Allegorical Interpretation of Genesis: Aristotle, Philo, Origen

Aristotle, Politics Book 1, 1254b

Here Aristotle explained the importance of superiority in nature. He began by pointing out that the soul had natural control over the body, as well as the "rational element over the passionate." However, he believed that equality or rule of the inferiority was detrimental. If the body always went with its instincts, men would sin, and passion overshadowing reason can lead to deleterious repercussions. Aristotle went on relating this to animals and men. Because tame animals have "better nature" than wild animals, he believed that men ruling over animals was a beneficial practice. He then took out the animals and replaced them with women, stating that men being superior over their female counterparts was "of necesssity" and thus essential to the survival of mankind altogether.

On Creation of the Cosmos:

According to Philo, the creation of woman was the origin of Adam's suffering. Before Eve was created, Adam resembled God has much as possible for a mortal. But when God created woman from man, God took a piece of Adam's body away from him. Philo argued that, because they both were separate halves, the two beings would have desire to unite with one another in order to be complete, and more "similar to themselves." Philo then went on to say that this gave rise to bodily desire, a physical longing that led to "wicked deeds and violations of the Law." Because woman was created from man, Philo argued, Adam had to give up a life of immortality for a "life of mortality and misfortune." As such, Philo believed that God's choice to create man from woman was the origin of human suffering. Because men and woman were incomplete persons, they would constantly have a desire to find the missing piece to their flesh and soul. In essence, loneliness became a human condition that would lead to other forms of suffering and "wicked deeds." Men and women would go to great lengths to satisfy this desire that became apart of their emotional infrastructure. Thus, it was clear Philo had negative feelings toward woman and blamed them for all forms of human suffering.

Quaestiones et Solutiones in Genesin:

Here, Philo once again discussed his feelings about woman and their place in society. First, he answered the question, "Why does Scripture call the likeness of the woman "a building"?" Because female vocation involved "affairs of the home," this comparison was very appropriate. It was even more appropriate because without a house, and therefore without a woman, men are homeless and incomplete. The next question Philo answered why woman were created from man rather than "from earth?" He explained that woman were inferior to men and thus, this was appropriate. But how can woman be inferior to men if they are incomplete without them? He goes on further to say that woman are meant to serve men as a whole and because of this, woman should play the role of a daughter to their husbands, who are their father. Thus, Philo attempted to answer this question by elucidating the inequality between men and women. Because women was created from man in the Garden of Eden, men would rule over woman, but would be completely dependent on their services.

The next question Philo answered was, "Why does (Scripture) say, "Wherefore man shall leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife, and they shall be two in one flesh?" He explained that this had to do with the nature of man. Men were naturally more bold than woman, and thus, were more driven to leave their parents and to fufill their desires to find their wives. Thus, men would have a much closer partnership with their wives, which would be even greater than their parents. This was important so that the woman would be obedient to her master, her husband. He went further and referred to the Scripture in which the man and woman are two in one flesh. He elucidated that this meant that together man and woman would feel the same emotions, whether it be pain, pleasure, or happiness. Thus, Philo believed that because woman was created from man, the two would feel the same things when they were reunited to become one flesh. He also believed that it was necessary for a man to leave his parents for the woman, so that the woman would be able to leave her parents. Thus, men have the strength to leave their parents, but women acquire this strength from her husband.

The next question Philo answered was, "Why does the serpent speak to the woman and not to the man?". Philo explained that the snake knew that a woman was much more easily deceived than man. Thus, Philo used stereotypical behavior of woman to answer this question. He believed that because stereotypical woman were softer than man, and thus, more gullible, the snake thought it would be easier to trick Eve rather than Adam. Philo obviously believed in the superiority of man over woman. The next question he answered was similar, asking, "Why does the woman first touch the tree and eat of its fruit, and afterwards the man also take of it?" He explained that because the two were "sense-perceptible," the woman was "a symbol of sense and man, of mind." Thus, the woman's choice became the man's choice as well. Phil also introduced the allegory of men and women, in which men symbolized immortality and good, woman represented death and everything vile. Philo's belief that men were superior to women was once again clear, here. He believed that, in the Garden of Eden, women, not the snake, tainted men with the evil that they represented. Before the influence of women, men were this godlike, great creature, but with the creation and sin of Eve became tainted and imperfect.

