Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Walter Mattfeld" <mattfeld AT mail.pjsnet.com>]

Mr. O'Riordan has made an interesting observation about the tower of Babel
story in Genesis, suggesting it may historically allude to the Exilic
period. If he is correct, then we have a historical marker for the text's
creation.

If Moses wrote Genesis in 1440 BCE (the Exodus being dated to about that
time by some conservative scholars), why is he making fun of Babylon and its
tower and its religious beliefs ? What has Babylon done to Israel to warrant
such rebuke ?

If the Jahwist in Solomon's court is responsible for the tower of Babel
story, the question must again be asked why single out Babylon for derision
? Babylon's activities had no direct impact on Israel until after
Nebuchadrezzar's conquest of Palestine circa 604 BCE.  If a city was to be
singled out for rebuke by the Jawhist, it would have made more sense to
ridicule some foreign power directly impacting negatively on Israel, like
the Philistines, Ammonites, or Edomites, not far off Babylon.

One thing which is often overlooked in studies on Genesis is that is part of
national history which ends in 560 BCE. In linear histories the end dates
the beginning of the historical composition. I thus conclude that Genesis is
singling out Babylon for rebuke in either an Exilic or Post-exilic setting.
Genesis portrays the tower of Babel being destroyed, Babylon's population
dispersed. This may be wishful thinking for Babylon's end as prophezied by
Isaiah and Jeremiah. In 484 BCE the tower of Babel saw its final destruction
under the Persians for acts of rebellion (the tower and city had been
earlier destroyed under Sennacherib).

As readers of this are well aware I favor the 5th century BCE for the
composition of the Pentateuch as we have it in its final form. That rests
upon my identification of Madai's descent from Japheth being an allusion to
the Athenian Greek myth of Medus being the founder of Media, which dates to
the 6th century BCE at the earliest, and is cited by Darius I Median
general, Datis in 490 BCE as a reason for invading Greece.

It troubles me that if Genesis was composed in the Exilic period, how to
account for narrator's boldness in making fun of Babylon. He had witnessed
the destruction of the temple and Jerusalem, the execution of the king's
sons and the blinding of the king. Surely he had cause to fear the
Babylonians, wouldn't he have realized that such subversive commentary if
intercepted by the Babylonians would bring about his own execution and the
persecution of the intended Jewish audience ?

It seems more reasonable to me that the mocking of Babylon took place in a
period when there was no fear of Babylonian reprisals. I would suggest that
the Post-exilic period is the best scenario, after Babylon fell to the
Persians in 539/538 BCE.

All the Best,

Walter Reinhold Warttig Mattfeld
Walldorf by Heidelberg
Baden-Wurttemburg
Germany