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<h1>The Flood Story: Undoing and Redoing Creation</h1> | <h1>The Flood Story: Undoing and Redoing Creation</h1> | ||
| − | <div><b><center>THIS TOPIC IS CURRENTLY IN PROGRESS</center></b></div> | + | <div><b><center>THIS TOPIC IS CURRENTLY IN PROGRESS</center></b></div><div style="text-align:center;font-weight:bold" class="header"><a href="Table" data-aht="subpage" class="btn" style="color:#832525">Open Comparison Table</a></div> |
<h2 name="">Introduction</h2> | <h2 name="">Introduction</h2> | ||
Commentators as early as Philo,<fn>See his Questions and Answers on Genesis 2:13,14,17,31,51,56, and 66.</fn> have noted many similarities between the Flood narrative of Bereshit 6-9 and the description of Creation in Bereshit 1-2.<fn>Cassuto points to several of the similarities throughout his commentary on the story; see, for instance, his comments on 8:1,13,22. See also N. Sarna, Understanding Genesis (New York, 1966): 56 and numerous recent articles which list and analyze the parallels. See R. Z. Weitman, "הבריאה החדשה", Alon Shevut 78 (1980): 27-38, J. Berman, "המחדש בטובו מעשה בראשית", Megadim 9 (1990): 9-14, Y. Hershkovitz, "זכר ונקבה ברא אותם – עיון מחודש בפרשת המבול", Megadim 34 (2002): 9-25, Y. Grossman, <a href="http://www.etzion.org.il/vbm/archive/4-parsha/02noach.php">"בין העולם הראשון והשני"</a>, and E. Mayer, <a href="http://parshathemes.wordpress.com/2013/04/15/parshat-noach-creation-unzipped/">"Creation Unzipped"</a>.</fn> Some of the parallels are inverted and highlight how the Flood reversed the process of creation, while others correspond directly and demonstrate how the re-establishment of the world after the deluge mirrored the original creation. | Commentators as early as Philo,<fn>See his Questions and Answers on Genesis 2:13,14,17,31,51,56, and 66.</fn> have noted many similarities between the Flood narrative of Bereshit 6-9 and the description of Creation in Bereshit 1-2.<fn>Cassuto points to several of the similarities throughout his commentary on the story; see, for instance, his comments on 8:1,13,22. See also N. Sarna, Understanding Genesis (New York, 1966): 56 and numerous recent articles which list and analyze the parallels. See R. Z. Weitman, "הבריאה החדשה", Alon Shevut 78 (1980): 27-38, J. Berman, "המחדש בטובו מעשה בראשית", Megadim 9 (1990): 9-14, Y. Hershkovitz, "זכר ונקבה ברא אותם – עיון מחודש בפרשת המבול", Megadim 34 (2002): 9-25, Y. Grossman, <a href="http://www.etzion.org.il/vbm/archive/4-parsha/02noach.php">"בין העולם הראשון והשני"</a>, and E. Mayer, <a href="http://parshathemes.wordpress.com/2013/04/15/parshat-noach-creation-unzipped/">"Creation Unzipped"</a>.</fn> Some of the parallels are inverted and highlight how the Flood reversed the process of creation, while others correspond directly and demonstrate how the re-establishment of the world after the deluge mirrored the original creation. | ||
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| − | <h2 name=""> | + | <h2 name="">Analysis of parallels</h2> |
| + | <p>To determine whether a parallel to another story is an intentional allusion or simply a coincidental similarity one must look to the number and concentration of parallels, the degree of linguistic similarity, and the relative uniqueness of the shared phrases or concepts.<fn>It is difficult to argue that a word that appears in every chapter in Tanakh is placed there intentionally to allude to another story, while a word which only appears a handful of times might point to intentional comparison. Similarly, if there is only one word in Biblical Hebrew for a certain object or concept the doubling of that word is less significant than when the Torah chooses one of several valid synonyms.</fn> In this case, there are obviously a significant number of conceptual parallels between the two narratives, but the significance of the similarities (the extent of the linguistic overlap and the rarity of the choice of terms) must be explored individually:</p> | ||
| + | <ul> | ||
