Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Karl Randolph" <kwrandolph AT email.com>]

Chris:

As far as I know, there is only one river that splits: the Orinoco in 
northern South America splits not too far from its origin, sends some of its 
water south to join the Amazon, while the majority flows north to drain into 
the Carribbean.

What Genesis 2 describes is a headwaters far different from the present 
headwaters of the present Tigris and Euphrates rivers. Either the author 
describes an utopia that never existed, or he describes a place that has been 
destroyed so thoroughly that even the landmarks leading to it are no longer 
extant. Hence, the Tigris and Euphrates rivers are not the same Tigris and 
Euphrates rivers mentioned in Genesis 2.

Attempts to harmonize the Genesis 2 descripton with modern, or even 
historical, features never works except in the mind of the harmonizer.

Karl W. Randolph.

----- Original Message -----
From: "Heard, Christopher" <Christopher.Heard AT pepperdine.edu>
> 
> On May 12, 2005, at 7:45 AM, <tladatsi AT charter.net>  
> <tladatsi AT charter.net> wrote:
> > The
> > minor detail that the headwaters of these rivers are
> > actually many miles apart and do not share a literal common
> > source would be known to very few and be of interest to
> > even fewer.
> 
> Jack: I actually don't think it's a minor point at all, and I thank 
>   you again for making it. Please see my other post on this subject 
> for  why I think the narrator describes an impossible geography on 
> purpose  assuming that readers will know the geography is 
> impossible.
> 
> Chris
> 
> --
> R. Christopher Heard
> Assistant Professor of Religion
> Pepperdine University
> Malibu, California 90263-4352
> http://faculty.pepperdine.edu/cheard
> http://www.iTanakh.org
> http://www.semioticsandexegesis.info

-- 
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