BOOK 5
1Give thanks to Yahweh, for he is good,
for his loving kindness endures forever.
2Let the redeemed by Yahweh say so,
whom he has redeemed from the hand of the adversary,
3and gathered out of the lands,
from the east and from the west,
from the north and from the south.
4They wandered in the wilderness in a desert way.
They found no city to live in.
5Hungry and thirsty,
their soul fainted in them.
6Then they cried to Yahweh in their trouble,
and he delivered them out of their distresses.
7He led them also by a straight way,
that they might go to a city to live in.
8Let them praise Yahweh for his loving kindness,
for his wonderful deeds to the children of men!
9For he satisfies the longing soul.
He fills the hungry soul with good.
10Some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death,
being bound in affliction and iron,
11because they rebelled against the words of God,
and condemned the counsel of the Most High.
12Therefore he brought down their heart with labor.
They fell down, and there was no one to help.
13Then they cried to Yahweh in their trouble,
and he saved them out of their distresses.
14He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death,
and broke away their chains.
15Let them praise Yahweh for his loving kindness,
for his wonderful deeds to the children of men!
16For he has broken the gates of bronze,
and cut through bars of iron.
17Fools are afflicted because of their disobedience,
and because of their iniquities.
18Their soul abhors all kinds of food.
They draw near to the gates of death.
19Then they cry to Yahweh in their trouble,
and he saves them out of their distresses.
20He sends his word, and heals them,
and delivers them from their graves.
21Let them praise Yahweh for his loving kindness,
for his wonderful deeds to the children of men!
22Let them offer the sacrifices of thanksgiving,
and declare his deeds with singing.
23Those who go down to the sea in ships,
who do business in great waters,
24these see Yahweh’s deeds,
and his wonders in the deep.
25For he commands, and raises the stormy wind,
which lifts up its waves.
26They mount up to the sky; they go down again to the depths.
Their soul melts away because of trouble.
27They reel back and forth, and stagger like a drunken man,
and are at their wits’ end.
28Then they cry to Yahweh in their trouble,
and he brings them out of their distress.
29He makes the storm a calm,
so that its waves are still.
30Then they are glad because it is calm,
so he brings them to their desired haven.
31Let them praise Yahweh for his loving kindness,
for his wonderful deeds for the children of men!
32Let them exalt him also in the assembly of the people,
and praise him in the seat of the elders.
33He turns rivers into a desert,
water springs into a thirsty ground,
34and a fruitful land into a salt waste,
for the wickedness of those who dwell in it.
35He turns a desert into a pool of water,
and a dry land into water springs.
36There he makes the hungry live,
that they may prepare a city to live in,
37sow fields, plant vineyards,
and reap the fruits of increase.
38He blesses them also, so that they are multiplied greatly.
He doesn’t allow their livestock to decrease.
39Again, they are diminished and bowed down
through oppression, trouble, and sorrow.
40He pours contempt on princes,
and causes them to wander in a trackless waste.
41Yet he lifts the needy out of their affliction,
and increases their families like a flock.
42The upright will see it, and be glad.
All the wicked will shut their mouths.
43Whoever is wise will pay attention to these things.
They will consider the loving kindnesses of Yahweh.
There are several specific and unique differences between the literary and theological account found in Genesis and that of the various stories of creation in the Ancient Near East. There are minor comparisons between Gen 1 and Gen 2 with the Ancient Near Eastern cultures around Israel, but the historical account given to us by Moses has a very different presentation of the creation than ANE cosmologies, including a chronological account consistent with mainline science (absent the evolutionary hypothesis). Moreover, the biblical account has greater literary statement of creation than the ANE cosmologies. Subsequent discussion below reveals a vastly different theological view of the act of creation and its purpose.
Probably the most obvious difference between the biblical account of creation and that of the Ancient Near East cosmologies is monotheism. The biblical account begins with one God who created the universe (Gen 1:1). This is unlike the Ancient Near Eastern cosmologies, in which there were many gods who were created out of a primordial mass.
In some ancient Near Eastern myths, creation is often the result of divine conflicts or struggles among gods or deities. In Genesis there is no such conflict. God creates the world by His will and divine speech, without the need for struggle or conflict. The Creator God simply spoke and by an act of His will the world came into existence (Heb 11:3).
Unlike ANE cosmologies, whose gods came out of the pre-existent cosmos and part of it, the Genesis 1 account presents God and the creation separate from each other. The Creator is not part of creation but over creation, and distinguished from the physical universe.
Genesis emphasizes that humanity is created in the image of God and is given the task of stewardship and dominion over the earth (Genesis 1:26-28). This concept of human purpose is distinctive and reflects the biblical idea of humanity's special relationship with God as being in His image, and given responsibility over tending the earth. As well, the creation of the male and female in God's image speaks of a theomorphism1.
There is a limited comparison between God's speaking and ANE accounts, the latter connected to speaking words of incantation, or the like, while God in Genesis 1 speaks reality into existence without manipulating words, demonstrating His sovereignty and control over creation (see also Ps 33:6; 107:20; Isa 55:10, 11; John 1:1, 3; Heb 11:3; Rev 4:11).
The Genesis account of the creation includes a unique feature, with the creator introducing a day of rest on the seventh day. The rest that God takes does not relate to the Creator being tired, but rather an indication that He had ceased the creation of the universe. In the Ten Commandments the creator sets aside a day for His people Israel to cease from work and to contemplate their relationship with the Creator (Gen 2:2, 3).
One may observe in the biblical account of creation a focus on the Creator's evaluation of His handiwork, much like an artist would stand back to view the fruit of his labor in a picture that he has just completed. One sees in Genesis 1 this evaluation of "good" repeatedly as the Creator does His work (Gen 1:4, 10, 12, 18, 21, 25) and "very good" (Genesis 1:31) at the end of His work. This is in stark contrast with the Ancient Near Eastern cosmologies where the result of the creative process is not "good" but a result of conflict between the various deities and the chaos produced.
The Genesis account of creation carries a distinctive theological message that emphasizes the goodness of creation, the responsibility of His human creatures to act as co-regents and stewards in the earth. As well, the biblical account of the fall of humans into sin, and the subsequent covenant of God with humans, serves as the foundation of subsequent themes, and human redemption and God's kingdom (Gen 3:15) is unlike anything within the pagan creation accounts.
"When we speak about humans made in the image of God, we understand this as theomorphic and theopathic language. By this is meant that humans are created to be like, but not the same, as their Creator, in our form and in our spiritual expression, since God created humans physically in His image, as well as spiritually. Consequently, without material eyes, the infinite God sees, and without a brain, He thinks. God has created humans as finite physical beings to act similarly to God." H. Wayne House, "Does God Have a Spirit Body?, Christian Research Journal, Vol 40, Num 3, p. 9; Original quote is from H. Wayne House, Does God Feel Your Pain? 2d ed. (Lampion House Publishing, 2009 (rev., 2023), 110. ↩︎