Biblical Hebrew Forum

["K Randolph" <kwrandolph AT gmail.com>]

James:

In looking at historical sources, there is a tradition of written records
being kept by people and held for centuries (probably copied if on
perishable materials). This is not only in the ANE, but also among other
peoples. Many of those records were lost over time. Unfortunately many of
them were deliberately destroyed in the last millenium because of their
"heretical" nature. That is the specific record of what happened to the
Icelandic records that were written with runes.

Archeology has recovered mostly only those records written on stone, and
most traditions of records among ancient peoples is that their records were
kept on more portable materials.

Given that, plus the fact that Genesis gives the impression that it copied
older materials, even to the point of copying literary style that was
discontinued centuries before Moses indicates that he probably had written
records to work from.

Karl W. Randolph.


On 7/4/06, JAMES CHRISTIAN READ <JCR128 AT student.apu.ac.uk> wrote:
> I think a lot can be understood by first stepping back
> and taking a look at the bigger picture of the book of
> Genesis and the context as a whole.
>
> Tradition holds that Moshe was the author of the Torah
> and that Genesis was a part of it. Now it is clear that
> Moshe was not a witness to the events in the book of
> Genesis and had to rely on sources either divine or
> traditional or most probably both.
>
> The book of Genesis itself is clearly structured in a
> number of sections. The so-called 'histories' and the
> creation accounts. Now if we are to assume a line of
> human transition it would be reasonable to believe
> the second creation account and the histories were in
> so way preserved and passed down from faithful
> eyewitnesses. While the first creation account could
> not have had any earthly eyewitness at all and must
> have been a) made up by Moshe or b) given by Yah to
> Moshe. With these factors in mind reading the Torah
> from the beginning takes on a new light. The second
> creation account is more likely a version passed down
> from Adam himself to his children as he saw the events
> from his human perspective. While the first creation
> account is more likely a revelation to Moshe directly
> from Yah or one of his messengers. Also it is clear to
> see that there is an agenda of teaching the holiness
> of the seventh day in the first creation account.
> This seems entirely reasonable as Moshe was a lawgiver
> who expressed repeatedly the holiness of the seventh
> day and thus this latest addition to the traditions
> would have made a great final addition to the Torah
> before handing it over to Joshua to be copied through
> the generations.
>
> James C. Read
> UK