“These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created” (Genesis 2:4) . This is the last line of the first creation story. Genesis then goes into another creation story, completely different from the first. The second story deals with a whole new set of questions and answers. Like many passages or stories throughout the Bible, especially in Genesis and Exodus, it is short and simplistic. This story, being one of the first stories in the Bible, is among the most important ones and therefore deserves a close look at what the author, through his telling/writing, was really trying to tell us. There are numerous lessons and rules locked into Genesis 2:4-25 as well as many reoccurring themes and topics. In this exegesis of the story of the “The Garden of Eden” I will be talking about a variety of points including: how it compares/contrasts with the first creation story, how man differs from animals, how man differs from woman, how and why man was created, how and why woman was created, man and woman’s relationship with each other and with God. I will even talk about some methods the author might have used in telling this story.
This story focuses mainly on man; it starts right up to where God has created t
. . .
One thought is that it derives from the myth of a Summerian goddess who’s name means “the lady of the rib” or “the lady who makes live” created to heal Enki’s rib. The third is that a man should take care of his wife and make her interests his first priority. Out of the rib the Lord God made a woman and presents her to him. He decides to make a man so that he can “till the ground”(Genesis 2:5). Still unsatisfied, God puts the man into a deep sleep so he can take a rib from his chest. And the fifth is that man should only be with one person, after all God only created one Eve. Here is another example of the author getting many messages into a simple passage. In this story, we can get the impression that God and man are friends because of the way the author repeatedly refers to God as “Lord God” whereas it is scarcely used elsewhere in the Old Testament. He forms the man out of clay (dust and water) and gave him life by breathing into him with his own breath. Whatever God said was done and God never stopped creating until He was completely satisfied with His work. After God established Adam’s duties (to take care of the land and to not eat from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil) God created animals and let Adam name them, giving him dominion over them (all sources say that). It is thought that the first story has a Mesopotamian background whereas the second story has a Palestinian background5 (page 5). In the middle of this story there is a rather long (in comparison with the rest of the text) description of a great river which splits up into four rivers.
Approximate Word count =
1732
Approximate Pages =
7 (250 words per page double spaced)
Simply subscribe to view this paper, and 100,000 others.
| CREDIT CARD |
ONLINE CHECK |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
JOIN BY PHONE
|
|
|