The next question Philo answered was, "Why, when they hid themselves from the face of God, was not the woman, who first ate of the forbidden fruit, first mentioned, but the man, for (Scripture) says, "Adam and his wife hid themselves"? He explained that it was because men were superior to women that this happened. Once again, Phil revealed his anti-feminist beliefs. Once again, Philo answered another question, "Why does He, who knows all things, ask Adam, "Where art thou?" and why does He not also ask the woman?" He believed that this question directed towards Adam was not necessarily dealing with geographical location, but rather a "threat," asking why Adam had chosen a life of "death and unhappiness." Thus, Philo explained, the question would not be fitting for Eve, since she represented death and unhappiness. Philo's anti-feminist views were clearly exemplified once again.

Finally, Philo answered the question of why woman were curse with painful childbirths and being ruled by husbands. He believed that these "curses" were a necessity, just as men's painful labor was a necessity. Without pain and suffering, their can be no senses, and thus, our senses of smell, touch, hearing, taste, and sight have both negative and positive outcomes. Things may be sensibly good, but without the bad, something cannot be good, since one cannot distinguish the two. Perhaps, Philo was trying to use this analogy to emphasize the creation of man and woman. Why would God create man, an allegory of perfection and righteousness, and woman, a symbol of imperfection and evil? Philo reasoned that this was because without woman, men could not be considered perfect and good, since he had nothing to be compared with.

Homilies on Genesis: Origen

In Homily 1, Origen addressed the various meanings behind the following passage:

"Male and female he made them, and God blessed them saying: 'Increase and multiply and fill the earth and have dominion over it."

Origen first pointed out that because God preceded to say that male and female were created together, and followed this statement with a command to reproduce, God was giving his blessing to humans to have sex in order to multiply. From this, one could conclude that God created man and woman together in order for them to reproduce and survive. He also indicated that God created things in pairs, such as the moon and the sun, heaven adn earth, and sea and land. Thus, God was following this pattern when he created humans in opposing pairs, male and female.

After this, Origen decided to look at the passage from an allegorical standpoint. He explained that men consist of a spirit (male) and soul (female). The relationship of a spirit and a soul related to the relationship between a man and a woman. The spirit has dominion over flesh, but soul, if united with the spirit, could turn the spirit away based on bodily desires. Thus, the soul can lead the body and the spirit to becoming sinners, and thus turning away from God. However, the soul, despite the fact that it causes the soul to yield into bodily desires, is still absolutely essential in order for a spirit to persist. Like men and women, a soul is nothing without a spirit, and a spirit is nothing without a soul. In other words, men have control over their lives, but when a women comes into their life, even though women are essential to the survival of man, men typically turn to bodily desires and sin.

In Homily 6, Origen goes further into the relationship between a man and a women by using Sara and Abraham as examples. He described Sara as the virtue of the soul. God told Abraham to "hearken" Sara's voice. Even though God has instructed husbands to rule over their wives, he also teached men to respect and listen to their wives. For without them, they will have no counsel. Thus, a healthy marriage is all about the husband ruling over the wife, but the husband also "Hearkening to the voice" of his wife, the virtue of his soul. As such, the wife contributes virtue to the marriage.

