Three Perspectives of Genesis 1-2 - Book Report/Review Example

An Analysis of Genesis 2: Three Perspectives Focusing specifically on Genesis chapters and 2, it will be analyzed how Gerhard Von Rad, Davies and Clines, and the author of this paper view those chapters. The methodologies of the different authors, their presuppositions, and their constructions of meaning will all be taken into account here. First it should be mentioned why Genesis 1 and 2 are being analyzed. These two chapters are of primary importance, and not only because they are the first two chapters in the Bible-although that is part of the reason why. Genesis 1 and 2 demonstrate two vastly different accounts of the creation story, thus infusing with meaning the creation story itself. As it is told by two perspectives, the savvy reader of Genesis 1 and 2 must resolve the at-times conflicting accounts and make sense of them as best as one can, according to the available resources at hand. The beginning of the world is a major cosmic story that begs to be analyzed. How the planet and its people came into being is still hotly-debated and is the cause for many a rift in theological circles. Still, what is so compelling about these two stories is the way in which one creatively is able to reconcile the difference between the two accounts. Hopefully, this is what will be able to be achieved here through analysis of both chapters. Gerhard Von Rad says in his book Genesis: A Commentary, "Faith in creation is neither the basis nor the goal of the declarations in Gen., chs. 1 and 2. Rather, the position of both the Yahwist and the Priestly document isfaith in salvation and election[undergirded] by the testimony that this Yahwehis also the creator of the world."1 It is obvious that by the eloquence of the language in chapter 1 of Genesis is Priestly writing due to the fact that it is so staid and orderly. It is a cosmic vision of the beginning, and about how creation came into being through the words of God being spoken. Von Rad points out that it is precisely because of this orderliness that Genesis chapter 1 is so compellingly told from a Priestly point of view. The first six days and nights are related in an orderly way. God creates the living creatures, and then creates man. The seventh day is considered a day of rest. As mentioned by Von Rad, "Anyone who expounds Gen., ch. 1, must understand one thing: this chapter is Priestly doctrine-indeed, it contains the essence of Priestly knowledge in a most concentrated formdoctrine that has been carefully enriched over centuries by very slow growth."2 As Von Rad states, this Priestly doctrine is quite obvious in the way that chapter 1 (and parts of chapter 2) progresses. That, in fact, is what the Priestly account is-a progression. Von Rad's methodology is to look at the wording of the text in order to deduce that Genesis 1 is a priestly account. Von Rad, in his analysis of the text, is presupposing here that the first chapter is a Priestly account. He constructs the meaning of this to relate that the text in chapter 2 is older. Thus, it is possibly more reliable as a source. The Priestly author of chapter 1 painstakingly goes through every detail of the creation, in almost a mechanical way. Each day there is a new creation-whether it be a new day, animals, or the creation of man. For the most part, Genesis chapter 2 is a Yahwist account. This denotes the special Yahwist community (or J redactor, J standing for Jahwist) which predominantly interpreted events from the viewpoint of the southern tribes of Israel, particularly Judah. Although the Yahwist is not always writing in Judah's defense, Yahwist accounts-particularly that of Genesis chapter 2-are usually not as ethereal as other accounts, say for example Elohist (E), Deuteronomic (D), or Priestly (P). It is the Yahwist, Elohist, Deuteronomic, and Priestly accounts which form JEDP, or documentary hypothesis. The documentary hypothesis is basically a conflagration of these four at-times conflicting accounts of what happened in the Pentateuch. Each source had its own redactors, which influenced how the Pentateuch was ultimately formed. The Yahwist account is most notably the oldest. Next comes the Elohist, the Deuteronomist, and finally the Priestly accounts, in order of descending age. This tells us that it is probably the Priestly account of Genesis 1 was most likely written years after Genesis 2, Genesis 1 being a more polished version of Genesis 2. Genesis 2 reads much more like a story one would find in a fiction book, is less supernatural, and less cosmic. This is in contrast to Genesis 1, which is more cosmic. Genesis 1 also presents God as more of an aloof although benevolent God, while Genesis 2 presents God as more of a human-like character who has a sentimental side. Reading from Ellen van Wolde's chapter "Facing the Earth: Primaeval History in a New Perspective" from Davies's and Clines's book The World of Genesis, one can see that the planet (not people) are the actual focus of the first three chapters of the Bible. She argues that "the story is less human-centred that is usually presupposed[and] human beings are one factor, probably an important factor indeed, but not [the first three chapters'] central focus."3 One can see that this is partially true, especially as it pertains to chapter 1. It is mainly God going through the motions of creating the earth and populating the planet with animals that gains much of the chapter's focus. Meanwhile, since the creation of Adam occurs later on in the chapter, it is not considered the primary focus of chapter 1. Indeed, van Wolde says,, "[The] verses point the reader to what is to be considered as the main framework of the story: the creation of the heaven and the earth."4 Creation begins "start[ing] with God's creation of light, and by this act the most elementary condition of life is created[and] once again God deals first with the heaven and then with the earth[Then] earth and the seas with animals and human beings is immediately followed by the allocation of their tasks"5 So, as one can see, van Wolde takes the perspective that humans are indeed not what the Priestly redactor was thinking about when chapter 1 of Genesis was being composed. Most likely, the author of Genesis 1 was trying to adequately sterilize the account of Genesis 2 and give it balance. The way the Priestly