Then light is created to replace the darkness. Each work begins by describing the watery chaos and primeval darkness that once filled the universe. Contained in each work is a story of how the cosmos and man were created. Although the basic paradigm of the biblical narratives and the Mesopotamian stories align closely, there are still significant differences as noted by scholar Stephen Bertman:īoth Genesis and Enuma Elsih are religious texts which detail and celebrate cultural origins: Genesis describes the origin and founding of the Jewish people under the guidance of the Lord Enuma Elish recounts the origin and founding of Babylon under the leadership of the god Marduk. Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin (Copyright)Famous stories such as the Fall of Man and the Great Flood were originally conceived and written down in Sumer, translated and modified later in Babylon, and reworked by the Assyrians before they were used by the Hebrew scribes for the versions which appear in the Bible. These excavations found quite the opposite, however, in that, once cuneiform was translated, it was understood that a number of biblical narratives were Mesopotamian in origin.

In the mid-19th century CE, however, European museums, as well as academic and religious institutions, sponsored excavations in Mesopotamia to find physical evidence for historical corroboration of the stories in the Bible. Prior to the 19th century CE, the Bible was considered the oldest book in the world and its narratives were thought to be completely original. The Enuma Elish would later be the inspiration for the Hebrew scribes who created the text now known as the biblical Book of Genesis. The poem ends in Tablet VII with long praise of Marduk for his accomplishments. Following this, Marduk 'arranged the organization of the netherworld' and distributed the gods to their appointed stations (Tablet VI.43-46). Quingu is charged as guilty and killed and, from his blood, Ea creates Lullu, the first man, to be a helper to the gods in their eternal task of maintaining order and keeping chaos at bay.Īs the poem phrases it, 'Ea created mankind/On whom he imposed the service of the gods, and set the gods free' (Tablet VI.33-34).

He also takes the Tablets of Destiny from Quingu, thus legitimizing his reign.Īfter the gods have finished praising him for his great victory and the art of his creation, Marduk consults with the god Ea (the god of wisdom) and decides to create human beings from the remains of whichever of the gods instigated Tiamat to war. Out of Tiamat's corpse, Marduk creates the heavens and the earth, he appoints gods to various duties and binds Tiamat's eleven creatures to his feet as trophies (to much adulation from the other gods) before setting their images in his new home. Marduk defeats Quingu and kills Tiamat by shooting her with an arrow which splits her in two from her eyes flow the waters of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. Once differentiated, the union of these two entities gave birth to the younger gods.Įa, Enki, and the younger gods fight against Tiamat futilely until, from among them, emerges the champion Marduk who swears he will defeat Tiamat. Out of this swirl, the waters divided into sweet, fresh water, known as the god Apsu, and salty bitter water, the goddess Tiamat. In the beginning, there was only undifferentiated water swirling in chaos. The story, one of the oldest, if not the oldest in the world, concerns the birth of the gods and the creation of the universe and human beings. Even so, Ea does still play an important part in the Babylonian version of the Enuma Elish by creating human beings. Marduk, the god of Babylon, only figures as prominently as he does in the story because most of the copies found are from Babylonian scribes. The god of each city was always considered the best and most powerful. The copy found at Ashur has the god Ashur in the main role as was the custom of the cities of Mesopotamia. As Marduk, the champion of the young gods in their war against Tiamat, is of Babylonian origin, the Sumerian Ea/ Enki or Enlil is thought to have played the major role in the original version of the story.

162 in babylonian numerals