Reading creation myths economically in ancient Mesopotamia and Israel / Eric J. Harvey.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Harvey, Eric J., author.

Series:

Cambridge elements. Elements in ancient and pre-modern economies, 2754-2955.

Cambridge elements. Elements in ancient and pre-modern economies, 2754-2955

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Mythology, Assyro-Babylonian--Economic aspects.

Mythology, Assyro-Babylonian.

Rites and cerimonies--Economic aspects.

Rites and cerimonies.

Assyro-Babylonian religion.

Creation--Economic aspects.

Creation.

Myth in the Old Testament--Economic aspects.

Myth in the Old Testament.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (78 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2025.

Summary:

Creation myths in the ancient Middle East served, among other things, as works of political economy, justifying and naturalizing materially intensive ritual practices and their entanglements with broader economic processes and institutions. These rituals were organized according to a common ideology of divine service, which portrayed the gods as an aristocratic leisure class whose material needs were provided by human beings. Resources for divine service were extracted from the productive sectors of society and channeled inward to the temple and palace institutions, where they served to satiate the gods and support their human servants. This Element examines various forms of the economics of divine service, and how they were supported in a selection of myths - Atraḫasis, Enki and Ninmaḫ, and Enūma Eliš from Mesopotamia and the story of the Garden of Eden from the southern Levant (Israel).

Contents:

Cover

Title page

Imprints page

Reading Creation Myths Economically in Ancient Mesopotamia and Israel

Contents

1 Introduction

1.1 Temples, Palaces, and the Ideology of Divine Service

1.2 Divine Service and the Broader Economy

1.3 Creation Myths and the Ideology of Divine Service

2 Creating Labor in Ancient Mesopotamia

2.1 Mesopotamian Economies: A View from the Temple

2.2 Mesopotamian Myths with the Labor Creation Motif

2.3 Conclusions

3 Creating Labor in Ancient Israel

3.1 Ritual and Economy in Ancient Israel

3.2 Laborers in Yahweh's Garden

3.3 Summary of the Southern Levant

4 Conclusions

References

Acknowledgments.

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 28 Jul 2025).

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

ISBN:

1-009-55987-7

1-009-55989-3

1-009-55992-3

OCLC:

1521333205