| Author | |
cvbmom
Forum All-Star
Joined: Feb 15 2005
Location: Ohio
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 930
|
| Posted: Sept 17 2007 at 10:08pm | IP Logged
|
 |
|
Maybe I'm showing my Bible history ignorance here  , but I was hoping some of you could answer some questions my dc had as we are reading through Genesis. We aren't very far into it, and they've already stumped me  I didn't find clear answers in the commentaries I have.
1. Why are there 2 creation accounts?
2. If God made Adam and Eve who had sons Cain and Abel (and later Seth), when Cain killed Abel, he was afraid when God banished him that others would kill him - what others? Wasn't it only Adam and Eve who were left other than Cain? Along this same line then, who did Cain and Seth marry? Where did they come from?
I hope these aren't too simple, but I would like to have a better answer than "well...good question...I'll find out" for my dc 
Thanks for your help!
Christine
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
vmalott
Forum All-Star
Joined: Sept 15 2006
Location: Ohio
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 536
|
| Posted: Sept 18 2007 at 1:26pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
These are actually very good questions and show that the kids are paying attention! Bravo! 
As far as the first question, I believe an accepted reason for this is that the first account takes care of the chronological events of creation, while the second is more concerned with how man came about. This second account helps to set the stage for the story of the Fall, thus sort of building what has already been learned from the first account. You might find this article interesting to read as background:
Genesis is a Book
For the second question...hmmm. Well, here's my guess, since it doesn't say anything about females being born to Adam and Eve in the Bible. I'm guessing that Adam and Eve probably had more children and that perhaps Cain and Seth wound up marrying sisters. The reason we read about Cain and Abel in particular is to show the sinful nature of man after the Fall. We read about Seth, because he "replaced" the murdered Abel, and also because it is through his line that we reach Noah.
It does state in Gen. 5:4 "The days of Adam after he became the father of Seth were eight hundred years; and he had other sons and daughters."
The thing is, in Genesis, you see this introduction to a general story, and then there is sort of back-tracking to some more specific details. So, it's probably not too far of a stretch to say that Adam fathered a lot of children, and that a couple of those girls wed Cain and Seth.
That's the best I can come up with. I'm not a Biblical scholar, and it's hard to look up these answers online. Maybe someone else will be able to shed more light on these questions.
Valerie
__________________
Valerie
Mom to Julia ('94), John ('96), Lizzy ('98), Connor ('01), Drew ('02), Cate ('04), Aidan ('08) and three saints in heaven
Seven Times the Fun
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
CKwasniewski
Forum All-Star
Joined: March 31 2007
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 601
|
| Posted: Sept 18 2007 at 4:06pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
I've asked my dh (theology prof) about these things before. What Valerie has written is correct.
On the other hand, I wd be sure I'd tell littles that marrying brothers and sisters was a special one time only case!
hth
ck
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
Celeste
Forum Pro
Joined: April 03 2006
Location: Nebraska
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 263
|
| Posted: Sept 18 2007 at 4:41pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
What Valerie said.
On the creation accounts:
The first account is a "bird's eye view." The big picture. The overview. It's also a mnemonic device. Days 1-3 are the creation of the forms: time, space, and life. Days 4-6 are the rulers of time (sun, moon, stars--"for seasons and for days and years"); the rulers of space (living creaters in the sea and sky); and the rulers of life (vegetation; the beasts of the earth; man).
The first creation account describes the covenant written in the very fabric of the universe.
The first creation account reveals that man is created in the image of God.
The second creation account describes a personal God, making man Himself "by hand," breathing life into him, creating woman from his side. The account reveals the covenant relationship of marriage: ". . . he created them to be a communion of persons, in which each can be 'helpmate' to the other, for they are equal as persons . . . and complementary as masculine and feminine." And it reveals the "be fruitful" mandate: "In marriage God unites them in such a way that, by forming 'one flesh,' they can transmit human life. . . . By transmitting human life to their descendants, man and woman as spouses and parents cooperate in a unique way in the Creator's work" (CCC 372).
Pope John Paul II spent year(s?) teaching about the first two chapters of Genesis in his general audiences (see Man and Woman He Created them: A Theology of the Body, the new translation of Pope John Paul's Wednesday audiences.
(Not that you should hand that book over to the children. . . .)
Celeste
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
ALmom
Forum All-Star
Joined: May 18 2005
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 3299
|
| Posted: Sept 19 2007 at 7:35am | IP Logged
|
|
|
The 2nd account also emphasizes the stewardship of man and his dominion over the rest of creation (ie man names all the animals and none is a suitable helpmate for him).
Douey Reims usually has some great footnotes to help.
Janet
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
cvbmom
Forum All-Star
Joined: Feb 15 2005
Location: Ohio
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 930
|
| Posted: Sept 19 2007 at 10:45pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
CKwasniewski wrote:
On the other hand, I wd be sure I'd tell littles that marrying brothers and sisters was a special one time only case! |
|
|
Yeah, maybe my "I'll get back to you" type answer isn't so bad after all.
Seriously, though, thanks so much for these answers! Keep them coming if you find anything more. I hope to get through more Bible history with them without being stumped too many more times. At least I have friends here to help  It's nice to have a solid, Catholic place to ask questions like these and people don't think I'm (overly) crazy.
God bless,
Christine
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
|
|
4Real Forums : Across Time and Place
Topic: Bible History Questions - help :)
