Might as well finish up the first creation story.
From the King James Version:
26: And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
27: So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
28: And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
29: And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.
30: And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so.
31: And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.
2:1: Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.
2: And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.
3: And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.
Again, some interesting stuff here.
God creates men and women, apparently at the same time, "in his own image." Then he blesses them and talks to them, telling them to multiply, "subdue" the earth, and "have dominion" over "every living thing." Then he informs humans, animals, and insects that they're vegetarians. Then he looks around, pats himself on the back ("Good job, me"), and takes the next day off.
One fascinating thing (at least to me) is how stark this whole creation myth is. No sculpting of humans from clay, no giant cow or world-egg, no real interaction between characters. God hovers over the waters of primeval chaos, commands things to exist or change, and gives orders. What God wills happens, simply because he orders it to happen. And, after six days of creation, He kicks back and chills for a day.
(Was He tired? What did He do on that day? Sleep late? Read?) |
