Difference between revisions of "Tanakh and the Ancient Near East Index – Parashat Noach/0"

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<category>Flood Narratives
 
<category>Flood Narratives
 
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<li>The flood story has several parallels in Ancient Near Eastern literature.&#160; See <a href="The Mabbul and Mesopotamian Myths" data-aht="page">The Mabbul and Mesopotamian Myths</a>, which explains both points of narrative similarity as well as the theological differences underlying the various narratives. The comparison highlight the unique values and belief systems of the Children of Israel, distinguishing them from their polytheistic neighbors</li>
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<li>The flood story has several parallels in Ancient Near Eastern literature.&#160; See <a href="The Mabbul and Mesopotamian Myths" data-aht="page">The Mabbul and Mesopotamian Myths</a>, which explores both the similarity as well as the theological differences underlying the various narratives. The comparison highlights the unique values and belief systems of the Children of Israel, distinguishing them from their polytheistic neighbors.</li>
<li>See <a href="https://www.academia.edu/6274231/Flood_Narratives_in_the_Bible_and_the_Ancient_Near_East">Flood Narratives in the Bible and the Ancient Near East,</a> by Avi-Gil Chaitovksy, for an exploration of parallels and contrasts between these different accounts.&#160;&#160;</li>
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<li>See <a href="https://www.academia.edu/6274231/Flood_Narratives_in_the_Bible_and_the_Ancient_Near_East">Flood Narratives in the Bible and the Ancient Near East,</a> by Avi-Gil Chaitovksy, for an exploration of parallels and contrasts between these different accounts.&#160;</li>
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<li>Regarding the different attitude towards human procreation and the reason for bringing the flood in the Mesopotamian and Biblical Flood Stories, see:T. Frymer-Kensky, “<a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/3209529?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents">The Atrahasis Epic and Its Significance for Understanding Gen 1–9.</a>”, BA 2 40 (1977), 147–155.&#160;</li>
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<li>For works not available online which discuss the relation between the Biblical and Mesopotamian Flood traditions, with an emphasis on the disparities, see: U. Cassuto, A Commentary on the Book of Genesis (trans. I. Abrahams), Jerusalem 1961, Vol. 2, 3-29 and N.M. Sarna, Understanding Genesis, New York 1970, 37–59.</li>
 
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</ul>
 
</category>
 
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<li><a href="https://mg.alhatorah.org/Dual/Olam_HaMikra/Bereshit/11.1#m7e0n6">Olam Hamikra </a>provides images of ancient ziggurats, which may give context for understanding the significance of the tower of Bavel.&#160;</li>
 
<li><a href="https://mg.alhatorah.org/Dual/Olam_HaMikra/Bereshit/11.1#m7e0n6">Olam Hamikra </a>provides images of ancient ziggurats, which may give context for understanding the significance of the tower of Bavel.&#160;</li>
 
<li>See <a href="https://www.etzion.org.il/en/tanakh/torah/sefer-bereishit/parashat-noach/noach-and-mans-loftiness-will-be-bowed">Noach: And Man’s Loftiness Will Be Bowed</a> by R. Elchanan Samet for an exploration of how knowledge of Mesopotamian ziggurats interacts with traditional commentray on the intentions of the builders of the tower.&#160;&#160;</li>
 
