( This is a Bread-Light website post: Theology-Culture blog )

Some ancient Near Eastern cosmology on creation of heavens & earth

Until Galileo affirmed that the earth was a sphere, earth was officially considered as flat disk.  The view of flat earth, along with the earth floating on water(s); a firmament in the sky; a cosmic ocean above the firmament; various gods above the cosmic ocean; and the underworld, etc., had been the predominant belief in ancient Near Eastern areas including ancient Isreal.

But view was slightly different in Israel, or let's say "major difference" with respect to the creator.  While other cosmological views described various generations of creators, Biblical cosmology emphasized only ONE creator GOD, who eventually became the GOD of Israel people, as said in Hebrew Scripture (i.e., Old Testament of Christian Bible).

As the Catholic Church still believed in flat earth theory even when Galileo provided then newly proved view, so we may not expect ancient Scripture authors to know 21st century view on sun/earth/stars.  God work in a way to inform people, based on their knowledge & background.  Thus, Bible's old-times information all made sense to old-times people.  Likewise, we can try to think all as reasonable too.

The followings are somethings in Genesis 1 which make sense from ancient point of view:

Waters:

Near East (also known as Middle East in recent years) is surrounded by water(s).  Genesis says earth emerged from water(s).

God moved on waters:

Ancient views said gods resided above cosmic ocean.

The deep:

Some ancient Near Eastern cosmology believed that the underworld is dark and chaotic; filled with something; beneath and parallel to the earth.  But the ancient Israel cosmology emphasized the darkness of "the Deep", that I think would highlight God's creation of "light".  This would diminish the mythology of light as primordial god.

Heaven(s):

Ancient views of 7 heaven(s) came with 7 objects in sky: sun, moon, 5 visible planets.

But Genesis 1 is about creation of heavens & earth, it does not say anything before that.  We can assume that God, water(s), and the deep already existed.  Some of such existences may have been described in ancient mythologies, as well as in Greek philosophy.

The overall 6-days creation story, which tells the unique works of one creator the only God, is significantly different from the stories of ancient Near Eastern creation cosmology, which included:

- generations of various creators,

- various sky names & gods,

- sun names & gods,

- moon names & gods,

- vegetation. animal names & gods;

- etc.

Overall, Genesis 1 sets the tone that Hebrew religion had branched out from polytheistic ancient Near Eastern religions into a brand-new monotheistic religion.



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