Why Genesis 1 - 11 Has to be a Part of the Original Part of the Tetra/Pentateuch

Discussion about the Hebrew Bible, Septuagint, pseudepigrapha, Philo, Josephus, Talmud, Dead Sea Scrolls, archaeology, etc.
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Secret Alias
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Why Genesis 1 - 11 Has to be a Part of the Original Part of the Tetra/Pentateuch

Post by Secret Alias »

The calculation of Jubilees.
You shall count off seven Sabbaths of years, seven times seven years; and there shall be to you the days of seven Sabbaths of years, even forty-nine years. Then you shall sound the loud trumpet on the tenth day of the seventh month. On the Day of Atonement you shall sound the trumpet throughout all your land. You shall make the fiftieth year holy, and proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee to you; and each of you shall return to his own property, and each of you shall return to his family. That fiftieth year shall be a jubilee to you. In it you shall not sow, neither reap that which grows of itself, nor gather from the undressed vines. For it is a jubilee; it shall be holy to you. You shall eat of its increase out of the field. In this Year of Jubilee each of you shall return to his property.
The Samaritans still calculate the sabbatical years. The Jews gave up the practice (because they no longer have a priesthood). The sabbatical years have to be relative to 'something.' It would be impossible to know when seven year (and seven x seven + 1 year) cycles were completed if there wasn't a way of calculating how many years from Creation we are/were.
Secret Alias
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Re: Why Genesis 1 - 11 Has to be a Part of the Original Part of the Tetra/Pentateuch

Post by Secret Alias »

I would even argue that the material was written like this.

1. We need to establish some sort of narrative showing every 50 years corresponding to a favor/disfavor narrative
2. Just gather up some stories and make it fit the chronology

The chronology was written to confirm eras of favor and disfavor according to a mathematical cycle.
rgprice
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Re: Why Genesis 1 - 11 Has to be a Part of the Original Part of the Tetra/Pentateuch

Post by rgprice »

sigh
Secret Alias
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Re: Why Genesis 1 - 11 Has to be a Part of the Original Part of the Tetra/Pentateuch

Post by Secret Alias »

I have to admit of all the participants in these discussions you're the worst. Gmirkin is creative. He gets a 10 out of 10. Neil, while a pain in the ass sometimes is passionate about his beliefs and I can take that. But you. It's like, you so American. So fucking small minded.

Do you any idea of the CULTURE of the Torah? Have you ever lived and hung out with people and learned HOW THEY APPLY THE TEXT? I bet not. Because as an American you're into 'your interpretation.' Now 'your interpretation' is that this is a book and book has stories and stories can be traced to back to other stories. AND THAT'S IT. No intellectual probity. You just bury head in the sand and that's that.

You refuse to even consider that THE TEXT was part of a broader culture. So in the case of this fucking weird idea you have about Genesis 1 - 11 there's no thought about 'the greater cultural context.' Yes these are stupid stories. But they hang off of the liturgical practices of the Jewish and Samaritan priesthood.

For whatever fucking reason the Jews had Sabbaths and Sabbath years. I didn't celebrate Sabbaths or Sabbath years but ancient people did.

THE REASON THE STUPID STORIES EXIST, the stories before Abraham, IS TO CONTEXTUALIZE THE SABBATICAL YEAR AND JUBILEE CONCEPTS. That's it.

I know this goes against your American small minded way of thinking. But at one time the Sabbath year and the Jubilee were a REALLY REALLY BIG DEAL. It governed how crops were harvested. It helped people get out of debt. Big things.

But if you're going to tell someone you can't farm in this year or tell a creditor that he has to give up the money owed to him by a debtor YOU HAVE TO CONTEXTUALIZE THIS BULLSHIT "SABBATICAL YEAR" NONSENSE IN SOME OTHERWORLDLY MUMBO JUMBO.

As such you need to make up a 'anno mundi' and then stories which seem to correspond to Sabbatical cycles (the end of the Flood, Abraham coming into the Promised Land are all 'good things' so they fall on Jubilees). Americans are the worst.
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