We only know one way to tell an origin story: as a material narrative. The scientific worldview we are born into leaves us with little imagination for any other type of beginnings.
But what if the Israelites didn’t view things in the same way?
This would hardly be surprising, considering the Israelites wrote Genesis 1 over two thousands years before the scientific revolution. However, it still shocks us to discover that the Hebrew text of Genesis 1:2 suggests the Israelites saw the time before creation very differently than us (see last week’s article, What’s the earth doing there?).
Whereas we would start with an absence of the material, Genesis 1:2 doesn't. It describes the pre-creation starting point as a reality containing a physical earth and liquid waters.
The Israelite's starting point is a world that lacks the ability to support life, rather than a world without material existence.
Discoveries of ancient texts in the last hundred years are opening up the ancient worldview in a way unparalleled for over two millennia. This gives us the opportunity to compare how Israel’s ancient neighbours told creation tales to see if they can unlock the world of Genesis 1 anew for us.
We turn to six creation myths below, and spoiler alert: they are as disinterested in material origins as Genesis 1 is.
