The Ark Before Noah: Decoding the Story of the Flood
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Book Overview
When a small, peculiar, palm-sized clay tablet made its way to the desk of Irving Finkel, Assyriologist and Assistant Keeper at the British Museum, Finkel could hardly believe his luck. What he discovered was a missing piece in the story of Noah and the Ark. In this captivating, absorbing work of scholarship, Finkel, a world authority on ancient Mesopotamia, leads the reader on a detective hunt for the prototype of Noah's Ark--from cuneiform wedges to bundles of reeds, from ancient Babylon to modern Iraq, Finkel reveals new information on the origin of the Babylonian Flood story which pre-dates the biblical deluge, including the surprising size and shape of the boat itself, and even where it came to rest. New to this edition, Finkel puts the "Ark Tablet" to the test in building a modern version of the ship. Throughout, The Ark Before Noah takes us on an adventurous voyage of discovery, opening the door to an enthralling world of ancient voices and historical lore.
Format:Paperback
Language:English
ISBN:0345804392
ISBN13:9780345804396
Release Date:March 2015
Publisher:Knopf Publishing Group
Length:480 Pages
Weight:0.90 lbs.
Dimensions:1.2" x 5.1" x 8.0"
Customer Reviews
1 rating
finkel is a bible sceptic, and he wants you to be one also
Published by Daniel , 2 months ago
this book is written from the point of view that the bible is a made up myth that borrowed from earlier made up myth. if you're already convinced of this, then you will love this book.
two things finkel asserts that I disagree with. first, that the flood story was orally transmitted for a thousand years before it was written. where does he get that from?
second, he says that the Ugaritic alphabet is the oldest. what about the serabit? what he is trying to do is to put the flood story as far back into history as possible, and to put the genesis story as far toward the present as possible.
finkel says the epic of Gilgamesh is usually considered to be the source for the Genesis story about the flood. one possible problem with this theory is that genesis may have been written before the flood story was added to Gilgamesh. finkel seems to think that anything written in cuneiform must be older than anything written in alphabet. finkel surely knows better, but he doesn't make it clear, so the reader must remain aware.
finkel does admit that only a portion of the cuneiform has been read, and there may be other flood stories not yet discovered. yes, and I would say: the genuine source for genesis hasn't been found yet.
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