Was there a proto-Genesis-Creation writing?
Posted: Fri Sep 09, 2022 12:29 pm
I've been rereading Genesis 1-6, along with re-reading Gmirkin's latest book (Timaeus and the Creation Accounts). It seems to me like Genesis 1-4 in particular, and how they relate to 5-6, implies that Genesis 1-4 was not itself a novel creation, but that it is a shortened version of a longer story from which several details have been left out.
Much seems to be implied in Genesis 1-4 that goes unsaid, and much of what goes unsaid would seem to explain various puzzling features of Genesis 1-4. I agree that the story of Genesis 1-4 makes the most sense if we read Genesis 1-2:4 as relating to the creation of the cosmos by El -- the Highest God, and that Genesis 2:5+ generally conveys the story of how Yahweh, son of the Highest God, created life and dwelled on earth in Eden. Or perhaps more precisely, it seems that Genesis 2:4-4 may be based on a longer narrative (and Genesis 1-2:3 is a novel creation).
Based on the LXX we get:
Of course all of this implies that the Highest God, Elohim/El Elyon/Demiurge, is in conversation with his son, the terrestrial god Yahweh. The Tree of Life exists in the Garden of Eden as a source of sustenance for Yahweh, so that Yahweh, and perhaps other terrestrial gods, will be able to maintain their immortality. These trees, (of Life and Knowledge of Good and Evil) existed in the Garden of Eden for a purpose, not just to tempt Adam and Eve. They were there because the gods needed them. Adam and Eve were living in the palace grounds of the gods, or at the very least in the palace grounds of Yahweh.
It would seem that we are missing parts of this story. Perhaps even parts that featured other gods.
Gmirkin argues for the creation of Genesis 1-11 being based on Plato's Timaeus and other Greek works. While influence here is possible, it seems to me that even if this is the case, that Genesis 2:4-4 (and perhaps more as well) appears to be redacted from some longer story. That longer story may have been influenced by Hellenistic sources. But it seems to me that what we have in the Bible is the abbreviation of a longer tale that included more details about the gods and what was going on in Eden prior to the casting out of Adam and Eve, and perhaps even more info on life outside of Eden.
Much seems to be implied in Genesis 1-4 that goes unsaid, and much of what goes unsaid would seem to explain various puzzling features of Genesis 1-4. I agree that the story of Genesis 1-4 makes the most sense if we read Genesis 1-2:4 as relating to the creation of the cosmos by El -- the Highest God, and that Genesis 2:5+ generally conveys the story of how Yahweh, son of the Highest God, created life and dwelled on earth in Eden. Or perhaps more precisely, it seems that Genesis 2:4-4 may be based on a longer narrative (and Genesis 1-2:3 is a novel creation).
Based on the LXX we get:
22 Then Elohim said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil; and now, he might reach out with his hand, and take fruit also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever”— 23 therefore Yahweh Elohim sent him out of the Garden of Eden, to cultivate the ground from which he was taken. 24 So He drove the man out; and at the east of the Garden of Eden He stationed the cherubim and the flaming sword which turned every direction to guard the way to the tree of life.
Of course all of this implies that the Highest God, Elohim/El Elyon/Demiurge, is in conversation with his son, the terrestrial god Yahweh. The Tree of Life exists in the Garden of Eden as a source of sustenance for Yahweh, so that Yahweh, and perhaps other terrestrial gods, will be able to maintain their immortality. These trees, (of Life and Knowledge of Good and Evil) existed in the Garden of Eden for a purpose, not just to tempt Adam and Eve. They were there because the gods needed them. Adam and Eve were living in the palace grounds of the gods, or at the very least in the palace grounds of Yahweh.
It would seem that we are missing parts of this story. Perhaps even parts that featured other gods.
Gmirkin argues for the creation of Genesis 1-11 being based on Plato's Timaeus and other Greek works. While influence here is possible, it seems to me that even if this is the case, that Genesis 2:4-4 (and perhaps more as well) appears to be redacted from some longer story. That longer story may have been influenced by Hellenistic sources. But it seems to me that what we have in the Bible is the abbreviation of a longer tale that included more details about the gods and what was going on in Eden prior to the casting out of Adam and Eve, and perhaps even more info on life outside of Eden.