Sintflut and Sinai: Genesis 6–8’s allusion to Exodus 24–40

Zara  Zhang

doi:10.1177/03090892251367447

Sintflut and Sinai: Genesis 6–8’s allusion to Exodus 24–40

Zara Zhang^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

School of Divinity

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

The Flood account in Gen. 6–8, which features extensive doublets, has served as the parade example of source division in the Pentateuch. This article presents the allusive relationship between the Flood account and the Sinai pericope (Exod. 24–40). Parallels between the two accounts cross P and J/non-P sources, which challenges the traditional source divisions in the Flood account, as well as the source and redaction models of the text built upon them. Parallels with Sinai also help to explain several notable doublets in the Flood account that have prompted its division into sources. This article proposes a new explanation for the composition of the Flood account: it is formed intertextually by drawing elements from multiple other texts.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	272-298
Journal	Journal for the Study of the Old Testament
Volume	50
Issue number	3
Early online date	8 Feb 2026
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1177/03090892251367447
Publication status	Published - 1 Mar 2026

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10.1177/03090892251367447Licence: CC BY

Zhang_2026_JSOT_Sintflut-Sinai_CC
Copyright © The Author(s) 2025. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) which permits any use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed.
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Sintflut and Sinai: Genesis 6–8’s allusion to Exodus 24–40

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