A Commentary on the Book of Genesis: from Noah to Abraham (Umberto Cassuto Biblical Commentaries) by Umberto Cassuto

Author:Umberto Cassuto [Cassuto, Umberto]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Genesis VI 9 -- XI 32 with an Appendix: A Fragment of Part III, From Noah to Abraham
Publisher: Magnes Press / Varda Books
Published: 2010-11-30T05:00:00+00:00

the most famous monarchs, drawn from the epic poetry of Mesopotamia, so there are introduced here references to the mighty acts of Nimrod from an epos that spoke of him and his deeds at length. In the commentary we shall deal fully with these allusions—the form in which they appear, and the character, content and distinctive features of the ancient poem on Nimrod—as far as it will be possible to elucidate them.

§ 9. This is not the place to discuss the age of the chapter’s composition. This question is an inseparable part of the general problem of the date of the Book of Genesis, and the proper place for examining the subject will be the Introduction to the entire Book, which I shall prepare later, Deo volente *. Here it will suffice to make one general observation, to wit, that the knowledge we have gained about the ancient world from the documents that have been discovered and published in recent years point to an earlier rather than a later date for the composition of our chapter. Peoples about whom, till a little while ago, we had knowledge only from late sources are now known to us from older documents, and hence the mention of them in our chapter cannot be regarded as evidence of the late date of its composition or final redaction. It also contains a number of details that can be properly understood only on the assumption that its date is early. We shall deal with some of these indications later in our notes. The treatment of the problem in its entirety is best reserved, as I have stated, for the introductory volume*.

§ 10. It is desirable to add a few more prefatory observations regarding the correct method, as I see it, to be adopted in the interpretation of this chapter.

Most commentators, thinking that the intention of the text is to explain the ethnographic divisions of mankind, have devoted their main efforts to attempts to identify the peoples mentioned. It was quite easy to advance theories in this regard, but it was very difficult in most cases to achieve any degree of probability. In the vast store of ethnic and geographical names preserved in the documents and literatures of the Eastern and Classical peoples,

* Unfortunately, the author died before he was able to write the Introduction.

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