Creation of Man

            This week, we transition from looking at the different persons of God to looking at who we are as mankind. What does it mean that we are man? How do we relate to God? What is our purpose here on earth? This and many other questions will be discussed and answered in the coming weeks. This week, we will focus on the reality that we were created. We will also look at and solve an apparent contradiction in the creation account.

            It is very apparent in scripture that God created mankind. We see that it is clearly stated in Genesis. “So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” (Genesis 1:27). If this were the only question concerning the creation of man, we could wrap it up here and call it a day. However, the issue isn’t whether God created mankind; rather, it is when God created mankind.

            Genesis 1:26-2:3 and Genesis 2:4-25 both offer creation accounts. However, they seem to contradict each other. The former passage describes the creation order as plants and animals, and then man. The latter passage describes the order as man and then plants, and animals. Herein lies the issue.

            A historically common answer to this contradiction comes from the Documentary Hypothesis. This states that there were Elohists and Jahwists. The Elohists refer to God as Elohim, and the Jahwists refer to God as Yahweh. We see in Genesis 1:26-2:3 that God is referred to 35 times as Elohim, and in Genesis 2:4-25 God is referred to as Yahweh. What the Documentary Hypothesis claims is that these two groups each wrote a creation account. At some point later in history, the two documents were combined, and thus, we have two creation accounts back-to-back that contradict each other.

            The Documentary Hypothesis does not seem to answer the question as much as it may seem to at first. The first challenge that this theory faces is the fact that in chapter three of Genesis, both names of God are being used interchangeably. It would be hard to maintain two different documents from two different groups that exclusively use a particular name of God when the following chapter uses both names.

A better explanation of this apparent contradiction is that it follows the Biblical Narrative Style. This style offers a summary of what happened and then follows the summary with a detailed exposition of the main storyline. A summary is not as interested in order as much as it is just to convey the main point. In this instance, that would be that God created everything. The detailed exposition then looks at the details more closely. We see how the author uses the names of God based on his intent. Elohim is God’s title as God and contrasts him with all alternatives. The author was showing the greatness of God in how he was creating, and that he was creating. Yahweh is God’s covenant name and speaks of his intimacy with man. The author then turns to God’s relationship with man. His focus is now the intimacy of God with man.

            The conclusion can then follow that the Documentary Hypothesis inadequately explains the apparent contradiction in the two creation passages. The better explanation is that the author of Genesis is merely following the Biblical Narrative Style. Once again, we are encouraged by the fact that the Bible is infallible and is perfect in how it was given to us. Finally, we can be amazed at the reality that God created us. He didn’t just create us; he created us in his own image. This very fact of being created in God’s image will be looked at next week.