Stories of Origins in the Bible and Ancient Mediterranean Literature

Explores the genre of origin stories, and their appearance in the Hebrew bible and the Ancient Mediterranean literature.

Guy Darshan (Author)

9781009344487, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 7 December 2023

356 pages
23.5 x 15.5 x 2.5 cm, 0.647 kg

'Guy Darshan is to be thanked for seeking to broaden our horizons, both geographically and figuratively.' Adrian Curtis, Journal for the Study of the Old Testament

In this book, Guy Darshan explores stories of origins that lie at the heart of Pentateuchal sources in the context of literature created in neighboring societies of the ancient Mediterranean world. A comparative study, his volume analyses the parallels between Biblical origin stories – the narrative traditions arranged in geneaological sequence that recount the beginnings of humanity and origins of peoples -- in tandem with ancient Greek genealogical writings from the 7–5th centuries BCE onwards. He also considers Phoenician and Anatolian sources from the first millennium, several of which have only been published in recent years. This is the first scholarly study to trace the origins of this genre of narrative and the circumstances that led to appearances in the Hebrew Bible and ancient Mediterranean literature. It sheds new light on our knowledge of the history of literature, as well as the interconnections and interrelations between civilizations of the pre-Hellenistic eastern Mediterranean and Near East.

I. After the Flood and Before It: 1. The dispersion of the peoples after the Flood – Genesis 10 and its Greek parallels
2. The planting of the first vineyard after the Flood – Genesis 9:20-27 in light of Greek genealogical traditions
3. The creation of the first woman and the origin of evil
4. The destruction of the generation of heroes – the story of the sons of God and the daughters of men (Gen 6:1-4) and the Hesiodic Catalogue of Women
II. From Man to Nation: Literary Patterns: 5. The 'first inventor' pattern in Eastern Mediterranean origin traditions
6. The 'two brothers – two nations' pattern in Eastern Mediterranean origin traditions
7. The founding father as settler: an Eastern Mediterranean story pattern
8. The history of genre: origin stories in biblical and ancient Eastern Mediterranean literature.

Subject Areas: Biblical studies & exegesis [HRCG]