Noah and the Raven

"At the end of forty days Noah opened the window of the ark that he had made and sent out the raven." Genesis 8:6-7 (NRSV)


In June of 1843 Isabella Baumfree, having received a vision of God telling her to "travel up an' down the land showin' the people their sins an' bein' a sign unto them," left New York and changed her name to Sojourner Truth. She became one of the greatest abolitionists and women's rights lecturers in American history. This is from one of her speeches, “Ain’t I a Woman?”

Ain't I A Woman?

That man over there say a woman
needs to be helped into carriages
and lifted over ditches
and to have the best place everywhere.
Nobody ever helped me into carriages
or over mud puddles or gives me the best place,
And ain't I a woman?

Look at me—Look at my arm!
I have plowed and planted and gathered into barns
and no man could head me...
And ain't I a woman?
I could work as much and eat as much as a man--when I could get to it--
and bear the lash as well
and ain't I a woman?

I have born 13 children and seen most all sold into slavery
and when I cried out a mother's grief
none but Jesus heard me...
and ain't I a woman?

That little man in the back there say a woman
can't have as much rights as a man
‘cause Christ wasn't a woman.
Where did your Christ come from?
From God and a woman!
Man had nothing to do with him!

If the first woman God ever made was strong enough
to turn the world upside down, all alone,
together women ought to be able to turn it rightside up again.


She flew above the limitations of slavery like a raven sailing over the vultures and turkey hawks. You know, the raven isn’t considered a terribly spiritual bird. But I hope to change your mind on that subject this Sunday. The topic of this Blog is “Noah and the Raven,” but while considering these ideas I’d nevertheless like you to remember Sojourner Truth.

“The Raven” of Edgar Allen Poe is arguably the best known black bird in American literature. But today I will introduce you to his ancient ancestor. Most of us have heard the story of Noah and the Ark….how Noah built the ship on dry land, then gathered two of each kind. Actually, Genesis 7 says he gathered seven pairs of “clean” animals and one pair of “unclean” animals…and seven pairs of all the bird species, too. All the living creatures…together in one place. Lions and tigers and bears…oh, my. Feeding time aboard the ark must have been a real zoo…and I don’t even want to think about what that boat smelled like after a few days with no potty break.

And insects! There are more insects on earth than all the land, air and sea animals, combined. Where did Noah keep the insects…for example, his thousands of species of fleas?
Of course, we’re not dealing with an animal documentary here. The story is clearly mythological. Trying to make Noah and the ark an historic event is like trying to make history out of Goldilocks and the Three Bears.

But just because it didn’t happen doesn’t mean it isn’t true. Some of life’s greatest truths are told in stories which have no relationship to actual events. As biblical scholar Fr. Paul Fitzpatrick S.M., famously said: “Everything in the Bible is true, and some of it actually happened.”[1]

There is an older tale on which the flood epic of Genesis depends for many specific details, the Epic of Gilgamesh. In the story, the author describes the pairs of animals, the ark, and other familiar landmarks, although the picture of the divine isn’t as majestic as the one drawn by the Hebrew Scriptures.

In those days the world teemed,
the people multiplied,
the world bellowed like a wild bull,
and the great god was aroused by the clamor.
Enlil heard the clamor
and he said to the gods in council,
"The uproar of mankind is intolerable
and sleep is no longer possible
by reason of the babel."
So the gods agreed to exterminate mankind.

In Gilgamesh, the gods decided to eliminate humankind by a flood because we were making too much noise…and that was before boom boxes, rap music and country rock. Furthermore, they outdid themselves with the flood…listen to these words from the ancient poet:

The gods were frightened by the deluge,
And, shrinking back,
they ascended to the heaven of Anu.
The gods cowered like dogs
Crouched against the outer wall.

The story sounds a little more like Noah when the ark comes to rest after the flood begins to subside.

