There Were Jaredites, Part IV: Epic Milieu in the Old Testament

Title

There Were Jaredites, Part IV: Epic Milieu in the Old Testament

Magazine

Improvement Era

Publication Type

Magazine Article

Year of Publication

1956

Authors

Nibley, Hugh W. (Primary)

Pagination

710–712, 745–751

Date Published

October 1951

Volume

59

Issue Number

10

Terms of use

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Bibliographic Citation

Abstract

This wide-ranging series discusses the “epic milieu” of the second millennium B.C. and places the Jaredites in their historical context alongside the Babylonians, Egyptians, early Greeks and others. It makes a comparison between the Book of Ether and ancient writings of Babylon, Egypt, Sumer, and others. The description of the Jaredite boats seem to resemble the boat of Ut-Napitshtim who was the Sumerian counter-part of Noah. Old Jewish and even older Indian sources record the use of shining stones that protect the owner beneath the water. These have been traced back to Babylonian tales of the deluge. Since the Jaredite record reports that their boats were patterned after Noah’s ark, ancient myths that surely have their foundation in real events help to provide greater understanding of the book of Ether. The book of Ether meets all the criteria of epic traditions of heroic societies. The remains of heroic societies are difficult to identify. The fourth part discusses the "epic milieu" of the Old Testament and the Jaredites.

Jaredites
Old Testament
Ancient Near East
India
Ancient Egypt
Ether (Book)

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