An In Depth Look at the Creation Myth in the Book of Genesis

The creation myth in the Bible found in the book of Genesis chronicles the creation of the world, and establishes God’s early relationship with man. The two creation accounts in Genesis 1 and 2 greatly contrast in the in the portrayals of the origins of the universe and humankind. The disparities in language, styles, syntax, are evident in Genesis 1 and 2, and are clearly written by different people. The two oldest groups of source documents are designated as the Elohistic and Yawhist traditions, both derivations from which the author refers to God as either Elohim or Yahweh respectively. Stephen L. Harris illustrates the differences in the two versions of the creation story documented by Genesis 1 and 2 and states, “Differences in style, vocabulary, and theology indicate that the first account is a priestly composition (Gen. 1:1-2:4a), but that the second (Gen. 2:4b-24) is the work of a Yahwist (J)” (103).
Genesis 1 illustrates the hierarchical categorization of all that is created in the world, by a cosmic, majestic and very calculating God (Elohim) who, with great precision, creates the world merely through the simplistic act of speech. The opening of Genesis 1 portrays God as ruler of cosmos stating, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters. Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. And God saw that light was good; and God separated light from darkness” (New Revised Standard Version Bible, Gen. 1:1-4). The essential mode of Elohim is the act of creation; producing order out of disorder. According to The Oxford English Dictionary, the word “created” is defined as,“brought into being by an agent or cause, made or formed by the divine power” (def. a). The divine powers of Elohim are emphasized through His power of creating “the heavens and earth” from a “formless void” (Gen: 1:1-2). “Elohim transforms a dark watery chaos into a cosmos, an orderly system characterized by predictability and harmony” (Harris 104). The cosmogony of Genesis 1 outlines the descriptive details of Elohim’s scrupulous order in creating the elements out of chaos into a structured environment, ultimately constructing a place in which humankind can inhabit. The transcendent order in which Elohim creates the universe is carefully mapped out in accordance to potentially serve the eventual needs of humanity.
Conversely, the Yahwist or J version of creation in Genesis 2 provides a different account of creation, possessing folklorist characteristics and anthropomorphic descriptions of the divine deity, Yahweh. The way in which God (Yahweh) is depicted in Genesis 2 greatly contrasts to the God (Elohim) characterized by Genesis 1 who, “initially appears as a transcendent, distant Being who speaks the world into existence” (Harris 103). In Genesis 2, creation is manipulated into being, and Yahweh is portrayed as lacking a sense of planning and order so extensively detailed in the creation account in Genesis 1. This is illustrated in verse 4 stating, “These are the generations of the heavens and earth when they were created” (Gen.2). Unlike Elohim, Yahweh comes to earth in order to bring humankind into existence, and “…is shown as immanent, stooping to mold the first human out of clay” (Harris 103). In Genesis 2, man is made of earthly materials of dust and clay, with the finishing touches of Yahweh’s divine breath. Verse 7 elucidates Yahweh’s creation of man stating, “then the LORD God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living being”(Gen.2). This is drastic departure from the creation account of humankind coming into existence illustrated in Genesis 1 which states, “So God created humankind in his image” (Gen.1:27).
Additionally, the creation order of Genesis 1 and 2 illustrate a difference in the relation between man and woman. In Genesis 1, man and woman are both created simultaneously and illustrated as equivalents in the image of the divine. The only expectation God places on humans is to “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth” (Gen.1:28). Conversely, the Genesis 2 creation story reflects more of an experimental give-and take process where Yahweh creates man first, who is called Adam (meaning humanity translated in Hebrew). It is only after Adam is produced, that Yahweh creates Eden, an environment in which he can inhabit. Woman is secondary to the creation of man, and is portrayed as having her sole existence revolve around being man’s “helper as his partner” (Gen.2:20). Additionally, woman is the final product of Yahweh’s creation in Genesis 2. “Only after placing the human alone in Eden, as gardener and caretaker does Yahweh apparently notice that total solitude is ‘not good’ for him” (Harris 106). In Genesis 2, the female is illustrated in an inferior manner to man, and is even given the name “woman” by Adam in a similar manner in which he names the animals. Woman is not given a proper name or referred to as Eve until the next chapter in Genesis (3:20).
Furthermore, there is a different set of expectations placed on man and woman in Genesis 2, introducing the “forbidden” motif. The only condition placed on man and woman is Yahweh’s proscription of consuming the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Yahweh “commands” Adam to, “freely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it, you shall die” (Gen. 2:16-17). This is quite a departure from the previous chapter in Genesis where Elohim’s only mandate for man and woman is to procreate.


Works Cited

Harris, Stephen L. Understanding the Bible. Boston, Mass.: McGraw-Hill, 2007.

Leonard, Scott A., and Michael McClure. "Genesis The Creation Account." Myth and knowing: an introduction to world mythology. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2004. 84-90.

New Revised Standard Version with Apocrypha. New York: New York UP, 1977.