Term Papers on Egyptian, Babylonian And Hebrew Mythology- The Door To A Civi

Term Paper Title	Egyptian, Babylonian And Hebrew Mythology- The Door To A Civi
# of Words	999
# of Pages (250 words per page double spaced)	4

Egyptian, Babylonian and Hebrew Mythology- The Door to a Civi

Egyptians, Babylonians, and Hebrews have similarities yet also differences in their religions.  The importance is not in the similarities as much as it is in the differences that distinguish the cultures from each other and their views on life.  I would like to point out each civilization's creation and flood story.  By analyzing these stories we can come to a better understanding of their world views.
The Hebrew creation story from the book of Genesis is one that most people know well.  In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.  The earth was without form and void.  God said, "let there be light," and there was light.  He then separated the light from the darkness.  He also created the land, plants, and animals.  He saw everything he created and, behold, it was good.  The heavens and earth were completed and all that dwelled within them.  On the seventh day he rested.  The earth was complete, but there was nothing to take care of this creation.  So, God created man in the image of himself.  Man was created from the dust of the ground.  God gave him the breath of life and the man became a living soul (Moses 1:1-2:7).  With the background of that story, one should  look at the Egyptian interpretation of the beginning.
At first there was nothing but chaos that contained the seed of everything to come.  In this confusion the sun god dwelled.  By an effort of his will he emerged from chaos as Ra and gave birth to Shu, the god of air, and Tefnut, the goddess moisture.  Shu and Tefnut gave birth to Geb and Nut, the earth god and sky goddess.  Thus the physical universe was created.  People were created from Ra’s tears.  Time passed and Ra grew frail, so the ungrateful race of men plotted against Ra.  When Ra learned of this he called the gods together.  The gods decided that mankind must be destroyed.  Tens of thousands of men were killed until only a few were left.  Then Ra relented and man was spared.  Nevertheless Ra was sick of the world and retreated into the heavens, leaving Shu to reign in his place.  At that time the present world was established.
The Babylonians have their own interpretation of the beginning.  All things came from the water.  From the mixture of sweet water, Aspu, with salt water, Tiamat, the gods arose.  Aspu and Tiamat gave birth to a pair of gigantic serpents, Lakhmu and Lakhamu.  These two serpents produced Anshar and Kishar, the heavens and the earth.  Anshar and Kishar then conceived Anu, Enlil, and Ea.  Aspu and Tiamat grew angry because the younger gods were noisy.  So, they decided to destroy the new gods.  Ea, the all knowing, learned of this plan and used his magic to capture Apsu.  Tiamat became furious and created and army of gods and monsters to punish Ea and the others.  Marduk was asked to stand against Tiamat and her army.  Marduk promised  to defeat Tiamat if he wa...

This is ONLY a preview of the article. If you would like to view the entire document, you must subscribe to Digital Term Papers. Please register below now!

Digital Term Papers has over 63,000 essays, term papers, and book notes online. Many paper sites will charge you hundreds of dollars for a single paper. Digital Term Papers only charges $14.95 for a one month membership with instant account activation!

Don't waste anymore time! Join NOW!!!

1 Month (automatic renewal) ($14.95)

3 Months (automatic renewal) ($29.95)

6 Months (one-time billing) ($39.95)

Pay by: