Hellenism and the Primary History by Gnuse Robert Karl;

Author:Gnuse, Robert Karl;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Group

Was biblical narrative inspired by classical traditions?

What then are the implications of such great similarities between these four accounts? I would assume that the Jews would be more interested in reading and studying Greek literary traditions rather than the reverse. I would point to some themes that are uniquely found in the biblical story of Abraham and Lot in Genesis 18–19, but nowhere else in the biblical text, such as the warning not to look at something (Sodom destroyed) and the transformation of a person into a natural object (pillar of salt). These themes are found in the classical tradition. We may recall the danger of looking at Medusa’s head, the command to Orpheus not to look back into Hades when he took Eurydice out of the underworld, or the transformation of people into animals (Lucius became a donkey until Isis converted him back to human form according to The Golden Ass by Apuleius) (Letellier 1995: 230).

If the biblical author was familiar with these Greek myths, when would the biblical author have come into contact with them? Ovid lived from 43 bce to 18 ce, but he drew upon older traditions. If the biblical author was familiar with an old version of those classical traditions, most likely such familiarity arose only after the post-exilic era, perhaps even as late as the Hellenistic era after 300 bce.

In the past generation, a number of biblical scholars have suggested a post-exilic date, even a Hellenistic date for the Pentateuch.6 Other scholars who date the Pentateuch in the Persian period around 400–350 bce suggest Greek historiographical influence upon the literature, especially from Herodotus (c. 484–425 bce).7 One could also suggest that perhaps the Lot-Abraham tradition in Genesis 18–19 might be a late insertion into the patriarchal narratives.8 Jean Louis Ska, in particular, observed how Genesis 18–19 appears to be dependent upon Genesis 17 and hence post-priestly in origin (Ska 1987: 383–89; 1995: 412–13). Ludwig Schmidt dated Genesis 18–19 between 500 and 350 bce due to the dialogue over the destruction of Sodom and comparable reflection on the loss of Jerusalem, especially in the sensitive and reflective debate between God and Abraham (Schmidt 1976: 159–164). Detlef Jericke dated these chapters between 515 and 450 bce for similar reasoning (Jericke 2003: 233–34). Thus, such a tale, as recorded later by Ovid, could have inspired the biblical author, if the stories of Hyrieus and Philemon/Baucis go back as far as the fifth century bce.

This study, I believe, implies that the biblical narrative was partially inspired by the Greek tradition. Elsewhere I have argued that the narrative in Genesis 19 is also dependent upon Judges 19, which again implies the lateness of the narrative of Lot and his family in Sodom (2015b: 121–29). This study might be seen as supporting an argument for the creation of this narrative in the Hellenistic era, or at least in the late Persian period, as some scholars have suggested over the past generation.

The message of the texts in Genesis 18–19 about the

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