Sloshing through the Book of Exodus right now, getting bogged down where Moses is on the mountain receiving instructions on building the temple, the vessel to carry the Ark of the Covenant (how many out there thought the first Raiders movie was going to be about Noah's Ark?), and the design of the robes that Aaron and the priests would wear. Little wonder that the movies, our memories and churches all skip right over these passages. So back to talking about Genesis and the Old Testament..
Back to Noah: A few more interesting tidbits. I noted above that the Eden story suggests that the ideal state is vegetarianism. It is here where Man is given dominion over the animals and the first set of rules governing what animals can and cannot be eaten as well as how they are to be prepared. We also get the first spelled out rules governing sacrifices. God makes a covenant or promise to Noah and to the succeeding generations. This will occur as we progress through Genesis and the Old Testament, from his promises to Abraham and Jacob.
Many world myths do have flood stories and for good reason. Catastrophic storms and floods are common in all parts of the world and even moreso for ancient cultures, many who have to live near a water source for survival and trade. Flooding is a common occurrence and fear as is drought (hence the years of famine in the Joseph story). What sets the Noah story apart though is that as always, this is a story of a people and their relationship with God. It's not simply a disaster epic of gods battling or destruction by petty, fearful or arbitrary gods. Instead it's a warning tale of what God wants and doesn't want from us. Our dominion over animals is a right and responsibility given to us, not innate. This is how the Old Testament/Bible is not in the same category as Myth that some scholars want to cast it. Greek, Roman, Norse myths, the gods are very much in human mold. They war with themselves, their actions are as noble, brave, and hypocritical and cowardly as those they lord over. Even before getting to the Ten Commandments, God has expectations of right behavior, of a right relationship with him and with other people. His judgment may be immediate but is also one of compassion.
As we move past Noah, another theme emerges, God's will being not the same as man's will or sense of fairness and culture. Despite the time period of when women are seen as little better than cattle, God acts through them and elevates them. The stories celebrate their ingenuity though the attitudes seem sexist and actions extreme today. We also see the second born or younger sons elevated over the older, again a subversion of the way culture sees and celebrates things.
Tower of Babel: I suppose one take can look at this as a "Just So" story about the scattering of people and languages, as at this point, everyone is related through Noah and his sons. It has been also interpreted as a story of human pride and endeavor, elevating themselves to be godlike without looking to God.
Abram: The next man to receive the promises of the Lord, for he and all his generations. Here, God promises the land of Canaan as being the land of his people. But, it's not a simple promise, Abram has to act, in effect to show his faith in God and his promises. He leaves home and becomes essentially a wanderer, a foreigner in foreign lands. Before you feel too bad for him, he does not leave alone. He has his wife, his nephew Lot and all their possessions and slaves.
If the Bible seems to repeat itself here, it's important to keep in mind there are several different traditions and writers the Book is drawing on as its relating the story. The reader is essentially getting one story told several different ways simultaneously.
Gen 12:13-20: This is a recurring scene and may strike several different chords with modern readers: comical, sexist, horror, distaste. Basically, due to a famine, Abram travels to Egypt. As a foreigner with no rights and a beautiful wife, he fears that he'll be killed and his wife taken. However, if the natives think she's his sister and unmarried, then they don't have to kill him to take her. She ends up as part of Pharaoh's harem but because she is married, God afflicts Pharaoh. When he finds out why he rebukes Abram, restores Sarai to him and all the possessions that Abram has and sends them out of Egypt. This tactic pops up several times.
His stay in Egypt proved successful to the point that when looking to settle elsewhere, he and Lot separate as their cattle and people have grown too numerous to settle in one place. In fairness, Abram lets Lot choose his path, and God reinforces his promise of the land and his offspring.
The story shifts now as it relates various kings in the area, their alliances and their wars. Lot finds himself in the middle and captured and Abram and his men rescue Lot, giving an idea just how large this contingent of Abram and his household has become.
Afterwards, Abram is met by the king of Sodom and Melchizedek, described as king of Salem and high priest. Melchizedek's name is invoked elsewhere in the Bible but it's here that he's actually on stage for just a few short verses. He blesses Abram and brings gifts. While he's celebrated as a high priest in later verses, here his standing is less clear as to what god he's priest of is unclear, especially as he's both priest and king, common in some ancient Near Eastern cultures but kept separate in Israel's. The translation of his title is priest of "God Most High" but contextually, the wording could refer to El, the chief god of the Canaanite pantheon as much as it does to the Hebrew God. The fact that this personage should find himself in an almost elevated position as the ideal high priest, would seem to me to indicate there were more stories and traditions that surrounded him that have long since been lost.
Next: Call me Ishmael
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