The Enuma Elish: A Description

SOUTHWESTERN ASSEMBLIES OF GOD UNIVERSITY



Biblical Backgrounds
BIB5133-90






The Enuma Elish: A Description



STUDENT DATA:

Travis Matt-Bond Epstein Reems

Fall 2014

9/26/14

What is Known and Generally Accepted: A Foundational Description

The Enuma Elish, also called the Babylonian Genesis or the Babylonian Epic of Creation, is a part of the larger collection that comprises the Babylonian mythology. To use the word Babylonian is a misnomer though, as the greater Babylonian culture was not homogeneous, but rather an amalgam of Akkadian, Sumerian, Assyrian, Hittite, Kassite and other Semitic influences. Earliest extant tablets, written around 1500 BC in Akkadian using cuneiform, containing the Enuma Elish have been unearthed in multiple locations throughout Mesopotamia, but were originally discovered in 1872 in Nineveh (near modern Mosul, Iraq) within Ashurbanipal's Library.
George Smith's discovery of the original tablets containing the Enuma Elish epic opened the doors to a fervency within scholarship in an attempt to establish a link between the Genesis 1 account of creation and that contained within the Enuma Elish. The story is contained in seven tablets, the first 3 of which are a theogony, primarily to establish the god Marduk as the rightful king of the gods, through his lineage, as well as his deeds.
The use of the Enuma Elish as a cosmogony does not occur until tablet four, which as Andrea Seri notes, "…differs from other texts in that the creation of the universe does not occur as the grand opening." Further, the creation of man, a primary element in the Genesis account, occurs late: on tablet six of the Enuma Elish. Scholars generally agree that the Enuma Elish's primary purpose is not to establish a creation account, because as Samuel Mercer asserts, "[i]t would be natural to expect something more systematic and more detailed in the great 'Babylonian Epic of Creation.'"
The same scholars generally insist that the primary purpose of the epic is to elevate the god Marduk to supremacy over all other gods. As Michael Webster notes, "[e]arlier versions of the story may have featured Enlil as the hero, but since this is an official epic [of Babylon], the official god [of Babylon] Marduk must be exalted." The last tablet is reserved for an exaltation of Marduk with a recitation of 50 names.
Annually, on the fourth day of the festival of Akitu, the Babylonian New Year, the Enuma Elish was recited by Mesopotamian priests. The purpose of the annual recitation being to maintain the established political order. Seri captures the sentiment of the majority of scholars on the subject succinctly: "The creation story was thus the means to convey, proclaim, and justify the enthronement of Marduk as Babylonia's main deity." This elevation of Marduk over all other gods served to assert the supremacy of not only Babylon's god over those other cultural influences in greater Babylon, but also of Babylon's authority over those other cultural influences within the borders of the empire.

What is Believed: Current Perspectives that Form an Expansionary Description

Intertextuality
It is generally agreed that there is intertextualization involving the Enuma Elish, but scholars cannot agree on which other documents are necessarily involved, and whether the Enuma Elish is the influencing or influenced element. Seri posits that the Enuma Elish is a retelling of the Enuma Anu Enlil. This concept is re-enforced by the fact that the "Gods have Sumerian names," which points to a source for the Enuma Elish that is older than the Kassite rule of Babylon (c. 1595-1157 BC), during which it was likely recorded.
Some scholars take a dissimilar position stating that the Enuma Elish is the influencing element of the Genesis 1 account. While "[t]here is general agreement that the emphasis of Genesis [1] is drastically different from Enuma Elish," three positions are held of the concept of the intertextualization between Genesis 1 and the Enuma Elish, to wit that there exists no mutual content, that there is direct intertextualization, and that there is only thematic content shared. It is the latter position that is held in the majority opinion, as noted by James Jordan: "…there is a significant parallel in the order of creative events…where there was a divine spirit, primeval chaos, light, creation of firmament, of dry land, of luminaries, of man, and finally rest…."
George Klein, though, takes the position that "…the dissimilarities between cosmogonies are so profound that the shared themes begin to pale." He further states, "…[the fact] that both the Enuma Elish and Genesis 1 begin with chaotic waters fails to adduce proof of borrowing." Kenton Sparks furthers the argument against the intertextuality of Genesis 1 and the Enuma Elish questioning how the Hebrew writer of Genesis 1 would have had knowledge of the Enuma Elish account, as thus: "Any intertextual judgments will need to consider how the biblical author would have known the tradition in question. … If arguments for intertextuality are to be made in this case, or in similar cases, then the onus is on the researcher to propose a feasible opportunity for the Hebrew author to have read or been influenced by the other text."

