In the Beginning Essays on Creation Motifs in the Ancient Near East and the Bible

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Batto, Bernard Frank.

Series:

Siphrut ; 9.

Siphrut: Literature and Theology of the Hebrew Scriptures ; v. 9

Standardized Title:

Essays. Selections

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Middle Eastern literature--History and criticism.

Middle Eastern literature.

Middle East--Religion.

Middle East.

Creation--Biblical teaching.

Creation.

Bible. -- Genesis I-XI--Criticism, interpretation, etc.

Local Subjects:

Bible. -- Genesis I-XI--Criticism, interpretation, etc.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (249 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Winona Lake : Eisenbrauns, 2014.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Bernard F. Batto spent the bulk of his career examining the ancient Near Eastern context of the Hebrew Bible, with particular interest in the influence of the surrounding cultures on the biblical creation stories. This collection gathers six of his most important previously published essays and adds two new contributions. Among the essays, Batto identifies various creation motifs prevalent in the ancient Near East and investigates the reflexes of these motifs in Genesis 1–11 and other biblical accounts of the primeval period. He demonstrates how the biblical writers adapted and responded to the creation ideas of Mesopotamia, Egypt, Ugarit, and elsewhere.The articles in the volume were written as independent essays. Nevertheless, they are united by theme. Throughout, Batto makes clear his understanding of the Hebrew Bible as a patently unique text, yet one that cannot possibly be understood independent of greater cultural sphere in which it developed. In the Beginning will serve as an indispensable resource for those interested in both the biblical ideas of creation and the mythology of the ancient Near East that influenced them.

Contents:

Introduction; Chapter 1 The Ancient Near Eastern Context of the Hebrew Ideas of Creation; Chapter 2 Paradise Reexamined; Chapter 3 The Institution of Marriage in Genesis 2 and in Atrahasis; Chapter 4 The Divine Sovereign:The Image of God in the Priestly Creation Account; Chapter 5 The Sleeping God: An Ancient Near Eastern Motif of Divine Sovereignty; Chapter 6 The Reed Sea: Requiescat in Pace; Chapter 7 The Covenant of Peace:A Neglected Ancient Near Eastern Motif; Chapter 8 The Malevolent Deity in Mesopotamian Myth; Index of Authors; Index of Scripture.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and indexes.

""Index of Scripture""

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9781575066974

1575066971

OCLC:

922991983