Episode 133. The third and final approach to Noah's flood is the recycled and reinterpreted flood motif theory. This is the position held by a majority of Old Testament scholars. To help you understand this view of flood, let me ask some questions. Where do civilizations first appear? The answer is on the banks of rivers. For example, Mesopotamian civilization arose next to the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. And Egyptian civilization emerged along the Nile. Next question, what do these rivers do? Answer, they often flood their banks. And in doing so, they deposit sediment rich with nutrients for agriculture. Another question, how would a flood that destroyed a community be perceived by ancient people? It would have been seen as the judgment of the god or gods. For example, how are destructive storms and thunder and lightning perceived by ancient people? Many would see these as divine interventions from an upset god or gods just overhead. Here are a few more questions. What would happen if ancient people experienced a flood that destroyed their community? Undoubtedly, survivors would tell flood stories and interpret the event. Take for example the survivor stories of the 2004 tsunami In Southeast Asia. Many of these had theological interpretations, claiming that God saved their life. Another answer to this question is that these flood stories would become part of the oral tradition of the community. In other words, these accounts would be part of the history-of-the-day In these communities. Let's now get a bit more specific. How would a worldwide flood be interpreted by the Hebrews? Answer one, it would be understood to be a releasing of water from the heavenly sea of the waters above. Quote 17, sights Genesis 7:11. On the first day of Noah's flood the flood gates, literally the windows of the heavens were opened. In other words, these are the gates or windows in the firmament through which the flood waters fell to the Earth. The Hebrews would have also viewed a worldwide flood as a return to the dark, watery, chaotic pre-creative state in Genesis 1:2. This is the reversing of the second day of creation when God separated the waters above from waters below. During the flood, these heavenly waters are released. And in this way Noah's flood is a de-creation event. In conclusion, it's important to underline that flood accounts have real historical events behind them of an actual destructive flood. And of actual people who survived and told their story and interpretation of the event. Let's now turn our attention to some archeological and historical evidence that is related to these real historical events behind flood accounts. We have previously examined this diagram of flood accounts across the world on page 28 in the handouts. But, did you notice something about the geography of where these flood accounts appear? For example, this region is around the Mississippi River, which is well known for flooding its banks. The West Coast often has flash floods off the mountains and it's also susceptible to Pacific Ocean tsunamis. The flood accounts in these islands are in undoubtedly due to tsunamis like the 2004 tsunami in Southeast Asia. And particularly important for our purposes are four flood accounts that have been discovered in ancient Mesopotamia. There are over 300 flood accounts worldwide. And they appear in regions that are susceptible to flooding, like rivers, tsunamis and flash floods near mountains. Therefore, flood accounts across the world are not accounts of Noah's flood passed down through Noah's three sons. But they originate from the common experience of flood events throughout the world. For our purposes, we will focus on the four flood accounts in ancient Mesopotamia. These include the Sumerian Flood, the Flood Tablet, the Epic of Atrahasis, and the Epic of Gilgamesh. You will note that these accounts were composed roughly between 2000 and 1600 BC/BCE. It is also worth noting, that in three of these accounts, the flood hero comes from Shuruppak, a town on the Euphrates River that is susceptible to flooding. So it is reasonable to suggest that real floods at Shuruppak, probably lie behind these Mesopotamian flood accounts. End of episode.