Biblical Creation Stories anthropomorphism Adam and Eve covenant

Biblical Creation Stories anthropomorphism Adam and Eve covenant Yaweh / Elohim Yahwist or Jehovist writer Elohist writer Priestly writer Garden of Eden immanent god Israelites Leviathan Moses paratactic syncretism polytheism puns Rationalization transcendent god tree of knowledge Crum’s Genesis Altdorfer

Biblical Creation Stories Cover Chapters 1 -3

Examples of Paratactic Storytelling • Genesis: two accounts of creation, one after the other Genesis I-2: 3 (God as Elohim) PRIESTLY Genesis 2 (God as Yahweh) COMPARE • Two accounts of creation of Pyramid Texts paratactic = placed side by side

Authors of Genesis, 1 • 950 B. C. E. The Yahwist or Jehovist (often referred to as Y or J). This writer referred to God by the Hebrew word “Yahweh, ” which was sometimes rendered “Jahweh. ” To help in identifying this source, the translation used here always renders “Yahweh” as “Lord. ” Origin: Judaea, South Israel.

Authors of Genesis, 2 • 850 B. C. E. The Elohist (often referred to as E). This writer referred to God by the Hebrew word “Elohim. ” Origin: Ephraim, North Israel.

Authors of Genesis, 3 • 721 B. C. E. Yahwist-Elohist version (often referred to as J-E). Origin: After the fall of the Northern Kingdom, Judaean editors combined parts of the J and E traditions. In parts of Genesis they were so effective in weaving these sources together, that we can no longer separate them.

Authors of Genesis, 4 • 550 B. C. E. The Priestly writer (often referred to as P). This writer also referred to God by the Hebrew word “Elohim, ” but his account can be distinguished from the Elohist by what he writes about. He demonstrates the concerns of a priest: he writes about how Jewish rituals and holy days began, and he keeps track of the generations – the so-called "begats. " This is because a person's ancestry determines eligibility for religious functions. To help in identifying this source, the translation used here always renders “Elohim” as “God. ” Origin: In 587 B. C. E, the Jews were captured by Nebuchadnezzar and carried off to Babylon. This is known as the Babylonian Exile. It ended in 538, when Cyrus allowed the Jews to return to their homeland, Israel. In his creation story, the Priestly writer is largely concerned with refuting the Babylonian religion, so we can tell he wrote after the Exile, expressing ideas that were current during it.

Sistine Chapel Michelangelo Buonarotti (b. 1475, Caprese, d. 1564, Roma) For more information on the ceiling paintings, see http: //gallery. euroweb. hu/tours/sisti na/index 1. html

The Priestly Version of Creation Day 1 1: 1 In the beginning God Day 2 1: 6 And God said, "Let there be created the heavens and the earth. … 1: 3 And God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light. And there was evening and there was morning, one day. a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters. " …

The Priestly Version of Creation (2) Day 3 Day 4 1: 9 And God said, "Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear. " … 1: 14 And God said, "Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to separate the day from the night; and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years…

The Priestly Version of Creation (3) Day 5 1: 21 So God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. …

The Priestly Version of Creation (4) Day 6 1: 24 And God said, "Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds: cattle and creeping things and beasts of the earth according to their kinds. " … 1: 26 Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping that creeps upon the earth. " 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.

God as Immanent or Transcendent?

The Priestly Version of Creation (5) Day 7 2: 2 And on the seventh day God finished his work which he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had done. 3 So God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it, because on it God rested from all his work which he had done in creation.

Creation of humans in the Bible: P 1: 1 In the beginning [when] God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep; and the Spirit of God was moving over the face of the waters. 1: 24 Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping that creeps upon the earth. "

Creation of Humans in the Bible: J-E 2: 4 b In the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens, 5 when no plant of the field was yet in the earth and no herb of the field had yet sprung up-for the LORD God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was no man to till the ground; 6 but a mist went up from the earth and watered the whole face of the ground– then the LORD God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being. 8 And the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east; and there he put the man whom he had formed. 9 And out of the ground the LORD God made to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food, the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

The J-E Version of Creation 2: 25 And the man and his wife were both naked, and were not ashamed. … 3: 6 … when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both were opened and they knew that they were naked and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves aprons. … 3: 20 The man called his wife's name Eve, because she was the mother of all living. 21 And the LORD God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins, and clothed them.

