Ancient Near Eastern Thought and the Old Testament: Introducing the Conceptual World of the Hebrew Bible

by John H. Walton

Like everyone else in the ancient world, Egyptians were less interested in that which was physical than in that which was metaphysical—what lies beyond physical reality.4 Nut, as the sky goddess, is portrayed arching her body over the disk-shaped earth. She is often supported by the hands of the god of the air while the earth god, Geb, lies prone at her feet. This is not a physical representation. The Egyptians did not believe that one could go step on Nut’s toes or throw a rock and hit her knees. Instead the portrayal communicates important truths concerning what the Egyptians believed about authority and jurisdiction in the cosmos. These truths concern the ordering of the cosmos, not manufacturing of objects. Though the metaphysical concepts may not deal with the material world per se, they represent reality—a greater reality than the material world offered. The cosmos functioned by means of the gods playing out their roles. Whatever the physical structure of the heavens, it was not a priority to them.