Genesis 1: Where Babylon and Greece Meet

Abstract

Genesis 1 is the prelude to the entire Old Testament. It was added to the Pentateuch by the Priestly Editors sometime around 400 BCE with other editorial texts. It uses the imagery of the Babylonian Epic, Enuma Elish, a narrative enacted in the Babylonian New Year Akitu Festival, but reacts negatively against the Enuma Elish, for the latter legitimates the divine hegemony of Marduk and the political power of kings and priests. Genesis 1 also draws heavily upon the Greek epic of Hesiod, the Theogony, especially in the early verses. Genesis 1 is not a mere copy of these ancient Mediterranean tests, it is a creative new statement. It is a masterful hymn about monotheism, creation, and human equality.