Chapters 1 and 2 of the book of Genesis contain the account of Creation. The text consists of two main parts: the complete account and the details of the creation of man.
In chapters 1 and 2 of the Bible we have the creation account, which includes the creation of man and woman, the first couple of the human race.
In this post we will analyze the speech and its parts, in order to facilitate its interpretation and the understanding of its message.
It is important to read this post with the Bible open at the side, as there are many references to its text.
A Unique Account.
Some read the first two chapters of the book of Genesis as if they contained two different accounts of Creation: the first would begin in Genesis 1: 1 and end in Genesis 2: 3, and the second would begin in Genesis 2: 4 and end in Genesis 2 : 25.
What leads the reader to this understanding is the discernment of the role exercised by verse 4 of chapter 2, in verbis:
These are the origins of heaven and earth, when they were created; on the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens. (Genesis 2: 4)
If this verse is read as a title for the subsequent text, the consequence is that there is a second account. However, the function of the aforementioned verse is not to open the next discourse, but rather to close or conclude the text started in the first verse of chapter one. There is, in fact, an account of the Creation of Genesis 1: 2 through Genesis 2: 3, which is titled Genesis 1: 1 and closed by Genesis 2: 4.
This same model is seen in other texts by the Pentateuch:
Description of the genealogy of Ishmael, son of Abraham. Genesis 25:12 to 25:16.
Description of the genealogy of Esau, son of Isaac. Genesis 36: 1 to 36:19.
Leviticus. Leviticus 27:34 (closing at the end of the book)
Law on leprosy. Leviticus 14: 2 to 14:32
Description and record of the count of the sons of Kohath before the people left Sinai. Numbers 4: 1 to 4:19
Analepsis
As for the text following the report (from Genesis 2: 5), it is a detail of the report and is part of it, as we will see later. The speech uses analysis, which is a way of speaking in which the author pauses the narration and returns to a previous fact to detail it.
Discourse Structuring
The Creation account speech in Genesis 1-2 is structured as follows:
Part One - Full and summary account of the Creation
Title: Genesis 1: 1
Preparation of the best environment for humans: Genesis 1: 2 to 1:25
Creation of the human being: Genesis 1: 26-27
Material blessings on the human being: Genesis 1: 27-32.
Spiritual blessings * on the human being: Genesis 2: 2-3.
Closing of the story: Genesis 2: 4
Second Part - Detailed account of the creation of the human being - man and woman.
The situation of the land and the availability of food when man was created. Genesis 2: 5-6
The formation of man from the dust of the earth. Genesis 2: 7
God's special care for man in relation to housing and food in the circumstances of that moment. Genesis 2: 8-15
The covenant between God and man in the garden of Eden. Genesis 2: 16-17
The creation of the woman, companion of the man. Genesis 2: 18-22
The married life and happiness of the couple Genesis 2: 23-25.
* Spiritual blessings. The seventh day, the day of rest, speaks louder than simple human physical rest: in symbolic and deeper language, it speaks of man's spiritual rest when he is in communion with His Creator - according to Hebrews 3: 7 to 4: 11, and this is the main and spiritual message spoken by metaphor in Genesis 2: 2-3. This rest is included in spiritual blessings.
Bibliography
Bible on line on <https://www.bibliaonline.com.br/niv>.
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