What is the story of the Enuma Elish?
The Enuma Elish (also known as The Seven Tablets of Creation) is the Mesopotamian creation myth whose title is derived from the opening lines of the piece, "When on High". The myth tells the story of the great god Marduk 's victory over the forces of chaos and his establishment of order at the creation of the world.
What is the difference between Enuma Elish and Genesis?
Genesis 1:1-2:4 was written around the 6th century BCE while the Enuma Elish was written around the 13th century BCE, if not earlier, when the Israelites who produced Genesis were a fairly new people group.
Why is Marduk not in the Enuma Elish?
Marduk, the god of Babylon, only figures as prominently as he does in the story because most of the copies found are from Babylonian scribes. Even so, Ea does still play an important part in the Babylonian version of the Enuma Elish by creating human beings.
What does enūma Eliš stand for?
The title Enūma Eliš, meaning "when on high", is the incipit . The following per-tablet summary is based on the translation in Akkadian Myths and Epics (E.A. Speiser), in Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament ( Pritchard 1969 )
What is the oldest creation story?
The Enuma Elish is considered the oldest written creation story, perhaps from the second millennium B.C. The epic was recited or re-enacted in the annual New Year's events, as is recorded in Seleucid era documents.
Which came first Genesis or Enuma Elish?
Commentary. The Enuma Elish would later be the inspiration for the Hebrew scribes who created the text now known as the biblical Book of Genesis. Prior to the 19th century CE, the Bible was considered the oldest book in the world and its narratives were thought to be completely original.
How old is the epic of creation?
The version from the archaeological Library of Ashurbanipal dates to the 7th century BCE. The composition of the text probably dates to the late 2nd millennium BCE, or even earlier, to the time of Hammurabi during the Old Babylonian Period (1900–1600 BCE).
Does the Enuma Elish predate the Bible?
1450-1499 (Wikimedia Commons) A key point of biblical scholarship is that the Biblical text shares important material with other Creation myths of the Ancient Near East. Of these, the Enuma Elish and the Epic of Gilgamesh are the most prominent. Both predate the earliest text of Genesis by at least a millennium.
Is Marduk in the Bible?
The word "Merodach," which is found as a surname of several non-Israelite kings in the Bible, is a Hebrew version of Marduk. The name of the biblical character Mordecai, portrayed in the Bible as the uncle of the Queen Esther of Persia and later prime minister under King Xerxes, is also a derivation of Marduk.
How is Enuma Elish and Genesis similar?
In Genesis, the creation story spans a period of six days within which all the elements were created, while the Enuma Elish is also set out over a similar period of six days which are represented as six generations of Gods. Each of these generations of Gods represents the creation of a particular element of nature.
What is the oldest mythology?
What Is the Oldest Mythology in the World? The oldest recorded myth is The Epic of Gilgamesh, a Mesopotamian epic poem written around 2000 BC. Enuma Elish, a Babylonian creation myth written in cuneiform around 1200 BC, is also ancient.
How old is The Epic of Gilgamesh?
The Epic of Gilgamesh started out as a series of Sumerian poems and tales dating back to 2100 B.C., but the most complete version was written around the 12th century B.C. by the Babylonians.
How old is Mesopotamian mythology?
Mesopotamian mythology is the collective name given to Sumerian (ca. 5300 – 2334 BC), Akkadian (ca. 2334 – 2218 BC), Assyrian, and Babylonian mythologies from the land between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in Iraq.
Which is older Gilgamesh or Genesis?
If we accept the Standard Babylonian version of the Gilgamesh Epic as the earliest Gilgamesh story that contains the flood, it is clear that this story is older than the story in the Book of Genesis, which probably dates from the 6th and 5th centuries BC.
Is The Epic of Gilgamesh the same as Enuma Elish?
The only difference was that the deaths that happened, the death in the Enuma Elish is a death upon evil and in the Epic of Gilgamesh the death was between the giant and the destruction of nature.
When was the first creation story written?
6th century BCEModern biblical scholars have identified an author for the first verses of Genesis as an unknown writer (called "P") of the priestly tradition writing sometime in the 6th century BCE. The second creation story in Genesis (2:4 to 2:25) was apparently written by a 9th century writer.
What type of myth is the Enuma Elish?
The Enuma Elish is a creation myth of three varieties. First, it includes a theogony, which is a creation myth of how the deities were created. S...
What does the Enuma Elish say?
The title Enuma Elish is just the first two words of the text, meaning ''when on high'' or ''when on the heights.'' The text tells the story of t...
What is the difference between Enuma Elish and Genesis?
The Enuma Elish was written around the 13th century BCE or before in ancient Mesopotamia while Genesis was written between the 10th and 6th centu...
What is the purpose of the Enuma Elish?
The Enuma Elish served multiple purposes for the Mesopotamian people. Since it was a creation story, it explained the legends of how the deities...
What is the conflict in Enuma Elish?
The Enuma Elish is filled with conflict among numerous deities. However, the chief conflict of the story is between Tiamat, the saltwater goddess...
What is the Enuma Elish?
