101 myths of the Bible : how ancient scribes invented biblical history

354 Pages·2000·1.55 MB·English

by  Gary Greenberg

Gary Greenberg
President of the Biblical Archaeology Society of New York

�yths
of the
Bible

�ow �ncient �cribes �nvented �iblical �istory

101 Myths of
the Bible

HowAncient Scribes Invented
Biblical History

By Gary Greenberg

Copyright © 2000 by Gary Greenberg
Cover design © 2000 by Sourcebooks,Inc.
Cover image courtesy of Corbis Images.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Greenberg,Gary.
101Mythsof theBible:howancientscribesinventedbiblicalhistory/GaryGreenberg.
p.cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1.
Bible.O.T.—Historyof Biblicalevents.2.MythintheBible.I.Title:Onehun-
dred one myths of the Bible.II.Title:One hundred one myths of the Bible.III.
Title.
BS1197 .G73 2000
221.6’8—dc21
00-041980

Printed and bound in the United States of America
VP 10

For my wife,
JoAnne Chernow

Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .ix
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .xv
Notes onTerminology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .xxvii
Timetable of Biblical History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .xxix

Part I – Myths of the Beginning
Myths of the Beginning:An Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3
1.In the beginning everything was without form and void. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11
2.God initiated Creation with a spoken word. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13
3.Creation began with the appearance of light. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14
4.God separated light from darkness on the first day. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15
5.A firmament arose out of the primeval waters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17
6.God called the firmament“heaven.” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18
7.God gathered the waters in one place. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19
8.Vegetation appeared before the sun. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21
9.God created the heavenly bodies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22
10.Birds emerged from the primeval waters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24
11.God created man and woman in his own image. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25
12.God created Adam and Eve on the sixth day. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28
13.God gave man dominion over the creatures. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32
14.God created earth on the third day. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34
15.God rested on the seventh day. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37
16.God rested after the Creation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39
17.The heavens and the earth had children. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41
18.Adam and Eve were the first humans. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43
19.God formed Adam from the dust of the earth. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46
20.God planted aTree of Life and aTree of Knowledge of
Good and Evil. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .48

Contents

21.Adam would die if he ate from theTree of Knowledge. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51
22.God forbid Adam to eat certain fruit. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .53
23.Eve came from Adam’s rib. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .54
24.Adam gained wisdom without immortality. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .56
25.There were other beings in the Garden of Eden before Adam and Eve. . . . . . . .58
26.God planted a garden eastward in Eden. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .59
27.Adam and Eve lived a simple primitive lifestyle while in
the Garden of Eden. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .62
28.The serpent was more subtle than any beast. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .64
29.God punished Adam,Eve,and the serpent. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .66
30.Cain killed Abel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .68
31.Cain built a city east of Eden. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .71
32.God sent a flood to destroy mankind. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .73
33.Ham was the father of Canaan. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .76
34.Noah released birds to determine if the land had dried. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .78
35.The flood occurred in the tenth generation of humanity. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .81
36.All earthly life had become wicked and had to be destroyed. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .84
37.The sons of God married the daughters of man. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .87
38.Noah saved only two of each species. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .89
39.The rain lasted forty days and forty nights. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .90
40.The flood covered the entire earth and all the mountains. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .92
41.After the flood,Noah sacrificed all the clean animals. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .93
42.All living creatures not on the ark perished. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .94
43.God confused the common language of humanity and scattered
the people about the world. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .95
44.The Ark landed on the mountains of Ararat. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .97
45.The sons of Noah formed the nations of the world. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .99
46.Nimrod conquered Babylon. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .101
47.The Sons of Ham were Cush,Mizraim,Phut,and Canaan. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .103

Part II – Myths of the Founders
Myths of the Founders:An Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .107

