[b-hebrew] Gensis 1:1 as an absolute clause
LM Barre
l_barre at yahoo.com
Thu Feb 5 17:28:36 EST 2009
bereshit 'elohim bara hashamayim waha'rets.
Scholars have suggested that we have a dependent clause because of the opening to the Enuma Elish:
When in the height heaven was not named,
And the earth beneath did not yet bear a name,
And the primeval Apsu, who begat them,
And chaos, Tiamut, the mother of them both
Their waters were mingled together,
And no field was formed, no marsh was to be seen;
When of the gods none had been called into being,
And none bore a name, and no destinies were ordained;
Then were created the gods in the midst of heaven,
However, Gen 2:1 supports reading the first clause as absolute:
1 Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array.
Lloyd Barré
http://freewebs.com/lmbarre
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