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  • From: jimstinehart AT aol.com
  • To: George.Athas AT moore.edu.au, b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] Aramaic to Hebrew language switch?
  • Date: Thu, 02 Sep 2010 18:31:37 -0400



George Athas wrote: “Genesis definitely reflects the monarchic era at the
earliest (cf. Gen 36.31).”

Attempting to date the Patriarchal narratives on the basis of Genesis 36: 31
makes no sense, since most scholars recognize that Genesis 36: 9-43 was added
into the Patriarchal narratives at a much later time. An analysis of Genesis
36: 31 may tell us that Genesis 36: 9-43 dates to the monarchic era, but it
says nothing about the dating of the vast bulk of the Patriarchal narratives.

Here’s the leading scholar’s discussion of this topic: “[I]t does look as
though [Genesis] 36: 9-43 is an insertion into a discrete section (36: 1-8;
37: 1), for 37: 1, ‘Jacob settled in the land to which his father had
migrated in the land of Canaan’, matches and echoes 36: 7-8 so clearly. Thus
almost all commentators conclude that at an earlier stage in the history of
the book, 37: 1 followed immediately after 36: 8. That 36: 9-43 is a
secondary insertion into the book seems to be confirmed by the second title,
‘This is the family history of Esau’, which is without analogy in the rest of
the book. Each of the other nine formulae, ‘This is the family history of’,
occurs but once, suggesting that the reduplication here represents an
addition to the book, which once had only ten such titles. In this case, 36:
9-43 would represent the last part of Genesis to be written.” Gordon J.
Wenham, “World Biblical Commentary: Genesis 16-50” (1994), at p. 335.

The proper way to date the vast bulk of the Patriarchal narratives, rather,
is to look at the proper names, which are vintage Late Bronze Age, and the
substantive content, which likewise is vintage Late Bronze Age. 5th century
BCE writings in Aramaic by non-orthodox post-exilic Jews at Elephantine in
southern Egypt have no relevance to anything in the received text of the
Patriarchal narratives. By sharp contrast, the close match of the world of
the Patriarchal narratives to the mid-14th century BCE Amarna Letters is very
relevant. Subject to the last ¾ of chapter 36 of Genesis and a tiny handful
of other 1st millennium BCE additions, the vast majority of the Patriarchal
narratives is Late Bronze Age all the way, in every way, both as to its date
of composition, and as to its content.

Jim Stinehart
Evanston, Illinois




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