Genesis 1:27

Contradictions (5)

Questions where the Bible appears to say two different things, with the passages on each side set together.

• Were humans created before or after the other animals?

  Genesis 1:25-27 has God creating the animals first and then creating humans, male and female, on the same day. Genesis 2:18-19 reverses this: the man is formed first, then God forms the animals to see if any of them would be a suitable helper for him.

  Critical scholarship: Widely regarded as a genuine contradiction.

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  The proposed answers and sources for each reading are on the question page.

• Are the two creation accounts contradictory?

  Genesis 1:25-27 places the creation of humans (male and female, simultaneously, in the image of God) after the animals as the climax of a structured six-day sequence. Genesis 2:18-22 has the man formed first and alone, animals then formed as a failed attempt to find him a helper, and the woman finally built from his rib.

  Critical scholarship: Widely regarded as a genuine contradiction.

  Parallel accounts (distinct sources)

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  The proposed answers and sources for each reading are on the question page.

• Were plants created before or after humans?

  Genesis 1:11-13 creates vegetation on day three, before humans arrive on day six. Genesis 2:4-9 has God forming the man first, then planting the garden and causing every tree to grow, placing plants after the human.

  Critical scholarship: Leans toward a genuine contradiction.

  Parallel accounts (distinct sources)

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  The proposed answers and sources for each reading are on the question page.

• Did God originally create humans male and female?

  Genesis 1:27 and Jesus' citation of it in Matthew 19:4 state that God made humans 'male and female' from the beginning, as a simultaneous creation. Genesis 2:7, 2:18-20, and 2:21-22 instead describe the man being formed first, followed by a failed attempt to find him a helper among the animals, and only afterward the woman being built from his rib.

  Critical scholarship: Widely regarded as a genuine contradiction.

  Parallel accounts (distinct sources)

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  The proposed answers and sources for each reading are on the question page.

• When was Eve created?

  Genesis 1:27 has God creating male and female simultaneously on day six, in the divine image. Genesis 2:20-22 has Eve created separately, after Adam has already named all the animals, by YHWH taking one of Adam's ribs and fashioning her from it.

  Critical scholarship: Widely regarded as a genuine contradiction.

  Parallel accounts (distinct sources)

  More on this question

  The proposed answers and sources for each reading are on the question page.

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