another defeated god, Kingu, who was the male consort of Tiamat after the death of Apsu. Humanity came from Kingu’s blood.
(4) Marduk was made chief of the Babylonian pantheon.
b. “The creation seal” is a cuneiform tablet which is a picture of a naked man and woman beside a fruit tree with a snake wrapped around the tree’s trunk and positioned over the woman’s shoulder as if talking to her.
The conservative Professor of Archaeology at Wheaton College, Alfred J. Hoerth, says that the seal is now interpreted as referring to prostitution. This is a good example of how artifacts from the past are interpreted differently by individuals and through time. This particular piece of evidence must be re-evaluated.
3. Creation and Flood—The Atrahasis Epic records the rebellion of the lesser gods because of overwork and the creation of seven human couples (from clay, blood, and saliva) to perform the duties of these lesser gods. Humans were destroyed because of: (1) over population and (2) noise. Human beings were reduced in number by a plague, two famines and finally a flood, planned by Enlil. Atrahasis builds a boat and brings animals on board in order to save them from the waters. These major events are seen in the same
The order in Genesis 1–8. This cuneiform composition dates from about the same time as Enuma Elish and the Gilgamesh Epic, about 1900–1700 B.C. All are in Akkadian.
4. Noah’s flood
a. A Sumerian tablet from Nippur, called Eridu Genesis, dating from about 1600 B.C., tells about Ziusudra and a coming flood.
(1) Enka, the water god, warns Ziusudra of a coming flood.
(2) Ziusudra, a king-priest, believes this revelation and builds a huge square boat and stocks it with all kinds of seeds.
(3) The flood lasted seven days.
(4) Ziusudra opened a window on the boat and released several birds to see if dry land had appeared.
(5) He also offered a sacrifice of an ox and sheep when he left the boat.
b. A composite Babylonian flood account from four Sumerian tablets, known as the Gilgamesh Epic originally dating from about 2500–2400 B.C., although the written composite form in cuneiform Akkadian, is much later (ca. 1900–1700 B.C.). It tells about a flood survivor, Utnapishtim, who tells Gilgamesh, the king of Uruk, how he survived the great flood and was granted eternal life.
(1) Ea, the water god, warns of a coming flood and tells Utnapishtim (Babylonian form of Ziusudra) to build a boat.
(2) Utnapishtim and his family, along with selected healing plants, survived the flood.
(3) The flood lasted seven days.
(4) The boat came to rest in northern Persia, on Mt. Nisir.
(5) He sent out 3 different birds to see if dry land had yet appeared.
5. The Mesopotamian literature which describes an ancient flood are all drawing from the same source. The names often vary, but the plot is the same. An example is that Zivusudra, Atrahasis and Utnapishtim all represent the same human king.
6. The historical parallels to the early events of Genesis can be explained in light of mankind’s pre-dispersion (Genesis 1–11) knowledge and experience of God. These true historical core memories have been elaborated and mythologicalized into the current flood accounts common throughout the world. The same can also be said not only of creation (Gen.1, 2) and the Flood (Gen. 6–9) but also of human and angelic unions (Genesis 6).
7. Patriarch’s Day (Middle Bronze)
a. Mari tablets—cuneiform legal (Ammonite culture) and personal texts in Akkadian from about 1700 B.C.
b. Nuzi tablets—cuneiform archives of certain families (Horite or Hurrian culture) written in Akkadian from about 100 miles SE of Nineveh about 1500–1300 B.C. They record family and business procedures. For further specific examples, see John H. Walton’s Ancient Israelite Literature in its Cultural Context, pp. 52–58
c. Alalak tablets—cuneiform texts from Northern Syria from about 2000 B.C.
d. Some of the names found in Genesis are recorded as place names in the Mari Tablets: Serug, Peleg, Terah, and Nahor. Other biblical names were also common: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Laban, and Joseph. This shows that biblical names fit this time and place.
8. “Comparative historiographic studies have shown that, along with the Hittites, the ancient Hebrews were the most accurate, objective and responsible recorders of near eastern history.” R. K Harrison, Biblical Criticism, p 5.
9. Archaeology has proven to be so helpful in establishing the historicity of the Bible. However, a word of caution is necessary. Archaeology is not an absolutely trustworthy guide because of
a. poor techniques in early excavations
b. various, very subjective interpretations of the artifacts that have been discovered
c. no agreed-upon chronology of the ancient Near East (although one is being developed from tree rings and pottery).[iii]
God was true to His word and remained faithful revealing His Son on earth at the chosen time to bring salvation to His people.
The Creation
Genesis 1 is the story of the creation. “IN the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Gen 1:1). Many definable events were in existence in God’s heart even prior to the creation of our universe. Christ was in existence before physical creation. … “You loved Me before the foundation of the world” (John 17:24). Christ existed as the Lamb of God, slain for the sins of the world, before the world was created. Revelation 13:8 says: “And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world”. In the spirit realm there was this reality in the heart and plan of the Father and it had that form before it finally manifested itself in the physical world that we call reality. Through eternity it had reality in the spirit world and reality in the heart of the Father before we could finally see its reality in the physical world.[iv]
Not being a historical or scientific treatise God does not explain how He did what He did except to say it was by a word. We know He created creation out of nothing visible, a creation separate from His Heavenly Kingdom. Hebrews 11:3 states: “By faith we understand that the worlds [ages] were prepared [framed] by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible”. In verse 2 He states: “The earth was formless and void, [a waste, emptiness] and darkness was over the surface of [face of] the deep andthe Spirit of God was moving [hovering] over the surface of the waters”. What caused the earth to be in such shape we are not told. Neither are we told the amount of time passed between verse 1 and verse 2. The days of creation apparently do not start until verse 3 when God created light. “Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. And God called the light day, and the darkness He called night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day”.
This was not the light of a Sun or Moon but the light
