Genesis does not begin with much of
either gender, it’s not until the end of Genesis 1:1-2:3 that we first hear of
the creation of people, “God created humankind in his image, in the image of
God he created them; male and female he created them.” Aside from males being
mentioned first, there is no true division of gender. And someone had to be
mentioned first, any attention being brought to the order is over analyzing.
God gives the male and female instructions to, “Be fruitful and multiply, and
fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and
over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the
earth.” (Gen 1:28). No special instructions are given to the male over the
female (or vice-versa). In the beginning of Genesis the genders are standing on
equal footing.
In
Genesis 2:4-24 things take a different turn for the genders. The origin of man
becomes first with “then the Lord God formed man from the
dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the
man became a living being.” (Gen 2:7). There is no mention of a female presence
for a while. God tries to pair man with
every living creature before reaching into his/her infinite wisdom to make a
more equal counterpart. The Women’s Bible
Commentary sums it up perfectly with “the creation of other living beings
(2:18) is motivated by God’s concern that ‘it is not good that the man should
be alone’” (Newsom & Ringe). In order to create woman, “he took one of his
ribs and closed up its place with flesh” (Gen 2:21). The use of something being
taken from the man not only emphasizes that woman’s creation would not be
possible without man, but that man is quite literally giving up a piece of
himself to create woman.
Additionally, Genesis 1:1-2:3 highlights division in the creation myth. With each of the "And God said" passages things are created in pairs - in divisions. Yet each thing God previously created was granted to "them." They were a pair and were given the world as such.
Additionally, Genesis 1:1-2:3 highlights division in the creation myth. With each of the "And God said" passages things are created in pairs - in divisions. Yet each thing God previously created was granted to "them." They were a pair and were given the world as such.
They do seem as equal status in Genesis 1:1-2:3, but previous verses indicate that they are opposites. Therefore, maybe they were made for different purposes. It is interesting that it does not specify their differences as previous verses did with everything else made. Then, in Genesis 2:4-24 it is surprising that there is not too much mention of the creations and their opposites. It more focuses on the how the male and female were created.
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