Comment

Travel expert Joe Yudin explores the only Greek myth that takes place in the Land of Israel

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SanFranciscoZionist8/22/2012 9:07:58 pm PDT

re: #4 Destro

Homer predates the part of the Bible dealing with David.

The book of Samuel was parobably composed as part of the Deuteronomistic history the books of Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Samuel and Kings.

Well, Homer’s about seventh or eighth century BCE, according to most, which would place him a few hundred years before the Deuteronomist, whoever he or she might have been. The question of course is whether there is any reason to think stories might have traveled between the texts, whether both are based on earlier stories that might have been common across the Mediterranean region, or whether the theme of ‘imposing champion is brought low by the Good Guys’ Challenger’ is roughly universal. Single combat before armies was a common literary motif at the time, and much later. Are the details similar? I don’t know the Nestor story offhand, and have been looking around, but he seems to be an established warrior at the time the combat takes place, and the motif of the sling doesn’t seem to mentioned.