Adam and Eve in the New Testament

1.) In Corinthians 15:21-22, the author saw similarities between the stories of Adam and Jesus Christ. He argued that because "all die in Adam," all will live in Christ. Thus, Adam brought death to humans, while Christ brought life. As such, the author interpreted Genesis 2 based on the context of the time period, a time after Christ died, in which many people were trying to find answers to questions left by him.
2.) In Galatians 3:27-28, there were two references to Genesis. One that might not be so obvious was the mentioning of Christians "cloth(ing) yourselves with Christ." Much like Adam and Eve clothed themselves with leaves, Christians were told to cloth themselves with Christ. Also, the reference to "male and female" had much greater significance. The author was referencing to the differences in the sexes that Genesis had left. Genesis had influenced many cultures to have the women be inferior to the men because of the punishments God gave Eve. However, the author believed that because of Christ, this inequality was balanced out, and all were equal under Christ. Thus, despite the story of Adam and Eve, men and women were equal.
3.) In Colossians 3:9-11, a clothing motif was mentioned once again. However, this time the image was much more powerful. "seeing that you have stripped off the old self with its practices and have clothed yourselves with the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of its Creator," was a clear reference to the book of Genesis, in which Adam and Eve clothed themselves first with fig leaves, and then God gave them knew clothes. Thus, this image used in Genesis was also used to symbolize an acquiring of new knowledge and also redemption for ones "old self." The author called Christians to strip themselves of the old clothes God had given them (the knowledge Adam and Eve had), and to take on the teachings of Jesus Christ, "the new clothes." The authors proposal clearly reflected the changing times that this text was written.
4.) In I Corinthians II: 3-12, Genesis was referenced once again in order to validate a new teaching or belief. It was believed that men should not wear hats, but women should. The author argued that this was because women was made for the sake of man, and thus, deserved a symbol of authority on her head. Also, the author attempted to use a reference from Genesis to make men and women seem less divided. "For just as woman came from man, so man comes through woman, but all things come from God." (I Corinthians II: 11) Thus, because all things come from God, it does not matter who comes from what. In the end, woman and man are equal. As such, this passage clearly reflected the time period, in which the gender gap was slowly closing. Despite making women inferior, the author pointed out that women had authority over men in some aspects of life.
5.) In 2 Corinthians II: 2-6, the author specifically referenced the book of Genesis. "But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived by its cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere devotion to Christ." Thus, the author used the symbolism of a cunning snake to represent the non-believers, those who preached religions and beliefs other than those by Christ. Just as the snake told Eve to disobey, there would always be people tempting Christians to sin. Thus, the author once again referenced Genesis in order to deal with an issue that was prevalent at the present time.
6.) In Ephesians 5:21-6:9, the author made a very clear concept of family by using Christ's relationship with the Church as a metaphor. Wives were to love their husbands and respect their husbands as they respected God (Much like the church loved God.) This was clearly a reference to Genesis. Also, husbands were to love their wives, as Christ loved the church. Christ died in order to save the church, and thus, husbands were expected to equally love their wives. Another reference to Genesis was, "husbands should love their wives as they do their own bodies." Since women were created from men's bodies, men were expected to love women just like they loved their bodies. Christ also loved his body, and his body was the church. Genesis was exactly quoted, "For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two will become one flesh." Thus, just as the Christ became one flesh with the Church, men and woman would become one flesh. As such, the author clearly referenced Genesis (a Jewish scripture) to emphasize a Christian teaching, since most Christians were originally Jews. The author goes further to establish a child's relationship with their parents. They were to respect their father and mother, and the parents were expected to teach and discipline their children.
7.) In Timothy 2:8-15, the author explained what women were supposed to wear. This reference to clothing was very important to establish the distinction of sexes. Women were to dress modestly. Women were not allowed to teach or have authority over a man, "For Adam was formed first, then Eve; and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor." Thus, the author believed their was a definite line between man and woman, but she would be "saved" by having children and teaching them love, faith, holiness, but with modesty. Thus, women were to contain themselves. As such, the author clearly believed that men were superior to woman according to the book of Genesis, when woman was created second and deceived.
In Matthew 19: 3-12, the author referred to the second book of Genesis in order to answer a more modern question. Divorce and marriage were not specifically established back in the beginning of mankind, but because the question of divorce was such an issue at the time the New Testament was written, many had to refer back to Genesis or Exodus to argue for or against divorce.The Pharisees asked Jesus if divorce was lawful, and Jesus answered with the text, "a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife and the two shall become one flesh' [Gen 2:24]?" (Matthew 19: 5) Here, Jesus believed that "becoming one flesh" meant marriage. He also interpreted this verse as a message that explained the sacredness of marriage. "So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate." (Matthew 19:6) Thus, the New Testament attempted to solve the mysteries of the Genesis text. The author clearly believed that the Genesis story suggested that man and woman should be married and this marriage should never be broken. The second part of this text included a rebuttal from the Pharisees. They believed divorce was lawful because Moses said it was lawful. But Jesus explained that Moses did this against his will, and "from the beginning it was not so." (Matthew 19:8) He elucidated further that "whoever divorces his wife, except for unchastity, and marries another commits adultery." (Matthew 19:9) Here, Jesus explained that because Genesis came before Exodus (the book that included the life of Moses), Genesis was the dominant scripture. This idea that "coming first" gave one person, text, or event superiority over the others has been prevalent in multifarious parts of Christian/Jewish tradition. For instance, in the Vita, Lucifer believed that he had superiority over Adam because he had been created beforehand. In Matthew, Jesus pointed out that because Genesis came before Exodus, contradictions between the two would favor Genesis. In other words, according to Jesus and Satan, seniority rules. However, one must be careful with this interpretation, considering Adam was created before Eve in the second Genesis story.
In I Corinthians 6:13b-17, the author interpreted Gen 2:24, which stated "The two (man and woman) become one flesh." They argued that becoming one flesh meant the physical act of sexual intercourse. As such, they believed that "the body was not meant for fornication but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body." (I Corinthians 6:13b) Their interpretation of Genesis 2:24 led them to the conclusion that sex was an act that united the bodies of man and woman. Because the author believed that humans were physically "members of Christ," it was important to make sure that one would unite their bodies with someone who was not sinful. Thus, sex with a sinner (prostitute) was unlawful since the Lord was not meant to be united with a sinner. Prostitutes did not exist back in the time of the Garden of Eden, but because it was an established vocation in the time of Jesus Christ, scholars argued against it by referring to the book of Genesis. As such, becoming one flesh did not involved every woman, but a single woman, as the author of I Corinthians 15 would believe.The author also concluded that anyone united with the Lord would be spiritually connected with God. All of the explanations posed by this author were interpreted from a single phrase in the second book of Genesis! The story of creation drastically effected the beliefs of Christians and Jews. Because the text said "become one flesh," fornication was seen as unlawful and marriage was a sacred union that was only breakable by a sinful act of divorce.
In I Corinthians 15: 35,39,42,44-49, the author interpreted Genesis 2 based on a question asking, "How are the dead raised?" This was an issue at the time Corinthians was written because Jesus Christ had risen from the dead. Since many believed that Genesis described the origin of death, the New Testament authors decided to find answers within its text. The author noticed many similarities between Adam and Jesus Christ, since they both were made in God's image. God had close relationships with both these men, and thus, the last Adam, as the author called him, was Jesus. Jesus Christ, known in Christian tradition as the son of God, was crucified, died, and rose from the dead. The author interpreted this Christian belief as not the physical body coming to life, but the spiritual entity within humans that came to life. From this, the author elucidated that the sources of these two men indicated much about human beings. Because Adam, the first Adam, was made from dust, all humans start out as dust, living with the dust (Earth). And since the final Adam, Jesus, came from heaven and had a spiritual body , humans will also be apart of heaven and bear the image of the final Adam (a spiritual body). From this, the author decided that humans have both a physical and spiritual body, the spiritual being the one that lives in heaven when the physical body of humans "returns to the dust from which it was created." Thus, in the end, humans may return to dust, but their spirits will return to heaven.

