Is Genesis _denying or refuting_ the Mesopotamian myths' explanation of how and why man came to made, what his purpose on earth is, and why his demise was sought in a flood. This "_denial_" is for me accomplished by taking motifs from a variety of contradicting myths and giving them "new twists" by changing the names of the characters, the locations, and sequences of events. It is my perception that the Hebrews are deliberately CHANGING _or_ RECASTING the earlier myths and their motifs inorder to REFUTE and DENY THEM, hence the "reason why" there are _no_ individuals called Adam, Eve, the Serpent, Yahweh, Noah, Shem, Japheth and Ham appearing in _any_ of the Mesopotamian pre-biblical myths.

I do _not_ understand that the Hebrews are "copying" the Mesopotamian myths, they are _recasting them_ in order to _refute and deny them_ regarding why, when, where and how man came to be made, placed in a god's garden, denied immortality and his destruction sought in a Flood. Or, to put it another way, Genesis themes are simply "variations and transformations of earlier themes."

Below, my attempted _alignment_ of motifs in Genesis' Eden myth about Adam's "Fall" (Ge 3:1-24) and its principal characters, Yahweh, the Serpent, Adam, Eve, and the Cherubim, WITH similar motifs appearing in the Adapa and the Southwind myth. The Southwind myth was a Mesopotamian explanation for how, once upon a time, man in the form of Adapa had a chance to obtain immortality by consuming "bread and water of life" but by failing to do so, he condemned the rest of mankind to a lifetime of disease and death for all eternity. Adapa refused to consume the "bread and water of life" offered him by Anu in his heavenly abode because his god whom he served on the earth, Ea (Sumerian Enki) had warned him NOT to eat the "bread of death" or "drink the water of death" for he would surely die. Technically speaking Ea didn't tell Adapa not to eat the "bread of LIFE"or not to drink the "water of LIFE," it was "bread of DEATH" and "water of DEATH" that he wasn't to consume. An apparently "confused" and "beguiled" Adapa thought the "bread of life" was the "bread of death."

For the Mesopotamians then, man lost out on a chance to obtain immortality because the god who had created him and who he served, Ea (Enki) of Eridu in Sumer did not want him to obtain immortality. Anu (Sumerian An) on the otherhand was willing to let Adapa become immortal and like a god. Ea had successfully thwarted Anu's offer. So the Mesopotamians did not envison man's lost chance at immortality as occurring because he DISOBEYED his god, but because he OBEYED his god (Ea/Enki). The Hebrews are then, in the book of Genesis REFUTING AND DENYING the Mesopotamian presentation of how man came to looseout on a chance to obtain immortality.

The Adapa and the Southwind myth also deals with man's obtaining of forbidden knowledge reserved for the gods. Genesis presents Adam and Eve obtaining forbidden knowledge. Ea apparently against Anu's wishes, has given Adapa the knowledge of powerful spells and incantations to overpower the lesser gods, in this case Adapa breaks the wing of the southwind stopping breezes. Anu summons Adapa to his heavenly abode wanting to know where he has obtained this knowledge. Realizing Adapa has godly knowledge Anu resolves he might as well make the human into a full-fledged god by bestowing immortality on him by allowing him to consume the bread and water of life. In Genesis man is presented as ILLEGALLY OBTAINING KNOWLEDGE, whereas the Mesopotamians understand that the ILLEGAL KNOWLEDGE was given by Ea to man who he has created to be his servant in Eridu. Again, Genesis is REFUTING AND DENYING the Mesopotamian presentation of how man OBTAINED KNOWLEDGE INTENDED TO BE RESTRICTED TO THE GODS.

Oh, excellent! I've read a bit about the Sumerian myths, including the Enuma Elish. Fascinating parallels there, no doubt. Thank you for posting this.