Noah and His Book(s)

395 Pages·2010·4.02 MB·English

by  Michael E. Stone

NOAH AND HIS BOOK(S)
Early Judaism and Its Literature
Judith H. Newman, General Editor
Editorial Board
Mark J. Boda
George J. Brooke
Esther Glickler Chazon
Steven D. Fraade
Martha Himmelfarb
James S. McLaren
Jacques van Ruiten
Number 28
NOAH AND HIS BOOK(S)
NOAH AND HIS BOOK(S)
Edited by
Michael E. Stone, Aryeh Amihay, and Vered Hillel
Society of Biblical Literature
Atlanta
NOAH AND HIS BOOK(S)

Copyright © 2010 by the Society of Biblical Literature
All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form
or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by
means of any information storage or retrieval system, except as may be expressly permit-
ted by the 1976 Copyright Act or in writing from the publisher. Requests for permission
should be addressed in writing to the Rights and Permissions Offi ce, Society of Biblical
Literature, 825 Houston Mill Road, Atlanta, GA 30329 USA.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Noah and his book(s) / edited by Michael E. Stone, Aryeh Amihay, and Vered Hillel.
p. cm. — (Early Judaism and Its literature ; no. 28)
“Th is book is a joint enterprise emerging from Michael Stone’s senior seminar during
the years 2003–2005. Th e seminar was devoted during those two years to a study
of the traditions about a book or books of Noah and about Noah himself. Th e sub-
ject is enormous, as will be seen from the chronological and geographical range of
the material assembled here. Two questions were defi ned that focused the discussion
and, consequently, the material presented in this book. Th e fi rst was to assess refer-
ences to a Noah writing in the Second Temple period, including segments of existing
works that scholars had in the past attributed to a Noah writing. As a corollary of this,
the traditions of Noah in other Second Temple period works were studied, fi rst, to
gain insight into their character and, second, to see whether distinct enough tradi-
tions survived in those, oft en incidental, references to witness to the existence of a
Noachic writing or writings”—Data View.
Includes bibliographical references and indexes.
ISBN 978-1-58983-488-0 (paper binding : alk. paper)
1. Noah (Biblical figure)—Legends—History and criticism. 2. Noah (Biblical
figure)—In rabbinical literature. 3. Bible. O.T. Genesis V–IX—Criticism, interpretation,
etc. 4. Christian literature, Early—Syriac authors—History and criticism. 5. Dead Sea
scrolls. I. Stone, Michael E., 1938–. II. Amihay, Aryeh. III. Hillel, Vered.
BS580.N6N6125 2010
222'.11092—dc22 2010013972
18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 5 4 3 2 1
Printed in the United States of America on acid-free, recycled paper
conforming to ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992 (R1997) and ISO 9706:1994
standards for paper permanence.
Dedicated to All the Members of the Seminar
1967–2005

Contents
Abbreviations ix
Introduction 1
Part 1: Fragments and Documents Associated
with a “Book of Noah”
Th e Book(s) Attributed to Noah
Michael E. Stone 7
A Reconsideration of Charles’s Designated “Noah Interpolations” in
1 Enoch: 54:1–55:1; 60; 65:1–69:25
Vered Hillel 27
Is 1 Enoch 6–11 a “Noachic” Fragment? A Scholarly Discussion
Michael Tuval 47
Traditions of the Birth of Noah
Aryeh Amihay and Daniel A. Machiela 53
A Note on 1Q19: Th e “Book of Noah”
Claire Pfann 71
Th e Noah Cycle in the Genesis Apocryphon
Esther Eshel 77
Is 4Q534–536 Really about Noah?
Jeremy Penner 97
Th e Rebirth of a Book: Noachic Writing in Medieval and
Renaissance Europe
Rebecca Scharbach 113
viii CONTENTS
Part 2: Noah Traditions
Noah and the Flood in the Septuagint
Benjamin G. Wright III 137
Distinctive Traditions about Noah and the Flood in Second
Temple Jewish Literature
Nadav Sharon and Moshe Tishel 143
Th e Role of Noah and the Flood in Judean Antiquities and
Against Apion by Flavius Josephus
Michael Tuval 167
Philo’s Interpretation of Noah
Albert C. Geljon 183
Noah in Rabbinic Literature
Aryeh Amihay 193
Noah and the Flood in Gnosticism
Sergey Minov 215
Some Jewish Noah Traditions in Syriac Christian Sources
Daniel A. Machiela 237
Th e Literary Presentation of Noah in the Qur’ān
Erica Martin 253
A Shelter amid the Flood: Noah’s Ark in Early Jewish and
Christian Art
Ruth Clements 277
Part 3: Miscellaneous Noah Texts and Traditions
Noah in Onomastic Traditions
Vered Hillel and Michael E. Stone 303
Mount Ararat and the Ark
Michael E. Stone 307
Bibliography 317
Contributors 351
Index of Ancient Sources 355
Index of Authors 375
Abbreviations
Primary Sources
1 Clem. 1 Clement
4 Bar. 4 Baruch (Paraleipomena Jeremiou)
‘Abod. Zar. ‘Abodah Zarah
’Abot R. Nat. ’Abot de Rabbi Nathan
Abraham Philo, On the Life of Abraham
Ag. Ap. Josephus, Against Apion
Agriculture Philo, On Agriculture
ALD Aramaic Levi Document
Alleg. Interp. Philo, Allegorical Interpretation
Ant. Josephus, Jewish/Judean Antiquities
apGen Genesis Apocryphon
Apoc. Ab. Apocalypse of Abraham
Apoc. Paul Apocalypse of Paul
b. Babylonian Talmud
B. Meṣi‘a Baba Meṣi‘a
Ber. Berakot
Cherubim Philo, On the Cherubim
Confusion Philo, On the Confusion of Tongues
Creation Philo, On the Creation of the World
Did. Didache
Drunkenness Philo, On Drunkenness
Eccl. Rab. Ecclesiastes Rabbah
‘Erub. ‘Erubin
Ep. Epistle
Faust. Augustine, Contra Faustum Manichaeum
Flight Philo of Alexandria, On Flight and Finding
Gen. Rab. Genesis Rabbah
Giants Philo of Alexandria, On Giants
Git.̣ Gitṭịn
-ix-