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7 - Genesis and the Conceptual World of the Ancient Near East

from Part II - Social World of Genesis

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 June 2022

By
John H. Walton
Edited by
Bill T. Arnold
Bill T. Arnold
Affiliation:
Asbury Theological Seminary, Kentucky
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Summary

Genesis reflects a robust example of inter-cultural conversation. This chapter will summarize the major categories of commonality between Genesis and the ancient Near Eastern world in three major categories: (1) creation and humanity; (2) perceptions about the gods; (3) ancestor narratives. A truism of comparative studies is that similarities as well as differences require attention, and examples of both will be discussed.

Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge Companion to Genesis , pp. 148 - 167
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2022

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References

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Averbeck, Richard. “Ancient Near Eastern Mythography as It Relates to Historiography in the Hebrew Bible: Genesis 3 and the Cosmic Battle.” Pages 328–56 in The Future of Biblical Archaeology: Reassessing Methodologies and Assumptions. Edited by Hoffmeier, J. K., and Millard, Alan. Grand Rapids, MI, 2004.Google Scholar
Evans, C. D. “Naram-Sin and Jeroboam: The Archetypal Unheilsherrscher in Mesopotamian and Biblical Historiography.” Pages 328–56 in Scripture in Context II: More Essays on the Comparative Method. Edited by Hallo, W. W., Moyer, James, and Perdue, Leo. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 1983.Google Scholar
Jiménez, Enrique. The Babylonian Disputation Poems, CHANE 87. Leiden, 2017.Google Scholar
Korpel, Marjo. Rift in the Clouds: Ugaritic and Hebrew Descriptions of the Divine, UBL 8. Münster: Ugarit-Verlag, 1990.Google Scholar
Longman, Tremper III and Walton, John H.. The Lost World of the Flood. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 2018.Google Scholar
Oshima, Takayoshi. Babylonian Poems of Pious Sufferers. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2014.Google Scholar
Pongratz-Leisten, Beate. “The Other and the Enemy in the Mesopotamian Conception of the World.” Pages 195–231 in Mythology and Mythologies. Methodological Approaches to Intercultural Influences. Edited by Whiting, Robert, Melammu, II. Helsinki: The Neo-Assyrian Text Corpus Project, 2001.Google Scholar
Rajadell, Àngel Menargues. “Mesopotamian Ideas of Time Through Modern Eyes.” Pages 211–28 in Time and History in the Ancient Near East. Edited by Feliu, Lluís et al. RAI 56. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 2013.Google Scholar
Francesca, Rochberg. Before Nature. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 2017.Google Scholar
Francesca, Rochberg. “’The Stars and Their Likeness’: Perspectives on the Relation Between Celestial Bodies and Gods in Ancient Mesopotamia.” Pages 41–92 in What Is a God? Edited by Porter, B. N.. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 2009.Google Scholar
Rubio, Gonzalo. “Time before Time: Primeval Narratives in Early Mesopotamian Literature.” Pages in 3–17 in Time and History in the Ancient Near East. Edited by Feliu, Lluís et al., RAI 56. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 2013.Google Scholar
Toorn, Karel van der. Family Religion in Babylonia, Syria and Israel: Continuity and Change in the Forms of Religious Life. Leiden: Brill, 1996.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vanstiphout, Herman. “Why Did Enki Organize the World?” Pages 117–35 in Sumerian Gods and Their Representations. Edited by Finkel, Irving. Groningen: Styx, 1997.Google Scholar
Walton, John H. Genesis 1 as Ancient Cosmology. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 2011.Google Scholar
Walton, John H. and Walton, J. Harvey. The Lost World of the Israelite Conquest. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 2017.Google Scholar
Averbeck, Richard. “Ancient Near Eastern Mythography as It Relates to Historiography in the Hebrew Bible: Genesis 3 and the Cosmic Battle.” Pages 328–56 in The Future of Biblical Archaeology: Reassessing Methodologies and Assumptions. Edited by Hoffmeier, J. K., and Millard, Alan. Grand Rapids, MI, 2004.Google Scholar
Evans, C. D. “Naram-Sin and Jeroboam: The Archetypal Unheilsherrscher in Mesopotamian and Biblical Historiography.” Pages 328–56 in Scripture in Context II: More Essays on the Comparative Method. Edited by Hallo, W. W., Moyer, James, and Perdue, Leo. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 1983.Google Scholar
Jiménez, Enrique. The Babylonian Disputation Poems, CHANE 87. Leiden, 2017.Google Scholar
Korpel, Marjo. Rift in the Clouds: Ugaritic and Hebrew Descriptions of the Divine, UBL 8. Münster: Ugarit-Verlag, 1990.Google Scholar
Longman, Tremper III and Walton, John H.. The Lost World of the Flood. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 2018.Google Scholar
