Mary Jones
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Choose a story, character or event from the Hebrew Scriptures. Research the story, character or event using contemporary approaches to biblical analysis. Select four to six artistic retellings of the biblical story, event or character. Analyse the artistic retelling using a critical literacy approach. How accurately is the biblical story character or event retold?
Genesis 6:8 – Genesis 9:19
The narrative of Noah and the Ark is one of the most well known stories from the Old Testament. In some of its artistic representations, it is characterized as a story of an old man who takes pairs of animals onto an ark to ride out an incredible flood, safely coming to rest as a rainbow appears in the sky. Whilst the essence of this is recorded in the Genesis account of the Flood, the biblical narrative is much more than this quaint story. It is a narrative written in the context of an Israelite community, striving to understand and interpret the way their God works in and through both humanity and the world He has created.
The book of Genesis begins the Old Testament and is concerned with the beginnings of the world and the theological history of Israel (Wenham, 2003). Clifford and Murphy assert that whilst the story of creation is chronicled, it is more than just the story of physical creation (1989). They believe that it also tells of the establishment of a community of men and women who are in touch with their divine destiny as creatures of God. This prompts questions for the reader about both the purpose of the Flood story within this context.
The Flood narrative in Genesis draws from a rich tradition of flood stories across many cultures. The Flood can only be seen as an historical text in so far as there are many textual traditions that support it (Blenkinsopp, 2011). Flood narratives have been located in many other cultures and traditions including the Epic of Gilgamesh, Mesopotamian literature and Greek and Roman literature (Blenkinsopp, 2011). Scholars differ in their opinions as to how closely the biblical text matches the various traditions with Blenkinsopp aligning the Genesis text to the Gilgamesh narrative (2011) and Clifford and Murphy asserting that Genesis is a version of the common Mesopotamian story of the origins of the world (1989). One difference between traditional Flood literature and the story in Genesisis the reason for the Flood. In Genesis, the reason for the Flood is unequivocal; "And God saw that the earth was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted its ways upon the earth" (Gen.8:12). God brought the flood upon the land because of the immorality and violence of the people he had created. In other Flood traditions, the cause of the flood is the rivalries among the gods (Mills Wilson,1998
There are two sources of the Flood narrative, the Priestly author (P) and the Yahwist (J) (Rosenberg, 1985). The accounts of both these authors are interwoven into the text rather than paralleled with each other (Mills et.al.,1998). Both sources agree on the cause of the Flood being the evil of humanity although they see this evil in slightly different ways;the J source focusing on the evil of the human heart and the P source focusing on the violence of man (Mays,1988). There are many differences between the two sources in details of how the ark is built, the animals that board it and the length and source of the flood. These however are married into one, cohesive text.
The Flood narrative is structured chiastically; arranged 'diagonally' with events leading to a climax and then leading the reader back to the conclusion of the story (Clifford et.al.,1989). The story has a 'mirror image' effect where each part of the story is mirrored later in the narrative. In Genesis 7:11-17, the flood waters fall and the animals board the ark. The narrative continues detailing the Flood and destruction of living creatures. This builds until Genesis 8:1, the climax of the story when "God remembered Noah and all the wild animals and all the domestic animals that were with him in the ark". The following verse details the receding of the waters and the eventual disembarkation of the animals. The climax of this narrative reminds the reader that God is in charge of the world, and that He always remembers His people in times of need and crisis (Blenkinsopp, 2011), a theme that recurs throughout the Old Testament.
The narrative of the Flood has many parallels to the creation story. When the rain stops but the waters are high, the reader is reminded of the creation story when there was only water, the beginning of everything that was to come. This is a stark contrast between the necessity of water at creation for all living creatures and the ability of water now to destroy everything (Blenkinsopp, 2011). The references to dates in Genesis 8:5-16 may link back to the creation narrative when creation began on a Sunday and was completed on Friday, just as the flood began on a Sunday and receded on a Friday (Wenham, 2003). Another link between creation and the Flood is the goodness of creation as God saw it in Genesis 1:31 and the corruptness God now sees within that creation (Blenkinsopp, 2011). This explains the reasons for the Flood and gives the reader an insight into the heart of God. Everything God had achieved in creation is undone by the Flood (Wenham, 2003) and this ultimately brings about a new creation, due in part to the fidelity of Noah to God. The new creation is heralded by a command to Noah to go forth and populate the land (Gen 9:1).
