The Lost World of Genesis One (28 page)

'David Tsumura, Creation and Destruction (Winona Lake, Ind.: Eisenbrauns, 2005), p. 35.

2The word that Nrv renders "northern (skies)" is sapon, the Hebrew
word for "north" by virtue of Mt. Zaphon, which is in the north (see
Ps 48:2 and Is 14:13). More importantly, it refers to the place where
the divine council meets and therefore serves as a reference to heaven.
This is confirmed by the use of the verb "stretched out," which in cosmological texts in the Bible is an activity connected to the heavens. So
as the North (the place where the heavenly assembly meets) is stretched
out over tohu, the earth is suspended over X (Nrv "nothing"). Psalm
104:2-3 indicates that the heavens are stretched out over the heavenly
cosmic waters (the waters above). Psalm 24:1-2 tells us that the earth is
founded on the cosmic waters (cf. Ps 136:6).

3Erik Hornung, Conceptions of God in Ancient Egypt (Ithaca, N.Y.:
Cornell University Press, 1982), pp. 174-76.

4Ibid., p. 177.

'Ibid., p. 171; Siegfried Morenz, Egyptian Religion (Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 1973), p. 173. Texts include Pyramid Text 1208c
(Morenz, Egyptian Religion, p. 173); Coffin Texts 4, 36 (spell 286)
(Morenz, Egyptian Religion, p. 173); Heliopolis (Morenz, Egyptian Religion, p. 173); Stele Leyden 5.12 (Morenz, Egyptian Religion, p.
173); "Ptah, Lord of maat ... who lifted up the sky and created things
that be" (Morenz, Egyptian Religion, p. 174); Memphite Theology,
line 14: Ptah, creating through the Ennead, is identified as the one
who "pronounced the identity of everything."

6NBC refers to the Nies Babylonian Collection, from Yale University.

7 Richard Clifford, Creation Accounts in the Ancient Near East and in
the Bible, Catholic Biblical Quarterly Monograph Series 26 (Washington, D.C.: Catholic Biblical Association, 1994), p. 28; translated
into English from J. van Dijk's French translation in "Existe-t-il un
`Poeme de la Creation' Sumerien?" in Kramer Anniversary Volume.
Cuneiform Studies in Honor of Samuel Noah Kramer, ed. B. Eichler et
al. (Neukirchen-Vluyn: Butzon & Bercker, 1976), pp. 125-33.

Proposition 5: Days One to Three in Genesis 1
Establish Functions

'See extensive discussion of all of the different categories of metonymy
and the biblical occurrences in E. W. Bullinger, Figures of Speech Used
in the Bible (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1968), pp. 538-608.

2This makes even more sense when we recognize that darkness is not
an object either to us or in the ancient world.

3P. Seely, "The Firmament and the Water Above," Westminster Theological_journal54 (1992): 31-46.

'Papyrus Insinger, Ancient Egyptian Literature, trans. Miriam Lichtheim (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1980), 3:210.

'See Benjamin R. Foster, Before the Muses. An Anthology of Akkadian
Literature, 3rd ed. (Bethesda, Md.: CDL Press, 2005), pp. 436-86.

'John Walton, Genesis, Niv Application Commentary (Grand Rapids:
Zondervan, 2001), pp. 344-45.

Proposition 6: Days Four to Six in Genesis 1
Install Functionaries

'For further discussion see John Walton, Genesis, Niv Application
Commentary (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2001), pp. 122-23, drawing on the work of W. Vogels, "The Cultic and Civil Calendars of the
Fourth Day of Creation (Gen 1,14b)," Scandinavian Journal of the Old
Testament 11 (1997): 163-80.

2Richard Clifford, Creation Accounts in the Ancient Near East and in the
Bible, Catholic Biblical Quarterly Monograph Series 26 (Washington,
D.C.: Catholic Biblical Association, 1994), p. 67. In the Akkadian
version the three named gods charge the great astral gods to produce
day and to assure the regular sequence of months for astrological
observation.

3I am grateful to my student Liesel Mindrebo for pointing out this pattern. Important other uses of this verb in cosmology contexts can be
found in Ex 34:10; 1 Kings 12:32-33; Job 9:9; Is 41:17-20; 45:7; Jer
38:16; see Walton, Genesis, pp. 124-25. For my detailed lexical analysis
of this verb, see John Walton, Genesis One asAncient Cosmology (Winona Lake, Ind.: Eisenbrauns, forthcoming).

4The Exploits of Ninurta 1.6.2 .

'It should be noted that the function of an archetype does not rule out
their historical (or biological) reality. In Romans 5 Jesus stands as an
archetype alongside Adam. Abraham is identified as an archetype of
people of faith. These are historical figures who are being used in the
literature for their archetypal significance.

Proposition 7: Divine Rest Is in a Temple

'In Ex 31:17 there is also an indication that God "refreshed himself."

