Thanks bytheirworks, I had not noticed this point before.
Adamh, your write up on the subject is extremely interesting, as are your other articles. It is the first time I have looked at http://awgue.weebly.com
Genesis 3:6 - Is it correct or incorrect?
by bytheirworks 16 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
-
-
adamah
jwfacts said-
Adamh, your write up on the subject is extremely interesting, as are your other articles. It is the first time I have looked at http://awgue.weebly.com
Thanks for the compliment! I have the utmost respect for your work, so your words mean alot!
I enjoy the challenge of looking for new angles to spread TTATT, and I'm taking a different tact, but it's all good; unfortunately there's no "one size fits all" approach or argument that'll resonate with every reader, so offering a variety of approaches is a good thing.
Adam
-
Apognophos
I agree that adamah's article on this subject was most interesting, and thankfully its statements about the NWT's mistranslation of the verse are still accurate since the new NWT still uses the Septuagint's erroneous version as its basis.
-
DATA-DOG
What's the oldest surviving MSS containing that verse? Wouldn't that be the authority? Other possibilities could always be in the footnotes. Wouldn't that be the "scholarly" thing to do? I am no scholar, but isn't it wrong to choose a later MSS and cite it as an authority, just because you like the thought it contains bettter than the older MSS? That's basically what the JWs do to justify Jehovah hundreds of times. They pick a Bible thats pretty old, but not the oldest, and as long it has Jehovah in a few scriptures they cite it as proof of their interpretaion.
-
Comatose
Agree with all of the comments (except cold steel).
Its just common sense. The tree is called the "Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Bad". So if it's a tree of knowledge then or a tree that imparts wisdom then why make Eve out to be a silly woman attracted to pretty things? Pretty silly.
The story fits better as a fruit she wanted to eat to gain wisdom. Just too bad they didn't eat the fruit that would have given them everlasting life. Silly god. He created a self destruct button! He sure is lucky that those pesky humans didn't eat THAT one.
-
adamah
Datadog said-
What's the oldest surviving MSS containing that verse? Wouldn't that be the authority? Other possibilities could always be in the footnotes. Wouldn't that be the "scholarly" thing to do? I am no scholar, but isn't it wrong to choose a later MSS and cite it as an authority, just because you like the thought it contains bettter than the older MSS? That's basically what the JWs do to justify Jehovah hundreds of times. They pick a Bible thats pretty old, but not the oldest, and as long it has Jehovah in a few scriptures they cite it as proof of their interpretaion.
If the WT has ever publicly commented on their curious translation choice of going with the minority opinion, I'm not aware of it (I looked for any comment they might've offered, but didn't find anything).
As I said in the article, they choose the interpretaion which ignores Judaism's interpretation of the account, and instead went with the early Christian apologetic reading afforded by the Septuagint which offer the typical misogynistic viewpoint, which conicidentally worked against the Gnostics, as well (one of the elements of the Gnostic Christianity was to see Eve as the mother of all humans who was punished for liberating humanity, defying a vindictive demiurge God who forbade humans from making moral decisions of our own).
Comatose said-
The story fits better as a fruit she wanted to eat to gain wisdom. Just too bad they didn't eat the fruit that would have given them everlasting life. Silly god. He created a self destruct button! He sure is lucky that those pesky humans didn't eat THAT one.
Of course, the name of the game in Genesis was to engage in some post-hoc rationalization, explaining WHY humans die, why women are afraid of snakes, have pain during childbirth, and men have to work to produce food from the ground. If the story had them eating from the tree of life, then the Yahwist would have to explain why we DON'T live forever!
Same with the Flood story: it's a tale to explain where rainbows come from, but also to rationalize away the guilt of killing animals for food, and to explain why it's OK to establish secular governments that prohibit murder. Oh, also to support the idea of SACRIFICE to Gods!
Origins myths, all of them....
Adam
-