"... Genesis 2–3 is particularly distinguished by its potential links to specifically Mesopotamian traditions. To be sure, scholars have noted some possible links to Egyptian traditions as well. We have some Egyptian depictions of the god Khnum forming humans on a potter’s wheel, which are reminiscent of the picture in Genesis 2:7 of YHWH “forming” the first human. Similarly, YHWH’s breathing life into that human’s nostrils recalls Egyptian depictions of gods holding life to the noses of humans. Moreover, it is in Egypt, not Mesopotamia, that we find actual mention of a “tree of life,” and the Egyptian literature of the dead refers to the power of a grave goddess to give eternal life. Nevertheless, Genesis 2–3 has even stronger evident connections to Mesopotamian cosmogonic traditions. Numerous distinctive aspects of the story in Genesis 2–3 seem to point to Mesopotamian antecedents: the reference to the underground אד (“water flow, underground stream”) watering the surface of the ground in Genesis 2:6, the specifically Babylonian elements of the garden evoked in Genesis 2:8–9, the four rivers tradition in Genesis 2:10–14, the idea of creation out of a “rib” and the use of both the word צלע to refer to that rib and the root בנה to refer to that creation in Genesis 2:22, etc. More generally, a longstanding Sumero-Akkadian tradition, encompassing both relatively early and later texts, depicts the creation of humanity on the command of a high god in order to provide labor and thus relieve the burden put on lower gods who have become rebellious about doing the hard work of canal maintenance and farming ..."