42 The Combat Myth: Yahweh and the Gods Who Preceded Him.

The Combat Myth is a tale of order vs. chaos common to many religions of the Ancient Near East. Each story begins with a chaotic threat. No champion among the council of the gods is willing to fight, but an upstart god accepts the challenge, wins, and becomes the new head of the council. The Bible is a product of the Ancient Near East, and we find fragments of this myth here as well.