In your view at what point in Genesis does the "allegory" of which you speak end and recorded history begin?
What is the rationale for your position?
FReegards!
Before I comment, I want to make it clear that I am a believer - I am Jewish and I believe in the account of the Creation in Genesis (though I also understand that some of it is allegory that cannot make much sense from a sheer textual analysis, or at least certainly not in any language other than Hebrew).
HOWEVER, I find the fact that an account of the Creation on a tablet dating back about 4,000 years to be interesting - and that is all. It is NOT proof of the creation, ONLY that some other culture believed the same as was in the Book of Genesis. A story or a tablet PROVES nothing by its mere existence - there needs to be a WHOLE lot more evidence to prove Genesis.
OTOH, DISproving Genesis is pretty much impossible. In fact, if you read “Genesis and the Big Bang” by Gerald Schroeder (a Torah-observant Jew and an astro-physicist), it will confirm that the order of the Creation in Genesis matches EXACTLY the order as science knows it today - and how would a bunch of guys, no matter how brilliant, be able to make that up over 3,000 years ago?
Again, there’s no doubt in my mind that Genesis is true, but this tablet is NOT proof thereof. Let’s not leave logic at the door just because we’re believers - remember that G-d gave our minds the capacity to THINK in a logical manner, so we do Him dishonor by not using what He gave us.
Wikiepdia has an entry on what is called the Ebla-Biblical controversy:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ebla-Biblical_controversy
Although I am a creationist, I am not a young earth creationist.
You are assuming that some civilization came up with the narrative before Genesis was “invented”. Genesis was the written form of what was orally passed down for centuries before someone compiled it all into written form. That is why a lot of it is lost in translation and written from the perspective of a primitive mind (such as describing the night sky as a dome over the earth).
In your view at what point in Genesis does the "allegory" of which you speak end and recorded history begin?
What is the rationale for your position?
FReegards!
Years ago someone here at FR directed me to Dr. Schroeder when I was looking for answers about Biblical time.....I remain ever grateful to Schroeder's insight and devotion to God and science as we know the latter....his (books), wonderfully insightful gave me broader views and understanding of His creation.
Nice answer.
The logic you have presented here is certainly valid.
Having said that, if one understands that the archaeology that was mentioned in this article is nothing short of amazing, in that the “odds” of finding corroborating materials after 4000 years of burial is quite small indeed.
Also somehow Moses knew 5000 years ago that light was created before the stars. Either God told him, or he was incredibly lucky guessing. It took until the late 20th century and the cosmic background explorer for science to get there. What an awesome God we have.