{"id":42974,"date":"2025-08-14T07:00:44","date_gmt":"2025-08-14T11:00:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biblicalarchaeology.org\/?p=42974"},"modified":"2025-08-12T17:39:34","modified_gmt":"2025-08-12T21:39:34","slug":"creation-stories-in-genesis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biblicalarchaeology.org\/daily\/biblical-topics\/bible-interpretation\/creation-stories-in-genesis\/","title":{"rendered":"Should We Take Creation Stories in Genesis Literally?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_91713\" style=\"width: 409px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblicalarchaeology.org\/wp-content\/smush-avif\/2024\/08\/The_Garden_of_Eden_with_the_Fall_of_Man_by_Jan_Brueghel_the_Elder_and_Pieter_Paul_Rubens_c_1615-scaled.jpg.avif\" data-smush-avif-fallback=\"{&quot;href&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/www.biblicalarchaeology.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/08\\\/The_Garden_of_Eden_with_the_Fall_of_Man_by_Jan_Brueghel_the_Elder_and_Pieter_Paul_Rubens_c_1615-scaled.jpg&quot;}\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-91713\" class=\"wp-image-91713 lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.biblicalarchaeology.org\/wp-content\/smush-avif\/2024\/08\/The_Garden_of_Eden_with_the_Fall_of_Man_by_Jan_Brueghel_the_Elder_and_Pieter_Paul_Rubens_c_1615-1024x662.jpg.avif\" alt=\"\" width=\"399\" height=\"258\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.biblicalarchaeology.org\/wp-content\/smush-avif\/2024\/08\/The_Garden_of_Eden_with_the_Fall_of_Man_by_Jan_Brueghel_the_Elder_and_Pieter_Paul_Rubens_c_1615-1024x662.jpg.avif 1024w, https:\/\/www.biblicalarchaeology.org\/wp-content\/smush-avif\/2024\/08\/The_Garden_of_Eden_with_the_Fall_of_Man_by_Jan_Brueghel_the_Elder_and_Pieter_Paul_Rubens_c_1615-300x194.jpg.avif 300w, https:\/\/www.biblicalarchaeology.org\/wp-content\/smush-avif\/2024\/08\/The_Garden_of_Eden_with_the_Fall_of_Man_by_Jan_Brueghel_the_Elder_and_Pieter_Paul_Rubens_c_1615-768x496.jpg.avif 768w, https:\/\/www.biblicalarchaeology.org\/wp-content\/smush-avif\/2024\/08\/The_Garden_of_Eden_with_the_Fall_of_Man_by_Jan_Brueghel_the_Elder_and_Pieter_Paul_Rubens_c_1615-1536x992.jpg.avif 1536w, https:\/\/www.biblicalarchaeology.org\/wp-content\/smush-avif\/2024\/08\/The_Garden_of_Eden_with_the_Fall_of_Man_by_Jan_Brueghel_the_Elder_and_Pieter_Paul_Rubens_c_1615-2048x1323.jpg.avif 2048w\" data-sizes=\"auto\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 399px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 399\/258;\" data-original-sizes=\"(max-width: 399px) 100vw, 399px\" data-smush-avif-fallback=\"{&quot;data-src&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/www.biblicalarchaeology.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/08\\\/The_Garden_of_Eden_with_the_Fall_of_Man_by_Jan_Brueghel_the_Elder_and_Pieter_Paul_Rubens_c_1615-1024x662.jpg&quot;,&quot;data-srcset&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/www.biblicalarchaeology.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/08\\\/The_Garden_of_Eden_with_the_Fall_of_Man_by_Jan_Brueghel_the_Elder_and_Pieter_Paul_Rubens_c_1615-1024x662.jpg 1024w, https:\\\/\\\/www.biblicalarchaeology.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/08\\\/The_Garden_of_Eden_with_the_Fall_of_Man_by_Jan_Brueghel_the_Elder_and_Pieter_Paul_Rubens_c_1615-300x194.jpg 300w, https:\\\/\\\/www.biblicalarchaeology.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/08\\\/The_Garden_of_Eden_with_the_Fall_of_Man_by_Jan_Brueghel_the_Elder_and_Pieter_Paul_Rubens_c_1615-768x496.jpg 768w, https:\\\/\\\/www.biblicalarchaeology.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/08\\\/The_Garden_of_Eden_with_the_Fall_of_Man_by_Jan_Brueghel_the_Elder_and_Pieter_Paul_Rubens_c_1615-1536x992.jpg 1536w, https:\\\/\\\/www.biblicalarchaeology.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/08\\\/The_Garden_of_Eden_with_the_Fall_of_Man_by_Jan_Brueghel_the_Elder_and_Pieter_Paul_Rubens_c_1615-2048x1323.jpg 2048w&quot;}\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-91713\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">What purpose did creation stories in Genesis serve? Were they Biblical myths? Pictured here is <em>The Garden of Eden with the Fall of Man<\/em> (c. 1617) by Flemish painters Peter Paul Rubens and Jan Brueghel the Elder.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Were the creation stories in Genesis meant to be taken literally?