Genesis 1 and Enuma Elish

 

Beginning in 1847 and continuing for several decades, major archaeological excavations were performed in the library of King Ashurbanipal (668-627 BC) in the ancient city of Ninevah (the capital city of ancient Assyria). Archaeologists discovered thousands of clay tablets written in the language used by several Mesopotamian  peoples including the Babylonians and Assyrians and spanned the third, second, and first millennia BC. The language is considered a distant uncle of Hebrew.

 

Many different kinds of texts were found among the writings e.g. legal, economic, and historical, providing insights into what life was like in ancient Near East three and four thousand years ago. But what the archaeologists found most striking at the time ---and a bit unsettling were the religious texts found there. One of these texts bore clear similarities to Genesis 1. How people viewed Genesis would never be the same again.

 

The text is a Babylonian story of origins referred to as Enuma Elish its title taken from the opening words of the story "When on high." It is sometimes referred to as the "Babylonian Genesis" because of the similarities it bears to the biblical story. The versions found in Ashurbanipal's library consist of seven tablets and dates to the seventh century BC (just before Israel's captivity in Babylon). 

 

What bearing does the relationship between Genesis 1 and Enuma Elish have on the evolution issue? It means that any thought of Genesis 1 providing a scientifically or historically accurate account of cosmic origins and therefore being wholy distinct from the story in Enuma Elish cannot be presumed.