been thinking these past few days and my faith is being challenged. It seems that the bible or the torah, and book of genesis comes from a variety of sources mixture of other religions and stories around canaan and ancient mesopetomia. Even the names Elohim or El was a supreme diety among the canaanite religions was this before isreal entered into the land?
Now from what I understand, Genesis chapter 10 describes how the present world population was derived from Noah’s three sons:* Shem, Ham and Japheth, and their wives (three family groups).* Verse 32 states, “From these the nations spread out over the earth after the flood.”* Additional references are given in 1 Chronicles chapter 1.* Genesis 10 exactly names 16 grandsons of Noah, and then we are provided further details of the Babel dispersion (Genesis 11) where their descendants fanned out over the earth and established the various nations of the ancient world.* The number of descendants of Noah (grandsons, great-grandsons, etc.) mentioned are 26 from Shem, 30 from Ham, and 14 from Japheth, totaling 70 “sons” or “nations.”*
If out of Noah – came the grandson Canaan, and out of Shem came Abraham then there really wasn’t any myths that were integrated into Israelites own culture. These verbiages were common - they were not picked up on after the Israelites enter into or came to understanding from other cultures.
Hebrews descended from Eber (Heber), a great-grandson of Shem. Six generations after Heber, Abram (Abraham) was born, so Abraham was both a Hebrew and a Semite, born of the line of Heber and Shem.* Ishmael and Isaac were born of Abraham.*
So to say that, “ It seems that the bible or the torah, and book of genesis comes from a variety of sources mixture of other religions and stories around Canaan and ancient Mesopotamia” would be incorrect. In a family, you have cousins, uncles & aunts – basically relatives (in this case, tribes – each containing different descendant from either Noah or Abraham). If I tell a story about my grandparents – or great grandparents would that be a mixture of different stories or if I spoke about their past religion (and that being the same God) would that mean it was a source mixture? The stories are all the same – its how “one” will understand them and express it toward others. The stories are kept within the family. However, there is a way for you to look up the information about el or elohim, here are a few cases in the Tanakh where some think ’ēl referring to the great god Ēl is not equated with Yahweh. One is in Ezekiel 28.2, in the taunt against a man who claims to be divine, in this instance, the leader of Tyre:
Son of man, say to the prince of Tyre: “Thus says the Lord Yahweh: ‘Because your heart is proud and you have said: “I am ’ēl (God), in the seat of ’elōhîm (God or gods), I am enthroned in the middle of the seas.” Yet you are man and not ’ēl even though you have made your heart like the heart of ’elōhîm (‘God’ or ‘gods’).’”
What is certain is that the form ’ēl does appear in Israelite names from every period including the name Yiśrā’ēl (‘Israel’), meaning ‘ēl strives’ or ‘struggled with él’.
What does have me very confused, is the fact that we all know how God reacted toward the Israelites and also the sons of Noah when they worshiped other gods…why would some strike the match all over again, knowing that? - are some testing this God again, to verify the accuracy of the bible – or what’s been authenticated. I don’t understand at all…especially for some who are of the Jewish culture? - don’t…understand:bighanky:
My genealogy, is Jewish – from my great- grandparents, they grew up in Czechoslovakia however, they came in route from Morocco – they are Portuguese Jews, Sephardi. When I wrote about the great schools of Jewish thought – I read up on the background history. We have relatives that are of Jewish descendant (Torah educated - “Sefer”) but our family is Christian. The stories we know of the families, our gggreat grandparent – are from Jacob’s line, and the background were from the Sanhedrin – during the 1st temple time, so when the prophecy comes to be fulfilled on the Sanhedrin for the third temple – the choosing of the scholars will not come from the 1st temple period but will come from the 2nd temple period of descendant. Our last name means “enlightenment” or the “light of”…or “reflection of “ …when I read the bible, I read history – that’s what I read. When I come to the New Testament – I am awaken by the thought of the promise being fulfilled. With “Great” Joy! - When the prophecy came to light – the announcement did not come to the scholars but to a shepherd boy, who saw the great star and also came to the wise man from afar, but the realization came to Anna and to Simeon, the priest. Look at how God reveals himself to others - King David, was a shepherd boy -
Psalm 2:7, no great scholar, also look at how Moses developed from Exodus 3 & 4, …
When you read about the Canaanites - or if fact, any other tribe - keep this thought “Acts 17:26 From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live.”
