Genesis 1 begins with the story of all creation, the moment when light was distinguished from darkness. It chronicles the creating of the Earth and seas and the division of all species. Towards the end of Genesis 1, the creation of man is discussed. It is said that “God created man in the image of himself” (page 18, line 27).
Early in Genesis 2, there is a new depiction of how man was created “from the soil of the ground” (page 18, line 8). Already, there seems to be some distinction in the way humans are depicted, with one depicting man as the image of God and the other focusing on the relationship between man and the earth.
Continuing into Genesis 2, God’s creation of woman is different than the initial creating of man. Rather than being created in the image of God, “she was taken from man” (page 20, line 23). This is an important distinction that affects the relation of God to humans, with one being the image of God and the other being derived from this image. This raises some confusion for me. Does the way in which women were created, from man, make them inferior to man in Gods eyes? In addition, has this been justification throughout history for the oppression or mistreatment of women? I am curious to reflect more on this as we continue reading further into the Bible.
Genesis 3 brings up a different distinction between humans and God: knowledge. The snake tells the woman that, upon eating the fruit, that she will not die, but rather become “like gods, knowing good from evil” (Page 20, line 6). After the man and women eat the forbidden fruit, god curses man and says “For dust you are, and to dust you shall return” (page 21, line 19). To me, it seems that this belittling of man is very different from the Genesis 1 depiction of humans. They are no longer in the image of God but rather struggling beings that are no longer afforded their previous graces. Death now occurs and humans are moral beings.
Genesis 4 is the first time that sin and temptation are mentioned This created a greater division between man and God. This is also slightly confusing me. Is it the act of eating the forbidden fruit (disobeying God) what created sin and what (at this point) is considered to be sinful? While these questions may be answered in future readings, I find them to be important points on which to reflect.
Overall, the account of creation and the fall reflect a development between the relationship between humans and God and the history of humans (and their actions) in the presence of God. Though some aspects of this reading created some confusion, I find it most probable that the majority of my questions will be answered in later passages or through our in-class discussions.
Emma Ackerley 
Emma, I appreciate the way you distinguish the differences in the way the creation of man is described between Genesis 1 and 2. I like how you stated that the creation of man in Genesis 1 focused on man’s relationship to God, while Genesis 2 focused on man’s relationship to the Earth. I also thought it was interesting that you brought up the point that man is made in the image of God and that women are made in the image of man. As you do, I would like some clarification on this.
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I really like your thoughts on the “belittling of man” as I too found the situation with the fruit to be an abrupt shift from God’s initial intentions when creating humans. It seems that God is cruelly testing Adam and Eve with a situation he knows they can’t resist. Furthermore, if God becomes so infuriated by their disobedience, I find it odd that he would even give them the opportunity to commit wrong in the first place, especially if he wanted them to remain ignorant of good and evil. I also appreciated the questions you posed about women, for the creation of Eve is described as more of an afterthought in comparisons to the vivd creation of Adam.
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