Genesis 1 And Egyptian Creation Myths Summary

George Lachow
Professor Alex Stewart
MMW 121
14 July 2015
CRA Assignment
In the article “Genesis 1 and Ancient Egyptian Creation Myths,” researcher Gordon H. Johnston reiterates the conclusions that A. H. Sayce, A. S. Yahuda have reached about the comparisons of Genesis 1 and Egyptian creation myths (Johnston, 180). Johnston postulates that there are undoubtedly strong similarities and connections between Genesis 1 and Egyptian creation myths (Johnston, 180). Johnston noted that these earlier analyses were overlooked and not accepted due to various reasons; easily accessible Mesopotamian materials, the assumption that Genesis 1 should be classified as a Priest source, ignorance of the Hebrew bibles’ Egyptian origins, and misunderstanding of the Egyptians terminology when analyzing creation ideas (Johnston, 179).

First, both begin with referencing the Primordial Waters, but researchers have failed to establish a conclusion about terminology (Johnston, 179). Secondly, Genesis 1 lacks a divine conflict between God and the Primordial waters, which is very prominent in the Enuma Elish (Johnston, 179).
Johnston summarizes A. H. Sayce and A. S. Yahuda’s work into three distinct claims. Johnston’s initial claim was that trained Egyptologists identified equivalent meanings between Genesis 1 and Egyptian creation myths reference to the beginning (Johnston, 183). He concluded that both writings refer to this reference as the absolute beginning of any activity in the entire cosmos (Johnston,