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Tiamat was the Babylonian sea deity. The sea was affiliated with evil. Tiamat was therefore thought to be evil. As a result, the writers of Genesis 1 purposely omitted any wording relating to the word ‘sea’.
Publisher: Gorgias Press LLC
Availability: In stock
SKU (ISBN): 978-1-61719-040-7
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Publication Status: In Print
Series: Analecta Gorgiana 525
Publication Date: Apr 30,2010
Interior Color: Black
Trim Size: 6 x 9
Page Count: 31
Language: English
ISBN: 978-1-61719-040-7
$37.00

The word Tiamat is an Assyrian equivalent of the Hebrew tehom and is an Assyrian name both of the personified sea and of a female mythical sea-monster. There are three sources regarding conceptions of Tiamat: Damascius, Berosos, a Baal temple priest during the time of Alexander the Great, and the Babylonian account of creation. Damascius and Berosos both obtained their information from Babylonian sources. The Babylonian tablets stated that Marduk was offered to avenge the great gods against Tiamat’s deeds. It is learned from Assyrian and Babylonian sculptures and seals that Tiamat was regarded as the female water principle and as a sea dragon. The sea dragon was intended to signify both the power and the repulsion of this evil enemy of the great gods. Marduk eventually conquers Tiamat and divides her body into two, from which he creates the earth and heaven. There was an idea throughout the ancient Near East that evil is associated with the sea. This point is also displayed in Genesis 1.

The word Tiamat is an Assyrian equivalent of the Hebrew tehom and is an Assyrian name both of the personified sea and of a female mythical sea-monster. There are three sources regarding conceptions of Tiamat: Damascius, Berosos, a Baal temple priest during the time of Alexander the Great, and the Babylonian account of creation. Damascius and Berosos both obtained their information from Babylonian sources. The Babylonian tablets stated that Marduk was offered to avenge the great gods against Tiamat’s deeds. It is learned from Assyrian and Babylonian sculptures and seals that Tiamat was regarded as the female water principle and as a sea dragon. The sea dragon was intended to signify both the power and the repulsion of this evil enemy of the great gods. Marduk eventually conquers Tiamat and divides her body into two, from which he creates the earth and heaven. There was an idea throughout the ancient Near East that evil is associated with the sea. This point is also displayed in Genesis 1.

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ContributorBiography

George Barton

George Aaron Barton (1859-1942) author, scholar, and Professor of Semitic languages. He graduated from Haverford College, B.A., 1882 and M.A., 1885. Barton received his Ph.D., 1891 from Harvard. He taught at the Friends School (Providence, R.I.), 1884-1889; at Haverford College, 1889-1893; and at Bryn Mawr, 1899-1922. Barton was professor of Semitic languages at the University of Pennsylvania, 1922-1931 and Professor Emeritus, 1932-1942. He was also appointed director of the American School of Oriental Research in Baghdad, 1921-1934. Internationally known for his writings on Biblical subjects, he was also a noted scholar of archeology, helping appraise and interpret the findings of many archeological expeditions of the Middle East.

  • Tiamat (page 5)