Jan. 21 Daily Question

Leon Kass’s book, The Beginning of Wisdom, is a careful literary reflection about this first book of the Bible. Drawing on what Kass has to say, please say a few words about how the narrative about Noah furthers the concerns present in the account of the first sin in Genesis 3. He doesn’t make the connection explicitly, but it is common knowledge that the so-called “primeval history” of Genesis 1-11 contains a series of narratives that are all variations on a theme. Each informs and shapes our reading of the other.

Kass, from the beginning, establishes that the narrative of Noah, as its own, can be a third creation account consisting of fragments from the previous two, echoing the theme of mankind fracturing its relationship with God through pursuit of God-like attributes inspired by greed and jealousy. The first sin in Genesis more or less originated from the desire of Adam and Eve to be more like God, specifically to have the knowledge of good and evil. The form in which their sin was committed, which was the taking of the fruit without the consent of God, illustrates an underlying corruption of humankind to exude they are deserving and great enough “to attempt to control or appropriate the divine” (Kass 229). This parallels the theme surrounding what preceded Noah, which was human greed, and what seemed like a negative deviation from what God had expected mankind to be. Descendants from the lines of Cain and Seth had lived in wickedness, and in their possession of God-like attributes had their sense of morality corrupted by obsession and pride, ultimately amounting to regret on behalf of God for having created mankind. Both of these scenarios, regardless of being distinct accounts or not, present a challenge to God’s initial creation that can be described as free from conflict and good. The first account of Genesis tells us how God made watery chaos into order and goodness, and how it was done with omnipotence and intent, and the second account reflects this beginning state of harmony and goodness, and show how mankind’s sin corrupts that harmony and forever alters life for the rest of humanity. This potential third account only continues to contribute to this pattern, that good is with God, and that moral pursuits, chaos, corruption and wickedness, all belonging to man, present a threat to that existence appearing substantial enough to God to be deserving of destruction, but later restoration. Interestingly, God’s mercy is equally echoed throughout these accounts, on top of mankind’s transgressions, as seen through God letting Adam and Eve not die completely after disobeying him, letting Cain live on and procreate, and letting existence continue to exist because of good people, like Noah, who represents God’s good creation once again.