Panbabylonism

Panbabylonism was a hyperdiffusionist school of thought within Assyriology and religious studies that considered the cultures and religions of the middle east and civilization in general to be ultimately derived from Babylonian astronomy and astrology. A related school of thought is the Bible-Babel school, which regarded the Hebrew Bible and Judaism to be directly derived from Mesopotamian (Babylonian) mythology. Both theories were popular in Germany, and the height of Panbabylonism was from late 19th century to World War I. Panbabylonist thought largely disappeared from legitimate scholarship after the death of one of its greatest proponents, Hugo Winckler. Modern Panbabylonist arguments are generally considered pseudoscientific.

Panbabylonists believe the creation myth in the Book of Genesis came from older Mesopotamian creation myths. The Mesopotamian creation myths are recorded in the Enûma Eliš (or Enuma Elish), the Atra-Hasis, the 'Eridu Genesis' and on the 'Barton Cylinder'. Although the plots are different, there are similarities between the Mesopotamian and Jewish myths.

In the beginning of both myths the universe is shapeless and there is nothing but water. In the beginning of Enûma Eliš there is Abzu (freshwater) and Tiamat (saltwater), which mingle together. In the beginning of Genesis, "darkness was over the surface of the deep" and the "spirit of God" (רוּחַ אֱלֹהִים) is "hovering over the waters". It has been argued that the Hebrew word for "the deep", tehom, is cognate with tiamat. In the Enûma Eliš there are six generations of gods, created one after the other. Each god is associated with something, such as sky or earth. This parallels the six days of creation in Genesis, where Elohim (plural) creates a different thing on each day.

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