The Book of Genesis, recording what happened before the Exodus, is written for a people who have already experienced the Exodus. Consequently, the creation account in Genesis 1 is written with prior knowledge of Egyptian thought and culture. It is therefore not surprising that when we read Genesis 1 we find forms of expression used that bear comparison with Egyptian language.
So, for example, compare these statements in Genesis 1 with corresponding language in the Hymn to Ptah, a text copied on to a slab of black granite, the Shabaka Stela, dating back to the 19th Dynasty (My own conviction is that the Exodus took place around 1440 BCE and this would mean this document is later since the 19th Dynasty ran from 1307 to 1196 BCE):
Creation in the Image of the Deity
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them (Genesis 1:27).
The ka-souls of all the living were created in the image of Ptah. All formed in his heart and by his tongue.
Horus was created from the thoughts of Ptah’s heart. Thoth was formed by the words of Ptah’s tongue (Hymn of Ptah).
Creation by the Word
So God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light (Genesis 1:3; cf. verses 6-7, 9, 11, 14-15, 20-21, 24).
Horus was created from the thoughts of Ptah’s heart.Thoth was formed by the words of Ptah’s tongue.
Ptah creates the Ennead with only teeth and lips, Atum must create with hands and semen.
Atum had to masturbate to bring forth the Ennead. Ptah had only to speak, and the Ennead came forth…
Ptah’s heart grants the gift of life, Ptah’s tongue organizes life’s abundance.
Ptah’s heart grants life to the steady heart, Ptah’s tongue orders death for fools (Hymn of Ptah).
Rest and Satisfaction after the Completion of Creation
God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. There was evening, and there was morning - the sixth day.
Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array.
By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done (Genesis 1:31-2:3).
Having done all these things, Ptah rested and was content with his work (Hymn of Ptah).
Clearly there are some notable points of correspondence between the Genesis account of creation and the Hymn of Ptah. This reflects the reality that the biblical account, though indeed inspired divine revelation, was not composed in a state of abstraction - and certainly not in the 21st century (a point missed by many!) - but in the context of the real ancient world, involving Israel’s experience of Egyptian thought. However, there is a world of difference between the Egyptian understanding of deity and creation and that found in Genesis.
Firstly, in contrast to the Genesis creation account, the Hymn of Ptah is blatantly propagandist, providing a religious rationalisation for treating Memphis as the sacred centre for the whole of Egypt. So the hymn casts Ptah as the ruler of the Ennead. Prior to the unification of Egypt at the time of the 19th Dynasty there had been two main centres - Memphis in the south (Upper Egypt) and Heliopolis in the north (Lower Egypt). Ptah was the divine patron of Memphis, while Atum was the divine patron of Heliopolis. The Hymn of Ptah constantly contrasts Ptah with Atum, asserting Ptah’s superiority. The people of Heliopolis believed their god Atum created the world and saw him as an artist, physically working the creation into existence. By contrast, the people of Memphis saw their god Ptah as a judge who, after consideration, simply called creation into existence. It should also be noted at this point that in the Genesis account God is also portrayed as a judge who after each act of creation judges what he has done and deems it good (Genesis 1:4, 10, 12, 18, 21, 25, 31).
Secondly, in contrast to the strictly monotheistic Genesis creation account, the Hymn of Ptah is overtly polytheistic. Indeed, the concern of the hymn is first and foremost with Ptah’s relationship to the other gods who made up “the Ennead”. The Ennead refers to the divine assembly of the nine major divine patrons. As citations from the hymn above indicate, two other key deities include Horus, the divine patron for the whole of northern Egypt and Seth, the divine patron for the whole of southern Egypt. In addition to Ptah, Atum, Horus and Seth the other five deities comprising the Ennead are also mentioned in the hymn: Geb “the earth” who commanded the Ennead to assemble and “ended war by dividing Egypt between Horus and Seth”; Osiris as the one who “marched through the Gates of Death”; Isis as the one who “proposed an end to wars”; Nephthys as the one who “decreed that Horus and Seth become brothers”; and Thoth who “was formed by the words of Ptah’s tongue”. The hymn explicitly states, “Ptah is the ruler of the Ennead. Ptah gave birth to the Ennead and all things. Ptah is the ruler of the Ennead.”
Thirdly, in contrast to the exclusive focus in Genesis on God’s creation of the physical phenomena comprising our world, the Hymn of Ptah is almost exclusively concerned with Ptah’s creation of gods and the Ennead.
Fourthly, in contrast to the Genesis creation account, the Hymn of Ptah limits the significance of being created in the image of deity to simply having a ka-soul, even as Ptah has a ka-soul. The Genesis account gives clear indications as to what is involved in being created in God’s image, even if there is some debate among scholars concerning the nuancing of this. For example, though much more could be said, it is clearly tied, functionally and/or ontologically, to ruling over the created order (Genesis 1:26, 28). In Egyptian thought the ka is of enormous importance. The very name “Egypt” is Greek (Aigyptos) and etymologically is derived from the hieroglyphic hi-kuptah, that is, the “palace of the ka (soul) of (the god) Ptah.” The Egyptians thought of the ka as the life-force without which no being can be described as living. A person dies when the ka leaves the body, hence the expression “ka-soul”. Indeed, Egyptians would offer food and drink to the deceased to sustain their ka. This is in sharp contrast to the wholistic conception of a person provided in the Genesis. When God breathes the breath of life into the nostrils of the man he has created from the dust then that man becomes “a living being” (Genesis 2:7). It is God alone who sustains life and the thought of people being able to sustain the dead by offering food and drink is not only repulsive, biblically speaking, but downright blasphemous.
With reference to this fourth point it should also be observed that the Hymn of Ptah is not THE Egyptian understanding of creation. For example, we also find texts which speak of Heket or Meskhenet as the creator of each person’s ka. By contrast, the Genesis account is THE understanding of creation for Jews and Christians.
There are some important implications here for the communication of the gospel across cultures. Biblical revelation is composed in a manner that engages with the cultural expressions of its time, often by way of forging necessary contrasts. So we too need to intelligently use major cultural forms and expressions as we seek to lead people to understand the distinctiveness of Christ. Often a good way to start, especially in a world where most people are almost completely biblically illiterate, is with the doctrine of creation.
Posted October 4, 2008
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