Article. The Enuma Elish (also known as The Seven Tablets of Creation) is the Mesopotamian creation myth whose title is derived from the opening lines of the piece , "When on High". The myth tells the story of the great god Marduk 's victory over the forces of chaos and his establishment of order at the creation of the world.
What is the difference between Enuma Elish and Genesis?
Both Genesis and Enuma Elsih are religious texts which detail and celebrate cultural origins: Genesis describes the origin and founding of the Jewish people under the guidance of the Lord; Enuma Elish recounts the origin and founding of Babylon under the leadership of the god Marduk.
What does Tiamat do to Quingu?
Tiamat rewards Quingu with the Tablets of Destiny, which legitimize the rule of a god and control the fates , and he wears them proudly as a breastplate. With Quingu as her champion, Tiamat summons the forces of chaos and creates eleven horrible monsters to destroy her children.
What is Lugaldimmerankia's name?
139 (5) Lugaldimmerankia is the name by which we all called him, 140 Whose command we have exalted above that of the gods his fathers. 141 He is the lord of all the gods of heaven and netherworld, 142 The king at whose injunctions the gods in upper and lower regions shudder.
Who defeated Tiamat in the game?
Ea, Enki, and the younger gods fight against Tiamat futilely until, from among them, emerges the champion Marduk who swears he will defeat Tiamat. Marduk defeats Quingu and kills Tiamat by shooting her with an arrow which splits her in two; from her eyes flow the waters of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers.
Who was the goddess that replaced Inanna?
Marduk gained prominence in Babylon during the reign of Hammurabi (1792-1750 BCE) and superseded the popular goddess Inanna in worship. During Hammurabi's reign, in fact, a number of previously popular female deities were replaced by male gods.
Who is the god of Babylon?
Marduk, the god of Babylon, only figures as prominently as he does in the story because most of the copies found are from Babylonian scribes. Even so, Ea does still play an important part in the Babylonian version of the Enuma Elish by creating human beings. Remove Ads. Advertisement.
Enuma Elish
The Enuma Elish is the oldest creation story in the world and one of the oldest stories ever recorded.
Enuma Elish Summary
The entirety of the Enuma Elish is first and foremost a story of creation. It tells the story of the creation of the deities, the creation of the universe, and the creation of humanity. The main plot points in the Enuma Elish are
Analysis of the Mesopotamian Creation Story
The Enuma Elish contains some of the most significant and ancient stories of creation. First, the story contains a theogony, or tale of the creation of deities.
Writing Prompts About Enuma Elish
Create an outline that notes what Enuma Elish is, when it emerged, and what its major characteristics are.
Overview
The Enūma Eliš (Akkadian Cuneiform: 𒂊𒉡𒈠𒂊𒇺, also spelled "Enuma Elish") is the Babylonian creation myth (named after its opening words). It was recovered by English archaeologist Austen Henry Layard in 1849 (in fragmentary form) in the ruined Library of Ashurbanipal at Nineveh (Mosul, Iraq). A form of the myth was first published by English Assyriologist George Smith in 1876; active research and further excavations led to near completion of the texts and improved translation.
Background and discovery
Before the tablets were discovered, substantial elements of the myth had survived via the writings of Berossus, a 3rd-century BCE Babylonian writer and priest of Bel (Marduk). These were preserved in Alexander Polyhistor's book on Chaldean History, which was reproduced by Eusebius in Book 1 of his Chronicon. In it are described the primeval state of an abyssal darkness and water, the two primeval beings existing therein, said to be of a twofold principle. The description then r…
Text
The epic itself does not rhyme, and has no meter – it is composed of couplets, usually written on the same line, occasionally forming quatrains. The title Enūma Eliš, meaning "when on high", is the incipit.
The following per-tablet summary is based on the translation in Akkadian Myths and Epics (E.A. Speiser), in Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament (Pritchard 1969)
Significance, interpretation, and ritual use
The Enūma Eliš is the primary source for Mesopotamian cosmology. According to Heidel its main purpose was as a praise of Marduk, and was important in making that Babylonian god head of the entire pantheon, through his deeds in defeating Tiamat, and in creation of the universe. Heidel also considers the text to have a political as well as religious message; that is, the promotion to primacy of a Babylonian god to better justify any Babylonian influence over the whole Mesopota…
Influence on biblical research
The Enūma Eliš contains numerous parallels with passages of the Old Testament, which has led some researchers to conclude that these were based on the Mesopotamian work. Overarching similarities include: reference to a watery chaos before creation; a separation of the chaos into heaven and earth; different types of waters and their separation; as well as the numerical similarity between the seven tablets of the epic and the seven days of creation. However, anothe…
See also
• Mesopotamian pantheon
• Religions of the ancient Near East
• Sumerian creation myth
External links
• Enuma Elish – The Babylonian Epic of Creation on Ancient History Encyclopedia (includes the original text)
• "Mesopotamian Creation Stories". Imagining Creation. IJS Studies in Judaica. Vol. 5. Brill Academic Publishers. 2007. ISBN 978-90-47-42297-6, extract of English translation by W.G. Lambert reproduced at etana.org