Could the flood have been exaggerated?

There is definite evidence that it is at least two different stories if not more.AbE: as illustrationIn the version of the myth found in Genesis 6 God instructs Noah to:

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19 You are to bring into the ark two of all living creatures, male and female, to keep them alive with you. 20 Two of every kind of bird, of every kind of animal and of every kind of creature that moves along the ground will come to you to be kept alive. 21 You are to take every kind of food that is to be eaten and store it away as food for you and for them."

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In the version of the myth found in Genesis 7 we see similar (close but not the same) instructions:

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2 Take with you seven of every kind of clean animal, a male and its mate, and two of every kind of unclean animal, a male and its mate, 3 and also seven of every kind of bird, male and female, to keep their various kinds alive throughout the earth.

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We also find similar explanations of what will be destroyed in Genesis 6 it says:

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7 So the LORD said, "I will wipe mankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earthmen and animals, and creatures that move along the ground, and birds of the airfor I am grieved that I have made them."

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and in Genesis 7:

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4 Seven days from now I will send rain on the earth for forty days and forty nights, and I will wipe from the face of the earth every living creature I have made."

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In both myths lots of critters get killed, in the myth found in Genesis 6 it seems to be talking about land animals and birds while the myth found in Genesis 7 goes even further and wipes out all living things.Edited by jar, : add textual evidence

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Anyone so limited that they can only spell a word one way is severely handicapped!

My point was that since there are at least two different versions of the flood story in the current version, that it is almost certain that it is based on some older oral traditions and so almost certainly an evolved and exaggerated story.

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Anyone so limited that they can only spell a word one way is severely handicapped!

Atrahasis is most likely older than Gilgamesh and it's very likely that they in turn are based on even older oral myths. It's interesting that the Atrahasis story includes many of the other features found in Genesis and so very likely played a part in the origins of several of the stories.

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Anyone so limited that they can only spell a word one way is severely handicapped!

Very true. I have started a new thread at The Birth of Monotheism to look at the evolution of monotheism and features such as those will play a part.

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Anyone so limited that they can only spell a word one way is severely handicapped!