity but became popularized in the 19th century by Wellhausen. This idea postulates that there were basically four different writers of the Pentateuch (first five books) --they can be identified by their word selection and writing style.

You can read more about the documentary hypothesis at the web sites I list below.

In the years following Wellhousen, the documentary hypothesis has undergone many revisions and some scholars see other literary strands in these passages as well (beyond the original four sources of J, E, P, and D).

A few scholars maintain that there was a single writer of the Pentateuch, Moses, as is traditionally believed. If this is the case, then, the presence of doublets might indicate a particular style of transposing what was once oral literature.

Answer 2

Hi! Can I ask you a question? If "gawyd" is a myth than who created you? A well meaning fish? LOL!! Why are you here? (On Earth) Or is it part of the beauty to have no idea?.... Okay! I'll bite at your question right quick...

Gen 1:1-- In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

Gen 2:4-7: 4 This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created.
When the LORD God made the earth and the heavens- 5 and no shrub of the field had yet appeared on the earth and no plant of the field had yet sprung up, for the LORD God had not sent rain on the earth and there was no man to work the ground, 6 but streams came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground- 7 the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.

What mistake your making is thinking that just because its in chapter format, that it has to be in chronological sequence.
For example: Suppose I were to tell you a story, and I begin by telling you who all the characters are, then I start at the beginning of the story using only certain characters.... If your simple, you might ask me why I dont use everyones names I previously mentioned! I'd read it again, and maybe this time not just to find something to be wrong with it!

How cool are you though, for even asking that question :)
God loves you whether you believe he created you or not!

Answer 3

This is an excellent example of why it's very important to carefully study the bible. On the surface it does seem contradictory but as you'll see below this is caused by translation issues.

Apparently the original Hebrew in Chapter 2 uses different Hebrew words to reference the plants then the once used in Chapter 1, Chapter 2 uses 'esev and siakh' which tend to refer to domesticated plants that require human cultivators.

This is certainly supported when considering the rest of the context of chapter 2

"and no shrub of the field had yet appeared on the earth and no plant of the field had yet sprung up, for the Lord God had not sent rain on the earth and there was no man to work the ground, 6 but streams came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground-- "

Note the fact that man is not their to work the ground is a reason for these plants not being present, why would this be the case if referencing wild plants.


" Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed"

note here the mention of the a garden, again a reference to plants the man would grow as opposed to wild vegetation.

Answer 4

Chapter 1 of Genesis is an overview of creation. It says that God created man and woman on the 6th day of creation (see Genesis 1:27). But then it talks about creating Eve in chapter 2. What's up with that? Well, here's what I believe. Chapter 2 is an expanded, exlplanatory view of the 6th day and of the creation of Eve in particular. If you think about it like that it not only solves the apparent contradiction. But it's also is a statement at what an incredible creature woman is. I think that the literarty structure of Genesis chapters 1 and 2 point to Eve (i.e. woman) as the most beautiful thing in all of God's creation. Thank you God for creating such beauty!!!

Peace.

Answer 5

1 Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array.

2 By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested [a] from all his work. 3 And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.

Adam and Eve
4 This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created.
When the LORD God made the earth and the heavens- 5 and no shrub of the field had yet appeared on the earth [b] and no plant of the field had yet sprung up, for the LORD God had not sent rain on the earth [c] and there was no man to work the ground, 6 but streams [d] came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground- the LORD God formed the man The Hebrew for man (adam) sounds like and may be related to the Hebrew for ground (adamah) it is also the name Adam (see Gen. 2:20). from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.
8 Now the LORD God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. 9 And the LORD God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

10 A river watering the garden flowed from Eden; from there it was separated into four headwaters. 11 The name of the first is the Pishon; it winds through the entire land of Havilah, where there is gold. 12 (The gold of that land is good; aromatic resin [e] and onyx are also there.) 13 The name of the second river is the Gihon; it winds through the entire land of Cush. [f] 14 The name of the third river is the Tigris; it runs along the east side of Asshur. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.

