# Is Genesis the only major creation story that...

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-genesis-the-only-major-creation-story-that/455643>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [July 8, 2008, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-genesis-the-only-major-creation-story-that/455643 "2008-07-08T02:37:36Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\
**Post date:** [July 8, 2008, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-genesis-the-only-major-creation-story-that/455643/1 "2008-07-08T02:37:36Z")

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gets almost straight to humans? (It begins with God creating the Earth of course, but by Chapter 2 of the 50 chapters it’s already switched to humans as the focus.)

For that matter, is it the only work from a major religion or a living religion that concerns tales from a single family?

The reason I ask is the Enuma Elish, the Popol Vuh, Theogony, etc., all seem to go in far more detail about the divine aspects of Creation. I’m wondering if the Bible is unique in dealing mostly with humans from [almost] the start.

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**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\
**Post date:** [July 8, 2008, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-genesis-the-only-major-creation-story-that/455643/2 "2008-07-08T04:47:18Z")

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Genesis isn’t the creation story. It contains two creation stories, which make up the first and second chapters. I suppose you could argue that the Flood is part of a “creation story”, too, but certainly things like Abraham and his decendents are more in the “history” category (without making any claims as to the accuracy of the history).

In the first of the Genesis creation stories, humans do indeed show up right at the end, on the sixth day.

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**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\
**Post date:** [July 8, 2008, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-genesis-the-only-major-creation-story-that/455643/3 "2008-07-08T05:05:44Z")

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Shinto does as well:

[http://www.wsu.edu/~dee/ANCJAPAN/CREAT.HTM](http://www.wsu.edu/~dee/ANCJAPAN/CREAT.HTM) (Part 3)

Humans are all descended from the gods (the emperor being descended from the favorite, Amaterasu.)

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**Author:** ![Spezza](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a698b9/32.png) [@Spezza](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spezza)\
**Post date:** [July 8, 2008, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-genesis-the-only-major-creation-story-that/455643/4 "2008-07-08T14:32:51Z")

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The Mesopotamian legend of Atrahasis gets almost right to humans. But then again, the Genesis narrative steals a lot of material from it.

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**Author:** ![scumbat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@scumbat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scumbat)\
**Post date:** [October 16, 2008, 9:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-genesis-the-only-major-creation-story-that/455643/5 "2008-10-16T09:56:35Z")

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Dear Sampiro; Chronos is spot-on with his reply.