The Garden of Eden Story as Etiology

Tuesday, September 9   The Garden of Eden story as etiology

Creation stories are tales of origin, explaining how our world came to be. 

Reread Genesis 2-3 (any translation). As you read, list (with biblical verse citations) all the aspects of our world that the author of the story chose to explain.

     Ponder whether the story explains why we die. We will have a classroom debate on whether the human beings created in the Garden of Eden were originally mortal or immortal. Every student will tackle both sides, using every detail in the story to argue each side of the issue.

______________________________________________________________________

Origins

The author chose to explain more than just the origin of our physical world in Gen 2-3. There are as many, if not more, descriptions of the origins of human behaviour.

In Gen 2:3, God blessed the seventh day because he rested. Although it does not become a commandment until later, this is where the concept of resting on the Sabbath originated.

In Gen 2:5, the author says that no plants or herbs had “yet sprung”, acknowledging that plants and herbs now cover the fields of the earth. Also, the author says that man was not yet made to till the ground; part of the reason man was made was to till the ground. Obviously people still till the land to farm. (As a side note: if we are being literal, about 15 years ago zero-till became a common practice, so not many people actually till anymore.)

Gen 2:9, the author describes the trees as pleasant to sight. Not only, does that show a physical aspect of our world (trees), it also explains why many people enjoy nature, God made the trees beautiful.

There are many things that (most) humans find valuable – such as gold and incense – and the author notes that in Gen 2:10-12. When discussing the rivers, which in and of themselves are an important physical part of our world, the author chose to include that the rivers flow through and around gold and bdellium, two natural resources that people treasure; people invest in gold.

Ironically, one of the things the author did not include was trees without fruit. In Gen 2:16 God says man may eat of every fruit from the trees (but later says that the fruit of knowledge cannot be eaten), implying that all trees have fruit. However, this is not a significant oversight.

Another detail that was not included in Gen 2-3 is sea creatures. Gen 2:19 says that God formed beasts of the field and birds of the air but does not mention animals of the sea. Although Gen 1 does discuss creating sea creatures.

All of the animals were named by man in Gen 2:20. Being able to specify animals by name is something we still value today.

In Gen 2:24, God dictates what man should do when he gets married; which is the origins in many cultures, where it is important for married couples to move away from their parents. Although, to be fair, in some cultures it is expected that your parents live with you until they die.

Gen 2:25 says that the man and his wife were naked and not ashamed; after they eat the forbidden fruit, they do become ashamed. Again, this is the beginning of another human behaviour. In many cultures, different levels of nudity are acceptable – children often run around naked, women are topless, etc. In other cultures, people are ashamed of their bodies and wear a lot of clothing.

Perhaps Genesis is the origins of a common saying. The serpent is described in Gen 3:1 as the most subtle creature God created. To this day, people say that someone is ‘as slippery as a snake’, in other words, that person is sneaky and has bad intentions.

In Gen 3:5 the author talks about the ability to know of good and evil. Each society has concepts of good and evil, the knowledge that resulted from eating the fruit could be considered the origins of what is considered good and what is considered evil.

I said earlier that the author implied that all trees had fruit because man could eat from them, but Genesis 3:6 suggests otherwise. Eve saw that the forbidden tree was good to eat, so perhaps the author subtly suggests that not all trees had fruit.

Another physical aspect of our world that the author chose to mention are fig leaves. When Adam and Eve learned they were naked, they covered themselves with fig leaves in Gen 3:7.

An interesting specification is made by the author in Gen 3:14. God considers cattle different from wild animals. Subtly, in the world’s origins, cattle were prized, not animals to be feared. Even today, cattle have more value to the common man than a wild animal.

Part of God’s curse to the serpent in Gen 3:14, is that he will have to slither in the dust, which, with a few exceptions, they still do. Continuing in Gen 3:15, the curse is the origin of the antagonistic relationship between man and snake.

In Gen 3:16, the author includes that childbirth will be difficult for women and that husbands will rule over their wives. I’m told that, even today, without painkillers, childbirth can be very difficult. Many cultures still consider men to be of higher standing than women – a concept that clearly originates in this curse.

