Fab 4: Coogan’s Concepts

Coogan’s thesis implies that Genesis adopted, adapted, and rejected other Near Eastern myths. Our group had some trouble differentiating between the concepts “adapting” and “rejecting”; if Genesis adapted, and therefore changed, something from a different myth, how is that not a rejection? This question was particularly important when we noticed that the alternate Near Eastern texts were monotheistic, while Genesis is polytheistic. Genesis uses “us” and therefore implies some sort of polytheistic power, yet the story of Genesis yields to one, supreme being. In this way, Genesis both adapts and rejects polytheism; while there is an implied reference to multiple beings, it focuses on one.