When the seventh day arrived,
I sent forth and set free a dove.
The dove went forth, but came back;
There was no resting-place for it
and she turned round.
Then I sent forth and set free a swallow.
The swallow went forth, but came back,
There was no resting-place
for it and she turned round.

So…the dove failed in her mission, eh? Let’s see who succeeds, according to the Epic of Gilgamesh:

Then I sent forth and set free a raven.
The raven went forth and,
seeing that the waters had diminished,
He eats, circles, caws, and turns not round.

Gilgamesh comes to dry land and immediately offers sacrifice:

I made a sacrifice and poured out a libation
on the mountain top…
When the gods smelled the sweet savor,
they gathered like flies over the sacrifice.

Just how indebted to this early story is the Genesis account? Listen to the Hebrew Scriptures describe what happened when Noah comes to dry land:

Then Noah built an altar to the LORD, and took of every clean animal and of every clean bird, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. And…the LORD smelled the pleasing odor…

Now, there is a minor point of disagreement here. In Genesis, Noah first “opened the window of the ark that he had made and sent out the raven”, which did not return. “…it went to and fro until the waters were dried up from the earth.” But the raven doesn’t get credit for finding land! Noah sends out a dove, which fails in the mission, so he sends it out again! The dove returns again, this time with an olive branch in its beak. You know we’re clearly into mythology here, because olive trees are among the slowest growing trees in the Mediterranean region. The dove gets sent out again; and this time it doesn’t return.

So, why did the dove get the credit for discovering Mesopotamia, instead of the raven, like happened in the older story? Remember “clean & unclean” animals? Guess which one is clean and which is unclean.

I think the raven was gypped. And I think we need to take a good look at the symbolism of the raven in this story. I’ll tell you why… If the raven had been hailed as the heroic bird of the Flood Story, think of how that might have changed subsequent religious symbols. What if, instead of a white dove, the Holy Spirit was portrayed as a black raven? How would that have affected our attitude toward things dark, maybe even people darker than ourselves?

So, lets indulge ourselves and look at Noah’s raven…Catholic Encyclopedia: Raven symbolizes the Jews, confession & penance. Unity co-founder Charles Fillmore said in Mysteries of Genesis that the raven represents uncertainty, whereas the dove represents peace of mind and confidence in divine law.

But that’s only because the author of Genesis overlooked the fact that the raven—which was the first bird released—did not return. Here was no uncertain bird.

That ancient feathered explorer said to himself, “Whoo-hooo! Dry land ahoy. Now, let’s see…Shall I go find a nice green forest to live in, or go back to that smelly old ark with Noah and his thousands of species of fleas?”

To me, the raven represents openness and a willingness to be led by Spirit to new heights. You know what the best possible score is in golf? Eighteen. Has anybody ever scored it? Very unlikely. So, a total score of 18 on an 18-hole coursed is possible….theoretically.

What the raven represents to me is the possibility of unprecedented success, maybe even on the first try. I mean, it’s important to hang in there and persevere, right? But what if God shows me the answer instantly? Do I fly back to the Ark, with Noah and the fleas? Or shall I make like a blackbird and start raven about my good fortune? (Sorry. Couldn’t resist that one.)

Edgar Allen Poe’s literary raven croaks woefully from its perch atop the "bust of Pallas". Here’s the opening and the ending of his immortal poem, "The Raven":

Once upon a midnight dreary,
while I pondered, weak and weary,
Over many a quaint and curious
volume of forgotten lore--
While I nodded, nearly napping,
suddenly there came a tapping,
As of some one gently rapping,
rapping at my chamber door…


The poem ends:


And the Raven, never flitting,
still is sitting, still is sitting
On the pallid bust of Pallas
just above my chamber door;
And his eyes have all the seeming
of a demon's that is dreaming
And the lamp-light o'er him streaming
throws his shadows on the floor;
And my soul from out that shadow
that lies floating on the floor
Shall be lifted--nevermore!

