Fr. Seraphim writes: "The first chapter of Genesis is entirely devoted to the Six Days of Creation. In chapter two, the creation of man is described in more detail. One might say that chapter one describes the creation of humanity, both in the exalted sense as God's image, and in its divided, earthly aspect as male and female; while in chapter two the specific creation of the first man Adam and the first woman Eve is set forth. Some of the other creations of the Six Days are also mentioned in chapter two, but not in the strict chronological order of the first chapter. We should keep this in mind to avoid the elementary mistakes of rationalist critics who find "contradictions" between these two chapters and suppose there must be different authors of them"
one example is from St. Ephraim the Syrian -- Fr. Seraphim writes "The connection of Paradise with the earth is understood by St. Ephraim in such a literal way that he specifies, in his Commentary on Genesis, that as a place of trees it was created on the Third Day with the rest of the vegetable creation."
