Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Lee R. Martin" <lmartin AT vol.com>]

Ian Hutchesson wrote:

> This places v1-2 outside
> the creative sequence, which is consistent with the information we find in
> the Enuma Elish. When we look at that content we find both the deep (tehom)
> and the divine wind preent in  both accounts before the world-creative
> acts. I don't see this as straying in any way from the text.

Dear Ian,
1-In my paraphrase,  I placed vv 1-2 outside the six day sequence.  Vv 1-2 is
background to what follows. Vv 1-2 consists of four subordinate clauses which 
are
introductory to v. 3.  I do not believe that "ex nihilo" creation is really 
addressed
one way or the other in this text.  When verse 3 begins, the earth and heaven 
had
already been created. However, I am arguing against your "creative" use of 
Enuma
Elish.  In your parallelism you effectively misinterpreting both texts. 
Tiamat does in
fact become the "dome" of the sky despite your statement to the contrary. "He 
split
her like a shellfish in two parts: Half of her he set up and ceiled it as sky"
(4:137-138). She holds back the waters (4:140)  "In her belly he established 
the
zenith" (5:11)  She is the dome of heaven. In Enuma Elish, all things are 
created from
parts of the dead god Tiamat: half of her body becomes the dome of heaven, 
her breasts
become mountains; her eyes are poked out and rivers flow from the sockets, 
etc. Then
humanity is formed from the blood of Kingu, another conquered enemy.  In 
Genesis
however, as you stated, everything is created by divine fiat "let there 
be...."
(contra. ch. 2).

Again, in Jer. 28:1 BeReSHiT means "near the beginning."  So that, four years 
after
Zedekiah began to reign, the writer can still say "At the beginning of his 
reign."  I
am suggesting that in Gen. 1:1 "At the beginning of God's creating the 
heavens and the
earth" can mean "Soon after God began creating, .... he said, "Let there be 
light..."
This does not require "ex nihilo" creation, but it does allow for it.

--

Lee R. Martin
Pastor, Prospect Church of God, Cleveland, Tennessee
Instructor in Hebrew and Old Testament
Church of God Theological Seminary
http://earth.vol.com/~lmartin/