The Book of Genesis vs. The Babylonian Creation Hymn
The Enuma Elish is one of the oldest myths of creation that exists. It is a Babylonian story of creation that was found in Nineveh inscribed on seven tablets. The Assyrian emperor Ashurbanipal had stored the tablets in his library to preserve the concept of the origin of Babylonians. The creation story in Genesis 1-2:4 shows some similarities with that in Enuma Elish in some aspects but differ in others. Several scholars have attempted to study the two accounts to establish the similarities and differences among them. Some concluded that the bible story of creation was derived from the Babylonian myths. This paper examines the two epics and tries to bring forth their similarities and differences and assess how the differences impact the way culture understands the meaning and the purpose of the lives of human beings.
The two stories describe the divine element of creation that was responsible for bringing life upon the earth. Their purpose for creation is religious, and a supreme being(s) is/are the force behind the creation of all that was created. In the two accounts, water is portrayed as the primal element. In Genesis, creation took six days in which everything was created, and on the seventh day, God rested. In Enuma Elish, the creation process also took six days that represent the generations of gods. In each of the generations, gods created a specific element in nature. The six generations represent a state of conflict between gods until on the sixth-generation when the god of Babylonian that is Marduk made man a slave to allow gods to rest on the seventh day.
Genesis and Enuma Elish myths of creation begin by describing the earth as devoid and dark before the creation process started. The second and third days in Genesis account involved the creation of land out of the water, which is similar to the Enuma Elish account, which involved the creation of gods of muddy silt and the earth. During the fourth and fifth day, God created sun moon stars and primitive life forms according to Genesis of the Bible. Similarly, in Enuma Elish in the fifth and the sixth generations, the god of the sky was created. However, conflict ensued, causing monsters and wild beasts to evolve. According to Genesis, God creates man on the sixth day while in Enuma Elish, the god of Marduk was given birth. Marduk is described as a savage god-man whose role is to serve other gods.
To some extent, the biblical account of creation was derived from the Babylonian myths. In Genesis, God rested on the seventh day after completing creation. Similarly, the seventh generation was for resting as it marked the end of the conflict after Marduk defeated Tiamat and split her to form various elements of the universe. This represents a period of struggle that saw the creation of the earth, according to Enuma Elish. After every battle, the resting moment is paramount to help regain the used energy and celebrate the achievements. The two epics employ this fact. After completing the creation process, God rested, and when he looked at what he had created, he saw it as excellent, according to Genesis. In the Babylonian epic, the generations of creations involved conflict, chaos, and struggles that needed to be followed by a resting period.
The bible scholars have found significant similarities in the two epics of creation. However, the major one is that in both accounts, there is a creator. Each myth states that a supreme being created all the creatures during this period. In Enuma Elish, Tiamat is the creator, while in Genesis, Elohim is the creator. Elohim is described as a man on the third day of creation in the Genesis account. The rest of the time, it is not clear whether he is a man or a woman. Another thing is that we are not sure if God was walking alone or with another God because in Genesis states that “Let us make man in our image and likeness.” Both the two creations account views God as the origin of life, and creation is out of nothing.
There are many differences between the Babylonian myths and the Genesis account of creation. Enuma Elish is presented as a political text in the form of a hymn that praises Marduk. It was written to lift Marduk his as the majestic among all the other Babylonian gods. In the Genesis account, God is the sole creator and the only Supreme Being that exists. The account narrates the story of creation right from the beginning to the end. The aim might be to give insight to the readers on how the earth began and to portray the supremacy of God. God is described to have created the universe with word of mouth. Enuma Elish’s account involves many gods; thus, it differs from the Genesis account of creation.
The biblical account presents the chronological order creation in which God created light and darkness on the first day, followed by sky until on the sixth day when God created man. Looking at the order the creation was done, it is clear that logical reasoning was involved because the man was made when the earth had been created. Plants and animals had been created to sustain man on the planet. On the other hand, Enuma Elish does not present any order. Instead, creation is described to have occurred due to the conflict between gods. The conflict climaxed with Marduk defeating Tiamat, which led to the creation of the components of the earth. In the Genesis account, there is no conflict involved, and God created the universe using his majestic power.
Human beings are created in the image and likeness of God according to the biblical account of creation. God then gave them power over all the other creatures. The account presents man giving names to other creatures. Also, the man was commanded to subdue the earth and take care of other creations. In Enuma, Elish man is created from the blood of the murdered hero called Kingu, and his creation marked the end of the conflict. There is no mention of blood in the biblical account as man is created out of nothing. From the Babylonian epic, we do not see the responsibilities that the deity gives to man. This reveals the differences between the two stories of creation.
Some scholars claim that Moses borrowed some ideas from Enuma Elish in writing the book of Genesis. However, the fact that the Biblical account of creation is detailed than Enuma Elish casts doubt in the claim. The epic of creation in Genesis includes all realms of nature, such as sunlight, moon, and stars. Enuma Elish, on the other hand, omits many components of the universe that currently exists. In the account, there is no mention of the creation of the animals, vegetation, and sun. Hence it is impossible to conclude that the account influenced the writing of the book of Genesis. The difference between the two is large to warrant the conclusion of the claim. However, the many similarities that the two accounts depict put us in a dilemma.
In Genesis, God manifested power by commanding nature. With his words, the nature obeyed by granting his will. For example, he said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. All the creature was created in this way. The only power that is present in the creation is that of God, and it enables him to accomplish his creation objectives. In Enuma Elish, magic and nature hold significant power; hence gods are subjects in this case. Therefore, the position held by gods in this account is not clear has in Genesis, where it is evident that God is omnipotent. Another thing is that there are many goods in Enuma Elish, making us question the distribution of power among such gods.
It is worth noting that there are vast differences between the Enuma Elish and Genesis accounts of creation. These differences impacts how a culture views the meaning and purpose of human life. The varying of the number of gods between the two accounts creates confusion in the society on which account presents how creation took place. In Genesis, there is one God who is the sole creator and source of life. This God valued the life of man than that of the other creatures. However, in Enuma Elish, the man emerges from the conflict from gods. Therefore the culture may have a negative attitude concerning human life as he originates from the fight between gods. All in all, the difference between the two creations have the potential to negatively influence the perception of the culture, concerning the meaning and purpose of the life of human beings.