Endnotes
[4] Photograph IMGP1821, 24 April 2009, Stephen T. Whitlock. Detail of Patriarchs Window, Holy Trinity Church, Stratford-upon-Avon, England.
[7] Genesis 6:14-16. Cf. E. A. Harper, You Shall Make, pp. 55-56; L. M. Morales, The Tabernacle Pre-Figured (pre-publication draft), pp. 155-156.
[9] C. H. T. Fletcher-Louis, Glory, p. 41. See also Wyatt’s discussion of the arks of Noah and Moses, the ark of the covenant, and the story of Utnapishtim in Gilgamesh (N. Wyatt, Water, pp. 214-216).
[10] J. M. Bradshaw, Moses Temple Themes, pp. 77-87. Cf. Ephrem the Syrian, Paradise, p. 53; A. S.-M. Ri, Caverne Syriaque, p. 208. See the discussion in E. A. Harper, You Shall Make, p. 50 of readings of Genesis 6:16 in the Targums and the Septuagint, and for a description of parallels in 1 Kings 6:6 and Ezekiel 41:7.
[11] J. D. G. Dunn et al., Commentary, p. 44. Following B. Jacob, Wenham further explains:
… that if each deck were further subdivided into three sections (cf. Gilgamesh’s nine sections (A. George, Gilgamesh, 11:62, p. 90), the Ark would have had three decks the same height as the Tabernacle and three sections on each deck the same size as the Tabernacle courtyard.
Regarding similarities in the Genesis 1 account of Creation, the Exodus 25ff. account of the building of the Tabernacle, and the account of the building of the ark, Sailhamer writes (J. H. Sailhamer, Genesis, p. 82, see also table on p. 84):
Each account has a discernible pattern: God speaks (wayyo’mer/wayedabber), an action is commanded (imperative/jussive), and the command is carried out (wayya’as) according to God’s will (wayehi ken/kaaser siwwah elohim). The key to these similarities lies in the observation that each narrative concludes with a divine blessing (wayebarek, Genesis 1:28, 9:1; Exodus 39:43) and, in the case of the Tabernacle and Noah’s Ark, a divinely ordained covenant (Genesis 6:8; Exodus 34:27; in this regard it is of some importance that later biblical tradition also associated the events of Genesis 1-3 with the making of a divine covenant; cf. Hosea 6:7). Noah, like Moses, followed closely the commands of God and in so doing found salvation and blessing in his covenant.
[12] Genesis 8:13; Exodus 26:14; 35:11; 36:19; 39:34; 40:19; Numbers 3:25; 4:8, 10, 11, 12, 25. See G. J. Wenham, Genesis 1-15, p. 187.
[14] V. P. Hamilton, Genesis 1-17, p. 280. See Exodus 27. Cf. J. W. Wevers, Notes, Genesis 6:14, p. 83. In other words, the dimensions of the Tabernacle courtyard “has the same width [as the Ark] but one-third the length and height” (Hendel in H. W. Attridge et al., HarperCollins Study Bible, p. 14 n. 6:14-16).
[17] Letter to Douglas Clark on 4 January 1989, attached to J. A. Tvedtnes, August 2 2012. The full statement of Tvedtnes reads:
F. Brown et al., Lexicon, 1061 indicates that the real meaning of t?b?h is “box, chest,” and that it is probably a borrowing from Egyptian tbt, “chest, coffin.” But more needs to be said about the Egyptian word.
The Egyptian word is db3.t (var. dbt, tbi, tb.t, Greco-Roman tbt, Coptic taibe & t??be), which means not only “chest” or “coffin,” but also “shrine” (tb means “crate”). As such, it is the small “house” in which the statue of the god is placed and in which it can be carried in procession on the festivals.
