Biblical Hebrew Forum

[George Athas <George.Athas AT moore.edu.au>]

James, I think you may be mixing the categories of myth and legend. A myth 
has absolutely no historical basis at all, even though it may be trying to 
explaining something very real. The Greek gods belong to this category. 
Legend, on the other hand, has an historical kernel around which an 
embellished tradition has accrued. The Greek heroes Heracles and Odysseus are 
probably just such 'legendary' figures.

Now, in terms of the aetiologies in the Bible, you may very well be correct 
that they have a legendary development going back to a real historical 
person/event. However, there is no way to corroborate this. There isn't even 
any 'probability' here in terms of historical likelihood. We just simply do 
not know. If you opt for a 'likely historical' view, then you are doing so on 
the basis of an assumption, preference, or faith. That's OK to do that, so 
long as it's acknowledged.


GEORGE ATHAS
Moore Theological College (Sydney, Australia)
www.moore.edu.au


________________________________
From: James Christian <jc.bhebrew AT googlemail.com>
Date: Fri, 14 May 2010 18:56:02 +1000
To: George Athas <george.athas AT moore.edu.au>
Cc: B-Hebrew <b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org>
Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] Genesis 30:20-30

George,

these stories are most likely based on actual historical figures. There was 
likely, at some point, a community of rulers associated with Olympus that 
were deified after death. We see this phenomenon in pretty much most ancient 
cultures. Pharoah's became gods after death. Caesars were deified after death 
etc.

James Christian

On 14 May 2010 03:09, George Athas <George.Athas AT moore.edu.au> wrote:
The Greeks believed the gods lived on Olympus and that Aphrodite was born 
beyond some rocks just off the coast of Cyprus. A community will hold to what 
its leaders, especially storytellers, tell them. Whether it's based on fact 
or not is a different consideration.

GEORGE ATHAS
Moore Theological College (Sydney, Australia)
www.moore.edu.au <http://www.moore.edu.au>

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