Is Genesis History?

Hebraist Steve Boyd looks at some ancient manuscripts, then explores the evidence that Genesis is narrative history

Part of the Beyond Is Genesis History?

Comments ~

Sol - " Genesis 4, 19 - Clearly states that this tribe of humans were living in the Iron Age of archaeological times, Quote " Lamech married two women, one named Adah and the other Zillah. Adah gave birth to Jabal; he was the father of those who live in tents and raise livestock. His brother’s name was Jubal; he was the father of all who play stringed instruments and pipes. Zillah also had a son, Tubal-Cain, who forged all kinds of tools out of bronze and iron. Tubal-Cain’s sister was Naamah." ----- Forged all kinds of tools out of bronze and iron. The Iron Age ( 1200–1000 BC) so someone is very mistaken but yet of course the Earth has flooded many times in it's long history.. Most of the floods are still here we just call them oceans, or seas now.. "

Ami- " Are you assuming there was only one iron age? But many floods? In the iron of the nails at the wreck site of the ark there are traces of titanium. Analysis suggests it represents a more advanced alloy than we currently use today. "

Sol- " Yes, only one Iron age related to modern humans that actually write and keep genealogies. There is no " Wreck site of any Ark of any kind that could of carried so many animals ( even dinosaurs? ) that long on seas as violent as being suggested to cause such formations. The flood story we got today is a hand me down version retold, revised time and time again until now no more than a fable, originally from a more ancient writing called " Epic of Gilgamesh" Several floods of biblical proportions did happen of course but probably the ones still in the collective conscience memory of humans ( Every ancient culture on earth has a flood story in their mythology) was during a more recent time when miles high ice shelves melted very rapidly probably due to asteroid impacts onto Greenland and other places, some 10,000 years ago, ( Atlantis Era ) ice dam breakage, along with other volcanic upheavals triggered. We humans live on a planet that is mostly water, oceans 7 miles deep in places so yes an impact from space into any of these basins would send massive tsunami over all the continents that as the text states, " The water receded steadily from the earth. At the end of the hundred and fifty days the water had gone down " This is exactly describing the nature of the mega tsunami as we model it today. "

Ami - " This history was recorded at a later date, of a prior period when perhaps there was no reading and writing. It tells of a global flood that annihilated almost everyone including presumably their technology. The fact that they reportedly had iron and bronze is then logically no reason to assume dating relates in any way to our own recent (and directly documented) iron and bronze ages. We have NO IDEA what technology they may have developed before such a flood. Regarding the relic of the Ark, many have debated those issues, and the I think majority belief among at least Christians but also other Scientists, is that as the Bible states, each "kind" was taken in the ark - by no means and no need to take each and every type (our approximate "scientific" type classifications); and that given the huge dimensions of the Ark as documented (and seen at the relic site), it would indeed seem to be quite possible.. For such judgments we do need to be very careful to monitor our own biases. If we set out to deny the history as documented, it's probably not going to be too difficult to do so at at least face value and to our own satisfaction, irrespective of the truth of the matter. It's unfortunately easy (with human nature) to declare events impossible, when at the same time we also know that truth is often stranger than fiction. As usual main stream dogma gets completely lost with it's many many assumptions and declarations included in the logic paths on the way to judgments such as this. Thanks for offering your personal opinions. It's always interesting. "

Sol - " History recorded at a later date? " What ? ---- " Genesis is a very modern book, originally written, edited, and compiled by Moses ( 1391 - 1271 BCE ) as a thesis while attending college in Egypt where he had access to a library of collected scrolls, and tablets from all around the then known world to draw from.. Since then the works has been translated into many languages, and further edited to suit what ever culture, cult or religion being ritualized at that moment in time for what ever reasons. Just as with any human story each generation adds their twist, just as we are doing today as new technology, science, and ideas emerge towards truth and enlightenment hopefully."

Sol - " Are you suggesting that the mythical folks onboard the Ark simply got amnesia, and totally forgot all the technologies they were expert masters of just a few days prior, to build such ships, and forge such amazing feats? If you want to add a flood story within this actual time frame that actually flooded many middle eastern towns and cities consider the Black Sea that flooded sometime around 7500 B.C. This notion of a global flood grew out of the fact that every culture around the whole globe has a flood story, which would be a common theme on such a water world as the earth, Duh! As also the ignorant bastards of those times thought the Earth was flat so if a flood or, tsunami washed over any nearby hills then, Wallah! Envision that from their perspective as they would of recorded the event. "

Ami - " No. How can you suggest that any one person or small group of people could be or would be "experts" on all the available technology of any age? It's likely and logical that they couldn't resurrect it because they didn't personally know most of it. Cheers. "