Innovations Established and Mysteries Solved by the Vita

In Genesis Rabbath 8.10, the rabbi suggested that, when the angels mistook Adam for God when he was created, that God decided to make him more mortal. This was why God took from Adam's rib to make Eve. The rabbi referred to the point in Genesis 2 when God, "caused sleep to fall upon him [Adam]." The only time this happened was when God created woman from Adam's rib. Thus, the rabbi was attempting to answer the question why God decided to create woman from Adam's rib, rather than form him from dust of the soil like Adam.

However, in the Vita Adae et Evae, "Life of Adam and Eve," multifarious innovations were established, attempting to explain mysteries that existed in the original Genesis text. The first innovation dealt with the motif of the snake. In Genesis, it was unknown why the snake decided to speak to Eve, and eventually caused her to eat from the Tree of Knowledge. The Devil explained to Adam that all his "enmity, jealousy, and resentment is towards you, since on account of you I was expelled and alienated from my glory, which I had in heaven in the midst of the angels. On account of you I was cast out upon the earth." (Life of Adam and Eve 12.1) The Devil went further to explain how this happened. When Adam was initially created, the angels mistook him for god since he was in such likeness of God. When Michael (an archangel) commanded all the other angels to worship Adam, the Devil refused to do so. He did not believe he had to worship something that was created after him, and believed that Adam deserved to worship him. Michael, of course, replied by saying, "Worship the image of God. If you do not worship, the Lord God will grow angry with you." (Life of Adam and Eve (Latin Version):15.2) The Devil responded by saying, "If he grows angry with me, I will place my seat above the stars of heaven and I will be like the Most High." (Life of Adam and Eve (Latin Version): 15.3) Because of this, God forced Satan to leave the heavens and be restricted to Earth. Thus, the Devil decided to get revenge for Adam, for he believed Adam was the cause of his loss of glory.

