How many creation stories are there in genesis

In the Canaanite myth, God cuts the sea god Yam in two and creates the oceans and the sky. It is the same basic idea but depersonified. The author of Genesis 1, probably a Hebrew scribe living in Babylon during the Babylonian Exile in the 4th century BCE, was apparently creating a new version of the old creation myth that could conform with the strict monotheism which was taking hold of Judaism at the time. The Babylonians believed in this story too, only in their case, the hero creator god was Marduk, not Baal, and the sea was not male like the Canaanite Yam, but a female goddess called Tiamat.

This basic creation myth of a god slaying serpent-like sea monsters is not restricted to the Canaanites and the Babylonians. In each of these cases - and there are more - it is a weather deity that kills a monster serpent, and thus brings order to the world. The similarities between Indo-European languages led linguists to hypothesize the existence of an ancient language, Proto-Indo-European, which was spoken in the central Asian steppes thousands of years ago and from which all Indo-European languages are descended.

Similarly, scholars of comparative religion hypothesize that these are manifestations of an original Proto-Indo-European religious myth involving a weather god killing a monster snake and bringing order to the world.

Apparently, one or more of these ancient Indo-European people, perhaps the Hittites, brought the myth to the Middle East. Here it was adopted by the Canaanites - and made its way to the Bible, only to be profoundly misunderstood by latter-day translators. Elon Gilad Oct. Updated: Apr. Get email notification for articles from Elon Gilad Follow.

Open gallery view. The entrance to the palace in Ugarit. Credit: Disdero, Wikimedia Commons. Credit: Wikimedia Commons. The second creation story in Genesis to was apparently written by a 9th century writer.

There are are a few minor discrepancies between the two stories. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And the evening and the morning were the first day. And the evening and the morning were the second day.

And the evening and the morning were the sixth day. And the fourth river is Euphrates. There are some contradictions between the two accounts in Genesis 1 and 2, such as the order of when animals and humans were created:. Some people think that Genesis 2 is just a more in-depth look at day six.

Accounts of creation According to Christian belief, God created the universe. Genesis 1 Genesis 1 begins with: quote. The key point of the Genesis story is that God is the creator of all things.