Genesis chronology – Bible, Myth, and History

Midwest Book Review on Genesis Chronology and Egyptian King-Lists, Volume II

Midwest Book Review October 2022

Willis Buhle’s Bookshelf

Genesis Chronology and Egyptian King-Lists
Gary Greenberg
Pereset Press
9781737308812, $36.95, HC, 428pp

Synopsis: Continuing his astonishing study of Egyptian influences on the Book of Genesis, Gary Greenberg moves from Egypt’s historical chronology to its mythological chronology, with the publication of “Genesis Chronology and Egyptian King-Lists: The Egyptian Origins of Genesis History, Volume II: Egypt’s Mythological Period”.

In this latest volume Greenberg meticulously uncovers the biblical book’s deep dependence on Egyptian sources for some of its most famous stories, including the seven days of creation, Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, Cain and Abel, Noah and the Flood, and the family of nations descended from Ham, Shem, and Japheth.

Despite the biblical narrative showing that Israel’s formative period as a nation took place in Egypt, almost all biblical scholars and Egyptologists refuse to take such claims seriously, rarely looking at anything more than an occasional peripheral link. Greenberg’s thorough scholarly examination of the biblical and Egyptological sources tears through this “papyrus curtain” and presents clear and convincing evidence that the original authors of Genesis worked from a solid knowledge of Egypt’s literary and historical sources and used them as the basis of the Bible’s primeval history.

It was only long after, when Genesis source documents were significantly re-edited and heavily redacted during the Second Temple period, did the Hebrews lose touch with their Egyptian roots. Greenberg sets the record straight and the results are impressive.

Some of the stunning discoveries in “Genesis Chronology and Egyptian King-Lists: The Egyptian Origins of Genesis History, Volume II Egypt’s Mythical Period” include:

How did the Genesis author determine in what year the first Patriarchs, from Adam to Jared, fathered their first son? Egypt’s mythical chronology holds the answers. That the story of Noah and the flood was the original Genesis creation story and it was based on Egypt’s most famous creation myths.

Who was the mysterious light that appeared on the first day of creation? (Yes, who, not what; No, it wasn’t Jesus.) – Who were the biblical generations of Heaven and Earth and who were these children? – Egyptian deities in the Garden of Eden? What is the hidden Egyptian secret behind the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil and the Tree of Life? – How long did the flood last and what does that have to do with the Egyptian calendar? – Were there seven days of creation or eight?

Critique: A work of impressively detailed analytical scholarship, “Genesis Chronology and Egyptian King-Lists: The Egyptian Origins of Genesis History, Volume II: Egypt’s Mythological Period” is an informative, thought-provoking, iconoclastic, and unreservedly recommended addition to personal, professional, community, college and university library Egyptology, Judaic, Old Testament, and Christian Biblical Studies collections. It should be noted for the personal reading lists of students, academia, Judaic/Christian theologians, Egyptologists, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that “Genesis Chronology and Egyptian King-Lists: The Egyptian Origins of Genesis History, Volume II: Egypt’s Mythological Period” is also available in a paperback edition (9781737308805, $26.95).

Editorial Note: President of the Biblical Archaeology Society of New York and a Fellow of the Jesus Project, an organization of biblical scholars concerned with issues related to the “historical” Jesus, Gary Greenberg is the author of several highly-praised books on biblical history, including the popular biblical classic “101 Myths of the Bible: How Ancient Scribes Invented Biblical History.” His works have been translated into many languages. He also has a dedicated website at http://biblemythhistory.com

Willis M. Buhle
Reviewer

Press Release for Genesis Chronology and Egyptian King-Lists, Volume II.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Gary Greenberg

info@biblemythhistory.com

The Book of Genesis is based on Egyptian myths and literature, says bible historian

Genesis Chronology and Egyptian King-Lists:

The Egyptian Origins of Genesis History, Volume II: Egypt’s Mythological Period

By Gary Greenberg

Renowned author Gary Greenberg returns with the second volume in his Egyptian Origins of Genesis History series. While Volume I focused on the historical chronology of Egypt, Genesis Chronology and Egyptian King-Lists: The Egyptian Origins of Genesis History, Volume II: Egypt’s Mythological Period (September 5, 2022) takes a look into the mythological side of Egyptian history. Looking at many of the bible’s most famous stories in the Book of Genesis, Greenberg’s thorough scholarly examination of the biblical and Egyptological sources presents clear and convincing evidence that the original authors of Genesis worked from a solid knowledge of Egypt’s literary and historical sources, using that as the basis of the Bible’s primeval history. His work challenges many current widely held beliefs that these stories originated in Babylonian literature.

