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== Commentary ==
Genesis 1 is the first chapter of the first book of the [[Bible]]. It gives an account of [[creation]] - its major theme is that [[God]] created everything. It also reveals that God created humans in his image.
===Important teachings of Genesis 1===
Some of the important teachings of Genesis 1 include
* One God only created everything by his word - for example [[Genesis 1:3]]
* God created man (male and female) in his image - [[Genesis 1:27]]
* God as creator has rightful authority over all things - and he gives authority to man under him - [[Genesis 1 (WEB)|Genesis 1:28-29]]
* God's creation was good
* There is structure and order to God's creation in Genesis
* The final plan for creation was rest
===Comparing Genesis 1 with other the Ancient Near East myths [[Enuma Elish]]===
[[Image:Enuma elish.jpg|thumb|A ancient tablet containing some of the [[Enuma Elish]].]]
The [[Enuma Elish]] is the well know Mesopotamian creation myth. Some major points of difference between the Enuma Elish and Genesis 1 are
* There were many gods in the Enuma Elish; there is only one God in Genesis
** Apsu the primordial god begat with Mummi-Tiamat all the gods in the Enuma Elish
** Marduk created the sky and earth with body parts of another god that he had vanquished
* Humans were created to do the work of gods in the Enuma Elish; humans are given great importance in Genesis
** Marduk creates man to serve the gods: "a savage man I will create; he will be charged with the service of the gods"
** There is a high view of humans in Genesis, with God giving authority to man
* Creation is good in Genesis; some of creation was evil in the Enuma Elish
** [[Genesis 2:2]] reveals that all that God created was good
** In the Enuma Elish, some things created are evil, for example monster-serpents are borne by Mother Hubur
* Genesis shows structure and order to creation; the Enuma Elish does not
** In Genesis we are shown a picture of a purposeful creation
** In comparison, there is a very chaotic picture of creation in the Enuma Elish, where creation is often due to begetting - for example, wind was begot by another god
These points of difference may be significant, in that many Christian scholars feel that they reveal that God was trying to reveal specific points to the Israelites about creations. For example, that he wanted to reveal that he was the only creator.
===Different opinions about Genesis 1===
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