TOT 29-45 (Genesis 1-11)

• How is the entire narrative of Genesis, including two creation stories, "tied together"?
• Why do we traditionally translate the first lines of Genesis 1 "In the beginning God created" insteasd of "When God began to create...."?
• Is the formation of the cosmos achieved "out of nothing" (ex nihilo)?
• What does the book mean by the "divine council"?
• What is the creation epic whose title means "when above," and where does it take place?
• What happens after the graphic conflict between Marduk and Tiamat?
• (Box 3.2) Describe some differences between the observance of "Shabbat" (sabbath) in Jewish and various Christian traditions.
• What did you learn about "tehom"?
• The book describes several parallels between the bible's creation story and a Babylonian creation epic. Name two.
• In other creation stories in the bible, what is "Tehom"'s name and how is she overcome?
• The text says the second creation story's God is different from the first. How?
• The second creation story answers a series of "why's" (etiologies). What are some of the "why" questions it answers?
• (Box 3.5) What are some differences between God and Lord God? What is the tetragrammaton?
• What other traditions talk about forming humans out of soil?
• How does Enkidu become "like God"?
• How does Gilgamesh lose Enkidu?
• How does Gilgamesh lose the plant that restores youth?
• Give an example from the book in which either knowledge or eating is metaphorical for sex.
• (Box 3.6) What happens to either "serpent" or "Eve" in "Later Traditions"? Is there an explicit connection in the text to these later traditions?