My understanding is that chapter one and chapter two of the book of Bereshit record two distinct creation processes. Humans were created at the end of the “sixth” day of creation, 1:26-28, and at a much later point in time, G-d created Adam and then Havva, the representatives of humankind. Chapter one records the creation of the world, including humankind, and chapters two and three records the further development of humankind.
From an evolutionary perspective, my understanding is that 1:26-28 records the creation of Homo erectus, a creature who walked upright on two feet around two million years ago, and lived in Africa, Asia and Europe. 2:7,22 then then record the creation of Adam and Havva, the representatives of the new type of humans, Homo sapiens, who seem to have started to live around 300,000 (?) years ago, and who are the basis for all people alive today. Homo sapiens seem to have derived from Homo erectus and its variants, but are substantially “smarter” (the eating from the tree of knowledge) than the other types of homos.
2:7, which records the creation of Adam (Homo sapiens), records that G-d put into Adam, nishmat adam, which most likely means that G-d put some type of life force in the dirt that G-d had gathered in order to animate Adam. This shows G-d’s involvement in this crucial stage in the development of homos.
2:7, which records the creation of Adam (Homo sapiens), records that G-d put into Adam, nishmat adam, which most likely means that G-d put some type of life force in the dirt that G-d had gathered in order to animate Adam. This shows G-d’s involvement in this crucial stage in the development of homos.
Interestingly, Onkelos (on 2:7) explains that the word nishmat means that humankind became a speaking being. This accords with an idea by Yuval Noah Harari (2011, pp. 20-39) that the success of Homo sapiens over other homos was the ability of Homo sapiens to communicate with each other, what he calls “the Tree of Knowledge mutation.” Yet, even if nishmat means “life force,” the ensuing story of the Garden of Eden, with Adam and Havva, as the representatives of all of people, is indicative of this development of humans gaining greater intelligence and separating from the animals, see our discussion on 3:14-19, “G-d’s statements to the snake, Adam and Havva after Adam and Havva ate from the tree of knowledge and G-d’s statement to humankind on the sixth day of creation.”
This understanding that Adam and Havva are representatives of humankind, but not the first people on the planet, can explain how Kayin married, 4:17. The descendants of the people (Homo erectus, the Neanderthals?) created on the "sixth" day existed and lived outside of the Garden of Eden. When Adam and Havva left the Garden of Eden, there were other people around, and it was from these people that Kayin found a wife. Also, if Kayin was worried that other people (not just animals) might kill him, 4:14, then this indicates that other people existed besides Adam and his family, and these are the people whose creation was recorded in chapter one. The Garden of Eden should be viewed as a bubble separate from the rest of world, and when Adam and Havva left the Garden of Eden, they returned to the “real” world.
Once there were two acts of creation of mankind then there is no contradiction as to whether men and women were created contemporaneously or not. In the creation of humankind as recorded in chapter one, men and women were created simultaneously, while afterwards in chapter two G-d created Adam before Havva. These were different acts of creation, and they did not have to occur in the same manner. In chapter two, Havva was not created concurrently with Adam in order to show the incompatibility between humankind and animals that Adam was not satisfied with just living with animals.
(The creation processes are joined together in 5:2,3. 5:1,2 records the creation of humankind as recorded in chapter one, as 5:2 refers to the blessings that G-d gave humankind which were in chapter one. 5:2 refers to the name Adam, but this was not to the Adam the individual created in chapter two since 5:2 states that Adam was “their name” using the plural, which means that Adam in 1:26,27 and 5:2 means humankind, and not a specific person. 5:3 then refers to the Adam, the individual who was created in chapter two since the verses refers to a particular individual who had a son named Shet. The name Adam switches from referring to humankind to referring to a particular individual, and this links the two creation processes.)
Why were there two creation processes for humankind? Why did G-d create humankind in chapter one, and then afterwards create Adam and Havva?
When humankind was created in chapter one, they was blessed that they was created with the tselem elokim (1:26,27), which signified that they had great potential. However, people had not yet actualized this potential. Humankind was then comparable to the animals, albeit a "higher" animal with more potential. Therefore, before Adam and Havva ate from the fruit of the tree of knowledge, she conversed with the snake, 3:1-5, and the animals were potential companions for Adam, 2:18,19. Also, 2:25 records that Adam and Havva were naked but they were not embarrassed like animals. Yet, Adam and Havva could speak and communicate, and Adam could give names to the animals, 2:20,23, which shows that they were a “higher animal.” Afterwards, when they ate the fruit of the tree of knowledge, the crucial event that occurred in the Garden of Eden, they "activated" their tselem elokim, which increased their mental abilities and raised them above the level of animals. Thus, they were embarrassed by being naked and they attempted to change their environment by creating clothing, 3:7.
This development of humankind's creative ability which separated people from the animals might be the purpose of chapters two and three in the book of Bereshit. Chapter one of the book of Bereshit records the creation of humankind with the potential to become a creator, while chapters two and three record the actualization of the creative ability of humankind which transpired at a later period. The jump from potential to actualization was so significant that it merited a separate act of creation, and hence chapters two and three record a second creation process of humankind.
