Back to the Babylonian story, Marduk then took Tiamat’s body and split it in half “like a shellfish.” With the upper half, the god made the heavens, and with the lower the oceans. He then pushed back the lower waters and gave them boundaries, and in this way land was created. After this, Marduk executed Qingu. After this, he took some clay from the ground and mixed it with Qingu’s blood, thus creating human beings. Those who first heard Genesis 1–2 would have had these rival accounts ringing in their