Question

Select ALL the correct words in the passage.

Which three sentences in the story indicate that that the passage is an ex nihilo type of creation story?
Behold the first word and the first discourse. There was as yet no man, nor any animal, nor bird, nor fish, nor crawfish, nor any pit, nor ravine, nor
green herb, nor any tree; nothing was but the firmament. The face of the earth had not yet appeared-only the peaceful sea and all the space of
heaven. There was nothing yet joined together, nothing that clung to anything else; nothing that balanced itself, that made the least rustling, that
made a sound in the heaven. There was nothing that stood up; nothing but the quiet water, but the sea, calm and alone in its boundaries: nothing
existed; nothing but immobility and silence, in the darkness, in the night.
Subr
Alone also the Creator, the Former, the Dominator, the Feathered Serpent-those that engender, those that give being, they are upon the water, like
a growing light. They are enveloped in green and blue; and therefore their name is Gucumatz. Lo, now how the heavens exist, how exists also the
Heart of Heaven; such is the name of God; it is thus that he is called. And they spake; they consulted together and meditated; they mingled their
words and their opinion. And the creation was verily after this wise: Earth, they said, and on the instant it was formed, like a cloud or a fog was its
beginning. Then the mountains rose over the water like great lobsters; in an instant the mountains and the plains were visible, and the cypress and
the pine appeared. Then was the Gucumatz filled with joy, crying out: Blessed be thy coming. O Heart of Heaven, Hurakan, Thunderbolt. Our work
and our labor has accomplished its end.
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Answer 1

Answer: The three sentences that indicate that the passage is an ex nihilo type of creation story are:

"There was as yet no man, nor any animal, nor bird, nor fish, nor crawfish, nor any pit, nor ravine, nor green herb, nor any tree; nothing was but the firmament."
"The face of the earth had not yet appeared-only the peaceful sea and all the space of heaven."
"There was nothing yet joined together, nothing that clung to anything else; nothing that balanced itself, that made the least rustling, that made a sound in the heaven."

Explanation: These sentences suggest that before the creation event described in the passage, there was nothing but the firmament and the peaceful sea, and that the creation process involved the creation of everything that exists, including the earth, animals, plants, and other features of the world. This is a hallmark of ex nihilo creation stories, which depict the creation of everything from nothing.