How can we be certain that Genesis 1 intends to debunk the “Enuma Elish” Babylonian creation story?
Most scholars date the original composition of the Enuma Elish Babylonian creation story to the early second millennium B.C.E. around the time of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar I, predating the composition of Genesis. Furthermore, an analysis and comparison of Genesis and the Enuma Elish reveal a number of striking similarities. Firstly, it is noteworthy that light is created before the stars in both texts. There are also similarities in the creation of the sun, moon and the stars to mark the passage of time. The creation of the land animals in both texts also follows the same classifications of cattle, wild animals and reptiles. Significantly, the Enuma Elish is recorded on seven tablets and the creation story in Genesis 1 is completed in seven days, with the creation of man recorded on tablet six and day six respectively, followed by a period of rest in both accounts.
Whilst the similarities between the two texts reveal potential parallels, it is the differences that form a powerful polemical repudiation against the unashamedly polytheistic and mythological worldview of the Babylonians. John Dickson consequently summarises Genesis 1 as “a piece of subversive theology” and Goldingay describes it as a story “written to communicate with people who know the Babylonian story.” The most significant difference between the two texts is that Genesis 1 is profoundly monotheistic and actually anti-polytheistic. Unlike the Enuma Elish, where there is a pantheon of gods, Genesis proclaims from its very first verse that there is only one God. Furthermore, this perspective is maintained throughout Genesis 1 with God as the only subject and actor. Similarly, Genesis refuses to ascribe divinity to the heavenly bodies by referring to them only as lights (1:14-18) and as unnamed vassals responsible to the one sovereign deity. The mythical sea monsters that were so often worshipped in ancient times are also denied divinity by grouping them with every other creature that abides in the sea (1:24). While the Enuma Elish lists at least nine separate deities in its first two paragraphs, Genesis 1 notably uses the generic noun “God” (elohim) as opposed to God’s personal name Yahweh, preventing any suggestion that Yahweh was simply another deity within the pantheon of Babylonian gods. According to Hyers, “Genesis 1 thus serves as a cosmogony to end all (polytheistic) cosmogonies.”
Another major difference is the role and purpose of humanity in creation. Genesis 1 describes the creation of an environment that is suitable for human beings with everything ostensibly created for human habitation and their dominion and rule. Conversely, the Enuma Elish portrays human beings as fashioned from the blood of the demon-god for the sole purpose of serving the gods and easing their burdens. Moreover, in Genesis 1, human beings are created in the very image of God (1:26-27). This description greatly emphasises the importance of human beings to God as his image bearers and divine representatives. This is further highlighted in Genesis 1:29 where God is portrayed as providing human beings with food, whereas in the Enuma Elish humans labour to produce food for the capricious Babylonian gods. In this way, Genesis 1 strikingly subverts the servile view of humanity which was so common in ancient thought, by presenting humans as the crown of God’s creation who will govern his world.
It is also notable that Genesis 1 presents a coherent and elegant creation that is structured, ordered and accomplished with dignity by a single creative genius distinct from creation. Creation is devoid of either conflict or struggle, simply requiring the coherency of God’s unchallenged and spoken word to become “very good” (1:31). Conversely, in the Enuma Elish, the universe is a result of an epic battle between the gods, it is haphazard, violent and random in origin and tainted in character.
In light of the above analysis, it is evident that while Genesis holds certain similarities with the Enuma Elish, it is fundamentally the differences that provide a powerful theological polemic. Genesis 1 has been shown to be anti-polytheistic, anti-mythological and philosophically antithetical to the Enuma Elish in order to discredit it or at minimum respond to the cultural pressure of the author’s imperial surroundings. Moreover, human beings are not an afterthought or created for servitude, but rather they are made in God’s image and are bestowed with great value, dignity and worth. Genesis, therefore, ultimately stands as a challenge for humankind, calling us to embrace our destiny and thrive in this coherent and suitable world that God created for us to live in.