Creation ex nihilo

Ancient Near East

Although ancient Near Eastern cosmology is read as invoking a process of creatio ex materia, occasional suggestions have been made that creatio ex nihilo can be found at least in some texts, including the EgyptianMemphite theology and the Hebrew BiblicalGenesis creation narrative. Hilber rejected these interpretations, viewing both as consistent with creatio ex materia and instead suggesting that some passages in the Book of Isaiah, the Book of Proverbs, and the Psalms indicate a form of creatio ex nihilo. The cosmogonical doxologies of the Book of Amos also present a view of creation ex nihilo.