Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Peter Kirk"<peter_kirk AT sil.org>]

Walter wrote:

     Neo-Assyrian chronicles, like Genesis, claim that the origins of 
     their nation (Assyria) were kings who dwelt at first in tents, 
     whose succeeding generations settled down upon the land, building 
     cities. So Genesis' notion of a time when the ancestors were 
     nomadic tent dwellers reflects Assyria's historical notions. Did 
     Genesis draw from the Assyrian concept of kings who were tent 
     dwellers ?

Why not vice versa? Or more likely still, why are these not both 
genuine historical memories? Of course, for "kings" read "chiefs of 
nomadic bands".

Peter Kirk