Texts in Conversation
Genesis 1 uses birdlike movement also attributed to Anat in the Tale of Aqhat, making God's presence over the waters seem poised to act before creation begins.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
KTU 1.18 IV:21
Cuneiform Texts from Ugarit
Ancient Near East
I will place you like an eagle in my belt, like a hawk in my quiver. Aqhat, [as he sits] to eat, the son of Danel to dine, [over him] eagles will soar, will watch, a [flock of] hawks. Among the eagles I myself will soar; over Aqhat I will place you. Strike him twice on the head, three times above the ear. Pour out, like a slaughterer, his blood, as one slaughtering, onto his knees. Let go out, like a wind, his breath, like spittle, his spirit, like smoke from his nostrils. […] I will not let live.” She took Yatpan, the warrior of the Lady; she placed him like an eagle in her belt, like a hawk in her quiver. Aqhat, as he sat down to e[at], the son of Danel to dine, over him eagles soared, a flock of haw[ks] watched. [Among] the eagles Anat soared. Over [Aqhat] she placed him. He struck him twice [on the head],
Genesis 1:2
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. 5 God called the light “day” and the darkness “night.” There was evening, and there was morning, marking the first day. 6 God said, “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters and let it separate water from water.” 7 So God made the expanse and separated the water under the expanse from the water above it. It was so. 8 God called the expanse “sky.” There was evening, and there was morning, a second day.
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Notes and References
“... Deuteronomy 32:11; and KTU 1.18 IV 21, 31 and 32; see Parker, “Aqhat,” 66, 68. See also the root applied to Anat in KTU 1.108.8 (noted in the discussion in HALOT 1219–1220). The verb in the Ugaritic passages is often translated as “hover,” but it is unclear that birds hover as such; flying, soaring, gliding, and swooping are more proper characterizations of how birds move. ... Following citation of the biblical evidence, Brown (Seven Pillars) suggests: “The sense in Gen. 1:2 is that of God’s breath suspended over the waters, like a vulture riding the updraft of a warm current of air, gently moving back and forth or fluctuating, but poised to act (cf. Gen. 1:9; 8:1).” Noting the root in Ugaritic, Cross (Canaanite Myth, 323) regards its use in Gen. 1:2 to be an “archaism.” ...”
* 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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