The Creation Story

With the help of advanced AI, combined with my own research regarding translations of the Bible and other narratives, I have compiled a synthesized creation story which integrates the various creation stories from around the world, of which there are many, and the striking commonalities they all share.  I use citations primarily from the Septuagint, as that is the oldest version of the Bible's Old Testament that we have today and its accuracy has been confirmed by the Dead Sea Scrolls and other ancient versions we have discovered.  The Septuagint is also the version used by Jesus most often, when citing the Old Testament.

In the beginning, before time as we know it, lay the Primordial Chaos, almost universally envisioned as vast, dark, Formless Waters or a Void. This state is explicitly described in Genesis (LXX Gen 1:2 – "invisible and unformed," "darkness over the deep [Tehom]"), directly mirroring the boundless waters of Nun in Egyptian cosmology from which Atum arose, the primal void Ginnungagap in Norse lore preceding the formation of giants and gods, the defeated chaotic water-goddess Tiamat in Babylonian accounts whose body was used to form the cosmos, and the undifferentiated Wuji state before Yin and Yang separated in Chinese thought. The Hebrew word "bara" (ברא) used in Genesis 1:1, primarily means to "shape," "form," or "cut" (cf. Brown-Driver-Briggs Lexicon #1254). Given the immediate context of pre-existing watery chaos (Gen 1:2), this strongly indicates not creation ex nihilo "from nothing", but rather a re-forming or reshaping of disordered, pre-existing matter – an act of bringing order from chaos, consistent with the dominant Ancient Near Eastern cosmogonic pattern. The Septuagint's use of "poieo" (ποιέω - to make, shape, fashion) for bara further supports this, implying working with existing material. The Earth, therefore, likely existed prior to the Genesis narrative, albeit in a state requiring reorganization.

Next arrived the Creator(s). Genesis consistently uses the plural noun Elohim (אלהים). The -im ending denotes plurality. Explanations like a "plural of majesty" are grammatically weak for early Biblical Hebrew and fail before passages demanding multiple actors ("Let Us make man..." - Gen 1:26; "man has become like one of Us..." - Gen 3:22; "Come, let us go down..." - Gen 11:7). Psalm 82:1 explicitly depicts "Elohim standing in the divine assembly [Adat-El]; judging among the elohim," whom verse 6 identifies as "sons of the Most High [Bene Elyon]." The older Deuteronomy 32:8 text (LXX/DSS) shows Elyon dividing nations among these "sons of God/Elohim," assigning Israel to YHWH, reflecting a common ancient model where a high god delegates regions – a clear pantheon structure. Thus, Elohim is best rendered "the powerful ones," a council paralleling the Egyptian Ennead or the Mesopotamian Anunnaki council. In Genesis 1:2, the "Ruach Elohim" hovers over the waters. Ruach (רוח) implies movement (wind, breath, spirit). Interpreting this as "the ship(s)/moving craft(s) of the powerful ones" provides a tangible mechanism for the described purposeful action, perhaps analogous to the divine "storm chariot" described with wheels, fire, and metallic gleam in Ezekiel 1.

The first great acts were of Separation and Ordering. Light was separated from Darkness (Gen 1:4). Sky was separated from Earth via a firmament (Genesis 1:6-8), directly paralleling the Egyptian Shu holding Nut (Sky) above Geb (Earth), or the forceful separation of Sky Father (Sumerian Anu, Greek Uranus, Māori Rangi) from Earth Mother (Sumerian Ki, Greek Gaia, Māori Papa), often by their offspring (Enlil, Cronus, Tāne Mahuta). Dry Land emerged from the Waters (Genesis 1:9-10), echoing creation from Tiamat's body (Enuma Elish) or 'Earth Diver' myths (found globally). The land was made fertile, bringing forth Vegetation (Gen 1:11-12). The Celestial Bodies were set in place (Gen 1:14-19).

Life then filled the waters, air, and land with Animals (Gen 1:20-25). Finally, Humanity was formed, explicitly as a group decision: "Let Us make man in Our image..." (Gen 1:26). Genesis 2 details Adam being shaped from Dust/Clay, a method mirrored by the Greek Prometheus, Egyptian Khnum, Sumerian Enki creating worker beings (the Igigi/Adamu, explicitly to relieve the gods of toil, possibly from clay mixed with divine blood), Chinese Nüwa, and Andean Viracocha. Eve is formed from Adam's side (Gen 2:21-23). Humans are placed in a protected Garden (Eden, paralleling the Sumerian paradise Dilmun), containing the Tree of Life (granting longevity/immortality, a common mythological quest item) and the Tree of Knowledge.

