Essay: Legends of Noah

I thought this unit on the Legends of Noah was very interesting. It provided accounts from the bible that I have grown up reading and it was great to go back and read some of the stories I had not looked at in awhile. It was great to rad about Noah and the flood and also about the Tower of Babel.

The second part of the unit came from Louis Ginzberg’s Legends of the Jews. I thought these stories were very interesting because they added a lot of extra stories to the biblical stories just read. For example, thePunishment of Fallen Angels section tells the story of God sending angels to kick the fallen angels out of heaven. Each of the stories in Legends of the Jews adds new features that add to the context of the original bible story.

I felt like there were plenty of notes that provided the reader with information on what the two readings in the unit were about and where they were from. My favorite sections were at the beginning of the unit. The accounts of the ark being built and the flood were a great read.

I think reading from King James Version makes the bible seem much harder to read. I went back and read some of this scripture from an English Standard Version bible and I thought it made much more sense. I realize that the King James Version is a classic and traditional version of the bible, but I think adding another version could be a good way to help readers understand what they are reading and not scare away any potential readers.

I’ve enjoyed reading bible stories the past two weeks. I think it is good to read these at the beginning of the semester because these events occurred at the beginning of time. I’m looking forward to what is next!

(from the Nuremberg Chronicles)