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101 Myths of the Bible

48.Abraham came from Ur of the Chaldees. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .115
49.Abraham left Egypt to go to Canaan. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .117
50.God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .120
51.Lot’s wife turned into a pillar of salt. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .127
52.Lot fathered Ammon and Moab. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .129
53.Abraham pretended that Sarah was his sister. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .131
54.Jacob and Esau fought in the womb. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .135
55.Jacob cheated Esau out of his birthright. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .138
56.Jacob dreamed about a ladder to heaven. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .142
57.Jacob wrestled with a stranger. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .145
58.God changed Jacob’s name to Israel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .148
59.Esau is Edom. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .150
60.Jacob buried Rachel in Bethlehem. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .151
61.The prince of Shechem raped Dinah. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .152
62.Abraham named his son“He Laughed.” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .156
63.Jacob’s sons became theTwelveTribes of Israel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .158
64.Reuben was Jacob’s oldest son. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .162
65.Jacob disqualified Simeon and Levi from leadership. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .164
66.Jacob awarded the sceptre to Judah. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .167
67.Benjamin was born in Canaan. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .169
68.Dan was an Israelite tribe. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .171
69.Jacob gave Joseph a coat of many colors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .173
70.Joseph’s brothers sold him into slavery. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .175
71.Potipher’s wife tried to seduce Joseph. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .180

Part III – Myths of the Heroes
Myths of the Heroes:An Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .187
72.Egypt enslaved Israel for four hundred years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .193
73.Jochebed placed the infant Moses in an ark. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .199
74.Pharaoh’s daughter gave Moses a Hebrew name. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .204
75.God sent ten plagues against Egypt. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .205
76.Pharaoh’s army drowned in the Red Sea. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .208

Table of Contents
vii

77.Aaron fashioned a golden calf. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .212
78.Moses gave Israel theTen Commandments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .215
79.The Ark of the Covenant contained theTen Commandments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .226
80.Moses defeated King Sihon of Heshbon. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .232
81.God denied Moses entry into Canaan because he sinned against the Lord. . .233
82.Joshua parted the Jordan. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .237
83.Joshua tumbled the walls of Jericho. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .239
84.Rahab aided the Israelite spies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .241
85.Joshua ruined Ai. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .243
86.The sun stood still upon Gibeon. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .245
87.Joshua captured Jerusalem. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .248
88.Joshua fought King Jabin of Hazor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .250
89.Joshua conquered Canaan. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .252
90.Joshua led Israel after the death of Moses. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .254
91.Shamgar was the son of Anath. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .256
92.Deborah rallied Israel against the Canaanites. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .258
93.Samson judged Israel for twenty years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .263
94.Samson pulled down a Philistine temple. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .269
95.Micah stole silver from his mother. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .271
96.David killed Goliath. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .276
97.King Saul committed suicide. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .280
98.The House of Judah fought the House of Saul at Gibeon. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .282
99.Solomon did not impose forced labor on Israel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .285
100.Daniel predicted the future. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .287
101.Queen Esther saved the Jews of Persia. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .290

Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .295
Suggested Reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .301
Table of Maps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .305
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .309
About the Author . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .321

viii
101 Myths of the Bible

�n 101 Myths of the Bible,I examine many stories in the OldTestament and show their
mythological nature. In choosing the stories, I selected material from three broad
categories.
First, I collected stories with at least two contradictory accounts in the Bible. I
wantedtoshownotonlytheexistenceof contradictions,whichmeantthatatleastone
version of the story was untrue,I also wanted to explain how the contradictions came
about,which to me was far more interesting.What was the story behind the story?
In many instances, the inconsistencies reflect the ongoing propaganda wars
between the kingdoms of Judah and Israel. On other occasions, an early version of a
story was replaced by a later version. This was particularly true in the Creation and
flood accounts,where early Egyptian influences on Israel came into conflict with later
Babylonian sources.
Second, I looked for biblical stories that closely paralleled earlier myths and leg-
ends from neighboring cultures.While in some cases the influences were obvious, as
with the Babylonian flood myth,in many cases the task was quite difficult.Because of
the biblical emphasis on monotheism, the authors had to eliminate references to or
symbols of deities other than the Hebrew god.These changes were made by transform-
ingforeigndeitiesintohumancharactersandsometimeschangingthelocaleof thestory.
As intended, this version usually disguised the true nature of the biblical story,
making it difficult to identify the earlier mythological source. Nevertheless, in many
instances the editors overlooked some of the telltale signs of these earlier sources and,
even in disguised form, it is often possible to strip off the costumes and see what
mythological elements the biblical authors masked.
The third category involved stories that simply couldn’t be true. I was concerned
primarily with archaeological data that indicated that events described in the Bible as
happeningwithinaparticulartimeframecouldn’thaveoccurredatthetimeindicated.

