FunkyRes

Which is an odd statement to make since Judaism explicitly forbids the religious practices of other religions that were in the area.

Are you sure it is quite clear?
Almost all of the other religions were polytheistic with images they worshipped, Judaism is an extreme contrast to that.

Marduk

"coming from whatever
culture Abraham had been in. "

Abraham came from the land of Shinar (Sumer, the city of Ur)
These 'Babylonian' stories were copied from the Sumerians and translated to Akkadian after the Akkadians conquered Sumer in 2250 BCE. (Sargon the Great) BTW Sargon is the first guy known to be hidden from an evil king, as a baby he was floated away in a basket down a river, sound familiar?

Boro Nut

It certainly is.

Answerer

I'm not talking about religious practices but rather those 'tales' or 'myth' in the Torah that were very similar to legends from the babylonian ancient pagan religion(which was much earlier than Judaism) and since the Jews were once captives of the babylonians, it is most likely that they copied and used the myths of the babylonians' religion.

CX

Unless those passages in the Tanakh which make such prohibitions were politically motivated.

I think most scholars conclude that prebiblical Judaism was also polytheistic. There is evidence that the early Hebrews worshipped Baal, Asherah and other Canaanite deities in addition to Yahweh. Israel Finkelstein in The Bible Unearthed, puts forth the hypothesis that much of the polemic in the Torah is a direct response on the part of a "Yahweh only" sect in the 7th century B.C.E. against the syncretistic practices of early Hebrews. There is an inscription discovered in Palestine that identifies "Yahweh and his Asherah" implying that at least some early Hebrews viewed Asherah as a consort of Yahweh.

Furthermore Zoroaster promoted a montheistic mythos well before the Hebrews. He elevated Ahura Mazda to the role of supreme creator and deity and all the other deities in the Perso-Iranian pantheon were relegated to the status of minor demons, angels etc. This is very much like what we see in the earliest Hebrew monotheism. It is speculated in fact that the Hebrews adopted monotheism from Zoroastrianism during the Babylonian captivity.

Bede

This is, of course, exactly what the Deuteuronomical (sp?) historian says. The Bible is very clear that Hebrews spent much of their time worshipping other gods and didn't finally get the message until quite late (Josiah's reign is often suggested as a key turning point). The DH suggests that said worship of other gods caused the disasters that afflicted Israel but still has to admit it happened a lot.

Who Wrote the Bible? by Richard Firedman makes a similar case. From biblical evidence alone it is clear that Jehovah was frequently not the dominant, let alone the only god worshipped in Israel before the exile. However, the idea that Jewish monotheism dates from the exile seems far fetched - a picture of a long, long struggle only finally won during the exile seems to fit the evidence much better.

Yours

Bede

<a href="http://www.bede.org.uk" target="_blank">Bede's Library - faith and reason</a>

CX

I agree. Something as significant as transitioning from polytheistic and/or animistic tribal religion to a more abstract monotheistic theology is not likely to occur overnight. It's not unprecedented, but usually it is not a lasting change. I'm only relating what I've read on the subject. And certainly one can't understate the importance of Zoroastrian influence on Judaism. It seems quite possible to me that interaction with a monotheistic culture could have resulted in tipping the scales of a long fought cultural battle. I did not mean to imply that I think monotheism did not exist among the Hebrew people prior to the exile.

Jayhawker Soule

Merely? What are the options other than 'divine revelation' and 'cut and paste'?

Tristan Scott

It seems pretty clear though, that at least parts of the flood story were borrowed from the Gilgamesh, written 2000 years before the Noah story was written.

In the Gilgamesh Utnapishtim is told by the god Ea of an impending flood.

Ea the ever vigilant did to me speak
Saying build a boat and abandon what I have, for you riches can not save your life.
Saying catch a creating match of every living thing which in your boat do put.
Saying make water tight your boat, protect it from the flood which comes.
Saying make the boat wide and equally long, then tile the roof with slate.


Then when the flood subsides Utnapishtim's boat is aground on the top of a mountain, but he sees no land.

So on the seventh day I let loose a single dove,
Which flew around but could not land so returned to me.
So on the seventh day I let loose a single swallow,
Which flew around but could not land so returned to me.
So on the seventh day I let loose a single raven,
Which flew around and found a place to land so it returned not to me.


This story was certainly a model for the Noah myth.

FunkyRes

This then assumes the first half of Genesis is post 6th century B.C. work.

I know about the Documentary Hypothesis, but I also know that many now reject it for complete lack of evidence and internal problems with the hypothesis.