Genesis Creation Stories
For many people, the creation stories in chapters 1-3 of Genesis are so familiar that it is hard to see what they actually say, particularly when one reads them in the King James Version, an English translation made in 1611 and used in the Norton Anthology of World Masterpieces. In fact, people who are very familiar with the text are often surprised to learn that the chapters actually contain not one creation story but two, with the division occurring in chapter 2, verse 4.
Reading from an annotated text of Genesis 1-3 may make it a bit easier to see what the chapters say.* As you read, look for answers to the following questions:
- What differences in viewpoint, sequence, and literary form separate the story in Genesis 1-2:4 from the one in Genesis 2:4-3:24?
- How is the creator named and described?
- What is the precise sequence of the creation of plants, animals, and human beings?
- How is the story structured, and how does it end?
- What details of daily life does the story explain?
- What similarities unite the two stories?
- Who is the creator?
- How many gods are present in the story?
- Is the created world basically good or bad?
- How do human beings fit into the rest of creation?
- What familiar elements don't actually appear in the stories at all?
- Who or what is the serpent?
- What is it Adam and Eve eat?
*If you are connecting to the Internet through a modem, this will take a little longer to load than most of my pages. If you adjust your browser to turn off pictures the page will load faster, and the annotated text will still work, though you won't be able to see the Hebrew words. To turn picture off in Internet Explorer, click Tools, Options, Advanced (tab); then scroll down to Multimedia and unclick Show Pictures.
This page last updated 03/12/07
