Creation And Chaos In The Primeval Era And The Eschaton

Foreword by Peter Machinist

Hermann Gunkel’s groundbreaking Schopfung und Chaos, originally published in German in 1895, is here translated in its entirety into English for the first time. Even though available only in German, this work by Gunkel has had a profound influence on modern biblical scholarship.

Discovering a number of parallels between the biblical creation accounts and a Babylonian creation account, the Enuma Elish, Gunkel argues that ancient Babylonian traditions shaped the Hebrew people’s perceptions both of God’s creative activity at the beginning of time and of God’s re-creative activity at the end of time.

Including illuminating introductory pieces by eminent scholar Peter Machinist and by translator K. William Whitney, Gunkel’s Creation and Chaos will appeal to serious students and scholars in the area of biblical studies.