The opening of the Prologue is much debated:
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (ESV)
ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ λόγος καὶ ὁ λόγος ἦν πρὸς τὸν θεόν καὶ θεὸς ἦν ὁ λόγος
In particular, ἐν ἀρχῇ, in the beginning, is often understood as alluding to Genesis 1:1:
In the beginning God made the sky and the earth. (LXX-Genesis 1:1 NETS)
ἐν ἀρχῇ ἐποίησεν ὁ θεὸς τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ τὴν γῆν
I notice the next verse in the Prologue, begins much like the the "second" creation narrative begins, except οὗτος is used in place of αὕτη, reflecting the difference between the Word, ὁ λόγος, and the book, ἡ βίβλος:
This is the book of the origin of heaven and earth, when it originated, on the day God made the sky and the earth. (LXX-Genesis 2:4 NETS)
αὕτη ἡ βίβλος γενέσεως οὐρανοῦ καὶ γῆς ὅτε ἐγένετο ᾗ ἡμέρᾳ ἐποίησεν ὁ θεὸς τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ τὴν γῆν
He (the Word) was in the beginning with God. (1:2)
οὗτος (ὁ λόγος) ἦν ἐν ἀρχῇ πρὸς τὸν θεόν
It seems John 1:2 also begins with an allusion to creation, this time to Genesis 2:4. Is this a reasonable conclusion? If so, what does the combination of ἐν ἀρχῇ (1:1) and οὗτος (1:2) add to John's description of the nature of the the Word and to the relationship with God?