Gen 3:17 shows that man will have to work hard to survive – man must work in toil for food.

The author chose to include the physical origins of thorns and thistles in Gen 3:18, which were also part of God’s curse on man. Also, the author again says that men will have to eat food grown from the ground. Obviously, what is grown in the ground is humans’ main food source.

In Gen 3:19, the author mentioned that men will sweat from their brows.

Finally, in Gen 3:21, the author shows the origin of clothing (apart from fig leaves). God created garments of skins and clothed Adam and Eve.

Mortality vs. Immortality

Almost everything in the Bible can be interpreted in many different ways and the issue of mortality is no different. Verses that support the concept that man was originally immortal also support the idea that man was created as a mortal.

Gen 2:7 says that God “breathed into [man’s] nostrils the breath of life”. One can argue that there is no such thing as life without death; therefore man was originally intended to be mortal. However, the other argument can be made using Revelation 1:8 says “‘I am the Alpha and the Omega,’ says the Lord God, ‘who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.’” Since God is “immortal” (for lack of a better word), His “breath of life” is forever.

An argument that supports the idea that man was intended to be immortal is from Gen 2:17. God warns Adam “for in the day that you eat of it you shall die”. This implies that man was not originally going to die.

Another verse that can support both sides of the argument is Gen 2:24. When man marries he must leave his father and his mother. Obviously to have parents and be old enough to marry, man must grow. One can argue if a person ages, inevitability they will become too old and they will die; therefore man is mortal. However, if one believes man was immortal argue that ageing does not necessarily mean that a person must die.

Part of God’s curse on Eve in Gen 3:16 is that He will “multiply your pain in childbearing”. The same arguments used for Gen 2:24 apply here as well. Does ageing lead to death?

In Gen 3:19, God curses Adam saying that “and to dust you shall return”. This can be used to suggest was originally immortal; it would not be a curse if Adam was always going to die and become dust once more. However, it can also be argued that man was already going to die and returning to dust is just adding insult to injury, instead of a clean body after death, the body becomes dirty.

In Gen 3:22 God decides that now man has is like God, man must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take from the tree of life and eat, and live forever. One argument is that if man was immortal he would not have to take the fruit to live forever, therefore man was originally mortal. However, the other argument is that they were different fruits; man was originally immortal but lost and could eat the fruit of life, lost that privilege after eating the fruit of knowledge, but eating from the tree of life would make man immortal again.

Getting to Know the Story

Thursday, September 4   Getting to know the story

    Open Genesis 1 and Genesis 2 in separate windows. Compare and contrast the two texts. What are the differences between the creation stories in Genesis 1 and Genesis 2-3?  Cite chapter and verse (e.g. Gen 1:26).  Read as deeply as you can. Be as comprehensive as possible.  In addition to the blog, bring your work to class for discussion, as well as a translation of Gen 1-3 (any one on internet).

_______________________________________________________________________

There are significant differences between the creation stories in Genesis 1 and Genesis 2-3, although there are some similarities. However, Genesis 1 generally has significantly more detail, such as what day God created things, God calling his creations “good”, as well as events that are not mentioned in Genesis 2-3. However, more importantly, the order in which God created everything is different between the two stories.

Comparing the two stories of creation is somewhat difficult when the order of which things were created differs. I will follow the order of creation according to the story in Genesis 1. Then I will compare what is in Genesis 2-3 to Genesis 1, which will result in the second story (Genesis 2-3) being out of order. Having an entire story out of order can be confusing, so I have made two (over-simplified) lists with the order in which everything was created. Seeing these lists may help keep things “straight” when comparing the two different stories in greater detail.

The order of creation according to the different stories are as follows:

Genesis 1:

1.      Creation of Heaven and Earth

2.      Creation of Light

3.      Separation of Heaven and Earth

4.      Creation of Land

5.      Creation of Vegetation

6.      Changes of Light

7.      Creation of Animals

8.      Creation of Man and Woman

Genesis 2-3:

1.      Creation of Earth

2.      Creation of Man

3.      Planted a garden in Eden

4.      Grew Every Tree

5.      Creation of a River

6.      Creation of Animals

7.      Creation of Woman

Creation of Heaven and Earth

In Genesis 1:1 “God created the heavens and the earth”. At this point the earth was only formless water that the Spirit of God moved over (Gen 1:2).

