It is the first chapter in the Bible and gives accounts of the origin and beginnings of the world as created by God

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7 CHAPTER II

A COMPARATIVE LOOK OF GOD BY PRE-TEXT ABRAHAM

For the longest time the Bible was held as irrefutable proof and history, however advancements in archaeology have questioned this stance as the field continues to re-discover our past some evidence has come to light, some strengthening the Bible such as the names of towns, and cities matching, and kings such as Nebuchadnezzar, from a historical standpoint though most agree however the writers of the Bible were not particularly concerned with pinpoint historical accuracy alone³, as the Bible is not a history text book but contains the musings of the culture of the people who wrote them, their intentions and literary styles. In this chapter we analyse God to the passages leading up to Abraham and if any the literary similarities between the monotheistic God before the mentioning of Abraham in the Bible and its polytheistic literary neighbours, if the Monotheistic god in genesis shares any counterparts or similarities with texts from the region or the possibility a monotheistic faith and a polytheistic faith being interchangeable, as the parts of genesis where Abraham is mentioned and the beginning of Genesis were more or less all written from oral tradition and was compiled after the Babylonian exile it would stand to reason the god of Abraham is the same god through out genesis being written at the same time.

In this chapter, the passages of the Christian Bible will be compared to its siblings: writings from Jewish and Islamic sources, what differs between these

3 Bruce K. Waltke, An Old Testament Theology, (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2007), 9.

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8 versions of the same story and for what possible reasons for these said variations between the two, I would also compare the Bible with if any it’s possible inspirations deriving from the region of Mesopotamia. While the region has a rich culture which are admittedly sometimes foreign as these cultures doubtless also possess different beliefs and house entirely unfamiliar world views some tales are relatable enough in plot and or theme, some similarities are too uncanny to ignore and would be a great shame not to further inspect such subtle nuances that would no doubt further our goal of fostering relations between the undoubtedly sometimes divided branches of religions from the Abrahamic family tree, but ultimately are of one root.

2.1 The Comparison Myth of Creation

Genesis as its name implies is the beginning in every sense of the word both figuratively and literally. It is the first chapter in the Bible and gives accounts of the origin and beginnings of the world as created by God. It consists of the creation, an account of the first couple in the garden of Eden, the tale of Noah’s Ark and flooding of the world and the Tower of Babel only then after these mysterious episodes does Abraham’s story begin.

“¹ In the beginning God created heaven and earth. ²Now the earth was a formless void, there was darkness over the deep, with a divine wind sweeping over the waters” (Gen.1:1-2).

The Bibles version of creation mentions water and mysteriously a gust over the ocean. It is interesting to note that one of the primordial deities Enlil had jurisdiction over storms and the wind Exodus 14:21-22 also probably reinstates a

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9 weather deity, the oceans in addition in many cultures are also viewed as the source of life and one of the very first creations, Sumerian, Acadian and Babylonian traditions tell of Tiamat or Nammu the salt water and Abzu, her consort the freshwater creating other deities⁴. References to other deities aside from Yahweh are obviously avoided for the apparent reasoning of not wanting to stray future readers from the true worship of YHWH. However since these are shared traditions it is impossible to completely remove and or avoid complete association via parallels, the word ‘abyss’ or darkness over the deep in Hebrew is

‘tehom’ and recalls Tiamat the primordial uncertain chaos of the ocean. Although not explicitly stated the ‘Chaoskampf’ motif of chaos being subdued and an ocean serpent is slain has near parallels in both traditions, the ocean by Jewish lore is a place of great uncertainty and chaos.

(1) When the heavens above did not exist, (2) And earth beneath had not come into being — (3) There was Apsû, the first in order, their begetter, (4) And demiurge Tia-mat, who gave birth to them all; (5) They had mingled their waters together (6) Before meadow-land had coalesced and reed-bed was to he found — (7) When not one of the gods had been formed (8) Or had come into being, when no destinies had been decreed, (9) The gods were created within them.⁵

In The Sumerian and Babylonian mythos the aforementioned Tiamat or Nammu the salt water and Abzu the freshwater are the very first generation of deities, they both feared a rebellion by their offsprings, in a rather humorous turn of events due to their numbers the newer generation disturbed the rest of the salt and fresh water, a war between deities broke out a Mesopotamian titanomachy,

4 John R. Hinnells, A handbook of Ancient Religions, (New york: Cambridge University Press, 2007), 180-188.

5 James B. Pritchard, Ancient Near Eastern Texts, (New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1969), 84-85.

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10 the earliest recorded and one that would have probably set the mold for future such theogonies and cosmologies of the older generation being superseded by a younger pantheon . As not all of the newer generations were able to contend with the first primordial fresh and salt water deities a champion is chosen Marduk in some accounts, this distinction is the divine right of kingship marking a hierarchy of gods and subsequently legitimizing a hierarchy of men⁶ and this scene is reenacted once a year by ancient kings who asserted their rule as descended from the divine, to rule others as a king and also to act as a medium between the gods and men.⁷

“³ God said, ‘Let there be light’,’ and there was light. ⁴God saw that light was good, and God divided light from darkness. ⁵ God called light ‘day’, and darkness he called ‘night’. Evening came and morning came: the first day” (Gen.1:3-5).

These three passages act as a counter to the already present traditions, the writers of the Bible as well as the populace were already aware of, the chosen people of God were insignificant in number were it not for the timely intervention of God they stood no chance against the neighbouring nations, the remnants of their culture still persist to this day and flourish where other mightier ancient nations such as the ancient Egyptians and Sumerians collapsed due in part because of the literary work they left. Certainly their culture of history and tradition of monotheism was an ancient curiosity among their vastly polytheistic neighbours, on several attempts they adopted local deities into their pantheon who controlled nature, to the neighbouring faiths deities bore offices one attended to the sun,

6 Shulamit Ambalu, The Religions Book, (New York: DK Publishing, 2013), 56.

7 Philip Wilkinson, The Mythology Book, (London: DK Pinguin Random House Press, 2018), 189-197.

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11 however these passages act to assert that nature is obedient to YHWH and there is no other being who controls the elements, he creates these and dictates the day, all being his creations for he and he alone is omnipotent.

“⁶ God said, ‘Let there be a vault through the middle of the waters to divide the waters in two’. And so it was. ⁷ God made the vault, and it divided the waters under the vault from the waters above the vault. ⁸ God called the vault ‘heaven’. Evening came and morning came: the second day” (Gen.1:6- 8).

