The order of creation in Genesis 2 differs from that of Genesis 1. Genesis 2v19 informs us that after creating Adam, God then created the animals and later created Eve. In Genesis 1, the order is animals, then humans. This has been long recognised by the scholarly community. However, if you read the NIV you would not see that as Genesis 2:19 has been deliberately mistranslated in order to 'harmonise' both creation narratives.
So out of the ground the LORD God formed every animal of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. - NRSV
Out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the 1sky, and bbrought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called a living creature, that was its name. - NASB95
The LORD God formed out of the ground every living animal of the field and every bird of the air. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them, and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. - NET
And the LORD God formed out of the earth all the wild beasts and all the birds of the sky, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that would be its name. - JPS Tanakh
So the LORD God formed from the fertile land all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky and brought them to the human to see what he would name them. The human gave each living being its name. - CEB
Now the LORD God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature,u that was its name. - NIV
The NIV parts company from the other translations by declaring God had formed the animals. Doing this removes the contradiction between the order of creation in Gen 1 and Gen 2. Interestingly, the ESV which like the NIV hews a conservative evangelical line also uses the past tense here:
Now out of the ground the LORD God had formed every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. And whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. - ESV
The ESV however in a marginal reference acknowledges the translation employed by other contemporary versions. Are the NIV and ESV correct in their translation of Gen 2v19? In a word, no. In a marginal note, the NET states:
To harmonize the order of events with the chronology of chapter one, some translate the prefixed verb form with vav (ו) consecutive as a past perfect (“had formed,” cf. NIV) here. (In chapter one the creation of the animals preceded the creation of man; here the animals are created after the man.) However, it is unlikely that the Hebrew construction can be translated in this way in the middle of this pericope, for the criteria for unmarked temporal overlay are not present here. [1]OT scholar Claude Mariottini in a 2011 blog post on this subject declares:
It is evident that the order of creation in Genesis 1 and 2 is different and cannot be easily reconciled. The text of Genesis 1 and 2 points to two different stories of creation and no harmonizing of the text will solve the problem. To my view, the NIV’s translation violates the rules of Hebrew grammar in order to present an ideological interpretation of the text. [2]
I am not a fan of either the ESV or NIV. This is one of the reasons why.
References
1. Biblical Studies Press, The NET Bible First Edition; Bible. English. NET Bible.; The NET Bible (Biblical Studies Press, 2005).
2. Claude Mariottini Translating Genesis 2:19 July 5 2011
