Functional not Material

I'm enjoying reading 'The Lost World of Genesis One' at the moment. I'm hoping there will be a few posts to extract from it! John Walton's book looks at Genesis 1 within its ANE context and builds the thesis that 'creation' in that setting means functional, and not material as presupposed in our 21st century understanding.

ANE mythology asked about the purpose of the world around it rather than how it came into material existence. Therefore the Biblical account reflects that definition of the creation concept. For example:

Throughout Genesis 1 any number of possible meanings have been proposed for "good". In the history of interpretation it has been often been understood in moral/ethical terms or as a reference to the quality of the workmanship. While the Hebrew term could be used in any of those ways, the context indicates a different direction. We can find out what the author means when saying all of these things are "good" by inquiring what it would mean for something not to be good. Fortunately the near context offers us just such an opportunity: "It is not good for man to be alone" (Gen 2:18). This verse has nothing to do with moral perfection or quality of workmanship - it is a comment concerning function. The human condition is not functionally complete without the woman. Thus throughout Genesis 1 the refrain "it was good" expressed the functional readiness of the cosmos for human beings.