Hi Rolf, Just a few things in reply to your concerns:
(1) My use of the term "chaos" should not be taken to imply that I regard this account as mythological. I will confess that I think of the narrative in Gen 1 as more symbolic than literal, something akin to an impressionistic painting, but I would not use the term mythological myself, on account of all the baggage it carries. I am simply stating here that I believe the Genesis creation account begins where ANE accounts begin, with some kind of primordial, chaotic, unformed setting, from which the creation takes place. If you read some of my other posts, I don't take the first three verses of Gen 1 as being sequential. Rather, I take 1:1 as a title or summary statement for the entire chapter, or as a dependent clause, with the first main clause coming in v. 2 or v. 3, as in the NRSV and NJPS (Tanakh). Thus, v. 2 is the setting for the creation narrative which begins proper in v. 3. (2) Any relationship the Gen 1 account has with Enuma Elish or other such similar accounts is polemical in nature. So the Gen 1 assumes the same cosmography, but militates against any theogenic elements. (3) I trust your reading of the material Martin Shields recommended to you will help make the position clearer. Blessings, Jerry Shepherd Taylor Seminary Edmonton, Alberta _______________________________________________ b-hebrew mailing list [email protected] http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/b-hebrew
