I agree, it’s curious. And, at Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came upon the Apostles as “tongues of flame”.
There’s also Shadrach, Meshach & Abednego in the fiery furnace. So, as you say, strong connection to fire and the divine without being a major thematic factor. As far as other Near Eastern gods and fire, the only one that comes to mind off-hand is Moloch. He insisted on an immolated human offering, IIRC.
Sorry for bumping an oldish thread.
There is one thing in these verses noone seems to question, that I’ve seen.
Waters? Ocean? What is this primeval ocean, Did God create this too? When? If there is a surface, what is holding it? What is above it? It appears to be assumed to have always existed.
Also, would my understanding of biblical cosmology be correct here: The waters are considered to be above the firmament, and all around the earth, being the source of rain? The earth being described as a snow globe submerged in water?
If my understanding is correct, maybe the ancients (Sumerians et al) saw the sky being the sam color as the oceans (blue) and assumed that it must mean the sky is water as well, with a firmament creating an air bubble for them to breathe?
Okay, the phrase “God created the heavens and the earth” include a rhetorical form common to Hebrew: the union of opposites. By saying “heavens and earth” the text indicates totality: God created everything, including the waters. As mentioned in other places in these Bible Studies, the deep waters indicate the primordial state, and are found in other Near Eastern religious writings as well. The land is separated from the water, and then the details of creation start.
Your understanding of the Hebrew cosmology is pretty much correct: water below and above, and the assumption about color is probably correct as well.
Welcome to the Bible Study!
Perhaps Genesis 3:
23 Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.
24 So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.
A theory I’ve heard is that when Cain & Abel made their offerings to the Lord, they laid them before the Cherubim and God’s acceptance was shown by the Flaming Sword striking & consuming the offering, much like the times Divine Fire would light the Tabernacle Altars and the offering of Elijah against the Baal-worshippers. Thus, the first fire could have been given humanity in response to the first acceptable offering.
It’s an interesting interpretation. There is another approach, however, that assumes that Adam would have been sacrificing to God all the while the boys were growing up, and they learned from watching him. It doesn’t change your final supposition, though.