What was interesting about the Life of Adam and Eve and Genesis Rabbath 8.10 was that they both explained God's reaction to those who attempted to be equal or better than God. Adam was so convincingly godlike that even the angels decided to worship him. God responded to this by making Adam less complete and forming woman from his rib. Thus, all men would have an incomplete soul. Also, Satan, once an angel, defied God and spoke of how he believed he could be greater than God. God responded by banishing him. So, in a sense, the Devil was wrong in trying to get revenge from Adam, because he was the single cause of his banishment from Heaven. God banished Satan for claiming he was better than God, not because he refused to worship Adam. In fact, it seemed as if Satan knew that Adam was not one to be worshipped. If he had not let his jealousy and enmity overcome him, he would still be in heaven. He was jealous seeing the angels worshipping a lesser being, and thus, he was caused his own demise.

Another innovation described in the Vita dealt with the snake. The Genesis story did not specifically say that the snake was the Devil. The Vita elucidated that the snake was convinced by the Devil to speak with Eve, and when the snake agreed to do so, the Devil possessed the snake and spoke to Eve through the snake. (Life of Adam and Eve (Armenian version): 17.2b) The next mystery that the author of the Vita attempted to solve was the reason why Eve decided to risk her life by eating the fruit and fed Adam the fruit afterwards. She said to the snake, "The tree is good and it looks pleasing to me, but I cannot go and take of the fruit: I am afraid. Come here! If you are afraid, bring me of the fruit and I will eat, so that I may know whether your words are true or not." (Life of Adam and Eve (Armenian version): 18.6) Thus, Eve wanted to eat from the Tree, but decided that, instead of risking her life, she would see if the snake was lying or not. But the snake only agreed to do so if and only if Eve swore to the snake "that you (Eve) will give him (Adam) to eat, and will not decieve your husband Adam." Thus, the reason Eve had to feed Adam the fruit was because she swore to the snake that she would if the snake proved he was not lying. Thus, the Vita further established the notion that not only was the snake not lying, but Eve did not really risk her life by eating the fruit. She saw that the snake was telling the truth, ate the fruit, and gave Adam the fruit because she swore to do so. Therefore, the Vita answer the many questions posed by the Genesis story.

Sex in the Garden

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Mortality and Immortality in Genesis

An important concept discussed in the Garden of Eden story was the etiology of mortality. Whether humans were created mortal or immortal before they ate from the Tree of Knowledge has been a subject of great controversy.

In Gen 2:7, God "formed the human, of dust from the soil." Here, God created humans from dust. But why would God specifically create human beings from dust, when he could have easily created mankind from nothingness, like in the first Genesis story? Though many believe that God punished mankind by making them mortal, the text clearly stated that all God did was make the life of humans painful and full of suffering. After God punished the three characters, God said to Adam, "For you are dust, and to dust you shall return." (Gen 3:19) Was this part of the actual punishment, or was God merely reminding Adam that he was mortal from the moment he was formed from dust? From this line, the latter statement was true. Since man was created from dust, man was mortal from the moment of creation. God formed humans from dust because he intended for them to die, or return to the dust.

In Genesis 2:20, God decided to create woman for man. He did this because "there could be found no helper corresponding to him." Specifically, God created woman so that mankind could reproduce. Living things reproduce in order for their species to survive. The species of humans, if immortal, would not need reproduction to survive. Thus, God realized that, in order for mankind to survive, Adam would need a "helper corresponding to him." This was a clear sign that humans were originally created immortal in Genesis 2. This notion was also accentuated in Genesis 1, when God told humans to "bear fruit and be many and fill the earth and subdue it!" (Gen 1: 28) Thus, God wanted human beings to reproduce in order for them to survive. If human beings were immortal, they would not need to reproduce.

However, God warned Adam, saying, "From every other tree of the garden you may eat, yes, eat, but from the Tree of Knowing of Good and Evil--- you are not to eat from it , for on the day that you eat from it, you must die, yes, die." (Gen 2:17) This statement has been argued to be proof that mankind, by eating from the forbidden tree, became mortal. However, there was no indication in any of these three books of Genesis that hinted that mankind was immortal. There was never an incident when Adam or Eve ate from the Tree of Life, which would grant immortality to the eater. Since mankind was originally made from dust, "to dust (they) shall return," and thus, they were mortal from the beginning. Much like they had to obtain Knowledge of Good and Evil by eating from the tree of the same name, humans had to gain immortality by eating from the Tree of Life. Humans never ate from this tree, and as such were never immortal.