redactor did this was to show God in a more commanding light. When God spoke, there was light-for example. Van Wolde says, "The structure of Genesis 1 makes clear, however, that the assignment of dominion both to the planets and to the human beings are expressions of a reciprocal relationship between the created phenomena"6 Both the animals and man are given particular duties which they must fulfill. For example, "the planets fulfil their ruling function in relation to the light and therefore life on earth, and analogically the human beings fulfil their ruling function in relation to the earth and the animals on earth."7 Thus, these different obligations of man and beast are found in Genesis 1, making this chapter a rather interesting leitmotif for how creation is supposed to be set up and what the mechanics of the beginning of the world happen to be. In sum, van Wolde says that "the creation story in Genesis 1 is not solely about the creation of humankindbut is primarily focused on God's creation of heaven and earth."8 "[This] show[ing] that humankind occupies a place withinheaven and eartha creation story [is] not about human beings [and the] universe, but [how] all elements are interrelated."9 It is this focus of creation of the world, and not the creation of man, that makes Genesis 1 a Priestly text. Genesis 2:4 and onward, however, is a different story. Genesis chapter 2 focuses on how there was nothing on the earth (at first), and then goes into great detail first about how there is only water and vegetation. "After the water supply has been arranged, and the earth is moistened, only the human being is missing."10 Finally, we see that there is a focus on human life as the creation story gets more interesting. "All that remains to be done is to place this human being on the earth to cultivate itHowever, events take a different turn. God plants a garden in Eden and places the human being in this garden (twice in 2.8 and 2.15) to till and protect it."11 It is this focus on the human element that causes us to realize that this is a Yahwist account. Human beings, and God portrayed as a human-like figure with human-like emotions gives one pause to think that perhaps this older account is perhaps more accurate in some ways than the staid and sterile Priestly account of creation. Van Wolde also takes the view that Genesis 1 and 2 are vastly different in their approaches and foci. She says, "While Genesis 1 pictures the totality, that is, the creation of heaven and earth, Genesis 2zooms in on one aspect: the relationship between the man and the woman within the framework of the relationship between human being and earth."12 The second chapter of Genesis focuses more on stewardship. It also shows man's relation to the earth. "The human being is presented both as the one responsible and as the one who is dependent on the earth. These details show the mutual relationship between human being and earth, in which the relationship between the man and woman is incorporated."13 This relationship between the man and the woman, as it is set up, are also curiously visited in Genesis chapter 2 verses 18 through 25. Before that, the Garden of Eden is also designated as the place where Adam and Eve will live and when they are forbidden to eat the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. This author's own interpretation of the story of creation is not unique, but rather follows up with what the two previous scholars have already mentioned. Namely, these factors include the facts that the first chapter of Genesis is a polished, more official version of creation as retold by redactors who were priests-versus the older and more humanistic version of Genesis chapter two which is more organic and unformed in the way of being sophisticated. The first chapter of Genesis is a much more sophisticated and stylized account of creation, which takes into account the fact that the Priestly version would probably be an account that would be more formal in speech and overall appearance. In fact, if one measures the words of the first chapter, there is intentional spacing of words so as to form a chiasm within the first four verses. Chiasms are a literary device used throughout Genesis chapters one and two in order to compare and contrast narrative structures within the text. Usually they are constructed in the structure of an X, where two comments are juxtaposed with two other comments. Chapter two is, as this author has mentioned before, a much more organic chapter in the sense that it talks about the creation of man in much more detail. While Genesis chapter one only devotes two verses (Gen. 1:27 and 1:28) to man, Genesis chapter two devotes an entire 18 verses to the creation of man-which begins at Gen. 2:7 and continues until the end of the chapter at Gen. 2:25. Chapter two is filled with a much more human-like God who has a relationship with the man Adam and his helpmate Eve. He is much more personally and emotionally invested in their creation than in the first chapter, where God simply created man and that was the end of it. In chapter two, rather, God is a caring God who sets boundaries, yet gives Adam and Eve free will, instead of in the first chapter where God simply commands Adam and the beasts of the earth to be fruitful and multiply. Analyzing the texts of Genesis chapters one and two is no easy task for any scholar, let alone someone who is not a Biblical scholar. However, as one approaches these two texts, one must keep in mind the constraints of the times in which these texts were written. While the Yahwists had the benefit of writing the more organic account of creation, the official Priestly version will create good conversation among traditionalists and non-traditionalists alike for years to come. Genesis chapters one and two have so many variances and contrasting details in their accounts that these are both two intriguing texts that are the Biblical scholar's goldmine. These texts of the first two chapters of Genesis will have scholars and students debating for years to come about the origins of these texts and the methodologies, presuppositions, and meanings involved in their study. REFERENCES Clines, David J.A., et. al. The World of Genesis: Persons, Places, Perspectives. USA: Sheffield Academic Press, 1999. Von Rad, Gerhard. Genesis: A Commentary. USA: Westminster John Knox Press, 1972. Read More