Priestly and yahwist creation accounts in the book

Genesis 1, the priestly p account of creation, has often been compared with the enuma elish, the akkadian creation myth. The sequence of the flood undoes the steps of creation from genesis 1, and then rebuilds the whole creation. The basis for identifying a strand of the pentateuch as the writing of the yahwist the yahwist strand being represented specifically in genesis 216, 1822, 2434, 38, and 49. Chapters 1 and 2 of the book of genesis contain the biblical accounts of the creation of the world and of human beings. What are the major differences between the yahwist and. Comparison between the creation stories essay 994 words. Fragments from the primitive document in seven early books of the old testament at. Also, how both creation stories help humankind develop a better interpretation of god. There are several elements of the priestly story that. Nevertheless, many scholars do assume its existence, and. The p source is also known as the priestly source, due to the fact it is traceable to priestly traditions. Upon hearing there are multiple accounts, various sources, etc.

That with which genesis actually begins is not, however, the older account. The e source is also known as the elohist, because this writer refers to god as elohim for part of his account. Traditions of priestly editors who took existing accounts and developed 1st 5 books of bible torah priestly tradition of editors who reshaped elohist account of creation 1st creation story into what we now have in genesis. The priestly account of creation is inspired from the yahwist account to counter explicitly this pessimistic view of the cosmos in the ancient world. It referred to the socalled first account of the creation of man inserted in the sevenday cycle of the creation of the world cf. In the opening chapters of genesis, the first book of the judeochristian bible, editors combined two previously independent stories about the universes beginnings. Priestly versus yahwist creation accounts brainmass. Would somone explain the difference between yahwist or elohist in regard to the bible. The primeval history includes the familiar stories of the creation, the garden of. The first section deals with god and the nations, and the second deals with god and a particular nation, israel. The book of exodus is also divided between the yahwist and p, and the usual understanding is that the priestly writers were adding to an alreadyexisting yahwist narrative. This article explores the differences between the two creation stories.

The basis for identifying a strand of the pentateuch as the writing of the yahwistthe yahwist strand being represented specifically in genesis 216, 1822, 2434, 38, and 49. The first chapters of genesis contain two creation stories. There are three main things that will be explains in this paper. When the individual episodes are gleaned out of genesis, exodus, and numbers, and viewed together in isolation, the yahwist epic tells a story of marvelous scope and deep human interest. Evolutionary creation, which biologos seems to support, gives god a greater action in the creation of our universe. Christianity is concerned with belief, a creed that one signs up to. According to mansfield on page xv the book of genesis was added to the jewish bible by jewish priest.

The first point is the meaning of the creation story in which will be divided into two categories. Text from the yahwist soruce yahwist jahwist source, commonly designated j. The two paths offer completely different approaches. The yahwist or jawist is the j of jedpthe supposed earliest contributor to the pentateuch. That is why i called the genesis 2 creation history more primitive, i. Like the egyptian and mesopotamian creation stories common in the 8th century.

Also, genesis 1 seems to be a newer and more progressive creation statement than the yahwist view. Priestly and yahwist versions of creation contradictions in the bible. Some scholars believe that the yahwist account is the earlier written account, while the priestly account was written perhaps 500 years later and was intended to. Genesis introduction the book of genesis tells the story first of humankind and then of the ancestors of israel, from the creation down to the sojourn of the israelites in egypt. In contrast, the yahwist version stresses on god as immanent and humanitys. The priestly writer presented god as pausing thinking, let us make man which was quite different when he created other creatures by just uttering the creative word in a casual way.

The priestly account corresponds roughly to genesis, chapter 1, while the yahwist account corresponds to genesis, chapters 2. In the nineteenth and twentieth century, this idea, called the documentary hypothesis, was elaborated, but no two scholars have. Most of the remainder of genesis is from the yahwist, but p provides the covenant with abraham chapter 17 and a few other stories concerning abraham, isaac and jacob. In the old testament, why are there two stories of creation. Some scholars believe that the yahwist account is the earlier written account, while the priestly account was written perhaps 500 years later and was intended to ritualize the creation account and combat some of the. The difference between the priestly version and the yahwist version of the creation story lies in different cosmology. Starting point of creation the deep a vast primordial ocean. There are, for example, two accounts of the creation, two genealogies of seth and two of shem, two covenants.

The priestly version stresses on god as transcendent and humanitys authority. The book comprises an extensive introduction and conclusion, and five. In the account of creation two divergent and incompatible narratives have been placed side by side but in the story of the flood the two accounts have been conflated together to form one continuous narrative in such a way that glaring contradictions and inconsistencies are left in the narrative. The first account comes out of the priestly document of the exilic period. By reading the creation stories many differences between the priestly and yahwist accounts can be noticed. However, in the creation account the priestly story genesis 1.

