What are some differences between Genesis 1 and 2?

Answer 1

The creation account in Genesis chapter 1 (it actually finishes in the first sentence of Genesis 2:4) is believed to have been written by the 'Priestly source', based on an early Mesopotamian creation myth. The 'Priestly source' was an anonymous writer during or shortly after the time of the Babylonian Exile, who contributed to the Book of Genesis. The creation account in Genesis chapter 2 (it actually starts in the second sentence of Genesis 2:4) is believed to have been written by the Yahwist source ('J source'), an anonymous author who represented the traditions of the southern kingdom of Judah early in the first millennium BCE, long before the time of the Priestly source. Some of the specific differences in the two accounts are:

1. In the first account, the ocean was already there, but no dry land until the third day, when God separated the waters. The origins of this story are considered to be in a maritime environment.
   In the second account, there is no mention of the ocean, but the land was already there waiting for God to make it rain. This story is believed to have originated in a dry, arid environment. This is emphasised by the importance placed in this story on the four rivers that made the land fertile.
2. In the first, Man, both male and female, was created after the beasts of the earth.
   In the second, Adam (male) was created first, before plants and beasts, while Eve (female) was created last of all.
3. In the first, God simply spoke things into existence.
   In the second, God needed clay from which to create Adam, and could only create Eve by taking a rib from Adam.
4. In the first, man was created to have dominion over all living things.
   In the second, man was created to be the servant of the earth, and the other living creatures were created to be his companions.
5. The first is very impersonal, with God simply instructing the people he created to "go forth and multiply."
   The second is more personal. When Adam realised he had a wife, he waxed lyrical about her, and sex and procreation were never mentioned until after the transgression.
6. The first story is little more than a list of things God created, followed by an explanation of the Sabbath.
   The second story begins a long moral tale, first by identifying the forbidden trees, the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil and the Tree of Life.
7. In the first story, man is created in the image of God.
   There is no suggestion in the second that man was created in the image of God - in fact God seems unaware of Adam's companionship needs. Adam only became godlike after eating the fruit of the forbidden tree (Genesis 3:22: "And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us...")

The second account could scarcely be more different from the first creation account. For more information, please visit: http://christianity.answers.com/theology/the-story-of-creation