Comparison of the J-E writer and the Priestly writer Priestly Genesis 1: 1 -2: 4 a Landscape Wet. Originates in Mesopotamia, a fertile land irrigated by the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. This account begins with the Spirit of God "moving over the face of the waters. " J-E Genesis 2: 4 b-3: 24 Dry. Originates in the deserts of Palestine. This account describes the planting of a garden, an important event in a desert. Man is made from dust.

Comparison of the J-E writer and the Priestly writer (2) Priestly Genesis 1: 1 -2: 4 a J-E Genesis 2: 4 b-3: 24 Order of creation Man is made last, showing his importance to God. The world is prepared for him before his creation. Man is made first, showing his importance to God. After man's creation, everything else is created for his use. Nature of humans Created male and female The man is created first. from the first The woman is created Does not sin against god. later, after all other creatures. Sins against god.

Comparison of the J-E writer and the Priestly writer (3) View of God Priestly Genesis 1: 1 -2: 4 a Aloof from his creation. Seems to delegate his work: "Let there be light. " TRANSCENDENT J-E Genesis 2: 4 b-3: 24 Involved with humans, and the act of creation: forms man of dust, breathes life into his nostrils; walks in garden (Genesis 3: 8) IMMANENT

Comparison of the J-E writer and the Priestly writer (4) Priestly Genesis 1: 1 -2: 4 a Concerns Explains the reason behind religious ceremonies like the Sabbath day. J-E Genesis 2: 4 b-3: 24 Focuses on the relationship between God and Israel.

Similarities Between P and J-E • Human beings matter to God • Covenant appears in both: – A covenant, like a contract, binds both God and his people Israel. Under it, God, functions as a patron & promises to take care of his people, who also promise to be loyal to him. – P: Implied in the relationship between man and God, as represented by the Sabbath – J-E: And the LORD God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins, and clothed them.

Puns in Hebrew Genesis • 2: 7 ‘adham (“man”) is created from ‘adhamah’ (“ground”) and is named Adam at 3: 17 • 2: 23 ishash (“woman) incorporates the rib of ish (man) • 3: 30 hawwa = Eve (“mother of all living”) sounds like hay (“life”)

Babylonian Captivity • Babylonians took over the entire Assyrian Empire, and its army reached Jerusalem, the capital of Juda, the southern Kingdom of the Jews, in 597 BCE • The prominent citizens of Judah -- anyone who had influence to exert, money to invest, valuable skills to employ, or the ability to read and write -- were deported to live together in Babylon. When the deportations were finished in 587 BCE, the city of Jerusalem, with its Palace and Temple, was demolished completely. • The Babylonian captivity came to an end in 538 BCE when the Persian leader Cyrus (who had captured Babylon) released the Jews

Priestly Creation Story Refutes the Cosmogony of Babylon • Priestly version of Genesis shows, by describing each aspect of creation as coming from the God of Israel, that it is not Marduk who is responsible for the creation of the world • “darkness was upon the face of the deep; and the Spirit of God was moving over the face of the waters. ” Hebrew 'tehom. ' is the equivalent of the Babylonian word “Tiamat. ” Tiamat was the Babylonian deity identified with salt water and killed by the head god Marduk. Here the Priestly writer is showing that Yahweh, not Marduk, prevailed over the deep. • The heavenly bodies are not gods but lights produced by God on the fourth day

Babylonian Ishtar • Goddess of animal and human fertility • Her influence was felt throughout the world • Worshipped by recourse to temple prostitutes In Genesis it is not the fertility of Ishtar which causes animal fertility but God, on the sixth day. http: //www. astroconsulting. com/FAQs/goddesses. htm

Workshop of Albrecht Altdorfer The Rule of Bacchus, c. 1535 National Gallery of Art, Washington, D. C. Samuel H. Kress Collection 1952. 5. 31. a SYNCRETISM

Biblical Creation Stories anthropomorphism Adam and Eve covenant Yaweh / Elohim Yahwist or Jehovist writer Elohist writer Priestly writer Garden of Eden immanent god Israelites Leviathan Moses paratactic syncretism polytheism puns Rationalization transcendent god tree of knowledge Crum’s Genesis Altdorfer