This depiction of God would surprise many but like other deities in the region YHWH does share some characteristics as a fertility god, the ancient peoples imagined since rain came down from the sky then the horizon must have held a second ocean above them, a huge mass of water, the life giving rains came down but only when YHWH allowed them to do so we see this in many cases such as the phrase “shutting the vaults of heaven” for Israel to deny them water and prolong drought in Elijah’s time. YHWH was at times depicted rather curiously precisely what Baal a fertility deity was, ensuring rains to crops, both possessed a house a palace where no one may reach, and both a jurisdiction to freely alternate the weather. ⁸

This resemblance led to assimilation in later generations of YHWH with his Asherah a divine consort titled the queen of heaven this begs the question of YHWH‘s original role within his Pantheon if any or if he was and has always been the sole deity in Judaism and to the Abrahamic religions that would later

8 Rachel Storm, Myths and Legends of India, Egypt, China and Japan, (London: Lorenz Books, 2011), 41-56.

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12 come to be⁹. This work assumes there is at least a shared tradition where in some regards the Israelites and Abraham had mirrored the land they came from. When later monotheism became more defined after the advent of Mosaic law, elements of distinction were added intentionally to divide them from the pagans of the land, they were however still minorities and could adopt and adapt to the local faiths.

“⁹ God said, ‘Let the waters under heaven come together into a single mass, and let dry land appear’. And so it was. ¹⁰ God called the dry land 'earth' and the mass of waters 'seas', and God saw that it was good. ¹¹ God said, ‘Let the earth produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants, and fruit trees on earth, bearing fruit with their seed inside, each corresponding to its own species.’

And so it was. ¹² The earth produced vegetation: the various kinds of seed- bearing plants and the fruit trees with seed inside, each corresponding to its own species. God saw that it was good. ¹³ Evening came and morning came:

the third day. ¹⁴ God said, ‘Let there be lights in the vault of heaven to divide day from night, and let them indicate festivals, days and years. ¹⁵ Let them be lights in the vault of heaven to shine on the earth.’ And so it was. ¹⁶ God made the two great lights: the greater light to govern the day, the smaller light to govern the night, and the stars. ¹⁷ God set them in the vault of heaven to shine on the earth, ¹⁸ to govern the day and the night and to divide light from darkness. God saw that it was good. ¹⁹Evening came and morning came: the fourth day. ²⁰ God said, ‘Let the waters be alive with a swarm of living creatures, and let birds wing their way above the earth across the vault of heaven’. And so it was. ²¹ God created great sea-monsters and all the creatures that glide and teem in the waters in their own species, and winged birds in their own species. God saw that it was good” (Gen.1:9- 15).

the...sea monsters: The great fish in the sea, and in the words of the Aggadah (B.B. 74b), this refers to the Leviathan and its mate, for He created them male and female, and He slew the female and salted her away for the righteous in the future, for if they would propagate, the world could not exist because of them. ם ִני ִנ ַת ַה is written. [I.e., the final "yud", which denotes the plural, is missing, hence the implication that the Leviathan did not remain two, but that its number was reduced to one. – [from Gen. Rabbah 7:4, Midrash Chaseroth V’Yetheroth, Batei Midrashoth, vol 2, p. 225]

9 R. de Vaux OP, The Early History of Israel, (London: Darton Longman & Todd Press, 1978), 284-285.

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13 Supposedly before mankind could flourish sea-creatures such as the Leviathan¹⁰ serpent sometimes referred to as a real animal other times as a metaphor mentioned throughout the Bible (Job, Psalms, Isaiah, Amos, but also Jewish Midrash and Talmud and book of Enoch) was slain in order for the growth of humanity Jewish tradition states it is the ocean variant of the Behemoth of the land and Ziz of the air beasts the strongest of their kind of the elements: sea, land and air, this scene in comparative mythology is not unlike Baal Haddad and the slaying of Lotan one of the servants of Yaam. Yaam was slain by Hadad or better known as the weather deity Baal along with one of his servants a coiled serpent for the ocean, Yaam though defeated, as with the other deities none of which could be slain outright, returned to the sea and the story progresses, more to the point the Leviathan is a cultural adoption of this story¹¹, who slays what serpent may be repurposed such as God slaying the Leviathan for the righteous as our tent and at the end of times feasting on it, Marduk slaying Tiamat, Mary stepping on the snakes head, it is the forces of certain good triumphing over the chaos and evil of the personified in a detestable serpent. the more important symbolic motif is that of order defeats chaos instead of what sort of individual besting what sort of vile reptile per se.

22 God blessed them, saying, ‘Be fruitful, multiply, and fill the waters of the seas; and let the birds multiply on land.’ ²³ Evening came and morning came: the fifth day. ²⁴ God said, ‘Let the earth produce every kind of living creature in its own species: cattle, creeping things and wild animals of all kinds’. And so it was. ²⁵ God made wild animals in their own species, and cattle in theirs, and every creature that crawls along the earth in its own species. God saw that it was good. ²⁶God said, ‘Let us make man in our own image, in the likeness of ourselves, and let them be masters of the fish of the sea, the birds of heaven, the cattle, all the wild animals and all the creatures that creep along the ground’.” (Gen.1:22-26).

10 Rachel Storm, Myths and Legends of India, Egypt, China and Japan, 41.

11 John R. Hinnells, A handbook of Ancient Religions, 113.

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14 Although for the sake of this work I would have very much liked to add the lines let ‘us’ to be proof of irrefutable polytheism it is however only referring to the heavenly hosts. in many myths the creation of mankind was the work of the collaboration of many deities and in many others just two however this passage denotes specifically God and his angels and no other interpretation is strong enough to suppose beings equal to YHWH partake in the creation and is thus monotheistic.

Creation takes six days and a day of rest, seven in total, the continued fondness of the number seven which appears constantly throughout not just Genesis but throughout the Bible as the perfect number may be explained by the local culture. Throughout ancient Mesopotamia the movements of the seven

“classical planets” visible celestial objects by the naked eye were considered important, as the region would develop what we refer to as astronomy and astrology based on recording their movements. We sometimes refer the planets as

“celestial/ heavenly bodies” as each deity also related to a classical planet, the seven classical planets are: Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter Saturn, the Sun and Moon¹². Uttu was called the sun of justice as the god of laws he was likened to the suns rays that shone and what was hidden in the shadows would be soon revealed as the sun rises, Inana was the morning star Venus and so on in such a fashion. The number continues in importance today in modern cultures, even when one does not denote as religious it may still be held in good omen and there is an air of auspicious superstition surrounds this number. But before the Jewish

12 J.E. Cirlot, A Dictionary of Symbols, (New York: Dover Publications, 2002), 349.

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15 preference of the perfect number was conceived it is sufficient to say they were not the first to regard the number in such esteem.