In Genesis 2-3, God realized that humans had the potential to break the boundaries of human and divine. They demonstrated this when they ate from the Tree of Knowledge. By acquiring knowledge, one of the two characteristics that define a divine being, humans became more like God. Much like they ate from the Tree of Knowledge, Adam and Eve could easily have eaten from the Tree of Life. God recognized this and took action against humans in order to prevent them from breaking the boundary between Creator and creatures. He banished them from Eden because he did not want them to acquire the second god-like characteristic, immortality. God's actions exemplified the notion that humans were mortal from the moment they were created. In order to become immortal, they needed to eat from the Tree of Life, which they never specifically did in the text. God realized that humans were mortal. Thus, God prevented humans from acquiring immortality by making sure that they did not have a chance to eat from the Tree of Life. (Gen 3:22-23)

The Snake

The snake was the last but equally important character introduced in Gen 2-3. After Eve explained why they could not eat from the Tree of Knowledge (Gen 3:3), the snake said, "Die, you will not die!/Rather, God knows/ that on the day you eat from it, your eyes will be opened/ and you will become like gods, knowing good and evil." (Gen 3:4-5) First of all, Adam and Eve did not die when they ate the fruit. So, the author revealed that the snake was speaking the truth, somewhat. But what was revealed later by God was that humans would have to die at the end of a painful life of suffering. Thus, the snake did not necessarily lie, but rather manipulated its words so that it would not lie, but it was not revealing the whole truth either.

Secondly, the snake did speak the truth when it said, "your eyes will be opened" (Gen 3:5) After Adam and Eve ate the fruit, "the eyes of the two of them were opened and they knew then that they were nude." (Gen 3:7) Thus, the eyes of Adam and Eve were opened, just like the snake had elucidated.

Thirdly, the final statement made by the snake, "you will become like gods, knowing good and evil." (Gen 3:5) could go either way, since it was not absolutely clear in the text whether this was true or false. But it was clear that this was true for certain reasons. As soon as Adam and Eve ate the fruit, they recognized that they were nude. Unlike all the other animals of the world, human beings are the one species on earth that clothes themselves. Does this make human beings godlike? Not necessarily. But this did distinguish human beings from the rest of the creatures in the world. It also emphasized that humans possessed a quality of a celestial being: knowledge. By eating the fruit, the humans realized they were nude because they acquire the knowledge to recognize this. Furthermore, the humans recognized that they had disobeyed God, which was clearly exemplified when they "hid themselves from the face of YHWH, God, amid the trees of the garden." (Gen 3:8) By eating this fruit, they realized the wrong they had done, and thus knew good from evil. They developed a conscience.

Knowledge and immortality are two key characteristics of a divine being. When human beings acquired knowledge, God became fearful, and made sure that they would not eat from the Tree of Life, which would give them immortality. Thus, God's choice to banish the humans from the Garden of Eden clearly indicated that he was both threatened and afraid of the capabilities of human beings. If they were able to acquire knowledge by eating from the Tree of Knowledge, they were certainly capable of becoming immortal by eating from the Tree of Life. God's actions clearly accentuated the notion that human beings had the capability of becoming "like gods," just like the snake noted. Thus, the snake's final statement that human beings would become like gods after eating the fruit was clearly truthful. God prevented humans from becoming even more like Him by banishing them from the Garden before they could acquire immortality.

Etiologies in Genesis 2-3

1.) Origin of man - When heaven and earth existed, God formed man, from "dust from the soil." The Hebrew word for soil was actually "adama," the feminine version of "adam," which means human. Also, God "blew into his nostrils the rush of life." (Gen 2:7) God did not need to do this for any of the other living things on Earth, which suggested that the human male needed an extra bit of energy to come alive.

2.) Origin of fowl- After the creation of man, God "formed from the soil every herd-animal and for the fowl of the heavens and for every living-thing of the field." (Gen 2:20) Here, God formed animals not from the "dust of the soil" like man, but from the soil itself. This further emphasized the notion that men were separate from animals. This was even further accentuated when God allowed Adam to name every living thing. Thus, man had power over the animals, since he was created first and from a different source.

3.) Origin of woman- After man and other living things were created, God formed a woman from one of Adam's ribs. (Gen 2:21-22) Woman, unlike in Genesis 1, was created after man and the animals, rather than being created along with man. What was interesting about this chapter was that Adam was initially created, but the living things and the woman (things that were pivotal for him to flourish) were created afterwards. This was different from Genesis 1, because all the things mankind needed to survive were created before man was created. So God was much more prepared in Genesis 1.

