Mesopotamian and Egyptian influences on the Hebrews
The Mesopotamian myth of "Atrahasis" tells of the creation of humans as slaves to their gods. "Atrahasis" also tells of the destruction of all people by a deluge, save one man and his family, who were saved by divine intervention on the part of the god Enki. At the myth's conclusion, Enki places reproductive restrictions on the people of earth, eliminating the need to destroy them again later. "Enuma Elish," a second Mesopotamian creation story, begins in a time of watery, primeval chaos. The oldest generation of gods "were called into being" (Ideas, p.5) in male and female forms. The events that follow lead to a bloody battle, after which order is imposed onto the universe's preexisting forms. This myth, from a different city and a later period in Mesopotamian history than "Atrahasis," says that humans were created as a "work of consummate art." The Hebrew myth of creation in many aspects reflects these two stories, such as the creation of heaven and earth "without form...and the spirit of God...moving over the face of the waters" (Ideas, p. 78), echoing the beginning of "Enuma Elish." God speaks to create, in the same manner as the 'calling into being' of the first Mesopotamian deities. God separated heaven and earth w
The ideas of truth and justice that were also important to the Egyptians could be a source of the 'absolute truth' principle of ethical monotheism. The Most Influential Culture Although the Hebrew religion was inarguably influenced by both Mesopotamian and Egyptian cultures, the number of similarities in Mesopotamian and Hebrew literature seems to outweigh the similarities with Egyptian myths. His ferocity in the request for human sacrifice when he is testing Abraham, as well as the fact that this God is later tied to a specific place (Jacob's peni-EL) seem like instances of the Hebrews being influenced by the nearby Mesopotamian gods, EL and Sabbaoth. The creator gods of Egypt also influenced the people's perception of God. , Pharaoh Amenhotep IV (Akhenaten) "defied the tradition of polytheism" (Fiero, p. Some aspects of Egyptian religion are also negatively reflected in the Hebrews' understanding of God and his plan. The importance of words, speech, and breath in Egyptian religion is reflected by the Hebrew "Religion of the Word. " The similarities in both flood myths are unmistakable: the decision to destroy all humanity, divine intervention/exception of one family, the collecting of animals, the boat's resting place on a mountain, the birds released after the flood, and the measures taken to prevent it from ever happening again. Instead of blood or spit, the Hebrew God combined his breath with the dust to produce life. On a more secular level, the Hebrew laws set forth in Exodus are strikingly similar to the Laws of Hammurabi, especially evident in the "eye for eye, tooth for tooth" statements made in each. The Hebrew story of Job and the Mesopotamian Epic of Gilgamesh also have several points of comparison. 89) state very clearly, "You shall not make.
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