After the God creates the world he rests, The Mesopotamians have their own distinct world view earth was flat with three ‘atmospheres’ covering the earth. The first layer is where the stars resided and was constructed of jasper, the second where the seven deities resided and was made of Sagglimut the last was said to be in of itself the highest deity An was made of Luludanitu. The Sumerians first were recorded around the stone age and Abraham was proposed around the Bronze age but nonetheless it must be stated they shared more or less the same views regarding the afterlife and death.

The sky is where deities dwelled however it was not for man contrasting our modern common depiction of heaven being it above the abode where God, angels saints and the people go to after their earthly life, however for our patriarchs and ancient peoples we go beneath the soil. when we are buried so much so they were very much afraid should they perish in a foreign land they would not meet their ancestors they had to meet their end in the same land they had originated in. Kur or Irkalla was a dark underworld, for the longest period of time the Jewish limbo was precisely what the oldest Mesopotamian story described a dismal hole¹³ where people die but do nothing where one meets their fate to perish like nothing there was no certain concept of the wicked punished in the hereafter no mortal no matter how good was normally deified unless a very select few, those did not share in this apotheosis are described so in the epic of Gilgamesh.

13 John R. Hinnells, A handbook of Ancient Religions, 184

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16 He said to the young warrior Utu, the son born by Ningal: “Open a hole in the nether world immediately, and then bring up his servant from the nether world!” He opened a hole in the nether world and brought up his servant with his breeze from the nether world.

268-285. “Did you see the palace eunuch?” “I saw him.” “How does he fare?” “Like a useless alala stick he is propped in a corner.” “Did you see the woman who never gave birth?” “I saw her.” “How does she fare?” “Like a … pot, she is thrown away violently, she gives no man joy.” “Did you see the young man who never undressed his wife?” “I saw him.” “How does he fare?” “You finish a rope, and he weeps over the rope.” “Did you see the young woman who never undressed her husband?” “I saw her.” “How does she fare?” “You finish a reed mat, and she weeps over the reed mat.” “Did you see him who had no heir?” “I saw him.” “How does he fare?” “Like him who … bricks (?), he eats bread.” “…?” “I saw him.” “How does he fare?”

286-303. “Did you see …?” “His food is set apart, his water is set apart, he eats the food offered (?) to him, he drinks the water offered (?) to him.”

“Did you see him who was eaten by a lion?” “He cries bitterly ‘O my hands!

O my legs!’” “Did you see him who fell down from the roof?” “They cannot

… his bones.” “Did you see the leprous man?” “He twitches like an ox as the worms eat at him.” “Did you see him who fell in battle?” “I saw him.”

“How does he fare?” “His father and mother are not there to hold his head, and his wife weeps.” “Did you see the spirit of him who has no funerary offerings?” “I saw him.” “How does he fare?” “He eats the scraps and the crumbs … tossed out in the street.” “Did you see him hit by a ship’s board [(1 ms. adds:) when diving (?)]? How does he fare?” ”Alas, my mother!”

The man cries to her, as he pulls out the ship’s board …, he … cross beam

… crumbs.” “Did you see my little stillborn children who never knew existence?” “I saw them.” “How do they fare?” “They play at a table of gold and silver, laden with honey and ghee.” “Did you see him who died ……?”

“I saw him.” “How does he fare?” “He lies on a bed of the gods.” “Did you see him who was set on fire?” “I did not see him. His spirit is not about. His smoke went up to the sky.”¹⁴

And more vividly in this following quote.

He turned his stare towards me, and he led me away to the palace of Irkalla, the Queen of Darkness, to the house from which none who enters ever returns, down the road from which there is no coming back. There is the house whose people sit in darkness; dust is their food and clay their meat.

They are clothed like birds with wings for covering, they see no light, they sit in darkness. I entered the house of dust and I saw the kings of the earth, their crowns put away for ever; rulers and princes, all those who once wore kingly crowns and ruled the world in the days of old. They who had stood in

14 James B. Pritchard, Ancient Near Eastern Texts, 98.

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17 the place of the gods like Ann and Enlil stood now like servants to fetch baked meats in the house of dust, to carry cooked meat and cold water from the water-skin. In the house of dust which I entered were high priests and acolytes, priests of the incantation and of ecstasy; there were servers of the temple, and there was Etana, that king of Dish whom the eagle carried to heaven in the days of old. I saw also Samuqan, god of cattle, and there was Ereshkigal the Queen of the Underworld; and Befit-Sheri squatted in front of her, she who is recorder of the gods and keeps the book of death. She held a tablet from which she read. She raised her head, she saw me and spoke: “Who has brought this one here?” Then I awoke like a man drained of blood who wanders alone in a waste of rashes; like one whom the bailiff has seized and his heart pounds with terror.¹⁵

The Mesopotamian land of the dead is a somber almost filthy underworld where the people wear rags be they were once beggar or king in life, they eat mud but they do receive libations from their friends and family failure to do so was not only disrespectful of the dead but they could terrorize the living even actively hunting them and slaying them. A curiously similar Mesopotamian tale is found far too similar to Job, in this tale the man laments though he has done his duty required to honour the decease with rituals and offerings he still fears his luck is against him and he consults the matter, the answer he is given whether if He did not attend them properly is swiftly refuted and so with only the very slightest modifications we have our ancient Job who despite being an honest man suffers the injustice of misery. This land of the dead is very much the Jewish view on death where we hear of a state of limbo or sheol uncertainty of fate and general confusion of the afterlife, later Christian teachings would refine this into the realms of the good heaven, the dammed in hell and temporary purgatory but only after the redemption of Christ. In Genesis we even see the early peoples

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18 specifically demanding to be buried in the land of their fathers, this is due to a fear of never seeing them again in the afterlife should they be buried elsewhere.

“God created man in the image of himself, in the image of God he created him, male and female he created them” (Gen.1:27).

The creation of man in Gods image when viewed in juxtaposition from the Hebrew and its background setting is particularly interesting

Ea answered him, speaking a word to him. To relate to him a scheme for the relief of the gods: So the goddess conceived an image in her mind, and it was of the stuff of Anu of the firmament. She dipped her hands in water and pinched off clay, she let it fall in the wilderness, and noble Enkidu was created. They both use the word image, to create man they both used clay as their medium.¹⁶

In the text of Genesis 2:7 Yahweh God shaped man from the soil of the ground and blew the breath of life into his nostrils, and man became a living being.

