I've never read the Bible in full myself, tend to get bored.
I suppose part of the problem is being an atheist with not much interest in it.
Another problem likely is that I see it as too much of a puzzle to want to bother.
So many different translations, so many different words that in other languages/contexts/definitions change one's understanding of the Bible.
There's a reason why Tevye from Fiddler on the Roof says,
"If I were rich, I'd have the time that I lack
To sit in the synagogue and pray,
And maybe have a seat by the Eastern Wall.
And I'd discuss the holy books with the learned men
Seven hours every day.
That would be the sweetest thing of all.
If I were a rich man,
Yaha-deeuh-deeuh-deeuh-deeuh-deeuh-deeuh-dum,"
He realizes he'd have to study it, to understand it deeply, see?
I dunno, sometimes I look upon it a bit the way I do Buddhist koans, that is what very little I know about Buddhist koans.
Going by Wikipedia a koan "is a story, dialogue, question, or statement which is used in Zen practice to provoke the "great doubt" and to practice or test a student's progress in Zen."
I'm willing to suppose there's value in the Christian Bible,
but there's value in many writings, even non religious writings.
So onto my take on Genesis 1 (NIV),
To me it's just a story that people told each other and their children, to give 'some voice to that Who/What/Why/When/Where/How feeling humans get. Though maybe the story doesn't answer all those questions, or in so much detail.
It also seems to me that Preachers of the Bible are often spinning it according to their own take. And maybe that's not a terrible picture, if their flock is people like the Preacher themself, and the people listening exhibit a bit of doubt and reasoning themselves, without acting blindly and ending up cult like.
After all, there are people in the world, more keen on reason and wisdom than others, likely 'even more so in the older days when not everyone could read. Or when there weren't writing's around, didn't have the time or ability to memorize by ear and tongue.
Brings to mind Father Mapple a bit, from Melville's Moby Dick. Who's elevated pulpit was decorated with ship gear and backed by a wall painting of a seascape, as well as being reachable only by a rope ladder. And as I remember it, Father Mapple's preaching had a style of a rough sailor to it, which matched well with the lives and makeup of his flock.
Back to Genesis 1 though,
And this might be one of the factors that makes the Bible a formidable tool, for good or ill.
I think it'd be easy enough for even a pantheist to read Genesis 1, and interpret God as the personification of existence, perhaps further as a personification of life or control/direction.
Man certainly seems more able to control the world around him at his own will than all the other animals.
Still, to me, just a story, told by a people to express their culture and their view, in an artsy story. Maybe to illuminate or put focus on the importance of certain realities or cultural givens of a society. Such as marriage, monogamy, faithfulness, and how special your partner is. From a Christian viewpoint, well, from a Christian viewpoint thousands of years ago, when strife was all too common, when family sticking together and not having infighting was invaluable.
"24 That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh.
25 Adam and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame."
And to earlier post,
"The theme of the early universe starting as a vast expanse of water is a common one in many mythologies. Ancient Egyptian, Hindu, and even some Native American Folklore share this concept. This would seem to give credence to the idea that early mythologies, including the oral traditions from which the biblical tales are descended, either borrowed heavily from each other or share one or several common ancestor mythologies from which all take inspiration."
'Could be, though I'm more inclined to think that humans think alike. We see the same world for the most part, so our stories of it's formation come about mostly the same, just my take.
And to another part of your post, I don't know anything about Lilith really, or cut parts of the Bible.
Other posts make me think of comic books a bit, which reboot of Spiderman truly expresses the Hero and his philosophy best? (Joke)