Hebrew Story of Creation

Comparing The Story of Creation from Many different Cultures

While the story of creation may have been passed down from one generation to the next in oral fashion, the catastrophic event of the flood would have possibly stopped the oral tradition dead in its tracks. Here we must consider the reliability of the testimony of Adam and Eve being kept intact for 2,000 plus years.

The second event to interfere with the possible transmission of the ancient tales of creation was the confusion of languages, leading to the development of diverse ethnic groups and cultures.

It should not surprise us to discover that each ethnic group has within its cultic literature some variation of the creation narrative. It should also not surprise us to discover that a number of these “creation myths” contain similar patterns and details to those in the biblical account.

From Africa come the following stories:

The Ancient One, known as Unkulunkulu, is the Zulu creator. He came from the reeds and from them he brought forth the people and the cattle. He created everything that is: mountains, streams, snakes, etc. He taught the Zulu how to hunt, how to make fire, and how to grow food. In the beginning there was only darkness, water, and the great Elohim Bumba. One day Bumba, in pain from a stomachache, vomited up the sun. The sun dried up some of the water, leaving land. Still in pain, Bumba vomited up the moon, the stars, and then some animals: the leopard, the crocodile, the turtle, and finally, some men, one of whom, Yoko Lima, was white like Bumba.

From Japan:

Before the heavens and the earth came into existence, all was a chaos, unimaginably limitless and without definite shape or form. Eon followed eon: then, lo! Out of this boundless, shapeless mass something light and transparent rose up and formed the heaven. This was the Plain of High Heaven, in which materialized a deity called Ame-no-Minaka-Nushi-no-Mikoto (the Deity-of-the-August-Center-of-Heaven). Next the heavens gave birth to a deity named Takami-Musubi-no-Mikoto (the High-August-Producing Wonderous-Deity), followed by a third called Kammi-Musubi-no-Mikoto (the Divine-Producing-Wondrous-Deity). These three divine beings are called the Three Creating Deities.

From China:

In the beginning the heavens and earth were still one and all was chaos. The universe was like a big black egg, carrying Pan Gu inside itself. After 18 thousand years Pan Gu woke from a long sleep. He felt suffocated, so he took up a broadax and wielded it with all his might to crack open the egg. The light, clear part of it floated up and formed the heavens; the cold, turbid matter stayed below to form earth. Pan Gu stood in the middle, his head touching the sky, his feet planted on the earth. The heavens and the earth began to grow at a rate of ten feet per day, and Pan Gu grew with them. After another 18 thousand years, the sky was higher, the earth thicker, and Pan Gu stood between them like a pillar 9 million li in height so that they would never join again. When Pan Gu died, his breath became the wind and clouds, his voice the rolling thunder. One eye became the sun and one the moon.

From Maya:

In the beginning were only Tepeu and Gucumatz. These two sat together and thought, and whatever they thought came into being. They thought earth, and there it was. They thought mountains, and so there were. They thought trees and sky and animals. Each came into being. Because none of these creatures could praise them, they formed more advanced beings of clay. Because the clay beings fell apart when wet, they made beings

In all of these various stories we witness similar elements to those in the biblical narrative of creation, such as primordial chaos, division of water, winds fluttering over the water, the creation of living things from clay, etc. While some modern scholars may use these similarities to challenge the authenticity of the biblical account, I would argue that these similar details help to establish the truth of the biblical account. What becomes evident from these different stories is that at some point in every culture’s history, its members stood in the present and questioned where they came from. It is the answer to this question of origin that establishes the character, meaning, and purpose of a culture, as well as its future direction. While many cultures may have wrested the answer to the question of their origin from various ancient tales and the apparent evidences of nature, this cannot be said of the people of Israel. While elements of the biblical narrative may have been known and passed down through Noah and his descendants, the version that we know and study in the Torah was revealed to Moses some 2,000 years after the events. While we may easily imagine the truth of this story changing with each culture’s language and circumstances, these variations were corrected at Mount Sinai. We should also recall that the ancestors of these diverse people groups all came from Noah and his sons. At one point in their history, they all knew and believed in the one true Elohim. Over time, however, most of these people groups fell to superstitions, myths, and polytheism. Some may be surprised to discover that even the ancient Hebrew people assimilated the cultures around them and held varying beliefs about creation and the number of elohim. We must remember that the ancient Hebrew people were not always monotheistic.

Because of this cultural drifting from the truth into polytheistic myths and legends concerning the beginning of the universe, we may understand the Creator’s desire to reestablish the truth upon Mount Sinai. We may ask why the Creator waited until Sinai to reveal the truth of His identity as the sole Creator of the universe. As we have already stated above, the answer to this question of origin establishes a culture’s character, meaning, purpose, and direction. We should, therefore, see in this revelation of the story of creation a direct relationship between the Creator and the children of Israel, their character, identity, meaning, purpose, and future.