| + | <li>Wind over water – The concept of wind/spirit passing over water appears only in the stories of the Creation, the Flood, and the splitting of Yam Suf.  In addition, the phrase " עַל פְּנֵי הַמָּיִם" appears, besides in these two stories,<fn>In the flood narrative it appears not in the section that details the re-creation but in the description of the ark floating on the water.</fn> only in Shemot 32:20 and Kohelet 11:1.</li> | ||
| + | <li>Mingling or Separation of waters – Though there is no linguistic similarity between the descriptions of the mingling/separation between the higher and lower waters, it is only in these two stories that such a concept appears.<fn>There are other places, though, which speak of both the waters of the heavens and waters of the depths. Thus, for example, Yosef is blessed by both his father and Moshe with both such waters.</fn>  The word "תְּהוֹם", though, does appear in both stories,<fn>In Bereshit 1, the context is not the separation of waters, but the hovering of Hashem's spirit.</fn> accounting for three of its five appearances in Torah.<fn>As above, the other appearances are in the blessings to Yosef.</fn></li> | ||
| + | <li>Elements of Creation – The words used in the two accounts do not overlap significantly, nor are most of them unique to these stories.</li> | ||
| + | <ul> | ||
| + | <li>Heavens and earth -  The "יַבָּשָׁה" of Bereshit 1 is alternately referred to here as "אֲדָמָה" or "הָאָרֶץ‎".<fn>The verb form " יָבְשָׁה" does appear, but alongside its synonym "חָרְבוּ".</fn>  This, though, might be expected as the text states that, after its appearance, Hashem called the dry land "אֶרֶץ"‎.<fn>The original term does appear elsewhere in Tanakh, in particular where there is an emphasis on removing water to uncover dry land, such as in the stories of the splitting of the Sea and the Jordan.. In these cases, though, only one specific portion of land is referred to, not the entire earth.</fn>  Similarly the word "רָקִיעַ" is replaced by "שָׁמָיִם", its new name.</li> | ||
| + | <li>Vegetation - There is only an allusion to the renewed vegetation in the mention of the olive branch, with no direct connection to the plant list of Bereshit:"דֶּשֶׁא עֵשֶׂב מַזְרִיעַ זֶרַע עֵץ פְּרִי".</li> | ||
| + | <li>Animals – The combined mention of bird, animal, beast, and swarming creatures is not unique to these stories.<fn>Interestingly, though, of the 29 mentions of the root רמש in Tanakh, 17 are found in the Creation and Flood narratives.</fn></li> | ||
| + | <li>"לְמִינוֹ" / "לְמִינֵהוּ" – In contrast to the above, this term is somewhat unique, appearing only by the names of the plant and animal species created in Bereshit, the list of animals entering the ark, and the list of prohibited foods in Vayikra 11 and Devarim 14.</li> | ||
| + | </ul> | ||
| + | <li>The Blessing - The language of the two blessings is almost identical.  Moreover the phrase ""פְּרוּ וּרְבוּ appears in just these two sets of chapters and in Yirmiyahu 23:3 and Yechezkel 36:11.<fn>Here the terms are reversed, reading "וְרָבוּ וּפָרוּ ". Both these prophets use it in when describing the ingathering of exiles and return to Israel (a re-creation in its own right).</fn> </li> | ||
| + | </ul> | ||
| + | <p>"נִשְׁמַת חַיִּים" – This phrase only appears by the creation of man in Bereshit 1 and by his destruction in Bereshit 7.</p> | ||
| + | <p> </p> | ||
| + | |||
| + | <h2 name="">Full Chart</h2> | ||
<answer text="Show / Hide Comparison Table"><multilang style="overflow: auto;"> | <answer text="Show / Hide Comparison Table"><multilang style="overflow: auto;"> | ||
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Version as of 17:23, 23 October 2014
The Flood Story: Undoing and Redoing Creation
Introduction
Commentators as early as Philo,1 have noted many similarities between the Flood narrative of Bereshit 6-9 and the description of Creation in Bereshit 1-2.2 Some of the parallels are inverted and highlight how the Flood reversed the process of creation, while others correspond directly and demonstrate how the re-establishment of the world after the deluge mirrored the original creation.
Undoing of Creation
The similarities between Parashat Noach's description of the world's destruction and the original creation story are in content more than language. They serve to underscore the obvious, that the deluge undid much of what the original creation had accomplished.
