Redaction Criticism

Your Word or Mine?
Out of all the stories in the bible it is no question which one is most widely debated. In the beginning of the Bible, the book of Genesis is where the story of creation begins. But, that is not necessarily the only account of this creation story. Genesis 1 and 2 are two stories in the bible that account for much of the same explanation of nature and how this world came about. There has been dispute about whether or not these chapters are complementary or contradictory of one another. When looking at this controversial topic, redaction criticism is a helpful way to reconcile this debate. Redaction criticism is a “term used to describe the activities of an editor who is using earlier source materials and incorporating them

To begin, “The second creation story, in Genesis 2, varies from the first and appears to have been written as much as 500 years earlier. Animals are created before humans in Genesis 1, but animals are created after Adam in Genesis 2. The Hebrew word for God in Genesis 2 is Yahweh, while in Genesis 1 it is Elohim. While Elohim seems to be a spirit, Yahweh, like the talking serpent, is more humanlike” (Barnet). In Genesis 1 the bible claims that on the first day God created light. On the second he separated the sky from the sea. Third, land. Fourth Sun moon and stars etc. and in Genesis two that is not the case. The creation takes one day to complete. In Genesis 2 the first thing God does is creates Adam who is the first man. “He blew into his nostrils the breath of life and man became a living being.”(Genesis 2:7) Then, comes plants in the Garden of Eden. Third, God brings brings the animals to him. “for Adam no fitting helper was found. So the Lord God cast a deep sleep upon the man; and, while he slept, He took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh at that spot. And the Lord God fashioned the rib that He had taken from the man into a woman; and He brought her to the man.” (Genesis 2:20-22) One of the next big points exemplifying how story 1 and 2 are not complementary is in Genesis 1:25-27 it explains how the human kind was made after man was, and that man and woman were made at the same time. Genesis 2:18-19 contradicts that in saying that humans were created before all of the other animals came about and the woman was created from the man's rib. The main purpose of the chapters of genesis is to create an etiology, or explanation of where and how the world came about. The author is attempting to account or explain the way that life came to be. The authors and redactors put together stories of the