[b-hebrew] Genesis 30:20-30

George Athas George.Athas at moore.edu.au
Fri May 14 10:53:08 EDT 2010


James, I think you may be mixing the categories of myth and legend. A myth has absolutely no historical basis at all, even though it may be trying to explaining something very real. The Greek gods belong to this category. Legend, on the other hand, has an historical kernel around which an embellished tradition has accrued. The Greek heroes Heracles and Odysseus are probably just such 'legendary' figures.

Now, in terms of the aetiologies in the Bible, you may very well be correct that they have a legendary development going back to a real historical person/event. However, there is no way to corroborate this. There isn't even any 'probability' here in terms of historical likelihood. We just simply do not know. If you opt for a 'likely historical' view, then you are doing so on the basis of an assumption, preference, or faith. That's OK to do that, so long as it's acknowledged.


GEORGE ATHAS
Moore Theological College (Sydney, Australia)
www.moore.edu.au


________________________________
From: James Christian <jc.bhebrew at googlemail.com>
Date: Fri, 14 May 2010 18:56:02 +1000
To: George Athas <george.athas at moore.edu.au>
Cc: B-Hebrew <b-hebrew at lists.ibiblio.org>
Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] Genesis 30:20-30

George,

these stories are most likely based on actual historical figures. There was likely, at some point, a community of rulers associated with Olympus that were deified after death. We see this phenomenon in pretty much most ancient cultures. Pharoah's became gods after death. Caesars were deified after death etc.

James Christian

On 14 May 2010 03:09, George Athas <George.Athas at moore.edu.au> wrote:
The Greeks believed the gods lived on Olympus and that Aphrodite was born beyond some rocks just off the coast of Cyprus. A community will hold to what its leaders, especially storytellers, tell them. Whether it's based on fact or not is a different consideration.

GEORGE ATHAS
Moore Theological College (Sydney, Australia)
www.moore.edu.au <http://www.moore.edu.au>

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