The double acts of creation of humankind show man's uniqueness and that he/ she is not simply the end of the chain of creation. People are qualitatively different than all other animals since people have a tselem Elokim, which was further developed when Adam and Havva ate the fruit of the tree of knowledge in the Garden of Eden.
Another possible reason is that Luzzatto (on 3:24) explains that this delay in the development of the mental abilities of humankind was intended to teach humankind that while it is true that life is hard for humankind, still it is better to be a human dissatisfied than a pig satisfied. When Adam and Havva ate from the tree, they separated from the animals that their new mental capacities made them different from animals.
People pine for a life where they do not have to work and they get everything easy, in short, the life that Adam and Havva had in the Garden of Eden. Would people be happy with such a life of no challenges? Most likely such a life would be meaningless and boring, and this possibly even occurred by the Havva in the garden, see our discussion on 3:1-6, "A shifty snake in the Garden of Eden."
The natural desire of humankind is to venture forth in the world to seek new challenges and we see this by Havva that she desired the fruit, 3:6. The taking of the fruit by Havva and Adam demonstrates that humankind naturally seeks to break barriers put before them, and would not be happy in a self-contained insipid world. Instead, it was always intended that life would have challenges and difficulties, and the unique case, where this was not so, was in the Garden of Eden and this was done to show that life with no challenges would be meaningless.
Once there were two acts of creation of mankind then there is no contradiction as to whether men and women were created contemporaneously or not. In the creation of humankind as recorded in chapter one, men and women were created simultaneously, while afterwards in chapter two G-d created Adam before Havva. These were different acts of creation, and they did not have to occur in the same manner. In chapter two, Havva was not created concurrently with Adam in order to show the incompatibility between humankind and animals that Adam was not satisfied with just living with animals.
(The creation processes are joined together in 5:2,3. 5:1,2 records the creation of humankind as recorded in chapter one, as 5:2 refers to the blessings that G-d gave humankind which were in chapter one. 5:2 refers to the name Adam, but this was not to the Adam the individual created in chapter two since 5:2 states that Adam was “their name” using the plural, which means that Adam in 1:26,27 and 5:2 means humankind, and not a specific person. 5:3 then refers to the Adam, the individual who was created in chapter two since the verses refers to a particular individual who had a son named Shet. The name Adam switches from referring to humankind to referring to a particular individual, and this links the two creation processes.)
Why were there two creation processes for humankind? Why did G-d create humankind in chapter one, and then afterwards create Adam and Havva?
When humankind was created in chapter one, they was blessed that they was created with the tselem elokim (1:26,27), which signified that they had great potential. However, people had not yet actualized this potential. Humankind was then comparable to the animals, albeit a "higher" animal with more potential. Therefore, before Adam and Havva ate from the fruit of the tree of knowledge, she conversed with the snake, 3:1-5, and the animals were potential companions for Adam, 2:18,19. Also, 2:25 records that Adam and Havva were naked but they were not embarrassed like animals. Yet, Adam and Havva could speak and communicate, and Adam could give names to the animals, 2:20,23, which shows that they were a “higher animal.” Afterwards, when they ate the fruit of the tree of knowledge, the crucial event that occurred in the Garden of Eden, they "activated" their tselem elokim, which increased their mental abilities and raised them above the level of animals. Thus, they were embarrassed by being naked and they attempted to change their environment by creating clothing, 3:7.
This development of humankind's creative ability which separated people from the animals might be the purpose of chapters two and three in the book of Bereshit. Chapter one of the book of Bereshit records the creation of humankind with the potential to become a creator, while chapters two and three record the actualization of the creative ability of humankind which transpired at a later period. The jump from potential to actualization was so significant that it merited a separate act of creation, and hence chapters two and three record a second creation process of humankind.
The double acts of creation of humankind show man's uniqueness and that he/ she is not simply the end of the chain of creation. People are qualitatively different than all other animals since people have a tselem Elokim, which was further developed when Adam and Havva ate the fruit of the tree of knowledge in the Garden of Eden.
Another possible reason is that Luzzatto (on 3:24) explains that this delay in the development of the mental abilities of humankind was intended to teach humankind that while it is true that life is hard for humankind, still it is better to be a human dissatisfied than a pig satisfied. When Adam and Havva ate from the tree, they separated from the animals that their new mental capacities made them different from animals.
People pine for a life where they do not have to work and they get everything easy, in short, the life that Adam and Havva had in the Garden of Eden. Would people be happy with such a life of no challenges? Most likely such a life would be meaningless and boring, and this possibly even occurred by the Havva in the garden, see our discussion on 3:1-6, "A shifty snake in the Garden of Eden."
The natural desire of humankind is to venture forth in the world to seek new challenges and we see this by Havva that she desired the fruit, 3:6. The taking of the fruit by Havva and Adam demonstrates that humankind naturally seeks to break barriers put before them, and would not be happy in a self-contained insipid world. Instead, it was always intended that life would have challenges and difficulties, and the unique case, where this was not so, was in the Garden of Eden and this was done to show that life with no challenges would be meaningless.
Bibliography:
Harari, Yuval Noah, 2011, Sapiens: A brief history of mankind, London: Harvill Secker.
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