[18] J. H. Eaton, Psalms Commentary, pp. 125-126. Cf. S. Mowinckel, Psalms, 1:177-180. The full statement from Eaton describes how Psalm 24 convincingly depicts:
… a procession that ascended the sacred hill and entered the gates of the Lord’s house. Moreover, it all signified the procession and entry of God Himself, and so probably involved the transporting of the ark, symbol of the divine presence and glory (cf. [Psalms] 47, 68, and 132). From the opening and closing themes it may be deduced that this grand procession was part of the ceremonies of the chief festival, at the turn of the year in autumn. With conquering power over the primeval waters, the Creator has secured the living world.
See also J. M. Bradshaw et al., Investiture Panel.
[20] C. Westermann, Genesis 1-11, p. 418. Cassuto further observes (U. Cassuto, Noah to Abraham, p. 60):
The sentence “and the ark went on the face of the waters” (Genesis 8:18) is not suited to a boat, which is navigated by its mariners, but to something that floats on the surface of the waters and moves in accordance with the thrust of the water and wind. Similarly, the subsequent statement (Genesis 8:4) “the ark came to rest… upon the mountains of Ararat” implies an object that can rest upon the ground; this is easy for an ark to do, since its bottom is straight and horizontal, but not for a ship.
[22] R. M. Zlotowitz et al., Bereishis, p. 230; cf. U. Cassuto, Noah to Abraham, pp. 60-61; L. M. Morales, The Tabernacle Pre-Figured (pre-publication draft), p. 155.
[23] U. Cassuto, Noah to Abraham, p. 60. This recalls the ancient Sumerian story of Enki’s Journey to Nibru, where the boat’s movement is not directed by its captain, but rather it “departs of its own accord” (J. A. Black et al., Enki’s Journey, 83-92, p. 332).
[26] S. W. Holloway, What Ship, p. 346. Holloway’s new proposal for the shape of Utnapishtim’s ark met with opposition by Hendel (R. S. Hendel, Shape), to which Holloway published a rejoinder (S. W. Holloway, Shape). As Wyatt concludes, “Hendel’s objection was on a matter of a technicality, and he readily conceded the overall significance of the ark” (N. Wyatt, Water, p. 216).
[29] Exodus 2:3, 5. See U. Cassuto, Noah to Abraham, p. 59. Note, however, that the Greek Septuagint translates the Hebrew word (tevah) differently in Genesis 6:14 (kibotos) and Exodus 2:3 (thibis) (C. Dogniez et al., Pentateuque, pp. 314-315 n. Exodus 2:3). See C. Cohen, Hebrew TBH for a discussion of the difficulties in explaining why the same Hebrew term tevah was used in the story of Noah’s Ark and the ark of Moses.
[31] N. Wyatt, Water, p. 215. Cf. S. W. Holloway, What Ship, p. 346. See A. George, Gilgamesh, 11:81-85, p. 91.
[39] Though in the case of Noah it seems that he did not offer sacrifice until after the ship ran aground at Mount Ararat, R. Patai, Children of Noah, p. 99 documents the practice of ritual slaughter of animals on board ships during long sea voyages.
[44] L. M. Morales, The Tabernacle Pre-Figured (pre-publication draft), p. 189. See a related discussion of this motif in J. M. Bradshaw, Standing.
[45] www.hamiltonauctiongalleries.com/6-CypressTrail13x21.JPG, 26 June 2012.
[47] R. Alter, Five Books, Genesis 6:14, p. 41; K. L. Barker, Zondervan, Genesis 6:14, p. 14. Cf. A. Chouraqui, Bible, Genesis 6:14, p. 27: “Fais-toi une caisse en bois de cyprs [Make a coffer of cypress wood].” See also A. Kaplan, La Torah Vivante, p. 17 n. 6.14 cyprs.
[50] Photographic Services and Permissions, New York Public Library, Spencer, Pers. Ms. 46. In R. Milstein et al., Stories, Plate 13.
[51] For example, a 4500-year-old Cypress tree stands on the grounds of the Grand Mosque of Abarqu, near the village Shiraz in Iran’s southeastern province of Yazd (Abarqu’s cypress tree: After 4000 years still gracefully standing, Abarqu’s cypress). This was formerly the site of a Zoroastrian temple. Indeed, Zoroaster himself is said to have planted a cypress at the temple of Khorasan (M. Boyce, Zoroastrians, p. 158). Cf. A. V. W. Jackson, Cypress of Kashmar.
