THE ARCHAIC ELEMENTS IN GENESIS: A CATHOLIC INTERPRETATION

The principle on which the first section of Genesis (Chapts. 1-11) is  based has quite  special features. It is not based upon a scientific foundation but is  a "sapiential" reflection using  mythical language. The best definition is {\it metahistorical ethiology}, i.e. the reaching of the heart of being, from the history of Israel and the confession of  faith in God expressed at the Exodus. The tales appearing in the course  of this  literary document are therefore "active symbols", that condense the history of millennia, and that relate, in a new theological framework, to the great myths of the ancient Middle east.

The principle consequence for the interpretation of this text  is that we are unable to pass directly from the biblical tale  to a historical validation (e.g.  a unique origin of man, the great deluge, Noah's  ark....). In Genesis we look essentially to a mythical-symbolic formulation of the events lived by Israel.