A Double-Plated Cosmos? Gen 1’s Cosmology, the Baal Stele, and the Logic of a Firmament of the Earth

Abstract The cosmology as described in the creation account in Gen 1:1–2:4a has occasioned endless commentary. One of the more perceptive studies of this text was published by Baruch Halpern in 2003. In this article, I review Halpern’s argument and add evidence from iconography at Ugarit. The Baal S...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Boyd, Samuel L. (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Brill 2020
In: Journal of ancient Near Eastern religions
Year: 2020, Volume: 20, Issue: 2, Pages: 87-112
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains:B Bible. Genesis 1 / Cosmology / Baal, God / Stele
IxTheo Classification:BC Ancient Orient; religion
HB Old Testament
Further subjects:B Baal Stele
B Gen 1
B Cosmology
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Summary:Abstract The cosmology as described in the creation account in Gen 1:1–2:4a has occasioned endless commentary. One of the more perceptive studies of this text was published by Baruch Halpern in 2003. In this article, I review Halpern’s argument and add evidence from iconography at Ugarit. The Baal Stele (Louvre catalog number AO 15775), in which the deity holds lightning and stands with the king, also displays a cosmology that has intriguing connections with Halpern’s thesis about an “expanse of the earth.” After connecting Halpern’s thesis to this visual representation of cosmology from Ugarit, I explore the ways in which both text and image are mutually illuminating and help to interpret one another, extending the analysis to so-called Deutero-Isaiah and Ps 136 as well.
ISSN:1569-2124
Contains:Enthalten in: Journal of ancient Near Eastern religions
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1163/15692124-12341313