William Hamilton wrote:
"I do have a problem with the idea that Genesis 1 was written during the
exile."
Even if Genesis was written so late, it's inconceivable that the nation could have flourished for so long without an account of origins. Going without would be something like living in a vacuum. I have yet to learn of a tribe or people that did not have a well-developed myth of origins. The natives of New Guinea had (have) such myths (which seem to have varied a lot from tribe to tribe, as a sculpture garden at Stanford U. graphically illustrates), and so did the Australian aborigines, etc., etc. By analogy it's almost certain that the Israelites had such a well-developed account of origins, and I think it's safe to assume further that it dated from the time of the patriarchs even if it wasn't fully fleshed out or written down then.
Don
Received on Mon Feb 23 02:16:55 2004
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