Cyclical Creationism
Jakob Grønbæk takes a position contra those who seek to limit the Enuma Elish as an incidental cosmogony. He posits that the elements within the theogony and ensuing battles are the causal forces for the elements within the cosmogony. Further, Grønbæk links the entire account with its intended purpose vis-à-vis the rituals of Akitu. His argument is that unlike a Genesis 1-style of creation:
…'creation' was originally understood as something which took place annually in the New Year cult in which the ordered world, the cosmos, was regenerated. Every year was a new beginning, a re-creation…. And creation was the result of that mythical battle which took place between the young and active god [Marduk] and the chaos monster [Tiamat]….
Through the filter of Genesis 1, the Enuma Elish account's locus does appear to be centered on the theogony and elevation of Marduk; however, through the filter of other polytheistic mythologies, the Enuma Elish's account appears appropriately structured as a cosmogony. This concept will be further explored in the following section.

Area for Further Study

While debate exists over the intertextuality between Genesis 1 and the Enuma Elish, as well as between the Enuma Elish and older Babylonian epics, there exists little study of the possible links between the Babylonian theogony and those of other polytheistic mythologies, such as those of the ancient Greek culture. While the present writer is not trained in such areas, the links appear to be obvious at least at a superficial level, to wit creation is the product of a battle among gods, early gods are represented more as elementals than as anthropomorphized supermen, there are multiple succeeding generations of gods, Marduk is initially represented as a storm god with the ability to shoot lightening, and Marduk ultimately becomes the king of the gods.

Bibliography

Babylonia. Encyclopædia Britannica. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/47586/Babylonia (accessed September 25, 2014).
Barton, George A. "Were the biblical foundations of Christian theology derived from Babylonia?" Journal of Biblical Literature 40, no. 3 (1921): 87-103.
Groenbaek, Jakob H. "Baal's battle with Yam : a Canaanite creation fight." Journal for the Study of the Old Testament, no. 33 (1985): 27-44.
Jordan, James R. "The Pentateuch and its Early Mesopotamian and Syrian Parallels." Fides Et Historia 12, no. 1 (1979): 68-82.
Klein, George L. "Reading Genesis 1." Southwestern Journal of Theology 44, no. 1 (2001): 22-38.
Mercer, Samuel A. B. "A New Turning Point in the Study of Creation." Anglican Theological Review vol. III, no. 1 (May 1920): 1-17.
Seri, Andrea. "Borrowings to Create Anew: Intertextuality in the Babylonian Poem of "Creation" (Enüma élis)." Journal of The American Oriental Society 134, no. 1 (2014): 89-106.
----------. "The Fifty Names of Marduk in Enuma elis." Journal of The American Oriental Society 126, no. 4 (2006): 507-519.
----------. "The Role of Creation in Enūma eliš." Journal of Ancient Near Eastern Religions 12, no. 1 (2012): 4-29.
Sonik, Karen. "Bad King, False King, True King: Apsû and His Heirs." Journal of The American Oriental Society 128, no. 4 (2008): 737-743.
Sparks, Kenton L. "Enüma Elish and Priestly Mimesis: Elite Emulation in Nascent Judaism." Journal of Biblical Literature 126, no. 4 (2007): 625-648.
Thomas, Christine M. Enuma Elish. University of California Santa Barbara. http://www.religion.ucsb.edu/faculty/thomas/classes/rgst80a/lectures/lec1.html (accessed September 25, 2014).
Webster, Michael. The Babylonian Creation Story (Enuma elish). Grand Valley State University. http://faculty.gvsu.edu/websterm/Enuma_Elish.html (accessed September 25, 2014).