Ecojustice ministries two creation stories in genesis. While priestly style it is quite dry and stereotyped as compare to yahwistic. This is kind of a side question also, but why do members of the lds church aka mormons refer to god the father as elohim. The j source is also known as the yahwist, due to the fact this source calls god yahweh throughout his writings. Maly provides this outline of genesis with tentative ascription to the yahwist, elohist, and priestly sources. The priests of judah seem to have incorporated the e text into their j text. This creation account is immediately followed by the priestly writers. The second account is earlier and comes from the yahwist narrative. The book of genesis two different accounts on creation. Text from the priestly source priestly source, commonly designated p. The book of genesis two different accounts on creation of man. Genesis 1, the priestly p account of creation, has often.

The book of exodus is also divided between the yahwist and p, and the usual understanding is that the priestly. The jahwist, or yahwist, often abbreviated j, is one of the most widely recognized sources of the pentateuch, together with the deuteronomist and the priestly source. It is no surprise then to learn that the first creation account was written by a 6th century bce elite priestly guild at a time when israel was a templestate. For centuries, the holy bible has been a source of inspiration for people all over the world. How is the priestly version different from the yahwist. One use of the term relates to the jedp theoryyahwism, in that context, is the use of the name yahweh in the pentateuch. Creation story yahwist and priestly account free essays. The genesis accounts of the creation of the animals go right to the root of how we imagine humanitys place in relation to the cosmos. The yahwist additionally narrates stories about mans primeval beginnings as a series of increasingly violent and disobedient acts gen 311, however, now placed within a later priestly interpretive framework that attempts to diminish and amend the. From the priestly perspective, the flood was necessary because the earth had become corrupted by violence among all flesh. Genesis 69 reconstructed text throughout the biblical book of genesis and, in fact, the entire torah, discrepancies and inconsistencies can be recognized, and as early as the eighteenth century, it was proposed that the author had used at least two sources. Essay about creation story yahwist and priestly account. It takes ideas of the firmament common in both egyptian and mesopotamian cosmology, but it restructures the creation so that it is the work of a single deity rather than a combined effort of several gods in conflict. In genesis chapter 1 the following characteristics may be observed.

What is the yahwist account of creation compared to the. Priestly source characteristics, date and scope pentateuch. To portray god as the all powerful creator who gave humans authority over the earth. Two creation stories in genesis christianity disproved. Yahwist source, abbreviated as j labeled j after the german transliteration of. Since man is the image and likeness of god, he is called to be his god representative, in. Genesis creation stories form, structure, and relationship.

While the yahwist creation and flood stories deal primarily with the. The priestly creation story and the yawhist creation story, these categories will be elaborated accordingly to the background and the main purpose of their writings. Two creation stories in genesis ecojustice ministries. Believed to have been written by those in priestly circles.

All creation stories aim to explain how things came to be and why life is as it is. Yahwist source, abbreviated as j, labeled j after the german transliteration of yhwh, an early source that provides a strand of the pentateuchal narrative. A walk through the old testament, part 1, jepd and creation. The priestly story of creation has a different style and theological message from the earlier yahwistic story. Genesis one is probably engaging with the violent and often highly nationalistic creation myths of its neighbors. The existence of the jahwist is somewhat controversial, with a number of scholars, especially in europe, denying that it ever existed as a coherent independent document.

The great bulk of the remainder of the book of genesis chaps. The priestly source or simply p is perhaps the most widely recognized source underlying the. The book has two major sectionsthe creation and expansion of the human race 2. The following text colors are used to highlight particular phraseology illustrating theme and structure. On page 2 of his foreword he says these priest added genesis while in captivity by the waters of babylon. The other account is a conflation of two literary traditions, known as the yahwist and the. Some have claimed that p is dependent on the latter, but this is highly improbable. The book of genesis contains two accounts of the creation. The sources of the genesis story, which i will analyze below, is that of the priestly p source and of the yahwist j source. The textual tradition known as the yahwist j was so named by academics because of its consistent and unequivocal use of the god of israels name, yahweh. Man is made in the image, according to the likeness of god. It is possible that enuma elish, a babylonian creation myth, is the target since there are indications of antimesopotamian polemic. The priestly writers reworking of the yahwist material of genesis 111. From the point of view of biblical criticism, it is necessary to mention immediately that the first account of mans creation is chronologically later than.