The theme of covenant is particularly significant in the Flood narrative and Noah is central in the making of this new covenant. Noah is chosen by God as a righteous man, a man who walked with God (Gen 6:9). Despite what God asks of Noah, Noah remains faithful to God and conversely, God to him. The Flood narrative contains the first reference to covenant in the Old Testament (Gen 6:18), a theme that is central throughout the Old and New Testaments (Clifford et.el.,1989). After the Flood has changed the very nature of life, God promises Noah that it will never happen again and the laws given to Noah and his sons signal a new world (Frymer-Kensky,1985). The sign of the new covenant, the bow in the clouds, will always remind God and humanity of the promise made after this dramatic and life changing Flood.
Father Noah's Ark was produced by the Disney Studios as part of its 'Silly Symphonies' series in 1933. It is an animated version of the story made in the early days of animation films running approximately eight minutes. The characters in the film are Noah, Noah's wife, their sons Hem, Shem and Japeth and their three wives. These characters are noted in Genesis 7:13. The film opens with a chorus of 'Who built the ark? Father Noah', and a visually pleasing and detailed scene of Noah busily building an ark. The animals are caricatures but appealing nevertheless and many of the animals are helping Father Noah as he attempts to build the ark.
Each of the characters is introduced to the audience via a song:
I'm Father Noah, the captain of this ark.
I have the plans and give commands to build the ark.
We're Hem, Shem and Japeth, Father Noah's boys.
From dawn to dusk we build the ark and make a lot of noise.
We're Mrs Hem, Shem and Japeth, the wives of Noah's sons.
We're loading beans and canned sardines and onions by the tonnes.
I'm Mother Noah, Captain Noah's wife.
I wear the pants on board this boat, you bet your life." (Father Noah’s Ark, 0.50 seconds)
This speaks volumes about the authenticity of the story. Many of these notions are invented. Genesis does not record who physically built the ark and the filmimplies they were Noah’s building plans rather than God’s. God asked Noah to take food on board with him (Gen 6:21) but tinned food would not have been in existence, let alone taken on board. Mother Noah is a formidable woman and an awful cliché of a someone whose husband would be useless without her. The animation gives no attention to Noahbeing chosen by God because of his righteousness and the undercurrent is that Noah would have been 'lost at sea' without his wife to keep him organized and wash his clothes!
The characters are drawn with no particular attention to their biblical, cultural background. Father Noah is a portly, bald old man with a massive white beard. The sons look Anglo-Saxon with a red head, a brunette and a blond and their wives match them. Mrs Noah wears a veil on her head which may indicate some attempt to convey her culture and like Father Noah, is portly and very round. Each of the characters wears a long gown and they each have large, red noses that are almost clown like.
No context is given for building the ark or the rain that falls. This film begins as just a cute story about a boat, a family and some animals. Noah appears to building the ark for no apparent reason and although Noah marks off the animals as they board, there is no explanation as to why they are in pairs. The first time God is mentioned is in the chant six minutes into the film "Oh Lord, forty days of rain. Deliver us again." This chant would make no sense to anyone who did not know the story of the Flood from Genesis and even for those who do, 'deliver us again' is quizzical. When Noah pleads with God to free them from the ark and rain, the moment is turned into comedy with Noah choking on a mouthful of water and having to spit it out abruptly. There is no explanation about the symbolism of the rainbow or the dove other than as a sign that the rains are over.
Father Noah's Ark is a cute and appealing film for those who like the Disney genre but it has little to say about the story of the Flood as related in Genesis. The story has no context and the film makes no interpretation about the content other than some sexist undercurrents about the role of women in families as organizers of food and washing. If the person viewing the story did not have some understanding of where this story came from, it would appear to have no ultimate meaning or religious significance.
'ArkyArky' is a traditional children's song that tells that story of Noah's Ark in eight catchy verses and a chorus. The song has been recorded by numerous artists but the Kid's Praise albums made by Debby Kerner and Ernie Rettino under the banner of Maranatha Music popularised this song for a generation of children (1981, Kid's Praise2 CD). More recently, Andrew Chinn, an Australian musician has recorded this for a new generation of children (2002, Together As One CD).
