Question and Answer | Two Creation Accounts
Why does there seem to be two creation accounts in the Book of Genesis?
Genesis 1:1–2:3 and Genesis 2:4–25 are not two different accounts of creation, but two angles on the single act. The first account, in Genesis 1:1–2:3, focuses on God the Almighty. God is mentioned 35 times, each highlighting His omnipotence and wisdom. This opening section zooms in on God’s omnipotence and rule as He speaks, creates, evaluates, and brings the entire universe into existence out of nothing. The Almighty, who prepares a home for human beings on earth, says: I love you! I created the world for you!
In chapter 2:4–25, the narrator describes creation from another angle, designating God as the LORD God. The narrator uses the LORD God 11 times in Genesis 2:4-25. LORD with capital letters in English stands for Yahweh, the sacred and personal name of God in Hebrew. Yahweh God is relational, redemptive, covenantal, and involved. Yahweh God picks up dust and shapes a man, breathes into the lifeless shape and it becomes a living soul! Yahweh God planted a garden in Eden, and formed a woman from Adam’s rib. The two creation accounts highlight different aspects of the Creator’s character as God and then as Yahweh God.
BY Dr. Winfred O. Neely
Dr. Winfred Neely is Vice President and Dean of Moody Theological Seminary and Graduate School. An ordained minister, Winfred has served churches across the city of Chicago, the near west suburbs, and Senegal, West Africa. He is the author of How to Overcome Worry (Moody Publishers) and a contributor to the Moody Bible Commentary and Moody Handbook of Preaching. Winfred and his wife Stephne have been married for forty years and have four adult children and nine grandchildren.