Reading Notes: Noah Part B

The Holy Book

Interesting to think about the things that happened that could have led to the story of Noah's Ark that I have known so well growing up. For a rewrite, I could use this in a series of correspondence letters between Adam and Noah, discussing what has happened that has made God so mad at them. Could also go a different route and zoom in on the angels and their perspective somehow.

The Inmates of the Ark

This section was also a more mythological addition to the common scripture that is included in the Bible. I could use the retelling part of an assignment to explain the thoughts of the flood from the perspective of either the Og or the Reem, wondering why they were the ones stuck outside of the ark. I would imagine during such a strange time that there would have been a lot of fear and questioning and that is something I could incorporate in my own version of such a story.

The Flood

This story included something that I hadn't thought about before: the difficulty of feeding all of those animals and people on the ark fed for so long. Also noticed that the time was longer here, a year instead of the 40 days and nights in the Bible. For retelling the story, I would probably want to zoom in on this food aspect. The animals might wonder where the food was going to come from and the people could question what they were doing getting on the boat, maybe even thinking that to die in the floodwaters would be better than where they were now. 

Noah Leaves the Ark

I like the way that this focuses on Noah's human feelings of doubt and concern when it was time to get off the boat after the flooding period. For retelling this story in my own way, I'm not entirely sure which direction I would take it, but I think I would focus specifically on a conversation between the Lord and Noah, maybe in poetic format, where God makes the promise of the rainbow and Noah makes his own sacrifice.

The Curse of Drunkenness

Major turn in character and plot development happening here as Noah and Satan team up, something not included in the Biblical version. I like the idea of focusing on the perspective of Noah's wife here (Also could come into play and be useful for my final project) where she might express her concern and worries for her husband as he is drunk.

Noah's Descendants Spread Above

Intersting to see the ways that Noah's actions affected those closes to him. I like the way that this part of the story makes it known that although God found favor on Noah, he was still in fact only human and made mistakes like everyone else. For a rewrite, I would focus in on the perspective of one of his sons and the harsh feelings he might have for what his father caused. 

The Depravity of Mankind

Not really sure where to go with the rewriting of this one, seeing as how it is such a short story and I don't know how to really change it. Might could write from Abraham's perspective as he is told that he is going to be attacked and urged to flee.

Nimrod

Like the character development of Nimrod here and the name itself. I could rewrite this from God's perspective as he could question why he ever gave the people another chance with the way that they have acted so poorly since the flood has ended, taking his mercy for granted.

The Tower of Babel

Very similar to the issue of idols in the Biblical translation. I could focus a rewriting of this to one who partook in the building of the tower, not realizing how sinful what they were doing was. Also interesting the way that everything came together because of the deal that Noah made with Satan back in a previous section.

The tower built by the people of Nimrod.

Source: Wikimedia Commons

Bibliography

Luis Ginzberg, The King James Version, The Story of Noah