Oshima, Takayoshi. Babylonian Poems of Pious Sufferers. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2014.Google Scholar
Pongratz-Leisten, Beate. “The Other and the Enemy in the Mesopotamian Conception of the World.” Pages 195–231 in Mythology and Mythologies. Methodological Approaches to Intercultural Influences. Edited by Whiting, Robert, Melammu, II. Helsinki: The Neo-Assyrian Text Corpus Project, 2001.Google Scholar
Rajadell, Àngel Menargues. “Mesopotamian Ideas of Time Through Modern Eyes.” Pages 211–28 in Time and History in the Ancient Near East. Edited by Feliu, Lluís et al. RAI 56. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 2013.Google Scholar
Francesca, Rochberg. Before Nature. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 2017.Google Scholar
Francesca, Rochberg. “’The Stars and Their Likeness’: Perspectives on the Relation Between Celestial Bodies and Gods in Ancient Mesopotamia.” Pages 41–92 in What Is a God? Edited by Porter, B. N.. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 2009.Google Scholar
Rubio, Gonzalo. “Time before Time: Primeval Narratives in Early Mesopotamian Literature.” Pages in 3–17 in Time and History in the Ancient Near East. Edited by Feliu, Lluís et al., RAI 56. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 2013.Google Scholar
Toorn, Karel van der. Family Religion in Babylonia, Syria and Israel: Continuity and Change in the Forms of Religious Life. Leiden: Brill, 1996.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vanstiphout, Herman. “Why Did Enki Organize the World?” Pages 117–35 in Sumerian Gods and Their Representations. Edited by Finkel, Irving. Groningen: Styx, 1997.Google Scholar
Walton, John H. Genesis 1 as Ancient Cosmology. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 2011.Google Scholar
Walton, John H. and Walton, J. Harvey. The Lost World of the Israelite Conquest. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 2017.Google Scholar
Averbeck, Richard. “Ancient Near Eastern Mythography as It Relates to Historiography in the Hebrew Bible: Genesis 3 and the Cosmic Battle.” Pages 328–56 in The Future of Biblical Archaeology: Reassessing Methodologies and Assumptions. Edited by Hoffmeier, J. K., and Millard, Alan. Grand Rapids, MI, 2004.Google Scholar
Evans, C. D. “Naram-Sin and Jeroboam: The Archetypal Unheilsherrscher in Mesopotamian and Biblical Historiography.” Pages 328–56 in Scripture in Context II: More Essays on the Comparative Method. Edited by Hallo, W. W., Moyer, James, and Perdue, Leo. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 1983.Google Scholar
Jiménez, Enrique. The Babylonian Disputation Poems, CHANE 87. Leiden, 2017.Google Scholar
Korpel, Marjo. Rift in the Clouds: Ugaritic and Hebrew Descriptions of the Divine, UBL 8. Münster: Ugarit-Verlag, 1990.Google Scholar
Longman, Tremper III and Walton, John H.. The Lost World of the Flood. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 2018.Google Scholar
Oshima, Takayoshi. Babylonian Poems of Pious Sufferers. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2014.Google Scholar
Pongratz-Leisten, Beate. “The Other and the Enemy in the Mesopotamian Conception of the World.” Pages 195–231 in Mythology and Mythologies. Methodological Approaches to Intercultural Influences. Edited by Whiting, Robert, Melammu, II. Helsinki: The Neo-Assyrian Text Corpus Project, 2001.Google Scholar
Rajadell, Àngel Menargues. “Mesopotamian Ideas of Time Through Modern Eyes.” Pages 211–28 in Time and History in the Ancient Near East. Edited by Feliu, Lluís et al. RAI 56. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 2013.Google Scholar
Francesca, Rochberg. Before Nature. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 2017.Google Scholar
Francesca, Rochberg. “’The Stars and Their Likeness’: Perspectives on the Relation Between Celestial Bodies and Gods in Ancient Mesopotamia.” Pages 41–92 in What Is a God? Edited by Porter, B. N.. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 2009.Google Scholar
Rubio, Gonzalo. “Time before Time: Primeval Narratives in Early Mesopotamian Literature.” Pages in 3–17 in Time and History in the Ancient Near East. Edited by Feliu, Lluís et al., RAI 56. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 2013.Google Scholar
Toorn, Karel van der. Family Religion in Babylonia, Syria and Israel: Continuity and Change in the Forms of Religious Life. Leiden: Brill, 1996.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vanstiphout, Herman. “Why Did Enki Organize the World?” Pages 117–35 in Sumerian Gods and Their Representations. Edited by Finkel, Irving. Groningen: Styx, 1997.Google Scholar
Walton, John H. Genesis 1 as Ancient Cosmology. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 2011.Google Scholar
Walton, John H. and Walton, J. Harvey. The Lost World of the Israelite Conquest. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 2017.Google Scholar

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