Minute Paper 9/17 The Amateur Experts

Today we discussed the narrative structure of Genesis 1-3. We noticed the divergence between the creation stories in Genesis 1 and 2; namely, the manner in which God created the world and man, as well as the quantity of details surrounding the stories. These stylistic differences indicate the relationship each piece has between the sources mentioned in the Documentary Hypothesis. The Priestly Source likely wrote Genesis 1 (more focused on ritual, dates, and institutions), while the Yahwist wrote Genesis 2-3 (more creative and anthropomorphic). Some of the questions we considered were: What does Genesis 1-3 say about gender roles? Is the serpent Satan? What is the significance of using the Word of God in Genesis 1, versus the acts of God in Genesis 2, in terms of creation?