Genesis and the Rise of Civilization

by j. Snodgrass

Snodgrass Integrates Studies of World Mythologies, Ancient Near Eastern Tribes and Empires, Archaeology and Rabbinic Stories to Read Genesis as a Parable about the Agricultural Revolution, and God's Counter-Revolution.

308 pages, Paperback

First published November 19, 2011

Reviews

[William Guerrant · Rating 5 out of 5]

Snodgrass combines scholarship, wit, and creative thinking--traits not frequently found together in a Biblical commentary. His treatment of Genesis is unconventional and unorthodox, but not uninformed. Drawing heavily on works by Daniel Quin, Isaac Asimov, and Gerhard von Rad (and on a strong dose of Noble Savage mythology), Snodgrass imagines the Primeval History (chapters 1-11) as a parable inspired by the Agricultural Revolution and its displacement of hunter/gather society, and in the Patriarchal History (chapters 12-50) he sees evidence of an ancient merger of disparate tribes, later united by a common story. Those with an interest in the history of the Ancient Near East, and how it may have informed the stories in Genesis, should find this book fascinating, even if they do not find all of Snodgrass's theories convincing.

[Broken Publishing · Rating 4 out of 5]

http://pieceofburlap.blogspot.com/201...

[Jeff Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read everything J. Snodgrass writes because I know I'll always be introduced to a new perspective.

[Steve Bivans · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent examination of the roots of the Genesis story, or I should say stories, in the context of the birth of agriculture in the Fertile Crescent and the dawn of history. If you're read Daniel Quinn's 'Ishmael' (read it, btw) then you want to read Snodgrass's book. He untangles at least two distinct versions of the creation story, and gives a plausible explanation as to how these stories developed and how they were weaved together.