Creation Stories, Family and Gender From Mesopotamia to Hebrew Monotheism

Questions for All Religions Who creates life? Who brings evil into the world? To whom do the gods speak?

Questions and Answers: Symbols and Metaphors Who creates life? Who brings evil into the world? To whom do the gods speak? The vulva of the goddess or the seed of male god The gods, human failing, human pride Priests and priestesses, or a covenant with men

Mesopotamian Society Polytheistic religions: many gods, both male and female Example: Prayer to Ishtar, fertility goddess Example: Babylonian creation story: Enuma elish, Marduk (male god) slays Tiamat (female creator)

Metaphors of Creation Female fertility: birth, lush plant life (the tree of life), animals and humans Water or the sea Once male role is understood, a “sacred marriage” of male and female Naming Male “seed” and female “vessel”

Timeline of Ancient Jewish Society 1800 BC: Abraham's lifetime 1290‑24 BC: Exodus 1000 BC: Reign of King David (state formation) 900 BC: Dual Monarchy of Israel and Judah 722 BC: Israel falls to the Assyrians

The Covenants with the Jews in the Bible Noah and the flood, Genesis 6-9, (particularly Genesis 9: 8-17) Abraham: Genesis 15-21 (particularly Genesis 15: 7-18; and 17: 1-13) Moses, Exodus, 3; 6:2-9; 20-23

The Creation Story Genesis 1: God creates the world in 7 days, and “man in his own image…male and female he created he them.” (Verse 27) Genesis 2: God creates man and the Garden of Eden, and commands man not to eat from the tree of knowledge Gen 2 cont. God creates woman from Adam’s rib, and he names her.

Creation…. Gen 2:24: “Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife; and they shall be one flesh.” Gen 2:25: “And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.” Gen 3: The Fall

The Fall Eve is tempted and gives the apple to Adam God expels Adam and Eve from the garden God puts “enmity” between man and woman. God tells Eve he will ‘multiply thy sorrow and thy conception.’ God tells Eve that Adam ‘shall rule over thee.’

The Fall…. God condemns Adam to work: “in the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread…” Humans are condemned to die: “for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.” God expels man “from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.”