Gen 6:1-4 Sons of God = members of the divine council (or Sethites) Offspring = Nephilim or giants History of Jewish interpretation (Life of Adam and Eve; Testament of Reuben; Jubilees; Enoch) Explains why humans don’t live forever Moral deterioration before flood

Mesopotamian Flood Stories Ziusudra, king of Shuruppak 1600 Gilgamesh library of Ashurbanipal (7c) Atrahasis (also contains creation account) 1700 Berossus (Babylonian priest writing in Greek) 3rd c.

Gilgamesh Epic: The Quest for Life Gilgamesh, oppressive king of Uruk Enkidu’s death The quest for everlasting life Utnapishtim and Ms. Utnapishtim Clamor; role of Ea Flood

Gilgamesh Epic (continued) Gods gathered like flies around sacrifice Ea: How could you, unreasoning, bring the flood? Reward for Utnapishtim Who will assemble gods for you, Gilgamesh? Non-sleeping Contest Snake and the plant of life

Bible vs. Mesopotamian Stories Warning, worldwide flood, size of boat noted, rests on a mountain, birds, acts of worship after flood, blessings on survivors Polytheism vs. monotheism Whim of the gods/unmeasured response vs. human violence as cause of flood Otherworldly salvation vs. this worldly salvation

Flood and history Mountains of Ararat (“arkeologists”); 16c Archeological evidence in Mesopotamian cities not in same century (Shuruppak, Uruk, and Kish = 2800; Ur and Nineveh = 3500) not over whole city of Ur Carbon 14 data on wood

Yahwist vs. Priestly Writer Yahweh 7 pairs unclean; 1 pair clean animals 40 + 21 days man and his wife sacrifice Good news: no more floods God 1 pair of each kind of animal year-long flood male and female Noah perfect; promise to establish covenant; be fruitful; God will remember

Covenant in P Everlasting covenant (“establish”; “give”; not “cut”) With the entire creation Signs of covenant Bow as a reminder to God Circumcision (Gen 17) Sabbath (Exod 31) Unconditional

Noahide Laws Do not worship idols Don’t blaspheme Establish courts of justice Do not kill Do not commit adultery Don’t steal Don’t eat flesh cut from a living animal

The Curse of…Canaan 9:20-27 The sin of Ham (the father of Canaan) Cursed be Canaan…the lowest of slaves! Blessed be Shem (Israel) Let Canaan be his slave May God make space for Japheth (Philistines); may he live in tents of Shem

The New Era after the Flood Image of God persists Human fear and dread on animals Meat permitted Sanctity of human life Capital punishment? Be fruitful and multiply

Table of Nations An example of being fruitful and multiplying 70 Nations (Deuteronomy 32:8) Three “families”: Japheth (Europe); Ham (Africa); and Shem (Semites, east of Palestine) Composite list that reflects various geo-political realities Canaan = son of Ham = Canaan was considered part of Egyptian province