“Is either the Sumerian Epic of Para dise or the Babylonian Adapa Legend the basis of the Biblical account of the Fall of Man, or are these stories corruptions of the true record which had been brought down for us by the Bible?" Archaeologists do not agree in their answers to this inquiry, but this much is certain: the Biblical record of Man’s Fall is vastly su perior to any accounts that have come out of Babylonia. Traditions that are handed down from genera tion to generation, unless specially preserved, tend to become increas ingly corrupt. The sanity and pu rity of the text in the Biblical story point to it as the original account which was kept free from errors and grotesque details. The only logical explanation for the tremendous re ligious gulf which lies between these Babylonian stories and the Bib lical account of man’s first disobedi ence is that, as the Scriptures were written, “Holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost” (2 Pet. 1:21). 1. For this and subsequent quotations see: Langdon, Sumerian Epic of Creation and Paradise (1915), quoted in Caiger. Bible and Spade, London, 1944, pp. 19-20. 2. Caiger, Bible and Spade, p. 20. 3. For complete translation and following quotations see: Barton, Archaeology and the Bible, 7th Edition, Philadelphia. 1937, pp. 312-315. Note: In his next article, Dr. Bau man will discuss some of the pictorial representations of the Fall and the Tree of Life.
One day, while Adapa was out fish ing on the Persian Gulf, the South Wind suddenly swooped down on his craft and overturned it. Enraged by the insult, Adapa took the divine pre rogative of breaking the wings of the South Wind. For this he was called to appear before the chief god Anu. Ea, fearing lest Adapa be given the food and drink of immortality and live forever, advised him: When thou standest in the pres ence of Anu, Food of death they will offer thee to eat; Thou shalt not eat. Water of death they will offer thee to drink; Thou shalt not drink. A garment will they show thee; Put it on. . . . Adapa, thus deceived by Ea, obeyed and refused to partake of the food and drink of immortality which Anu set before him. Whereupon: Anu looked at him, he wondered at him. Come, Adapa, why dost thou not eat nor drinkT Now thou shalt not live; men are mortal. Ea my lord Said: Thou shalt not eat, thou shalt not drink. Take him and bring him back to earth. Then Adapa was clothed with a garment from his god: The g a r m e n t he commanded him, and he clothed himself. A comparison of the Adapa Legend with the Genesis account of the Fall of Man shows that the two stories have several things in common: (1) Adapa, like Adam, possessed a certain amount of intelligence and ability to master his environment (cf. Gen. 1:28, 3:22). (2) Like Adam, Adapa attempted to enter the divine domain (cf. Gen! 3:5). (3) Like Jehovah, the Babylonian god feared lest the man “put forth his hand, and take . . . and eat, and live for ever" (Gen. 3:22). (4) Anu sent Adapa back to earth while Jehovah “sent him [Adam] forth from the garden of Eden” (Gen. 3:23, 24). (5) Adapa, like Adam, was sub jected to sickness, disease, restless ness and death (Gen. 3:16-19). ( 6 ) Adapa was clothed with a gar ment from his god, while “Unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins, and clothed them” (Gen. 3:21). Now, while the similarities corrob orate in an interesting fashion the Biblical narrative, it is rather in the differences that the wider religious value and the inspiration of the Bible are to be seen. For example: APRIL, 1947 #
On earth the sons of men abode From ills apart, and labor's irksome load; Like gods they lived, with calm, untroubled mind, Free from the toil and an guish of our kind. —CREEK TRADITION RE CORDED BY HESIOD BEAR ING UPON PARADISE AND THE FAUL.
(1) The Babylonian story is poly theistic and the gods are at enmity; in Genesis, God is one Supreme Being, wholly consistent with Him self. (2) In the Adapa Legend, one god lies to accomplish his purpose, while in the Bible, God is consistently righteous in His dealings with man. (3) Adapa fell because of obe dience to a lying god, while Adam fell because of disobedience to a righteous God. (4) The Babylonian story, so far as we know (the last part has not been recovered), leaves man hope less under the penalty of death, while the Biblical story promises man ulti mate life through the Seed of the woman which should bruise the ser pent’s head (Gen. 3:15). C o n c l u s io n Sometimes the question is asked: W H ERE PRAYER PREVAILS Train for needed (Tirlutlaa service at this growing Bible Nchooi—“built with prayer.” The good climate and mountain scenery of the famed Columbia River are an added inspira tion. Accredited courses. FREE tuition, strong faculty, devoted student body. Ask for catalog. InteresItnQ Monthly Sent Free for a Year to Alt Inquirers MULTNOMAH f ▼ a School of the B I B L E Willard M. Aldrich, Tfc.D., President B. B. Sutcliffe. P. D. John O. Mitchell. D. D. Chairman of Trustee Board Vice-President 703 N.E. Multnomah St., Portland 12, Ore.
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