Quote:
Genesis 1-2 In Light Of Ancient Egyptian Creation Myths
Introduction
With the popularization of the documentary hypothesis by Julius Wellhausen and the publication of the Babylonian creation and flood stories by George Smith in the late 19th century, many critical scholars hold to a Babylonian background of the Genesis creation accounts. This fits well, of course, with their classification of Gen 1:1-2:3 as “P” and their dating of it to the exilic/post-exilic periods. However, several more recent scholars suggest that Genesis 1-2 reflects an Egyptian background: A. S. Yahuda, A. H. Sayce, Cyrus Gordon, and James Hoffmeier. Their approach better respects the Mosaic authorship of the Pentateuch and the Egyptian background of Moses and his original audience. The purpose of this paper is to survey the parallels and differences between Egyptian cosmology and the Genesis creation accounts that these four scholars have surfaced. It will also suggest that Genesis 1-2 reflects an Egyptian, not Babylonian, background and cosmology.
Brief Survey of Scholarship: Egyptian Background of Genesis 1-2
In 1887, Sayce first noted the parallels between Genesis 1 and the Egyptian cosmogony of Hermopolis: “the chaotic deep; the ‘breath’ moving on the waters; the creation of light; the emergence of the hill ‘in the middle of the waters.’” 1 Unfortunately, his work was largely ignored.
In 1933 and 1934, Yahuda identified several similarities between Genesis 1-2 and ancient Egyptian texts. He also identified Egyptian influence throughout the Pentateuch.2
In 1982, Cyrus Gordon showed similarities between the Egyptian and Hebrew traditions of the creation of man.3 He drew several parallels between the creation tradition of Khnum, the potter-god, and Genesis 2:4-25.
In 1983, James Hoffmeier also identified several striking parallels between Genesis 1-2 and ancient Egyptian cosmology.4 First, he discussed the state of the cosmos at the time when God began His creation. The Egyptian and the Hebrew share similar concepts although the words used are unrelated etymologically.5 Second, Hoffmeier mentioned similarities between “the initial acts of creation.”6 Third, Hoffmeier examined the similarities of man’s creation shared by the Egyptian and Hebrew accounts.
Brief Survey of Egyptian Cosmology (Creation Mythology)
The ancient Egyptian beliefs and concepts of creation appear in various sources: Pyramid Texts, Coffin Texts, The Book of the Dead, The Memphite Theology, as well as various hymns,7 Wisdom texts,8 and wall bas-reliefs.9 These sources show that Egyptian cosmology10 is both uniform and diverse.11 Although there are nearly one dozen Egyptian creation myths, the three most dominate arose in the cultic sites of Heliopolis, Memphis, and Hermopolis. These three interconnect with one another as evidenced by the appearance of some of the gods in more than one tradition. The cosmogonies of Heliopolis and Memphis share more in common with one another than with Hermopolis. However, they all feature the similar concepts of a primordial ocean, a primeval hill, and the deification of nature. These three cosmogonies deal specifically with how the god(s) created the world. They do not directly address the creation of humans and animals. “The earliest recorded cosmogonies seem more concerned with accounting for the origin of the world than for that of mankind or of the animals.” The Egyptians developed a separate creation tradition to explain the creation of humans and animals, namely the tradition of Khnum, the potter-god.
...
The Creation of Humans in Egyptian Cosmogonies
Egyptians viewed the creation of the world as a separate creative act from the creation of man. While the cosmogonies of Heliopolis, Memphis, and Hermopolis address the origin of the world, the creation of humans and animals receives little attention.45 The three main Egyptian cosmogonies primarily focus on the condition of the primordial state, the origin of the gods, and the creation of the heaven, the earth, and the sun.
The Creation Tradition of Khnum
While the creation of humans and animals receives little attention in the main cosmogonies, Egyptian evidence concerning the creation of man is not lacking. As Cyrus Gordon notes, “One of the most familiar scenes in Egyptian art is Khnum, the ram-headed god, fashioning a person out of the clay on the potter’s wheel.”46 In the Temple of Deir el Bahari, Hatshepsut had a relief carved on one of the walls depicting Khnum fashioning her and her ka out of clay on his potter’s turntable.47 Khnum creates humans and animals on his potter’s wheel using the silt of the Nile, i.e., clay. After fashioning a person, his consort Heket offers the “breath of life,” symbolized by the ankh, to the nose of the clay figure. This animates the clay effigy and the person receives an allotted life-span, personified as Shay meaning “That-which-is-ordained.”48
Suggested Parallels between Egyptian Cosmology and the Hebrew Creation Accounts of Genesis 1-2
The following features of Egyptian cosmology share similarities with the Genesis creation accounts: the ability of the Egyptians to hold seemingly contradictory views of the creation events at the same time, the means employed by the creator-gods in their creation, and the condition of the primordial state at the beginning of creation.
Adherence to Seemingly Contradictory Views of the Creation
The fact that the Egyptians held to at least three different means of creation simultaneously without concerning themselves with the contradictions may give an answer to the two different creation narratives in Genesis. Old Testament scholars have long wrestled with the presence of two creation stories in Genesis. For example, von Rad notes, “The long road in the history of tradition which lies behind the present form of this account of creation is in many respects recognizable. The exposition has dealt with the tension between creation by act and creation by word.” As noted earlier, the Egyptians recognized creation by masturbation (self-copulation), by divine word, and by fashioning. Two of the three means of creation in the Egyptian tradition show a parallel with the means Yahweh used. In Genesis 1:1—2:3, Yahweh creates by divine word; and in Genesis 2:4-25, Yahweh creates by fashioning: God planted a garden, formed man, and formed animals. Creation by masturbation (self-copulation) finds no parallel with the Hebrew tradition. To picture Yahweh in such an act of creation would not be in keeping with His character. Furthermore, in the Memphite Theology, Ptah’s creation by divine word superseded Atum’s ‘self-copulation’ as being the cause behind Atum’s activity. Interestingly, two forms of creation (divine word, and self-copulation) find expression in the Memphite Theology without one contradicting the other. Instead, they complement one another. Erik Iversen sees the relationship between Ptah and Atum as creator and demiurge respectively. Ptah inaugurated creation by thought and word, and Atum carried out the sensible, i.e. material, creation. James Allen concurs and says, “Ptah’s theologians united the two concepts of craftsmanship and the creative word into a single theory of creation.” A similar process occurs in the creation account in Genesis 1:1—2:3. In certain instances throughout the narrative, God first declares his desire “Let there be...” and then God makes that which he desired. The difference between Gen 1:1—2:3 and the Memphite Theology lies in the fact that God employs both means of creation without the aid of another god. For example, in Gen 1:6, God says, “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the water separating the water from the water.” Then, in Gen 1:7, God makes the expanse. It says, “And God made the expanse and separated the water which was below the expanse from the water which was above the expanse; and it was so.”
