The influence of historical science on the interpretation of Genesis 1-11 from 1650 to 1910

Abstract

From the days of Christ till the turn of the nineteenth century, the first eleven chapters of the Bible were interpreted by most commentators as literal history. But from 1650 to 1910, there was a hermeneutical revolution in the interpretation of Genesis 1-11. An analysis of 193 commentaries from Philo to Skinner, comprising 177 commentators from 20 centuries, suggests that this critical turning point in history was the year 1830. After 1830, Genesis 1-11 finally succumbed to the epistemic authority of the historical sciences which had been recast by the zeitgeist of the Enlightenment into a naturalistic mould. The literal interpretation of Genesis gave way to a plethora of hermeneutical innovations including the postulation of pre-Adamites, partial and placid flood theories, the gap theory, day-age theory and vision-day theory. There were also efforts to re-genre Genesis 1-11 as allegorical, apocalyptic, anthropomorphic, poetic, or parabolic. Eventually, Genesis history became Genesis myth. This dissertation explores why Genesis 1-11 lies at the heart of the Enlightenment struggle and how the historical sciences played a critical role in the reinterpretation of these eleven chapters.