Third question....

greenspun.com : LUSENET : Catholic : One Thread

Next question....

Gen. 7:1 "The Lord then said to Noah, Go into the ark, you and your whole family, because I have found you righteous in this generation. Take with you seven (or seven pairs) of every kind of clean animal, a male and its mate, and two of every kind of unclean animal, a male and its mate, and also seven of every kind of bird, male and female, to keep their various kinds alive throughout the earth."

Now then....Seven pairs???? And what's the difference between clean and unclean?

-- jackiea (jackiea@hotmail.com), May 08, 2000

Answers

Hi again, jackiea.

It is traditionally stated (and even mentioned by Jesus, I think) that the Pentateuch (first five books of the Bible) were "written" by Moses. But many modern scripture scholars wonder if Moses ever wrote down anything, especially when they see two things happening in many places in the Pentateuch: (1) major differences in writing styles, unattributable to a single man; (2) apparent retellings (and even "interweavings") of the same stories [especially Creation and the Flood] with different emphases and details, even with seeming contradictions.

It is popular among many scholars to state that the narratives present in Genesis were passed down through MANY generations orally, in at least two "strands," one they call the "Yahwist" and one they call the "Priestly." Their theory is that, when a decision was made to write all these things down, long after Moses's death, a person or group combined the "strands" to form the Pentateuch.

An old commentary I have gives the following attempt to break apart the Flood narrative according to the sources:

From the Yahwist ... 6:1-8 ... 7:1-5 ... 7:7-10 ... 7:12 ... 7:16b [i.e., second part] ... 7:17b ... 7:22-23 ... 8:2b-3a ... 8:6-12 ... 8:13b ... 8:20-22 ... 9:18-27

From the Priestly ... 6:9-22 ... 7:6 ... 7:11 ... 7:13-16a ... 7:17a ... 7:18-21 ... 7:24 ... 8:1-2a ... 8:3b-5 ... 8:13a ... 8:14-19 ... 9:1-17 ... 9:28-29

The commentator states: "Since our present version of the [Flood narrative] consists of these two distinct narratives fused together, repetition, divergencies, and duplication is to be taken for granted. ... Some of [the] dissimilarities are the following:
[1. Yahwist] seven pairs of clean animals; two pairs of unclean animals -- 7:2
[1. Priestly] one pair of every kind of living creature -- 6:19, 7:15
[2. Yahwist] rain falls on earth 40 days and 40 nights -- 7:12
[2. Priestly] the waters rise on the earth 150 days -- 7:24
[3. Yahwist] the whole duration of the flood is computed at 61 days -- 8:6-12
[3. Priestly] ... computed at 365 days -- 7:11, 7:24, 8:5, 8:13, 8:14
[4. Yahwist] only rain falls on the earth -- 7:4
[4. Priestly] ... all the fountains of the great deep burst forth, the floodgates of the heavens open, the rain falls -- 7:11"

"It would be highly naive on our part to assume that the final editor was unaware of these and other discrepancies in his synthesis; in fact, it is this type of evidence which is our best proof that [he] had no intention of reporting an ... event [in a modern historical format], but rather was presenting religious instruction on God's punishment of sinners and his assistance or mercy toward the virtuous."

Now, jackiea, you asked, "What's the difference between clean and unclean [animals]?" I look forward to reading a more scholarly reply here than I can give. I am only aware of the fact that there were ancient taboos, even from the earliest ages of mankind, whereby certain animals were considered unclean (not to be eaten) either because they were believed to cause disease [e.g., trichinosis from undercooked pork] or because they were known to be scavengers, feeders on dung, etc..

God bless you.
John PS: I suggest that you read Leviticus 11, if you want to be a bit overwhelmed by the Mosaic Law on ritually clean/unclean foods.

-- J. F. Gecik (jgecik@desc.dla.mil), May 10, 2000.

[a little follow-up:] Jesus stated (though perhaps metaphorically) these words in John 5:
46: "If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote of me. 47: But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?"

If we do take these words literally and believe that Moses did indeed write something, it does not follow that he wrote the entire Pentateuch as we have it today. I certainly feel unequipped to make a final judgment about authorship of books, so I don't let it worry me.
John

-- J. F. Gecik (jgecik@desc.dla.mil), May 10, 2000.

Moderation questions? read the FAQ