Contextual meaning of Genesis 1 & 2

Jim McGuiggan has a way of packing a lot of meaning into his weekly reflections. This week's essay shines light on the OT world, especially in relation to Genesis 1 & 2:

The business of the biblical witness is not to tell us about the historical, cultural, religious, political or literary climate of the day though in the process of doing what it does it reveals a lot of that.

For example, Genesis 1 & 2 sets itself against its environment in which the gods of the nations whose stories are told in the Enuma Elish or the Baal Cycle or the many myths of Sumeria and Egypt. In the Bible God as God has no mythology—he isn’t created, he doesn’t war against other gods to become the chief god nor does he die or be killed and somehow come to life again. Stories like that occur in the mythology of the polytheistic world to explain their experience with nature.

Jim's little essay is loaded with insights, and I recommend reading the whole thing.