Biblical Hebrew Forum

[robertsumner0110 AT wmconnect.com]

Petr,



I don't think the word 'reinterpret' is a good choice here.   If anything, 
Genesis I is a repudiation of not only the Babylonian mythic corpus, but of 
myth itself. Take, for example, the choice of the term "greater light" rather 
than the conventional shamash when referring to the sun Tob in these passages 
is part of God's inner dialog, a conversation He is having with Himself.  It 
is as if to say that the finished product corresponded exactly with the idea. 
 God, as the great craftsman or artist was simply saying, "Well, that turned 
out exactly as I wanted it to."  In this sense, tob could well be translated 
as 'completed to satisfaction,'  I think, also, that your response to Karl's 
statement (ahistorical?) indicates that you really did not understand what he 
was saying.  If anything, Karl's assessment was far more 'historical' than 
mine would have been.


Robert Shannon Sumner