Excerpt from The Babylonian and the Hebrew Genesis From of old the accounts of primæval times given in the Bible have aroused a peculiar interest, especially since they became the centre of many and violent controversies on "The Bible and Natural Science." But now this strife no longer rages with its former violence; indeed, it may be said to have ceased entirely in strictly scientific circles. Most of us have at length recognised that the expression "The Bible and Natural Science" was from the outset a false antithesis; that biblical utterances regarding the Creation do not fall within the sphere of exact science, and that, on the other hand, certain actual or probable results of the investigations of natural science into the ultimate origins of things do not come into collision with the interests of religion, strictly so called. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

We know that the Bible creation stories had their origins in far older tales. These stories strongly match the Old Testament and originate from clay tablets discovered in ancient Sumeria and Babylonia. They are the oldest preserved stories the world has ever known, revealed in this interesting book and passed down for many centuries before being adopted by whoever wrote the Old Testament. It seems the Word of God may not have come in its entirety from God, but gods. It is important that the earliest sources of our belief systems be examined. That is the purpose of this book.

Here is a complete translation of all the published cuneiform tablets of the various Babylonian creation stories, of both the Semitic Babylonian and the Sumerian material. Each creation account is preceded by a brief introduction dealing with the age and provenance of the tablets, the aim and purpose of the story, etc. Also included is a translation and discussion of two Babylonian creation versions written in Greek. The final chapter presents a detailed examination of the Babylonian creation accounts in their relation to our Old Testament literature.