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The Myth of Noah's Ark?
The Myth of Noah's Ark?
“According to new evidence, the ark wasn't a pointy-prowed vessel, but a giant round raft.”Irving Finkel, an expert in ancient Mesopotamia, has reported historical finds that suggest Noah’s ark was actually round, contrary to modern models. He makes this claim based off of an ancient tablet he found. Read the whole story here.
The reporter for this article writes about the tablet that supposedly provided this new historical information:
The hero of the newly translated tablet – which is slightly bigger than a cell phone, and is inscribed with 60 lines of cuneiform text – isn't Noah, but a possible historical predecessor named Atram-Hasi. It begins with a mischievous Babylonian god named Enki telling the wise, kind and holy Atram-Hasi how to escape a great deluge planned by his rival deities.Finkel is saying there are connections between Noah’s Ark and this ancient Babylonian myth. What is he implying? That the Bible is simply retelling old stories. The reporter writes about Finkel:
And he believes that ancient Jews living in exile in Babylon at this time would also have been wowed by the tale. So much, in fact, that they may have transformed it into their own epic story: Noah and the ark.Finkel is claiming that this ancient tablet was read by Jews during the exile and that this story spawned the “epic story” of Noah and the ark. No doubt a number of people will read this article and react in one of two ways: 1) “The Bible is a bunch of myths, I have known that,” or 2) “Noah’s flood is historically based on a myth? Maybe the Bible is not as true as I thought.”
Before we declare the Bible a storybook made up of Babylonian myths (as so many already have) let’s examine Finkel’s claim. Let’s keep in mind that the foundation for Finkel’s argument is that this tablet is the seed that spawned the “legend” of Noah and the ark during the exile. It did not actually happen, but was (and is) in fact a spin-off of a Babylonian fable. The question then is: when was the Jewish exile?
First, let’s keep in mind that most prophetic literature in the Old Testament was written to prevent the exile. In other words, most of the prophetic writings were in existence before the exile even took place. Over and over again in books such as Isaiah God’s people are told to turn from their sins and turn back to Him. Why? Because if they do not, the people will be exiled. Jonah, Amos, Hosea, Isaiah, Micah, Nahum, Zephaniah were all written pre-exile. A few prophetic books (such as Jeremiah and Ezekiel) were written before the exile (pre-exilic) and continued on into the exile (exilic). Three books: Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi, were written after the exile took place (post-exilic).
So when were these books written? When did the exile actually take place? Early dates put some pre-exilic literature as early as 760 B.C., but we do know that the Jewish exile took place between 590 and 580 B.C.
If the Jews first “invented” Noah and the flood around this time, that would mean that Genesis (where the flood is recorded) was written during, if not after, the exile took place. In other words, Genesis had to be written at least after 590 B.C. for Finkel’s claim to be true. So, when was Genesis written?
Both Scripture and tradition attribute the book of Genesis’ authorship to Moses. In considering dates associated with Moses, let’s begin with 1 Kings 6:1, which tells us:
Now it came about in the four hundred and eightieth year after the sons of Israel came out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel…Solomon’s reign was around 966 B.C. Go back 480 years and you arrive at 1446 B.C. Interestingly, a number of Bible scholars believe Moses wrote Genesis while wandering in the wilderness for forty years (1450-1410 B.C.). If this is true, that would place the writing of Genesis at least 400 years before the exile even took place.
But, for the sake of argument, let’s say Moses did not write Genesis during this time. We will just say he wrote it sometime during his lifetime. Later estimates I found put Moses’ birth around 1526 B.C., while earlier estimates placed him around 1150 B.C. We know Moses lived to be 120 years old (Deuteronomy 34:7). Take into account that Moses lived to be 120 with an early or late birth year (1526 or 1150 B.C.), and one thing still remains the same: Moses was born, lived, and died long before the Jewish exile.
In conclusion, let me quickly review. Irving Finkel is arguing that perhaps historical evidence has surfaced suggesting Noah’s flood is actually a story made up by Jews during the exile after hearing a Babylonian myth. This would have to mean the story of Noah’s flood could not have appeared until at least during the exile. However, historical evidence shows that Genesis (written by Moses) had to be written hundreds of years before the exile even took place.
If any story here is using another as its inspiration, this tablet is an outgrowth of the true, biblical narrative of Noah’s flood, not vice versa. History simply does not allow it. Once again the world jumps on a story in hopes of discrediting the Bible and spreading falsities, while the Word of God prevails. Stay strong, Christian. Trust God’s Word.