The tradition of origins:
revisions on Gunkel’s theory and the antiquity of the creation narrative
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.23925/1677-1222.2021vol21i2a3Keywords:
Criação, Gunkel, Gênesis, antiguidade, reprodução textual.Abstract
Herman Gunkel’s thesis, at the end of the 19th century, that the Genesis account of the
origins derives from the Babylonian myth Enuma Elish had a great influence with the paradigm of creation through conflict with the chaos. However, the expansion of knowledge about the ancient creation narratives and the deciphering of the mythical texts from Ras Shamrah allowed a new perception about the relationship between the text of Genesis and the Babylonian myth. On the other hand, several studies in recent years have opened up new perspectives for the understanding of the nature of combat and creation texts. Furthermore, the occurrence of creation myths in different cultures suggests that a prehistoric tradition of creation may have fed this network of mythical texts. This article analyzes these trends in the study of the mythical narratives of the origins as well as the possibility that the Genesis account may be the deposit of a tradition that points to high antiquity. The phenomenon of reproduction of the mythical narrative in the ancient world is, finally, analyzed in the light of the theory of the relations among cultures according to Semiotics of Culture.
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