God in Judaism—as in Christianity and Islam—is the creator of all things. The following passage tells part of the story of God's creation of the world and everything in it in seven days—six days of work and one day of rest. The story also describes the eventual disobedience of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, which resulted in God's "curse" of hard labor and suffering on the world.
The Genesis story does what all great creation mythologies of the world's religions do: it tells how the world came to be as it is, and it embodies perceived truths about human existence. These truths are embedded within the fantastical, evocative language of myth. In this instance, the story portrays a beautiful garden free of all evil, a conniving and manipulative serpent, and a "fall from grace" illustrated by the sudden shame of Adam and Eve upon realizing their nakedness. The Genesis story suggests that the nature of the relationship between humans and the rest of creation, as well as the relationship between males and females, is hierarchical. It also suggests that even amidst a world of suffering, humanity has its roots in divinity. Matter itself is not evil, but good, because God declared it so on the sixth day.
Creation and Curse
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