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"The Egyptian Memphite Theology and Genesis both describe creation by speech, where a divine word brings the world into being. The Egyptian text links thought and speech, and Genesis similarly shows creation emerging from spoken commands.
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The Memphite Theology
The Shabaka Stone
Ancient Near East
Sight, hearing, breathing - they report to the heart, and it makes every understanding come forth. As to the tongue, it repeats what the heart has devised. Thus all the gods were born and Ptah's Ennead was completed. For every word of the god came about through what the heart devised and the tongue commanded. Thus all the faculties were made and all the qualities determined, they that make all foods and all provisions, through this word, to him who does what is loved, to him who does what is hated. Thus life is given to the peaceful and death is given to the criminal. Thus all labor, all crafts are made, the action of the hands, the motion of the legs, the movements of all the limbs, according to this command which is devised by the heart and comes forth on the tongue and creates the performance of every thing. Thus it is said of Ptah: He who made all and created the gods. And he is Tatenen, who gave birth to the gods, and from whom everything came forth, foods, provisions, divine offerings, all good things. Thus is recognized and understood that he is the mightiest of the gods. Thus Ptah was satisfied after he had made all things and all divine words.
Date: 710 B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
Source
Genesis 1:3
Hebrew Bible
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was without shape and empty, and darkness was over the surface of the watery deep, but the Spirit of God was hovering11 over the surface of the water. 3 God said, “Let there be light.” And there was light! 4 God saw that the light was good, so God separated the light from the darkness.
Date: 5th Century B.C.E. (Final composition) (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... The most striking facet of the Memphite Theology in comparison with the biblical text is that Ptah, like YHWH, is said to create by means of the spoken word: “according to this command which is devised by the heart and comes forth on the tongue and creates the performance of every thing.” Egyptian creation accounts (like many other aspects of Egyptian religion) are founded on dualities: male-female, earth-sky, water-dry land, and so forth. Another duality might be perceived in the distinction between Ptah’s conceptualization of all things in his mind (or “heart”), and their subsequent creation—i.e., between concept and reality. Something similar may be alluded to in the biblical affirmations that “God saw that it was good” (Genesis 1:4, 10, 12, 18, 21, 25, 31)—presumably the creation is being judged good in light of the divine purposes ..."
Hays, Christopher B.
Hidden Riches: A Sourcebook for the Comparative Study of the Hebrew Bible and Ancient Near East
(p. 66) Westminster John Knox Press, 2014
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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Elohim pr El-WhoIAm (Ex 3.14), not YHWH, was the Gen 1 creator. In Gen 2 "YHWH-Elohim" completes the pair, which together go by the name Adonai (Add an I). This is reflected in Ps 136 and Ps 22, which starts with Elohim, then YHWH is introduce ...