“³² They inflicted the penalty on him and severed his blood-vessels. ¹⁷³³ From his blood he (Ea) created mankind, ³⁴ on whom he imposed the service of the gods, and set the gods free. ³⁵ After the wise Ea had created mankind. ³⁶ And had imposed the service of the gods upon them”

The Enuma Elish makes it clear that mankind’s role was servitude for the gods, their creation acted as a relief for the younger generation, they served the divine but were themselves temporary. How the Mesopotamians understood divinity would be puzzling by todays standards the Gods were larger stronger,

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19 greater in all aspects however nonetheless they were still required to be fed food, and as they battled they perished though for a time as they could never be truly slain¹⁸. This creates an interesting caste system where the idol statues were daily taken cared of and they relied on the deities blessings but they were wholly reliant on them for sustenance, temples and even ziggurats were made in this fashion that they held compartments such as the rooms for the idol and dancers the attendants would change the garments of the idols, the exchanging of the meals the mundane matters were done by human subordinates. They were made in their image in so much as they believed some of them could take human form and still needed human requirements many of their tales also recount their affairs with man some of them being notoriously.

Be you my husband, to me grant your lusciousness’. Be you my husband, and I will be your wife. I will have harnessed for you a chariot of lapis lazuli and gold, with wheels of gold and ‘horns’ of electrum It will he harnessed with great storming mountain mules! Come into our house, with the fragrance of cedar. And when you come into our house the doorpost and throne dais’ will kiss your feet. Bowed down beneath you will be kings, lords, and princes. The Lullubu people’s will bring you the produce of the mountains and countryside as tribute. Your she-goats will bear triplets, your ewes twins, your donkey under burden will overtake the mule, your steed at the chariot will be bristling to gallop, your ax at the yoke will have no match.¹⁹

This goddess in particular was so enamored. She chose to bribe her potential suitor. Though he swiftly avoids her.

Where are your bridegrooms that you keep forever. Where is your ‘Little Shepherd’ bird that went up over you! See here now, I will recite the list of your lovers. Of the shoulder (?) … his hand, Tammuz, the lover of your

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20 earliest youth, for him you have ordained lamentations year upon year! You loved the colorful ‘Little Shepherd’ bird and then hit him, breaking his wing, so now he stands in the forest crying ‘My Wing’! You loved the supremely mighty lion, yet you dug for him seven and again seven pits. You loved the stallion, famed in battle, yet you ordained for him the whip, the goad, and the lash, ordained for him to gallop for seven and seven hours, ordained for him drinking from muddled waters, you ordained far his mother Silili to wail continually. You loved the Shepherd, the Master Herder, who continually presented you with bread baked in embers, and who daily slaughtered for you a kid. Yet you struck him, and turned him into a wolf, so his own shepherds now chase him and his own dogs snap at his shins. You loved Ishullanu, your father’s date gardener, who continually brought you baskets of dates, and brightened your table daily. You raised your eyes to him, and you went to him: ‘Oh my Ishullanu, let us taste of your strength, stretch out your hand to me, And now me! It is me you love, and you will ordain for me as for them!’ When Ishtar heard this, in a fury she went up to the heavens, going to Anu, her father, and crying.

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And so the man recounts the goddess’ many lovers who fell for her but which did not last overlong and all of which met their end by her wiles and what comes after is nothing short of comedy. She returns as with any maiden in love spurned and full of wroth, this is one of Mesopotamia’s most feared of deities acting with impunity, but displaying human emotions, She desired men, She grows bored of them, they are wanton and above human morals, as the Greek philosophers mention if gods are as no better than men then why are they worshipped? Is it because of fear, it is better to appease them then to be at the mercy of their whims? They act out of self interest at times and humans as an afterthought rather than aiding man, they at times do not shy away from collateral human damage.²¹

In their image is a very odd choice of words but they no doubt had human qualities and foibles all too apparent they had great powers but had more weaknesses the gods were allowed to be, the ability to live with human consorts

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21 and cheat with one another sometimes receiving judgment from their jealous spouse produced also more perfect mortals with many lines of kings claiming divine right because they specifically suckled from deities themselves, their human images are treated as their physical manifestations themselves once a year taking them on strolls throughout the city, having them see different vistas, and the idols of gods were made to visit their parents just as we humans do.

To impart the plan he addresses Ea. To impart the plan he had conceived in his heart: “Blood I will mass and cause boned to be. I will establish a savage, 'man' shall be his name. Verily, savage man I will create. He shall be charged with the service of the gods. That they might be at ease! The ways of the gods I will artfully alter.”²²

They also seem to be far more accepting of humanities flaws citing the cause for their rebellious nature and penchant for brutality was due to the race having brought out of a war itself and so could only come out as natural. The role of man is that of devotion to their deity just as a servant does the bidding and heeds their king so is the relationship of mankind and God.

“²⁸ God blessed them, saying to them, ‘Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth and subdue it. Be masters of the fish of the sea, the birds of heaven and all the living creatures that move on earth.’ ²⁹ God also said, ‘Look, to you I give all the seed-bearing plants everywhere on the surface of the earth, and all the trees with seed-bearing fruit; this will be your food. ³⁰ And to all the wild animals, all the birds of heaven and all the living creatures that creep along the ground, I give all the foliage of the plants as their food’. And so it was. ³¹ God saw all he had made, and indeed it was very good. Evening came and morning came: the sixth day” (Gen.1:28-31).

“¹ Thus heaven and earth were completed with all their array. ² On the seventh day God had completed the work he had been doing. He rested on

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22 the seventh day after all the work he had been doing. ³ God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on that day he rested after all his work of creating” (Gen.2:1-3).

The Bible accounts the creation of the universe within seven days a fact often questioned whether this was meant to be figurative or factual. Even Saint Augustine mentioned to believe creation taking place in a span of seven days is to doubt the omnipotence of the Lord. This passage gives us the supposed origin of the Sabbath as a day of rest.

