Because of the reference in the New Testament by Jesus to Moses and his authorship of the Pentateuch, there is very strong evidence to suggest that Moses was responsible for the Book of Genesis. Throughout Genesis the phrase, "These are the generations of ..." (e.g., Gen. 2:4), occurs a number of times. From external evidence, such as the use of what is called the colophon system in Mesopotamia, linguists say that these link passages ("these are the generations of") actually end each section. In other words, they are a kind of "signature" to most of the sections. Thus, in Genesis chapters 1 and 2 the first section goes from 1:1 to 2:4a, and the second section goes from 2:4b to 5:1a.

Many people say that Genesis chapter 1 and Genesis chapter 2 are two contradictory accounts of creation. In reality, it is easy to see that these two accounts of creation are not contradictory but complementary. Genesis 1:1 to 2:4a is an account in chronological order (first, second, third, etc.) of the days of creation. Genesis 2:4b begins the second account, which is more detailed coverage of certain aspects of Genesis chapter 1. This second account is not meant to be chronological of each day of creation. In fact, it is meant to give a lot more of the details particularly in relation to man and the garden setting the scene for the fall of man in Genesis chapter 3.

The second account is extremely necessary for us to understand what happened in Genesis chapter 3. Not only that, the second account includes the actual details as to how God made man and woman, enabling us to understand more about the nature of the marriage relationship. The pattern of placing a more general account before the recording of certain specific events is not confined to the first two chapters of Genesis. We find it again in Genesis 10:2–32 where we have a population distribution table. This is followed by Genesis 11:1–10, which tells us what happened at Babel in about the third generation of the distribution genealogy in Genesis 10.

It should be noted that in Matthew 19:4–5, when Jesus replied concerning the question relating to marriage, He actually quoted from Genesis chapter 1 and Genesis chapter 2, showing that He took them as complementary and authoritative. Matthew 19:4 states: "Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female" (Gen. 1:27). In Matthew 19:5, "And said, ‘for this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh" (Gen. 2:24).

17. ADAM COULD WRITE