Thanks for your response to my OP David_Jay.
Though I'm not sure if my questions were answered.... ....at least not directly.
I'm wondering if the Jews back in the day would have given the same explanations which you and other contemporary Jews give regarding the OT scriptures? It seems to me that Judaism is in a constant state of evolution, reinterpretation and rationalization IN HIND SIGHT.
I'm wondering why God didn't instruct the OT Bible writers to just write what really happened instead of having them write accounts which are just exaggerations and not literal.
I can't imagine, for example, that back in the day when scientific knowledge was limited, that what the OT writers wrote regarding science and cosmology was not taken to be literal:
There are several statements in the OT that are not accurate and authentic to this day, eg.
- the earth is described as flat (Isaiah 11:12; Job 38:13; Jeremiah 16:19; Daniel 4:11; Matthew 4:8; Revelation 7:1),
- the earth is described as stationary (Psalms 93:1; 104:5; 96:10);
- the earth has a foundation and is resting on/held up by pillars - i.e., the earth is fixed:
1Samuel 2:8, Job 38:4, Proverbs 8:29, Micah 6:2, Jeremiah 31:37, Job 26:11; Psalm 104:3
- the earth is covered by a vault (dome) in which is fixed the stars and windows to let down rain (Genesis 7:11).
- the sun moves back and forth across the sky Ecclesiastes 1:5, (and can be stopped if necessary - Joshua's battle at Jericho)
- that the moon is a source of light,
- that daylight does not emanate from the sun itself,
- that the boundaries of the oceans are fixed ( think beach erosion),
- that water in the sky is suspended above a giant curtain (firmament),
- Genesis implies a flat earth with a sky dome holding back the waters of heaven, while windows are in place there to let rain in, while the land itself and the sky dome are held up by pillars. This is the sort of cosmogony that the ancient Babylonians had
https://gilgamesh42.wordpress.com/?s=pillar&submit=Search
- Biblical cosmology portrays a three tier universe (the heavens, earth, and the underworld).
- There are two contradictory stories of the Creation of the earth and the heavens in the book of Genesis, written either by different authors or an author drawing on different sources. In chapter 2:4-24, which is probably the oldest version of the story:
* creation takes place in the space of one day,
* man was made before any plants and animals
* and woman was made later after animals failed as suitable companions/helpers for man.
However, in chapter 1:
* creation occurs over six days,
* with plants, fish, birds, and animals created before man and woman,
* who were created at the same time,
* the plants were created before the sun - how did plants survive without sunlight?
Archaeology indicates an older age for mankind than that indicated by the account of Adam & Eve.
Archaeology has proven that death existed before Adam & Eve.
- Isaiah 11: The wolf and lamb lying down together, the predator and prey system abolished. “They will not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain”.
Can wolves, leopards and lambs actually dwell/lie down together?
Or if the calf and the young lion and the fatling can actually dwell/lie down together?
Can a little child safely lead wolves, leopards, and young lions?
Can wolves and lambs actually feed together, and lions eat straw like the bullock? Can carnivores become herbivores?
Imagine the scenario if all the carnivores/predators are transformed to herbivores and there is no more food chain: death would only be as a result of aging. With no more food chain, there would now be the potential risk of an out-of-control animal population.
I can't imagine that the foregoing writings weren't taken to be literal back in the day but in light of modern scientific evidence and proven knowledge the Jews have changed their viewpoint to conform to scientific reality and decided that these writings were not literal, but this no doubt results in distorting the original language and meaning.
Regards.
