Cheryl Schatz

Lin,
Many believe that Genesis 1 & 2 are from different authors.  They believe this because there are a couple of things that seem to be contradictions in chapter 2.  However the contradictions are in our own eyes not in the text.  Once one understands the way what chapter 2 is saying and what it isn’t saying, there are no contradictions at all.

As far as who the author is of Genesis 1 & 2, the tradition is that Moses wrote Genesis.  However the information in these chapters especially that which happened before Adam was created could only be known by God and those that God revealed it too.  Because it is ultimately authored by God and because it contains information that no man could have without being given by God himself, there cannot be contradictions.  I think that in the past some have not worked hard enough to see the passages as they are without contradiction.  All we need to do is remove our preconceived ideas and come to the text to accept as it is written.  More on this later.