4.) Origin of sexual attraction: In Gen 2:23-24, the author described the origin of sexual attraction. Since woman was created from man, "bones from my bones,/flesh from my flesh!" (Gen 2: 23), the "man leaves his father and his mother and clings to his wife,/and they become one flesh." (Gen 2:24) Becoming one flesh refers to the sexual attraction between males and females. Thus, sexual attractions between men and women originated because woman are essentially made from the flesh and bone of man.

5.) Origin of temptation and the desire of power and knowledge: The snake tempted the woman into eating the fruit. But the woman did this for many other reasons. The author, throughout Genesis 2-3, introduced the various attributes of human nature. One of these was temptation. The snaked enticed the woman by telling her that the Tree of Knowledge offered the eater the knowledge to "become more like gods, knowing good and evil." (Gen 3:5) After the snake explained this, the woman "saw/that the tree was good for eating/and that it was a delight to the eyes,/ and the tree was desireable to contemplate." Generally, humans want what they cannot have, and they also strive to gain power. The snake made the woman desire the tree more because it offered her knowledge, which would possibly bring power (to be "like gods"). She also wanted it because she wanted to know why God did not want her to eat the fruit. What was God hiding from her? Thus, the author introduced the origins of one aspect of human nature, temptation, as well as the origins of the desire for knowledge, power, and discovering the unknown.

6.) Origin of snake's physical characteristics and relationship with humans: Because the snake tricked the woman into eating the fruit, God cursed the snake to crawl on its belly for the rest of its life, and to eat "dust" for the rest of its life. (Gen 3:14) The use of the word dust was striking because from the "dust of the soil" Adam was created. Furthermore, God explained that snake and humans would be enemies, with "enmity" (Gen 3:15) between the snake and the woman. "They will bruise you on the head, you will bruise them in the heel." (Gen 3:15) Thus, the author explained why humans and snakes were enemies, and why snakes, of all the animals, had no legs and were forced to slither rather than walk. It was because the snake enticed the woman.

7.) The origin of pain/suffering: God punished both the woman and the man in different ways in regard to pain and suffering. Women would have a painful child birth, while man would have to work in "painstaking labor" (Gen 3:17) in order to grow plants from the soil. Again, the use of the word "soil" was used, which when translated into Hebrew was "adama." Thorns and weeds would exist in the fields from which man would get their food. Thus, the author described that pain/suffering resulted directly from the humans disobeying God.

8.) The origin of husband having power over the wife: Over the course of history, many cultures regarded men as superior to women. In the story, God punished the woman, saying, "Toward your husband will be your lust, yet he will rule over you." (Gen 3:16) Thus, the author indicated the origin of a woman's lust towards her husband and the husband would have power over the woman. Though woman have the same rights as men today, back in the time of the ancient Hebrews, the men ruled and the women bore and raised their children. Thus, God picked the positions that the man and woman would have in His society. The author clearly indicated this.

9.) The origin of death: Though there was no indication that the humans were immortal before they ate from the Tree of Knowledge, God explained why humans died. Not only would their lives be painful and filled with suffering, but life would also end in death. As God explained to Adam, "For you are dust, and to dust shall you return." (Gen 3:19) Also, because the humans ate from the Tree of Knowledge, God could not have them eat from the Tree of Life, which would grant them immortality. (Gen 3:22) Thus, he had to banish them from the garden (Gen 3:23), so that they could not further become like gods, since it was obvious in their disobedience that they desired power and knowledge (as is human nature). God knew that if they stayed, they would eat from the Tree of Life. Thus, because God did not allow the humans to eat from this tree, humans are mortal. Also, since all living things were made from soil and dust, they would return to this dust and soil at the end of their lives. This referred to the decaying of dead bodies.

Differences in the Two Creation Stories:

The first two chapters of Genesis told the two different stories of creation. Each one is much different than the other. In the first creation story, a distinct and somewhat strict structure was followed. Each day except for the seventh began with "God said." (Genesis 1: 3, 6, 9, 14, 20, 24) Each day except for the seventh ended with "There was evening, there was morning: (one, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth) day." (Genesis 1: 5, 8, 13, 19, 23, 31) Thus, the first creation story emphasized an order of time, unlike the second creation story.

