RE: Reading Genesis literally

Hi Phil, you wrote:
 
>>I was going from memory from what I had read in Don Johnson's book,
_Eternity in their Hearts_. As I recall, Johnson explains that
Melchizedek, being a Canaanite, worshipped God according to a Canaanite
name that was derived from Babylonian origins -- El being related to
Ilu, etc. If I am not mistaken, this is related to Ellil and Enlil, is
it not?<<
 
The difference in the two names is the prefix el for "god" in Hebrew,
Canaanite, etc., versus the Sumerian en meaning "lord" or "king." But
Ilu or Anu is the father god, while Enlil is the third god in the
Accadian hierarchy, second in the Sumerian.
 
I guess the point I would make in all this is that it seems to me it is
quite possible the same three we worship as the individual members of
the tripartite God today as Christians were also known in some way,
however they understood it, to the Accadians/Semites. That would make
the belief we have today based upon a truth that was known even before
the Old Testament writers were born. And that's intriguing.
 
The article posted from Paul Blackman
(http://www.theologian.org.uk/bible/blackham.html) does make the link
between "Christ" and Yahweh. He equates "angel" with "messenger," and
so sometimes in the OT it's the pre-incarnate "Christ," and sometimes
they are angels such as visited Lot in Sodom. So too, could you link
the anunnaki (followers of Anu) with angels as messengers. But the
pre-incarnate Christ could never have been one of the annunaki gods.
 
In the last analyses, it's impossible to establish the legitimacy of the
Accadian writers unlike the Old Testament prophets. It's tempting to
just strip away all the references to other gods we don't believe in and
just focus on the three we know about today, but you could never
establish any validity on that basis.
 
We're really left with a mishmash of truth and fiction hopelessly
intertwined. I like to try and pull out the nuggets of gold from a pile
of pebbles, but there is no measuring device adequate to help you decide
with certainty what's what.
 
Dick Fischer
Dick Fischer, Genesis Proclaimed Association
Finding Harmony in Bible, Science, and History
 <http://www.genesisproclaimed.org> www.genesisproclaimed.org
 
-----Original Message-----
From: asa-owner@lists.calvin.edu [mailto:asa-owner@lists.calvin.edu] On
Behalf Of Philtill@aol.com
Sent: Saturday, May 06, 2006 2:25 PM
To: dickfischer@verizon.net; asa@calvin.edu
Subject: Re: Reading Genesis literally
 
dickfischer@verizon.net writes:
I don't see "Enlil" in
<http://bible.crosswalk.com/OnlineStudyBible/bible.cgi?word=ge+14:18&ver
sion=kjv&st=1&sd=1&new=1&showtools=1> Gen.14:18. Maybe you can show me
that?
I was going from memory from what I had read in Don Johnson's book,
_Eternity in their Hearts_. As I recall, Johnson explains that
Melchizedek, being a Canaanite, worshipped God according to a Canaanite
name that was derived from Babylonian origins -- El being related to
Ilu, etc. If I am not mistaken, this is related to Ellil and Enlil, is
it not? In any case, Melchizedek called God by the full name El Elyon,
"the lord, the most high lord". This addition of Elyon onto El may
indicate that Melchizedek had recognized that the pantheon of Babylonian
gods was wrong because it failed to recognize one "most high lord" high
above the rabble of mere Anunnaki and Igigi. In fact, Melchizedek also
credits El Elyon with making heaven and earth. So adding Elyon and
attributing the act of creation to the earlier El may indicate a real
insight into monotheism by this Canaanite priest. Abraham replied to
Melchizedek by only partially changing the name that Melchizedek had
used, from El Elyon to Yahweh Elyon. This change implies that Abraham
(unlike Melchizedek) had personal revelation from God and therefore knew
God's true name, and yet by keeping Melchizedek's terminology partially
intact it tacitly recognizes that Melchizedek was a believer in the same
God as he. The idea is that Melchizedek may not have had as clear
knowledge about Yahweh as Abraham did, but nevertheless he had a true
faith in the One God who is there.
 
As I said, I was going from memory and I could have mixed this up. I
have loaned out my copy of Don Johnson's book and never got it back.
 
Phil Metzger
 
 
Received on Sun May 7 10:25:15 2006