Thesis (MPhil (Ancient Studies. Centre for Bible Interpretation and Translation in Africa))--University of Stellenbosch, 2007. / Reading the creation narratives in Genesis 1 and 2, one encounters two totally
different renditions. The two creation narratives agree that God created the universe
and that God blesses his creation in abundance. But why did the Hebrews need two
creation stories so different in style? Gen. 1-2:4a seized my interest and I wanted to
explore not only the milieu in which it was written, but also to read it against the
creation narratives of the ancient Near East. The research was done religioushistorically.
An insight had to be gained in the function and role of mythology within a cultural
system and after distinguishing between folk sagas, legends and myths, different
types of myths, as well as some perspectives on myths had to be investigated.
Creation themes such as creation by birth, by struggle or victory, by action or activity
as well as creation through the spoken word were encountered in the various creation
narratives studied. Ancient Near East cosmogonies such as the variety of Egyptian
cosmogonies, as well as Mesopotamian creation epics have been considered. Hittite
myths were also considered, but here the result was the discovery of an extended
pantheon with virtually no creation references. Thereafter I have concentrated on the
cosmogony of the Hebrew Bible and the position, structure and understanding of Gen.
1-2:4a. Most creation stories revert to bloody violence between the gods. The God of
the Hebrews is a God of order – from chaos he creates more than order, he creates
beauty. The subsequent survey of the conception of humankind in the near Ancient
East, proved to be varied as well as interesting, some with remarkable parallels.
My interest was extended to placing the creation narrative of Gen. 1-2:4a in the
modern era, by attempting to gain insight into the “Big Bang” theory, as well as
Creationism and Evolution movements. Many motives were deducted by the research,
but the idea of God creating in a “Godly” manner (bārā') and not merely give order to
pre-created creations through struggle was unique. Human beings were created as
the pinnacle of creation, and made to live in a relationship with their Creator.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:sun/oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/2350 |
| Date | 03 1900 |
| Creators | Dyssel, Allan |
| Contributors | Kruger, Paul, University of Stellenbosch. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Ancient Studies. Centre for Bible Interpretation and Translation in Africa. |
| Publisher | Stellenbosch : University of Stellenbosch |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | 668074 bytes, application/pdf |
| Rights | University of Stellenbosch |
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