>Our goal, as I see it, has been to hammer out what could have possibly
>happened based on two data sources: (1) the language of scripture. Which
>is not English, but is ancient Hebrew or Greek.. And (2) the evidences
Considering "our goal" it might be helpful to summarize the evidence for a
local, recent and historical flood to include a recent and historical Adam,
who apparently also resided in Southern Mesopotamia - without casting
aspersions on anyone else's methodology.
(These are only highlights, there isn't enough room to cram in all the data.
Excerpts are taken from _The Origins Solution_, with references therein.)
Adam was the product of special creation according to the Bible. He must
have lived about 7,000 years ago, in Southern Mesopotamia. This conclusion
comes from various sources including the Bible itself.
The mention of farming, livestock, tents, musical instruments, and metal
craft in the Genesis narrative suggests an historical setting later than
10,000 years ago. The Bronze age began about 3000 BC.
Regardless of the rationale employed to expand the genealogies in Gen.
5 and 11 in order to propel Adam back in time, a straightforward reading
of the genealogies suggests purely father-son relationships.
The Tigris and Euphrates are named as the rivers in the locale of the
garden of Eden and are also referenced later in the OT. To suggest they
are not the same rivers impugns the writer. If they were not the rivers
of Southern Mesopotamia it would cause unnecessary confusion. It's true
that translation errors and mistakes in interpretation have caused
confusion, but to suggest that the writer was throwing us curves is an
unwarranted higher criticism.
Although animal sacrifice was practiced in Sumer and Accad, Catal
Huyuk in south-central Turkey was settled approximately 8300 BC and
abandoned by about 5600 BC. There were no signs of animal sacrifice,
indicating that this was a pre-Adamic city.
There are two references to irrigation in early Genesis. This was
required in Southern Mesopotamia to grow crops. S. R. Driver in his
commentary suggests that Gen 2:5-6 is a "provision made for the irrigation
of the garden." In Gen. 2:10, "a river flowed out of Eden to water the
garden." In Ezekiel, chapter 1, an irrigation canal is called a "river."
"Edin" was a Sumerian word meaning "desert." By these indications, the
garden of Eden was irrigated.
There are parallel accounts that are suggestive of Adam of Genesis.
Written in Accadian, a precursor to Hebrew, the Legend of Adapa is one
example. Adapa was "created" an exemplary man and endowed with superhuman
wisdom. He was offered "eternal life" through the food and water of life,
but refused. "The man of Eridu" was a "sage whose command no one could
oppose." He was "blameless," "clean of hands," "anointer," "observer of
By the sweat of his face Adam made bread. Adapa was a "baker." Were
there repercussions of the Fall? This is part of one Adapa fragment:
... what ill he has brought upon mankind,
[And] the disease that he brought upon the bodies of men ...
In Hebrew 'adam (man) was taken from the adamah (ground.) How close
phonetically is adamah to Adapa?
The pre-flood Sumerian King Lists correlate to some degree with the
Genesis patriarchs. Here is the beginning:
When the kingship was lowered from heaven
the kingship was in Eridu
In Eridu Alulim became king ...
The seventh patriarch is Enoch who "walked with God." He corresponds
with Enmenduranki, king of Sippar, who was taken by the gods and taught
Noah corresponds to Ziusudra who builds a boat, and you know the rest.
The Assyrian king list starts with Tudia followed by Adamu, a likely
namesake of his famous forefather.
The Babylonian priest, Berossus, wrote in Greek, and starts off his
pre-flood kings with Alorus who was "appointed by God as Shepherd of men."
The title "the Son of God," reserved for Sumerian royalty, was also
used for one called Adamu. This title is identical to that used of Adam
in Luke 3:38. Furthermore, Adapa is called the "Atrahasis of the Anunaki."
Literally the "exceeding wise" of those "sent from heaven to earth."
The one who builds a boat, loads it with animals, rides out a flood, etc.
is also called Atrahasis. Thus a link exists paralleling the biblical link
between Adam and Noah in Gen. 1:27-28 and Gen. 9:9-10. The word "Anunaki"
may be a precursor to our word, "angels."
In Egypt, the pyramids of kings Mer-ne-Re and Nefer-ka-Re were
inscribed with a dedication dating to about 2400 BC, centuries before
Abraham and roughly 1,000 years before Moses. The text speaks of a first
creation and a deified Atum who was on a primeval hill arising "out of the
waters of chaos." Among those "whom Atum begot" was one named "Seth."
Could Alorus, Adapa, Alulim, Adamu, Atum, and Adam be one and the same?
Perhaps not, but I rather suspect some of them are, if not all of them.
Was Eridu Adam's home? Consider that "edin" in Sumerian and "edinu" in
Accadian mean "desert." Eridu could be the root of the French *aride*
and the English *arid* which pertains to a desert. Eridu, home to Adapa
and Alulim, was excavated and dates to 4800 BC, the oldest date for any
city in Southern Mesopotamia, yet younger than Jericho dated to about
10,000 years ago.
It appears that Adam's sin caused spiritual death upon all men, not because
he was father to us all, but because he failed to be an example to us all.
Adam was not the biological head of our species, but the Federal head of
the human race.
Likewise, the flood fits a Mesopotamian background and can be dated three
different ways, all to roughly 2900 BC.
After Ziusudra (or Ubartutu, his grandfather) on the Sumerian King List,
The Flood swept thereover,
After the Flood had swept thereover,
When the kingship was lowered from heaven
The kingship was in Kish
The post-flood rulers at Kish begin the early dynastic period of Southern
Mesopotamia called E. D. 1 by historians, dated at 2900 BC. (Interestingly,
they don't mention the flood.)
The flood layers at excavated cities of Ur, Kish, Shuruppak, Uruk, and Lagash
were dated to roughly the same period - 2900 BC.
Archbishop Ussher may have missed the date of creation by a few billion years,
but some of his work is worth preserving. Using his chronology, 615 years lie
between Abraham and the Exodus. If the Septuagint version of Genesis is used,
1,072 years stand between Abraham and the end of the flood, plus 1 year for the
duration of the flood, puts the flood at 3128 BC if the Exodus was in the year
of Amenhotep II (1440 BC), and 2978 BC if the flood occurred during the reign of
Ramses II (1290 BC).
The cities named in Gen. 1-11 all fit a Mesopotamian environment. Kingship was
restored in Kish after the flood where 23 kings ruled until, "Kish was smitten
with weapons: it's kingship to E-Anna(k) was carried." In _The Makers of
Civilization_, Lawrence Waddell translated that directly as "Enoch," reckoning
it as the city Cain built and named after his son.
It was here that Mes-kiag-gasher was high priest and king. His son, Enmerkar,
built or continued building Uruk located virtually across the street. Uruk is
the biblical Erech, part of Nimrod's kingdom (Gen. 10:10).
The cities , the rivers, and the flood legends all point to the same region and
the same time frame. Science, history, and Bible stand in close agreement
date and location of Adam and the flood.
THE ORIGINS SOLUTION
* THE ORIGINS SOLUTION *
* An Answer in the Creation - Evolution Debate *
* Web page - http://www.orisol.com *