The Book of Genesis relates the mythical traditions of the Hebrews from
the creation of the world to the death of Joseph. "A French physician of
the eighteenth century, Astruc, was the first scholar to point out that
the two principal designations of God in Genesis, Elohim and Jahveh, are
not used arbitrarily. If we place side by side the passages in which God
is called Elohim, and those in which he is called by the other name, we
get two perfectly distinct narratives, which the author of the
Pentateuch, as we possess it, has juxtaposed rather than fused. This one
discovery suffices to discredit the attribution of these books to
Moses, who could not have been an unintelligent compiler, and also
discredits the theory of the divine inspiration of the Bible text. A
comparison of the two narratives shows that all which relates to the
creation of Eve, the Garden of Eden, and Adam's transgression, exists
only in the Jehovist text. Thus it is evident that two versions of the
Creation are given in Genesis. But there are traces in the Old Testament
of a third legend, akin to that of the Babylonians, in which Marduk
creates the world by virtue of a victory over the waters of chaos
(Tiamat). This conception of a conflict between the creator and hostile
forces was contrary to the monotheistic thesis, and has disappeared from
our two versions of Genesis; but the suppression sufficiently proves
that it was very ancient and had long been accepted."
The Martian finds that theologians have attempted to crawl out of
desperate situations in their interpretation of the Old Testament by a
method of reading into a passage or extracting out of it ideas
altogether foreign to its original intent. This method they call
"Allegory." By means of this process they have been able to extract any
meaning which suits their purposes, and by this method of juggling could
prove anything. A classic example is that licentious piece of literature
called the "Song of Solomon," in which it is claimed that a woman's
breasts, thighs, and belly are the symbols of the union of Jahveh and
the Synagogue.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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