robin cook Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
...
> Origen lived in Egypt at a time when Egyptian
> culture was still a living entity and we don't
> know if Origen familiarized himself with it or to
> what extent. From his 'square' base to the
> enigmatic 'one cubit at the top' he comes up with
> a pyramid/ark which satisfies theological
> numerology. Yet he was surely aware of the actual
> monuments down the road from Alexandria - were
> these all arks too or did he just dismiss them as
> pagan? I must admit I don't know much about the
> particular situation in 2nd.C Egypt.
Well ... first off, as you say: the Deluge [
en.wikipedia.org] Ark.
The earliest references come from Mesopotamia:
- the Epic of Gilgamesh - ca. 2100 - 1200 BC - [
en.wikipedia.org]
- the Sumerian creation myth - c. 1600 BC - [
en.wikipedia.org]. "Ziusudra, the ruler of Shuruppak, [is told] to build a large boat ... "
In "Gilgamesh", Utnapishtim [
en.wikipedia.org] is also told to build a large (cubic) boat:
" ... the frame of the ark, which was made in five days, was 200 feet in length, width and height, with a floor-space of one acre. The ark interior had seven floors, each floor divided into 9 sections, finishing the ark fully on the seventh day."
There is a tablet in the BM bearing the text of Gilgamesh XI - [
www.britishmuseum.org]
(As also mentioned, there is this object: [
www.britishmuseum.org] - discussed here: [
blog.britishmuseum.org]. The discussion raises the question of whether the Deluge Ark was circular. But the object contains no represention of that Ark. The circular object portrayed in that object is not the Deluge Ark, but the known world at that time).
Moving on to Genesis 6:16 (Priestly author, ca. 7th cent. BC):
" A window shalt thou make to the ark, and in a cubit shalt thou finish it above; and the door of the ark shalt thou set in the side thereof; with lower, second, and third stories shalt thou make it." (King James version. There are many alternative versions of the translation: [
www.biblegateway.com]).
So the shape of the Biblical Deluge Ark might vary, depending on how the text is translated ...
The shape described in the Priestly source seems to have been inspired by the Sumerian and Babylonian traditions (Hooke, 1963: 134). In that case, however Genesis 6:16 has been translated since, the Priestly source was presumably thinking in terms of some kind of cubic-derived shape: and not a pyramidal one.
The measurements of the Ark (the vessel that contained the Ten Commandments) are described in Exodus 26 (Jahwist author - [
en.wikipedia.org], ca. 6th cent BC).
The Great Pyamid dates to ca. 2500 BC: so, some centuries before Gilgamesh.
However, no Near Eastern Deluge tradition makes any mention of a pyramid. And there is no known Egyptian Deluge tradition absolutely parallel with the Near Eastern Deluge tradition and its Ark. The closest I've found is described in "The Mythical Origin of the Egyptian Temple," E. A. E. Reymond - [
www.google.co.uk].
Finally, although Dilbeck mentions the term "pyramid" several times, I suspect that she is referring to "pyramid shape", "pyramid form", rather than to the Egyptian pyramids themselves.
So, on the basis of the evidence outlined above, I see no reason for concluding that Origen's thinking about the Genesis Deluge Ark was influenced by the pyramids of Giza.
Hermione
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Edited 5 time(s). Last edit at 11/06/2021 10:03AM by Hermione.
