Creation Calling

The people of Israel bequeathed to the world the revelation of God through the Bible. In this revelation, the creation account in Genesis takes center stage and is recorded as a matter of protohistory. It was an accepted fact until, in modern times, archaeological discoveries revealed that similar accounts of creation were recorded by other ancient Near Eastern civilizations.1

The Sumerian account, the Enuma Elish (c. 1800–1600 BC), says a creator-god made the world and appointed lesser gods to rule it. Its opening lines reflect the wording of the first verse of Genesis: “In those days, in the days when the heaven and earth were [created].”2

The Babylonian account, the Epic of Atrahasis (c. 1700 BC), explains mankind’s creation as a response to a revolt by lower gods who were forced to do heavy labor for higher gods and claims humanity was created by the blood of a slaughtered god, mixed with clay and divine spit.

These nonbiblical accounts have similarities to the biblical account. Both view creation as a divine act and teach that mankind was created from the ground and given the work of tending to the land as a representative of the Creator (Gen. 1:27–28). There are seven tablets in Enuma Elish and seven days in the Genesis account; and mankind’s creation is in the sixth tablet of the Babylonian account and on the sixth day in the Bible.

However, as striking as these similarities may be, the differences are pronounced: polytheism versus monotheism, a theogony (origin of the gods) versus a cosmogony (origin of the cosmos), gods identified with nature versus God distinct from nature, and a complex mythology versus a straightforward and simple history.

What these similarities reveal is that a single history was passed down after the Noahic Flood (Gen. 5—9) and remained in the common culture before being dispersed at Babel (11:1–9). Thereafter, humanity divided; and the core history became embedded in local mythologies, which adapted it to fit divergent religious worldviews, thus producing the differences.

This understanding counters modern views that argue the Bible borrowed from the worldview of the cultures in which its authors lived. Scholars who make this argument contend that Genesis 1—11 is not historical and that the author(s) intentionally created a theological story that simply adopted the myths of the day to make its point.3 However, it is evident that the Bible’s authors and Jesus Himself accepted these accounts as literal and historical.4 (Moses wrote Genesis through Deuteronomy.) As they interpreted Genesis 1—11 in their writing of Scripture, they understood its author intended the following:

  • A literal, six-day creation (Ex. 20:11; 31:17; cf. Mk. 13:19; Rev. 4:11; 10:6).
  • A historical Adam (Dt. 4:32; 1 Chr. 1:1; Job 31:33; Lk. 3:38; Rom. 5:14; 1 Cor. 15:22, 45; 1 Tim. 2:13; Jude 14; cf. Isa. 45:12; Mal. 2:10; Mt. 19:4).
  • A worldwide flood (Ps. 29:10; Isa. 54:9; Mt. 24:38–39; Lk. 17:26–27; 1 Pet. 3:20; 2 Pet. 3:5–6; cf. Heb. 11:7).
  • A new beginning for mankind as distinct nations (Dt. 32:8; Acts 17:26).

Therefore, though archaeology provides examples of the creation account from nonbiblical sources, the examples must be viewed in light of Scripture, which has the priority in comparative interpretation.

ENDNOTES
  1. The collection of ancient Near Eastern literature is contained in the three-volume work The Context of Scripture: Canonical Compositions from the Biblical World, eds. W. W. Hallo and K. Lawson Younger Jr. (Leiden/New York: Brill, 1997).
  2. See Jacob Klein, “Enki and Ninmah,” in The Context of Scripture 1.159:516.
  3. See John H. Walton and D. Brent Sandy, The Lost World of Scripture: Ancient Literary Culture and Biblical Authority (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2013), and John Walton, The Lost World of Adam and Eve: Genesis 2—3 and the Human Origins Debate (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2015).
  4. On this point see the helpful article by Abner Chou, “Is Inerrancy Inert? Closing the Hermeneutical ‘Loophole,’” in The Inerrant Word: Biblical, Historical, Theological, and Pastoral Perspectives, ed. John MacArthur (Wheaton: Crossway, 2016), 231–243.

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Features

Antique fountain pen on parchment.

From the Editor Mar/Apr 2017

My husband is a huge Bing Crosby fan. I think he has every song Bing ever sang, including multiple versions of “White Christmas.” He’s also seen a few Road to films, strictly because they star Bing. One is called...

The Great Invalidation

“Next year in Jerusalem!” As they have since the Jewish people were scattered around the world in AD 70, these words will ring out on the evening of April 10 at the close of Passover seders everywhere. Yet, if the United Nations...

Blessings Upon Blessings Isaiah 60

Famous 20th-century preacher and theologian Harry Ironside long ago noted that the book of Isaiah evokes glad anticipation in the hearts of believers who cherish “the coming day when Immanuel, of whom this prophet speaks, will take...

Isaiah’s Good News Isaiah 61

Good news comes in all shapes and sizes, and when it arrives—particularly in the midst of trying times—it is usually like the soothing balm of Gilead. The words of Isaiah 61 may have affected the Israelites of the prophet Isaiah’s day...

Sweet Beulah Land Isaiah 62

For centuries the Jewish people have waited for their Messiah to come and set up His Kingdom in Israel. At that time, Israel will receive the Land God promised them in perpetuity. That is when redeemed Israel will experience the fulfillment of...

Thy Kingdom Come Isaiah 65

In an age when Jesus is marginalized and the Bible grows more despised each day, it’s remarkable that anyone would know the Lord’s Prayer. But know it they do. It’s recited frequently at funerals—even at


Subscription Options

1 Year Digital Subscription

  • Free PDF Book Download - "What on Earth is God Doing?" by Renald Showers

  • Free Full-Issue Flipbook & PDF Download of Current Issue

$9.99 every 1 year

1 Year Digital with Archive Access

  • Free PDF Book Download - "What on Earth is God Doing?" by Renald Showers

  • Free Full-Issue Flipbook & PDF Downloads of Current Issue & select Archives

  • Complete Access to our Growing Archive - eventually dating back through our inaugural 1942 issue

$19.99 every 1 year

2 Year Digital Subscription

  • Free PDF Book Download - "What on Earth is God Doing?" by Renald Showers

  • Free Full-Issue Flipbook & PDF Download of Current Issue

$19.99 every 2 years

2 Year Digital with Archive Access

  • Free PDF Book Download - "What on Earth is God Doing?" by Renald Showers

  • Free Full-Issue Flipbook & PDF Downloads of Current Issue & select Archives

  • Complete Access to our Growing Archive - eventually dating back through our inaugural 1942 issue

$39.99 every 2 years

3 Year Digital Subscription

  • Free PDF Book Download - "What on Earth is God Doing?" by Renald Showers

  • Free Full-Issue Flipbook & PDF Download of Current Issue

$29.99 every 3 years

3 Year Digital with Archive Access

  • Free PDF Book Download - "What on Earth is God Doing?" by Renald Showers

  • Free Full-Issue Flipbook & PDF Downloads of Current Issue & select Archives

  • Complete Access to our Growing Archive - eventually dating back through our inaugural 1942 issue

$59.99 every 3 years