How is God portrayed in Genesis chapters 1 and 2?

A:

Genesis chapters 1 (strictly speaking verses 1:1-2:4a) and 2 (2:4b-25) tell two different creation stories that come from two different sources and portray God very differently in each case. Starting with the second chapter, as this is arguably more primitive than the first:

The second creation story is much older in Judaism, being attributed to the 'J Source' (Yahwist), writing around the ninth century BCE. In this story, there are limits to God's power. There is no suggestion he created the sun and stars, and the plants were already there but God had not caused it to rain and there was no one to till the ground (2:5). God could not make Adam out of nothing, but needed dirt of the ground to create his form and then breathe life into his nostrils (2:7). Similarly, God created every other living thing out of dirt (2:19). Eve is made out of the rib, or side, of Adam (2:21). So in this story, God forms things, rather than really creating them. We begin to see God as human-like, speaking to Adam, and in chapter 3, we find him walking in the garden in the cool of the day (3:8).

The first creation story is attributed to the 'P Source' (Priestly Source) who wrote during the Babylonian Exile. The P Source used the names for God that his predecessors had also used, but showed a strong preference for the name El Shaddai ('God Almighty'). In the first chapter of Genesis, he really did portray God as almighty. He simply spoke things into existence. By creating the sun, moon and stars, he not only proved his powers over the universe, he proved that the sun god and moon god of ancient times were nothing at all. There is no suggestion here or anywhere else in the Priestly writings that God could ever be found walking on earth.