Description
Book SynopsisHermann Gunkel was a scholar in the generation of the origins of Assyriology, the spectacular discovery by George Smith of fragments of the “Chaldean Genesis,” and the Babel-Bibel debate. Gunkel’s thesis, inspired by materials supplied to him by the Assyriologist Heinrich Zimmern, was to take the Chaoskampf motif of Revelation as an event that would not only occur at the end of the world but had already happened at the beginning, before Creation. In other words, in this theory, one imagines God in Genesis 1 as first having battled Rahab, Leviathan, and Yam (the forces of Chaos) in a grand battle, and only then beginning to create.
The problem with Gunkel’s theory is that it did not simply identify common elements in the mythologies of the ancient Near East but imposed upon them a structure dictating the relationships between the elements, a structure that was based on inadequate knowledge and a forced interpretation of his sources. On the other hand, one is not entitled to insist that there was no cultural conversation among peoples who spent the better part of several millennia trading with, fighting, and conquering one another.
Creation and Chaos attempts to address some of these issues. The contributions are organized into five sections that address various aspects of the issues raised by Gunekl’s theories.
Table of ContentsPreface
Introduction
Abbreviations
Part 1: Creation and Chaos
From Hesiod’s Abyss to Ovid’s rudis indigestaque moles: Chaos and Cosmos in the Babylonian “Epic of Creation” Karen Sonik
On the Theogonies of Hesiod and the Hurrians: An Exploration of the Dual Natures of Teššub and Kumarbi Dennis R. M. Campbell
Creation in the Bible and the Ancient Near East W. G. Lambert†
Searching for Meaning in Genesis 1:2: Purposeful Creation out of Chaos without Kampf JoAnn Scurlock
Part 2: Monster-Bashing Myths
The Fifth Day of Creation in Ancient Syrian and Neo-Hittite Art Douglas Frayne
Once upon a Time in Kiškiluša: The Dragon-Slayer Myth in Central Anatolia Amir Gilan
The Northwest Semitic Conflict Myth and Egyptian Sources from the Middle and New Kingdoms Joanna Töyräänvuori
Yamm as the Personification of Chaos? A Linguistic and Literary Argument for a Case of Mistaken Identity Brendon C. Benz
Part 3: Gunkel and His Times
Chaos and Creation: Hermann Gunkel between Establishing the “History of Religions School,” Acknowledging Assyriology, and Defending the Faith Steven Lundström
Where Is Eden? An Analysis of Some of the Mesopotamian Motifs in Primeval J Peter Feinman
Babel-Bible-Baal Aaron Tugendhaft
Part 4: Power and Politics
The Combat Myth as a Succession Story at Ugarit Wayne T. Pitard
What Are the Nations Doing in the Chaoskampf? Robert D. Miller II
Part 5: Kampf and Chaos
The Combat Myth in Israelite Tradition Revisited Bernard F. Batto
The Three “Daughters” of Baʿal and Transformations of Chaoskampf in the Early Chapters of Genesis Richard E. Averbeck
Part 6: Chaos and (Re)Creation
Chaoskampf Lost—Chaoskampf Regained: The Gunkel Hypothesis Revisited JoAnn Scurlock
Making All Things New (Again): Zephaniah’s Eschatological Vision of a Return to Primeval Time David Melvin
Indexes
Index of Authors
Index of Scripture
Index of Subjects
Index of Ancient Texts and Objects
Index of Words
