Primeval history : Babylonian, biblical, and Enochic : an intertextual reading / / by Helge S. Kvanvig.

• Author: Kvanvig, Helge S., 1948-
• Place / Publishing House: Leiden ;, Boston : : Brill,, 2011.
• Year of Publication: 2011
• Language: English
• Series: Supplements to the Journal for the Study of Judaism 149.
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (626 p.)
• Notes: Description based upon print version of record.

Most cultures have myths of origin. The Babylonians were the first to combine blocks of traditions about primeval time into primeval histories where humans had a central role. In the first millennium there were different versions that influenced the concepts of primeval history within Jewish religion, both in the Bible and in the parallel Enochic tradition. Atrahasis and the traditions of primeval dynasties had crucial impact on Genesis; the traditions of the primeval apkallus as cosmic guardians were lying behind the Enochic Watcher Story. The book offers a comprehensive analytic comparison between the images of primeval time in these three traditions. It presents new interpretations of each of these traditions and how they relate to each other.

Table of Contents

Preliminary Material / H. Kvanvig -- Introduction / H. Kvanvig -- Chapter One. The Epic Of Atrahasis / H. Kvanvig -- Chapter Two. Primeval Lists And Stories / H. Kvanvig -- Chapter Three. The Traditions Of The Apkallus / H. Kvanvig -- Chapter Four. The Poem Of Erra And The Disruption Of Cosmic Stability / H. Kvanvig -- Chapter Five. Concluding Remarks / H. Kvanvig -- Chapter One. The Sources Of The Primeval History / H. Kvanvig -- Chapter Two. The Overall Composition Of Genesis / H. Kvanvig -- Chapter Three. The Theology Of The Priestly Source / H. Kvanvig -- Chapter Four. The Beginning And End Of The Primeval History / H. Kvanvig -- Chapter Five. Priestly And Non-Priestly Material In The Primeval History / H. Kvanvig -- Chapter Six. The Biblical Flood Story And Mesopotamian Parallels / H. Kvanvig -- Chapter Seven. The Structure Of The Priestly Source And Mesopotamian Primeval Traditions / H. Kvanvig -- Chapter Eight. The Reason For The Flood And The Non-P Material / H. Kvanvig -- Chapter Nine. Concluding Remarks / H. Kvanvig -- Chapter One. The Book Of Watchers / H. Kvanvig -- Chapter Two. The Watcher Story / H. Kvanvig -- Chapter Three. Concluding Remarks / H. Kvanvig -- Appendix: The Primeval History In Genesis And In The Watcher Story / H. Kvanvig -- Bibliography / H. Kvanvig -- Indices / H. Kvanvig.