Israelite Mythology

What is discussed here is the early mythology of the Israelite people.

Much of what is known about Israelite mythology comes from the Tanakh and other Jewish texts, typically by looking for motifs that appear in these works, and in other forms in the region, with common beliefs being extrapolated from these.

The word "*el*", while strictly meaning "god", is also used as a general term for a supernatural creature, leaving them often poorly defined, or with abilities mentioned in texts not having a specific creature to be ascribed to.

It should also be noted that individuals in Israelite mythology have a number of aspects to them, and often display traits of a different aspect while primarily in the role of a particular one.

## Myths

Israelite myths, according to Gunkel and Gressmann, follow many of the same motifs as myths throughout the Mediterranean world, such as the following:

* Man being formed from clay
* Man's form animated by the breath of God
* Paradise as the garden of God
* Paradise being next to four rivers
* Paradise contains a Tree of Life
* The fruit of the Tree of Life being forbidden to humans
* Woman created from man's rib/side
* Humans expelled from paradise
* Entrance to paradise guarded by angels or dragons
* Blood of murder victim cries out
* Spilt blood renders soil barren
* Deluge as punishment for humanity
* Boat to save humanity
* Boat also saves pairs of animals
* Survivors repopulate earth
* Tower to reach Heaven
* Hero entertains angels unaware (similar to Philemon and Baucis)
* Cities destroyed by rain of fire and submerged
* Person turned into salt for breaking taboo
* Hero ordered to sacrifice son, but replaces him with God-given ram at last minute
* Rivalry between Jacob and Esau (similar to Rivalry between Gilgamesh and Enkidu)
* Bride substitution
* Ladder between Heaven and Earth
* Fight between man and angel
* Many-Coloured coat
* Hero cast into pit
* Hero sold into slavery
* Hero wrongfully accused by another man's wife (similar to Tale of Anpu and Batu, and Phaedra and Hippolytus)
* Infant found in the bulrushes (similar to legend of Sargon of Akkad)
* Abandoned infant secretly nursed by own mother
* Abandoned child raised at court
* Hero sees a non-consuming magical fire
* Hero gains a magic staff
* Magic staff that parts water
* Magic staff that produces water from a rock
* Plague of frogs
* Complaining people destroyed by deity
* Punishment via leprosy
* Men swallowed by Earth
* Men descend to netherworld
* Staff blossoms into tree
* Steed sees angel when rider doesn't
* Aboriginal inhabitants referred to as giants
* Hero dies on mountain
* Hero stops sun to lengthen day
* Offering person drink before killing them
* Magic fleece
* Parables
* Swearing oaths
* Hero with supernatural strength
* Supernatural strength comes from hair
* Rape of women from another settlement
* Worth of a sick person
* Hero fed by ravens
* Person thrown overboard to end storm
* Person swallowed by whale
* Magical gourd

These motifs come from many different categories of motifs, including cosmogonies, animal stories, taboo warnings, magic, mythical creatures, trickery, reward and punishment, sex, and etymological tales.

Much of Israelite mythology traces its origins to that of surrounding Canaan, as well as Egypt, Assyria, and Babylonia. In other cases, a more general folk-tale was altered to be made more specific to the ancient Kingdoms of Israel and Judah, either changing geographical details, or altering them to fit the political climate at the time. For example, the story between the civilised hero and the hairy, wild hero is adapted as the battle between Jacob and Esau (also known as Seir, from *sa'ir*, meaning "hairy one"). Seir was also the name of some Jordanian tribes, and thus Esau was made into their ancestor owing to the story fitting that way. The story of Noah, owing to the root of his name being *n-h-m*, can be dated to before 1600BCE owing to the "m" ending. This also leads to the character's original name likely being Naḥôm. The breakdown of the creation of the world in *Genesis* also indicates that instead of a seven-day week, it was originally a ten-day week, as was the case in Egypt, and had to be altered when the Israelites started using seven-day weeks.

Furthermore, regarding the *Book of Genesis*, Eve was likely originally the same individual as the Serpent of Eden: her Hebrew name, Hawwah, is a word for "serpent" in Aramaic, and thus the story of her and Adam likely traces its origin to an earlier myth of a hero procreating with a serpentine woman, similar to the story of Heracles and the Scythian Dracena. By the time the story was written down, the detail about Eve being a serpent was likely forgotten, though the presence of a serpent was not, thus resulting in the two then being considered separate individuals. The literal Hebrew meaning of Hawwah is "source of life", which fits with the descriptions of other serpentine creatures, such as Tiamat (the primal mother of Babylonian myth), Echidna (the mother of monsters from Greek myth), and the general association between serpents and life.