<\/p>\n<p>Maybe not, says biblical scholar Shawna Dolansky in her Biblical Views column <strong>\u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/library.biblicalarchaeology.org\/department\/biblical-views-the-multiple-truths-of-myths\/\">The Multiple Truths of Myths<\/a>\u201d<\/strong> in the January\/February 2016 issue of <em>Biblical Archaeology Review<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>Our world is very different from the world in which the Biblical authors lived over 2,000 years ago. The ancient world did not have Google, Wikipedia and smartphones\u2014access to information on human history and scientific achievements developed over millennia at the touch of their fingertips.<\/p>\n<p>Many scholars believe that the ancient Israelites had creation stories that were told and retold; these stories eventually reached the Biblical authors, who wrote them down in Genesis and other books of the Bible. Creation stories in Genesis were etiological, Shawna Dolansky and other Biblical scholars argue.<a id=\"callout-1\" href=\"#footnote-1\"><sup>1<\/sup><\/a> That is, the creation stories in Genesis served to provide answers to why the world was the way it was, such as why people wear clothes and why women experience pain during childbirth.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n\n\t\t<div id=\"mailing_list_ebook_page\">\n\n\t\t\t<div class='gravity_form_mailing_list'>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"downloadFormSec esolshortwrap\">\t\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"row\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"col-md-3 col-sm-3 mb-4 mb-md-0\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img data-src='https:\/\/www.biblicalarchaeology.org\/wp-content\/smush-avif\/2013\/08\/exploring-genesis-e1585324049151.jpg.avif' class='esolsetnewimg smush-dimensions lazyload' width='130' style='--smush-image-width: 130px; --smush-image-aspect-ratio: 130\/169;' src='data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==' data-smush-avif-fallback='{&quot;data-src&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/www.biblicalarchaeology.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2013\\\/08\\\/exploring-genesis-e1585324049151.jpg&quot;}'>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"col-md-9 col-sm-9\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"row\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"col-sm-12\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>FREE ebook: <strong>Exploring Genesis: The Bible\u2019s Ancient Traditions in Context<\/strong>\r\nMesopotamian creation myths, Joseph\u2019s relationship with Egyptian temple practices and 3 tales of Ur, the birthplace of Abraham.\r\n<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<script type=\"text\/javascript\">\n\/* <![CDATA[ *\/\nvar 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*\/\n<\/script>\n\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\n\t\t<!-- download link -->\n\t\t\n\t\t<div id=\"eBook_download_link\" name=\"eBook_download_link\">\n\n\t\t\t<button onclick=\"location.href='https:\/\/www.biblicalarchaeology.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/exploring_genesis_the_bibles_ancient_traditions_in_context.pdf'\">DOWNLOAD EBOOK<\/button>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n<hr \/>\n<p>Creation stories in Genesis were among the many myths that were told in the ancient Near East. Today we may think of myths as beliefs that are not true, but as a literary genre, myths \u201care stories that convey and reinforce aspects of a culture\u2019s worldview: many truths,\u201d writes Dolansky. So to call something a myth\u2014in this sense\u2014does not necessarily imply that it is not true.<\/p>\n<p>Scholars argue that Biblical myths arose within the context of other ancient Near Eastern myths that sought to explain the creation of the world. Alongside Biblical myths were Mesopotamian myths in which, depending on the account, the creator was Enlil, Mami or Marduk. In ancient Egyptian mythology, the creator of the world was Atum in one creation story and Ptah in another.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_43675\" style=\"width: 124px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblicalarchaeology.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/shawna-dolansky.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-43675\" class=\"size-full wp-image-43675 lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.biblicalarchaeology.