Abstract
Though there have been many recent attempts to redefine the narrative of Genesis 1:1-2:4a as prophecy or poetry, thus lessening the literalness of that passage’s terminology, such attempts fail to be conclusive or even plausible in the light of genre analysis. Even more recent attempts to declare the passage a special creation genre, not to be taken literally and also unique in both Scripture and in the milieu of the ancient near East, likewise fail in view of the non-existence of documentable literary parallels. It is therefore to be interpreted within the genre in which it best fits, that of historical narrative.