„… und macht sie euch untertan“? Ethische Implikationen der Mensch-Umwelt-Relation in ausgewählten alttestamentlichen und altorientalischen Schöpfungstexten

Abstract

The article examines the relationship between humans and their animal and non-animal envi­ronment in some Old Testament and Ancient Near Eastern texts on creation (the priestly and the non-priestly Primeval History; Atrahasis; Enuma eliš; the debate between Sheep and Grain; the Sumerian flood story; and the creation of Enkidu in the epic of Gilgameš). The diverse texts explain the world order as the result of a development, in some cases involving several stages, from a counter-world, which is by no means a paradise, to the real world of their authors. The texts grant humans a special position in creation, which at the same time goes hand in hand with a responsibility towards the rest of creation. This responsibility, though, can also include the use of deadly power.