Genesis 1-11: Tales of the Earliest World by Edwin M. Good

Author:Edwin M. Good [Good, Edwin M.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780804779005
Google: CUokDwAAQBAJ
Barnesnoble:
Goodreads: 12787560
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Adam

Shet

’Enōsh

Qayin

Qēnan

Chanōkh

Mahalal’el

‘Îrad

Yered

Mehūya’el

Chanōkh

Metūsha’el

Metūshelach

Lemekh

Lemekh

Yabal, Yūbal, Tūbal-Qayin Nōach

The first three in chapter 5 are also named at the end of chapter 4.

But in chapter 5, Qēnan is surely a variant of Qayin, Mahalal’el of Mehūya’el, Yered of ‘Îrad, Metūshelach of Metūsha’el. Lemekh is the same in both. Might the tradition have wanted somehow to separate Adam from responsibility for Qayin? It could not very wel have done

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so, given the detailed story in chapter 4, and the storytel ers ended up being true to both sides of the tradition. There are differences of order, such as the fact that in chapter 4, ‘Îrad is the son of Chanōkh, but in chapter 5, Chanōkh is the son of Yered. These are just the sorts of differences we might expect if the genealogies had been passed down among different groups as oral tradition for centuries. Notice, too, that the whole group in chapter 4 are descendants of Qayin, and that list ends with Lemekh’s boast about Qayin’s being avenged, whereas in chapter 5

their counterparts are immediate descendants of Adam. That too might explain the differences. Someone might not have wanted the names to be exactly alike, and a few similarities would not be worrisome. I incline to think that the two lists came down by memory through different channels, and the people responsible for putting them next to each other didn’t want to omit anything that might be true. This kind of lore, the sort that is expected to be memorized by people who care about it, tends to be quite stable, perhaps unlike the stories, which might have been known in general terms by the storytel ers, who probably would have done some improvising of language and event as they told the tales to audiences. And audiences might have been familiar with tales in general, knowing the episodes that were to be expected but not necessarily the very words in which they would be told.

Then there is the somewhat mysterious remark about Chanōkh, who walked with Elohîm. The second time that is said, the text has a definite article with the word Elohîm: “Chanōkh walked with the Elohîm.” I had reason to note with chapter 1 that this term for the deity is plural in form. Why the definite article is here is uncertain, though it might suggest that he walked with multiple Elohîm. What the walking means is also debatable; it may imply both a close friendship and something of a nomadic life. Chanōkh lives the shortest life of al of these folks, a “mere” 365 years. But suddenly, after 365 years, he disappears.

There is no language about a death. “He wasn’t there” or, perhaps, translating more literal y, “There was none of him,” “because Elohîm took him.” Took him how and where? We don’t know. It is most unusual in this book. Not everyone in the Bible is a symbol or example of some-

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thing, and Chanōkh is like that.

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