The Structure of Genesis 1

Last week I started writing about the reasons why I think the earth is not young, but actually quite old, and why I think this is not only compatible with the Bible, but also takes it very seriously. Today I want to start looking at the structure of Genesis 1 and what it is actually saying. Much has been written on this subject already so I won't always repeat everything. Today I don't have time to make a chart so I found one instead. It gives a decent picture of something often pointed out, which is the alignment of days 1-3 with days 4-6. Days one and four describe light/darkness vs sun, moon and stars. Days two and five describe sky/water vs birds of the air and fish of the sea. Days three and six describe the appearance of land and it producing vegetation vs the land producing living beings and the creation of humans.

Preparation and population. Forming and filling. Or, as John Walton says, "functions and functionaries." Whatever you call it the pattern is there. I do not see how we must believe in a six successive 24 hour day creation account when this obvious parallelism is present in the text screaming to be noticed. With this parallelism in place it becomes much easier to see that there is a pattern of rhyme and a greater story being told that doesn't require us to think the author meant for light to exist without a source or plants to live without the sun. What I am saying is that a wooden reading of a six 24hr day creation is not the only or the best or reading of the text based on indicators within the text itself..This is not an imposition of modern science or some fanciful theory.  It is an attempt to read the text as it is.

 The following Chart was take from here.

Problem	Preparation	Population
Verse 2	Days 1-3	Days 4-6
darkness	day 1a - creation of light (day) day 1b - separation from darkness (night)	day 4a - creation of sun day 4b - creation of moon and stars
watery abyss	day 2a - creation of firmament (sky) day 2b - separation of waters above from waters below	day 5a - creation of birds days 5b - creation of fish
formless earth	day 3a - separation of earth from sea day 3b - creation of vegetation	day 6a - creation of land animals day 6b - creation of humanity
without form and void	tohu (formlessness) is formed	bohu (the void) is filled

 Here is another chart comparing the Genesis account to one of several Egyptian creation stories. The reasons for noting the similarities with this specific account will be discussed later this week.