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Samuel A. B. Mercer, "A New Turning Point in the Study of Creation," Anglican Theological Review vol. III, no. 1 (May 1920): 1-17.
Christine M. Thomas, "Enuma Elish," University of California Santa Barbara, http://www.religion.ucsb.edu/faculty/thomas/classes/rgst80a/lectures/lec1.html (accessed September 25, 2014).
Ibid. 1.
Ibid.
Ibid.
Andrea Seri, "The Role of Creation in Enūma eliš," Journal of Ancient Near Eastern Religions 12, no. 1 (2012): 4-29.
Samuel A. B. Mercer, "A New Turning Point in the Study of Creation," Anglican Theological Review vol. III, no. 1 (May 1920): 1-17.
Ibid.
Samuel A. B. Mercer, "A New Turning Point in the Study of Creation," Anglican Theological Review vol. III, no. 1 (May 1920): 1-17; James R. Jordan, "The Pentateuch and its early Mesopotamian and Syrian parallels," Fides Et Historia 12, no. 1 (1979): 68-82; George A. Barton, "Were the biblical foundations of Christian theology derived from Babylonia?," Journal of Biblical Literature 40, no. 3 (1921): 87-103; Andrea Seri, "The Role of Creation in Enūma eliš," Journal Of Ancient Near Eastern Religions 12, no. 1 (2012): 4-29.
Michael Webster. "The Babylonian Creation Story (Enuma elish)," Grand Valley State University, http://faculty.gvsu.edu/websterm/Enuma_Elish.html (accessed September 25, 2014).
Ibid.
James R. Jordan, "The Pentateuch and its Early Mesopotamian and Syrian Parallels," Fides Et Historia 12, no. 1 (1979): 68-82.
Andrea Seri, "The Fifty Names of Marduk in Enuma elis," Journal of The American Oriental Society 126, no. 4 (2006): 507-519.
Andrea Seri, "Borrowings to Create Anew: Intertextuality in the Babylonian Poem of "Creation" (Enüma élis)," Journal of The American Oriental Society 134, no. 1 (2014): 89-106.
Christine M. Thomas, "Enuma Elish," University of California Santa Barbara, http://www.religion.ucsb.edu/faculty/thomas/classes/rgst80a/lectures/lec1.html (accessed September 25, 2014).
"Babylonia," Encyclopædia Britannica, http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/47586/Babylonia (accessed September 25, 2014); Samuel A. B. Mercer, "A New Turning Point in the Study of Creation," Anglican Theological Review vol. III, no. 1 (May 1920): 1-17.
James R. Jordan, "The Pentateuch and its Early Mesopotamian and Syrian Parallels," Fides Et Historia 12, no. 1 (1979): 68-82.
George L. Klein, "Reading Genesis 1," Southwestern Journal of Theology 44, no. 1 (2001): 22-38.
James R. Jordan, "The Pentateuch and its Early Mesopotamian and Syrian Parallels," Fides Et Historia 12, no. 1 (1979): 68-82.
George L. Klein, "Reading Genesis 1," Southwestern Journal of Theology 44, no. 1 (2001): 22-38.
Ibid.
Kenton L. Sparks, "Enüma Elish and Priestly Mimesis: Elite Emulation in Nascent Judaism," Journal of Biblical Literature 126, no. 4 (2007): 625-648.
Jakob H. Groenbaek, "Baal's battle with Yam: a Canaanite creation fight," Journal for the Study of the Old Testament, no. 33 (1985): 27-44.
Christine M. Thomas, "Enuma Elish," University of California Santa Barbara, http://www.religion.ucsb.edu/faculty/thomas/classes/rgst80a/lectures/lec1.html (accessed September 25, 2014).
Karen Sonik, "Bad King, False King, True King: Apsû and His Heirs," Journal of The American Oriental Society 128, no. 4 (2008): 737-743; James R. Jordan, "The Pentateuch and its early Mesopotamian and Syrian parallels," Fides Et Historia 12, no. 1 (1979): 68-82; George L. Klein, "Reading Genesis 1," Southwestern Journal of Theology 44, no. 1 (2001): 22-38.
James R. Jordan, "The Pentateuch and its early Mesopotamian and Syrian parallels," Fides Et Historia 12, no. 1 (1979): 68-82.
Ibid. 24.
Andrea Seri, "Borrowings to Create Anew: Intertextuality in the Babylonian Poem of "Creation" (Enüma élis)," Journal of The American Oriental Society 134, no. 1 (2014): 89-106.
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