#24 Creation Myths and Genesis
Knowledge of near eastern creation myths can inform our understanding of Genesis 1-2. By showing us how people in the near east thought about creation and how the creation stories of the Old Testament may have been influenced by their environment. The main creation myths are the Epic of Gilgamesh, Enuma Elish, Memphite Theology, and the Atra-Hasis. These stories contain similarities to the creation stories in Genesis. These similarities may shed light on the origins of Genesis’ creation stories.
Genesis 1-2 contains two creation stories; one beginning in verse 1:1 and another in verse 2:4. These stories contain many similarities including the use of one God creating humans, plants, and animals. Although these two accounts are literarily different. Starting with the word used to represent God the first story uses the, “Hebrew word Elohim, meaning “God,” whereas the second uses the tetragrammaton, YHWH” (Bokovoy). This difference is important in that the word Elohim may be talking about any God not just the Christian one. Bokovoy goes on to say that there were likely “separate authors with distinct theological views and agendas (who) wrote these myths” (Bokovoy).
Knowledge of the near eastern creation myths allows us to read them side by side with Genesis and see the differences. For example, Enuma Elish and the Memphite Theology are focused “on a certain locale” (Hays) and place God there. Whereas in the Genesis accounts there is no specific locale where the story is taking place and God is not given a home or temple. When reading these accounts side by side the issue of creatio ex nihilo comes to mind. In Enuma Elish, Marduk, the god, has a genealogy compared to the Genesis account which attributes no beginning to God. While there are some similarities in Enuma Elish and other creation myths to the Genesis accounts these “similarities should not be exaggerated or minimized. But they are telling us something: even though Genesis is unique, and even though Genesis is Scripture, it is an ancient story that reflects ancient ways of thinking” (Enns).
Works Cited
David Bokovoy, "Two Creations in Genesis", n.p. [cited 13 Jan 2021]. Online: https://www.bibleodyssey.org:443/passages/related-articles/two-creations-in-genesis
Hays, Christopher B.. 2014. Hidden Riches : A Sourcebook for the Comparative Study of the Hebrew Bible and Ancient Near East. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press. Accessed January 13, 2021. ProQuest Ebook Central.
Enns, Pete. “Genesis 1 and a Babylonian Creation Story.” BioLogos. Accessed January 13, 2021. https://biologos.org/articles/genesis-1-and-a-babylonian-creation-story.
