It appears, therefore, that in all the cultures that developed in the region which has been called "The Cradle of Civilization," there was a tradition of a flood which inundated all the earth and that this flood served as a boundary between the earlier stage of existence and the present period in human history. And since "History Begins at Sumer," it is all but certain that this tradition arose in Sumer and was inherited by the heirs of the world's first literate culture; th

It never gets old: http://context.podomatic.com/entry/2015-03-02T20_47_44-08_00

Of interest to us is the fact that there are other literatures, earlier traditions among the peoples of the ancient Near East that contain similar accounts. The story of a universal flood is found in the earliest literature ever written, that of the Sumerians. This account is repeated in the traditions of the Babylonians who succeeded the Sumerians in the same land, inherited essential elements of their civilization, many of their traditions and elements of their faith, and

One conclusion we can make by listing some of the names and their meanings is that this may be a list of professions and occupations; a minimal catalogue of some of the elements that are a part of a settled, civilized society. Thus, Kayin is the metalworker, Mahalal-El, the one who praises god is meant to symbolize the religious leader or priest; Methushelah is the man of the sword or the armed warrior whose strength and arms defend the community, and Enoch, if we understa

The fifth chapter of the Book of Genesis is the first major stumbling block to those who would like to read the Bible. Unlike the majestic poetic language of the Creation and the drama of the Garden of Eden and its first human inhabitants followed by the tragic events in chapter 4, chapter 5 of Genesis, the list of the ante-diluvian patriarchs, their ages and their individual descendants, is an arid list of names and numbers, devoid of drama or other element that might hold