Preface

Several of these stories describe Israel’s destruction of enemy cities during the cam-
paigns into the Transjordan and Canaan. The archaeological evidence shows that
many of those cities didn’t exist in the time of Moses and Joshua.
In this category especially, I made a conscious decision to avoid stories of a mirac-
ulous nature where the sole argument to be raised would be a violation of the laws of
physics. While I would be technically correct, for example, in dismissing the story of
the seven days of Creation as a simple violation of scientific principles,there would be
no purpose to including such stories. For people who believe in the ability of God to
performmiraclesthatoverridethenaturalorder,suchargumentswouldbeof noavail.
For others, I would just be preaching the obvious, and there is nothing particularly
interesting about that.
Still, I don’t ignore the miracles. But instead of simply dismissing them as a viola-
tion of the laws of physics, I chose instead to go behind the story, to look at what ear-
lier influences gave rise to the biblical account,to show what sources the author relied
upon in telling the story.
In the course of this book, I will make a number of arguments with which most
biblical scholars agree. In several other instances, however, I offer new insights into
puzzling matters that the academic community has yet to resolve adequately.
I am particularly enthusiastic about showing how Egyptian mythology and litera-
ture strongly influenced much of the early biblical history, especially with regard to
Creationandthefloodaswellasthepatriarchalnarratives,asubjectthathasbeenirre-
sponsibly ignored.The lack of attention to Egyptian influences on the Bible by both
biblical scholars and Egyptologists is unfortunate. A conscious and deliberate effort
existstokeepthetwospheresseparate,yettheBibleshowsalongandcontinuousrela-
tionship between ancient Israel and Egypt. It places Israel’s formative years in Egypt,
living an Egyptian lifestyle, educated in Egyptian ideas, and dwelling there for cen-
turies before the Exodus.It describes Joseph as prime minister of the nation and mar-
ried to the daughter of the chief priest of Heliopolis (biblical On), one of the most
influentialEgyptiancultandeducationalcenters.Histwosons,EphraimandManasseh,
were half-Egyptian and educated as Egyptians. Ephraim became heir to Joseph and
foundedthekingdomof Israel;Manassehhadthelargestterritorialbaseof allthetribes.

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101 Myths of the Bible

Moses,according to the biblical account,was raised and educated in the Egyptian
royal court, and many members of his tribe, Levi, have Egyptian names. King
Solomon married a pharaoh’s daughter and built an Egyptian temple in Jerusalem for
her. Common sense dictates that she had a large retinue of Egyptian priests and ser-
vantstoadministertothetemple’sneeds.Jeroboam,whenhefledfromIsraeltoescape
Solomon’s wrath,dwelled in Egypt before leading Israel away from Judah.
And historically, Egypt had a powerful cultural influence on Canaan from well
before the Exodus to late in the first millennium B.C. An eighth-century seal of a
Hebrew official from the court of King Hoshea of Israel (c. 730 B.C.), for example,
shows the official dressed in typical Egyptian garb and standing over an Egyptian
winged-disk icon, indicating that Egyptian ideas heavily influenced the royal court of
the kingdom of Israel.
As we go through the Creation and patriarchal stories, we will see how Egyptian
mythology significantly influenced Hebrew interpretation of and beliefs about its ear-
liest history. These influences bring us to the question of the origin of Hebrew
monotheism.How,when,and where did it originate?
Biblical monotheism appears to have gone through an evolution. In the earliest
stages, the Hebrews imagined an all-powerful Creator deity, but evidence of belief in
other deities remains buried in the stories,most obviously in the form of angels.This
appears to be the primary form in which Hebrew monotheism originated and the
form in which it has fundamentally survived even into present times.The three major
monotheistic religions,Judaism,Christianity,and Islam,stillbelieve in a hostof super-
natural beings, particularly angels and the devil.They are beings created by the one
all-powerful Creator just as the Egyptian deities were the product of the one all-
powerful Egyptian Creator.
The idea of an all-powerful Creator who brought forth other supernatural beings
has its roots in ancient Egypt.There it was a central belief in most religious cults that
a single Creator was responsible for all of existence,including the appearance of other
deities.The other nations of the Near East had no similar theology.It is the Egyptian
viewsthatinitiallyinfluencedHebrewunderstandingof thefirsttimes,andwewillsee
that many of these Egyptian Creation myths are replicated in biblical history.

