Is Genesis a record of true history, given by God, or was it written by men trying to answer the questions that plague our world? An article I saw recently [from the Biblical Archaeology Society] makes the latter claim—that Genesis is just a compilation of etiological myths finally written down by the biblical authors.
Now, what is an “etiological myth”? The article answers this way: “The creation stories in Genesis served to provide answers to why the world was the way it was, such as why people wear clothes and why women experience pain during childbirth.” So according to this view, Genesis is myth but that doesn’t mean it’s not “true,” as myths “are stories that convey and reinforce aspects of a culture’s worldview: many truths.”
In support of this view, the article claims that the Bible has three different creation accounts: Genesis 1, Genesis 2, and “a third version alluded to elsewhere in the Bible, a myth of the primordial battle between God and the forces of chaos known as Leviathan (e.g., Psalm 74), Rahab (Psalm 89), or the dragon (Isaiah 27; 51).”
Now, we’ve previously addressed the contention that Genesis 1 and 2 are contradictory accounts—they aren’t. Genesis 1 is an overview; Genesis 2 provides the details of day six of creation week. And if you read the passages mentioned as a “third version” of creation, you’ll find they appear to either be about the exodus (not creation), perhaps a literal sea monster, or Israel’s enemies or false gods.
Yes, there are many creation myths (both ancient and in our modern time), but Genesis isn’t one of them. It’s actual history. How do we know? Well, here are just a few reasons:
- Genesis uses the same structure and writing style throughout the entire book. There’s no break between the early chapters and Abraham—it’s all meant to be taken the same way, as history.
- The New Testament authors always treated Genesis as literal history, never as a myth or oral tradition. Jesus quoted the text of Genesis 1:27 and Genesis 2:24 as literal history in Matthew 19.
- Science confirms the Bible. If Genesis were a myth like the Gilgamesh Epic, science wouldn’t confirm it . . . and yet it does! For example, genetics confirms there’s only one race, biology shows that organisms reproduce according to their kinds, geology and paleontology confirm there really was a global flood, and so on.
Genesis isn’t a “convenient” way of answering questions, written down long after things happened. It accurately records the history we need to understand why we wear clothes or why childbirth is painful. Actually, Genesis is very inconvenient for the sinner! It’s that history that shows us that we’re not “good people”; we’re sinners who try to be our own gods, are wise in our own eyes, and whose only hope is the promised One who would crush the head of the serpent through his death.
