The Enuma Elish and Creation

Creation & Enuma Elish:

Since the dawn of humanity, mankind has made a valiant yet misguided attempt to characterize the world's conception in terms of intentional, purposeful creation. Despite disputing over a multitude of differences, scholarly proponents of the ancient Near Eastern creation myths and the biblical creation story both agree on the premise concerning a unique and conscious forming of the world; however, while other myths provide a reasonable basis for the origins and structure of nature, the biblical creation tale documents God's almighty power, benevolence, and creativity over all other gods, idols, and ancient deities. The biblical creation shares interesting qualities with the Egyptian creation myths, but the integral differences delineate God's prowess and purpose for the universe and mankind distinct from other origin stories.

The first round of similarities and differences present themselves in the specific linguistics and phrasings used to describe the events, establishing a method of comparison and contrast. The Hebrew term of use indicating a beginning is reshith, the root of bereshith which translates to the Bible's first temporal clause, "in the beginning," specifically pointing to an initial period of time occurring before important events (Walton, 2015). Similar terminology also finds application in Egyptian myths when referring to the god Amon, who reportedly evolved on the first occasion, indicating an original, non-repeatable event (Walton, 2015). Both describe a period or era of time that precedes human history and cultural events and would eventually shape the land. The similarity is drawn closer with the Book of Genesis's first verse of the biblical creation serving as a literary introduction queued by the use of a dependent clause, grammatically corresponding with the Enuma Elish opening phrase, "When on high" (Walton, 2015). In addition, the term tehom in Hebrew corresponds with the word "deep," which God hovered over, and is considered by some scholars a "remnant of the Enuma Elish mythology," despite etymological differences disproving a direct comparison (Alexander, 2008, p. 49). Raqia, the baseline of the firmament, is recognizable in the Akkadian and Mesopotamian understanding of ancient Near Eastern literature and is referred to as a solid dome, aligning with the Israelites' perception of the sky's visible horizon (Walton, 2015). 

Within the framework of Mesopotamian cosmologies, spiritual concepts of the realized, physical world maintain similarities to ancient Near Eastern cultures when compared to modern science. Babylonian cosmology holds to a threefold division of the world in which heaven is Anu, the earth of humans is Enlil, and the lower waters or underworld are Enki or Ea. Three-tiered heavens are situated “above the mountain of the earth surrounded by a primeval ocean” and Babylon finds itself on the top of the mountain between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers (Schnittjer, 2006, p. 58). However, Israelite cosmology exists as a result of progressive revelation while existing in all ancient cultures. As Schnittjer (2006) notes, “The word of God to Israel spoke about the world in a way that made sense to readers who possessed an ancient Near Eastern outlook” (p. 58). Verbal cosmological imagery in the scriptures contributes to representative diagrams that interpret poetic language literally, changing purposefully over time as gradual revelation continues (Schnittjer, 2006, p. 59). However, a closer look at ancient cosmologies displays the biblical instruction as contrasting against the views of other nations. For instance, biblical narratives maintain “a polemic posture toward the myths of Israel’s national rivals” (Schnittjer, 2006, p. 59). Fox (1995) further elaborates on this point, as “the concept of God presented here militates against such ideas, arguing chiefly out of omission and silence. . . What remains is both utterly simple and radical in its time” (p. 12). Biblical accounts mounted as a suggested calculated attack against those who worshiped other gods, defining the power and generosity of Yahweh.

Within the realm of ancient myths, establishing the vocabulary of biblical and Babylonian literature is instrumental in dissecting and comparing them. While the biblical account of separating the chaos to form creation radically focuses on God's love and creativity, Enuma Elish is natively an origin story founded on warfare (Dunne, 2016). Further emphasizing the biblical creation's characteristics is the Hebrew word bara, translating to "create," used when God is the express creator of an object or occurrence (Bibb, 2016). However, language of godly spoken words erecting earthly occurrences still find themselves in excerpts from hymns such as the “Hymn to Ra.” In this reading, the literature quotes, “As the sun dawned, Ra spoke: I am Khepri the beetle” (Schnittjer, 2006, p. 67). In this regard, God is said to “fully spell out his intentions,” suggesting forethought and action while undoubtedly reacting to prevailing Near Eastern accounts of cosmogony (Fox, 1995, p. 12). As expounded by Fox (1995), “Most of the cultures surrounding ancient Israel had elaborate creation stories, highlighting the birth, sexuality, and violent uprisings of the gods” (p. 12). In accordance, Enuma Elish makes use of prominent and evocative militant language. Thus, while God's separation of the formless void employs abstract words, Enuma Elish particularly uses violent active verbs such as "slit," "severed," and "torn open" (Bibb, 2016).

