Creation stories in Gensis

        The first reading of today (9 March 2014) is a creation story of Genesis. There are two distinct creation accounts in the book of Genesis. The first account, Gen 1:1-2:3, is a priestly account of creation. “God” is the creator. The second account, Gen 2:4-3:24 is from a Yahwist source. “YHWH” is the creator. This short paper compares and contrasts the two creation stories.

        In the priestly account of creation, there is an elaborated description of God’s creation of everything in the universe. Through a series of chronological creations, He made everything from nothing in “six days”. And everything that He made is good. The climax of God’s creation is the creation of human being, which was created after the creation of all other things. God said, “Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness … So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them” (Gen 1:26-27). Human being is created in God’s image and thus a statue of the deity on earth, different from all other creations. God blessed and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over … every living thing that moves upon the earth” (Gen 1:28). Clearly, mankind is given the responsibility to continue existence through sexual differentiation and designated as the ruler of God’s other creations on earth. God is very pleased with everything that He has created and to make it perfect, God finished the work and rested on the seventh day.

        The Yahwist source of creation, unlike the priestly account, makes no elaboration on God’s creation of the heavenly and earthly objects. After a short introduction, the Yahwist creation account puts focus on the Garden of Eden. Nevertheless, the highlight of creation is also on human being, i.e., same as the Priestly source. Again, mankind is different from the other things created by God, it was through God’s breath into his nostrils to animate the dust and make man a living being. God also gave man a partner, woman who is “his bones and flesh”, and they should become one flesh and multiply. Similar to the priestly account, God also made other creatures under man’s custody. The notable difference is the existence of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, whose fruit man shall not eat or touch, or otherwise he shall die. It sets the scene on human sin and suffering.

        By their free will, mankind chose to fall into temptation of the serpent’s words and eat the fruits of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil so that they might be like God. The consequences of sin are sufferings. The Yahwist source of creation contains several etiologies to explain why the things are the way they are. These etiologies echo the earlier creation stories of both the Priestly and Yahwist accounts. For example, man suddenly knew he was naked and became embarrassed – a sharp contrast with the situation in the priestly account – sexual desire is no longer as pure and sacred as it was originated. Man needed to work and sweat to live regardless of God’s putting all things under his control. Woman had to bear the pain on childbirth despite that it is a gift of God’s continuation of mankind. Man and woman are no longer partners and mutual helpers as the latter became subordinate to the former. The perfect order of things was disturbed, the crafty serpent was cursed so was the ground which would be filled with thorns and thistles. Most serious of all, death came to the earth, “you are dust, and to dust you shall return” (Gen 3:19). 

        In the Hebrew Bible, God’s creative power does not stop with the creation accounts in Genesis. It is the Israelite’s experience that through YHWH’s supreme power, a sinful world can be recreated and restored to a perfect world. The early story of Noah is an example. The description in Isaiah 65:17-25 on the prophecy of a new heaven and a new earth is another. “For I am about to create new heavens and a new earth; the former things shall not be remembered or come to mind … I am about to create Jerusalem as a joy, and its people as a delight … no more shall the sound of weeping be heard in it; or the cry of distress …” It resembles the orderly creation of God of the Garden in Eden where man shall enjoy the work of their hands and eat their produce; woman shall not suffer the pain for childbirth; and mankind shall live peacefully in a paradise with different animals, save for the serpent, like that in Genesis, shall be punished as “its food shall be dust”. The only exception is the mortality of man though he was expected to live a much longer life. It is not surprising to be so as resurrection from the dead is not yet a common Jewish belief at the time of Second Isaiah. In any event, the recreated world can be taken as the stage upon which God’s redemptive act to save His people.