15 The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. 16 And the LORD God commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die."

18 The LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him."

19 Now the LORD God had formed out of the ground all the beasts of the field and all the birds of the air. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. 20 So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds of the air and all the beasts of the field.
But for Adam [g] no suitable helper was found. 21 So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man's ribs [h] and closed up the place with flesh. 22 Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib [i] he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man
I fail to see your stated conflict in any of these chapters since the second Chapter does not even speak about the order of creation, there is no conflict with the first Chapter there, at all, and, therefore, yes, both chapters are true, you did not show how those Chapters are not true!Therefore your statement is incorrect!

Answer 6

Chapter two doesn't say God created man first then everything else. It's a review of part of chapter one & where man was placed after He was created!

Answer 7

Very good question. The Bible encourages us to 'reason from the Scriptures' (Ac 17:2,3)

The answer is, the creation account is related to us twice. The way the narrative is constructed seems to be causing the apparent contradictions.

When Moses was writing Genesis, he was drawing on some written records that he had available of the creation account. These 'accounts-NIV' or 'histories-NWT' were two, and were written from slightly different points of view. One writing started at Ge 1:1 and ended at Ge 2:4. It was written chronologically from the point of view of the creation of the heavens and the earth and everything in them.
The second writing he drew on started with Ge 2:5 and ended at Ge 5:2. This one is more choppy chronologically and was written from the view of topical importance. It focuses on the creation of man and his fall into sin and adds more details not found in Chapter 1.These were two separate accounts that Moses pieced together into one.


The second account starts out at a period in the third day right
before land plants were created.(vs 5) It gives us some more details not given in Chapter 1. It next skips to day six and talks about the creation of man. Again it gives more detail (quite a bit more in this one) not found in the first account.

Now concerning the animals supposedly being created after man in the second account at verse 19, remember that this account was not written from a chronological perspective. It was not uncommon for Bible writers to write out of chronological order. (For example, read the gospels of Jesus; the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, as well as some OT books) Chapter 1 of Genesis clearly shows that the animals (and plants) were created before man. The new information being
presented in verse 19 is the naming of the paired animals by Adam and setting the stage for the creation of Eve. So at this point he mentions the animals being formed (out of order relative to creative order), then how Adam names them but saw no mate for him, then how God created a mate for him, Eve.(vs 20-25)
The Son of God, Jesus, believed in the Genesis creation account and saw no need to correct any supposed "errors" written by Moses. (Mt 19:4-6)

Answer 8

a million. This describes now not the earth however new Jerusalem. two. I have not begun to learn this. If i don't forget accurately, one of the vital prophets truthfully had God maintain the earth nonetheless for one hour, does not that suggest it's relocating? three. The moon offers us gentle sure, however please problematic at the particular verse that says it has its possess supply. four. I didn't recognise the bible used the phrase "bugs". I don't even suppose that this was once a phrase within the historic Hebrew or Greek that the bible was once written in. five. In the commencing God stated allow there be gentle, and there was once gentle and the earth was once VOID AND WITHOUT FORM. no check out once more please. 6. In contemporary experiences of the the moon earth courting, scientist (your clergymen of your faith) are discovering that the moon is relocating clear of the earth at like a million-two inches in line with 12 months. Is it feasible, this guy made phenomenon referred to as time can speed up given the basis that because the moon movements away, the rotation of the earth is slowing as good because the period of an afternoon reducing? Days in the world was such a lot shorter, like 6-7 hours if I learn the item proper. I bet those facets had been feasible debunked?

Answer 9

i'm sorry but i guess i'm not seeing the contradiction. the first chapter says that God created everything and then man...true. the second chapter said that God HAD planted a garden and then put the man he HAD formed in it. he never says one came before the other, the both already happened. genesis one makes it clear which one came first. no inconsistency there.

Answer 10

Chapter 2 begins with the creation of THE Adam.
And begins tracking the Race of THE Adam, through who Christ will come. This makes THE Eve the mother of all living.
Try reading with a little understanding