In Genesis 2 when God made heaven and earth there was already land. However there were no plants or herbs growing because only a “mist [that] went up from the earth and watered the whole face of the ground” (Gen 2:6). In other words, while land exists, it is barren.

Creation of Light

In Genesis 1:3-4, God created light that separated from the darkness and named them day and night – the first day.

Genesis 2 does not mention the creation of light.

Separation of Heaven and Earth

On the second day God created a firmament that separates the waters. God named the firmament Heaven. (Gen 1:6-8)

This event did not occur in the story in Genesis 2-3.

Creation of Land

God created land to separate the waters on earth on the third day, in Genesis 1:9-10.

As previously discussed, in Genesis 2:6, there is land with only a mist rising from the earth. There is no mention of the mist actually becoming rain and thus needing land to separate the waters. However, in Genesis 2:10-14, there is a description of a river flowing through Eden to the rest of the world. Unlike Genesis 1, there is a brief description of the land through which the rivers flow (Gen 2:10-14).

Creation of Vegetation

Also on the third day, “God said, ‘Let the earth put forth vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, upon the earth.’ And it was so” (Gen 1:11).

In Genesis 2:7-9 God created man, planted a garden in Eden, placed man there and then grew every tree.

Changes of Light

Although God created light on the first day (Genesis 1:3), he made different ‘shades’ (for lack of a better word) of light on the fifth day. A “greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night; He made the stars also. And God set them in the firmament of the heavens to give light upon the earth” (Gen 1:16-17). The lights were also “be for signs and for season and for days and years” (Gen 1:14).

Light is not mentioned in Genesis 2-3.

Creation of Animals, Man and Woman

On the sixth day God made all creatures, man and woman, and then blessed them all in Genesis 1:20-31. First He had “the waters bring forth swarms of living creatures, and… birds fly above the earth across the firmament of the heavens” (Gen 1:20). He blessed them to be “fruitful and multiply” (Gen 1:22). He did similarly with “cattle and creeping things and beasts of the earth according to their kinds” (Gen 1:24). Finally, on the sixth day God created man in His own image, “male and female he created them” (Gen 1:27). He gave man dominion over all the animals on the earth and plants. (He specifies that the plants are also for the animals to eat.) “And God blessed them, and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it…’” (Gen 1:28).

There are a few differences between the two stories. In Genesis 2, man was created first and then the animals followed. “God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being” (Gen 2:7). This description of the creation of man is more detailed than the one in Genesis 1. The animals followed, “the Lord God said, ‘It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him’” (Gen 2:18) and proceeded to create all animals. Unlike in Genesis 1, in this story, all of the animals were created at once. Finding the creatures poor companions for man, God created woman using the man’s rib (Gen 2:22). Genesis 1 says nothing about the animals not being fit helpers for man and also does not describe how woman was made.

A similarity to note between the two chapters regarding the creation of man, is the description of man and woman. God says that man and woman are made of his bones and flesh in Genesis 2:23 and Genesis 1:27 says that man is made in God’s image. Another important similarity between Genesis 1 and Genesis 2, is man was put in charge of taking care of the earth. In Genesis 2:15 when God put man in Eden, man was “to till and keep it” and in Genesis 2:19 man named all the animals after they were created.

There is one part of the creation story that does not overlap between Genesis 1 and Genesis 2, how man and woman should interact after being created. “Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother and cleaves to his wife, and they become one flesh. And the man and his wife were both naked, and were not ashamed” (Gen 2:24-25).

