RE: God Yahweh Allah was a volcano.
July 30, 2011 at 7:55 am
(This post was last modified: July 30, 2011 at 8:25 am by The Grand Nudger.)
The Ahmose/Mermose narratives and the Canaanite familiarity with Egyptian culture give us some perspective on exodus that may be based in fact. The earliest accounts of exodus do mention some sorts of plagues, but the stylized version we have now has more to do with dueteronomy than history. As a text that was compiled long after these events occurred, it wouldn't be unreasonable to assume that there is a fair bit of historical fiction going on. The fact remains that whatever history they may have tried to impart with the exodus narrative, it diverges wildly from actuality. The reasons for this could be political, or spiritual, they may simply be errors in chronology. It could also be that exodus was a purely fictional work. Fiction is not something new, and the inhabitants of the Middle East were fully modern human beings, capable of any leap of creativity and imagination that you or I might take today. There were bronze age Stephen Kings. Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter contains elements of history in both setting and character, but it is not a history. The same could be said of exodus.
To give an example: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epic_of_Gilgamesh
The Epic of Gilgamesh is a great example of fiction in the ancient world (epic fiction in fact). The most complete copy is dated to the 7th century BC, one of the oldest known works of literature. The earliest examples of this epic date to around 1700 b.c.e. The individual poems that the epic may have drawn against to form a complete narrative existed as early as 2150 b.c.e.(and this discounts the time spent as oral tradition, if there ever was such a time), Ancient peoples were very well versed in fiction and storytelling.
(I've always thought it was a little insulting to assume that our ancestors couldn't write a good book)
Problem with your scenario Hannah is that we have reason to believe that the Hebrews were not refugees, or nomads, but Canaanites. Moses did not write the Pent, in fact, Moses may be a literary device. An early dues ex machina. It's interesting that this comparison can be made, considering that the large majority of "biblical sources" are greek. The greeks were a people who leveraged this device so often that later roman critics such as Horace actually complained about it being unsatisfying and a poor show of the writers craft in his work Ars Peotica.
There is currently no reason to assume that the narratives of the bible are anything more than points in the timeline of the great collective work of literary achievement. This isn't a bad place to find ones self. I actually very much enjoy the narratives in the bible as an exercise in what was then a costly luxury (literature), and it's direct contribution to the literary tradition is not to be understated, it is a quirk of humanity that has survived in us up unto the present day.
To give an example: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epic_of_Gilgamesh
The Epic of Gilgamesh is a great example of fiction in the ancient world (epic fiction in fact). The most complete copy is dated to the 7th century BC, one of the oldest known works of literature. The earliest examples of this epic date to around 1700 b.c.e. The individual poems that the epic may have drawn against to form a complete narrative existed as early as 2150 b.c.e.(and this discounts the time spent as oral tradition, if there ever was such a time), Ancient peoples were very well versed in fiction and storytelling.
(I've always thought it was a little insulting to assume that our ancestors couldn't write a good book)
Problem with your scenario Hannah is that we have reason to believe that the Hebrews were not refugees, or nomads, but Canaanites. Moses did not write the Pent, in fact, Moses may be a literary device. An early dues ex machina. It's interesting that this comparison can be made, considering that the large majority of "biblical sources" are greek. The greeks were a people who leveraged this device so often that later roman critics such as Horace actually complained about it being unsatisfying and a poor show of the writers craft in his work Ars Peotica.
There is currently no reason to assume that the narratives of the bible are anything more than points in the timeline of the great collective work of literary achievement. This isn't a bad place to find ones self. I actually very much enjoy the narratives in the bible as an exercise in what was then a costly luxury (literature), and it's direct contribution to the literary tradition is not to be understated, it is a quirk of humanity that has survived in us up unto the present day.
I am the Infantry. I am my country’s strength in war, her deterrent in peace. I am the heart of the fight… wherever, whenever. I carry America’s faith and honor against her enemies. I am the Queen of Battle. I am what my country expects me to be, the best trained Soldier in the world. In the race for victory, I am swift, determined, and courageous, armed with a fierce will to win. Never will I fail my country’s trust. Always I fight on…through the foe, to the objective, to triumph overall. If necessary, I will fight to my death. By my steadfast courage, I have won more than 200 years of freedom. I yield not to weakness, to hunger, to cowardice, to fatigue, to superior odds, For I am mentally tough, physically strong, and morally straight. I forsake not, my country, my mission, my comrades, my sacred duty. I am relentless. I am always there, now and forever. I AM THE INFANTRY! FOLLOW ME!
