Reading of a Genesis Myth–the Creation of Humans

This may seem a little out of the ordinary here. However, this work came up as part of my work in music ministry. Here is my public reading from the Book of Genesis, chapters 2 and 3.

From the translation by Dr. Wilda Gafney. https://www.wilgafney.com/

The pastor of my church appreciates my interest in poetry and public readings. So she asked me to read this for our first Lenten service of 2023. I had to practice it, as the cadences and words are certainly not the King James version!

The story takes on some fresh mythological resonance in this translation. We all have heard it, in one version or another–the temptation of Eve, the Fall of Man, the knowledge of good and evil. In this rendering of the myth, I do like that trees are more present in the foreground of the story. And I’ve often thought that the serpent’s advice was more misguided than malevolent. Can we really blame Eve (and Adam) for following their God-given curiosity? But myths are certainly not logical, consistent, or ethically coherent.

As for the Garden of Eden, here’s one illustration from the Web for which I have no attribution for the artist.

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