The Real Story vs. The Story We Think We Know

Tuesday, September 2   The real (biblical) story vs. the story we (think we) know

    Read Genesis 2:4-3:24 (in any translation; for a choice, see biblegateway.com).

a)  As you read, compare the Garden of Eden story in Gen 2:4-3:24  to your own.  Note the parts you sort of remembered but didn't put in your version, and whatever came as a complete surprise.  Also note what you put into the biblical story that isn't actually there.  In addition to the blog, bring these notes to class for discussion.

b) Reread the story slowly and write down what questions are left open in the narrative.  Find at least five.  Note one item that really puzzled you.

a) Unsurprisingly, my version of the story of the Garden of Eden was missing quite a few details. There were also a couple of things that were in my version of the story but were not in the biblical version.

I had the order of some of the events mixed up; I thought the story began after Adam and the animals are already present. However Gen 2:4-6 is spent describing Earth having no plant or animal life and also noting that there is no rain – mist springs up from the ground. The creation of Adam does not begin until Gen 2:7. I also confused the order of creation of man and animals. I originally thought that the animals were created and then man was created to rule over them. This is not the case, man was created and then the animals were created so Adam would not be alone.

I completely missed the part of the story explaining the four rivers in the Garden and that the Garden was created in the east.

Although I was aware that Adam was made from dust, I did not know that God himself breathed the breath of life into Adam’s nostrils. I knew that God took a rib from Adam to create Eve but I thought dust was also involved in her creation.

Perhaps the biggest mistaken belief I had was about the serpent. I thought Satan took the form of the snake to tempt Eve. However, there is no mention of Satan in the biblical story, it just says that the serpent was the most subtle wild creation God had created.

Ironically, I remember, but did not include, what would happen if Adam and Eve ate the fruit. I remember that God warned Adam and Eve that they would die but I did not write it down. However, I did include that God said they would die when he was punishing them after they ate the fruit. In other words, I forgot to write about the warning but remembered to write about the punishment.

I also remember, but forgot to include, how the serpent convinced Eve to eat the fruit. The serpent said God was wrong and they would not die; the fruit would actually let Adam and Eve “be like God, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:5).

A part that was in my version of the story but not in the biblical version is that Eve had to convince Adam to eat the fruit. Adam did not reprimand her for eating the fruit and he did not need to be convinced to eat the fruit. Genesis 3:6 only says that “she also gave some [fruit] to her husband, and he ate”.

Part of Eve’s punishment from God surprised me: women would want to serve their husbands. For a very long time women it was considered a mark of a moral woman to be subservient to their husband. I find it entertaining that God considered being subservient a curse, not a virtuous trait.

I did not know that God made Adam and Eve clothes, as stated Genesis 3:21. I thought the only clothing that they had were the leaves they used when they hid from God.

Finally, I was incorrect when I wrote that there were two angels with fiery swords guarding the entrance to the Garden. The biblical story has only one angel. I was also incorrect in thinking that the angel was there to block the Garden. In the Bible the angel was to “guard the way to the tree of life”, while the angel blocks the entire Garden, its purpose is to protect the tree.

b) If Adam and Eve had no knowledge of right and wrong, did that mean they were ‘innocents’? That they were naturally (for lack of a better term) ‘well-behaved’? In other words, does that mean humans are innately good?

How did the snake talk to Eve? Was she hallucinating or were animals able to speak?

Why did the snake beguile Eve into eating the fruit? There was nothing for the snake to gain from Eve disobeying God.

Genesis 3:6 describes the fruit as a “delight to the eyes”. Did God intentionally create the fruit to be appealing, to see how well they controlled their temptation?

This may not seem significant but it bothers me; part of God’s curse on the serpent is that “upon your belly you shall go”. Was the serpent not already on his belly?

Until Genesis 3:17 Adam and Eve are simply called man/husband and woman/wife. In Gen 3:20 Eve is named ‘Eve’ because she is the “mother of all living”. However when the first time Adam’s name comes up (when God curses him Gen 3:17), there is no explanation. It literally only says “And to Adam He said…” Assume someone has been living under a rock their entire life and has never heard the name ‘Adam’ before, how are they supposed to know that Adam is the man/husband?

As previously mentioned, Eve is named ‘Eve’ because she is the “mother of all things”. Why is she called mother when she was the last being to be created by God? All other creatures were already there.

This is the biggest part of the story that has always puzzled me: If God did not want them to eat the fruit, why did he make it?