Okay, Edgar, we’ve got to work on our positive thoughts, espceially light and life and prosperity. For the gloomy Mr. Poe, who struggled with alcoholism and probably drug abuse, the raven represented darkness, fear, hopelessness. And, yes, there is that side to the raven symbolism. Practitioners of dark magic are often shown with blackbirds. But the whole idea about “dark is bad, light is good” --which is found in mythologies and fairy tales cross-culturally and cross-racially--probably comes from the fact that humans are almost instinctively afraid of the dark, because we are a daylight-feeding, daytime-browsing species. We’re diurnals…day creatures. If we were nocturnals, imagine the difference.

In my science fiction novel, The Princess and the Prophet (see ordering information to the right of his column), one set of characters are warren-dwelling, furry creatures of high intelligence who travel through space on vast city ships. But because they are a night-active species, their religious language is exactly opposite from ours. Listen as the Captain Urlis Tarkamin of the furry creatures prays a benediction over his human guests:

“May the blessings of Holy Darkness descend upon you with its gloom of protection.”

Later, when his son, Hozaine, learns a great truth, here’s how I imagined it:

(Hozaine)…put a paw over his mouth as the Sacred Gloom of Wisdom descended upon him, blessing his mind with the Darkness of Divine Knowledge.

The incident of Noah and the raven can show what happens when prejudices take over. The raven should have gotten the credit, but the raven was “unclean” and the raven was…well… black. People are like that. We are afraid of things that are different. And as day creatures, we fear the dark. But darkness can be a good thing, especially if you’re alone with your honey on a starry night. And darkness is a good time for rest. Daylight is a good thing, too. Especially if you’re coaching a little league game or grilling hamburgers at a church picnic.

Ravens…doves….there isn’t much genetic difference between them. And Lord knows, we need to treat all our ravens and doves with love and respect. Not just in the outer world, either. Your raven thoughts are uncertain moments…you need to respect those hesitations. Sometimes, ravens are the voice of God saying, “Slow down...” Other times, they are like Noah’s bird that flies off boldly and finds its nest on the first attempt. The dove shows peace of mind and confidence in divine law…but I gotta tell you…there’s something to be said for the raven…the quiet, eager, opportunistic raven.

People need to be ready to fly straight through the open door when opportunity presents itself, too. That is part of raven consciousness…

Sojourner Truth was a raven. She saw her duty and flew right to it. She was not daunted by the prejudices of race consciousness. She was willing to follow her guidance instantly, and she never looked back. After slavery was ended, she fought endlessly for women’s rights.

Maybe, if Christianity had noticed that it was the raven who actually found the new earth, the raven might have become a great symbol of hope and faith and peace. Maybe the Holy Spirit would be immortalized in art as a raven. Maybe things would have been different. But if we realize that now, then we can make things different in our lives and in our attitudes. There is no place for bigotry. There is no place for fear.

There is only faith, trust, and certainty when we fly forth as bold ravens of the Lord God.

__________________________________________

Genesis 8:6-12

6 At the end of forty days Noah opened the window of the ark that he had made 7and sent out the raven; and it went to and fro until the waters were dried up from the earth. 8Then he sent out the dove from him, to see if the waters had subsided from the face of the ground; 9but the dove found no place to set its foot, and it returned to him to the ark, for the waters were still on the face of the whole earth. So he put out his hand and took it and brought it into the ark with him. 10He waited another seven days, and again he sent out the dove from the ark; 11and the dove came back to him in the evening, and there in its beak was a freshly plucked olive leaf; so Noah knew that the waters had subsided from the earth. 12Then he waited another seven days, and sent out the dove; and it did not return to him any more.


Hebrews 11:6-7

6And without faith it is impossible to please God, for whoever would approach him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. 7By faith Noah, warned by God about events as yet unseen, respected the warning and built an ark to save his household; by this he condemned the world and became an heir to the righteousness that is in accordance with faith.






[1] Paul Fitzpatrick S.M., online source: http://www.qaya.org/blog//?p=414 [Accessed 04-07-08)