Both Genesis and Enuma Elish are religious texts which detail and celebrate cultural origins: Genesis describes the origin and founding of the Jewish people under the guidance of the Lord. Enuma Elish recounts the origin and founding of Babylon under the leadership of the god Marduk. Contained in each work is a story of how the cosmos and man were created. Each work begins by describing the watery chaos and primeval darkness that once filled the universe. Then light is created to replace the darkness. Afterward, the heavens are made and in them heavenly bodies are placed. Finally, man is created. These similarities not withstanding, the two accounts are more different than alike.²³

On many creation myths there is conflict, an older generation of deities clash with a newer pantheon and overthrows them, there is war between one deity or another and only after one is defeated there is peace but not without much bloodshed, The Hebrew of account there fore is a perplexity in this regard because it makes known its intentions that this god of theirs is an all powerful but all loving creator, this god creates with the words of his love, creates a paradise not for himself but for his beloved creation, later Adam is unsatisfied and God makes an equal partner for him, while man has a tendency to sin and shun his love by disobedience, we read today what other deities are and it is easy to be utterly astounded at what these gods do in juxtaposition to our seemingly tame and

23 Enuma Elish - The Babylonian Epic of Creation – Full Text, world history encyclopedia, accessed December 12, 2020, https://www.worldhistory.org/article/225/enuma-elish---the- babylonian-epic-of-creation---fu/

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23 loving god, they rape, they create wars, they have an utter disregard for humanity viewing them as mere playthings. The Hebrew creation is therefore uncharacteristically peaceful of the near east.

2.2 The Comparison of the Garden of Eden

There was as yet no wild bush on the earth nor had any wild plant yet sprung up, for Yahweh God had not sent rain on the earth, nor was there any man to till the soil.

“⁶ Instead, water flowed out of the ground and watered all the surface of the soil. ⁷Yahweh God shaped man from the soil of the ground and blew the breath of life into his nostrils, and man became a living being” (Gen.2:6-7).

The name Adam in Hebrew ‘adamah’ means of the earth in a recurring motif especially throughout the old testament the chosen people were directly connected to the earth and land however from a polytheistic view it may seem to be a blatant copy from earlier Mesopotamian traditions, such as the creation of Enkidu from the Epic of Gilgamesh nonetheless despite the similarities Hebrew traditions have grown to be independent and have their own justification, one of which may be their connection to the promise land. One very interesting tale between Jewish mystics recalls the references in text of Genesis 1:26 where YHWH before the creation of man ponders for a moment and the host of angels discuss the implications of the creation known as man, the factions are split amongst the angels some argued for and others against in the heated debate. The first angel is named “kindness” and is in favor of the creation of mankind citing their aptitude for kindness, however another named ‘truth’ disagrees entirely since man is full of lies. In contrast to mans free will angels have their mission from their very creation their very names being God’s will and mission which doubly

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24 serves as their raison d‘etre. To this YHWH grabbed truth and threw the angel in the ground and said ‘let truth sprout from the ground’ at first the other angels protested, for why did God disregard truth thus? ²⁴

The answer is that YHWH did not disregard truth but chose to gamble it on man when he through truth to the ground (the ground being ‘addamah’), man has the potential to grow truth for he is from fertile ground, man has a symbiotic relationship with all of God’s creations he tills the ground in order for it to bear fruit and thus Gods creation reaches its full potential, however he too is dependent on the ground for sustenance and so it is in his best interest to preserve and cultivate what God has given to him. Man has the potential to just as soil grow infinitely this distinguishes him from the other creations that walk and crawl and look down, man stands upright looks forward however he too can succumb to his base instincts and fall even lower than the animals he was meant to lord over.

Adam is the quintessential man, he fell from grace though was specifically stated to be crafted from the image of God, he is both of God and distinct from Him, he has the ruach breath of God but he is from earth.

This tale is from the famed Rabbi Loew of Jewish mystic fame and accepted Talmudic scholar of Jewish mysticism and is therefore a rather late interpretation of the story of man’s creation and the events of the garden of Eden as we cannot infer how much of this is held by the ancient Jewish community but nonetheless is a useful modern belief regarded by later Jewish descendants.

Etymologically speaking Adam means of the earth however one may also to continue to make interpretations Adam is also comprised of the words ‘Aleph,

24 “The Meaning of ‘Adam’: Insights into the Hebrew Language by Rabbi Doniel Baron, Aish, accessed December Febuary 18, 2021, https://www.aish.com/sp/ph/48956911.html.

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25 Daleth, and Mem’. The first letter or ‘A’ and ‘Dammah’ which means blood. A aside from being the first or ‘alpha’, the precursor and first of all mankind also means to impart or teach or lead, this may imply he was to lead all of mankind however more likely it correlates to the first mans potential to overcome his worldly blood, the aluf over the dam and more nobler ambitions and concepts such as adameh that which means to emulate in this context to ever aspire to become his divine good creator.

“⁸ Yahweh God planted a garden in Eden, which is in the east, and there he put the man he had fashioned. ⁹ From the soil, Yahweh God caused to grow every kind of tree, enticing to look at and good to eat, with the tree of life in the middle of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil”

(Gen.2:8-9).

Although not explicitly mentioned these two trees of knowledge and life are sometimes referred to as ‘Boaz and Jachin’²⁵ and symbolically were the two named pillars of the temple mentioned in the text of Jeremiah 52:17 and II Kings 25:13. The Trees and their fruits as well as the gifts they bring are quite a complex amalgamation of meanings. First is the tree of knowledge, man after consuming the forbidden fruit now has the power to discern the knowledge of what is good and evil, he is different from other creations where they exist simply as god wills them man has free will and must define himself. The consequence for the pinnacle of creation to be allowed such freedom was of course sin, while Paul does say this account is mythical though it may not have precisely happened it discusses themes which are universal and are enduring, it happened just theoretically using archetypes, models to tell of the morals and themes brought on as the creation of

25 J.E. Cirlot, A Dictionary of Symbols, 349.

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26 man now finds itself. Following God for Adam has been thus far compulsory, now as man has gained knowledge, obedience to God must be done willingly of his own accord.

The tree of life meanwhile is ever outside of mans reach, man can and will perish he cannot and does not live forever. Some scholars also may entertain the notion of God placing the tree which causes sin, foreshadows the juxtaposition of Jesus Christ who with a cross made from a tree brings salvation to mankind whereas Adam through the tree bought about the fall, but these are much later Christian musings. The tree of good and evil or the Hebrew ‘tov wa-raʿ’ not only refers to what is good and evil but more appropriately of all knowledge or in this context the most likely knowledge of the divine and what man ought not but has gained through eating of its fruit. By Jewish interpretation sin had existed before but was separate from man, once Adam ate the forbidden fruit this relationship changed.