[57] See J. M. Bradshaw, God’s Image 1, Endnote 3-57, p. 211; E. A. Harper, You Shall Make, pp. 3-4. Of the meaning of kpr, Margaret Barker writes (M. Barker, Atonement):
Atonement translates the Hebrew kpr, but the meaning of kpr in a ritual context is not known. Investigations have uncovered only what actions were used in the rites of atonement, not what that action was believed to effect. The possibilities for its meaning are “cover” or “smear” or “wipe,” but these reveal no more than the exact meaning of “breaking bread” reveals about the Christian Eucharist…. ?I should like to quote here from an article by Mary Douglas published… in Jewish Studies Quarterly (M. Douglas, Atonement, p. 117. See also M. Douglas, Leviticus, p. 234: “Leviticus actually says less about the ?need to wash or purge than it says about covering.'”):
Terms derived from cleansing, washing and purging have imported into biblical scholarship distractions which have occluded Leviticus’ own very specific and clear description of atonement. According to the illustrative cases from Leviticus, to atone means to cover or recover, cover again, to repair a hole, cure a sickness, mend a rift, make good a torn or broken covering. As a noun, what is translated atonement, expiation or purgation means integument made good; conversely, the examples in the book indicate that defilement means integument torn. Atonement does not mean covering a sin so as to hide it from the sight of God; it means making good an outer layer which has rotted or been pierced.
This sounds very like the cosmic covenant with its system of bonds maintaining the created order, broken by sin and repaired by “atonement.”
Nibley gives the following analysis (H. W. Nibley, Teachings of the Book of Mormon, 16, p. 198):
The word… kpr, kippur… [is] cognate with our word cover; it’s pronounced kfr. So we have cover, but that is just the beginning of this very interesting word. It’s the same in Aramaic; it’s “to cover over your sins.” This is the way Jastrow’s big two-volume lexicon explains it: It means “to arch over; to bend over; to cover; to pass over with the hand, especially the palm of the hand.” The word for palm of the hand in all Semitic languages is kap. It means “to cover, hence to grasp by the hand; to wipe over, hence to cleanse, to expiate, to forgive, to renounce, to deny, to be found, to encircle.” All these in one word.
[58] E. A. Harper, You Shall Make, p. 56. In context, Harper’s statement reads:
… we have futher cultic and temple resonances in the vocabulary found in Genesis 6:14-16. While it is possible that kopher (“cover/pitch”) would alert a well-educated reader to an Akkadian loan word, it might equally evoke the rich cultic overtones of kaphar “ransom” with its half-shekel temple atonement price (Exodus 30:11-13), kapporeth “mercy seat” over the Ark of the Covenant (Exodus 25:17-22), and the verb kipper “to atone” associated with so many priestly rituals (Exodus 29-30; Leviticus and Numbers passim). The tevah becomes the place of mercy and ransom when the waters cover over and atone for the violence of the world.
Cf. Ibid., p. 4:
The Hebrew-speaking reader might wonder if this tevah will, in some mysterious way, cover over, and atone for the violence of the earth (Genesis 6:5, 11-12) or even for the curse upon the adamah [Hebrew “ground”] and its causes (Genesis 5:29). Will the tevah provide a ransom for its contents, the preservation of lives?
[60] www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/gallery/2009/07/23/, 1 July 2012.
[63] See discussion of the hypothesis that analogous structures in First Dynasty Egypt were adopted from Mesopotamian temple architecture in J. M. McCann, Woven, p. 3.
[64] Cf. R. A. Carter, Watercraft, p. 364:
These boats are… best understood as composite wooden-framed vessels with reed-bundle hulls. Such a boat would have been cheaper to build than one with a fully planked hull and stronger than one without a wooden frame… The use of wooden frames with reed-bundle hulls conforms to the archaeological evidence…
Both wooden and composite boats were covered with bitumen. The RJ-2 slabs also suggest that matting was stitched onto the reed hull prior to coating.
