Enuma Elish and Genesis: Comparative Analysis of Babylonian and Jude-Christian Divinity Abigail Joy Sommer College

Although the claim has been made that the writing of Genesis was influenced by the Babylonian Creation Epic, Enuma Elish, the character and function of Deity in Genesis 1-2 differs greatly than that of Enuma Elish. At first glance, it appears that these two creation narratives share similar qualities, such as the opening words of Genesis 1 “In the beginning…” and the opening words of Enuma Elish “When on high the heaven had not been named…” (Tablet 1.1). Both narratives illustrate Deity creating the world, and feeling strongly toward creation, however the nature of the God of Genesis and the nature of the gods of Enuma Elish differ greatly in that Yahweh considers his creation to be “very good” (Genesis 1:31), whereas the Babylonian gods long to kill their creation because they are annoyed. While the God of Genesis and the Babylonian gods are similar in regard to their status as creator deity, they differ in that the God of Genesis is a single triune god, with far greater power, who is just, rather than vengeful.

One of the main differences between the character and function of Deity in Genesis 1-2 and Enuma Elish is simply that the God of Genesis is a single god, whereas there are several gods and goddesses vying for power and...