Uncovering the Darwinian Genesis

I remember hearing Ethan Dor-Shav give a talk in Jerusalem almost fifteen years ago. It was one of those wonderfully eclectic conferences, hosted by the Herzl Institute, on the Bible and philosophy, gathering a far-flung flock of scholars who wrestled to articulate various philosophies native to the intellectual world of the Hebrew Bible. Ethan Dor-Shav presented a paper examining Scripture’s analogical and metaphysical scheme of the soul. He led with his conclusion: the soul was fire. We got a taste of that paper in his provocative essay on Genesis 1–11.

My initial reaction, as I recall, was something between “this seems crazy” and wondering if the conference itself had lost its way. But as Ethan continued, my reaction changed. He was highlighting chains of word play, repeating references, and working the conceptual angles on what the biblical authors might have assumed about what makes a human a human being. We rode his enchanted rollercoaster, and I was dizzied with new questions about my own methods and thinking. It still seemed a bit too peculiar, but I couldn’t deny that it intrigued me, along with most everyone in the room. It was a view as exciting as it was odd—but certainly not to be discounted.

I find myself in a similar position with Dor-Shav’s essay on Genesis 1–11 as an allegorical account of planetary, terrestrial, and biological evolution. I cannot cover the breadth of my swarming questions that follow every move he makes. But I would like to highlight what I see as questionable aspects of his methodology while recognizing the explanatory power of many of his insights.