Two Genesis Accounts of Creation?
The Early Church Father Origen, who was the second head of the great Catechetical School at Alexandria in Egypt, writing in the second century observed with great concern:
I fear in fact that the divine books may be veiled for us, even sealed, because of the negligence and the hardness of our hearts ... It is not enough for us, therefore, to bring zeal to the study of the sacred Letters, but we must pray to the Lord and implore him day and night that the Lamb might come from the tribe of Judah who, taking this sealed book, might deign to open it. For it is he who, 'opening the Scriptures' sets the hearts of the disciples on fire so that they say: 'Did not our hearts burn within us when he opened to us the Scriptures. (Origen’s Homilies on Exodus)
Sacred Scripture presents many challenges to the reader and requires an understanding of the context and time in which it was written that is often lacking to the reader who does not have a reliable commentary to assist them, but also the openness of the heart to divine revelation which Origen alludes to above. St. Paul himself, taught about the difficulty of the unspiritual man in understanding divine wisdom in Scripture:
So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is from God that we might understand the gifts bestowed on us by God . . ..
The unspiritual man does not receive the gifts of the Spirit of God [which are given in the sacrament of Baptism], for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. (1 Corinthians 2: 11b-12, 14).
Jesus told His Apostles that, “when the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth” (John 16: 13). The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth, consubstantial with the Father and the Son, and communicates this truth to the Church Jesus founded. As Jesus promised, “And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18).
So, we pray for the light of the Holy Spirit and look to the Church to help us understand the Genesis account, but we do not ignore the literal historical meaning which theologians and commentators can help us to understand. When we examine the Genesis account there is the apparent problem of the two accounts of the creation as regards the order of creation. This has been exploited by skeptics to indicate the lack of reliability of Scripture. Was mankind created after the plants and animals as is described in Genesis 1 or before them as is explained in Genesis 2? Can these two accounts can be reconciled?
Genesis, chapters 1-11, are written as poetry and “pre-history” and as such are “couched in figurative language.”[1] The intent of ancient authors was to allow us to understand by whom we were created, rather than the approach of modern science which is asking questions like how, when, where, etc. God’s action and purpose are the center of the account in Genesis, not the science of creation. Genesis has been called the “Entrance Hymn” to the great drama of creation.[2]
As with the entire Old Testament, it points to Christ himself, who is the center of all of history. As Pope Benedict XVI has written, “Christians do not read the Old Testament for its own sake but always with Christ and through Christ.”[3] St. Paul wrote, “All things were created through him and for him” (cf. Colossians 1: 15-23).
In the Genesis 1 after the vegetation and the animals (1: 11, 20-26), but in Genesis 2 before the plants and animals. “The discrepancy does not amount to a contradiction as the first account is not meant to be a chronological description of the actual stages of creation.”[4] In one of the most impressive works on Genesis, namely, the Rev. Victor R. Warkulwiz’s book, The Doctrines of Genesis 1-11, he writes:
The narrative on the creation of man in Genesis 2 supplements that in Genesis 1. Genesis 1 relates the creation of creatures in order of time, whereas Genesis 2, relates them in order of significance. Man was the last creature to be created but he is the one for whom all other creatures were created. When he says in (2:19) that God created every beast of the field and every bird of the air and brought them to Adam, it does not mean that they were created after Adam but that they had been created for him.[5]
Notice also that Genesis 2 does not even mention the creation of the heavens and the earth, the atmosphere, light, the stars and the moon, the creatures of the sea, etc. Genesis 2 mentions only those things which relate to Adam and Eve and their life in the garden prepared by God for them. Thus, Genesis 1 gives us the account of creation from the perspective of the Creator, while Genesis 2 looks at it from the perspective of Adam and Eve and their relationship to one another. First, comes our relationship with God; second, our relationship with one another. Only if the first relationship is good can the second likewise be blessed.[6]
Genesis affirms that God the universe was created by the Lord; that the universe in all its parts reflects the goodness of God; that there is a hierarchy among created things reflected in the ascending order of creation; that it shows the power of God whose very word produces the creation “into a symphony of natural beauty and harmony and who gives life and blessing gratuitously”; and counters by its very reasonableness and goodness, the mythology of the Near East in which Israel is situated.[7]
Thus, we see that Genesis 1 and 2 are complementary and are not in contradiction with each other. But it should not be forgotten that they are part of the larger story, which puts Christ at the center of salvation history so that everything that comes before points to Him and everything that comes after must be viewed in the light of His Passion, Death and Resurrection, the Paschal mysteries. Pope Benedict XVI put it simply, “God created the universe in order to become a human being and pour out his love upon us and invite us to love him in return.”[8]
NOTES:
[1] Sarah Christmyer, “Why Are There Two Different Accounts of Creation,” January 12, 2015, https://media.ascensionpress.com/2015/01/12/two-different-accounts-creation/
[2] Ibid.
[3] Pope Benedict XVI. In the Beginning…A Catholic Understanding of the Story of Creation and the Fall. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1995, p. 16.
[4] Scott Hahn and Curtis Mitch. The Ignatius Catholic Study Bible: Genesis, Ignatius Press, 2010, p. 20, note 2:5.
[5] Rev. Victor P. Warkulwiz. The Doctrines of Genesis 1-11. Missionary Priests of the Blessed Sacrament, 2007, p. 243. This book can be obtained from the John Paul II Institute of Christian Spirituality.
[6] Jim Moskala, “A Fresh Look at Two Genesis Creation Accounts: Contradictions? Bible Study Commons online: :http://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/old-testament-pubs.
[7] Warkulwiz, p.17, note 1: 1-2:4.
[8] Pope Benedict XVI, Ibid., p.30.
