Torah Pearls: Noach

Torah Pearls〚 *Noach* 〛Season Three
Jono Vandor / *EZRA* / Ross K. Nichols

In Episode 2 of Torah Pearls Season 3, join Ross K. Nichols, Jono Vandor, and Ezra—our ChatGPT-driven textpert brought to life by Seth—for a captivating dive into Parsha Noach. We unravel the layers of Noah's flood story, exploring distinct sources within the biblical account, drawing fascinating parallels to other ancient Near Eastern flood narratives, and discussing a unique flood story preserved in the Genesis Apocryphon from the Dead Sea Scrolls. Join us for an engaging, text-rich conversation that brings fresh insights to this age-old tale!

╓─ *The Genesis Torah Tablet*

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╓── *Recommended Reading* ──╖
◉ The Genesis Torah Tablet
◉ The Jewish Study Bible
◉ Biblia Hebraica Quinta (BHQ): 1. Genesis
(English and Hebrew Edition)
◉ The Dead Sea Scrolls and the Origins of the Bible
(Studies in the Dead Sea Scrolls and Related Literature (SDSS)
◉ The Text of the Old Testament: An Introduction to the Biblia Hebraica

◉ Why We Are No Longer Fundamentalists
◉ A Textual Study of Noah's Flood

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[ArekE]

Baruch HaShem for all your efforts. Was late to tune in live. Thanks!

[hollydevine]

So was discussing the different flood versions with my very smart husband & it's not different versions..
One is how long it rained & the other is how long the water from the rain stayed on the earth ❣️

[TheVoicetothenations]

This is the first time I have come on your channel. When you say J P E Letters, what do they stand for, please?

[ArekE]

(I'm bout 40 minutes in now) "J" appears to have been scribed from a highly phenomenological perspective. That said, I must say this cycle of reading helps in drawing clarity from the text. To approach Scripture in this way, as y'all have demonstrated, requires a level of candor and devotion other teachers and shepards have not come to yet.

[andrieslouw]

Shalom Ross and Jono,

Thank you for taking the time to comment on my previous message. I really appreciate it! My name could be pronounced “Ann-dreez Low” (Andries Louw). I have another question regarding Moses.

We know that Moses was raised in Egypt and was familiar with the Egyptian gods. Would it be plausible to say that Moses was accustomed to a pantheon of gods, and that this might explain why he referred to Elohim? And then, when he encountered the burning bush, he learned that God’s name is Yehovah (YHWH)?

Also, I recently spoke to a pagan friend, and we discussed ancient gods. As Jono mentioned, the concept of El Elyon (the King of the gods) also seems to be a common theme. The pagan belief system includes a hierarchy of gods, with a chief deity at the top. In many ways, this hierarchy appears similar to the role of the Watchers in ancient texts. It's fascinating how many ancient deities share parallels with the Watchers or other heavenly beings. Could it be that these ancient gods were understood as powerful spiritual beings or angelic entities, rather than literal gods?

Looking forward to your thoughts on this.

Phonetic Pronunciation of "Andries Louw" (Afrikaans name):
Andries: "Ann-dreez"
(Where "Ann" rhymes with "man, " and "dreez" sounds like the English word "breeze" with a soft "d.")

Louw: "Low"
(The "w" is pronounced like the English "w, " so it sounds like the word "low.")

References and Clarifications:
Moses in Egypt & the Egyptian Pantheon:
The idea that Moses was raised in Egypt and would have been familiar with Egyptian gods is supported by historical accounts. Moses would have been educated in the ways of the Egyptians, including their polytheistic beliefs. It’s reasonable to consider that Moses, in his early life, might have seen the Egyptian gods as powerful deities, and this would later contrast with his understanding of Elohim (the Hebrew God). Moses' encounter with the burning bush (Exodus 3:14) was a profound revelation of the singular, eternal God, and this marked a shift from polytheistic thinking to a more monotheistic understanding.
Reference: Exodus 3:14, where God reveals Himself as "I AM" or "YHWH."

Elohim vs Yehovah:
"Elohim" (a plural form) is often used in the Old Testament to describe God in a majestic or collective sense. "YHWH" (often vocalized as Yehovah or Yahweh) is the personal, covenantal name of God revealed to Moses. The transition from a polytheistic worldview (recognizing multiple gods) to the monotheistic revelation of the one true God is a key theme in the narrative of Moses’ encounter with the divine.
Reference: Genesis 1:1 (Elohim) vs. Exodus 3:14 (YHWH).

The Hierarchy of Gods in Ancient Beliefs:
Many ancient cultures, including the Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans, believed in a hierarchy of gods with one supreme deity, such as Ra in Egypt or Zeus in Greece. The concept of a King of the gods or a top god overseeing a pantheon is a common theme in many mythologies.
Reference: The concept of El Elyon (the Most High God) in the Bible is similar to the idea of the chief god in many ancient pantheons. El Elyon appears in texts like Psalms 78:35 and Psalm 82:6, and is often associated with the supreme God of Israel.

The Watchers:
The "Watchers" are mentioned in the Book of Enoch (which is not part of the canonical Bible but is part of the apocryphal literature). They are described as angels who descend to earth and interact with humanity, teaching forbidden knowledge. Some scholars have drawn parallels between these Watchers and the ancient gods of various cultures. The idea of powerful, otherworldly beings with a hierarchy and authority could explain some similarities between ancient gods and the Watchers. Reference: Book of Enoch, 1 Enoch 6-7.

[talabrams]

Is it possible that Julia Julia was just baiting people to view her FB page?

[ellenhopkins]

Gen 9:8 Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him: 9 “I now establish my covenant with you and with your descendants after you 10 and with every living creature that was with you—the birds, the livestock and all the wild animals, all those that came out of the ark with you—every living creature on earth.