2Temple Hymn of Ke`s 4.80.2, D.58A-F .

3Translations from The Context of Scripture, ed. W. Hallo and K. L.
Younger (Leiden: Brill, 1997), 1:111.

4Notice also how all the set-up tasks referred to are functional rather than
material in nature. That is, there was no discussion of the material phase
of manufacturing the tower or the cables, or of writing the software.

Proposition 8: The Cosmos Is a Temple

'It is difficult to date the piece. The copy is Seleucid (Richard Clifford,
Creation Accounts in the Ancient Near East and in the Bible, Catholic Biblical Quarterly Monograph Series 26 [Washington, D.C.: Catholic
Biblical Association, 1994], p. 62), but Wayne Horowitz considers it
to derive from a Sumerian original (Mesopotamian Cosmic Geography
[Winona Lake, Ind.: Eisenbrauns, 1998], pp. 129-31).

2Benjamin R. Foster, Before the Muses: AnAnthology ofAkkadian Literature, 3rd ed. (Bethesda, Md.: CDL Press, 2005), p. 488.

3Richard Clifford, Creation Accounts in the Ancient Near East and in the
Bible, Catholic Biblical Quarterly Monograph Series 26 (Washington,
D.C.: Catholic Biblical Association, 1994), p. 61.

4J. Black et al., The Literature ofAncient Sumer (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004), pp. 325-30, lines 13-16 cited, but the ideas are repeated throughout the piece.

5Gudea B.xx.8-11 translated by Thorkild Jacobsen, The Harps That
Once... (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1987), pp. 441-42.

6Jan Assmann, The Search for God in Ancient Egypt (Ithaca, N.Y.:
Cornell University Press, 2001), p. 38; Cf. Clifford, Creation Accounts,
pp. 105-6; See also John Lundquist, "What Is a Temple? A Preliminary Typology," in The Quest for the Kingdom of God, ed. H. Huffman
(Winona Lake, Ind.: Eisenbrauns, 1983), p. 208; Othmar Keel, Symbolism of the Biblical World (New York: Seabury Press, 1978), p. 113,
indicates that this is true of both Egypt and Mesopotamia.

7Temple Hymns 4.80.1 .

8Assmann, Search for God, p. 37 (italics in original).

Ibid., pp. 35-36.

10L. R. Fisher, "Creation at Ugarit and in the Old Testament," Vetus
Testamentum 15 (1965): 320.

"Josephus The Jewish War 3, 7.7, trans. H. St. J. Thackery, Loeb Classical
Library (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1957), p. 403.

"Jon Levenson, "The Temple and the World," Journal of Religion 64
(1984): 295, even suggests tentatively that there is some possibility that
the temple in Jerusalem may have been called by the name "Heaven
and Earth." Temples in the ancient world had names, and many of
them refer to the temple's cosmic significance, e.g., the Temple at Nippur, "Duranki," which means, "Bond of Heaven and Earth," and at Babylon, "Etemenanki," which means, "Foundation of Heaven and
Earth." This could be supported from verses such as Is 65:17-18 in
which a creation of a new heaven and new earth is paralleled by creating Jerusalem, soon followed up in Is 66:1 with the picture of the cosmos as God's temple. The idea was suggested to Levenson in an article
by G. Ahlstrom, "`Heaven on Earth'-at Hazor and Arad," in Religious Syncretism in Antiquity, ed. B. A. Pearson (Missoula, Mont.:
Scholars Press, 1975), pp. 67-83. If this view could be substantiated,
Gen 1:1 would take on a new level of meaning as a reference to the
cosmic temple.

"Gordon J. Wenham, "Sanctuary Symbolism in the Garden of Eden
Story," in Proceedings ofthe Ninth World Congress ofJewish Studies (Jerusalem: World Union of Jewish Studies, 1986), p. 19.

"Examples include the facade of the temple of Inanna in Uruk, which
pictures guardian beings surrounded by the flow of streams; the investiture fresco at Mari, and many statues that show the individual holding a jar from which waters flow.

"Victor Hurowitz, I Have Built You an Exalted House, Journal for the
Study of the Old Testament Supplement Series 115 (Sheffield, U.K.:
JSOT Press, 1992), p. 242.

16Levenson, "Temple and the World," points out these examples, and in
Isaiah 6 he goes even further to suggest that the word here translated
"full" is not an adjective, but a noun, "fullness," in which case the
proper translation should be "The fullness of the whole earth is his
glory" (p. 289).

