The Creation Accounts

             Comparing and Contrasting the Creation Accounts
             Coming from a family with a Christian lineage as far as the eye can see, its no wonder that my mouth widened just a bit when I read through the Enuma Elish for the first time. How could this "Ancient Babylonian Story" be so similar to the parable of the creation by God? The same story I had been preached and teached to since I was three now had a twin? Well, yes and no. Needless to say, I was surprised. As I began to read deeper into both accounts, I was happy to find that there were more distinct differences than there were striking similarities.
             To really make a fair comparison, you'd have to understand the story of the Enuma Elish creation account. Assuming people are familiar with the Bible's parable, I'll begin with the Enuma Elish. The story begins with two gods; godfather Apsu (freshwater) and godmother Tiamet (saltwater) coming together to form other gods and goddess. Tiamet is the direct relative to Anu, Ea Kishar and Marduk who are the gods of the sky, earth, horizon and spring respectively. Apsu is not pleased by his "children" and plans to destroy them. However, Ea hears about the plan, and destroys Apsu. Enraged, Tiamet vows to get revenge. She takes a new husband named Qingu. None of the gods are able to stand up to Tiamet except Marduk. Marduk is able to slay Tiamet and this is where creation begins.
             Marduk uses Tiamet's remains to create the sky and the earth. This might be seen as the Genesis account for God's creation on the first day. Marduk then places stars in the sky for dwelling places for the other gods. The moon phases are told to be the months of the year, and from Tiamet's saliva Marduk creates precipitation. This vaguely corresponds with the Bibles second, third and fourth day of creation. However, the Bible seems to be more detailed in its explanation. Just as in the Genesis account, humans are create...

More Essays:

APA     MLA     Chicago
The Creation Accounts. (1969, December 31). In MegaEssays.com. Retrieved 15:47, March 28, 2024, from https://www.megaessays.com/viewpaper/16885.html