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Genesis Compare And Contrast Essay

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In the book of Genesis, the creation story is recorded in two chapters. While it would be simple to just assume that the two are interconnected, it is after critical examination of the text that this notion may prove to be incorrect. After comparing and contrasting the diction and details that are given in both of these chapters, it is clear that there is a subtle change in the style of the writing. Taking this into consideration, there is evidence to believe that these narratives are two independent versions of the creation story. The first version of the creation story begins in Genesis 1.1 and continues until 2.3. Throughout this version, there is a focus on each individual day of creation. In somewhat of a sequential deliverance, the …show more content…

At the start of this passage, it seems as if the creation story is being retold from the beginning: “In the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens, when no plant of the field was yet in the earth and no herb of the field…for the Lord God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was no one to till the ground…” (Genesis 2.4b-5). While the creation of the earth and the things in it are implied within this version of the creation story, the main focus seems to be on the creation of man, and later woman, through the “breath of life” and their establishment within the garden of Eden (Genesis 2.7b). After humankind was established in this place, trees were grown to serve as a source of food and aesthetic pleasure. God created two special ones, though: the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The first limit is placed on humankind man is commanded not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, because if he did, he would die. This particular point is significant, because it establishes God as someone more than the Creator of the world. While in the first version of the creation story “Elohim” is used to refer to God, the title “Yahweh-Elohim”, which is “Lord God”, is used in the

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