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Genesis 1 says mankind, male and female, was created on Day 6, Genesis 2 says man alone was created on Day 2 or 3 depending on how you read it and woman on Day 6 (after Adam had named the newly created animals). What do creationists say about this?

Julian,

Thank you for your question.

First, it is important to note that when Genesis was initially written it was written in the Hebrew language, without any chapter or verse divisions.
Chapter and verse divisions were added to make group study more expedient.

In Genesis 1:26-27 we read: Then God said, ?Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.? (NIV)

In chapter one we have a chronological account of the Creation Week. In my opinion, it would be clearer to have chapter break between 2:3 and 2:4. Chapter two is a narration/commentary on chapter one with the focal point being man (mankind), both male and female; at this point Adam and Eve. Soooooooo, chapter 2:18-23 gives us more detail on what happened on the sixth day of the Creation Week relative to man, who was created in the image of God.

This writing style (chronological sequence of events, followed by narration on specific events) is common in the Hebrew language.

Doc tantalized us thusly:
" This writing style (chronological sequence of events, followed by narration on specific events) is common in the Hebrew language."

Hey Doc, list three or four examples for us.
SQ

Dear Dr John, interesting though your argument is it doesn't seem to me to help. If Genesis 2 is elaborating on Day 6 of Genesis 1 then why is Adam made before all the animals in this second part? Genesis 1 makes it plain the animals are created first. I do not claim to have any knowledge of Hebrew but the English translation puts a 'then' in between the creation of animals and Man in Genesis 1.26.

But to return to Genesis 2:4-9 it states 'when no plant of the field was yet in the earth...then the Lord God formed man of the dust of the earth...And out of the ground the Lord God made to grow every tree..' Agreeing with you that this is one script with no chapter or verse breaks as we know them this passage continues on from the general statement of creation in the earlier part of Genesis and apparently correlates with a time before any other life forms had been created. This whole section represents a new statement about creation after the first listing of the 'generations of the heavens and the earth' ending in the first part of Genesis 2:4. The new statement starts with the words 'In the day that the Lord made the heavens and the earth...'.

In Genesis 1:11-13, it says 'Let the earth put forth vegetation, plants yielding seeds...a third day. In the Englisn 'the day' of Genesis 2:4 is singular. I cannot say whether this is accurate with regard to the Hebrew, in other words whether it refers to one of the Days of creation or to the time of creation as a whole but either way this refers to a creation of man (as opposed to woman) before the creation of other animals and apparently before any other life form.

1. Why is Adam made before all the animals in this second part?

In Gensis 2:19 we read: ?Now the LORD God had formed out of the ground all the beasts of the field and all the birds of the air. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them;....?

I believe that the ?had formed? took place on the sixth day of creation week and that this passage is in reference to the naming of the creatures of Earth that took place on that day.

2. The English translation puts a 'then' in between the creation of animals and Man in Genesis 1.26.

Yes, I believe the ?then? of 1:26 shows that man was created on the sixth day of creation week after the creatures.

3. ?day? - Genesis 2:4

The word ?day? is used in two ways in Scripture, i.e. literally (24 hours or less) and figuratively (more than 24 hours). I believe that the word ?day? in 2:4 is figurative and refers to the six preceding time periods (days of creation). My personal view is that these creation days were literal days.

1:27 - ?So God created man in his own image, ....? I believe the word ?man? here is in reference to mankind, as the verse goes on ?...male and female He created them.?