From Creation to Babel: Studies in Genesis 1-11

John Day

Apr 2014 · The Library of Hebrew Bible/Old Testament Studies Book 592 · Bloomsbury Publishing

About this ebook

The stories of Genesis 1-11 constitute one of the better known parts of the Old Testament, but their precise meaning and background still provide many debated questions for the modern interpreter. In this stimulating, learned and readable collection of essays, which paves the way for his forthcoming ICC commentary on these chapters, John Day attempts to provide definitive solutions to some ofthese questions. Amongst the topics included are the background and interpretation of the seven-day Priestly Creation narrative, problems in the interpretation of the Garden of Eden story, the relation of Cain and the Kenites, the strange stories of the sons of God and daughters of men and of Noah's drunkenness and the curse of Canaan, the precise ancient Near Eastern background of the Flood story and the preceding genealogies, and the meaning and background of the story of the tower and city of Babel. Throughout this volume John Day constantly seeks to determine the original meaning of these stories in the light of their ancient Near Eastern background, and to determine how far this original meaning has been obscured by later interpretations.

About the author

John Day is Professor of Old Testament Studies at the University of Oxford, and Fellow & Tutor of Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford. He has written or edited numerous books and articles, and in 2014 is President of the Society for Old Testament Study.