Greenberg observes that despite the biblical narrative showing that Israel’s formative period as a nation took place in Egypt, almost all biblical scholars and Egyptologists refuse to take such claims seriously, rarely looking at anything more than an occasional peripheral link. Greenberg’s very detailed examination of the biblical and Egyptological sources tears through this “papyrus curtain” and shows how biblical scribes relied on Egypt’s rich trove of myth and literature about primeval history to formulate their own monotheistic take on Israel’s earliest roots. In the course of his study he looks at such well-known biblical stories such as the seven days of creation, Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, the conflict between Cain and Able, Noah and the flood, and the rise of nations from Noah’s descendants. All, he says, have very strong narrative connections to well-known Egyptian traditions.

Only after the Babylonians and Assyrians exercised military control over Israel, did the Genesis scribes lose touch with their Egyptian roots. This resulted in literary attempts to modify and transform the earlier stories so that they harmonized with the cultural traditions of their conquerors. Greenberg traces many of the literary trails that led from stories with Egyptian origins to new versions based on Babylonian era modifications.

Greenberg has appeared on numerous radio, television, and podcast shows to discuss his works and is a lively speaker and engaging debater. He is available for interviews, Q and A’s, articles, guest lectures, and debates.

Praise for Greenberg’s Previous Books on the Bible

“[Greenberg] seems to delight in a game of scholarly ‘gotcha.’ ” – N. Y. Times

“Fascinating and thought provoking.” – Today’s Librarian

“Guaranteed to raise hackles and lively debate.” – Denver Post

“Ingenious.” – St. Louis Post-Dispatch

“Intriguing and controversial.” – Multi-cultural Review

“A riveting read.” – Florence SC News

“A must read.” – The Tennessee Tribune

“Will make for lively dinner table discussions.” – Spokesman-Review

“Will make you think.” – Green Bay Press-Gazette

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Gary Greenberg, former President of the Biblical Archaeology Society of New York, is the author of several books on biblical and Near Eastern history, including the biblical classics 101 Myths of the Bible and The Moses Mystery, as well as several peer-reviewed books about the Bible from academic presses. He is one of the world’s foremost authorities on the subject of Israel’s origins as an Egyptian people and its subsequent use of Egyptian history, literature and myth as the foundational source for its own origin stories. His books have been distributed worldwide in several non-English editions.

He has published articles in scholarly Egyptological journals and several essays on the academic web-site Bible and Interpretation He has also presented numerous papers at the annual conferences of several prestigious academic conferences, including the International Society of Biblical Literature, the International Congress of Egyptologists, the American Research Center in Egypt, and the American Society of Overseas Research. He served as a consultant to National Geographic Television’s documentary on Cain and Abel. He maintains a website at www.biblemythhistory.com.

Greenberg attended Brooklyn College, where he majored in Mathematics, and received a Juris Doctor degree from Seton Hall University School of Law.

Genesis Chronology and Egyptian King-Lists: The Egyptian Origins of Genesis History, Volume II: Egypt’s Mythological Period will be released September 5, 2022

REVIEW COPIES AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST

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A gift for my subscribers

Today is the official release day for my new book, Genesis Chronology and Egyptian King-Lists: The Egyptian Origins of Genesis History, Volume II: Egypt’s Mythological Period. I have put a few complimentary copies aside for my subscribers, on a first come-first serve basis. If you would like to receive a copy, send me an email through this site with your name and mailing address. All I ask is that you commit to posting a review on Amazon with whatever your honest opinion of the book may be. Indicate in the email that you will post a review in return for receiving a copy.