The song tells the story of the Flood beginning with God warning Noah about the impending flood and asking Noah to build an ark out of 'gopher barky', a material named as cypress in the original text (Gen 6:14). The animals board the ark in twos and it rains for forty days and nights. It would seem as if the lyricist has used the J material from Genesis as a basis. A dove signifies to Noah that the skies have cleared and unusually, the animals disembark in threes. The chorus implores us all to "rise and shine and give God the glory, glory".
It appears this song has been written as a song of praise for God and the praise seems focused on the creation of the animals and the fact that the flood has stopped. Similarly to Father Noah’s Ark, there is no context given to the flood. The reasons for the flood are not expressed in the lyrics, although God does warn Noah about the flood and ask him to build the ark. Children singing this song would certainly come to the realisation that God had a role to play in the Flood and that Noah did as he was asked but the richness of the text from Genesis is lost amidst the catchy tune and rhyming lyrics. That said, whenever this song has been used, children have loved it which perhaps means that using this song in an authentic way demands some explanations and immersion in the original text.
According to the Random House website, the current owners of Little Golden Books, the publication of the first books in 1943 revolutionized the world of children's books (2012). They were now affordable, sturdy and readily available and the sales testified to this. Many religious and inspirational titles were published and this meant that the stories of Christianity were now more accessible to families. One of the titles published in 1969 was Noah's Ark.
In the Little Golden Book retelling of Noah's Ark, a more accurate context for the story is included in the text (Hazen and Muldrow, 1969). From the very beginning of the story, the reader is told of the virtues of Noah and the shameful behaviour of others. The reader knows this displeases God, compelling Him to send forth a great flood. Within the first couple of pages, this text is already more in tune with Genesis than either of the other representations. In fact, the story is remarkably faithful to the Genesis version, albeit with a rhyming poem describing the boarding of the ark by the animals and some sound effects for the falling rain. Again, the text uses the J source as its principle point of reference. The text reminds us that Noah trusted God even after being on the ark for so many days and that God made a new promise to Noah, placing a rainbow in the sky to symbolise the covenant.
The language used is simple and reflects a relatively literal understanding of the story as would have prevailed in the community at the time of writing. The emphasis is on the literal meaning of the text and at face value, that meaning has value. To know and understand that God had made a promise to never destroy the world again is a valuable learning for children but if using this text with students, the original text would need to be broken open to allow them some insights into what this promise means, and how the story itself is not an historical account.
The illustrations done by MirceaCatusanu attempt to give some cultural context to the story. The men and women in the pictures look as if they could be Middle Eastern with dark hair, flowing robes and head shawls for the women. The meal they share together before boarding the ark is simple, bread and cheese with flagons of liquid on the table. The family pack food such as olives and oranges which are more in line with the possibilities of the day than tinned items. Unfortunately, each character has a rather large, noticeable nose and it is hard to look past this as a stereotypical image of a Jewish person. In contrast to other representations, the role of women is heightened as they are included in many illustrations sharing meals, helping load food and supporting Noah.
The final representation of the Flood comes from an artist working in schools in the United States of America, Suzi Furtwangler. Her six panels depicting the Flood were created by six primary schools using recycled materials (ArtPrize, 2012). The material used for the canvas' was crayons that had been shaved, cut, trimmed and sharpened to give a 3D effect to the mosaic artwork.
The mosaic of crayons is a colourful and textural depiction of the ark being tossed around on a massive sea. The story is represented chronologically across the six panels moving from a large tree that is reminiscent of the Garden of Eden through to the dove returning with an olive branch and the colours of a rainbow being born in the sky. The use of the tree in the first panel links the depiction to the notion of a new creation coming through the destruction of the earth as Noah knew it.
The ark is perched precariously high on the top of a huge wave and the mosaic gives the impression of the ark being tossed around. There are four large masses of waves which portray the length and intensity of this Flood and give some sense of the passage of time. Curiously, many sea creatures appear to be alive under the waves including fish and octopus. The panels give the definite impression that these creatures were able to survive the tumultuous seas. Perhaps this is symbolic of the new life that was recreated through the action of the Flood and the faithfulness of Noah. The artwork includes two of the main symbols associated with the Flood, the dove with an olive branch and the rainbow, the symbol of God's new covenant with Noah and all His people.