Sol - " Well ignoring the facts is one thing but to imagine that the folks one reads about in any ancient book, that existed before the age of writing ( The cuneiform script, created in Mesopotamia, present-day Iraq, ca. 3200 BC, was first writing ) is madness on a scale of total ignorance.. And yes these folks to survive this cataclysmic event on such a global scale to not only foresee it coming, but construct a vessel to escape would put this group as the most advanced on the planet at that time.. Trouble is none of this happened the story is a myth.. as we have found prehistoric humans on every island on earth large enough to house a ecosystem. Get over it as we are facing similar yet real crisis now in modern times.. so a focus on that for now is enough.. "

Sol - " People forget that there were no such things as " Bibles" of any numbers until the invention of the printing press 1440 A.D before then a few hand written scraps of handmade books and scrolls, and scratches on stones, and mud that few people on earth could even read. What we have today is a collection of bits and pieces of stories collected from all over the world and complied into what we perceive as modern " Bibles " of which were mostly invented by elite Romans to control the masses of slaves and conquered peoples from all over their empire.. For modern people to take any of these stories as actual history is a ludicrous notion as delirious as madmen in a insane asylum. "

Kat -  " I studied Genesis for five months!! Genesis 3:15 is the key to all civilization and gives a far deeper understanding of a temporary existence for Satan, and an eternal one for those in Christ!! "

Sol -  " Genesis, speaks of none of those things you mention.. The word " Satan " is found nowhere, nor the word " Christ " You are making things up that simply do not exist in the text, nor context. This part of genesis was originally written as a Children's Book Faerie tale to explain to ancient teenage peoples a thing or two about human nature.." Now the serpent (adversary) was more crafty than any of the wild animals, Yahweh Elohim had made."  So the " serpent " in this story is a wild beast ( simply talking about a man, symbolically the beast is a wild man bent on lust to the point of rape,-- an adulterous- an adversary to sacred marriage ) To this very day there is enmity between that type man and the woman where there is no respect for her virginity, and lady hood.. The story is talking about the relationship between a man and a women ---infidelity, behavior nothing else. The concept of original Sin is a totally made up piece of non-sense as this story is about a single man Adam and a single women, Eve thus " That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh. Adam and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame." Yet Eve was tempted to have sex with another, and then Adam as many married couples do till this very day.. DUH ! The Forbidden fruit was the opium poppy plant, which still thrives in that region to this very day, and still is illegal in many parts of the world to this very day."

For further reading--

In 1997, Walter Pitman and Bill Ryan of Columbia University proposed a controversial hypothesis: that the sea level abruptly rose about 7,200 years ago, due to salty Mediterranean water breaking through a natural dam across the Bosporus Strait and flooding the freshwater Black Sea — timing that they note coincides roughly with the biblical story of Noah’s Flood. The hypothesis is still disputed, and archaeologists, historians and oceanographers continue to search for evidence of Neolithic sites that might have been inundated by the rising sea.

Che- " Is the Hebrew word for day in 2 Peter 3:8 the same word as in Genesis? "

Aj -  " I think Peter was Greek, as such he would have written in Greek, rather than Hebrew." 

Sol- " The Hebrew word for " Day " in the context of the Genesis creation myth, is more akin to, " epoch " as we think of it today, for instance, " In my" Day" humans went to the moon in spaceships." Or for instance, " In God's " Day" the universe evolved"  How long are these, Days is relative to the time frame of an observer, not from the spin of a particular planet in the cosmos as it relates to a star." 

Phi - " The Hebrew word for " Day " in the context of the Genesis creation myth, is more akin to, " epoch "

" Not so. The Hebrew word for Day, when used in association with 'morning', 'evening' or a number, means an ordinary day. In the Genesis creation account it has all three. But on top of that, its meaning is actually defined as being an evening and a morning, i.e. a normal night-day cycle. And if that's not enough, in Exodus 20:11, the Israelites were told to follow that same pattern of six days followed by one day of rest. Not epochs, but days. Unless you think that we are supposed to work for six epochs then rest for one epoch? " 

Sol - "  Yes, the cosmic morning and the cosmic evening, the GREAT DAY as referred to by the ancients.. Follow the Sun as it journeys around the galaxy ( about 230 million years to make one complete orbit around the Milky Way! )  As we said the Day as respect to creation is more akin to epochs, but correct a day as reference to humans upon this already created planet is 24 hours according to the spin of our planet, of course the tribes went by the moons in those times, so the sabbaths were simply new moon, first quarter, full, second quarter, then new again marked days of rest.. the Moon not the spin of earth.. But yes the false religions have hijacked this also so most people has forgotten the sabbath day as well.. Amazing though modern science totally agrees with genesis as 6 great epochs the , Hadean, Achean, Proterozoic, Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and the Cenozoic of which is our time now. We do seem to be existing at the dawn of a new epoch the seventh of which yes many labor saving devices will create rest for not only the humans but a time for the planet to heal.. A cosmic Sabbath if you will?  ( Age of Aquarius ) "