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Over time, however, the nature of the theology changed.Whereas Egyptians also
worshipped the many other deities created by the prime Creator, by the time of
Moses, there is a new emphasis in which this Creator deity is deemed to be the only
god to be worshipped. No one, for instance, ever worships God’s angels.This view is
reflected in the biblical command,“Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” The
idea that only one deity among many should be worshipped is known as henotheism
rather than monotheism.
For a brief time in the mid-fourteenth century B.C., Egypt experienced a form of
authoritarian monotheism under a pharaoh named Akhenaten.A full understanding
of Akhenaten’stheologyhasyettobedeveloped,butitsexistenceinatimewhenIsrael
waslikelystillinEgyptraisesquestionsaboutwhatinfluencehisideashadontheedu-
cated Hebrew people in his realm. Biblical and Egyptological scholars go out of their
waytobuildanunbreachablewallbetweenAkhenatenandMoses,butitdoesnotrest
on solid factual foundations.In my previous book,The Moses Mystery: The African Ori-
gins of the Jewish People, (reprinted in paperback as The Bible Myth), I examined the evi-
dence and concluded that Moses served as chief priest of Akhenaten’s religious cult
and that the Exodus resulted from a volatile religious feud between Akhenaten’s suc-
cessors, who reinstated the traditional beliefs, and his followers, who lost control of
Egypt after his death.
Regardless of my own views,the Hebrews depicted in the Bible never embraced a
pure monotheism, nor was there a single universal religion. Many important biblical
characters in post-Exodus times, for instance, had names ending in“Baal,”who was a
major Canaanite deity. Gideon, one of the most famous of the early Judges, also was
known as Jerub-baal,and Saul,first King of Israel,had a son named Esh-baal and this
sonsucceededhimonthethrone.TheseBaalnamesbecameanembarrassmenttothe
final redactors of the early Bible books and they either added fictional glosses to the
text to explain the apparent inconsistency or they changed the Baal name to
“Bosheth,”a Hebrew word meaning shame.
Belief in other deities goes farther than naming conventions. For example,
Solomon had many non-Hebrew wives and he built many religious shrines for them
so they could worship their own non-Hebrew deities. Later scribes attributed the

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101 Myths of the Bible

breakup of Solomon’s empire to a punishment by God for his apostasy. And Jer-
oboam, first king of Israel after the break from Judah, not only set up golden calves at
cult sites, but established rival temples to the one in Jerusalem. And, throughout the
period of the monarchy, biblical writers tell us that the Hebrews constantly suc-
cumbed to the religious influences of the Canaanites and Philistines.
Under King Josiah (640–609 B.C.),many severe religious reforms were instituted
and strong opposition to idol worship emerged. Whether pure monotheism became
part of Hebrew religion at this time we can’t know for sure.But,by this time,the ear-
lier beliefs had become embedded in Hebrew traditions and writings. Ultimately, a
single redactor or, most likely, a school of redactors sometime after the fifth century

B.C. gathered the main sources and traditions together and produced the first version
of biblical history in its present form, editing as best they could to eliminate inconsis-
tencies between monotheism and earlier religious beliefs.
While myths often are based on erroneous or fictional history, they are literary
artifacts.Just as artifacts from different layers of an archaeological site show us the his-
torical and cultural development of a people,the existence of mythological layers tells
us something about the people who believed in those myths. In 101 Myths of the Bible,
wewilllookatthelayersof mythologicalartifactandseewhatthestratificationsreveal
about how biblical history and culture came to be.
Forconvenience,Ihavearrangedthebiblicalstoriessothattheycloselyfollowtheir
order of appearance in the Bible.I also have divided the collection into three sections,
“Myths of the Beginning,”“Myths of the Founders,” and “Myths of the Heroes.”
Because so many people believe the authors of the various Bible books were divinely
inspired, and since this book explores the sources for many Bible stories, I prefer to
think of this collection as a restoration of God’s footnotes for the Bible, putting back
in the source citations the authors left out.

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