The Fall: Mythology or History?

The book of Genesis records the fall of man—the event where humanity rebelled against God and thus exchanged an innocent nature for a sinful nature, immortality for mortality. Archaeology reveals that an Ancient Near Eastern (ANE) myth shares a similar story. Skeptics claim the similarities nullify the historicity of the biblical account, but the ANE literature actually strengthens the case for the biblical, historical fall of man.

According to Scripture, God created Adam (Hebrew for “man”) and Eve, granted them immortality, and commanded them to eat of every tree in the Garden of Eden except one. Satan (in the form of a serpent) deceived Eve to violate God’s command and to eat from the forbidden tree. Thus Adam and Eve disobeyed God and forfeited immortal life (Gen. 3:1–19).

In the Babylonian story of Adapa (c. 1300 BC), the god Ea created Adapa, whose name means “man.” Ea granted Adapa wisdom (not immortality).1 One day, after Adapa committed a violation against the sky-god Anu, Anu called Adapa to appear before him. Ea counseled Adapa to show reverence to Anu’s gatekeepers, but not to eat or drink anything Anu offered him.

Adapa so pleased Anu’s gatekeepers that Anu decided not to punish Adapa but, rather, to reward him with the gift of immortality. To receive the gift, Adapa had to eat the “bread of life” and drink the “water of life.” But because of Ea’s deception, Adapa refused the gifts; and Anu sent him back to Earth saying, “he had rejected immortality and brought ill upon mankind.”2

Although this myth parallels the biblical account in its explanation of why man suffers death, the differences demonstrate that the biblical authors could not have recast their accounts from the myth. Yet the similarities argue for a common historical event.

Like Adam, Adapa was understood to be the first man and divine representative of the creator. Just as Adam was to care for the Garden, so Adapa was to care for Ea’s sanctuary. Just as God placed a “tree of life” in the Garden, so Anu offered Adapa the “bread of life” to gain immortality. Just as the serpent deceived Adam and Eve to disobey God, Ea deceived Adapa into rejecting Anu’s offer. Both were then exiled to experience death as mortals.

The striking similarities reveal that the historical event of the fall of man was passed down after the Noahic Flood (chaps. 6—9) and remained in the common culture. Years later, after the dispersion at Babel (11:1–9), different cultures adapted the event to fit local mythologies. So, contrary to the claims of skeptics, the Babylonian Adapa myth actually reinforces the truth of the historical, biblical account of the fall of man.

There are also stark differences between the accounts that betray any claim the biblical authors might have borrowed from mythology. For example, in the Adapa story, Adapa’s creator god Ea is deceitful and evil, lying to Adapa to keep him from obtaining immortality. The Creator God of Scripture loved Adam, granted him immortality, and desired for him to keep it and live an abundant life.

Both Jesus and the apostle Paul affirmed the Genesis account of the Fall as a literal, historical event. Paul said, “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned” (Rom. 5:12; cf. Mt. 19:4; Mk. 10:6; Jn. 8:44; 2 Cor. 11:3; 1 Tim. 2:13). Praise God our hope of salvation rests on a firm foundation and on a God who loves us.

Endnotes
  1. K. Van der Toorn, Bob Becking, Pieter Willem van der Horst, Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1999), 73–74.
  2. Stephanie Dalley, “Myths from Mesopotamia: Creation, the Flood, Gilgamesh, and Others,” Oxford World’s Classics (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008), 182.

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 May/Jun 2017

June 1967 was a good time to be Jewish. At least it seemed that way to me. I was a teenager during the Six-Day War, and I was so proud of the Israeli soldiers. Not only were they fighting for their country, but they were fighting...

Ma’ale Adumim: It’s Not What You Think It Is

Before we arrived in the spring of 2000, I asked the 16 members of our Friends of Israel Youth Adventure team (now called ORIGINS) to describe what they thought a settlement would look like.

Six Days In June

When the 1967 Six-Day War erupted, the Jewish state had just celebrated 19 years of independence. Levi Eshkol, 71, was both prime minister and defense minister. Eshkol had replaced the legendary David Ben-Gurion in June 1963. Filling Ben-Gurion’s shoes...

Rehearsal for Armageddon

How important is Jerusalem to the Jewish people? Their souls have been intertwined with it for more than 3,000 years. Unfortunately, their heartache is not over. This article was written shortly after Six-Day War and ran in the...

It’s Not Over ‘Til It’s Over

A city’s significance is often measured by its commercial importance, the height of its skyscrapers, or the grandeur of its architecture. But Jerusalem is not like any other city. Jerusalem’s significance comes from the One who chose to dwell...

When Heaven Comes to Earth

It is probably the best known and most fought over city in the world. The Jewish people cherish it. The Muslims want to take it. The United Nations wants to divide it. Nations are willing to go to war over it. But the Jerusalem of today is not the...


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 Archives

$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 Archives

$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 Archives

$59.99 every 3 years