Mesopotamian and Egyptian influences on the Hebrews essays

Mesopotamian and Egyptian influences on the Hebrews essays The Mesopotamian myth of Atrahasis tells of the creation of humans as slaves to their gods. Atrahasis also tells of the destruction of all people by a deluge, save one man and his family, who were saved by divine intervention on the part of the god Enki. At the myths conclusion, Enki places reproductive restrictions on the people of earth, eliminating the need to destroy them again later. Enuma Elish, a second Mesopotamian creation story, begins in a time of watery, primeval chaos. The oldest generation of gods were called into being (Ideas, p.5) in male and female forms. The events that follow lead to a bloody battle, after which order is imposed onto the universes preexisting forms. This myth, from a different city and a later period in Mesopotamian history than Atrahasis, says that humans were created as a work of consummate art. The Hebrew myth of creation in many aspects reflects these two stories, such as the creation of heaven and earth without form...and the spirit of God...moving over the face of the waters (Ideas, p. 78), echoing the beginning of Enuma Elish. God speaks to create, in the same manner as the calling into being of the first Mesopotamian deities. God separated heaven and earth with the firmament (Ideas, p.80), imposing order on these already existing forms, much like Marduk did in Enuma Elish. People were created from dust similar to the clay used in both Mesopotamian myths, and imbued with a part of God, in male and female forms in our [Gods] likeness-thus, the Hebrews also believe that people are a consummate work of art (Ideas, p.79). This theory of peoples purpose primarily reflects the later Mesopotamian myth, but the idea of labor and suffering as human destiny is illustrated in the myths that follow the creation story, the &qu...