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  • From: peter_kirk AT sil.org
  • To: <b-hebrew AT franklin.oit.unc.edu>
  • Subject: Re: Toldot
  • Date: Mon, 29 Nov 1999 18:29:38 -0500



Dear Jonathan,

I looked at the phrase "Elle toldot" (and similar) a year ago while
checking a translation of Genesis. I didn't have time or opportunity
to go into Wiseman's hypothesis, which I did hear of. I don't read
Assyrian either, and have no reason to doubt that Wiseman's theory is
correct for Assyrian. But I don't think it is correct for Hebrew, as
there are some clear examples to which it does not apply: the name
following "Elle toldot" is that of the main character of the account
which follows rather than that which precedes. The clearest examples
of this are Genesis 25:12,19, where "Elle toldot Yishma`el" precedes
the account of Ishmael's descent and "Elle toldot Yicxaq" precedes an
account of Isaac's descent. Similarly Genesis 36:1,9 introduces two
accounts of Esau's line, but 37:2 reverts to Jacob's line.

My preference is to take the work of Genesis, and other biblical
books, as a whole without presupposing the results of JEDP etc and
look for the discourse markers which divide up this carefully
constructed literary work. Within Genesis "Elle toldot" is the major
such discourse marker, which, I think, introduces main sections of the
book and gives the reader a clue to the subject matter, something like
"And this is what happened to..."

I do not accept that Genesis as it stands is the result of some random
shuffling or even patching together of sources. No doubt there were
sources, but they have been combined carefully into a literary whole,
and it is with this whole that I am interested. As for Moses'
involvement, this suggestion can be neither proved nor disproved by
historico-critical methods. The word "toldot" is also used mostly by
the Chronicler in the sense of "genealogy", and that could indicate
that the term was always used by those interested in genealogies as it
often occurs at the head of genealogies in Genesis. On the other hand,
it could simply mean that the word was later, simplistically,
understood to mean simply "genealogy".

Peter Kirk


______________________________ Reply Separator
_________________________________
Subject: Toldot
Author: <jonathan.bailey AT gmx.de> at Internet
Date: 28/11/1999 14:36


Peter, you make the comment below in your post that Toldot signifies the
beginni
ng
of
an accounting. Have you seen P.J. Wiseman's research (from his book "New
Discoveries in Babylonia about Genesis") in which he describes the Toldot
passages
as ENDS of accounts, where Toldot signifies a sort of a colophon, which were
commonly placed at the end of Akkadian and Sumerian documents? I have just
ordered the Huehnergard Akkadian Grammar and plan on beginning a forray into
Assyriology sometime in the next few months so that I can eventually make
informed
decisions about such matters. As it is, I don't read Akkadian and have only a
fe
w
scattered texts in translation here at the house.

But since it seems like you have already looked into the Toldot issue, I was
wondering
what your thoughts on the matter are, or if you could point me in the
direction
of
some
easily attainable information on the subject. Why do you think they are
beginnin
gs
of
accounts? Whose accounts are they? I take it by what I have seen from you so
far
that you believe that the writing of the Torah in some way involves Moses.
Could
it
have been that Moses was patching together older, Babylonian accounts? If you
ar
e
more liberal, could it be that the JEPD crew was using older, Babylonian
accounts?
Or would it be more likely to you that Moses was just using Toldot as a sort
of
chapter
heading phrase? Or on the liberal side of the house, what interest could the
JEP
D
priests/scholars/politicians have in the phrase?




Jonathan Bailey
MA Kandidat
Hochschule für Jüdische Studien
Heidelberg

---------- Original Message ----------
<snip>




  • Toldot, Jonathan Bailey, 11/28/1999
    • <Possible follow-up(s)>
    • Re: Toldot, George Athas, 11/28/1999
    • Re: Toldot, Dave Washburn, 11/28/1999
    • Re: Toldot, peter_kirk, 11/29/1999
    • Toldot, Kevin L. Barney, 11/29/1999
    • Re: Toldot, Lee R. Martin, 11/30/1999
    • Re: Toldot, Dave Washburn, 11/30/1999

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