Seven Days

“In just seven days, I can make you a man.” – Rocky Horror Picture Show.

This is the first of three posts concerning Hebrew Creation myths. One might think it’s odd that, as a Pagan, I would write about this topic. But stay with me. I’ll make sense when I’m done.

There are three Creation myths given in the Bible. There is the Creation myth found in Genesis 1:1 – 2:4a, in which Elohim creates the world in seven days. Then there’s the second Creation myth involving Adam and Eve found in Genesis 2:4b – 3:24. Finally, there is the little-known third Creation myth found in Psalm 74:13 – 17 and Job 41, closely resembling other ancient Near Eastern creation myths.

In this post, I focus on the first Creation myth involving Elohim. For brevity, I won’t repeat the entire myth here. In summary, Elohim creates the Cosmos and all within it in six days and rests on the seventh. If you wish to read the entire myth, a good source is the Bible Gateway, which has multiple translations.

One of the most intriguing aspects of this myth is that there are clear indicators that it dates from the pre-Abrahamic Hebrew past. There are two indicators in the myth.

The first indicator is in the opening line, typically translated as “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” The Hebrew word translated as “God” is “Elohim.” Elohim is plural and not singular. It was the name used by Canaanites for their pantheon of gods, in the same way that the word “senate” denotes a collective body of senators. A literal translation would read, “In the beginning, the gods created the heavens and the earth.” 

There is a second indicator of a pagan origin to this myth. Later in verse 26, it reads, “Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness…” Please note the two words “us” and “our” in this passage. Once again, we have multiplicity in reference to the divine.

Apologetics over the ages have tried to rationalize these details. Some have claimed that God is talking to the angels. But this would mean that God didn’t create everything. Others have said it’s a “royal ‘we’” as we. However, this practice is unique to British royalty and only dates to the 1100s. Some Christian apologetics have tried to explain it, saying the different personalities of the Trinity were conversing among themselves. However, this portrays God as someone with a psychiatric disorder talking to himself rather than the Supreme Being.

The attempt at rationalization can even be found among some scholars. On the Britannica website, the writers state, “Elohim is monotheistic in connotation, though its grammatical structure seems polytheistic. The Israelites probably borrowed the Canaanite plural noun Elohim and made it singular in meaning in their cultic practices and theological reflections.” Notice that they admit that it’s polytheistic in grammatical structure and that the word is Canaanite in origin. They rationalize its monotheistic usage through its connotation and say that the Israelites “probably borrowed” the word from the Canaanites and changed its meaning.

Most contemporary scholars agree that the ancient Hebrews were originally polytheists who became monotheists over time. The early Israelites were originally Canaanite pagans.

The evidence is clear. Genesis 1 is not monotheistic. It’s a beautiful and very Pagan myth.