Endnote 16 – When the Sons of God Cavorted with the Daughters of Men

Several scholars have suggested that the increase of population referred to in Genesis 6:1 is a vestige of the theme in Atrahasis of human overpopulation. See Alexander Heidel, The Gilagamesh Epic and Old Testament Parallels (Chicago: University of Chicago, 1949), pp. 225–226; Alan R. Millard, “A New Babylonian ‘Genesis’ Story,” Tyndale Bulletin 18 (1967), pp. 11–12; Claus Westermann, Genesis I/l, BKAT (Neukirchen-Vluyn: Neukirchener, 1974), pp. 500–501; see also H. Schwarzbaum, “The Overcrowded Earth,” Numen 4 (1957) pp. 59–74. The connection seems rather forced, however, since an increase of population is to be expected in myths of primeval humanity. The distinctive features of the Atrahasis myth—excess of population and its accompanying noise—are both absent in the Israelite tradition. For a nuanced view of the contrast between the Israelite and Mesopotamian traditions, see William L. Moran, “Atrahasis: The Babylonian Story of the Flood,” Biblica 52 (1971), p. 61.