Abstract
The German text of Creation: Biblical Theologies in the Context of the Ancient Near East was originally published in 2002. Because of its positive reception, the first edition was revised, updated, and re-released in 2008. English-speaking readers will appreciate the current 2015 translation.
Both authors have considerable expertise upon which to draw. Othmar Keel is well known for his work on ancient Near Eastern iconography and history. In the current text he collaborates with his former student Silvia Schroer, a noteworthy scholar in her own right. In addition to ANE studies, Schroer’s work engages with feminist theology and exegesis. Not surprisingly, therefore, the current text examines creation theology from various perspectives, such as feminist, environmentalist, naturalist, Jewish, and Christian.
The first two chapters of the text ground creation theology in the history of research, beginning with the History of Religions School and moving through modern conceptions. Ever since the early twentieth century, creation theology has been divorced from salvation history, with the Exodus serving as the protological event. By way of response, the current text strives to take seriously “the creation traditions of the First Testament as foundational witnesses to belief in the YHWH religion” (p. 2). The authors also draw attention to the manner in which the biblical creation account has mistakenly been marshalled to support an unbalanced dichotomy between man and nature—one that debases the natural world. Thus, the authors propose five practical strategies for reclaiming a biblical perspective on creation and responding to contemporary challenges.
In the following nine chapters, Keel and Schroer examine biblical creation theology in the context of the ancient Near East. The chapters respectively treat numinous approaches to the environment in the Hebrew Bible: creation and blessing, biblical cosmology, divine activity in creation texts, destruction of creation arising from human failure, divine sovereignty over dangerous elements of creation, cosmology according to Ionian philosophers, the role of wisdom in creation, and the theologization of wisdom. The authors scrutinize ancient texts from Egypt, Mesopotamia, and Greece in the light of the First Testament. They also examine non-biblical Jewish texts, namely Wisdom of Solomon and Sirach, in order to supplement the biblical outlook on creation with a more folk-oriented perspective. Keel and Schroer touch on nearly every book of the biblical canon, but the greatest attention is naturally given to the opening chapters of Genesis and the wisdom texts of the Hebrew Bible.
The ideological perspective of the authors is secular, and the Genesis creation account is treated as a product of its ANE milieu. Nonetheless, the authors treat all the texts they examine with respect. Rather than viewing the ancient peoples as ignorant primitives, Keel and Schroer assert that the ANE cosmologies “are not expressions of naive, childlike fantasies regarding the origin of the world but philosophical developments of thought that were able to form and formulate more abstract notions … Empiricism and reflective thinking, technology and speculation, science and myth are not polar opposites but interwoven facets of the same realities” (p. 78). Although the biblical account may not be considered authoritative, it is regarded as a legitimate expression of reality.
Creation is an engaging and fascinating monograph. Religious educators will find the book beneficial as a reference work that can be used to introduce students to biblical and ANE cosmologies. Frequent illustrations and excurses draw readers into a deeper understanding of the ANE perspective. In short, the authors provide a concise distillation of ANE cosmology that will serve as a key resource for years to come.