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/shawna-dolansky.jpg\" alt=\"shawna-dolansky\" width=\"114\" height=\"150\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 114px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 114\/150;\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-43675\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Shawna Dolansky<\/p><\/div>\n<p>\u201cLike other ancient peoples, the Israelites told multiple creation stories,\u201d writes Shawna Dolansky in her Biblical Views column. \u201cThe Bible gives us three (and who knows how many others were recounted but not preserved?). Genesis 1 differs from Genesis 2\u20133, and both diverge from a third version alluded to elsewhere in the Bible, a myth of the primordial battle between God and the forces of chaos known as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblicalarchaeology.org\/daily\/biblical-monsters\/\">Leviathan<\/a> (e.g., Psalm 74), Rahab (Psalm 89) or the dragon (Isaiah 27; 51). This battle that preceded creation has the Mesopotamian <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblicalarchaeology.org\/daily\/biblical-topics\/ancient-israels-victory-at-the-red-sea\/\">Enuma Elish<\/a> as its closest analogue. In Enuma Elish, the god Marduk defeats the chaotic waters in the form of the dragon Tiamat and recycles her corpse to create the earth.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In what other ways do Biblical myths parallel ancient Near Eastern myths? What can we learn about the world in which the ancient Israelites lived through the creation stories in Genesis? Learn more by reading the full Biblical Views column <strong>\u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/library.biblicalarchaeology.org\/department\/biblical-views-the-multiple-truths-of-myths\/\">The Multiple Truths of Myths<\/a>\u201d<\/strong> by Shawna Dolansky in the January\/February 2016 issue of <strong>BAR<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<hr style=\"width: 33%;\" \/>\n<p><strong>BAS Library Members:<\/strong> Read the full Biblical Views column <strong>\u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/library.biblicalarchaeology.org\/department\/biblical-views-the-multiple-truths-of-myths\/\">The Multiple Truths of Myths<\/a>\u201d<\/strong> by Shawna Dolansky in the <a href=\"https:\/\/library.biblicalarchaeology.org\/issue\/january-february-2016\/\">January\/February 2016 issue of <em>Biblical Archaeology Review<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Not a <em>BAS<\/em> Library or All-Access Member yet? <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblicalarchaeology.org\/subscribe-new\/?utm_term=W26009B0\">Join today.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h4>Notes<\/h4>\n<p><a id=\"footnote-1\" href=\"#callout-1\">1<\/a>. For example, see Ziony Zevit, \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/library.biblicalarchaeology.org\/article\/was-eve-made-from-adams-rib-or-his-baculum\/\">Was Eve Made from Adam\u2019s Rib\u2014or His Baculum<\/a>?\u201d <strong>BAR<\/strong>, September\/October 2015; Mary Joan Winn Leith, \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/library.biblicalarchaeology.org\/department\/reviews-restoring-nudity\/\">ReViews: Restoring Nudity<\/a>,\u201d <strong>BAR<\/strong>, May\/June 2014.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h4 style=\"margin-bottom: 1em;\">Related reading in <em>Bible History Daily<\/em><\/h4>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"kK20MdoNLh\"><p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblicalarchaeology.org\/daily\/biblical-topics\/bible-interpretation\/the-adam-and-eve-story-eve-came-from-where\/\">The Adam and Eve Story: Eve Came From Where?<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><iframe class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden;\" title=\"&#8220;The Adam and Eve Story: Eve Came From Where?