In people’s daily lives, the creator needs an exhalation from the animals, and human beings created. King David found many ways to praise God perfectly in Psalms through his writings (American Bible Society 2010, 573). David perfectly shows how God is influential throughout the verses and continuously heaps praises on to Him. The ancient people in Mesopotamia presented their prayer requests to an ancient goddess called Ishtar. Ishtar is exalted as the queen of all people and the director of all human beings on earth. Both texts portray God and goddess as influential creators; however, David praises God throughout the chapter, while the text on prayers to Ishtar has lamentations.
In both Psalms 8 and Incantation to Ishtar, God and the goddess are depicted as powerful beings, respectively. King David meditates about the greatness of the power that the Lord has. He acknowledges God needs to be praised for making all the heavenly bodies important to people (American Bible Society 2010, 1-3). David praises the creator for giving man the power to rule over the land creatures God created. There is acknowledgment in the chapter that the Lord possesses the ability to protect himself from enemies. In the Hymn to Ishtar, the goddess has dominance and is above all gods (Incantation to Ishtar 7th Century BCE, 1-3). The man proclaimed the goddess as strong with power all over princes and ruling kings. She is described as a powerful torch able to shine on earth and heaven. The goddess can heal and raise the dead. In both the worships, there is a picture portrayed God and deity are mighty and need exaltation.
In the two prayers, the main contrasting feature is that David, throughout the prayer, praises God, while in Ishtar, there is a lamentation to the goddess for failing to protect people against mysteries. David affirms God is mindful of the human being he created and takes care of them. In Ishtar, there is a lamentation that Ishtar has let miseries of persecution and caused the person to weep (Incantation to Ishtar 7th Century BCE, 4-5). The person’s spirit exhausting Ishtar is troubled, and sickness, ruin, and destruction have occurred to the individual. The man wonders for how long he will continue lamenting about the suffering he is going through. The complaint says that the goddess’s face has turned elsewhere, the person’s strength has come to a halt. He is asking for pity from Ishtar and that the goddess should not forsake him.
Basic Analysis and Biblical Evaluation
Genesis chapters one to three are purely monotheistic, as a critical evaluation shows that there only exists one God and does not show the origin of God. There is a recognition that only one mighty God creates living and nonliving things in these chapters (American Bible Society 2010, 1-3). The book’s authors conclude that the Hebrews’ belief in one God began long ago, as revealed through Biblical scriptures. Based on my understanding and nature of man, the orderliness in the universe must make people think that there must be a mighty being. Both texts showed God and deity to be the creators of both the mortal and immortal things. In Genesis, the Lord had created man and woman, the earth and universe, the seas, stars, light, and everything. The revelation of God as the creator in Genesis makes David acknowledge Yahweh as the creator and needs all the praise. In Incantation to Ishtar, the deity is recognized by man as having power over the heavens and the earth.
The duo sets of prayers are similar in that God and goddess are acknowledged as the creator and having power. The difference noted is that David, throughout the chapter, praises Lord, while in Incantation to Ishtar, the man complains to the goddess that he has been forsaken. The initial chapters of Genesis are monotheistic and recognize God as the sole creator of everything that exists. Human inquisitive nature always provokes the thought of the existence of a supreme being.
References List
American Bible Society. 2010. Holy Bible: Containing the Old and New Testaments: King James Version. New York: American Bible Society.
“Incantation to Ishtar (Ca. Seventh Century BCE).” Daily Life through History, ABC-CLIO, 2021, Web.