Chapter 1 is not necessarily an abstract in the modern sense. I fact, I don't think it is. Please reserve judgment until a couple of articles time.

The second account begins half way through v4 in NRSV. It's possible that in the ancient texts there were no chapter divisions, and these are a later addition? I don't know.

Thanks for the information that follows.

I know that Brahma is part of a trinity in certain strands within Hinduism. There seem to be arguments about which is the dominant one. It's not hard to find material on the internet closer to what I'm saying, e.g.

“Brahma is the first god in the Hindu triumvirate, or trimurti. The triumvirate consists of three gods who are responsible for the creation, upkeep and destruction of the world. The other two gods are Vishnu and Shiva. Vishnu is the preserver of the universe, while Shiva's role is to destroy it in order to re-create.

Brahma's job was creation of the world and all creatures. His name should not be confused with Brahman, who is the supreme God force present within all things”.

So here Brahma is the first god, the creator, and Vishnu and Shiva are more like a pair of Taoist opposites. Wikipedia also refers to Brahma as the Creator.

As for the rest, let's see what you make of what follows.