Where Wisdom Stands: The Story of El, Lady W., and the creation of the world

While I was in seminary I spent a bit of time studying Proverbs 8.  The result was an exegetical paper (Where Wisdom Stands ), a sermon, and an adaptation of the Biblical creation story.

I present you with The Story of El, Lady W., and the Creation of the World.

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El started with a friend.  Lady W, some called her.  She stood by El’s side as everything took shape, delighted by the creations, her own ideas helping to shape what happened.  Perhaps some from the suggestions that she lent, perhaps just in the way that El shaped things for the reactions she’d give.

The creation wasn’t out of nothing.  The Deep was formless, and El wanted to bring some sort of order to it all.

First came the light – giving name and a place to that which helped them to see.  Light, and another thing, Dark.  “It would be nice if each had their time,” thought El, and so Day and Night were named.

“It’s good.” Observed El, making note of this orderly move.  Lady W smiled and nodded agreement.

Now that there was Night and Day, they decided to wait for the next day to do more.  Perhaps they even spent the evening sitting in the dark of night, planning what their next steps would be.

It seemed almost obvious, when they got to the morning.  Light and Dark had their place, but the water still ran uncontained.  So the waters were separated by a Dome, creating a great blue sky, and deep blue waters.  Earth and sky – for a day it remained that way – but it was still disorderly.  So the next day the waters were further separated and earth was brought forth.  Earth and Sea, Rivers and Islands.

El leaned back at the end of day three, “Pretty good.”   Again, Lady W agreed.

But the next morning they still needed something more.   Something…

“Alive.”  Lady W thought.

“Alive” El agreed.

And plants were brought forth.  Fruit and trees, vegetables and flowers and seed, ferns.  Vegetation growing all around into the most beautiful gardens that El and Lady W could imagine.

But for the plants to live they needed time to rest, they needed to die and be reborn.  As a rhythm of day and night had been put in place, so also was a rhythm of life, fading, rest, and rebirth (or awakening).  So the seasons were created.  And to match the seasons were the stars, twinkling lights in the sky that moved as the seasons turned.

The next day El felt that the sky needed something more.  Something that rose and set to mark the night and the day just a little more.  And so came the moon, and the sun.

“Not bad.”  El commented as the sun went down and the moon rose.

“Not bad at all.”  Lady W agreed.  But come morning, they wanted something more, something…

“something more in the waters.”  El thought outloud.

“And perhaps in the sky,” Lady W agreed.

So, from the waters came forth fish, toads, and squids.  All manners of sealife.

And the skies filled with birds, some small, some large, each unique and special.

El and Lady W smiled as night fell, they knew that it was good, and they were almost there.

In the morning they both realized what was missing.

“Creatures in the sky, creatures in the waters, but what of the land?” Mused El.

And so animals were created.  Elephants and monkeys, llamas and lions, all sorts of animals to play among the plants.

Lady W smiles, and El smiled.  But there was one more thing that El created, from clay El formed a human, breathing life into the being.  Human, different from the other creatures of the land, sky and water.  Lady W was delighted, and she danced with joy at the thought of humans growing, and learning, and of the games they might play.

“It’s good!” Lady W proclaimed

“It’s good.”  El agreed.