“¹⁰ A river flowed from Eden to water the garden, and from there it divided to make four streams. ¹¹ The first is named the Pishon, and this winds all through the land of Havilah where there is gold. ¹² The gold of this country is pure; bdellium and cornelian stone are found there. ¹³The second river is named the Gihon, and this winds all through the land of Cush. ¹⁴ The third river is named the Tigris, and this flows to the east of Ashur. The fourth river is the Euphrates” (Gen.2:10-14).

The Tigris and the Euphrates are well attested, indeed the word

‘Mesopotamia’ that meaning between two rivers of which the rivers are the Tigris and the Euphrates bought about the very first and greatest of human civilities for this fact it is often quoted as the ‘cradle of civilities’ and the dawn of mankind, the start of history and many more epithets regarding this region. Along these two

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27 rivers arose in chronological order Sumer, the Akkadian empire, Assyria and Babylonia to name a few as any who have read the bible the people of this land who followed YHWH are quite privy to these names particularly of those of Babylon and Assyria (called in genesis as Ashur) having conquered them, the nature of these rivers with human civilisation would span millennia.

The location of the Garden of Eden would then be uncontested, were It not for the mention of two additional rivers the Pishon and Gihon as well as Cush and Havilah. The story is mostly regarded as mythical and thus not verbatim a factual and historical account but for the sake of Biblical Archaeology and accuracy scholars have this to say mention regarding the supposed location as referred by the bible. The Tigris and Euphrates flow from the Armenian highlands and empty in the Persian Gulf connected to the Indian ocean, aside from these two momentously vital rivers, the Pishon and Gihon are however controversial. Gihon is said to flow through Cush which today is Ethiopia. No evidence has currently been found to support the claim of a river to flow from Turkey to Ethiopia nor are the Tigris and Euphrates are from the same source and empty to the Persian Gulf.

One theory suggests during the ice age the landscape of Sumer was different.

During prehistory a third river called the Wadi Batin that ran from Havilah (Arabia) was also connected to the Persian Gulf though once the area became a dessert the river vanished as modern satellite images suggests this may be the river Pishon, as to the Gihon that flows towards Cush the original Hebrew without vowels ‘KSH’ may have been possibly misinterpreted not as ‘Cush’ but the land of Kassites and indeed using satellite imagery there used to exist a river which joins the other three and it too leads towards the Persian Gulf. The text of Genesis

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28 2 accounts a singular source of the four rivers²⁶ however the Hebrew word may also be interpreted to mean the end of so the rivers are not from a singular source but rather meet at the end to the Persian Gulf. This basin area of rivers would have been abundant for early occupiers of the land and though the area receives little rainfall around from only 40-100 milliliters of water per year it was however laden with sub-terranian springs which may be referenced to in the text of Genesis 2:6.

Whether or not the land of Eden where God walked, life originated from and the location of the fall of man took place is an authentic historical account is of no importance from a perspective of faith, what is to be highlighted if it this were true is the possibility of a tradition passed down since prehistory of a lost oasis before its flooding some eight thousand – 13 thousand years ago, a human settlement where early inhabitants of the region once occupied and preserved either uniquely to the Hebrews as orally before a system of writing was later developed in the region by other civilizations or at least if they were of any parallels, with much greater accuracy then its local counterparts. The name of Havilah (Genesis, Samuel, 1Chronicle) is an ancient name of Arabia. Scholars suggest though there are some similarities of an account of a paradise and golden age before the fall of man motif in many mythologies of the surrounding region.

Arabia was only referred to as such during the reign of king Solomon (2 Chronicles, Isaiah and Jeremiah) speculatively this tidbit of information may lead to the hint as to Eden as an existing oasis wither or not fantastic things happen in

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29 the oasis and thus there is the possibility this tale is of ancient Hebrew tradition and rather not adopted after the Babylonian exile of existing foreign mythologies.

“¹⁵Yahweh God took the man and settled him in the garden of Eden to cultivate and take care of it. ¹⁶ Then Yahweh God gave the man this command, ‘You are free to eat of all the trees in the garden. ¹⁷ But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you are not to eat; for, the day you eat of that, you are doomed to die’” (Gen.2:15-17).

Whilst Adam is commanded not to eat the fruit of the tree of knowledge he was never specifically barred from the tree of life until his banishment until it was guarded by angels with flaming swords. Some scholars assume both trees are one and the same whilst others agree it is an allegory of how disobedience of God equates to death and the shunning of life itself, only by obeying does mankind choose life. Additionally this tale also characterizes the issue of the what the Greeks would later refer to ‘Hubris’, Mesopotamian deities were concerned with the status quo the issue of divinity and mortality should the lines between deity and divinity be blurred they would be prompted to action to preserve this balance.

This is not the only occurrence of such a rule it is littered throughout Genesis infect as I will help expose. Adam in Jewish lore after the fall, a being who was created as the first human life and destined for pleasure in paradise thus came to know of mortality he instead lived for 930 years, Adam could have lived for an entire millennia however he decided to give 70 years of his life to a savior and redeemer, King David lived for 70 years and was this promised beneficiary. ²⁷

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“¹⁸ Yahweh God said, ‘It is not right that the man should be alone. I shall make him a helper.’¹⁹ So from the soil Yahweh God fashioned all the wild animals and all the birds of heaven. These he brought to the man to see what he would call them; each one was to bear the name the man would give it. ²⁰ The man gave names to all the cattle, all the birds of heaven and all the wild animals. But no helper suitable for the man was found for him” (Gen.2:18- 20).

Naming is a sign of dominance just as YHWH named Adam²⁸. Thus he is subject to god so too is man able to conquer and tame the creations of God because he was the one who was granted the right to name them, just as a parent has the right to rake over the child they themselves named. In Jewish mysticism this concept is refined even further, should one be privy to the original name of the beast granted by Adam they too are able to bend the will of said creature. A name is a reason for existence. Hence the reason why YHWH himself does not have a proper name for reducing the omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent to a single quality is an effort in futility, though with little relevance one of the chief archangels Michael may have the perfect moniker for God, Michael is a name that means ‘for who is like God ?’ who indeed.

“²¹ Then, Yahweh God made the man fall into a deep sleep. And, while he was asleep, he took one of his ribs and closed the flesh up again forthwith. ²² Yahweh God fashioned the rib he had taken from the man into a woman, and brought her to the man. ²³ And the man said: This one at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh! She is to be called Woman, because she was taken from Man. ²⁴ This is why a man leaves his father and mother and becomes attached to his wife, and they become one flesh” (Gen.2:21-24).