Gaster argues that the rainbow after the Deluge was not originally a rainbow, but a standard bow, owing to the fact that at that time the Israelites did not associate rainbows with bows (which led to "rainbow" in English). The bow was instead a constellation containing a number of stars from Canis Major and Puppis. He argues that the inclusion of the bow in the story was because it is based on an earlier flood myth where the flood was caused by a monster who was slain by the god using a bow, who then hung their weapon in the heavens as a warning to other monsters. Other reflexes of this earlier tale can be seen in Marduk's slaying of Tiamat in the Enuma Elish, and in the Arabic legend of Qozah.

It is thought that many of the early myths were transmitted orally in the medium of poetic verses, owing both to the Canaanite and Mesopotamian myths being transmitted through verse, and the fact that a number of parts in the Book of Genesis still fit in verse when in Hebrew. For example, Sarah's words at the birth of Isaac, the intended sacrifice of Isaac, Isaac's meeting with Rebekah, and Jacob's theft of the birth right all fit perfectly into poetic metre. There are also a number of instances of the ancient poetic method of repeating the entirety of a message instead of saying paraphrasing it or simply mentioning that the message that had been discussed earlier was delivered. On the flip side of this though, in some parts of the stories the current prose is interrupted by songs, which have led many to believe these songs are the oldest parts of the stories owing to the discussion earlier in this paragraph. Instead, these songs are most likely the most recent part of the story in any given text, with the songs being added mostly to break up the tedium of reciting prose, and to allow for audience participation.

In ancient Israel, books were collections of a number of works, not necessarily by the same author. As such, *The Book of the Wars of the Lord* mentioned in the Book of Numbers was likely a large collection of a number of similar works (and in fact may have referred to an entire genre of works), and not to a specific story.

According to Gaster, Samson, owing to his name being drawn from the Semitic root meaning "sun", is often assumed by Biblical scholars to have originally been a sun god, with his famous hair representing the sun's rays. Studies of comparative mythology show, though, that this was not the case, as the Samson archetype appears in a number of cultures with no real association with the sun. Likewise, it is often assumed that Elijah being fed by ravens is a mistranslation of the word *'Arabim* (Arabs) through it being corrupted into *'orebim* (ravens), though the motif of a hero being fed by birds is also one that appears in a number of mythologies, hence meaning that *'orebim* is likely the correct word.

There is also a system of study wherein the actions of individual heroes are viewed as representations of the actions of entire tribes of people, but this has its issues when looking at Israelite mythology in a comparative context due to many of the myths, at least in part, being based on myths of other people, as discussed above. For example, the story of Jacob and Esau is taken to be representative of relations between Israel and Edom, but this does not stand to scrutiny due to the same story, with characters with different names, being told in other nearby places. There is also a school of thought, the Pan-Babylonian, wherein myths are derived from people looking at constellations. This falls apart though when one realises that not all regions which have similar myths recognise the same constellations.

## Folk Songs

A number of Israelite folk songs have been recorded in texts.

The *Book of Genesis* records a taunt-song sung by the champions of the tribe of Lamech when they entered combat, and is similar to those found in Arabic *hija* poetry.

The *Book of Numbers* gives a song which, through comparison with modern Arab practices, was likely sung in the spring when a family was digging a water pit.

The *Song of Solomon* is recognised as containing a number of wedding songs, and they are similar to *wasfs* sung during Syrian weddings.

### Puns

Another type of Israelite folk song involves making derogatory puns on the names of one's enemies, and was often used in execrations of hostile cities and peoples. The name of the Kenites was suggestive of the Hebrew words for "nest" and "smith", leading to Balaam cursing them with:

> "Though thine home seem permanent, and thy *nest* set on a rock, nonetheless the say will come when the *smith* shall be the fuel!" ~ *Numbers* XXIV, 21-22
>
>

Similarly, the place name "Mareshah" was suggestive of the Hebrew word for "dispossession", leading Micah to curse the city as so:

> "Thou that in Maresha dwellest, I shall bring a dispossessor upon thee" ~ *Micah* I, 15
>
>

Finally, the name Dimon was suggestive of the Hebrew word for "blood", leading to Isaiah exclaiming the following:

> "The waters of Dimon are filled with *blood*" ~*Isaiah* XV, 9
>
>

This practice is based on the ancient principle of *nomina omina sunt*, where nouns induce adjectives when perceived by a person.

### Nursery Rhymes

It is thought that the *Book of Isaiah* records an ancient Israelite nursery rhyme when Isaiah complains about the difficulty of spreading the word of God in Ephraim:

> "To whom is one trying to teach knowledge? And to whom is one trying to convey a meaning? Is it to new-weaned infants, or to babes who have just left off suckling? Is it a matter of *tsav le-tsav qav le-qav*, here-a-bit, there-a-bit?" ~ *Isaia* XXVIII, 10
>
>

"*tsav le-tsav qav le-qav*" is usually translated as "precept by precept, line by line", but it likely represents a children's jingle, similar to modern "oops-a-daisy" or "pat-a-cake, pat-a-cake".

