Sodom of gylt8/17/2023 ![]() Is the Bible’s account of Lot’s wife and the fiery destruction of Sodom just a myth to warn children about the evils of disobedience? The presence of such traditional motifs in the biblical narratives raises the possibility that at least some of these narratives are purely products of the storyteller’s art, which of course raises serious questions about their usefulness for historical reconstruction. One can compare in this regard the Greek myth of Baucis and Philemon. The Sodom and Gomorrah story reflects yet another motif pattern known from extrabiblical literature, that of divine beings who visit a city to test the hospitality of its people and eventually destroy the inhospitable city. Secular archaeologists don’t associate this evidence with the Tower of Babel, however, because they mistakenly assume it was a legendary event. Moreover, evidence from excavations at Eridu suggests that a tower, or ziggurat, was under construction at this time, but never completed. The spread of southern Mesopotamian culture from this region is consistent with the biblical description of what happened following the confusion of tongues: “From there the Lord scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth” ( Genesis 11:8). We know from archaeological evidence that a mass migration referred to as the “Uruk Expansion” took place from this area in the prehistoric Late Uruk Period. 7 Mesopotamian texts indicate that an alternate name for Eridu was Babel. Since Enki was lord of Eridu, it is logical that the event took place in Eridu. The god Enki was lord of the city of Eridu, 7 miles (11 km) southwest of Ur in southern Mesopotamia. 6Ī clue to the likely location is given in the Enmerkar text. This cannot be the case, however, since the Babylon at Al Hillah was not founded until later, in a period of history known as the Jemdet Nasr Age, after the confusion of tongues and after humans had already spread over the earth. Many think the site of Babylon (Al Hillah), a few miles south of Baghdad, is where the Tower of Babel was located. ![]() ![]() lord of Eridu estrange the tongues in their mouths as many as were put there. (in) the (whole) compass of heaven and earth the people entrusted (to him) could address Enlil, verily, in but a single tongue. This version, embedded in a much longer composition called “Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratta,” helps us pinpoint where the event might have occurred. The second tablet, now in the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, England, contains an intact account of the incident. Two ancient clay tablets have been found that record Mesopotamian versions of the event.īriefly, the first tablet, now in the British Museum and very fragmentary, tells of the destruction of a building on a mound in bābel, 3 by a god who “confused or mixed” ( bālal, as in Genesis 11:7, 11:9) the speech of the builders ( Figure 1). 2 When we delve deeper, however, we find that the account is not made up, but rather rooted in solid historical fact. In this case, Genesis 11:1–9 explains why there are so many language families throughout the earth. Most scholars write off the Tower of Babel account by pronouncing it an “etiology,” a story like other ancient myths used to explain something in the real world. Spina, Professor of Old Testament, Seattle Pacific University 1 In their original form, such narrative motifs emphasized either: (1) an important etiology, e.g., why humankind speaks more than one language or (2) a significant religious teaching, e.g., the danger of encroaching upon the habitat of the gods. Those who hold that discrete traditions were at some stage combined point to the separate motifs of dispersion, erecting a tower to storm the realm of the gods, and the confusion of tongues found in extrabiblical sources. . . . Consider five of the most common examples. Any supposed contradictions turn out to be human errors, not Bible errors. Archaeologists have found evidence that supports the Bible, but many times the evidence is ignored because of preconceptions about the Bible’s historicity, or their dates or places are wrong for the biblical events. So if you don’t know how to respond to these questions, your gospel presentation could effectively end right there. They’ve been looking very hard for evidence of biblical events, but nothing has turned up, they say. In fact, most experts are now saying just the opposite. Perhaps you’ve been taught to respond confidently: “Recent discoveries have forced archaeologists to admit the reliability of Old Testament history.” But the answer is much more complicated than that. As our Western culture increasingly abandons all semblance of Christianity, more and more people think the Bible is just a bunch of myths. Have you ever tried to share your faith and heard these ominous words? “But archaeology has disproved the Bible!” If you haven’t, it’s coming soon.
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