Journal: Tyndale Bulletin
Volume: TYNBUL 41:1 (NA 1990)
Article: Genesis 1-2 In Its Literary Context
Author: Richard S. Hess

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TynBul 41:1 (1990) p. 143

Genesis 1-2 In Its Literary Context

Richard S. Hess

I. Introduction

The purpose of this essay is to observe the place of the creation account in its literary context in Genesis 1–11. In doing so the argument will examine the dual nature of the account and its designation as one of the תּוֹלְודֹת. It will then proceed to observe the remaining תּוֹלְודֹת in Genesis 1–11 and to note the similarities which the creation account itself shares with them in both form and purpose. Finally, some observations will be made as to the implications of this for the literary structure of the first eleven chapters of Genesis.

The dual nature of the creation account has long been noted. It has been one of the axioms of traditional source criticism that the two narratives of Genesis 1 and 2 reflect two distinct sources, the first narrative being representative of the Priestly source and the second of the Yahwist source.1 In addition to the difference in the names for God, the argument has proceeded on the assumption that doublets in Genesis lead one to expect origins in two separate sources. More recently, literary studies have been undertaken to argue that, whatever the origins of the creation accounts in these chapters, they serve as a cohesive unit in their present juxtaposition in the Biblical text.2 Thus the chapters are not merely the result of careless or unsystematic editing, but may reflect a conscious literary purpose. In addition, we may observe the tendency to find double creation accounts elsewhere in the Ancient Near

TynBul 41:1 (1990) p. 144

East.3 Both literary and comparative approaches argue for a different emphasis in each of the accounts, which complement one another and so provide a fuller perspective. The Ancient Near Eastern comparisons suggest a common concern to provide a more specific account of creation in the second narrative.

What may also be observed about this ‘creation account doublet’ is its correspondence to the genealogical doublets of Genesis 4–5 and 10–11. In both cases we find two genealogies juxtaposed to one another. In both cases these genealogies are also designated as תּוֹלְודֹת.

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