quote:
i think the author of genesi 1 is trying to describe a broader creation. gen 2+3 is really just the localized hebrew tradition; where their fathers came from. genesis 1 seems to be using "adam" to mean "mankind" (in my opinion).
I would agree broader in the sense that by the time Genesis 1 was written mankind would have had a broader view of the world and the universe. Not the same as when the folk tales were told. So I agree that the author meant mankind and not an individual.
Also it was written after the fall of the northern kingdom and we have northern tales mixing with the southern tales to try and bring the people together (J&E).
The J&E writing seem more earth central, whereas P or Genesis 1 is more cosmic.
I guess my original point on the word "adam" was that the Story of A&E personified the word used for mankind into a name, hence a story and not factual. In Genesis 1 the author seems to be trying for a more serious universal approach without the talking snakes and such. Not a children's tale.
There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it. -Edith Wharton