The covenant wasn’t just with Noah and his family, but also with the animals. It’s hard for me to reconcile His care for animals with His being pleased by the smell of their roasting flesh (sacrifices).

[ellenhopkins]

Gen 7: 11 In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, on the seventeenth day of the second month—on that day all the springs of the great deep burst forth, and the floodgates of the heavens were opened. 12 And rain fell on the earth forty days and forty nights.

Sure, it rained, but springs also burst from the deep. As far as it taking 150 days for the water to recede, I don’t see this as contradictory. Surely it would take time for all that water to recede or evaporate.

[Mark_Williams]

"The animals went in two by two
HURRAH! HURRAH!
The animals went in two by two
HURRAH! HURRAH!
The animals went in two by two
The elephants and the kangaroos
And they all went into the ark
All to get out of the rain"

Does that jog any memories, Ross?

[ArekE]

Looking forward to "Lekh Lekha" (Genesis/Bereshiyth 12) next week — where history departs from myth. Not to say the flood did not happen or that Abraham is historical (that is my own personal belief -— without who, there would be a cavernous vacuum of leadership in history without). Loosely I mean. I find the Yahwist portions brilliant — rich with imagery and Hebrew puns. Wherein we find the first of many of our earliest impressions of THE Bible.

Don't be discouraged by those who accept without questioning or those who reject because questioning.

With "Elohim" the "Sh'ma" (from Deuteronomy/Devarim 6.4) becomes a statement in parallel:

"God, our God, God is ONE"

"Elohim (general/universal in plural grandeur)
Eloheinu (personal i.e. who? 'Our God')
Elohim (God) Echad (One)"

[andrieslouw]

if Ezra could read the LDS creation and pre-mortal myth that would be interesting. I do think there is some truth to it, BUT we would need more biblical proof.

[Darisiabgal]

Good Job gentlemen.

These are not really corrections but heads up.,
The first one, ‘El, the most high was a Babylonian like high god that assembled both the qualities of Anu (celestial sky) and Enlil (supreme god). The differences is that Anu, at least in the literature owns the bull of the heavens and ‘El is the bull of the heavens. Like ‘El he is the (disputed in Eridu) father of the gods, but in the Eridu mythology Nammu is a hermaphroditic first true god, who gives rise to Enki (Ea, Ia, Yah) and is the daughter or grandaughter of Absu (the waters that dwell beneath) and his wife (Tiamat/Tahom) the deeps. The reason for this complexity is that Uruk, Anu’s city, is the great organizer of the cities and his eight pointed star signifies higher divinity in the tutelary gods of the other city states. But Eridu preexists Uruk by 1450 years at least. The E.absu in Eridu is 1300 years older than Uruk. As a consequence there are two divine cosmologies, the more colorful is the one of Uruk and the more venerated the one of Eridu.

So this is our little lesson about gods, they evolve. So we need to go back to ‘El. The storied ‘L takes on the character of Enlil, he apparently rapes two beach virgins, and thus Asherah is forced to adopts these two sons, Shalim and Shahan, Dusk and Dawn. Shalim is the god of Urushalim. “The Execration Texts of the Middle Kingdom of Egypt (c. 19th century BCE), which refer to a city called rwšꜣlmm or ꜣwšꜣmm, variously transcribed as Rušalimum, or Urušalimum, may indicate Jerusalem.”
And ‘El the most high appears in the literature slightly before this as the gods of Ebla trading hegemony begin to fade during the Mesopotamian conquest of Canaan from the pre Babylonian. The city itself is over 5000 years old.
He is also prone, like Enlil to excessive drinking and hangovers. A hangover may have been his reason for rage against the noisy humans in the flood Epic of Gilgamesh. In the Ugaritic literature he gets drunk and almost dies.

But there is a subtle aspect of ‘El that is peculiar. ‘El appears to be denied a tutelary city, he is a god of peaks (Shaddu, breast, think Gran Tetons), he’s a portable god, and his tributary sites existed over a broad region, in Hurrian areas, probably in Arabia. He shared sites with Hadad. The Bible claims there was an alter at Bethel, but the cities name was Luz, an important site to Asherah. The Ugaritic texts seem to imply he is a tabernacle god.
It is likely, in fact almost certain ‘l went by different names in different regions. In the Hurrian kingdom he is Elkanusa, some northern Canaanite groups might have to referred to him as Elyon, whereas he might have, in the south been called El Shaddai, in west Semetic he is an obligate treaty partner (a role similar to Anu) and finally the jury is still out on whether El is the Egyptian god Ptah. These various instances of the same original notion may have varied, so much so that in contract negotiations they need to be treated as different gods.
The quality of El, IMO, is a god set up by Mesopotamian as to install a priesthood capable of watching over trade, shepherds and travelers. This process probably began in Mari in which the Amurra and Sumerian gods were forced to mesh together in the 25th to 26th century BCE, the Marian Kings being the spear-head of pre-Sargonic conquest in the west. This high watching god was a necessity because Mari by itself was not that powerful, Sumer was far away and sometimes Sumer fell into civil conflict or was taken over by outsiders. Without a locally controlled priesthood, the hundreds of years setting up trade routes would be immediately taken over by fuedal chieftains who would try to create a dynasty unto themselves. But without constant and consistent oversight by Akkad and Sumer, along with multiple worship sites the priesthood of ‘L would radiate.

[jdpmail]

Interesting thought.... the 2 narrative flood "stories" in the scriptures are evident. However, it also seemingly coincides with Jesus's parable to Nicodemus in John Chp. 3 .... there are two.