I don't see the contradiction in the creation accounts.
The second account reads:(Genesis 2:18, 19) Then Jehovah God said: “It is not good for the man to continue to be alone. I am going to make a helper for him, as a complement of him.” Now Jehovah God had been forming from the ground every wild animal of the field and every
The contradiction seems to be, that prior to getting to the Adam and Eve bit, where god says (what is already taken from your post) In the first instance there is no mention of man or woman taking precedence over the other. They, man and woman are created in "our" image. There is no talk of a rib be taken out of the man in order to create a mate for the man. The creation of Adam, whom it appears had it all at first, until God noticed something amiss ie a female companion, precipitates the need for Adam to fall into a deep sleep. And upon awaking, he is delighted with his companion. She is made from a portion of him. A rib. You may call it a spare rib if you like ribs.
Today, we all have the same number of ribs, we have not come down through history with this reminder of how we came to be made from an already existing man. I know this opinion is badly put together but it does seem, in the light of much research through Archeology and Anthropology, that many many cultures and societies have been around much longer than this pair would seem to indicate.
This garden that they grew up in, or rather inhabited as perfectly healthy people, was cut off from the rest of the world. It was a special place according to the bible. There was a tree of life within. Once this couple had made the decision to disobey a command, they were thrown out. The entrance was protected to prevent them entering.
Outside. Life had continued on. It seems reasonable that others had been created that pre dated Adam and Eve. They were not special projects, if you like. However, the great number of findings and the dating of those findings, seem to indicate that there were indeed, humans who were around for thousands (some think millions) of years. And they developed culture and belief systems that are so much older than the Jewish ones, even older than Babylonian ones. Globally, there were many other cultures and they did not originate from the Genesis of Adam and Eve.
They seem to pre date the exit story that was to become the fate of this couple. And yes, there were tribes and longevity for this first "special project" that was Adam and Eve. But they were by no means the only humans ever created.
I am interested in this, not as a method of defaming the bible. No. But I do have an interest in making sense of the why that is always there in trying to figure out what the whole writing of Genesis was about. I don't see God, if indeed it was God dictating the history to Moses years after the event, in needing to take a people for himself, a special type of race of people whom the Messiah would come through. There were other races and cultures that God knew about and chose not to take for himself. And fortunately for Abram, he found some great favour with God, enough to be honoured with the future role of the Messiah.
Just a thought friends, not the most erudite one, I agree. But it won't go away from me. I have never heard of God having to preface anything that he had to convey to us humans before. I'm not talking about prophecies or such here.
I am reading Genesis Unveiled at the moment. It is a good book for opening up the good old brain pan and considering things less acceptable. It is not responsible for my thoughts on creation though.
