Week 4 Reading Notes: Folklore of the Holy Land: Moslem, Christian and Jewish Part A

The Tablet of Destiny strikes me as a Pandora's box of sorts. Or, better yet, it reminds me of Schrodinger's cat, specifically because it tells the fate of every person, and it would be better not to know. I am familiar with the Christian creationism story, but I find this version much more creative. Perhaps it is only because I have not heard it told this way. I like that the story includes an explanation for varying skin tones. Satan is a fallen angel, just like in Christianity. The story of how Adam was male and female, then split into two separate beings is interesting. The female resists submitting to Adam because they came from the same dust. Her exile from Paradise establishes a strong sense of patriarchy from the very beginning. Then Allah makes Eve out of Adam's rib! I am fascinated by the reference to European doctors endangering women in childbed by refusing to let other women visit and amuse them. This is the first I have heard about the forbidden fruit being wheat, and I just found that interesting. Adam bringing tools to earth when he was kicked out of paradise is a neat way of explaining how some tools came to be. A donkey had the sense not to enter the ark with Iblis hiding on his body, but his offspring got into heaven because Noah beat him until he got on the ark. That was well written, specifically because Noah and the donkey cannot communicate, but Allah knows everything. Noah turned a donkey and a dog into replicas of his daughter because he promised her hand in marriage to too many men. I thought that was pretty humorous. And wow! Allah really put Ayub through the wringer. He killed his children and gave him leprocy just to see if Ayub was a devout follower of Allah. Tough crowd. I like the stories of Lokman because he is a character that sets a good example and is grateful for what he has.


Illustration of Book of Job Chapter 2-4 by Sweet Media, found on Wikimedia.

Bibliography:
Folklore of the Holy Land: Moslem, Christian and Jewish by J. E. Hanauer, found here.