Are you ready to hear more about the mythical background to the Genesis creation story? Have you been telling your family and friends how Genesis 1 is connected to the Babylonian Enuma Elish, the Gilgamesh Epic, and various Egyptian creation epics, and they want to hear more?

I hope so, because I have a lot more details in today’s show on Genesis 1:6-8 about the connections between these stories and the story as it is recorded in our Bible.

The Text of Genesis 1:6-8:

Genesis 1:6-8. Then God said, “Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. Thus God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament, and it was so. And God called the firmament Heaven. So the evening and the morning were the second day.

In this discussion of Genesis 1:6-8 we look at:

• How a literal, scientific reading of Genesis 1:6-8 completely contradicts reality.
• Why a literary, theological reading of Genesis 1:6-8 is preferable, and yields deeper and more important truths.
• How ancient people viewed the order of the cosmos.
• How Moses is writing this creation account to subvert the Egyptian creation accounts that the Israelites would have known.
• The key truth that death precedes resurrection.

Resources:

• Logos Bible Software
• Gordon Wenham on Genesis or at CBD
• Dictionary of Biblical Imagery or at CBD
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary or at CBD
• Walton, Ancient Israelite Literature in its Cultural Context
• Creation Myths by Johnston
• Genesis Cosmology by Hasel
• Subscribe and Leave a Review on iTunes

Downloadable Podcast Resources

Those who are part of my online discipleship group may download the MP3 audio file for this podcast and view the podcast transcript below.

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