It seems to me that two different stories that are come from two different traditions in ancient Judaism are being placed in the ‘magic’ book to reconcile some ancient schism.
This seems to be associated with Talmudic myth of Lilith.
What we read now, appears to be a successful attempt by latter-day priests of Judea to subvert the history of the early matriarchal and matrilineal traditions in place before the time of Abram.
Being born from Adam subverts the very being of Eve.
Being created alongside him doesn’t.
The order of creation is obviously silly, and can be recognized by the ignorance of the time or perhaps even by some one or few priests who just ‘pushed it through committee’ because it was late in the day and they were hungry.
This wasn’t created by a bunch of Rhodes scholars, after all. These guys were just barely agricultural. Apparently mostly goat herders (not that there is anything wrong with that).
When do we think the oral traditions of this myth occurred? ~6000 years ago?
We, our modern culture, have a serious difficulty understanding the underlying movements of mind and word of the men (and some women, I suppose) who created this myth. I wonder if they ever imagined that we, this post-modern world of Internet connected semi-anonymous tribes-folk, would still be even be aware of what they wrought.
It still astonishes me that we care.
It is so obviously a transparent “Just So” set of stories, that even when told well, come off as being contrived from the very air.
Humans aren’t made of clay. Women are equals (if not superior) to men. Plants don’t grow without sunlight, and danggit the entire freaking planet would have been frozen before the ignition of Sol. Don’t even get me going about talking serpents and who lied in the Paradisio.
Some of my colleagues have tried to tell me that most Middle-eastern stories were told twice. Once for context, the other for value. I think they are fitting things into what they want to be true.
But, I am not a biblical scholar.
I could be wrong.
I would love to see what others say about this.