Genesis Creation Accounts

In the two creation accounts God is portrayed in two different ways. In the first account God is portrayed as an ultimate or Supreme Being that creates the world by fiat, which are divine spoken words. An example of this is found in Genesis 1:3, which says; “Then God said, “let there be light”; and there was light.” This is the fiat command that creates light in the first account of creation and demonstrates the supreme power of God. In the second Genesis account God is portrayed as a much more mortal being, a concept called anthropomorphism. In Genesis 2:7 God creates man, but it wasn’t done through fiat. It says, “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.” This account of God creating man is much different from the first account because God is physlically-taking part in creating man instead of using powers by way of fiat. Another instance that portrays God as more humanlike is found in Genesis 2:8 where it says Go

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In Genesis 1:22 God says, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on earth. Instead, it was said, “out of the ground the Lord God formed every animal of the field and every bird of the air” (Gen 2:19). In the first account God created light, sea, land, vegetation, living creatures, then man and woman.

A second difference between the two creation accounts is the order in which the world was created. In the second account God created man from the earth (so land was created before man) then God planted the garden in Eden and provided animals to give man a helper. The use of the word “planted” suggests that God physically interacted with the earth to create the garden. It’s the creation of woman that is consistent in both accounts. In this verse God didn’t use sexual reproduction; the almighty powers of God created all living life.

The two creation accounts are similar and different in several ways, and these that I have suggested are those that, I feel, are most important. Understanding these main differences and similarities will help one understand God and the important aspects that the writers of the bible want us to see God as. The woman is the last creature to be created in the second account, and is actually the same order in which the woman was created in the first account. ” In this it is suggested that God blessed these creatures with the ability to sexually reproduce in order to populate the earth and seas.

The difference in the avoided use of sexuality is noted in the way the world was produced in each of the two creation accounts.

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