See also D. T. Potts, Mesopotamian Civilization, pp. 122-137.
[65] See R. Stewart, Prince for a documentary on the tribal interactions and values during the early years of the US war in Iraq. It describes the marsh culture in southern Iraq, around al-Amarah in the Maysan province and near al-Nasiriyah in Dhi Qar province. Thanks to Chris Miasnik for this reference.
[66] www.bibleorigins.net/ReedHutShrinesMesopotamian.html, 1 July 2012.
[71] See also, e.g., J. A. Black et al., Enki’s Journey; J. A. Black et al., Nanna-Suen’s Journey; J. A. Black et al., Ninurta’s Return; J. A. Black et al., Sulgi and Ninlil’s Barge.
[72] Pearce Paul Creasman and Noreen Doyle, cited in J. M. McCann, Woven, p. 4. Interestingly, the idea of a floating LDS temple was briefly under consideration in modern times. G. A. Prince et al., McKay, pp. 273-275 tells the story of a 1967 proposal to President David O. McKay by Mark Garff, chairman of the Church Building Committee, to accommodate the many members at that time who lacked access to a temple by outfitting a “temple ship.” The idea was that this ship would circulate between remote areas of the world, giving members in these places an opportunity to participate in temple ordinances on a regular basis. In another connection between latter-day temples and ships, the Manti Temple was built by Norwegian carpenters who designed the plan for the roof of the structure based on their knowledge of shipbuilding (L. T. Perry, Past Way, p. 74).
[74] See H. W. Nibley, Babylonian Background, pp. 359-364; H. W. Nibley, Approach, pp. 336-337, 343-348; H. W. Nibley, Teachings of the Book of Mormon, 4:285-288.
[75] See H. W. Nibley, Babylonian Background, pp. 364-379; H. W. Nibley, Approach, pp. 337-339, 348-358; H. W. Nibley, Teachings of the Book of Mormon, 4:288-289. Cf., e.g., M. i. A. A. al-Kisa’i, Tales, p. 102; Y. i. Chaviv, Ein Yaakov, p. 690; M.-A. Ouaknin et al., Rabbi lizer, 23, pp. 139-140.
[76] J. A. Black et al., Literature of Ancient Sumer, p. 330. Continuing, Black, et al. write that Enki’s:
… primary temple was… at Eridug deep in the marshes in the far south of Mesopotamia. Eridug was considered to be the oldest city, the first to be inhabited before the Flood… Excavations at Eridug have confirmed that ancient belief-and a small temple with burned offerings and fish bones was found in the lowest levels, dating to some time in the early fifth millennium bce.”
Eridug or Eridu, now Tell abu Shahrain in southern Mesopotamia, is associated by some scholars (e.g., N. M. Sarna, Genesis, p. 36) with the name of the biblical character “Irad” (Genesis 4:18), and the city built by his father Enoch, son of Cain (Genesis 4:17).
[77] In W. van Binsbergen, The continuity of African and Eurasian mythologies as seen from the perspective of the Nkoya people of Zambia, South Central Africa, p. 3.
[79] J. M. McCann, Woven, p. 6 n. 22 writes: “These oral traditions were first collected and written down by the first Christian missionaries among the Nkoya. They were edited into their present format by Win van Binsbergen in 1988.”
[84] Cf. H. W. Nibley, Babylonian Background, p. 362: “The manner in which [Utnapishtim] received the revelation is interesting: the will of father Anu, the Lord of Heaven, was transmitted to the hero through a screen or partition made of matting, a kikkisu, such as was ritually used in temples.” See also J. M. Bradshaw, The tree of knowledge as the veil of the sanctuary.
[87] fineartamerica.com/featured/long-hut-of-the-marsh-arabs-ron-bowles.html, 1 July 2012.