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7. Cain and Noah: Other Manifestations of Primal Human Imagery

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7. Cain and Noah: Other Manifestations of Primal Human Imagery 7. Cain and Noah: Other Manifestations of Primal Human Imagery T HE EXTENSION OF PRIMAL HUMAN IMAGERY in the Hebrew Bible is found in other subtle ways that reveal an interest in the primal human that again transcends any simple "historical" conception of Adam. Let us now briefly return to the book of Genesis to examine two such narratives. These examples are introduced within the context of the primeval history and consciously reiterate previously stated literary elements associated with Adam.404 The two figures involved are Cain and Noah.405 To be sure, these are distinct figures, individuals in their own right, but the fact that they, like Adam, are antediluvian figures prepares us for a degree of similarity. The connections are strong enough to warrant locating these figures on the periphery of the primal human traditions. Cain and the Primal Human Tradition There are numerous parallels between the story of Adam in Gen­ esis 3 and that of Cain in Genesis 4. I wish only to point out those of interest to our study.406 It is logical that Cain might be presented with primal human imagery, for he is the first human born of a woman. The circumstances surrounding his birth are somewhat mysterious. Gen 4:1 relates the event in the following words: 404An analogous literary situation may be found within the Semi}:taza narrative in 1 Enoch 6-11. P. D. Hanson ("Rebellion in Heaven, Azazel, and Euhemeristic Heroes in 1 Enoch 6-11," JBL 96 [1977]: 195-233) refers to the Azazel episode as an "expository narrative" and an "interpretive elaboration growing organically out of the Semihaza narrative." The narrative picks up on original elements in the text and combines them with other mythological elements. 405For a treatment of possible parallels with the Mesopotamian Atrahasis Epic, see I. Kikawada and A. Quinn, Before Abraham Was: The Unity of Genesis 1-11 (Nashville: Abingdon, 1985), 36-53. 406For a discussion of the vast literature on the similarities between the two sto­ ries, see Westermann, Genesis, 282-320 and references. 202 Adam in Myth and History rzi,~ 'n',~i? i9~n1 r~-n~ i';,r:,1 'iiJ'r:11 il;1tq~ il,jlJ-n~ Vj~ C:l"1~1J1 :i!Ji,,-n~ The man knew Eve his wife and she conceived and bore Cain. And she said "I have gotten a man with Yahweh."407 There is ambiguity in the verb qana, which can also mean 'to create' .408 Thus, despite the apparent natural means of birth, the woman seems also to say, 'l have created a man with Yahweh'. Cain is cobed "adama 'a worker of the soil' (Gen 4:1), recalling that the original primal human was placed in the garden locobdah ulosomrah 'to work it and keep it'. It is interesting that he is juxta­ posed with his brother Abel (hebel) who is a rcn!h $i5"n 'a shepherd of sheep' (Gen 4:2). In chapter 2 we located the term shepherd in the same complex of ideas according to which the Mesopotamian king could bear the epithet nukaribbu 'gardener', and we saw that gardeners figured prominently in mythological texts. Cain is also a "culture bearer" in Hebrew tradition; we read in 4:17 that he went on to become the (first) builder of a city.409 Noah and the Primal Human Tradition Primal human imagery reemerges in the figure of Noah. Noah is a primal human in the sense that all humans descend from him, follow­ ing the destruction of the flood. 410 Noah is called a righteous man in Gen 6:9. We also read "et-ha"elohim hithallek-noaJ:,, 'Noah walked with God'. This exact statement was made twice concerning Enoch in Gen 5:22,24. Verse 24 reads wayyithallek J:,,an8k "et-ha"el8him 'Enoch 4071. Kikawada has connected this reference to the "double creation" of humanity in the Sumerian myth "Enki and Ninmah" ("Two Notes on Eve," JBL 91 [1972]: 33- 37; "The Double Creation of Mankind in Enki and Ninmah, Atrahasis I 1-351, and Genesis 1-2," Iraq 45 [1983]: 43--45. See also I. Kikawada and A. Quinn, Before Abra­ ham Was: The Unity of Genesis 1-11, 39-40). 408The root qnh is used with the meaning 'to create' several times with reference to God (cf. especially Gen 14:19; Deut 32:6; Ps 139:13). 409Cf. W.W. Hallo, "Antediluvian Cities," JCS 23 [1970]: 64). Perhaps kingship is implied in this act as well. 410On the first human as flood hero, see A. Kilmer, "Speculations on Umul, the First Baby," in Kramer Anniversary Volume: Studies in Honor of Samuel Noah Kramer (AOAT 25; ed. B. L. Eichler et al. [Kevelaer: Butzon & Bercker,19761): 265-70. .
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