Here is from the myth of Enki and Ninhursag from ancient Mesopotamia

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31 Enki becomes sick and is dying, and all the other gods mourn, but no one can heal him except for Ninhursag, and she cannot be found. A fox appears, one of Ninhursag’s animals, who knows where she is and goes to bring her back. Ninhursag rushes to Enki's side, draws him to her, and places his head against her vagina. She kisses him and asks him where his pain is, and each time he tells her, she draws the pain into her body and gives birth to another deity. In this way, eight of the deities most favorable to humanity are born.

The myth represents Ninhursag as all-powerful in that she is able to inflict death on one of the most potent gods and is also the only one who can heal him.

Enki and Ninhursag has also been cited, however, as the basis for the biblical story of creation found in Genesis. Orientalist Samuel Noah Kramer writes.

Perhaps the most interesting result of our comparative analysis of the Sumerian poem is the explanation which it provides for one of the most puzzling motifs in the biblical paradise story, the famous passage describing the fashioning of Eve, ‘the mother of all living’, from the rib of Adam – for why a rib? Why did the Hebrew storyteller find it more fitting to choose a rib rather than any other organ of the body for the fashioning of the woman whose name, Eve, according to the biblical notion, means approximately

‘she who makes live’. The reason becomes quite clear if we assume a Sumerian literary background, such as that represented by our Dilmun poem, to underly the biblical paradise tale. For in our Sumerian poem, one of Enki’s sick organs is the rib. Now the Sumerian word for ‘rib’ is ‘ti’

(pronounced ‘tee’). The goddess created for the healing of Enki’s rib was therefore called in Sumerian ‘Nin-ti’ ‘the Lady of the rib’. But the Sumerian word ‘ti’ also means ‘to make live’ as well as ‘the Lady of the rib’. In Sumerian literature, therefore, ‘the Lady of the rib’ came to be identified with ‘the Lady who makes live’ through what may be termed a play on words. It was this, one of the most ancient of literary puns, which was carried over and perpetuated in the biblical paradise story, although there, of course, the pun loses its validity, since the Hebrew words for ‘rib’ and ‘who makes live’ have nothing in common. ²⁹

Aside from the influence on the later biblical tale, the myth makes clear the power of the mother goddess figure in Sumerian belief. None of the male gods

29 Ninhursag, world history encyclopedia, accessed September 18, 2020, https://www.worldhistory.org/Ninhursag/

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32 who have participated in creation – not even the most powerful such as Anu or Enlil – can do anything to heal Enki. Only the mother goddess can draw out the sickness and turn death into life. In all the myths concerning her, Ninhursag is associated with life and power, but Enki comes to rival and, finally, dominate.

“²⁵ Now, both of them were naked, the man and his wife, but they felt no shame before each other. ¹Now, the snake was the most subtle of all the wild animals that Yahweh God had made. It asked the woman, ‘Did God really say you were not to eat from any of the trees in the garden?’ ² The woman answered the snake, ‘We may eat the fruit of the trees in the garden’

3 But of the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden God said, ‘You must not eat it, nor touch it, under pain of death’. ⁴ Then the snake said to the woman, ‘No! You will not die! ⁵ God knows in fact that the day you eat it your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods, knowing good from evil’” (Gen.2:25-3:1-2).

This term of ‘you will be like gods’ is characteristic of the Mesopotamian Pantheon who were insecure and frightened of man. Some writers of Genesis indeed pictured God in a more mortal sense. He is mentioned to walk in the garden of Eden. He needs to look down to see the happenings of man from his domain. Humans in Mesopotamian myths shuddered at the thought of their own mortality in comparison. They had to suffer disease, famine and toil and so the prospect of the knowledge of good and evil or as knowledge of everything to ascend to divinity for any mere mortal is no doubt pose an enormous temptation to escape such vicissitudes. This is the main theme of the oldest epic of mankind, the Epic of King Gilgamesh.

‘Hear me, great ones of Uruk. I weep for Enkidu, my friend. Bitterly moaning like a woman mourning. I weep for my brother. O Enkidu, my brother. You were the axe at my side. What is this sleep which holds you now? You are lost in the dark and cannot hear me.’ He touched his heart but it did not beat, nor did he lift his eyes again. When Gilgamesh touched his heart it did not beat. So Gilgamesh laid a veil, as one veils the bride, over his friend. He began to rage like a lion, like

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33 a lioness robbed of her whelps. This way and that he paced round the bed. He tore out his hair and strewed it around. He dragged of his splendid robes and flung them down as though they were abominations. Gilgamesh lamented. Seven days and seven nights he wept for Enkidu, until the worm fastened on him. Only then he gave him up to the earth, for the Anunnaki, the judges, had seized him.³⁰

The Main premise of the story deals with the brevity of mortal life, King Gilgamesh. Part divine and part mortal is prompted from his search for a cure for death after his best friend Enkidu a being as strong as him perishes. He too becomes fearful of death and so seeks to become immortal. His quest fails nonetheless certain venerable characters take pity on him and he is granted a herb which rejuvenates him winding back time to give him his youth once more.

However on his way back, he set it down to bathe. A snake appeared and gobbled the herb. This is the reason as to why snakes though not immortal poses eternal youth via the shedding of their skin. This too serves as an excellent example as the serpent once more features as an antogonist of sorts.³¹

When Gilgamesh heard this he opened the sluices so that a sweet water current might carry him out to the deepest channel. He tied heavy stones to his feet and they dragged him down to the water-bed. There he saw the plant growing. Although it pricked him he took it in his hands; then he cut the heavy stones from his feet, and the sea carried him and threw him on to the shore. Gilgamesh said to Urshanabi the ferryman, ‘Come here, and see this marvellous plant’. By its virtue a man may win back all his former strength.

I will take it to Uruk of the strong walls. There I will give it to the old men to eat. Its name shall be ‘the Old Men are Young again’. And at last I shall eat it myself and have back all my lost youth. So Gilgamesh returned by the gate through which he had come. Gilgamesh and Urshanabi went together.

They travelled their twenty leagues and then they broke their fast. After thirty leagues they stopped for the night. Gilgamesh saw a well of cool water and he went down and bathed. But deep in the pool there was lying a serpent. And the serpent sensed the sweetness of the flower. It rose out of the water and snatched it away. And immediately it sloughed its skin and returned to the well. Then Gilgamesh sat down and wept. The tears ran

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34 down his face, and he took the hand of Urshanabi. ‘O Urshanabi, was it for this that I toiled with my hands. Is it for this I have wrung out my heart's blood? For myself I have gained nothing; not I, but the beast of the earth has joy of it now. Already the stream has carried it twenty leagues back to the channels where I found it. I found a sign and now I have lost it. Let us leave the boat on the bank and go.' After twenty leagues they broke their fast.

