Enuma Elish (Babylonian Creation Epic)
Seven tablets on how Marduk made the world
Found 1849 — Excavated by Austen Henry Layard at Nineveh (1849); identified and published by George Smith (1876)
Where Kuyunjik (Nineveh), Mosul, Iraq (Iraq)
Dates from c. 7th century BCE copies (composed c. 1200–1100 BCE) · Neo-Assyrian copies of a 2nd-millennium composition · Creation (Genesis 1)
Now at British Museum, London (additional copies in Berlin, the Ashmolean, and Iraq)
How Enuma Elish (Babylonian Creation Epic) was found
Tablets from the library of Ashurbanipal at Kuyunjik were shipped to the British Museum, where Smith recognized the creation story and published 'The Chaldean Account of Genesis'.
What it is
A poem of about 1,000 lines on seven clay tablets in Akkadian. The gods are born from the mingling of fresh water (Apsu) and salt water (Tiamat); Marduk kills Tiamat, splits her body to make sky and earth, sets the stars, and creates humans from a slain god's blood to serve the gods.
Why it matters for the Bible
Reading Enuma Elish beside Genesis 1 highlights both the shared world and the sharp differences. Both begin with watery chaos, divide waters above and below, and end with humans and rest. But Genesis has no battle, no birth of gods, and no divine need for servants: Elohim speaks and it is so, and humans bear His image rather than serve as slaves. Many scholars read Genesis 1 as a deliberate answer to stories like this one.
The Hebrew word: te-HOM
תְּהוֹם
תְּהוֹם is pronounced te-HOM and means the deep; a word related to the name Tiamat (Strong's H8415).
Places
- Babylon — בָּבֶל (bah-VEL) — confusion (Hebrew pun); 'gate of god' (Akkadian)
Events
Creation of heaven and earth · Separation of the waters · Creation of humankind
Enuma Elish (Babylonian Creation Epic) in Scripture
Genesis 1:2 Darkness over 'the deep' (tehom), a word cognate with Tiamat, though Genesis has no battle.
Genesis 1:6-7 Waters divided above and below, as Marduk divides Tiamat's body into sky and sea.
2 Kings 17:24 First mention of Babylon in Scripture.
Questions people ask
What is Enuma Elish (Babylonian Creation Epic)?
A poem of about 1,000 lines on seven clay tablets in Akkadian. The gods are born from the mingling of fresh water (Apsu) and salt water (Tiamat); Marduk kills Tiamat, splits her body to make sky and earth, sets the stars, and creates humans from a slain god's blood to serve the gods.
When was Enuma Elish (Babylonian Creation Epic) discovered?
It was found in 1849 by Excavated by Austen Henry Layard at Nineveh (1849); identified and published by George Smith (1876), at Kuyunjik (Nineveh), Mosul, Iraq.
Where is Enuma Elish (Babylonian Creation Epic) today?
British Museum, London (additional copies in Berlin, the Ashmolean, and Iraq).
Which Bible verses does Enuma Elish (Babylonian Creation Epic) relate to?
Genesis 1:2, Genesis 1:6-7, 2 Kings 17:24.
Related discoveries
- תֵּבָהGilgamesh Flood Tablet (Tablet XI)The Babylonian flood story that shook Victorian London
- אֲדָמָהAtrahasis EpicCreation of humans and a flood in one Old Babylonian poem
- נִינְוֵהNineveh (Kuyunjik)The city of Nimrod's kingdom and Ashurbanipal's library
- נִינְוֵהFall of Nineveh Chronicle (BM 21901)Babylonian record of the destruction of Assyria's capital in 612 BCE, as Nahum foretold
Sources
Open Enuma Elish (Babylonian Creation Epic) in Hebrew Explorer →