So far, the second version of creation has tightly paralleled the first one, and, as an ancient Israelite, you now find yourself expecting that the next lines will parallel the creation of the sky—a space set aside in the midst of chaos, for the creation to occupy.
Except, of course, rather than a space carved out of the abstract nothingness portrayed in the first version, here you would expect a space carved out of the relative chaos of the unwatered and uncultivated wilderness. How is the poet going to manage this?
Then Yahweh god's planted a garden in Eden, away to the east,
And there he put human whom he had formed.
A garden—of course! What, after all, is a garden but a space carved out of the wilderness for cultivation. And Yahweh gods even puts the cultivator into the garden, as if to emphasize the point.
You expect the next parallel to be to the creation of the earth and plants. And here the poet provides a kind of double flourish:
Yahweh god's caused trees to spring from the ground,
All trees pleasant to look at and good for food,
And in the middle of the garden he set
The tree of life,
And the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
In the first version, the creation of the earth, with vegetation, came as a kind of climax at the end of the first three days. The description of chaos in that version had begun with, "the earth was without form and void", making the earth the focal point of chaos, and allowing the creation of the earth, on day three to provide a kind of poetic resolution.
But in this second version, the description of chaos is not centered on the earth, but upon the absence of vegetation in the wilderness. "There was neither wild shrub or cultivated plant growing upon the earth."
Thus, in order to parallel the structure of the first version, the creation at this point should be the creation of vegetation. But, because the first version also includes the creation of vegetation per se, as part of the earth, this version also parallels the contents of the first version on the third day.
Nice. And you also notice that rather than say that Yahweh god's "created" or "made" the trees, the lines read that he caused trees to spring from the ground, paralleling the "bringing forth" in the first version, where the earth shares in the act of creation.
You read on, ready to see how the second version parallels the creation of the sun, moon, and stars:
There was a river flowing from Eden to water the garden,
And when it left the garden it branched into four streams.
The name of the first is Pishon;
The river that circles all the land of Havilah, where there is gold.
The gold of that land is good.
Bdellium and Cornelians are also to be found there.
The name of the second river is Gihon, which encircles all the land of Cush.
The name of the third is Tigris, the river which runs east of Asshur.
The fourth river is the Euphrates.
How does this parallel the creation of lights in the sky?
You can probably figure it out for yourself, if you take the time. And, if you do, you'll see that it the parallel explains the purpose of these lines, as well. (Remember that the parallels so far have mostly been structural.)
Otherwise, stay tuned.
