Human Identity and Purpose Redefined: Gen 1:26–28 and 2:5–25 in Context
Ancient creation stories define humanity in relation to the gods. In the Atraḫasīs Epic, for example, humans were created as a labor force to relieve the lower casteof deities from their toil. In Gen 1-2 humanity was also created to serve God, but the commands to rule and subdue the earth, and to ca...
| Published in: | Advances in ancient Biblical and Near Eastern research |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen, Universitätsbibliothek
2021
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| In: |
Advances in ancient Biblical and Near Eastern research
Year: 2021, Volume: 1, Issue: 3, Pages: 31-44 |
| Further subjects: | B
Hebrew Bible
B Mesopotamia B Cultu Statues B mīs pî pīt pî B Ritual B God |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (doi) Volltext (kostenfrei) |
| Summary: | Ancient creation stories define humanity in relation to the gods. In the Atraḫasīs Epic, for example, humans were created as a labor force to relieve the lower casteof deities from their toil. In Gen 1-2 humanity was also created to serve God, but the commands to rule and subdue the earth, and to care and cultivate the garden of Eden, are framed by the preceding statement in Gen 1:26-27 that humanity was created in God’s image and likeness, that is, as his children. To appreciate Genesis’s claim, we must consider it in light of its ancient Near Eastern environment. For Gen 1-2 this includes a set of ritual texts from Mesopotamia, the "Washing and Opening of the Mouth," which describe the process by which divine images, or statues of the gods, were created. Genesis 2 seems to draw from these rituals, or at least the ideas they represent, in order to elaborate on the meaning of בצלם אלהים in Gen 1:26-28. If our aim is to understand how Genesis 1-2 redefines human identity and purpose, we must consider the prevailing views on human creation and the birth of the gods (in their statues) with which it interacted. |
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| ISSN: | 2748-6419 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Advances in ancient Biblical and Near Eastern research
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.35068/aabner.v1i3.830 |