Why are two contradictory creation accounts in the genesis?

Question

Genesis 1:25-27
(Humans were created after the other animals.)

And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good. And God said, Let us make man in our image.... So God created man in his own image.

COMPARED TO:

(Humans were created before the other animals.)

And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him. And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof.

Genesis 1:27
(The first man and woman were created simultaneously.)

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

COMPARED TO:

Genesis 2:18-22
(The man was created first, then the animals, then the woman from the man's rib.)

And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him. And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them.... And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.

Answer 1

GE 1:3-5 On the first day, God created light, then separated light and darkness.
GE 1:14-19 The sun (which separates night and day) wasn't created until the fourth day.

GE 1:11-12, 26-27 Trees were created before man was created.
GE 2:4-9 Man was created before trees were created.

GE 1:20-21, 26-27 Birds were created before man was created.
GE 2:7, 19 Man was created before birds were created.

GE 1:24-27 Animals were created before man was created.
GE 2:7, 19 Man was created before animals were created.

GE 1:26-27 Man and woman were created at the same time.
GE 2:7, 21-22 Man was created first, woman sometime later.

Answer 2

You are basing your belief that the two accounts are contradictory on your interpretation of Genesis 2:19. You believe it says that man was created before the animals in contrast to the first chapter of Genesis which says the animals were created first. The NIV has perhaps the best translation of Genesis 2:19, saying God "had formed" the animals. This is a pluperfect, indicating the animals were created before man. Even if one were to translate this verse as a simple past tense the statement is easily seen as a parenthesis. I will give an example of two fictional comments:

"I got on Yahoo answers tonight to see if someone had a question about the Bible. Then I found this question about Genesis."

"I have read the question about Genesis. I got on Yahoo answers tonight to see if someone had a question about the Bible."

These two statements have the same meaning even though they have a different order. In the first statement the events are related in strict chronological order. The second statement uses a parenthesis, talking about an action after one that comes after it in time (it speaks of getting on Y/A after mentioning the reading of the question). This kind of parenthesis is a very common device in the English language and it was in the Biblical languages as well.

Thus we have three options here.

1) The Hebrew should be translated as a pluperfect, thus eliminating any possibility of a contradiction.

2) The second account uses the common device of the parenthesis.

3) The authors (or, if you insist, editors / redactors) of Genesis were extremely careless with this text which was very holy to them. No one seemed to notice this was a contradiction. Furthermore, no one else did until someone pointed it out in the 21st century.

Options 1 & 2 are possibilities. Option 3 does not seem credible. I prefer both stories since they do not contradict each other. In fact they complement (fill out the meaning of) one another.
BTW, the proper way to refer to the first book of the Bible is "Genesis." Your term "the genesis" is incorrect although you can say "the book of Genesis."

Answer 3

The first chapter of Genesis is a synopsis of creation. The second is more detailed and focuses on the creation of man (and was unlikely intended to be a separate creation account). The NIV translates Gen 2:19 as follows:

"Now that 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..."

Simply put, the Garden could have initially been without animal life, and God simply brought the animals he had already created to Adam.

Answer 4

the 1st creation tale in Genesis a million seems to propose that adult adult males and ladies folk have been created on the comparable time. interior the 2nd version, beginning interior the 2d financial ruin, the 1st woman is created from Adam's rib, so throughout the time of this version, guy got here before woman. The creation of humanity is crucial to the 2nd creation tale in Genesis. throughout the time of this older narrative the 1st woman is created after the 1st guy (Adam), from his physique (Genesis 2:21-22), a concern which little doubt reflects the dominant place of adult males in a patriarchal society. however the implied inferior status of girls folk will become specific merely after the fall from grace in Eden, while God tells the girl: "your want would be on your husband, and he shall rule over you" (Genesis 3:sixteen). Adam then supplies his substantial different a acceptance, Eve, an act that echoes his naming of the beasts, which expressed his dominion over animalkind. even with the undeniable fact that, this account stresses, much extra strongly than the 1st tale in Genesis, the team spirit of the sexes and their mutual want. God says: "it fairly is no longer good that guy would be on my own; i will make him a helper and an substantial different" (Genesis 2:18). merely woman proves suitable for this place.

Answer 5

Two versions of the story were written by different groups or individuals in Israel and then edited together by a third individual. The details of how Genesis was written are quite fascinating. There are two or three versions (often contradictory) of many stories which are both included. e.g. the story of Noah is two stories with more or less alternate verses of each. A big clue that it was written by at least two people with different stories and beliefs is that the two writers used different words for God.

Read "Who Wrote the Bible" by Richard Friedman.

Answer 6

There were many major slip ups made by the Hebrews when putting all those books together. Much of it had been copied from the works of the Sumerians and the Akkadians. Before the books went into print, the only ones who could have known, if they noticed, were the ones doing all the preaching. No one else had access to the books. Once in publication though, many now realize how absurd it all is.

Answer 7

The is a third version of that in Jewish writings concerning Lilith. Lilith was Adam's first wife, but she wanted to have sex with her on top. Actually there are several versions of this story.

Answer 8

They are not contradictory. The so called second acount is actually an expose' of day six..........
The plants and animals spoken of are specifically refering to agriculture and animal husbandry. There was neither of these before man but there were plants and animals.

Answer 9

Buddy the bible is just a book written by men long since dead....it's no more the word of God then America being a great country....it's all not true....

Answer 10

To give Xtians mysterious ways at which to marvel.