<li>See <a href="https://www.etzion.org.il/en/tanakh/torah/sefer-bereishit/parashat-noach/noach-and-mans-loftiness-will-be-bowed">Noach: And Man’s Loftiness Will Be Bowed</a> by R. Elchanan Samet for an exploration of how knowledge of Mesopotamian ziggurats interacts with traditional commentray on the intentions of the builders of the tower.&#160;&#160;</li>
<li>See&#160;<a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/43894095?searchText=tower%20of%20babel&amp;searchUri=%2Faction%2FdoBasicSearch%3FQuery%3Dtower%2Bof%2Bbabel&amp;ab_segments=0%2FSYC-6744_basic_search%2Fcontrol&amp;refreqid=fastly-default%3A6993601c0c4300136af5a600809cd700">The Mock Building Account of Genesis 11:1-9: Polemic Against Mesopotamian Royal Ideology</a> by Dr. Andrew Giorgetti, which argues that the Biblical account of Migdal Bavel intentionally subverts the messages and motifs of Mesopotamian legends about royal building. </li>
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<li>See&#160;<a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/43894095?searchText=tower%20of%20babel&amp;searchUri=%2Faction%2FdoBasicSearch%3FQuery%3Dtower%2Bof%2Bbabel&amp;ab_segments=0%2FSYC-6744_basic_search%2Fcontrol&amp;refreqid=fastly-default%3A6993601c0c4300136af5a600809cd700">The Mock Building Account of Genesis 11:1-9: Polemic Against Mesopotamian Royal Ideology</a> by Dr. Andrew Giorgetti, which argues that the Biblical account of Migdal Bavel intentionally subverts the messages and motifs of Mesopotamian legends about royal building.</li>
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<li>For discussion of the story as an anti-Babylonian polemic, see U. Cassuto, A Commentary on the Book of Genesis (trans. I. Abrahams), Jerusalem 1961, Vol. 2, 225-238. N.M. Sarna, Understanding Genesis, New York 1970, 63–77.</li>
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<li>On the Mesopotamian background of the Tower of Babel story, see S. Bertman, <a href="https://books.google.co.il/books?id=1C4NKp4zgIQC&amp;printsec=frontcover&amp;dq=Handbook+to+Life+in+Ancient+Mesopotamia&amp;hl=iw&amp;sa=X&amp;ved=0ahUKEwj9uqeXw8jWAhUEshQKHTAkDPIQ6AEIKDAA#v=onepage&amp;q=Handbook%20to%20Life%20in%20Ancient%20Mesopotamia&amp;f=false">Handbook to Life in Ancient Mesopotamia</a>, Oxford 2003, 186ff.</li>
 
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</ul>
 
</category>
 
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Version as of 04:53, 22 August 2023

Tanakh & the Ancient Near East Index – Parashat Noach

This topic has not yet undergone editorial review

Flood Narratives

  • The flood story has several parallels in Ancient Near Eastern literature.  See The Mabbul and Mesopotamian Myths, which explores both the similarity as well as the theological differences underlying the various narratives. The comparison highlights the unique values and belief systems of the Children of Israel, distinguishing them from their polytheistic neighbors.
  • See Flood Narratives in the Bible and the Ancient Near East, by Avi-Gil Chaitovksy, for an exploration of parallels and contrasts between these different accounts. 
  • Regarding the different attitude towards human procreation and the reason for bringing the flood in the Mesopotamian and Biblical Flood Stories, see:T. Frymer-Kensky, “The Atrahasis Epic and Its Significance for Understanding Gen 1–9.”, BA 2 40 (1977), 147–155. 
  • For works not available online which discuss the relation between the Biblical and Mesopotamian Flood traditions, with an emphasis on the disparities, see: U. Cassuto, A Commentary on the Book of Genesis (trans. I. Abrahams), Jerusalem 1961, Vol. 2, 3-29 and N.M. Sarna, Understanding Genesis, New York 1970, 37–59.

Tower of Bavel in its Ancient Near Eastern Context

  • Olam Hamikra provides images of ancient ziggurats, which may give context for understanding the significance of the tower of Bavel. 
  • See Noach: And Man’s Loftiness Will Be Bowed by R. Elchanan Samet for an exploration of how knowledge of Mesopotamian ziggurats interacts with traditional commentray on the intentions of the builders of the tower.  
  • See The Mock Building Account of Genesis 11:1-9: Polemic Against Mesopotamian Royal Ideology by Dr. Andrew Giorgetti, which argues that the Biblical account of Migdal Bavel intentionally subverts the messages and motifs of Mesopotamian legends about royal building.
  • For discussion of the story as an anti-Babylonian polemic, see U. Cassuto, A Commentary on the Book of Genesis (trans. I. Abrahams), Jerusalem 1961, Vol. 2, 225-238. N.M. Sarna, Understanding Genesis, New York 1970, 63–77.
  • On the Mesopotamian background of the Tower of Babel story, see S. Bertman, Handbook to Life in Ancient Mesopotamia, Oxford 2003, 186ff.