Genesis 1-2: Did God Create Plants or Man First?

From 6/23/2009

Question:
Chapter 1 says God created plants before man, but chapter 2 says God created man before plants... Isn't this a contradiction?

Answers:
Chapter 1 is not to be taken literally. Its purpose is to say that God is creater than the gods of the time (God created the sun, animals, etc., debunking the notion that the sun is a god, etc.). Chapter 1 is not literally saying how existence came into being but just that God is greater. We must remember who the audience is. On the other hand, chapter 2 is to be taken more literally (so yes, God created man before plants).

Another answer is that neither the first creation account nor the second are supposed to be chronological accounts. They were each written to illustrate different big picture purposes (i.e. the first shows man as the pinnacle of God's creation, and the second illustrates how man was given authority and a woman). Since neither is chronological, they cannot contradict in chronology.

Another answer is that in the second creation account, the plants that are referred to are crops rather than plants in general. Gen 2:3 does specifically mention plants "of the field" and herbs "of the field" not existing before man. So plants in general existed, then man, then later, crops in the field.