Parallel Stories
Creation Narratives Genesis Genesis contains two major creation accounts. Genesis 1 presents a structured creation in six days, followed by divine rest. Genesis 2 focuses more closely on the formation of the human being, the garden and human relationships. In Genesis 1, creation happens through divine command. God speaks, and the world is ordered. There is no battle between gods, no creation from the corpse of a defeated monster and no divine family drama. That simplicity is striking when compared with Mesopotamian myths. Enuma Elish The Babylonian Enuma Elish describes creation through conflict. The god Marduk defeats the sea goddess Tiamat and forms the world from her body. Human beings are then created to take over the labour of the gods. There are clear similarities with Genesis: water before creation, the ordering of the cosmos and humanity’s place in the world. However, the differences are just as important. In Genesis, the waters are not a goddess. God does ...