Trees made before man in Gen 1 but not in Gen 2
Question from a skeptic:
In Gen 1 trees are created before man, in
Gen 2 man is created before the trees. The bible contradicts itself.
Lets look at the passages concerned.
On the third day the creation of trees is mentioned (Gen 1:11)
(Gen 1:9-13 NIV) And God said, "Let the
water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear."
And it was so. {10} God called the dry ground "land," and the
gathered waters he called "seas." And God saw that it was good. {11}
Then God said, "Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and
trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their
various kinds." And it was so. {12} The land produced vegetation: plants
bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it
according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. {13} And there was
evening, and there was morning--the third day.
On the sixth day the creation of man and woman is mentioned (Gen 1:26-28)
(Gen 1:26-31 NIV) Then God said, "Let us
make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish
of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth,
and over all the creatures that move along the ground." {27} So God
created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them. {28} God blessed them and said
to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue
it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every
living creature that moves on the ground." {29} Then God said, "I
give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree
that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. {30} And to all
the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that
move on the ground--everything that has the breath of life in it--I give every
green plant for food." And it was so. {31} God saw all that he had made,
and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning--the sixth
day.
The Gen 2 section starts as follows:
(Gen 2:4-9 NIV) This is the account of the
heavens and the earth when they were created. When the LORD God made the earth
and the heavens-- {5} and no shrub of the field had yet appeared on the earth
and no plant of the field had yet sprung up, for the LORD God had not sent rain
on the earth and there was no man to work the ground, {6} but streams came up
from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground-- {7} the LORD God
formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the
breath of life, and the man became a living being. {8} Now the LORD God had
planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had
formed. {9} And the LORD God made all kinds of trees grow out of the
ground--trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of
the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and
evil.
First we should note the general structure of the book of Genesis. The book
is divided into ten sections by the words, "This is the account
of...."
(Gen 2:4 NIV) This is the account of the heavens and the
earth when they were created. When the LORD God made the earth and the
heavens--
(Gen 5:1 NIV) This is the written account of Adam's line.
When God created man, he made him in the likeness of God.
(Gen 6:9 NIV) This is the account of Noah. Noah was a
righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God.
(Gen 10:1 NIV) This is the account of Shem, Ham and
Japheth, Noah's sons, who themselves had sons after the flood.
(Gen 11:10 NIV) This is the account of Shem. Two years
after the flood, when Shem was 100 years old, he became the father of Arphaxad.
(Gen 11:27 NIV) This is the account of Terah. Terah
became the father of Abram, Nahor and Haran. And Haran became the father of
Lot.
(Gen 25:12 NIV) This is the account of Abraham's son
Ishmael, whom Sarah's maidservant, Hagar the Egyptian, bore to Abraham.
(Gen 25:19 NIV) This is the account of Abraham's son
Isaac. Abraham became the father of Isaac,
(Gen 36:1 NIV) This is the account of Esau (that is,
Edom).
(Gen 37:2 NIV) This is the account of Jacob. Joseph, a
young man of seventeen, was tending the flocks with his brothers, the sons of
Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father's wives, and he brought their father
a bad report about them.
The accounts in Gen 1 and 2 are clearly separated by Gen 2:4
(Gen 2:4 NIV) This is the account of the heavens and the
earth when they were created. When the LORD God made the earth and the
heavens--
Further Gen 2:2-3 clearly shows that God had finished His work of
creating.
(Gen 2:2-3 NIV) By the seventh day God had
finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested
from all his work. {3} And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy,
because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.
Therefore the author is starting a new section. Gen 1:26-27 has already
talked about the creation on man and woman and them ruling over the
fish, birds, livestock etc
(Gen 1:26-27 NIV) Then God said, "Let us
make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the
sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over
all the creatures that move along the ground." {27} So God created man in
his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he
created them.
Now starting in Gen 2:4 we have a new section which focuses on Eden and
where the author wants to demonstrate a number of key points:
- The idyllic life in the garden that God created for man e.g. the tree of
life, trees pleasing to the eye and good for food.
- The superiority of man over the animals, he names them.
- The creation of woman from man and therefore being the same substance as
man and therefore being suitable for him.
- The subsequent fall of man and his subsequent banishment from the garden
and from the tree of life.
While Gen 1 is an orderly account about the creation in
general which finishes in Gen 2:3. Gen 2 is about the man in the Garden of
Eden. Does it imply that God had not created trees elsewhere on the earth? The
point is that the second account is about man and his relationship to animals
and to woman and also about the fall. He is not giving an orderly account of
creation but the early history of the first man and woman. If there are
apparent contradictions then the editor certainly did not think that it was
necessary to make any corrections or clarifications presumably because he
understood the points that the author was making.
The only way to arrive at this apparent contradiction is to read the text as
woodenly as possible, without regard to the authors structuring of the
narrative.
- Creation Account,
Times Two Or, Was the Author of Genesis 1-2 a Flaming Knucklehead? J. P.
Holding
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