Seems to be a Contradiction in the Creation Story. Please Help me Understand

[Radius]

It says that on the 3rd day, God made plants and vegetation:

[SUP]11 [/SUP]Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.” And it was so. [SUP]12[/SUP]The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds.



Then just before he made Adam and Eve, it states that no plant had sprung up yet:

Now no shrub had yet appeared on the earth[SUP][a][/SUP] and no plant had yet sprung up, for the Lord God had not sent rain on the earth and there was no one to work the ground, [SUP]6 [/SUP]but streams[SUP][b][/SUP] came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground. [SUP]7 [/SUP]Then the Lord God formed a man[SUP][c][/SUP] from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.

Can anyone clear this up for me?

 

[1Covenant]

Radius,
This is a question that I'm not sure any of us will know fully until the return of the Lord. However, if you will endure with me a moment I will attempt to construct a framework wherein to answer your question.

Remember that there is A LOT going in these verses that sets up the order of all creation and the plan of God. In these passages he is establishing order from the formless. He sets the pattern of life and his creation and the principles under which they operate. For example, establishing how trees should grow and reproduce is just as much about creation as their mere springing up into existence.

Simultaneously, these passages are also establishing the pattern of salvation language. The seed principle established the like-nature of things to their seed. Then the curse uses this language of seeds, "And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed. He shall crush your head, and you shall bruise him on the heel." This idea of seed is continually referred back to in the OT and the "he" referred to in this passage and other passages in the OT, is named in the NT. This is also what confused the OT people because they thought of the natural lineage as that which made them special or saved and not the spiritual likeness. This too was why Christ told the Pharisees that even though they descended from Abraham they were of another’s seed – the devil.

So from beginning to the end, it is important to remember that, like the seed, the beginning seed of salvation does not look like the full grown tree of salvation, but over time it is growing and being revealed until the fullness has come. Another example of this prophetic development is when Noah blesses Shem by telling him that Canaan is cursed to server both brothers, but Japheth, his other brother, will also dwell in the tents of Shem. These brothers are representatives of the whole world at this time and this is akin to Noah saying, and through you Shem the world will dwell in your tents (be blessed). Of course, through Shem's great(x7) grandson the Lord himself would say, "In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed."

So in the beginning there is also prophetic scripture intertwined in the language of these passages, such things as the sabbath, is an example, which is used throughout scripture to represent the completed work of God and eventually our rest from our labors too in Heaven.

The idea of Adam & Eve's union as one flesh, Paul tells us is really about Christ and his church. We have a picture of the bride being made as a new creature IN ADAM, which is reminiscent of Christ's bride being made a new creation HIM (Gal. 6:14-16 and II Cor. 5:16-17).

Some have even supposed that Adam's deep sleep in this passage is a prophetic foreshadowing of Christ's death and resurrection to establish his bride. I'm not sure but maybe.

I’ve said a lot and given you a lot to think about, just to say this - many people have ponder the seeming conflict between Chapter 1 and 2 of Genesis, but it may be that the purpose of what is being conveyed is different in chapter two than in chapter 1. Perhaps in chapter 2, God is trying to convey a spiritual creation and saving knowledge that is not completed but is being inaugurated in the creation of man.
After all, we have pictured in this passage this tending nature of God to establish the righteous which the OT people captured in great imagery in many passages (examples: Psalm 1:3, Numbers 24:5 & 6, Jeremiah 17:8, etc.).

There is a lot more to say but it would be entirely too long for a chat room. While we may struggle to fully understand the mind of God with relation to these passages, we can understand that this imagery is used throughout scripture in salvation language.
I hope that this is helpful.

 

[kenisyes]

Genesis 1 is the "bara" creation or purpose giving. Genesis 2 is the "asher" creation or making visible on the earth. The Hebrew makes it clear. The plants were ready in God's plan, before Adam and Eve were there to make them spring up.

 

[annointedshepherd]

When gen 1 and 2 are both about creation
but 1 gives an overview
part two goes more in depth

 

[HEIsRiSen]

There were no plants that sprang up from the earth because God spoke the first plants and trees into existence (they just appeared at God's command. The plants were there, but there were none that grew (sprang up) from the ground....yet.

 

[RachelBibleStudent]

the NASB does a better job of translating genesis 2:5..."Now no shrub of the field was yet in the earth, and no plant of the field had yet sprouted, for the Lord God had not sent rain upon the earth, and there was no man to cultivate the ground."

'shrub of the field' and 'plant of the field' evidently refer to cultivated plants...such as wheat and other grains...which first required a human to farm the earth...

if i remember correctly the 1984 NIV was closer to the NASB's rendering of this verse...unfortunately the 2011 NIV has not always been an improvement on its predecessor...

 

[GRA]

KJV:

[SUP]4[/SUP] These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens,[SUP]5[/SUP] And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the LORD God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground. [SUP]6[/SUP] But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground. ~ Genesis 2:4-6

"grammatical translation":

the LORD God made the earth and the heavens
the LORD God made every plant of the field before it was in the earth
the LORD God made every herb of the field before it grew

With regard to the verb - there is no difference between the first target phrase and the other two:

the LORD God made [this list of things]

 

[TheAristocat]

the NASB does a better job of translating genesis 2:5..."Now no shrub of the field was yet in the earth, and no plant of the field had yet sprouted, for the Lord God had not sent rain upon the earth, and there was no man to cultivate the ground."

'shrub of the field' and 'plant of the field' evidently refer to cultivated plants...such as wheat and other grains...which first required a human to farm the earth...

if i remember correctly the 1984 NIV was closer to the NASB's rendering of this verse...unfortunately the 2011 NIV has not always been an improvement on its predecessor...

