Most importantly I believe everyone not just is a descendant of Adam and Eve, but every line of ancestry you have goes back to children Eve bore to Adam after the events of Genesis 3. And by everyone I mean everyone modern science classifies as Homo-Sapien, and humans modern science doesn't want to classify as the same "species" as us like the Neanderthals and Homo Floresiensis and even Homo Erectus.
I did say fairly recently that I am more open to being convinced of a local Flood model then I am an Old Earth model.
What I have been considering is something between a traditional Global Flood model and a purely Local Flood model. A Catastrophe that was Global in scale, but still no single moment at which the entire surface was covered in water. Such a model could still allow the Ark to land on a completely different part of the planet then where it was first built.
And therefore allowing the possibly that there were some Flood survivors outside of Noah's family on The Ark. But those survivors would still be descendants of Eve. And it still definitely massively bottle necked the Earth's population.
Michael Hesiser's local Flood arguments are perhaps the most sensible, but still reflect his "Ancient Near Easter perspective" bias. There have also been different theories about the Flood being a result of a Comet or Asteroid striking the Earth, theories which go back to Newton it seems.
This is perhaps a good time to bring up my ideas that have come from studying Y Chromosomal Haplogroups. Here is a Tree I obtained from a completely secular source.
I think C is Japheth and DE is Ham, with E specifically being Mizraim. Because of the Mixed Multitude we should not be surprised to find people descended from Mizraim among Ashkenazim and other Jewish Populations.
F then is Shem. My hunch is that G is Lud, H is Elam and J is Aram. J also existed among Jewish populations which again shouldn't be surprising given the Biblical history.
K is Arphaxad, L and T are the descendants of Joktan, It is both R and Q I view as being definitely descendants of Jacob and perhaps even more specific then that. The people this theory makes Paterlineal descendants of Peleg are very plausibly more then half the Earth's total population.
I've also considered models that would switch Shem and Ham, both models give Semitic descent to Ashkenazim Jews as well as Mizraimite descent, and maybe can both be made compatible with connecting Japan to the Ancient Israelites as well.
Update: So InspiringPhilosophy has argued something like this. But I still think it happened more recently then he does. Currently favoring a Flood date of 3337 BC thanks to my considering the Samaritan Text correct on Genesis 11. And I don't agree with his view on where Eden was, I've considered a few models but his is the least likely to be correct.
https://youtu.be/lLSyiJ9KUCo
Update December 2020: I'm now switching Aram and Arphaxad, Arphaxad is J and Aram is K. And I support identifying Y Haplogroup I with Asshur.
Why is it that you consider the Samaritan Text correct on Genesis 11?
ReplyDeleteI discussed why I'm willing to consider that possibility here.
Deletehttps://solascripturachristianliberty.blogspot.com/2018/12/hebrew-textual-variations.html
I've actually read that while searching for your justification on this idea about the Samaritan Pentateuch. All the support there seems to be that it agrees with Jubilees.
DeleteNo Jubilees agree with the Samaritan for Genesis 5. For that chapter I've come back to favoring the Masoretic.
DeleteFor Genesis 11 it's how the Samaritan is close to the LXX but also doesn't have the confusion on when Abraham's was called in relation to Terah's death.
I don't have a strong opinion either way, it's just something I've been considering.