A Double-Plated Cosmos? Gen 1’s Cosmology, the Baal Stele, and the Logic of a Firmament of the Earth
Abstract The cosmology as described in the creation account in Gen 1:1–2:4a has occasioned endless commentary. One of the more perceptive studies of this text was published by Baruch Halpern in 2003. In this article, I review Halpern’s argument and add evidence from iconography at Ugarit. The Baal S...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Brill
2020
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| In: |
Journal of ancient Near Eastern religions
Year: 2020, Volume: 20, Issue: 2, Pages: 87-112 |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Bible. Genesis 1
/ Cosmology
/ Baal, God
/ Stele
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| RelBib Classification: | BC Ancient Orient; religion HB Old Testament |
| Further subjects: | B
Baal Stele
B Gen 1 B Cosmology |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | Abstract The cosmology as described in the creation account in Gen 1:1–2:4a has occasioned endless commentary. One of the more perceptive studies of this text was published by Baruch Halpern in 2003. In this article, I review Halpern’s argument and add evidence from iconography at Ugarit. The Baal Stele (Louvre catalog number AO 15775), in which the deity holds lightning and stands with the king, also displays a cosmology that has intriguing connections with Halpern’s thesis about an “expanse of the earth.” After connecting Halpern’s thesis to this visual representation of cosmology from Ugarit, I explore the ways in which both text and image are mutually illuminating and help to interpret one another, extending the analysis to so-called Deutero-Isaiah and Ps 136 as well. |
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| ISSN: | 1569-2124 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Journal of ancient Near Eastern religions
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1163/15692124-12341313 |