The Biblical tale stands,
of course, on a much higher level, and is introduced, as are other
traditions and tales of primitive times, in the style of a parable
to convey certain religious teachings. For all that, suggestions
of earlier conceptions crop out in the picture of Adam surrounded
by animals to which he assigns names. Such a phrase as "there was no
helpmate corresponding to him" becomes intelligible on the supposition
of an existing tradition or belief, that man once lived and, indeed,
cohabited with animals. The tales in the early chapters of Genesis
must rest on very early popular traditions, which have been cleared
of mythological and other objectionable features in order to adapt
them to the purpose of the Hebrew compilers, to serve as a medium for
illustrating certain religious teachings regarding man's place in
nature and his higher destiny. From the resemblance between Enkidu
and Adam it does not, of course, follow that the latter is modelled
upon the former, but only that both rest on similar traditions of
the condition under which men lived in primeval days prior to the
beginnings of human culture.
We may now pass beyond these general indications and recognize in the
story of Enkidu as revealed by the Pennsylvania tablet an attempt
to trace the evolution of primitive man from low beginnings to the
regular and orderly family life associated with advanced culture.
Pages:
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61