In addition, a key dissimilarity results from an employed figure of speech named merismus, slightly similar in concept to an oxymoron, that designates the range between two extremes and presents itself in biblical creation (Walton, 2015). This method of literature finds notable application with the phrases "heaven and earth," as introduced in Genesis 1:1, and "alpha and omega" in addition to several other Bible passages. The designation of the merismus describes the tremendous range of God's creation that encompasses all objects, places, organisms, and ideas (Alexander, 2012, p. 130). Enuma Elish presents humankinds as a sidelight of the “struggles of the gods,” while the biblical account depicts a divine Creator that acts out of grace, power, order, and life (Schnittjer, 2008, p. 67). Lastly, biblical creation in its narrative retelling integrates mythological elements in a process known as “mythopoetic reflection," structuring the story within its ancient context (Bibb, 2016). The defined etymology and syntax of biblical creation and Enuma Elish prove to separate God as a loving, caring creator while showing His divine authority over ancient Egyptian gods and idols of the time.

Further similarities and distinctions of the creation accounts exist within the ordering of tohu wabohu and other forces, alongside their manifestation into creation. Enuma Elish as a Babylonian creation tale begins "before anything in heaven or the netherworld exists," providing a background from which the gods Apsu and Tiamat, primordial gods, are conceived into the earth (Dunne, 2016). According to the myth, all gods are formed from Apsu and Tiamat, celebrating and dancing in their ruling prominence. Rest is a major motif of sovereignty in the ancient Near East, and this disruption leads Apsu and Tiamat to formulate a murder plan against the gods (Dunne, 2016). Ea, the Mesopotamian god of subterranean water, kills Apsu, forming a temple from his remains, and in response, Tiamat configures "an army of horrid creatures" (Dunne, 2016). Marduk, Ea's son, is appointed and uses winds, a net, and a successful arrow to effectively trap and kill Tiamat. Then, Marduk created the heavens, the earth, and the lower heavens named esharra, denoting the stars, from her body (Lambert, 1992, p. 527). The existence of a netherworld is implied below Apsu's form, yet the void between the second heaven and the earth grows in disparity (Lambert, 1992, p. 527). After the creation reaches a climax, humans are formed to toil the earth while the gods rest. According to Hays (2014), Mummu “fashions Apsu’s remains into his homeland, dwelling, and shrines, and there he begets his son: Marduk” (p. 62). The rest of the story entails the creation of Marduk's temple in Babylon, the promotion of Marduk to the "chief position" in Babylon, and the listing of different holy terms to be used as alternatives to his name (Dunne, 2016). 

From the outset, the monotheistic biblical creation is unique not only from Enuma Elish but from nearly all other ancient Egyptian creation myths. God refers to Himself as "us" specifically within Genesis 1:26, indicating the first presence of a Trinity in which each facet of the Trinity is still uniquely and fully God or a royal, kingly “we” (Alexander, 2008, p. 50). Enuma Elish refers to the elite presence of Marduk over all other gods, but the one Yahweh is the only holy presence of biblical creation (Schnittjer, 2006, p. 67). Also, the Enuma Elish account's formation of the world is compounded upon war, resulting from the death of the two major gods that embodied the waters before the heavens and the earth existed. Meanwhile, God's absolute power and divine authority are presented in the fact that He presides over the "formless chaos" and commands it to do His bidding. As T. Desmond Alexander (2008) writes in the ESV Study Bible, "He merely speaks and things are created. Each new section of the chapter is introduced by God's speaking” (p. 50). Consecrating from His words, God institutes a method of partition during the first three days and composition spanning the latter three (Schnittjer, 2006, p. 62). He separates waters into heaven and earth, designates the light and dark into night and day, collects water into concentrated areas, grows vegetation, creates the sun, moon, and stars, and creates every bird, sea creature, livestock, beast, and creeping animal, finishing with humanity (Genesis 1:3-27 ESV). These acts appear to mirror each other, such as day two’s upper and lower waters, the heavens and the oceans, finding a natural complement in day five’s birds streaking across the heavens and fish ruling the seas (Richter, 2008, p. 100). Through an almighty display of God's benevolence, He encourages them to populate and fill the earth, showing His dominion over the earth and His climactic designation of ruling onto those made "in the image of God" (Alexander, 2008, p. 51). 

Similar to Enuma Elish, the biblical creation analyzes a progressive development of disorderly chaos into concrete order, mainly by separation. The struggle over Apsu and Tiamat led to the erection of Marduk's temple, the separation of waters into three cosmological levels, the ordainment of the sun, moon, and stars embodied by different spiritual beings such as Ra that indicate the passage of time, and the creation of humanity to maintain order on earth (Alexander, 2008, p. 51). The Bible evidences a similar theme of order through the organizational structure of biblical creatures; the regularly occurring tides; the rising and setting of the sun; the celestial bodies marking seasonal periods; the original separation of the waters, above and below, into heaven and earth; and the apex of God's creation embodied and emphasized by Adam and eventually Eve (Walton, 2016). This organizational structure fed into the ancient conception of cosmology which deviated into godly origins and compositions in Enuma Elish or God’s culminated, superior ordainment over nature in the Bible.

