THE MYTHS OF BABYLON & THE BIBLE: New Translations and Retellings of Gilgamesh, Atrahasis, Enuma Elish, Adapa, Etana, and Narām-Sîn with Commentary on Babylonian Religion and the Hebrew Bible

Before Genesis, the ancient world was already asking its greatest questions.Why were human beings created? Why must we die? What caused the Flood? Where did kingship come from? And what happens when an empire claims that its god and its city stand at the center of the universe?The Myths of Babylon brings together six foundational works of ancient Mesopotamian literature in clear, accessible modern English:Atrahasis — the creation of humanity and the Flood sent to silence an overcrowded world.Adapa — the first sage who refuses the food of life.Etana — an ancient king carried into the heavens on the back of an eagle.The Cuthaean Legend of Narām-Sîn — a warning about ambition, divine silence, and the limits of royal power.The Epic of Gilgamesh — the ancient world’s great search for immortality.The Enuma Elish — Babylon’s creation epic, telling of Marduk’s rise and the defeat of Tiamat.Read beside the Hebrew Bible, these myths reveal striking contrasts between two visions of reality. In the Babylonian traditions, the cosmos is shaped through conflict, humanity is created to carry the labor of the gods, and Babylon rises as the sacred center of the world. In Genesis, the world is ordered by the spoken word of God, humanity bears the divine image, and Babel becomes the monument of a failed attempt to seize greatness through human power.With historical introductions, explanatory notes, a glossary, and commentary on creation, the Flood, Babel, the Watchers tradition, and Second Temple Jewish literature, this volume offers an engaging guide to the myths that shaped the ancient Near East—and the biblical texts that answered them.A free companion audiobook is included with the book. Read more