Genesis and Theogony... Plagiarism?

Genesis and TheogonyВ…Plagiarism?

The Book of Genesis is a compilation, and like every compilation it has a wide variety of contributors who, in turn, have their individual influence upon the final work. It is no surprise, then, that there exist certain parallels between the Theogony, the cosmogony of the early Greeks, and the Book of Genesis, the first part of the Pentateuch section of the Bible. In fact, arguments may be made that the extent of this 'borrowing', as it were, is not limited to Genesis; the Theogony has its own roots in Greek mythology, predating the Book of Genesis by a thousand years. A superficial examination of this evidence would erroneously lead one to believe that Genesis is somewhat a collection of older mythology re-written specifically for the Semites. In fact, what develops is that the writers have addressed each myth as a separate issue, and what the writers say is that their God surpasses every other. Each myth or text that has a counterpart in Genesis only serves to further an important idea among the Hebrews: there is but one God, and He is omnipotent, omniscient, and other-worldly; He is not of this world, but outside it, apart from it. The idea of a monotheistic religion is first evinced in recorded history with Judaism, and it is vital to see that instead of being an example of plagiarism, the Book of Genesis is a meticulously composed document that will set apart the Hebrew God from the others before, and after.

If we trace back to the first appearance of Genesis in written form, in its earliest translation, we arrive at 444 B.C.; In order to fully comprehend the origin of the story we must venture further back in time. We can begin with the father of the Hebrew people, Abraham. We can deduce when he lived, and find that he lived around 1900 B.C. in ancient Mesopotamia. If we examine his world and its culture, we may find the reasons behind certain references in Genesis, and the mythologies of Theogony they resemble.

Abraham lived during a time of great prosperity and a remarkably advanced culture. Homes were comfortable, even luxurious. We can also deduce that it was a relatively stable and peaceful society; its art is characterized by the absence of any warlike activity, paintings or sculptures. Outside the cities the early nomadic tribes of Israel were, "taking with them the early traditions, and in varying latitudes modified them" according to the current external influences. The message remained constant, but the context would subtly change. There were tribes of Israel in Egypt during the Egyptian Middle Kingdom period, which certainly exposed these people to Egyptian culture as well as Babylonian culture as a result of trade between the two kingdoms. Having placed Abraham and certain early Semites in this time, we now understand the culture they knew and the impact it had on the creation of Genesis.

The book of Genesis is about the beginnings of creation and life on earth. It begins with "nothingness" and in the first seven days following God creates the heavens and the earth, light and darkness, the seas, plant life, then came the sun and the moon, the fowls and the creatures who roam the lands, followed by humankind to finish it all off. Comparing the creation aspects of Genesis to Theogony, we see that the earth was again created out of "nothingness" known as Chaos. Chaos, instead of creating everything on earth, created several other godly beings to create the earth as it is today. Therefore, it can be deduced that the stories of Genesis we derived from the stories of the gods and goddesses of Theogony. Another similarity the stories possess is in the identity and condemnation of women as evil. In Theogony women were created to be an evil placed upon the earth to cause suffering for men because Iapetos, a mischievous god, stole fire from Zeus and presented it to man. In retaliation, Zeus had his lame smith mold the shape of a "modest maiden" (572). The figure was then clothed by Athena and was placed upon the earth as a "tempting snare from which men cannot escape" (590). This description in particular presents women as just a trap to which no man can escape. The presentation of evil by woman in Genesis comes when Eve takes a bite of the apple from the tree of knowledge. When she takes from the tree she offers it to Adam who takes his share. The woman is presented as evil in Genesis through the fact that it was she who took the first bite of temptation from the tree. Both Theogony and Genesis present women as the condemned evil placed upon the earth to plague men.

On the opposing side of the issue, it is said that God's word alone is sufficient to render unto the world any change He so wishes. This is a radical innovation in a world where pantheistic religion more closely