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Genesis

About this book

The Seventh Day

Chapter 2

1 The heavens and the earth were completed with everything that was in them.⁠ 2 By the seventh day God finished the work⁠ that he had been doing,⁠ and he ceased on the seventh day all the work that he had been doing.⁠ 3 God blessed the seventh day and made it holy because on it he ceased all the work that he had been doing in creation.⁠

The Garden and the First Humans

4 This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created—when the Lord God made the earth and heavens.⁠ 5 Now no shrub of the field had yet grown on the earth, and no plant of the field had yet sprouted, for the Lord God had not caused it to rain on the earth, and there was no man to cultivate the ground. 6 Springs would well up from the earth and water the whole surface of the ground.⁠ 7 The Lord God formed the man⁠ from the soil of the ground⁠ and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life,⁠ and the man became a living being.⁠ 8 The Lord God planted an orchard in the east, in Eden;⁠ and there he placed the man he had formed.⁠ 9 The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow from the soil, every tree that was pleasing to look at and good for food.⁠ (Now the tree of life⁠ and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil⁠ were in the middle of the orchard.)⁠ 10 Now a river flows from Eden⁠ to water the orchard, and from there it divides into four headstreams. 11 The name of the first is Pishon;⁠ it runs through the entire land of Havilah, where there is gold. 12 (The gold of that land is pure; pearls and lapis lazuli are also there.) 13 The name of the second river is Gihon;⁠ it runs through the entire land of Cush. 14 The name of the third river is Tigris; it runs along the east side of Assyria. The fourth river is the Euphrates. 15 The Lord God took the man and placed him in the orchard in Eden to care for it and to maintain it.⁠ 16 Then the Lord God commanded the man, “You may freely eat fruit from every tree of the orchard, 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will surely die.”⁠ 18 The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone.⁠ I will make a companion for him who corresponds to him.”⁠ 19 The Lord God formed out of the ground every living animal of the field and every bird of the air.⁠ He brought them to the man to see what he would name them, and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. 20 So the man named all the animals, the birds of the air, and the living creatures of the field,⁠ but for Adam no companion who corresponded to him was found.⁠ 21 So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep, and while he was asleep, he took part of the man’s side and closed up the place with flesh. 22 Then the Lord God made a woman from the part he had taken out of the man,⁠ and he brought her to the man. 23 Then the man said, “This one at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh;⁠ this one will be called ‘woman,’ for she was taken out of man.”⁠ 24 That is why a man leaves his father and mother and unites with his wife,⁠ and they become one family.⁠ 25 The man and his wife were both naked, but they were not ashamed.⁠

Texts in conversation

Genesis Echoes Divine Rest After Creation in Enuma Elish

Ancient Near East, Babylonian · Hebrew Bible

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Summary

In Enuma Elish the gods build Marduk a temple where they rest from their work after creation. In Genesis, the first creation story also closes with divine rest, with God declaring the seventh day is special, highlighting how creation is like a temple.

Passages

Enuma Elish VI

Ancient Near East, Babylonian · The Seven Tablets of Creation
“Now, lord, seeing you have established our freedom What favour can we do for you? Let us make a shrine of great renown: Your chamber will be our resting place in which we may repose. Let us erect a shrine to house a pedestal In which we may repose when we finish (the work).” When Marduk heard this,
1800–1750 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in the Enuma Elish

Genesis 2:2

Hebrew Bible
1 The heavens and the earth were completed with everything that was in them. 2 By the seventh day God finished the work that he had been doing, and he ceased on the seventh day all the work that he had been doing. 3 God blessed the seventh day and made it holy because on it he ceased all the work that he had been doing in creation. 4 This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created—when the Lord God made the earth and heavens.
750–400 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Genesis

References

… There are some other themes in the Enuma Elish that seem to function quite differently in Genesis 1. For example, Marduk’s general demonstration of his power through destroying and creating a constellation by force of his command (IV:19–26) is analogous to the broader command structure of Genesis 1, but much more focused. Similarly, God’s ceasing of work on the seventh day (Genesis 2:2–3) corresponds to and yet contrasts with the rest that Ea enjoys in his heavenly temple after conquering Apsu (I:75) and that the lower gods enjoy in Marduk’s temple (VI:50–54). Notably, the temple theme so crucial to this latter theme of “rest” and to the Enuma Elish in general is not specifically paralleled by elements in Genesis 1. Nevertheless, the Priestly narrative of the building of the tabernacle in the wilderness according to the “pattern” (תבנית) revealed by God on Sinai (Exodus 25:9, 40; 26:30; see also 27:8) represents a Priestly counterpart to and transformation of the building of Marduk’s Esagila temple on the pattern of Ea’s Apsu temple in heaven (VI:57–66) …
David M. Carr, The Formation of Genesis 1–11: Biblical and Other Precursors (New York: Oxford University Press, 2020), 12.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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Enuma Elish VI and Genesis 2:2

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