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Did Moses really write all of Genesis?

G

Glowstique

Member
Ok, were going back to the beggining. Please, make sure your minds are open. :D Lets all go to Genesis 1:1. Keep reading until you get to 2:3. Once you hit 2:4, doesnt it almost seem like its a different creation accout? For one thing, the first portion was focused on God, while the second was focused on man. And also, if you really read it, youll notice that the writing style changes. Is it really written by Moses?

Many non christians like to point to this as proof that the Bible isnt true. This really doesnt prove anything, and it doesnt make the Bible(sorry i have to put it this way) any less likely to be true than it already is. Dont freak out. Im a Christian and I believe the Bible. :D I was just curious about this.

Whoops!!! Just realised that this probly wasnt the best place post this.
xD
 
Good question and yes, I believe Moses recorded the stories of old from an Exodus perspective.

Genesis 1 can be considered an Elohist writing and genesis 2 can be considered an Yawist writing. By that, Genesis 1 refers to God (Elohim) and Genesis 2 refers to Yahweh (YHVH).

From a 50,000 foot view, Elohim is in relation to creation and sovereignty as YHVH is in relation to how Elohim interacts with his creation. In short, in Genesis 1, Elohim speaks, and it is created. In Genesis 2, it is YHVH who shows personal interaction with that which he created.

It is very helpful to keep in mind that when these were written, the nations surrounding Israel worshiped a pantheon. Furthermore, Abraham came from UR, which is where some of the worlds oldest writings are found that detail many other "creation" accounts etc. Thus, Genesis 1 and 2 are apologetic in nature as they counter other religious views of their day.
 
I believe that Moses did write all of Genesis, but he may have based it on earlier accounts, either oral or written. The reason the first two chapters are different is not because they were written by different people, but because they are different stories. One is about the creation of the world, the other is about how sin entered the world and it's effects, and includes not only chapter two of Genesis, but also chapters 3 and 4.
 
Perspective. You ever watch that movie vantage point? It shows the same 1 hour over and over from different points of view and each one is different. Like Stovebolt says, one is a "top-down" view and the other is a "first-person" view of creation.

At first read it can appear to be odd and maybe even a contradiction, however if you do a study of Chapters 1 and 2 you will see that they are in perfect harmony, and add creditability to the Creation account.

So, yes Moses wrote all of Genesis... and then he wrote four more books!
 
I dont think they contradict. One is just more detailed in some areas than the other. I still believe that it is possible that there was more than one writer, but that doesnt make it any less true. I mean, the Bible had loads of writers, and yet it all fits together. Just suggesting the possibility of another writer. But Moses could have written down different accounts from 2 people too, so in that case he still would be the only writer. xD
 
Hi Glow,

Just a note, but up until Moses recorded the accounts, I believe much of their history was Oral passed from one generation to the next. In this perspective, yes there were two different stories as noted by their differences. BTW, the two accounts only contridict when we interpret them to say things they were not written to support.

I've always thought that if we could understand how the original readers of scripture understood the stories, we would be more responsible with the same stories thousands of years later. This is one reason why I did some studies on the Ancient Near East (ANE) so that I would have a better idea of what the cultures of the day were.

Through this lens, we see the purpose of the two stories in Gen 1 and 2 for those to whom the stories were originally written in a world of competing religions where YHVH was but a speck on the map as far as gods were concerned. Well, up until the Exodus account anyway.

To look at Genesis 1 and 2, we have to look at Abraham, who came out of UR, which was the heart of the pantheon in the ANE as well as the economical wheel of that time and the accepted creation account looked much, much different through the pantheon, as did the relationship between man and the gods.

So through an ANE lens, I can see two stories each serving a different purpose as both a theological reference and as an apologetic response. Each story served a purpose as it's precision in making clear statements of the one true God and how that God interacted with his creation.

I sound like I'm repeating myself :lol

But whether it was one or two separate storytellers I'm not sure if anyone will ever know, and I'm not so sure what the significance would be anyway because as far as I can tell, it was Moses who recorded the stories and it was through the guidance of YHVH that they were written.
 
When I read the text in reference I don't see two different accounts. I see the same events described in different detail.

Haven't you ever done that? I do it a lot, maybe too much. I'll tell a story and often when I finish I'll retell it again in a slightly different way. Both versions are the same truth but told differently.

In Genesis 1 the story is told in specific chronological detail. In Genesis 2 it's as if the writer intended to repeat the story but in more general terms.

First version:
Yesterday I woke to the alarm with a start. Then I took a shower and got myself cleaned up. After that I got dressed for work. Then I made my self a sandwich, placed it in a container along with an orange. After that I put on a pot of coffee and filled my thermos. Finally, I got into my car, started it, waited for it warm up a little, and drove to work.

Second version:
So yesterday I got up, showered, dressed, packed a lunch, and went to work.
 
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