SNOW CRASH
rial work-possibly even authorial work-took place around the time of the Exile, when the deuteronomists held sway.”
“So they may have rewritten an earlier Adam and Eve myth.”
“They appear to have had ample opportunity. According to the interpretation of Hvidberg and, later, Wyatt, Adam in his garden is a parable for the king in his sanctuary, specifically King Hosea, who ruled the northern kingdom until it was conquered by Sargon II in 722 B.C.”
“That’s the conquest you mentioned earlier-the one that drove the deuteronomists southward toward Jerusalem?’
“Exactly. Now ‘Eden,’ which can be understood simply as the Hebrew word for ‘delight,’ stands for the happy state in which the king existed prior to the conquest. The expulsion from Eden to the bitter lands to the east is a parable for the massive deportation of Israelites to Assyria following Sargon il’s victory. According to this interpretation, the king was enticed away from the path of righteousness by the cult of El, with its associated worship of Asherah-who is commonly associated with serpents, and whose symbol is a tree.”
“And his association with Asherah somehow caused him to be conquered-so when the deuteronomists reached Jerusalem, they recast the Adam and Eve story as a warning to the leaders of the southern kingdom.”
“Yes.”
“And perhaps, because no one was listening to them, perhaps they invented the concept of good and evil in the process, as a hook.”
“Hook?”
“Industry term. Then what happened? Did Sargon II try to conquer the southern kingdom also?”
“His successor, Sennacherib, did. King Hezekiah, who ruled the southern kingdom, prepared for the attack feverishly, making great improvements in the fortifications of Jerusalem, improving its supply of drinking water. He was also responsible for a farreaching series of religious reforms, which he undertook under the direction of the deuteronomists.”
“How did it work out?”
“The forces of Sennachenb surrounded Jerusalem. ‘And that night the angel of the LoRr went forth, and slew a hundred and