As scholars have noted for some time, and as I shall argue here, there are quite clearly two creation stories that presently exist side by side in Genesis chapters one through three, and which derive from two different sources which have been edited or redacted together.[1] The first source is the account of creation found in Genesis 1.1-2.4a (or, as some scholars might argue, Genesis 1.1-2.3), and is typically known as “P” (which stands for “Priestly,” as it is believed to have been written and edited by a group or “school” or priests) among critical scholars.[2] The second source follows thereafter and continues, for present purposes, up to Genesis 3.24. This source is known as “J” among biblical scholars (after its use of the divine name YHWH/Yahweh which is spelled with an initial J in German, the language in which much of the early research on this topic was conducted).
Continue reading “Genesis 1-3 and The Documentary Hypothesis (again)”