Also, in the first creation story, God named the different things he created:

-"God called the light: Day! and the darkness he called: Night!" (Gen 1: 5)

-"God called the dome: Heaven!" (Gen 1: 8)

-"God called the dry land: Earth! and the gathering of the waters he called: Seas!" (Gen 1:10)

In the second creation story, Adam was given the task of naming the things God had created, "and whatever the human called it as a living being, that became its name." (Gen 2: 19) Mankind was given a power used by God in the first creation story. This emphasized the importance of man in the world and exemplified the creation of man in God's image.

In the first creation story, God did not create mankind until the sixth day. God created light, darkness, heaven, earth, seas, plants, the sun, the moon, the stars, and the creatures of the sea, sky, and earth before he created humans. In the second creation story, heaven and earth was created, but "no bush of the field was yet on earth, no plant of the field had yet sprung up." (Gen 2: 5) It was then that God created mankind, and then he created the rest of earth. This further accentuated the importance of mankind in the second creation story. The first creation story exemplified the creation of heaven and earth and strictly stressed that God was the ultimate creator of everything and everything he created was "good." The second creation story depicted God as both a creator and father to the humans he created, but, more importantly, examined the development of the humans created by God.

In Gen 1: 26-31, the sixth day of creation, humankind was created in God's image, and God gave humans "dominion" over all living things. God said that the humans were "exceedingly good!" (Gen 1: 31). The second creation story went into much greater detail in how man and woman were created. In Gen 2: 7, God "formed the human, of dust from the soil,/ he blew into his nostrils the rush of life/and the human became a living thing." This image was not presented in the first creation story, but merely stated that God created them. Also, in the first creation story, male and female are created at the same time. "God created humankind in his image,/ in the image of God did he create it,/ male and female did he create them." (Gen 1:27) In the second creation story, man was created first in Gen 2:7, but it was not until Gen 2:22 that woman was created from man's rib. God created heaven, earth, man, living things, plants, and all other of His creations before deciding to create woman. Thus, the second story clearly established a difference between man and woman. Genesis 1 did not do this.

In the first chapter of Genesis, God was emphasized as the creator of everything in the universe. In the second chapter of Genesis, God was portrayed in many different ways. For instance, in Gen 2:4, the phrase "YHWH, God" was used for the first of many times throughout the second story. This phrase was never used in the first chaper of Genesis. It seemed that God was almost brought to the level of humans, just as humans were brought to the level of God. Much like God called the humans by names, the humans called God by a specific name. Even though both creation stories clearly stated that mankind was created in God's image, the second story went on to further depict this. First, man was given the task of naming the things God created (Gen 2:20), a task only performed by God in the first creation story. Secondly, in Gen 2:8, God was portrayed "walking about in the garden," an action that humans did. Thus, unlike the first creation story, Genesis 2 further emphasized the creation of humankind in God's image. Rather than just depicting God as a majestic, all-powerful figure, YHWH was portrayed as both human and divine in the second creation story.

Perhaps the major difference in the two stories was their endings. The first creation story merely described the seven days of creation, ending with the seventh day of rest. The second creation story focused on mankind, its creation and its downfall. The author elucidated how man was created from dust (Gen 2: 7) and woman from man's rib (Gen 2: 22). However, the author further explained how the snake enticed the woman to eat from the Tree of Knowledge. "The snake said to the woman:/ Die, you will not die!/Rather, God knows/that on the day you eat from it, your eyes will be opened/ and you will become like gods, knowing good and evil." (Gen 2: 4-5) The fact that this information convinced the woman to eat from the tree revealed much about human nature. The author hinted that the instinct of mankind to gain power and knowledge was perhaps its greatest weakness, since it led to its downfall. After hearing this, the woman finds the fruit "a delight" and "desirable to contemplate" (Gen 2:6). She ate the fruit and gave it to her mate. After eating the fruit, the two humans realize that they are naked and struggle to find leaves to cover themselves (Gen 2:7) Here, the author explained the origin of man's embarassment of being naked in public. Then, God realized that they had eaten from the tree, and then cursed the snaked, woman, and man. In Gen 2:14-19, the origins of many notions were explained by the author. Snakes were forced to crawl on their bellies without legs (Gen 2:14) and would be enemies of man and woman (Gen 2:15). Woman would not only have painful pregnancies and child births, but also would be ruled by their husbands (Gen 2:16). Man would have to work for his food (Gen 2:17-19), and all living things from that point one would eventually die, including man and woman. God then explained that man was "dust, and to dust you shall return." Thus, the second creation story pointed out the progression rather than just the creation of mankind. It explained the origins of death, lust, suffering, and pain. The first creation story did not describe these notions.