### Dirges

Ancient Israelite dirges have an unusual feature wherein they are composed in a limping meter, with the second half of each stitch being one beat shorter than the first:

> "Outdoor they lie on the ground,
>
>
> Young men and old.
>
>
> My youths and maidens all
>
>
> Fall by the sword"
>
>
>
> ~ *Lamentations* II, 21
>
>

This practice is thought to be linked to the performance of a *limping dance* performed in various places in the Ancient Near East, and are still performed in modern Syria and Egypt.

## Riddles

Some riddles are recorded in ancient Israelite texts. The *Book of Judges* records one such riddle, given the framing story of Samson asking it to his Philistine friends. This riddle, in its original form, was as follows:

> "Who is the 'eater' out of whom comes something to eat? And who is the strong one out of whom comes something sweet?"
>
>

The answer being "*ari*", meaning both "lion" and "honey".

More riddles can be found in the *Book of Proverbs,* focusing on riddles with a mythological theme, including the following:

* Who went up to heaven and came down? (Etana)
* Who gathered the wind in his garment? (An individual who has the Bag of Winds folklore motif applied to them)
* Who supported all the ends of the earth? (A Near Eastern equivalent of Atlas)

## Proverbs

The Biblical *Book of Proverbs* contains many didactic maxims of the same tradition of the Babylonian didactic admonitions, and Isocrates' *Manual for Demonikos*, with each didactic beginning with "My son". This also applies to the apocryphal *Wisdom of Ben Sirach*.

The majority of the *Book of Proverbs* was attributed to King Solomon in the past, but the repetitions and variants within instead imply that it was more of a traditional compilation. The association with Solomon is because he is the proverbial "wise monarch", and thus attributing proverbs to him is similar to Americans attributing "wisecracks" to Will Rogers. Some of the proverbs in this text seem to have originated in the Egyptian *Proverbs of Amenem-Opet*, another collection in the didactic proverb tradition.

A number of popular sayings are also recorded in the *Book of Proverbs*, including:

* The house of the "strange woman" is said to "sink down unto the realm of death" - linked to later stories of sunken castles
* Wisdom is a "tree of life" which confers bliss on those who lay hold of it
* The lips of the king possess magic; he is unable to err in judgement.
* A bribe is like a magic jewel, ensuring success in all directions

It is thought that most of these popular sayings were simply the morals of ancient Israelite fables.

## Cultural Practices

High priests wore bells on the hems of their robes to defend them from evil spirits.

The embodiment of Dawn was believed to have wings.

The sun could be portrayed as a runner winning a race.

Yahweh had a sword.

The sea's waves could be considered horses, linked to the "White Horses" concept.

Yahweh was said to be attended to by two ministers: Plague and Pestilence. This is linked to Babylonian Adad being escorded by Nabu an Sharru when he went to send the floods, and to Greek Phobos and Deimos, who escort Ares and Hermes, as well as the Tras (tremor) and Strakh (terror) of Czech mythology.

Hell was said to be "the final synagogue of all the living"

Orion was said to be chained to heaven.

Disease was caused by the arrow of a demon or God, similar to the arrows of Apollo in Greek mythology and the elf-shot of Germanic folklore.

There is a potential from the *Book of Ezekiel* that there was a belief in a "thread of life" that could be cut.

## Further Reading

* *Acta Orientalia*, Block
* Aeneid
* *Antike und Christentum*, Dölger
* Bibliotheca
* *Das Märchen im Alten Testament*, Gunkel, H.
* *Der Gottesgarten*, Brock-Utne, A.
* Epic of Gilgamesh
* *Essais de Folklore Biblique*, Saintyves, P.
* Fasti
* *Folklore in the Old Testament*, Frazer, J.
* *History of Human Marriage*, Westermarck
* Iliad, Homer
* Gaster, T. in *Journal of Biblical Literature, Vol.67*
* *Papyri Osloenses*, Eitrem
* Philopseudes
* *The Samson Saga*, Palmer, A.
* *The Science of Folk-lore*, Krappe, A.
* *Thespis, or the Gods Grown Old*
* Thirteen Satires of Juvenal
* *Tuetonic Mythology*, Grimm

## References

1. ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18 1.19 1.20 1.21 1.22 1.23 1.24 1.25 1.26 1.27 1.28 1.29 1.30 1.31 1.32 1.33 1.34 1.35 1.36 1.37 Gaster, T.H. (1972). "Semitic folklore", in Leach, M. (ed) *Funk & Wagnalls Standard Dictionary of Folklore, Mythology and Legend*. 3rd ed. pp.981-989