Biblical Hebrew Forum

["George Athas" <george.athas AT moore.edu.au>]

Bryant Williams wrote:

Genesis 1 describes the events of each day using Yom
with cardinal number and the phrase "evening and morning," etc., while
Genesis 2
is describing in more detail the events of Day 6. In no way is it
providing a
different creation story. This is paying attention to the literary
genre,
grammar, rhetorical devices, etc.

 

Bryant, I beg to differ. There are no chronological markers in Gen
2.4ff. to indicate a connection with Gen 1. Furthermore, the verb
forms used suggest a very different presentation of events. It seems
we have an empty but potentially fertile earth, followed by the
creation of a man and a grove to locate and occupy him, followed by
the creation of animals, and then of a woman to partner the man. Also,
the toledoth formula at 2.4 marks a clear break with the preceding
material.

In light of these observations, I'd suggest that it is an assumption
to read Gen 2 as an 'in detail' view of Day 6 in Gen 1. And in any
case, the details don't seem to match up very well anyway. I think
there are far fewer problems with holding the two accounts apart as
distinct rather than seeing them as different facets of the same
storyline.

 

Best Regards, 

GEORGE ATHAS 
Moore Theological College (Sydney) 
1 King St, Newtown, NSW 2042, Australia 
Ph: (+61 2) 9577 9774