The Early Church Father Origen, who was the second head of the great Catechetical School at Alexandria in Egypt, writing in the second century observed with great concern:
I fear in fact that the divine books may be veiled for us, even sealed, because of the negligence and the hardness of our hearts ... It is not enough for us, therefore, to bring zeal to the study of the sacred Letters, but we must pray to the Lord and implore him day and night that the Lamb might come from the tribe of Judah who, taking this sealed book, might deign to open it. For it is he who, 'opening the Scriptures' sets the hearts of the disciples on fire so that they say: 'Did not our hearts burn within us when he opened to us the Scriptures. (Origen’s Homilies on Exodus)
Sacred Scripture presents many challenges to the reader and requires an understanding of the context and time in which it was written that is often lacking to the reader who does not have a reliable commentary to assist them, but also the openness of the heart to divine revelation which Origen alludes to above. St. Paul himself, taught about the difficulty of the unspiritual man in understanding divine wisdom in Scripture:
So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is from God that we might understand the gifts bestowed on us by God . . ..
The unspiritual man does not receive the gifts of the Spirit of God [which are given in the sacrament of Baptism], for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. (1 Corinthians 2: 11b-12, 14).
Jesus told His Apostles that, “when the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth” (John 16: 13). The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth, consubstantial with the Father and the Son, and communicates this truth to the Church Jesus founded. As Jesus promised, “And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18).
So, we pray for the light of the Holy Spirit and look to the Church to help us understand the Genesis account, but we do not ignore the literal historical meaning which theologians and commentators can help us to understand. When we examine the Genesis account there is the apparent problem of the two accounts of the creation as regards the order of creation. This has been exploited by skeptics to indicate the lack of reliability of Scripture. Was mankind created after the plants and animals as is described in Genesis 1 or before them as is explained in Genesis 2? Can these two accounts can be reconciled?
Genesis, chapters 1-11, are written as poetry and “pre-history” and as such are “couched in figurative language.”[1] The intent of ancient authors was to allow us to understand by whom we were created, rather than the approach of modern science which is asking questions like how, when, where, etc. God’s action and purpose are the center of the account in Genesis, not the science of creation. Genesis has been called the “Entrance Hymn” to the great drama of creation.[2]
As with the entire Old Testament, it points to Christ himself, who is the center of all of history. As Pope Benedict XVI has written, “Christians do not read the Old Testament for its own sake but always with Christ and through Christ.”[3] St. Paul wrote, “All things were created through him and for him” (cf. Colossians 1: 15-23).
In the Genesis 1 after the vegetation and the animals (1: 11, 20-26), but in Genesis 2 before the plants and animals. “The discrepancy does not amount to a contradiction as the first account is not meant to be a chronological description of the actual stages of creation.”[4] In one of the most impressive works on Genesis, namely, the Rev. Victor R. Warkulwiz’s book, The Doctrines of Genesis 1-11, he writes:
The narrative on the creation of man in Genesis 2 supplements that in Genesis 1. Genesis 1 relates the creation of creatures in order of time, whereas Genesis 2, relates them in order of significance. Man was the last creature to be created but he is the one for whom all other creatures were created. When he says in (2:19) that God created every beast of the field and every bird of the air and brought them to Adam, it does not mean that they were created after Adam but that they had been created for him.[5]
Notice also that Genesis 2 does not even mention the creation of the heavens and the earth, the atmosphere, light, the stars and the moon, the creatures of the sea, etc. Genesis 2 mentions only those things which relate to Adam and Eve and their life in the garden prepared by God for them. Thus, Genesis 1 gives us the account of creation from the perspective of the Creator, while Genesis 2 looks at it from the perspective of Adam and Eve and their relationship to one another. First, comes our relationship with God; second, our relationship with one another. Only if the first relationship is good can the second likewise be blessed.[6]
Genesis affirms that God the universe was created by the Lord; that the universe in all its parts reflects the goodness of God; that there is a hierarchy among created things reflected in the ascending order of creation; that it shows the power of God whose very word produces the creation “into a symphony of natural beauty and harmony and who gives life and blessing gratuitously”; and counters by its very reasonableness and goodness, the mythology of the Near East in which Israel is situated.[7]
Thus, we see that Genesis 1 and 2 are complementary and are not in contradiction with each other. But it should not be forgotten that they are part of the larger story, which puts Christ at the center of salvation history so that everything that comes before points to Him and everything that comes after must be viewed in the light of His Passion, Death and Resurrection, the Paschal mysteries. Pope Benedict XVI put it simply, “God created the universe in order to become a human being and pour out his love upon us and invite us to love him in return.”[8]
NOTES:
[1] Sarah Christmyer, “Why Are There Two Different Accounts of Creation,” January 12, 2015, https://media.ascensionpress.com/2015/01/12/two-different-accounts-creation/
[2] Ibid.
[3] Pope Benedict XVI. In the Beginning…A Catholic Understanding of the Story of Creation and the Fall. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1995, p. 16.
[4] Scott Hahn and Curtis Mitch. The Ignatius Catholic Study Bible: Genesis, Ignatius Press, 2010, p. 20, note 2:5.
[5] Rev. Victor P. Warkulwiz. The Doctrines of Genesis 1-11. Missionary Priests of the Blessed Sacrament, 2007, p. 243. This book can be obtained from the John Paul II Institute of Christian Spirituality.
[6] Jim Moskala, “A Fresh Look at Two Genesis Creation Accounts: Contradictions? Bible Study Commons online: :http://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/old-testament-pubs.
[7] Warkulwiz, p.17, note 1: 1-2:4.
[8] Pope Benedict XVI, Ibid., p.30.
