Genesis 1-2 style indicates allegory?

Discussion about the Hebrew Bible, Septuagint, pseudepigrapha, Philo, Josephus, Talmud, Dead Sea Scrolls, archaeology, etc.
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ficino
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Joined: Fri Oct 25, 2013 6:15 pm

Genesis 1-2 style indicates allegory?

Post by ficino »

In a letter in the New York Times today a reader wrote this:

"The Genesis creation accounts (yes, there are two) are written in a style of Hebrew that would indicate to the native reader that they are allegories intended to convey religious truth, not scientific fact."

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/16/opini ... paper&_r=0

Is this reader's claim true? Does the style of the first chapters of Genesis, as opposed to content, signal allegory?
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Tenorikuma
Posts: 374
Joined: Thu Nov 14, 2013 6:40 am

Re: Genesis 1-2 style indicates allegory?

Post by Tenorikuma »

Short answer: no.

Long answer: yes.

ANE creation myths did not primarily answer the question "how did everything begin?" They answered the question "how is everything sustained?" Creation is a reflection of the temple and the deity's work at fending off chaos. That kind of makes it allegory, but not in the sense of a moral or theological allegory like modern people understand the concept.

Every night, Ra's barque passes into the underworld, where it must contend with cosmic serpents before resurrecting as the day. That's not just an allegory, it's a prescientific way of ordering reality.
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