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09-26-2005, 03:55 AM
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Alternative Biblical dates for the Flood?
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How can the Bible be re-interpreted to support a range of Flood dates from 2000 BC to 10,000 BC, rather than the usual date of 2300 BC or thereabouts? Just what are the Biblically-compatible options? |
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09-26-2005, 05:15 AM
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#2 |
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Alternataive Biblical dates for the flood?
The Institute for Creation Research estimates the creation of Adam and Eve at 4,000 B.C. Based upon that estimate, and using the Old Testament's numerical geneaological records from Adam through Noah, I calculated that the flood occured in 2344 B.C.
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09-26-2005, 06:12 AM
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#3 |
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If I'm reading you correctly, then the answer is so simple as to be under your nose: the only chronological starting point we have is not found in the ancient text — it is found in bones, like those of the Cro-Magnon 1, Wadjak 1, or Skhul V, or even Ardipithecus Ramidus. Whose to say "Adam" was Homo Sapiens? Certainly not the text. And this has nothing to do with 'inerrancy', as if you're going to tell the perfectly capable readers around here what the Bible 'says'.
CJD |
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09-26-2005, 06:41 AM
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#4 |
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The genealogies allow counting backwards from dates that are better-established, such as the Exodus. IIRC, it has been claimed that the genealogies provide a framework of dates from the creation to the foundation of Solomon's temple, but I can't remember where the relevant verses are.
The Bible says how old Noah was when the Flood happened. This isn't always the case: IRC, it doesn't say how old Peleg was when the Babel incident happened, giving some leeway there. |
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09-26-2005, 06:59 AM
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#5 |
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Check Genesis 5 and 11. But the dates vary in different versions (Masoretic, Septuagint. etc.) Note also that some people understand "X begot Y" as "X fathered an unnamed Z who later became a remote ancestor of Y". This way, many intermediate generations could have been omitted.
The Temple reference is probably 1 Kings 6:1. |
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09-26-2005, 07:06 AM
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#6 |
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I also wanted to add a more pertinent point (but one more debatable — please correct me, paleo-buffs, if I am wrong):
Modern Homo Sapiens has yet to be genetically linked with any preceding hominid — Cro-Magnon has a mitochondria DNA generic marker that is now extinct, strands of "human" hair were found in a Pleistocene age deposit in Oregon, and they are not found to be genetically related to modern humans, etc. This, of course, would bring 'Noah's Flood' up to and around (if, e.g. Johnny Skeptic's use of geneology is maintained) 5,000–6,000 bce. |
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09-26-2005, 07:16 AM
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#7 | |
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I've always been skeptical of using geneologies in this fashion: 1) Because they seldom show what apologists want them to; and 2) that is arguably not the intended use of ancient geneologies. CJD |
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09-26-2005, 07:19 AM
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Here is Pervy's list, up to the Exodus:
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09-26-2005, 07:28 AM
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#9 | |
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For instance: my grandfather either always was my grandfather, or he became my grandfather when I was born. He didn't become my grandfather when my father was born. Edited to add: in the version I'm referring to, "begat" was replaced by "became the ancestor of". The somewhat more convoluted "X fathered a child to begin a lineage ending in Y" could work (as it's something that could happen when X reaches a certain age), but there is no evidence that the Hebrews (or anyone else) had a word for such a bizarre concept (which they then completely forgot about after Genesis was written). It would also make the genealogies rather pointless. The author has gone to considerable effort to lay out a timeline, specifying information which is otherwise useless (the age of each person when he "begat" the next), and including nonentities, people who aren't mentioned in any other context except to "bridge the gap" from one Biblical character to another (a stage that could be skipped entirely). The genealogy also kills off Methuselah during the Flood year itself: the only still-living character who HAD to die that year, to ensure that only Noah's family survived. This implies that the Methuselah-Lamech-Noah section, at least, is a straightforward grandfather-father-son line. |
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09-26-2005, 09:09 AM
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#10 | |
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