Study Questions
Questions for Review
Chapter 3
1.) What levels of meaning can be found in Genesis 1.1-2.4a?
From Genesis 1.1-2.4a it can be discerned that God is the creator of all. He created the world and its inhabitants from a vast nothingness. The text reflects upon who God is and what His capabilities are through the act of creation. The verses allow that God is communicating with us. It is communicated what Gods will is for man and gives us a history of our beginnings. From the data provided in the verses, scientists can conclude as to the how and why the order of creation came about. For example, light was first, land second, and then plants. Light and land are needed for plats to survive. The passages allude to the fact that He and He alone is the one true God and is the creator of all that exists.
2.) What are the similarities and differences between the Biblical and the Babylonian presentation of cosmic beings?
The differences between the biblical and Babylonian versions of creation are vast. In the Babylonian version of creation there are many gods. Marduk is the king of gods which suggests that there is a hierarchy. For each act of creation there is a god that receives credit or is responsible for being its keeper. The Babylonians version (Enuma Elish) tells a story of how these gods had disagreed and then fought. The consequent results are the creation of the world. However, in the Biblical version of creation God created all and in a specific order to ensure life would survive. God’s purpose was deliberate not a byproduct. His purpose was to provide a place for man. Whereas, the Babylonian version has depicted that man was created to serve them. God is depicted to be magnanimous and the Babylonian gods to be greedy and selfish. The similarities between the two presentations of the cosmic beginnings are thus; the world and man were created. The J account is similar in order of creation to that of the Babylonian.
3.) What levels of
Chapter 3
1.) What levels of meaning can be found in Genesis 1.1-2.4a?
From Genesis 1.1-2.4a it can be discerned that God is the creator of all. He created the world and its inhabitants from a vast nothingness. The text reflects upon who God is and what His capabilities are through the act of creation. The verses allow that God is communicating with us. It is communicated what Gods will is for man and gives us a history of our beginnings. From the data provided in the verses, scientists can conclude as to the how and why the order of creation came about. For example, light was first, land second, and then plants. Light and land are needed for plats to survive. The passages allude to the fact that He and He alone is the one true God and is the creator of all that exists.
2.) What are the similarities and differences between the Biblical and the Babylonian presentation of cosmic beings?
The differences between the biblical and Babylonian versions of creation are vast. In the Babylonian version of creation there are many gods. Marduk is the king of gods which suggests that there is a hierarchy. For each act of creation there is a god that receives credit or is responsible for being its keeper. The Babylonians version (Enuma Elish) tells a story of how these gods had disagreed and then fought. The consequent results are the creation of the world. However, in the Biblical version of creation God created all and in a specific order to ensure life would survive. God’s purpose was deliberate not a byproduct. His purpose was to provide a place for man. Whereas, the Babylonian version has depicted that man was created to serve them. God is depicted to be magnanimous and the Babylonian gods to be greedy and selfish. The similarities between the two presentations of the cosmic beginnings are thus; the world and man were created. The J account is similar in order of creation to that of the Babylonian.
3.) What levels of