The King James’ Bible: The Book of Genesis: Choose just ONE.

Research Option: Most cultures have their own distinct stories about the creation of the world. Native American literatures are particularly rich with various
interpretations of how people came to live on earth. Find two other creation stories and compare them to this story from the King James Bible.
King James Bible: from Book of Genesis, "Creation of the World". The short stories of many cultures are rife with biblical allusion, particularly to the story of
Adam and Eve and to the creation story. In this opening chapter of the King James Bible, God creates the world and all life on it, turning absence into form
and darkness into light. It is in part a process of differentiation and categorization, dividing the day from the night and the ocean from the air. He creates life
in various hierarchies, giving humans, created “in his own image,” control over other life forms on earth. The world comes into being not as a physical
creation but as a spoken word, an articulation of existence. Each creation comes first in proclamation: “And God said, Let there be light”; “And God said, Let
there be firmament in the midst of the waters.” As each item is spoken and named, it becomes reality: “God called the light Day.” Throughout the six days of
creation (the seventh is reserved for rest), we hear one refrain: “and God saw that it was” God is the ultimate creator of all things in this story, watching and
judging as words take on the substance of a complex reality.
Respond to these questions in your essay:
What role does language and naming play in the creation of the world?
Why is the phrase repeated, “and God saw that it wasgood”? Why is “was” emphasized?
According to this creation story, what is the relationship between humans and other life on earth?