Now as so often happens, the similarities between the Jewish and Mesopotamian purgation rites underscore their profound differences. What are these differences? First, I suspect that an older substrate of native Israelite ritual is still visible in the text. It appears in the scapegoat, an elimination rite that finds its closest parallels in Eblaite and Hittite sources from the late third and second millennia.31 second, and perhaps more important for students of religion and social history, a comparison of the two rites reveals the unique theology of the Israelite priests. While the Mesopotamian kings proclaimed, "I am innocent," the Hebrew priest openly confessed the sins of Israel (Lev 16:21). While the Mesopotamian kuppuru cleansed the temple of demonic presence, the Hebrew ... atoned for the sins of Israel itself. These facts strongly suggest that P knew Mesopotamian temple ritual intimately and adopted its forms to bestow upon Israel, and upon Israel's religion, that air of cultural antiquity and Tiffany bangles sale that was attached to all things Mesopotamian.
Evidence for Mesopotamian influence on P appears not only in Genesis and Leviticus but also in Exodus. In a nutshell, the Priestly book of Exodus includes two parts: (a) the story of deliverance from Egypt, followed by (b) its meticulous account of the tabernacle's erection at Sinai. Structurally speaking, this narrative sequence is very close to the plot line of Enuma Elish, where Marduk saves the gods from Tiamat's gang and is then honored by the construction of his temple. Is this similarity a coincidence? In the first place, we should note that it has been suspected for some time that the story of Pharaoh's defeat at Yam Suph (Exodus 1415) might be the demythologized version of an ancient cosmic conflict myth such as appears in Ugaritic, Mesopotamian, and Israelite traditions.32 To be sure, when Frank Moore Cross suggested this connection he was interested primarily in the old Canaanite myths rather than in Mesopotamian texts such as Enuma Elish, but he also recognized that Enuma Elish shared Tiffany CuffLinks sale conflict theme. In the second place, we have already adduced considerable evidence that suggests P was not only familiar with Enuma Elish but also demythologized its features. Circumstantially, these facts make it more likely that a connection exists between Marduk's victory over Tiamat's forces in Enuma Elish and God's victory over Pharaoh's forces in P. With this background in mind, let us look more closely at P's account of Israel's deliverance at the sea.
It is commonly pointed out that P's account of the exodus features a Tiffany Bracelets sale of six "wonders" (...) performed by God through Moses and Aaron.33 While this observation is undoubtedly true in certain respects, perhaps it causes us to overlook an important feature in P's story. Some time ago Dennis J. McCarthy noted that the conceptual and thematic features in P's first five wonders link them more closely to the deliverance at the sea than to the death of Egypt's firstborn, which immediately follows them (P's sixth wonder).34 When we attend to this narrative feature, we discover-as we might have expected-that P's account of Israel's deliverance actually features yet another of his many septenary structures.35 The first five miracles are followed by a penultimate event (the plague that wins Israel's release, the death of the firstborn), and then by God's seventh and ultimate miracle at the sea. Conceptually, this sevenfold series features the defeat of Pharaoh's magicians (see wonders 1-5),36 followed by the defeat of Egypt's gods (wonder 6; see Exod 12:12), followed by the defeat of Pharaoh himself (wonder 7).37 More interesting for our purposes is that this account of Yahwehs final victory at the sea seems to be heavily colored by influences from Enuma Elish. Bernard F. Batto brought this out in his careful comparison of the Hebrew Yam Tiffany Earrings sale traditions with Near Eastern myths.38 He pointed out that P's version of the Yam Suph conflict greatly accentuates Yahweh's sovereign power over the sea, which he splits (Pp3) to create the two walls of water through which Israel would pass.39 This water then becomes the instrument by which Yahweh destroys Pharaoh and his army. As Batto correctly notices, the motif of split waters and the passing of Israel through them does not appear so starkly in the earlier non-P account of Israel's salvation at the sea. From this Batto concludes, I think correctly, that P's rendition of Yahwehs victory at the sea provides a demythologized version of Marduk's victory over Tiamat and her henchmen in Enuma Elish. In both stories, the splitting of the sea provides the space for creation, be it for the creation Tiffany Key Rings sale the cosmos (in Enuma Elish and Genesis 1) or for the creation of Israel (in Exodus).40 As Samuel E. Loewenstamm expressed it, "In parting the sea and the Jordan, Israel's God re-enacts the very heroic deeds He performed in primeval days, thereby proving Himself to be the Creator of the world who founded the earth upon the vanquished seas and rivers."41
Now as so often happens, the similarities between the Jewish and Mesopotamian purgation rites underscore their profound differences. What are these differences? First, I suspect that an older substrate of native Israelite ritual is still visible in the text. It appears in the scapegoat, an elimination rite that finds its closest parallels in Eblaite and Hittite sources from the late third and second millennia.31 second, and perhaps more important for students of religion and social history, a comparison of the two rites reveals the unique theology of the Israelite priests. While the Mesopotamian kings proclaimed, "I am innocent," the Hebrew priest openly confessed the sins of Israel (Lev 16:21). While the Mesopotamian kuppuru cleansed the temple of demonic presence, the Hebrew ... atoned for the sins of Israel itself. These facts strongly suggest that P knew Mesopotamian temple ritual intimately and adopted its forms to bestow upon Israel, and upon Israel's religion, that air of cultural antiquity and Tiffany bangles sale that was attached to all things Mesopotamian.
