FREE ESSAY ON THE SEPERATION OF GENESIS

THE SEPERATION OF GENESIS

The separation of the J account and the P account in Genesis 1-3 is a much more effective
use of the sources. Genesis 1-2.3 presents the P account. This first part of Genesis
provides chronological framework and has a rigid repetitive style. The story of creation
is laid out in a set pattern: "And God said…Let there be…And it was
so…And God saw that it was good…And there was evening and there was morning,
X day." This very structured writing points out God's specific works in order. God is
only creating and letting things be so to speak. 
While the style of the P account leaves things in a set form, almost as if following a
time line, the J account allows things to flow together more in the form of a story. In
Genesis 2.4-3, the creation of the world is told in this form. God is actively involved
in shaping, breathing, and planting. The story comes back and puts a picture in ones mind
and helps him to better see what was happening. The separation of the two sources better
facilitates with the human mind. First the information is laid out in a set sequence to
where one knows exactly what has been created. Then all that has been laid out is brought
together with God's interaction showing how, in a sense, He created.
As opposed to having the two sources separated clearly in Genesis 1-3, the authors of the
two sources are intertwined in Genesis 6-9. The jump back and forth between the two
sources makes the material harder to understand. Things are not laid out, and then put
together. Intertwining the two sources together interrupts the values that each
represent. The very structured method the P account uses stops the flow of the J account.
The two do not work well together. The essence of what makes each one useful seems to be
compromised by the other. Also when the two sources are mixed with one another, there is
much more room for inconsistency and contradictions.
The J account and the P account each have their qualities, but these are just qualities
that do not compliment each other well when the two are mixed together. When used in
conjunction with one another and separated by a fine line, the two sources have a much
more powerful effect on the reader. Their individual qualities can better compliment one
another as opposed to harming one another.