512 INTRODUCTION TO EVOLUTION 



their two sacred books were combined, and supplemented from other 

 sources. Although neither the J nor the E narrative was written earlier 

 than the ninth century B.C., both tell of the founding of the Jewish nation 

 centuries earlier. The E narrative starts with Abraham, but the J narrative 

 begins with the creation. This most ancient account of creation is now 

 found in our Bible in the second chapter of Genesis — Genesis 2:4b-23, 

 beginning "in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens. 

 ..." I hope you will read this passage. According to this account God 

 made the earth suitable for life ("watered the whole face of the ground") 

 and then "formed man of the dust of the ground." Then he planted a gar- 

 den for the man Adam to live in, creating a variety of trees for his use and 

 enjoyment. Following that God created the beasts of the field, and the 

 fowls, and brought them to Adam to name. Afterward God created 

 Woman from one of Adam's ribs. Note that in this account man was 

 created before the lower animals were, and that the creation was not repre- 

 sented as divided into separate days. 



When the J and E narratives were united and added to, the ancient 

 Judahite account of creation was left intact but ahead of it was placed an- 

 other and differing account of creation: Genesis 1, and 2:l-4a. This later 

 account is the familiar one divided into six days. In this narrative plants 

 were created first (on the third day) and then the sun, moon, and stars 

 were created (certainly an improbable sequence!). Then water-dwelling 

 animals and fowls were created, followed on the next day by beasts and 

 "creeping things." Finally on the sixth day man was created ("male and 

 female created he them"; no mention here of Adam and his rib). 



So we find together in these first two chapters of Genesis two entirely 

 different stories of creation, conflicting in detail and chronology at practi- 

 cally every point. Both of them cannot be the literal history of what oc- 

 curred, so why regard either of them as being that? 



Why were these accounts of creation written? Were they intended as 

 textbooks of instruction in the facts of creation? Partly, perhaps, and to 

 that extent they are outmoded. But mainly their emphasis is religious, not 

 historical. "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." 

 These early writers were striving to impress the thought of a divine Crea- 

 tor of all things, and the later writers at least were especially intent upon 

 establishing the point that all this was the work of one God, not many 

 gods, as most other people of that time believed. In describing the creative 

 work of this omnipotent Deity they wrote in terms of such scientific ideas 

 as were prevalent in their day. Somewhat similar accounts of creation are 

 found in ancient Babylonian documents, but with this important differ- 



