Genesis 1:1 : an archaeological approach

Abstract

It is a commonplace that many biblical commentators have had much to say about the first verse of the Hebrew Bible. However, to my knowledge no one has as yet attempted to interpret Genesis l: l in the light of near eastern archaeology. My aim is precisely to try and achieve a comprehensive understanding of this text, one that is based on archaeological considerations besides the philological, literary, and theological ones. I do not intend to get invloved in the question of the unity or otherwise of the book of Genesis; nor is it my purpose to get entangled in the question of the sources of the Pentateuch. At this point, suffice it to say that 'it is not without significance that recent studies have tended to support the essential unity of Genesis' (Hamilton 1990:38). At the same time, however, it still seems valid to mention and make use of the various Pentateuchal sources, provided that this is done in a reasonable manner; in practice, in this study I shall be referring to these sources very rarely, and mainly by way of convention.