Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Noel O'Riordan" <nor AT iol.ie>]

> Before making a comment like that you should have read and digested the
Introduction to >Hermann Gunkel's 1922 commentary on Genesis. You would then
have realized that 11:9 is an >integral part of the legend and why.
> Sincerely,
> --


Gunkel in his commentary splits the Babel pericope into two different
strands , a 'city report' and a 'tower rescension.'  Without going too much
into the detail, he separates v7-8a from verses 8b-9a(p94-98) which is what
I have stated, my only difference was that I did not include 8b in the
division, (paying too much attention to the artificial verse breakdown, I'm
afraid) I have nowhere stated that it is a later addition to the story,
merely a literary repetition to pinpoint its location.

In fact its inclusion at all, supports my opinion, other pointers also
support this.  Apart from Genesis Shinar is only mentioned in exilic-post
exilic texts, (e.g. Isa 11:11, Zech 5:11 dan 1:2)
Blenkinsopp in 'the Pentateuch' p90-91 posits Second Isaiah as the terminus
a quo for the story.

Van Seters, Prologue to history p180-185, also argues for the connection of
the Tower with the ziggurat of Etemenanki

Regards
Noel O Riordan