The Two Creations

The Book of Genesis opens with a puzzle that has troubled readers for three thousand years. It presents not one creation account, but two. And they are different—different in style, different in order, different in theology.

The first account (Genesis 1:1–2:3) is majestic, orderly, liturgical. God speaks, and things appear. The creation unfolds over six days, each marked by the refrain "and there was evening and there was morning." Humanity is created last, male and female together, in the image of God. The account culminates in the seventh day, when God rests from all his work.

The second account (Genesis 2:4–25) is intimate, earthy, narrative. There is no mention of days. The creation begins not with light but with a dry, barren land waiting for rain and a man to till the ground. God forms the man from dust, breathes into his nostrils, plants a garden, places the man there, creates animals, and finally forms woman from the man's rib. The man names the woman, and they become one flesh