Lesson 1: Gender and Creation in Genesis

One method of investigating the treatment of gender within the two creation narratives at the beginning of Genesis is to compare how mankind is created within each narrative. In Genesis chapter 1, it states, “So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them” (Gen 1:27). Biblical scholar, Susan Niditch, explains, “Without establishing relative rank or worth of the genders, the spinner of this creation tale indicates that human kind is found in two varieties, the male and female…” (30). In this creation tale, the only differentiation of gender is that of their titles, male and female.  Created “in the image of God”, no distinction is made of the two and both seem to be created simultaneously. Here, man and woman have no assigned roles or seeming markers of status or superiority over the other, just two kinds of the same species. Man and woman seem to be equal in the first creation narrative. 

            The second narrative starting in chapter 2 verse 4, takes a different approach to the formation of humankind. Here, Adam is formed before Eve from the dust of the earth (Gen 2:7) and out of God’s decision that man should not be alone and that he needs a “helper” (Gen 2:18-23).  While much more detail is put in this story, no exact differentiation is made between the two genders. In fact, the emphasis here is on their closeness as man declares “This at last is bone of my bones/and flesh of my flesh”.  Marriage between man and woman is described as becoming “one flesh” (Gen 2:24), signifying that man and woman share one body. God creates woman out of the need for Adam to have companionship and thus seems crucial to not only the story but humankind as she will be the one to nurture new life into the world. At the end, the presence of nakedness (a marker of difference) seems not to matter as both were “not ashamed” (Gen 2:24).