Harmony was disrupted by a Trickster/Adversary figure – the Serpent (Nachash, potentially 'shining one') in Genesis 3 – challenging the Elohim's command. This figure, perhaps a dissenting Elohim akin to Prometheus or the Sumerian Enki, prompted human disobedience. The result was expulsion, loss of access to immortality (Tree of Life, guarded by Cherubim - Gen 3:24), increased knowledge ("knowing good and evil" like the Elohim - Gen 3:22), and hardship, reflecting widespread myths of a lost "Golden Age" (Hesiod's Ages of Man, Hindu Yugas).

Following expulsion, Cain murdered Abel (Genesis 4), introducing fratricide early in human history, a theme echoed in the foundational conflict between Egypt's Osiris and Set. Cain, marked by one of the Elohim, built the first city. Generations passed (Genesis 5), characterized by exceptionally long lifespans. Adam lived 930 years, Seth 912, Methuselah 969, Noah 950 (total). This pattern of extreme antediluvian longevity finds a stunning parallel in the Sumerian King List, which details reigns of kings before their great flood lasting tens of thousands of years. Similar traditions of long-lived ancestors exist in Persian accounts (King Yima) and Hindu chronology (vast lifespans in earlier Yugas).

As humanity multiplied, Genesis 6:1-4 describes the "sons of the Elohim" (Bene Ha'Elohim, members of the divine council per Ps 82/Deut 32:8) taking human wives. Their offspring were the Nephilim ("fallen ones"/giants/heroes). This divine-mortal intermingling, creating demigods or giant races, is a global motif (Greek Heracles/Theseus, Mesopotamian Apkallu sages or Anunnaki interactions, Celtic Lugh). The resulting "corruption" (Gen 6:5) may have included not just violence but perhaps forbidden knowledge or practices introduced by these beings (a theme elaborated in texts like 1 Enoch). This era became the justification for the Flood.

Seeing this corruption – and perhaps, as the Atrahasis Epic suggests, annoyed by human overpopulation and noise – the Elohim (or a faction) resolved upon the Flood. This narrative is globally ubiquitous. A chosen survivor – Noah (Genesis); Ziusudra (Sumerian); Atrahasis (Akkadian); Utnapishtim (Babylonian, warned by Ea/Enki against Enlil's decree); Deucalion (Greek, warned by Prometheus); Manu (Hindu, warned by Matsya/Vishnu); Napi (Blackfoot); Coxcox (Aztec) – is instructed by the warning deity (YHWH/Elohim faction, Ea/Enki, etc.) to build a vessel (Ark, boat, chest) to save family and animals. The deluge follows. The vessel lands on a mountain (Ararat, Nisir, Parnassus, etc.). Birds (Raven/Dove - Gen 8:6-12, also in Gilgamesh XI) are sent out. A sacrifice is made. The Noahic Covenant (Genesis 9) follows, with the Rainbow as a sign. Humanity repopulates (Genesis 10).

Post-Flood humanity, unified with "one language" (Gen 11:1), settled in Shinar and began building the Tower of Babel to reach the heavens and avoid scattering. This ambition echoes the Greek Aloadae giants piling mountains to challenge the gods, the Pyramid of Cholula legends, and various African/Native American tales of failed towers. The Sumerian "Enmerkar" epic mentions Enki confusing the previously unified "one speech" of mankind. Crucially, the motive for intervention finds a strong parallel in the Mayan Popol Vuh, where the gods deliberately clouded the vision and understanding of the first maize humans when they became too knowledgeable and perceptive, fearing they would become equals. Similarly, the Elohim, observing Babel, stated: "this is only the beginning of what they will do; and nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them" (Gen 11:6). Perceiving this unified capability as a threat (potential for forbidden knowledge, gateway technology, or unwanted parity), they acted decisively: "Come, let us go down and confuse their language..." (Gen 11:7). This intervention fragmented humanity linguistically and geographically, halting their unified advancement and ensuring continued division.