Re: Four rivers revisieted

Allen Roy (allen@infomagic.com)
Fri, 23 Apr 1999 00:27:49 -0700

> From: Blaine D. McArthur <bjmcarth@pacbell.net>
> If I apply YEC standards of reading a biblical text to this passage, I
> have to admit that Moses does seem to imply that his readers could
> actually observe with their own eyes these rivers. Moses writes "the
> first IS...," " it WINDS..." and "there IS gold...." I believe verse
> twelve speaks for itself. I am sorrry Roy, but it seems pretty
> compelling to me. I see in Roy's comments words like "could also..."
> and " likely..." and "may have..." . This is pure conjecture, a
> stretch which would get me in a lot of trouble with my YEC friends if I
> were to engage in it..

If one takes the position that Moses wrote this description on his own,
then your position would accurate, but what is proposed by the tablet
literary theory of Genesis is that Moses did not write this description.
This description comes from tablet 2 which is Adam's geneology and history.
It would thus be Adam's description of the pre-flood world and not Moses'
description of the post-flood world.

For those who are unfamiliar with the tablet theory, here is the literary
breakdown of Genesis.

# : Geneology : Text Narrative/Body : Colophon (signature)
: : : Owner
/ Date
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------
1. : 1:1-2 : 1:3 - 2:3 Creation : 2:4a Heaven Earth /
2:4b
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------
2 : 2:4c-6 : 2:7 - 4:26 The Fall : 5:1a Adam /
5:1b-2
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------
3. : 5:3-32 : 6:1-8 : 6:9a Noah
/ 6:9b
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------
4. : 6:10 : 6:11 - 9:29 Flood : 10:1a Ham,Shem,Japh /
10:1b
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------
5. : 10:1b-32 : 11:1-9 : 11:10a Shem
/ --
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------
6. : 11:10b-25 : 11:26 : 11:27a Terrah
/ --
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------
7. : 11:27b : 11:27 - 25:11 Abraham: 25:12 Ishmael / --
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------
7a: : 25:13-18 Ishmael (postscript)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------
: 25:19a Isaac
/ --
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------
8. : 25:19b : 25:20 - 35:29 Isaac : 36:1 Esau /
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------
8a.: : 36:2-9 (postscript) : 36:9 Esau
/ 36:8
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------
8b.: : 36:10-43 Esau (postscript)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------
: 37:2a Jacob
/ 37:1
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------
9. : 1:1-37:2a : 37:2 - 50:21 Joseph : -- (Joseph?)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------
: 50:22-26 Joseph (postscript) : by Moses?
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------

The use of the words "could also..." and " likely..." and "may have..."
is to make it easier to back track if one needs to. It is a whole lot
easier to change your position when you have used such phrases, than if you
say: "Thats the way it is, so just go jump in a lake!"

Allen