Update: Genesis Chronology and Egyptian King-Lists, Volume II, Egypt’s Mythological Period

I haven’t posted in a while because I have been quite busy trying to finish my follow-up to Genesis Chronology and Egyptian King-Lists: The Egyptian Origins of Genesis History, Volume I: Egypt’s Historical Period. I published that in 2019. I had planned to write and release the second volume by mid-2021 at the latest. However, 2020 was taken up by completion of my 700-page treatise on the gospels, The Case for a Proto-Gospel, which carried me to the end of 2020.

When I began work on the second volume, I thought it would go rather quickly since it covered a much smaller portion of the Genesis chronology, and I assumed it would be a good bit shorter than the previous volume I. Instead, when I got to the formatting stage, it was shocked to discover that it was about 50 per cent longer than Volume I. In fact, it is the second longest book I have written, weighing in at over 400 pages.

Volume II, covering Egypt’s Mythological Chronology is now completed and, barring any more glitches (Microsoft Word can throw a lot your way) the book should be released by September 5th, in both hardcopy and paperback. I think it’s a terrific read if you’re into this aspect of Egyptian and biblical history. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised, perhaps shocked, by many of the revelations.

Over the next few days, I’ll post some further information on the book. I also plan to make a few complimentary copies available to my subscribers. Stay tuned for details of the offer.

The Internal Chronology of Noah’s Flood, Part 3: The J Source Chronology

For Part 1: An Overview, Click here.

For Part 2: The P Source Chronology, Click here.

Let’s now look at the J source chronology. As with the P source analysis, I will list only the verses relevant to the J chronology. Again, I will omit the two verses that Friedman assigns to P and take them up in the discussion of harmonization. Numbers in parentheses are the Genesis verse numbers.

Long-delayed supplement to “The Moses Mystery” to be released early 2019.

Those of you who read my book The Moses Mystery: The Egyptian Origins of the Jewish People, might recall that a portion of the argument depended on an extensive study of Egyptian Chronology. Unfortunately, since the book was written for the popular market and the full study would have more than doubled the length of the book, the publishers strongly opposed my inclusion of the extra material. After negotiations, the editor agreed that I could provide a significantly abbreviated summary of the material, which I did. In the book, I said I would separately publish the chronological material.

That was about 20 years ago, and life being what it is, I wound up with new book deals and new directions of interest. Earlier this year, I convinced myself to go back to my original research, do a lot of updating, and separately publish my detailed study showing that the author of the Book of Genesis used ancient Egyptian archival material to fashion his chronological history of Genesis, from Creation to the death of Joseph.

This is going to be a massive study dealing with Egyptian chronology, mythology, and history. My initial plan has been to do a three-volume study titled Genesis Chronology and Egyptian King-lists: the Egyptian origins of Genesis history. “Volume I, Egypt’s Dynastic Period” is now completed and going through the process of transformation into a book. I expect it to be published no later than February 2019. The first volume is the one that supplements The Moses Mystery. Over the next few weeks, I will release some information about Volume I of the Genesis study.

The second volume will deal with the mythological chronology present in Egyptian king-lists and its relationship to Genesis. This will result in some substantial revelations about the nature of Egypt’s mythological chronology and the Genesis author’s reliance on that mythological chronology. The third volume will deal with the chronology of Genesis Creation and the patriarchal history from Adam to Joseph. I will show that almost all of Genesis history is highly dependent on Egyptian mythology. These last two volumes can be considered supplements to my 101 Myths of the Bible: How ancient scribes invented biblical history.

My original publishing plan called for me to release Volume 2 either in late 2019 or early 2020, and volume 3 within a year after releasing the second volume. Once again, life has intruded and I have just recently contracted with an academic publisher to produce my lengthy and controversial study on the source origins of the four New Testament gospels. The major draft of that book is complete, and I will have to spend time seeing how much editing and rewriting needs to be done and getting it in final shape for publication. That time frame is uncertain I hope that this won’t cause much delay in producing the next two volumes of Genesis Chronology and Egyptian King-lists: The Egyptian Origins of Genesis History. More details on the Gospels project in a couple of months.