(Due to a holiday, I didn't get to post much about Gen 1-6, so here's a late thread about Adam's WIVES.)

Because of contradicting narratives in the Torah-anthology, legends were invented.

The result is more entertaining than the myths themselves.

#Bereishit
#EBAMeme

1/9
First up, we have Lilith. Because Gen-1 says man and woman were created at the same time, and Gen-2 changed that, we get a story about a mate who declared she was equal, wanted to be on top during coitus, so Adam hated her, and God disposed of her:

#Bereishit
#EBAMeme

2/9
Next, to answer why Adam had to sleep while God made a women, we have the story of Adam being grossed out when he watched God making one, all that blood and organs, and wouldn't touch her

So God got rid of her!

#Bereishit
#EBAMeme

3/9
So before God made Eve, he noticed that Adam was lonely, so he made animals and Adam boned them all, but wasn't satisfied, according to one legend!

#Bereishit
#EBAMeme

4/9
So new we get to Eve. Gen-1 says that he made him/them as male/female, which could mean conjoined twins. So when God removed Adam's side, he was splitting them apart.

#Bereishit
#EBAMeme

5/9
Another interpretation is that Adam being male and female was really a hermaphrodite. And that would make Eve a hermaphrodite as well, I suppose.

Which gives new meaning to "It's Adam and Eve, not "Adam and Steve!"

#Bereishit
#EBAMeme

6/9
Please keep in mind that there is a lot of sexual tension and humor in Gen-3, and that brings us to what was going on with the serpent, who was cursed to become a living phallus?

#Bereishit
#EBAMeme

7/9
I bring that up because it was Adam who was evicted from the garden, and it was Adam who would eventually die.

Not Eve.

#Bereishit
#EBAMeme

8/9
The end.

9/9

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
 

Keep Current with Elisha ben Abuya

Elisha ben Abuya Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @Elishabenabuya

1 Oct
This week, we begin reading Genesis...again.

So let's talk about the two creation myths (Gen1 and Gen2-3).

It is clear, upon examination, that these myths were never intended to be read as history.

To do so requires a lot of apologetics (dishonesty).

#Berashit
#EBAMeme

1/4
There are two different styles of writing between the Gen1 and Gen2-3 myths.

While the first is from a song writer who was more concerned with rhyming than grammar, the second is from a humorist who was more interested in puns and sexual imagery.

#Berashit
#EBAMeme

2/4
The song of creation is beautifully crafted, and is full of visual/sound rhyming, parallelisms, cadence, and repeats.

This is not how one communicates history.

This is how one communicates legends through art.

#Berashit
#EBAMeme

3/4
Read 4 tweets
12 Jul
In this week's #Torah portion, we are introduced to several supernatural entities, one of which is called "Rephaim".

Keep in mind that "Rephaim" is older than the OT and is an appropriated word from the Canaanites.

So what were they in ANE literature?

#Devarim
#EBAMeme

1/5
In ANE religions lie the OT, death was dreary and undesirable. It is a lonely existence unless you were deserving in life, meaning, a great hero or leader. In such a case you could serve the Gods, interact with the living, making you one of the Rephaim.

#Devarim
#EBAMeme

2/5
We see this from the author of the Divine War story in Genesis 14 or Joshua 9-13, where the Rephaim of the Goddess Ashteroth are participants.

And in Job where the Rephaim are mentioned as being distinct from the other residents of Sheol.

#Devarim
#EBAMeme

3/5
Read 5 tweets
11 Jul
This week begins the Book of Deuteronomy. It's a collection of narratives with views/legends that are distinct from the others, and are often are at odds with Gen-Num.

Deuteronomy also has several anachronisms that could only have been written much later.

#Devarim
#EBAMeme

1/4
The opening verses of Deut. provides us with a list of places that the other books didn't mention,, but where the Hebrews apparently traveled, but the point of view is from someone in the future living in Israel.

#Devarim
#EBAMeme

2/4
Ibn Ezra, one of the more honest classical Jewish commentators, notes that these anachronisms could not have been written by Moses, but won't cross the line into true heresy!

#Devarim
#EBAMeme

3/4
Read 5 tweets
27 Oct 20
Here's a short thread about Hagar who appears in Genesis 16 and 25.

As with Sarai, we don't have any background information in the text. Legends say she was a princess, an Egyptian. And another says that she became Abraham's wife after Sarah died.

1/5

#EBAMeme
#Lech_Lecha
The plain text tells us that she was a slavegirl, a shifcha. We see this term also apply to Bilha and Zilpah, who served Rachael and Leah:

2/5

#EBAMeme
#Lech_Lecha
Sarai cannot get pregnant, and has Hagar fulfill her duties as an intermediary birther, which she immediately regrets and hates the haughty pregnant slave:

3/5

#EBAMeme
#Lech_Lecha
Read 5 tweets
25 Oct 20
[Sarai thread]

Let's talk about Sarah, who is first appears in Genesis 11 as Sarai.

The text gives very little information about her.

And many people assume that in Chapter 12, she is 65 years old.

But is she?

#EBAMeme
#Lech_Lecha

1/5
The first time we have ANY reference about her age is many chapters later in a tale about a miraculous birth.

It is an often used error to assume that the details in one story by one author will carry over into other stories by other authors.

#EBAMeme
#Lech_Lecha

2/5
But nowhere in chapter 12 do we have any indication that she is anything but the most beautiful and desirable woman in all of Egypt.

That men would be falling all over themselves to sleep with her seems to indicate a young, rather than an old women.

#EBAMeme
#Lech_Lecha

3/5
Read 5 tweets
24 Oct 20
This week's Torah portion begins with a man named by his father as "Esteemed Patriarch" or "High Father" (AvRam). The text doesn't give his age. Commentators like to use "75", making his wife, Sarai, 65.

They're also the first characters to own slaves.

#EBAMeme
#Lech_Lecha

1/5 Image
The very first verse of the passage comes with a problem: why is Yahweh telling Abram to go from the land of his birth when he already did that a long time ago?

#EBAMeme
#Lech_Lecha

2/5 Image
Another issue that we come across, and we are only at the 6th verse, is that it gives us a time-frame that is based on the view that the Canaanites were no longer in the land, long after the time of Joshua.

#EBAMeme
#Lech_Lecha

3/5 Image
Read 6 tweets

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!


This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Too expensive? Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal Become our Patreon

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us on Twitter!

:(