&#8221; &#8212; Biblical Archaeology Society\" src=\"https:\/\/www.biblicalarchaeology.org\/daily\/biblical-topics\/bible-interpretation\/the-adam-and-eve-story-eve-came-from-where\/embed\/#?secret=ASqtf3zRuY#?secret=kK20MdoNLh\" data-secret=\"kK20MdoNLh\" width=\"500\" height=\"282\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"nPKQ84rhLX\"><p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblicalarchaeology.org\/daily\/biblical-topics\/bible-interpretation\/the-creation-of-woman-in-the-bible\/\">The Creation of Woman in the Bible<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><iframe class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden;\" title=\"&#8220;The Creation of Woman in the Bible&#8221; &#8212; Biblical Archaeology Society\" src=\"https:\/\/www.biblicalarchaeology.org\/daily\/biblical-topics\/bible-interpretation\/the-creation-of-woman-in-the-bible\/embed\/#?secret=cAEnoqtVqP#?secret=nPKQ84rhLX\" data-secret=\"nPKQ84rhLX\" width=\"500\" height=\"282\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"4dWd4Dievn\"><p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblicalarchaeology.org\/daily\/biblical-topics\/bible-interpretation\/what-does-the-bible-say-about-infertility\/\">What Does the Bible Say About Infertility?<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><iframe class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden;\" title=\"&#8220;What Does the Bible Say About Infertility?&#8221; &#8212; Biblical Archaeology Society\" src=\"https:\/\/www.biblicalarchaeology.org\/daily\/biblical-topics\/bible-interpretation\/what-does-the-bible-say-about-infertility\/embed\/#?secret=M6km14JoAG#?secret=4dWd4Dievn\" data-secret=\"4dWd4Dievn\" width=\"500\" height=\"282\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"KNbu7KCkBo\"><p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblicalarchaeology.org\/daily\/biblical-topics\/bible-interpretation\/how-the-serpent-in-the-garden-became-satan\/\">How the Serpent in the Garden Became Satan<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><iframe class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden;\" title=\"&#8220;How the Serpent in the Garden Became Satan&#8221; &#8212; Biblical Archaeology Society\" src=\"https:\/\/www.biblicalarchaeology.org\/daily\/biblical-topics\/bible-interpretation\/how-the-serpent-in-the-garden-became-satan\/embed\/#?secret=NqAZOydmXR#?secret=KNbu7KCkBo\" data-secret=\"KNbu7KCkBo\" width=\"500\" height=\"282\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"IMY9PfORDv\"><p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblicalarchaeology.org\/daily\/biblical-topics\/bible-interpretation\/love-your-neighbor-only-israelites-or-everyone\/\">Love Your Neighbor: Only Israelites or Everyone?<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><iframe class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden;\" title=\"&#8220;Love Your Neighbor: Only Israelites or Everyone?&#8221; &#8212; Biblical Archaeology Society\" src=\"https:\/\/www.biblicalarchaeology.org\/daily\/biblical-topics\/bible-interpretation\/love-your-neighbor-only-israelites-or-everyone\/embed\/#?secret=rXTswovMDO#?secret=IMY9PfORDv\" data-secret=\"IMY9PfORDv\" width=\"500\" height=\"282\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"lM43EoHFzd\"><p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblicalarchaeology.org\/daily\/news\/the-animals-went-in-two-by-two-according-to-babylonian-ark-tablet\/\">The Animals Went in Two by Two, According to Babylonian Ark Tablet<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><iframe class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden;\" title=\"&#8220;The Animals Went in Two by Two, According to Babylonian Ark Tablet&#8221; &#8212; Biblical Archaeology Society\" src=\"https:\/\/www.biblicalarchaeology.org\/daily\/news\/the-animals-went-in-two-by-two-according-to-babylonian-ark-tablet\/embed\/#?secret=ReMCqbOxHO#?secret=lM43EoHFzd\" data-secret=\"lM43EoHFzd\" width=\"500\" height=\"282\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h4 style=\"margin: 2em 0;\">All-Access members, read more in the <em>BAS Library<\/em><\/h4>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"bwIjr5VoLg\"><p><a href=\"https:\/\/library.biblicalarchaeology.org\/sidebar\/the-creation-story-from-genesis\/\">The Creation Story from Genesis<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><iframe class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden;\" title=\"&#8220;The Creation Story from Genesis&#8221; &#8212; The BAS Library\" src=\"https:\/\/library.biblicalarchaeology.org\/sidebar\/the-creation-story-from-genesis\/embed\/#?secret=Mkqj3w1oXJ#?secret=bwIjr5VoLg\" data-secret=\"bwIjr5VoLg\" width=\"500\" height=\"282\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"pvS41TZS92\"><p><a href=\"https:\/\/library.biblicalarchaeology.org\/department\/creation-myths-breed-violence\/\">Creation Myths Breed Violence<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><iframe