Opening Heaven's Floodgates

Book excerpt: The narrative of Noah's flood in Genesis draws perennial interest from scholars and the general public. Too often, however, historical and exegetical studies of the text, the story's reception, and discussion of theological appropriation remain aloof from each other, if not at odds. This volume takes the influential nature of the flood story as an ideal opportunity to bring some of these methods into dialogue. Opening Heaven's Floodgates offers sixteen new essays from international scholars which utilize some of the diverse tools that contemporary biblical scholars have. These are balanced between textual, historical, comparative, and theological approaches, ranging from Jewish calendars to modern ark builders, 1 Enoch to Ricoeur. Beyond each essay's new perspectives on the flood narrative, they are drawn together with an introduction focusing on the themes of myth and reception and two critical responses to the collection by Walter Bruggemann and Philip Davies. Opening Heaven's Floodgates will appeal to all interested in Genesis, the Pentateuch, early Judaism, mythology, and in the influence of the Bible in the West.