Jeffery M. Leonard - Creation Rediscovered: Finding New Meaning in an Ancient Story

In one respect, a scholars indebtedness to others is obvious: it is manifest in the allusions, quotations, and citations that fill the pages of that scholars work. Less obvious but more important are the debts owed to those whose names are not always found in a footnote or a bibliography. High on the list of those to whom I find myself indebted are the teachers without whose patient guidance I would never have been able to find my lifes calling: My parents, Jim and Cheryl, who served as my first and best Bible teachers and whose support for me and my family has always been unwavering. Bryan Widbin, whose love for the Hebrew Scriptures proved irresistible to me and whose passionate embrace of both scholarship and faith gave me the courage to follow the same path. Marc Brettler, whose demand for rigor as a teacher was at once intimidating and invaluable and whose support as a mentor and friend has been a blessing. David Wright, whose patience rivaled that of Job as he kindly walked me and my fellow grad students through the exotic worlds of Israels neighbors. TzviAbusch, whose sensitive attention to the text remains a model for approaching literature from both Israel and Mesopotamia.

Alongside these, I am also indebted to my editor, Jonathan Kline, a wonderful scholar in his own right, who was kind enough to approach me several years ago with an invitation to do this study. Without his wise counsel and patient encouragement, this project would likely never have come to fruition.

I am, as ever, indebted to my wife, Michaela, and mytwo sons, Samuel and Elijah. My wife has been a constant source of love and support through the seemingly endless gauntlet of college, seminary, grad school, job search, tenure, and more. My sons are never far from my mind as I think through issues such as those laid out in this book. Helping them love God with all their hearts and all their minds remains my highest goal as their father.

Lastly, I remain deeply indebted to my grandmother, JohnnieFrances Shepherd, to whose memory this book is dedicated. I have studied the Scriptures in ways she could not, but I will never know them as profoundly as she did. The bitter trials that accompanied her last years on earth are never far from my mind when I read the Scriptures, whether their words are the cry Why is light given to one in misery, and life to the bitter in soul? (Job 3:20) or the hopeful confidence Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more (Rev 21:4). Her influence on those around her, both in her life and in her death, could never be measured.