Proposition 9: The Sevens Days of Genesis 1 Relate to the Cosmic
Temple Inauguration

'Jon Levenson, "The Temple and the World," Journal of Religion 64
(1984): 288-89; Victor Hurowitz, I Have Built You an Exalted House,
Journal for the Study of the Old Testament Supplement Series 115
(Sheffield, U.K.: JSOT Press, 1992), pp. 260-61, 275-76. The number seven is prevalent, though variations appear (e.g., Esarhaddon's
dedication of his temple in Assur over three days, and Assurnasirpal's dedication of Kalhu over ten days). Hurowitz's appendix on pp. 28082 provides the entire list of over forty texts. Another striking sevenday festival is an Old Babylonian ritual from Larsa, see See E. C.
Kingsbury, "A Seven Day Ritual in the Old Babylonian Cult at
Larsa," Hebrew Union CollegeAnnual34 (1963): 1-34. There is no evidence that this is a temple dedication ritual; in fact each day focuses
on a different god. Intriguingly the rituals for each new day also begin in the evening (p. 26). On p. 27 Kingsbury lists several other
seven-day rituals.

'Most of Gudea Cylinder B is taken up with the installation of
functionaries.

3Gudea B.vi.11-16, translation by R. Averbeck, from The Context of
Scripture, ed. W. Hallo and K. L. Younger (Leiden: Brill, 1997),
2:155.

'Moshe Weinfeld, "Sabbath, Temple and the Enthronement of the
Lord The Problem of the Sitz im Leben of Genesis 1.1-2.3," in
Melanges bibliques et orientaux en l'honneur de M. Henri Cazelles, ed.
A. Caquot and M. Delcor, Alter Orient and Altes Testament 212
(Neukirchener-Vluyn: Neukirchener; Kevelaer: Butzon & Bercker,
1981), pp. 502-12.

SConcordism attempts to read modern scientific meaning into the ancient words and texts. We will discuss the hermeneutical problems
with this approach, that is, its problems with interpreting the biblical
text, see pp. 104-7.

Proposition 10: The Seven Days of Genesis 1 Do Not Concern
Material Origins

'See pp. 53, 60.

2 Some might contend that the Hebrew verb `asa ("make" vv. 7, 16, 25,
26) and natan ("set" v. 17) provide evidence for the material nature of the
text. These discussions are more complex and will be treated at length
in John Walton, Genesis One asAncient Cosmology (Winona Lake, Ind.:
Eisenbrauns, forthcoming). To summarize, `asa is often translated "do"
(e.g., one's business), and the evidence favors that understanding here (cf. the use in Ex 20:8-11). In similar fashion, natan often means "appoint," and that suits this context well.

'Even more questionable would be the decision to oppose the possibility of an old earth simply because that would give time for evolution. That would be folly-evolution would need to stand or fall on
its own merits.

4This would be similar to the fact that when God said "Do not murder"
on Mt. Sinai, it is not as if before then everyone murdered whomever
they wanted. It was not that the law was new but that it was put in a
new context of God's covenant. In a similar manner, it is not that the
sun was not previously shining but now it is seen in a different context-the context of the cosmic temple.

Proposition 12: Other Theories of Genesis 1 Either Go Too Far or
Not Far Enough

'For a balanced popular treatment see Gordon Glover, Beyond the Firmament (Chesapeake, Va.: Watertree Press, 2007); for a more in-depth
look at the strengths and weaknesses of the position and the scientific
challenges it faces, see Thomas B. Fowler and Daniel Kuebler, The
Evolution Controversy.A Survey of Competing Theories (Grand Rapids:
Baker Academic, 2007).

2Hugh Ross, The Genesis Question: ScientJiicAdvances and theAccuracy of
Genesis (Colorado Springs, Colo.: NavPress, 2001), p. 9.

3Ibid., pp. 24-34.

4Ibid., p. 65. Against others in this camp, Ross believes that the sequence of the seven days can be sustained in the scientific events of
cosmology.

5C. John Collins, Genesis 1-4 (Phillipsburg, NJ.: P & R, 2006),
p. 73.

6For a fuller presentation of the framework hypothesis as well as a fair
analysis of the other positions, see Henri Blocher, In the Beginning
(Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1984), pp. 39-59.

7The various possibilities are presented and analyzed by D. Young,
"The Antiquity and the Unity of the Human Race Revisited," Chris tian Scholar's Review 24, no. 4 (1995): 380-96.

Proposition 13: The Difference Between Origin Accounts in
Science and Scripture Is Metaphysical in Nature

'This modern distinction was especially championed and articulated
by the eighteenth-century philosopher Immanuel Kant.

21 wish to thank my colleague Lynn Cohick for this suggestion.

'One of the places where this analogy breaks down is that it risks suggesting too distinct a divide between the two layers where no such
divide truly exists. Instead the two are fully integrated and in some
ways might more resemble a marble cake.

4These distinctions are discussed in detail in Denis Lamoureux, Evolutionary Creation (Eugene, Ore.: Wipf and Stock, 2008), pp. 69-70.

'Perhaps some might claim that the Intelligent Design movement attempts precisely that. This will be discussed in another chapter.