After thirty leagues they stopped for the night. In three days they had walked as much as a journey of a month and fifteen days. When the journey was accomplished they arrived at Uruk, the strong-walled city. Gilgamesh spoke to him, to Urshanabi the ferryman, ‘Urshanabi, climb up on to the wall of Uruk, inspect its foundation terrace, and examine well the brickwork. See if it is not of burnt bricks; and did not the seven wise men lay these foundations? One third of the whole is city. One third is garden, and one third is field, with the precinct of the goddess Ishtar. These parts and the precinct are all Uruk.’ This too was the work of Gilgamesh, the king, who knew the countries of the world. He was wise. He saw mysteries and knew secret things. He brought us a tale of the days before the flood. He went a long journey, was weary, worn out

with labour, and returning engraved on a stone the whole story.

The ending where King Gilgamesh measures his kingdom is to explain he became wise and improved his kingdom so much so that he remembered its measurements. It is implied with no other alternative he accepts his mortality opting instead to believe should one be remembered for their deeds then this too is imortality for he is alive in the fond memories of all who loved him.³²

“⁶The woman saw that the tree was good to eat and pleasing to the eye, and that it was enticing for the wisdom that it could give. So she took some of its fruit and ate it. She also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate it. ⁷ Then the eyes of both of them were opened and they realised that they were naked. So they sewed fig-leaves together to make themselves loin-cloths. ⁸ The man and his wife heard the sound of Yahweh God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from Yahweh God among the trees of the garden. ⁹ But Yahweh God called to the man. ‘Where are you?’ he asked. ¹⁰ ‘I heard the sound of you in the garden,’ he replied. ‘I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid.’ ¹¹ ‘Who told you that you were naked?’ he asked. ‘Have you been eating from the tree I forbade you to eat?’

12 The man replied, ‘It was the woman you put with me; she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.’ ¹³ Then Yahweh God said to the woman,

32 Philip Wilkinson, The Mythology Book, 197.

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‘Why did you do that?’ The woman replied, ‘The snake tempted me and I ate.’ ¹⁴Then Yahweh God said to the snake, ‘Because you have done this, Accursed be you of all animals wild and tame! On your belly you will go and on dust you will feed as long as you live. ¹⁵ I shall put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; it will bruise your head and you will strike its heel.’ ¹⁶ To the woman he said: I shall give you intense pain in childbearing, you will give birth to your children in pain.

Your yearning will be for your husband, and he will dominate you. ¹⁷ To the man he said, ‘Because you listened to the voice of your wife and ate from the tree of which I had forbidden you to eat, Accursed be the soil because of you! Painfully will you get your food from it as long as you live. ¹⁸ It will yield you brambles and thistles, as you eat the produce of the land. ¹⁹ By the sweat of your face will you earn your food, until you return to the ground, as you were taken from it. For dust you are and to dust you shall return.’ ²⁰ The man named his wife ‘Eve’ because she was the mother of all those who live.

21 Yahweh God made tunics of skins for the man and his wife and clothed them. ²²Then Yahweh God said, ‘Now that the man has become like one of us in knowing good from evil, he must not be allowed to reach out his hand and pick from the tree of life too, and eat and live for ever!’” (Gen.3:6-22).

Imortality is a common motif in Mesopotamian myths, the fall of man too here has a direct twin called the myth of Adapa or Adamu. Adapa is semi divine being honoured with being the son of Ea he is granted wisdom and is known as the wisest among mortals and is greatly endowed by his parentage however he is mortal. As a Sumerian priest he provides the ritual bread and water to the temple of Ea.

In those days, in those years the wise man of Eridu. Ea had created him as chief among men, a wise man whose command none should oppose. The prudent, the most wise among the Anunnaki was he, blameless, of clean hands, anointed, observer of the divine statutes. With the bakers he made bread. The food and the water for Eridu he made daily. With his clean hands he prepared the table. And without him the table was not cleared. The ship he steered, fishing and hunting for Eridu he did. Then Adapa of Eridu.

While Ea ... in the chamber, upon the bed. Daily the closing of Eridu he attended to. He possessed intelligence... His command like the command of Anu ... He (Ea) granted him a wide ear to reveal the destiny of the land. He granted him wisdom, but he did not grant him eternal life.³³

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36 One day as he was fishing on a boat in the Persian Gulf the south wind blew and this made his boat overturn. Angered he broke the wings of the wind and so for seven days it could not blow. The great god Anu alarmed that a mere mortal could wield so much power called for him. Upon the pure dam, the new moon dam) he embarked upon the ship. The wind blew and his ship departed, With the oar, be steered his ship Upon the broad sea. The south wind .... when he had driven me to the house of my lord, I said, ‘O South wind, on the way I shall to thee ... everything that, Thy wing, will I break’.

As be spoke with his mouth, the wing of the South wind was broken, seven days. The South wind blew not upon the land. Anu called to his messenger Ilabrat: Why has the South wind not blown upon the land for seven davs?

His messenger Ilabrat answered him: ‘My lord, Adapa, the son of Ea, the wing of the South wind has broken’. When Anu heard these words he cried,

‘Help!’ He ascended his throne, ‘Let some one bring him’. His father frightful of what could befall his son warned agaisnt him of eating anything:

Food of death they will set before thee, ‘Eat not. Water of death they will set before thee. Drink not.

However just as the denizens to Eden were barred from the fruit of life so to does this deed unfortunately causes Adapa to miss the chance of immortality, for Anu is genuinely impressed at his wisdom and actually gives him the food of immortality.

What can we do with him? Food of life, bring him, that be man, eat. Food of life, they brought him, but he ate not. Water of life, they brought him, but he drank not. Garments, they brought him. He clothed himself. Oil, they brought him. He anointed himself. Anu looked at him; he wondered at him.

‘Come, Adapa, why hast thou not eaten, not drunken? Now thou shalt not live’ ... men ... Ea, my lord said: ‘Eat not, drink not’. Take him and bring him back to his earth ... looked upon him.

The narrative in the Garden of Eden has a certain subtelty, where the food and water was literal in the myth of Adapa, to Adam as is to mankind what the fruit of knowledge and fruit of life was actually following God the scource of life and knowledge, doing the opposite invites death.