Allfather
Troublemaker from Ulster
Upon reading the Enûma Eliš out of curiosity and then speaking of it again in Hebrew Literature class, I noticed some similarities between the two and decided I would discuss them. The Enûma Eliš is the Babylonian creation myth that also arose from the Mesopotamia region. Note that these ideas are not solely my own; I have gotten the majority of this information elsewhere, but there is a bit of exegetical liberty on my part. Tell me what you think!
I'll be using the NKJV for Biblical quotation, and a link to the Enûma Eliš can be found here
I would first like to discuss what each account suggests before creation occurs. The Biblical account is typically seen in a "something from nothing" fashion, but the first chapter does suggest something else.
"The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters -Genesis 1:2
We see something similar in the Babylonian myth.
When in the height heaven was not named,
And the earth beneath did not yet bear a name,
And the primeval Apsu, who begat them,
And chaos, Tiamut, the mother of them both
Their waters were mingled together,
And no field was formed, no marsh was to be seen;
-Enûma Eliš Tablet I vs. 3-4
It seems that both refer to the primeval beginnings as a blank slate of water. The freshwater Apsu collides with the saltwater Tiamut, and creates conflict. In fact, geographically we see this in the Mesopotamian region. The fresh water from the Tigris and Euphrates comes in contact with the salt water from the Persian Gulf, or "the mother of them both". It is also important to point out that the Hebrew equivalent to "the deep" is tehom, which is a cognate to Tiamut
Despite the obvious differences in religion, chiefly polytheism versus monotheism, the creation sequence happens in roughly the same fashion.
"Then God said 'Let there be Light!' and there was light" -Genesis 1:3
When of the gods none had been called into being,
And none bore a name, and no destinies were ordained;
Then were created the gods in the midst of heaven,
Lahmu and Lahamu were called into being...
-Enûma Eliš Tablet 1 vs. 5
Creation is mandated by an existing God by a spoken word.
Subsequently, the order of creation fits perfectly: light, firmament, dry land, celestial beings, and, finally, man.
The similarities continue in the division of the heavens and earth. In Genesis, this is referred to as the firmament (Gen. 1:6-8), while in Enûma Eliš, the heavens and earth are separated by the cleaved corpse of Tiamut, after a revenge-killing that is outlined in the story (Enûma Eliš Tablet IV, vs. 137-140) . But also remember, Tiamut representing the tehom, or "deep", could be the separation of the heavens and earth by the schism in the substance of creation. Seemingly in line, with the Genesis account IMO.
Well, that's enough to get some conversation started, look forward to input!
I'll be using the NKJV for Biblical quotation, and a link to the Enûma Eliš can be found here
I would first like to discuss what each account suggests before creation occurs. The Biblical account is typically seen in a "something from nothing" fashion, but the first chapter does suggest something else.
"The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters -Genesis 1:2
We see something similar in the Babylonian myth.
When in the height heaven was not named,
And the earth beneath did not yet bear a name,
And the primeval Apsu, who begat them,
And chaos, Tiamut, the mother of them both
Their waters were mingled together,
And no field was formed, no marsh was to be seen;
-Enûma Eliš Tablet I vs. 3-4
It seems that both refer to the primeval beginnings as a blank slate of water. The freshwater Apsu collides with the saltwater Tiamut, and creates conflict. In fact, geographically we see this in the Mesopotamian region. The fresh water from the Tigris and Euphrates comes in contact with the salt water from the Persian Gulf, or "the mother of them both". It is also important to point out that the Hebrew equivalent to "the deep" is tehom, which is a cognate to Tiamut
Despite the obvious differences in religion, chiefly polytheism versus monotheism, the creation sequence happens in roughly the same fashion.
"Then God said 'Let there be Light!' and there was light" -Genesis 1:3
When of the gods none had been called into being,
And none bore a name, and no destinies were ordained;
Then were created the gods in the midst of heaven,
Lahmu and Lahamu were called into being...
-Enûma Eliš Tablet 1 vs. 5
Creation is mandated by an existing God by a spoken word.
Subsequently, the order of creation fits perfectly: light, firmament, dry land, celestial beings, and, finally, man.
The similarities continue in the division of the heavens and earth. In Genesis, this is referred to as the firmament (Gen. 1:6-8), while in Enûma Eliš, the heavens and earth are separated by the cleaved corpse of Tiamut, after a revenge-killing that is outlined in the story (Enûma Eliš Tablet IV, vs. 137-140) . But also remember, Tiamut representing the tehom, or "deep", could be the separation of the heavens and earth by the schism in the substance of creation. Seemingly in line, with the Genesis account IMO.
Well, that's enough to get some conversation started, look forward to input!
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