Question

Pemberton notes that as a way of challenging the dominant Babylonian creation story, Psalm 104 describes the great sea monster, Leviathan (the biblical counterpart to Tiamat), as:

Answer 1

Leviathan in Psalm 104 is presented as a part of God's creation, contrasting the chaos associated with similar sea monsters in other ancient myths such as the Babylonian Tiamat and the Greek Cetus, portraying a monotheistic, ordered universe.

Step-by-step explanation:

Pemberton's discussion of Psalm 104 references how the text describes Leviathan, a great sea monster, to challenge the dominant Babylonian creation story. Rather than depict Leviathan as a chaotic force like Tiamat in Mesopotamian myths, the Psalm positions Leviathan within God's dominion, suggesting a cosmos ordered by a single deity. This portrayal diverges from the threatening sea creatures like Cetus depicted in Greek mythology, as seen in the tale of Andromeda, or the malevolent gods of Mesopotamia.

Nevertheless, these stories—including the account of the Babylonian god Ea—reflect a common theme of ancient cultures: reverence and awe for the power of the ocean and its deities. The transformation of these themes into Biblical contexts underscores a larger theological evolution from polytheistic to monotheistic worldviews.