Texts in Conversation
The first day in Genesis may share a way of counting used in Ugaritic worship, suggesting that the creation story's timing reflects the language of priests.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
KTU 1.115:14
Cuneiform Texts from Ugarit
Ancient Near East
When the king sacrifices to Ushkhara Khulmizzi in the house of the god of the house: a ram for Khulmizzi and a turtledove for Qlh, and the hands are purified in the sanctuary of the god of the house. And the woman eats. A ram for the god of the house as a peace offering; everyone eats of it. And in the house of the cupbearers: a ram for Ushkhara Khulmizzi and a turtledove for Qlh. One day.
Genesis 1:5
Hebrew Bible
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. 9 God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place and let dry ground appear.” It was so. 10 God called the dry ground “land” and the gathered waters he called “seas.” God saw that it was good.
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Notes and References
“... As these comments suggest, there are some differences in how “day one” is used here and in Genesis 1:5. Despite some considerable dissimilarities, the comparison is helpful, as it suggests that the usage of “day one” does not mark Genesis 1:1–5 as the beginning of time in any sort of absolute way. It suggests that the events on “day one” in Genesis 1:5 express what God did first when beginning to create the universe. It is important to mention as well that this Ugaritic parallel comes from the sacrificial, ritual world of the priesthood. Loren Fisher points to the ritual sensibility in both the Ugaritic parallel and Genesis 1:5, suggesting something of the priestly world that the expression “day one” seems to reflect in Genesis 1:5. This sense also fits with the several priestly texts of the Bible that attest to “one” (’ehad) for reckoning the first day in a month. ...” “... The text in question is KTU 1.115.14, conveniently presented by Pardee, Ritual and Cult, 66-67 ...”
* 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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