I'm with Rachel on this one. It makes sense within context that these plants were to be cultivated or were strictly associated with agriculture. In which case there was no cultivated field and therefore no plants in said fields. To me this is like saying, "There was no farmed land, because no man was around to cultivate this ground."

 

[BananaPie]

Well, by the grace of God, there exists the Bible written in Spanish, and any person fluid in Spanish would understand that Genesis 1 is relating to God creating nature over a span of 6 days, while Genesis 2 is relating Creation in-hind-sight to Genesis 1.

In Spanish, I understand that:

a) Genesis 2:1 explains that God concluded to create Heaven & Earth,

b) Genesis 2:2 explains that God rested on the 7th day upon concluding all He had created;

c) Genesis 2:3 explains that God blessed and sanctified the 7th day;

d) Genesis 2:4 explains that "these" (meaning Genesis 1) are the origins of Heaven and Earth,

e) "and" (verse 4 is tied to verse 5) Genesis 2:5 goes on to explain that these are also the origins of plants and herbs God created.

Genesis 2:5 is relating to there was NO vegetation before God created Heaven and Earth, "because it had not yet rained upon Earth nor was there any man to till the Earth" (I'm translating from Spanish).

Genesis 2:5 is not referring to Adam existing or being created before there were vegetation.

 

[PS]

It hadn't rained and there was no one to cultivate the ground.

Think about it.

Then verse 15 says

"And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it."

 

[terminator]

There were also 3 or 4 days (mornings and evenings) before there was a sun. lol!

 

[EBenjamin]

I think this (as well as many other questions about scripture and especially scripture in the book of Genesis) can be answered by applying normal physical law and logic. Things work the way they do not because they have to but rather because God lay down those rules. Even something that seems as common as the germination of a plant is an amazing and extraordinary event when you realize that the whole process was designed by God to work that way. It makes sense that being that seeds do not grow without water and the scripture says God had not sent rain that the seeds lay in wait for God to send the rain.

God I believe set the world up almost like a machine meaning that every part of the world has its place and though some are understood and some are not all things work together, the seeds in the soil being an example of that. God put everything in place like the elaborate set of gears I a clock when everything was ready God wound the clock so to speak and everything began its cycle. The rain, the sunshine the progression of seasons, the kinds of plants that grew in one season but not as well or not at all in another, sprouting growing to ripeness and eventually decaying and enriching the dirt to make more life possible, all very elegantly designed and all very carefully balanced. This is our creator’s hand, all life in such harmony and everything perfectly made to interact with each other.

This is proof to my mind of intelligent design.

 

[Zee_Zelot]

Looking at the spiritual with the natural eye, one will never understand.

 

[jimmydiggs]

I generally think Rachel hit it on the head. that being said, I think one most also bear in mind that this is speaking specifically of the Garden.

 

[TheAristocat]

There were also 3 or 4 days (mornings and evenings) before there was a sun. lol!

Yep. The evening and morning are both specifically defined in Genesis 1:5.

Genesis 1:5 God called the light "day," and the darkness he called "night."

This is one of the reasons why some Christians don't believe these were 24 hour days. The definition for these periods of time is self-contained within Genesis and is only related to our modern day and night in that they had light and darkness, respectively.

 

[jimmydiggs]

There were also 3 or 4 days (mornings and evenings) before there was a sun. lol!

If I sand the numbers off of this ruler, what is the distance between 4 and 5?

 

[nathan3]

You need to read it in order it is written there. Gen 1, the 2.

The vegetation is not even the important things to note for those 2 chapters .I can't see how the vegetation is distracting fellow Christians from the other truths presented there in Chapters 1 & 2 ?

 

[Markum1972]

It says that on the 3rd day, God made plants and vegetation:

[SUP]11 [/SUP]Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.” And it was so. [SUP]12[/SUP]The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds.



Then just before he made Adam and Eve, it states that no plant had sprung up yet:

Now no shrub had yet appeared on the earth[SUP][a][/SUP] and no plant had yet sprung up, for the Lord God had not sent rain on the earth and there was no one to work the ground, [SUP]6 [/SUP]but streams[SUP][b][/SUP] came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground. [SUP]7 [/SUP]Then the Lord God formed a man[SUP][c][/SUP] from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.

Can anyone clear this up for me?

Wow! This is really interesting. Anytime I have found something that contradicted what I thought I knew, I received revelation on it after deeply searching and studying it.

This is cool because I never noticed this one before. But if you look at what it says, here is the answer.

Genesis 2
[SUP]5 [/SUP]And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the Lord God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground.
[SUP]7 [/SUP]And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
[SUP]8 [/SUP]And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.
[SUP]9 [/SUP]And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.


So, despite what I have always assumed. It appears that God made all of the plants before they were planted on the earth, then God made man, and then God planted the garden and put man in it. I always thought man was created in the garden of Eden but I guess not. Very interesting observation, Radius.

 

[PS]

Wow! This is really interesting. Anytime I have found something that contradicted what I thought I knew, I received revelation on it after deeply searching and studying it.

This is cool because I never noticed this one before. But if you look at what it says, here is the answer.

Genesis 2
[SUP]5 [/SUP]And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the Lord God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground.
[SUP]7 [/SUP]And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
[SUP]8 [/SUP]And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.
[SUP]9 [/SUP]And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.


So, despite what I have always assumed. It appears that God made all of the plants before they were planted on the earth, then God made man, and then God planted the garden and put man in it. I always thought man was created in the garden of Eden but I guess not. Very interesting observation, Radius.

You were right in your assumption in the first place but it hadn't rained and man had not been created to till the land.

 

[Earlmayknowornot]

If I may humbly ask where did the trees come from that produced the fruit for adam and Eve to eat from. Since there was no rain. that didn't happen till Noah. Or Did I miss something.