The Ancient World (HUM 124 - UNC Asheville)/Texts/Genesis 1-2

Summary

Chapter 1

Genesis 1-2 is the creation story from the Christian Bible. It was written while the Israelites were in the desert leaving Egypt. Chapter one starts out with nothing. There is no matter an the only thing that exists is God. When he speaks the whole universe comes into existence. He takes 7 days to create everything from birds to the soil in the ground. One he finished creating everything, he said that it was good.

Chapter 2

After creating the world he wanted to create someone who was like him that could populate the earth. It was because of this that he created the first humans, made in his image. He first created Adam, but seeing that he needed a mate he created a woman, Eve. Adam was created from the dust and Eve was made from the rib of Adam. These were the first people and they lived in the Garden of Eden. They were naked but they were ok with that.

Themes

Creation

Every religion has their specific creation story. There are universal aspects in each of these. These are things such as water, a god or deity, and a meaning to life and everything in it. This story is no exception. The idea of creation lets us know that there has to be a reason for us to be here. If there was no reason, then we would not have been created. Creation is also a great way to explain why the world is the way it is. Everyone wants to have answers about the world. As humans we don't like not knowing. Creation stories help us to know how and why we are here.

Friendship

Everyone know that to make life smoother we go about it surrounding ourselves with people we love. Throughout history we see friendship as a common trait in all stories. This can give someone something to fight for, or motivation to get something done, or even just help them solve everyday ordinary problems. This is no different in Genesis. If this passage we see that after God created atom he noticed that he was lonely and needed someone with him. He then made Eve. Eve was the friend and partner that God knew that Adam needed. This was used to explain why there are different people and why we need other people to confide in.

Connections To The Rest Of The Bible

The connections to the rest of the Bible are more references back to Genesis. In Exodus, commandments are written because in Genesis 3 Eve eats of the tree and brings sin into the world. The beginning of the world is also used as a teaching moment for Jesus throughout the his ministry in the New Testament.

Origin

Time Period

Scholars think that Genesis was the first book of the bible that was written down and this would have been in 1450 to 1400 BC.

Author

Moses is known to be the author of the book of Genesis. He is also credited for writing other books throughout the Old Testament. He plays a prominent role in Exodus as he leads his people out of Egypt.