class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden;\" title=\"&#8220;Creation Myths Breed Violence&#8221; &#8212; The BAS Library\" src=\"https:\/\/library.biblicalarchaeology.org\/department\/creation-myths-breed-violence\/embed\/#?secret=LOQYme1vTd#?secret=pvS41TZS92\" data-secret=\"pvS41TZS92\" width=\"500\" height=\"282\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"zbyfpeu49u\"><p><a href=\"https:\/\/library.biblicalarchaeology.org\/department\/the-persistence-of-chaos-in-gods-creation\/\">The Persistence of Chaos in God\u2019s Creation<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><iframe class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden;\" title=\"&#8220;The Persistence of Chaos in God\u2019s Creation&#8221; &#8212; The BAS Library\" src=\"https:\/\/library.biblicalarchaeology.org\/department\/the-persistence-of-chaos-in-gods-creation\/embed\/#?secret=3l4lrcR007#?secret=zbyfpeu49u\" data-secret=\"zbyfpeu49u\" width=\"500\" height=\"282\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<div style=\"margin: 2em 0;\"><p><strong>Not a <em>BAS<\/em> Library or All-Access Member yet? <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblicalarchaeology.org\/subscribe-new\/?utm_term=W26009B0\">Join today.<\/a><\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n<hr \/>\n<p><small><em>This <\/em>Bible History Daily<em> feature was originally published on January 31, 2016.<\/em><\/small><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Were the creation stories in Genesis meant to be taken literally? Maybe not, says Biblical scholar Shawna Dolansky in her Biblical Views column \u201cThe Multiple Truths of Myths\u201d in the January\/February 2016 issue of BAR. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":91711,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[379],"tags":[26,637,640,651,704,705,827,840,31,916,961,108,109,40,1396,1491,1572,1653,1654,42,43,1886,12,111,301,2601,3384,3385,3386,3523,4151,5108,5273,5322,60,114,6852,145,8403,8581,124,8771,257,10980,11187,11429,115,12318,12368,14708,16229,16319],"class_list":["post-42974","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bible-interpretation","tag-abraham","tag-adam","tag-adam-and-eve","tag-adam-and-eve-story","tag-akhenaten","tag-akhenaten-and-moses","tag-ancient-cultures","tag-ancient-egyptian","tag-ancient-israel","tag-ancient-israel-daily-life","tag-ancient-israelites","tag-ancient-near","tag-ancient-near-east","tag-archaeology-review","tag-ark-tablet","tag-babylonian-ark","tag-bas-library","tag-bib-arch","tag-bib-arch-org","tag-bible-history","tag-bible-history-daily","tag-bible-interpretation","tag-biblical-archaeology-review","tag-biblical-scholar","tag-biblical-scholars","tag-biblical-topics-2","tag-creation-of-woman","tag-creation-of-woman-in-the-bible","tag-creation-story","tag-daily-life-in-ancient-israel","tag-does-the-bible","tag-free-ebooks","tag-gilgamesh","tag-gods-of-egypt-movie","tag-hebrew","tag-hebrew-bible","tag-isaiah","tag-israelites","tag-life-in-ancient-israel","tag-love-your-neighbor","tag-mary","tag-mary-joan-winn-leith","tag-moses","tag-rahab","tag-richard-elliott-friedman","tag-satan","tag-the-ancient-near-east","tag-the-animals-went-in-two-by-two","tag-the-bible-creation","tag-what-really-happened-in-the-garden-of-eden","tag-woman-in-the-bible","tag-ziony-zevit"],"acf":[],"nelio_content":{"autoShareEndMode":"never","automationSources":{"useCustomSentences":false,"customSentences":[]},"efiAlt":"","efiUrl":"","followers":[19],"highlights":[],"isAutoShareEnabled":true,"networkImageIds":[],"permalinkQueryArgs":[],"series":[],"suggestedReferences":[]},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.1 (Yoast SEO v27.1.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Should We Take Creation Stories in Genesis Literally? - Biblical Archaeology Society<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Discover why many scholars view Genesis creation stories as symbolic myths shaped by ancient Near Eastern cultures and not meant to be read literally.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.biblicalarchaeology.org\/daily\/biblical-topics\/bible-interpretation\/creation-stories-in-genesis\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Should We Take Creation Stories in Genesis Literally?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Were the creation stories in Genesis meant to be taken literally? 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