Bereishis and Ancient Creation Stories

 

By Irv Jacobs, MD

LA JOLLA, California —  This essay covers creation stories; rivers in the Eden and pagan stories; and snakes and serpents in mythology.

Genesis 1:1-6:8

The creation stories, and Genesis in general, offer a different focus in my year-long project, because they are more legendary than historical in flavor.

I have chosen three passages for comparison, from the internet, with the ancient Israelites’ neighbors.

I. Genesis 1:1-2:4 “When God began to create heaven and earth-(light…separation of sky from waters below…dry land and vegetation…sun, moon, and stars…sea animals and birds…land creatures and man in his image…and last, the Sabbath).”

Pagans throughout the world also had creation stories. Most contain violent and bizarre sequences and fantastic births. Here are a few, which I’ve summarized.

As background, in societies where tribal groups coalesced into a single civilization, there tended to be dramatic encounters between contending deities-sometimes sexual, but more often murderous and even cannibalistic–before humans appear.

a) The Norse-There were fires and ice which met in a gaping abyss. The fire melted the ice, and the drops of water formed into a godlike giant, Ymir. As he slept, more giants formed from between his legs and under his armpits. Other giants, male and female, emerged from the continued melt, who gave birth to more, three brothers of which slew Ymir and built the world from his corpse. The oceans are his blood. His muscles and bones became the earth. The sky is his skull.

Eventually the gods formed the first man and woman, from two tree trunks.

b) Egypt-Its most common story (of several) begins with Nun (the ocean), from which Amen (also called Re) arises, who in effect merges two rival deities. By masturbation, he produces a divine son and daughter, who in turn breed a race of gods. Amen’s tears become mankind, of which his low behavior persuades the creator to withdraw to the heavens, from earthly affairs, and reign as the sun. From this, the mythology evolves into great complexity

c) Mesopotamia-This story goes back to before 1500 BCE. It begins with two tumultuous beings, one male and one female, whose union produces a variety of sea monsters and gods. The female tries to take control, but her offspring prevent this, and Marduk, one of them, becomes the god of Babylon. Armed with a hurricane and a tempest drawn by four fiery steeds, Marduk kills her and her accomplice (Kingu). Marduk splits her corpse, from which half becomes the heaven and the other half the earth. Kingu’s blood becomes the first men. [2]    It is clear that the Hebrew story is more peaceful, organized, and attractive.

II. Genesis 2:10-14 “A river issues from Eden to water the garden…it divides and becomes four branches…Pishon…where the gold is..the second is Gihon…winds through the…land of Gush…the third…is Tigris…flows east of Asshur…the fourth…Euphrates.”

These Biblical verses have no support in actual geography, and can be interpreted as simply a jumble of names. There is a Giihon spring in Israel, but no actual river, and the Pishon simply can’t be identified/located. The notion that the Tigris and Euphrates, which are real, came from the same source is untrue. However, above the Persian Gulf they merge and, as one, empty into it. [3]

As to Pagan sources regarding rivers, the Greeks and Irish believed that all rivers flowed eventually to the outer world where they took a mysterious course before returning to our world. The Greco-Roman texts refer to Okeanos-the world-river composed of all the world’s waters-at whose farthest reaches the heavens begin and where there are islands peopled by Titans, monsters and the shades and souls of the dead. [4}”

III. Genesis 3:1-15 “Now the serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild beasts…about the fruit…tree in the middle of the garden…God said: ‘You shall not eat…lest you die…the serpent said.. ‘You are not going to die’…she took of its fruit…also gave some to her husband…and they perceived…were naked…God said…What…you have done…’serpent duped me and I ate’…God said to the serpent…cursed shall you be…you shall crawl…I will put enmity between you and…woman…They shall strike at your head, And you shall strike at their heel.

These famous words are accurate in describing the realistic  worldwide aversion and enmity between humans and dangerous snakes.

Snakes and serpents play various roles in pagan legends. In Egypt, a famous image of a long snake eating its tail, the ouroboros, represented the cycles of time ending in renewal and eternity.

In Norse mythology, a powerful venomous sea serpent grew until his body encircled the earth, and he was able to grasp his tail in his mouth. He wreaked havoc on the land, finally slain by the god Thor, who immediately died of its deadly venom.

In Greek mythology, the Gorgons were snake-women whose gazes turned people to stone. They had serpents for hair, long claws, sharp teeth, and scales covering their bodies. Medusa was the most famous of the Gorgons. Perseus eventually slayed her, cut off her fearsome head, mounted it on his shield, and used it to paralyze his enemies in battle.

The Naga, in Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism, were semi-divine creatures, half-human and half-cobra. They could be either evil or protectors. One Buddhist Naga, Mucalinda, was a king who spread his cobra hood to shelter the Buddha from a storm. [5]

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NOTES

[1] “The Norse Creation Myth, The Prose Edda of Snorri Sturluson, D. L. Ashliman, 1997-2010

[2] http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?historyid=ab83

[3] The JPS Torah Commentary, Genesis. Nahum M. Sarna,The Jewish Publication Society, 1989, pp. 19-20

[4] Otherworld streams and rivers in Norse mythology, Atlantic Religion, A ‘Prisca Theologia’ of European Paganism, April 22, 2014

[5] 9 Powerful Snakes from History and Mythology, Sarah Pruitt, History Magazine, February 18, 2020