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 |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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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: |
Volltext (JSTOR) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| 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 |