Comparisons of the biblical creation and Enuma Elish are made clear by the purpose and belief structures of creation and humanity in each tale, establishing a groundwork for the stories that follow creation. The native religion of Egypt was polytheistic and pantheistic, with multiple gods existing and present in natural phenomena and objects (Schnittjer, 2006, p. 58). God, in contrast, is established in the first verse of the Bible to be the sole creator of "the heavens and the earth," repeatedly striking the concept and occurrence of worshiping other gods, deities, and idols over Him as the biblical story unfolds (Schnittjer, 2006, p. 59). The author of the Bible actively opposes gods being created and personalizing natural forces, creatures, and consequences by refraining from the use of the Hebrew terms for "sun" and "moon," which were closely associated with and attributed to ancient cultural gods (Walton, 2016). Thus, the underlying motif and theme of Israel's story arise from their struggle to hold God's monotheistic covenant as fallen human nature adopts a diluted and corrupted view of deity (Bibb, 2016). 

Additionally, the creation of humanity and thus the purpose of humanity is distinct in both creation stories. Humanity is underscored as the peak of God's creation in Genesis 1. While God calls all of creation good, the repetition of "create" and "good" underlining the world's importance, He declares the earth as "very good" after mankind’s construction and arrangement (Genesis 1:31). As such, man's purpose in the Bible and Enuma Elish diverge greatly. In Enuma Elish, humans are formed from clay and the blood of Kingu, who is falsely sentenced to death in place of Tiamat, and viewed as an afterthought instead of the focal point of the myth (Schnittjer, 2006, p. 67). God's creation of the first man, in a comparable fashion, states that He "formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life" (Genesis 2:7). Although God’s divine presence presides over humanity, the connection of “man,” adam, to the ground or soil, adama, resonates in the native Hebrew and accompanied biblical text of Genesis 2 (Alexander, 2012, p. 130). Similar to their decentralized focus, humanity's vocalized purpose from the Enuma Elish gods is to work and slave after the earth while the gods rest (Lambert, 1992, 1:528). The same appears to be true in biblical creation from a cursory glance, but God's provision of humanity and their appointment over the earth explicitly shows that people are initially set apart before the human fault of the Fall (Alexander, 2008, p. 52). 

In the initial covenant, humans are charged with the express purpose of dominion over the earth; thus, the earth, divinely imbued to produce an abundance of food, elicits accountability and dependability of both parties (Alexander, 2012, p. 131). God's purpose for mankind, witnessed in the Garden of Eden, is an intimate relationship between creation and Creator and, merely through their own error, humans are forced into a metaphorical and carnal slavery of pain, suffering, strenuous labor, and sin for the rest of their lives (Genesis 3:17-19). In this sense, Genesis 1 and 2 detail a god who, unlike others in the ancient Near East, “stood outside and above his creation” (Richter, 2008, p. 95). The crucial element of choice, never provided by Enuma Elish’s gods, is recognized as a major component of human existence stressed by the eventual Prophets (Fox, 1995, p. 18). Enuma Elish immediately purposes humans into slaves whom the gods exploit and, in similarity to other ancient mythos, force to war with each other and repeatedly abuse for personal enjoyment (Bibb, 2016). For instance, The Epic of Gilgamesh’s catastrophic flood ensues from humans’ “disorderly noisiness” (Hays, 2014, p. 76). In connection with the centrality of the person in God's tale, "humans are then called to participate with God in maintaining the healthy boundaries of creation through tabernacle worship" (Bibb, 2016).

The contentious concept of purposeful creation with humans at the center is a view regularly characterized by ancient Near Eastern myths and biblical creation. Despite the similarities they share, the key differences and elevation of the Bible override any conceivable doubt of God's creation. Yahweh's pure omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence precipices far above the Egyptian gods and His simple command extends the formless void that, in other myths, is manifested through deities. The biblical creation's similarities and differences in ancient etymology, the conquest and formation of watery chaos, and the intention of humans from Enuma Elish display the inspiration and precipitation of ancient Near Eastern myths upon the Bible while also demonstrating God's ascended characteristics and qualities above all else. 

References:

Alexander, Desmond T. (2008). "Genesis." pp. 49-137 in ESV Study Bible. Wheaton. Crossway.

Alexander, Desmond T. (2012). “The Creation of the Earth.” pp. 130-131 in From Paradise to the Promised Land: An introduction to the Pentateuch. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic. 

Bibb, Bryan D. (2016). "Creation Myths," In ed. John D. Barry et al., The Lexham Bible Dictionary.    Bellingham, WA: Lexham.

Dunne, John Anthony. (2016). "Enuma Elish," In ed. John D. Barry et al., The Lexham Bible Dictionary. Bellingham, WA: Lexham. 

Fox, Everett. (1995). The Five Books of Moses: A New Translation with Introductions, Commentary, and Notes. New York: Schocken.

Hays, Christopher B. (2014). Hidden Riches. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press. 

Image by Rod Long on Unsplash

Lambert, W. G. (1992). "Enuma Elish," In ed. D.N. Freedman, The Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary: D–G (pp. 1:526–527). 

Richter, Sandra L. (2008). “God’s Original Intent.” pp. 92-118 in The Epic of Eden: A Christian Entry into the Old Testament. Downers Grove: IVP Academic.

Schnittjer, Gary E. (2006). “The Beginning.” pp. 55-72 in The Torah Story: An Apprenticeship on the Pentateuch. Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

Walton, John H. (2015). Genesis. NIVAC; Zondervan.

Thank you Garrett Fish for writing this article!