ne half of her he made the heaven, and of the
other half the earth; and the beasts that were in her he caused to
perish. And he split the darkness, and divided the heaven and the earth
asunder, and put the world in order; and the animals that could not bear
the light perished. Belus, upon this, seeing that the earth was
desolate, yet teeming with productive power, commanded one of the gods to
cut off his head, and to mix the blood which flowed forth with earth, and
form men therewith, and beasts that could bear the light. So man was
made, and was intelligent, being a partaker of the divine wisdom.
Likewise Belus made the stars, and the sun and moon, and the five
planets."

It has been generally seen that this cosmogony bears a remarkable
resemblance to the history of Creation contained in the opening chapters
of the book of Genesis. Some have gone so far as to argue that the
Mosaic account was derived from it. Others, who reject this notion,
suggest that a certain "old Chaldee tradition" was "the basis of them
both." If we drop out the word "Chaldee" from this statement, it may be
regarded as fairly expressing the truth. The Babylonian legend embodies
a primeval tradition, common to all mankind, of which an inspired author
has given us the true groundwork in the first and second chapters of
Genesis. What is especially remarkable is the fidelity, comparatively
speaking, with which the Babylonian legend reports the facts. While the
whole tone and spirit of the two accounts, and even the point of view
from which they are taken, differ, the general outline of the narrative
in each is nearly the same. In both we have the earth at first "without
form and void," and "darkness upon the face of the deep." In both the
first step taken towards creation is the separation of the mixed mass,
and the formation of the heavens and the earth as the consequence of such
separation. In both we have light mentioned before the creation of the
sun and moon; in both we have the existence of animals before man; and in
both we have a divine element infused into man at his birth, and his
formation "from the dust of the ground." The only points in which the
narratives can be said to be at variance are points of order. The
Babylonians apparently made the formation of man and of the animals which
at present inhabit the earth simultaneous, and placed the creation of the
sun, moon, and planets after, instead of before, that of men and anim