The Eden Narrative: A Literary and Religio-Historical Study of Genesis 2–3

by Tryggve N.D. Mettinger

In a book marked by unusually readable yet academic style, Mettinger transforms our knowledge of the story of Eden in Genesis. He shows us a story focused on a divine test of human obedience, with human disobedience and its consequences as its main theme. Both of the special trees in Eden had a the tree of knowledge as the test case, and the tree of life as the potential reward for obedience. Mettinger adopts a two-tiered approach. In a synchronic move, he understakes a literary analysis that yields striking observations on narratology, theme, and genre in the text studied. He defines the genre as myth and subjects the narrative to a functional analysis. He then applies a diachronic approach and presents a tradition-historical reconstruction of an Adamic myth in Ezekiel 28. The presence of both wisdom and immortality in this myth leads to a discussion of these divine prerogatives in Mesopotamian literature (remember Adapa and Gilgamesh). The two prerogatives demarcated an ontological boundary between the divine and human spheres. Nevertheless, the Eden Narrative does not evaluate the human desire to obtain knowledge or wisdom negatively. A piece of fresh, original scholarship in accessible form, this book is ideal for courses on creation, primeval history, the Bible and literature, and the Bible and the ancient Near East.

Genres: Nonfiction

184 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2007

Reviews

[D.J. Butler · Rating 4 out of 5]

This short book analyzes Genesis 2-3 as a narrative. It's very good, and I wish to make one criticism and one observation about it.

The criticism is that the book occasionally wanders heavily into literary theory. I find this unnecessary every time the author does it and a distraction, and it may be as much a challenge to the average reader as the occasional transliterated Hebrew or Akkadian.

The observation is that Mettinger bends over backward to avoid making any connection between the Eden Narrative (and the other Adamic myth fragments he examines, in Job 15 and Ezekiel 28) and the Jerusalem temple. It's one thing not to notice the connection between the menorah in the hekal and the tree in the middle of the garden, and without any analysis to turn away from the possibility of any ritual underpinning of the myths in question. It's much more egregious to read the throne in Ezekiel 28 as a reference to the Throne of Melqart in Tyre rather than the Ark of the Covenant (!) and to observe that the jewels mentioned in Adam's garment are also the jewels in the clothing of the high priest of the Jerusalem temple and STILL to insist that those are meant to depict the royal attire of the foreign king.

[KA · Rating 4 out of 5]

A narratological anaysis of Genesis 2-3, including a chapter on the Adamic myths of Ezekiel 28 and Job 15.7-8 and one on Adapa and Gilgamesh. Focuses on the themes of wisdom and immortality. Very persuasive and readable.