Evidence for Mesopotamian influence on P appears not only in Genesis and Leviticus but also in Exodus. In a nutshell, the Priestly book of Exodus includes two parts: (a) the story of deliverance from Egypt, followed by (b) its meticulous account of the tabernacle's erection at Sinai. Structurally speaking, this narrative sequence is very close to the plot line of Enuma Elish, where Marduk saves the gods from Tiamat's gang and is then honored by the construction of his temple. Is this similarity a coincidence? In the first place, we should note that it has been suspected for some time that the story of Pharaoh's defeat at Yam Suph (Exodus 1415) might be the demythologized version of an ancient cosmic conflict myth such as appears in Ugaritic, Mesopotamian, and Israelite traditions.32 To be sure, when Frank Moore Cross suggested this connection he was interested primarily in the old Canaanite myths rather than in Mesopotamian texts such as Enuma Elish, but he also recognized that Enuma Elish shared Tiffany CuffLinks sale conflict theme. In the second place, we have already adduced considerable evidence that suggests P was not only familiar with Enuma Elish but also demythologized its features. Circumstantially, these facts make it more likely that a connection exists between Marduk's victory over Tiamat's forces in Enuma Elish and God's victory over Pharaoh's forces in P. With this background in mind, let us look more closely at P's account of Israel's deliverance at the sea.
It is commonly pointed out that P's account of the exodus features a Tiffany Bracelets sale of six "wonders" (...) performed by God through Moses and Aaron.33 While this observation is undoubtedly true in certain respects, perhaps it causes us to overlook an important feature in P's story. Some time ago Dennis J. McCarthy noted that the conceptual and thematic features in P's first five wonders link them more closely to the deliverance at the sea than to the death of Egypt's firstborn, which immediately follows them (P's sixth wonder).34 When we attend to this narrative feature, we discover-as we might have expected-that P's account of Israel's deliverance actually features yet another of his many septenary structures.35 The first five miracles are followed by a penultimate event (the plague that wins Israel's release, the death of the firstborn), and then by God's seventh and ultimate miracle at the sea. Conceptually, this sevenfold series features the defeat of Pharaoh's magicians (see wonders 1-5),36 followed by the defeat of Egypt's gods (wonder 6; see Exod 12:12), followed by the defeat of Pharaoh himself (wonder 7).37 More interesting for our purposes is that this account of Yahwehs final victory at the sea seems to be heavily colored by influences from Enuma Elish. Bernard F. Batto brought this out in his careful comparison of the Hebrew Yam Tiffany Earrings sale traditions with Near Eastern myths.38 He pointed out that P's version of the Yam Suph conflict greatly accentuates Yahweh's sovereign power over the sea, which he splits (Pp3) to create the two walls of water through which Israel would pass.39 This water then becomes the instrument by which Yahweh destroys Pharaoh and his army. As Batto correctly notices, the motif of split waters and the passing of Israel through them does not appear so starkly in the earlier non-P account of Israel's salvation at the sea. From this Batto concludes, I think correctly, that P's rendition of Yahwehs victory at the sea provides a demythologized version of Marduk's victory over Tiamat and her henchmen in Enuma Elish. In both stories, the splitting of the sea provides the space for creation, be it for the creation Tiffany Key Rings sale the cosmos (in Enuma Elish and Genesis 1) or for the creation of Israel (in Exodus).40 As Samuel E. Loewenstamm expressed it, "In parting the sea and the Jordan, Israel's God re-enacts the very heroic deeds He performed in primeval days, thereby proving Himself to be the Creator of the world who founded the earth upon the vanquished seas and rivers."41
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