[Virginia-American]

When I was googling the preceding post, I came across Babel and the Ancient Single Language of the Human Race
Copyright 1999 by G. R. Morton

I believe this is the same Glenn Morton as Morton's demon.

His conclusion:

So, I would say, that there very well may be linguistic evidence of a common root for these words throughout the world's language. This is consistent with the Biblical assertion that humanity once spoke a common language. That being said, the thing wrong with young-earth views of this is that they place Babel far too late in history.

I wonder if the Exodus story is really the story of the emergence of the human race from Africa. Think about it.

Our ancestors left Africa during an ice age. The sea level, including the Red Sea, was much lower. Maybe it could be waded across, or you could go from sandbar to sandbar across.

Now the ancestors of everyone except the Semites moved away, but they stayed put, on both sides of the Red Sea. When the ice age ended, they were still telling the story of crossing it, but now it was impossible.

So they, ahem, modified, the story by throwing in Pharoah, and the plagues, and the miraculous parting, etc.

[VadeRetro]

Morton seems to be talking about the theories of Greenberg, Ruhlen, et. al. that all human languages are basically descendants of an Ur-speak, common descent rather than separate creation invention, IOW.

There's some evidence for it. Ruhlen's book The Origin of Language makes the case decently, but also admits that the evidence is pretty much all in--the world's modern and historic languages have been poked into the computer, the computer has crunched--and the picture is still ambiguous. Thus, we are unlikely to ever know for sure. Some information simply does not exist anymore.

Exodus as an echo of something tens of thousands of years before? Pass the bong! I like the idea that the pillar of fire and the darkness are from the explosion of Thera, which also figures to have caused the Atlantis legend.

[blam]

"Our ancestors left Africa during an ice age. The sea level, including the Red Sea, was much lower. Maybe it could be waded across, or you could go from sandbar to sandbar across. "

During the Ice Age, the world's oceans were reduced in depth by 300-500 feet. The Persian Gulf was completely dry, the Red Sea was blocked off and I believe it dried up or almost dried up. I believe the 1628BC explosion of Santorini breached the 'dam' at the Red Sea and washed away the Egyptians pursuing the Jews on their Exodus.

[VadeRetro]

When the ice age ended, they were still telling the story of crossing it, but now it was impossible.

The only reason it's tough walking from Egypt to Israel now is there's a canal, and a serious political border.

[Alamo-Girl]

Thanks for sharing your musings!