- Separated waters re-mingle – Hashem's original separation between the waters on high and below is undone, as both the heavens and the depths release the waters of the flood.
- Land re-submerges – In Bereshit, the ingathering of the waters allows for the land to emerge, while in Parashat Noach, water floods back over all.
- All die – The creation story describes the creation of bird, animal, beast and human, while the Noach account tells of their deaths.
- Breath of life extinguished – Whereas Bereshit 2 emphasizes Hashem's breathing life into His handiwork, Bereshit 7 highlights the extinguishing of that breath.
Re-creation
The second half of the flood narrative, which describes the reemergence of life, also draws the reader back to the original creation story. Here the many parallels are direct and highlight how Hashem renewed the world, giving mankind a fresh start. The similarities between the two accounts include:
- State of the world pre-creation – In both cases, before life is created, water filled the earth and a wind or spirit hovered or passed over it.
- Dates – Chapter 8:13 records that the date of the drying up of the waters of the flood was the first day of the first month, the same day the world was created.
- The elements and order of creation – In both stories there is explicit mention of separation of higher and lower waters, the appearance of land and vegetation, markers of time, and the emergence of birds, animals, and man.3
- Blessings – Both accounts detail Hashem's blessing of abundant procreation to both the birds4 and humans and the promise that mankind will have dominion over the animals.
- Command to eat – In Bereshit 1, Hashem allows man to eat from all vegetation, while in Bereshit 9, He adds that they can also eat from living creatures.5
- Limits on food – Hashem bans certain foods to both groups. In Bereshit 2, the fruit of the tree of knowledge is prohibited, while in Bereshit 9, Hashem warns against eating the blood of animals.
- Occupation of man - The first human is named "אָדָם" and is commanded to work the land. Noach is similarly referred to as "אִישׁ הָאֲדָמָה" and soon after the flood subsides, he plants a vineyard.
Analysis of parallels
To determine whether a parallel to another story is an intentional allusion or simply a coincidental similarity one must look to the number and concentration of parallels, the degree of linguistic similarity, and the relative uniqueness of the shared phrases or concepts.6 In this case, there are obviously a significant number of conceptual parallels between the two narratives, but the significance of the similarities (the extent of the linguistic overlap and the rarity of the choice of terms) must be explored individually:
- Wind over water – The concept of wind/spirit passing over water appears only in the stories of the Creation, the Flood, and the splitting of Yam Suf. In addition, the phrase " עַל פְּנֵי הַמָּיִם" appears, besides in these two stories,7 only in Shemot 32:20 and Kohelet 11:1.
- Mingling or Separation of waters – Though there is no linguistic similarity between the descriptions of the mingling/separation between the higher and lower waters, it is only in these two stories that such a concept appears.8 The word "תְּהוֹם", though, does appear in both stories,9 accounting for three of its five appearances in Torah.10
- Elements of Creation – The words used in the two accounts do not overlap significantly, nor are most of them unique to these stories.
- Heavens and earth - The "יַבָּשָׁה" of Bereshit 1 is alternately referred to here as "אֲדָמָה" or "הָאָרֶץ".11 This, though, might be expected as the text states that, after its appearance, Hashem called the dry land "אֶרֶץ".12 Similarly the word "רָקִיעַ" is replaced by "שָׁמָיִם", its new name.
- Vegetation - There is only an allusion to the renewed vegetation in the mention of the olive branch, with no direct connection to the plant list of Bereshit:"דֶּשֶׁא עֵשֶׂב מַזְרִיעַ זֶרַע עֵץ פְּרִי".
- Animals – The combined mention of bird, animal, beast, and swarming creatures is not unique to these stories.13
- "לְמִינוֹ" / "לְמִינֵהוּ" – In contrast to the above, this term is somewhat unique, appearing only by the names of the plant and animal species created in Bereshit, the list of animals entering the ark, and the list of prohibited foods in Vayikra 11 and Devarim 14.
- The Blessing - The language of the two blessings is almost identical. Moreover the phrase ""פְּרוּ וּרְבוּ appears in just these two sets of chapters and in Yirmiyahu 23:3 and Yechezkel 36:11.14
"נִשְׁמַת חַיִּים" – This phrase only appears by the creation of man in Bereshit 1 and by his destruction in Bereshit 7.
