God of Heaven and Sheol: The "Unearthing" of Creation
In this contribution I argue that in Gen 1:1 must mean "the underworld." After surveying evidence for rendering as "underworld" elsewhere in the Hebrew Bible, and examining cognate evidence from Mesopotamia and Ugarit, I contend that, as a merism, reading and as "the heavens...
Main Author: | |
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Format: | Electronic Article |
Language: | English |
Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
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Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
Published: |
The National Association of Professors of Hebrew
2017
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In: |
Hebrew studies
Year: 2017, Volume: 58, Issue: 1, Pages: 119-144 |
Online Access: |
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Summary: | In this contribution I argue that in Gen 1:1 must mean "the underworld." After surveying evidence for rendering as "underworld" elsewhere in the Hebrew Bible, and examining cognate evidence from Mesopotamia and Ugarit, I contend that, as a merism, reading and as "the heavens and the underworld" here makes better sense in terms of Israelite cosmology. I then illustrate how attention to the cosmological merism improves our understanding of the biblical creation and of several other passages beyond Genesis. Afterwards, I examine some historical factors that precluded later generations from understanding in Gen 1:1 as the "underworld." The article concludes with an excursus on Enuma Elish. |
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ISSN: | 2158-1681 |
Contains: | Enthalten in: Hebrew studies
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Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1353/hbr.2017.0006 |