Wednesday, 25 September 2024

Bereshit Rabbah: poor science - reproduction

The Medieval commentary on biblical verses called Bereshit Rabba includes a        section on the gestation period of females of various animals, and also how they  copulate to reproduce offspring.

 

It is best to begin with the last.

 

20:3   All creatures cohabit front facing back, with the exception of two who mate back to back, and they are the camel and the dog, and with the exception of three who mate face to face because the Divine Presence spoke to them. These are: man, the serpent, and the fish. Man, as it is stated: “To Adam, He said: Because you heeded your wife’s voice” (Genesis 3:17); the serpent – “the Lord God said to the serpent” (Genesis 3:14); the fish – “The Lord said to the fish, and it spewed Jonah” (Jonah 2:11).

                                                       (Sefaria Bereshit Rabbah online)

 

 

Scientific facts:

Copulation

Nearly all the information presented in section 20.3 re: animal copulation is wrong.

Of the three positions, the last is the easiest to explain.


Copulating “face to face”

Two animals are stated to copulate like humans:  פָּנִים כְּנֶגֶד פָּנִים “face to face”              and belly to belly.

Namely, serpents, i.e., snakes, and fish.


As for fish, Rabbi Hiyya is correct when he says the fish, i.e., the whale that     swallowed Jonah (Jonah 2:11) copulates “face to face” and belly to belly. 

But whales (and dolphins and porpoises) are the most rare of exceptions among        ’fish’, so he is wrong when he claims this position is used by all fish.

Among fish, whether in the sea or in rivers, the overwhelming majority have no body contact to produce young.  The female releases eggs which the male then sprays with    his sperm.   Such as salmon, trout, whitefish, carp and goldfish.[i]

For fish that produce live offspring directly from the female, the standard is having      the male swim in parallel to the female with him on top, i.e., his belly on her back            - tail to tail.  Such as sharks and manta rays.[ii]

Only three species of fish copulate face to face and belly to belly -- like humans.  Namely, the air breathing whales, dolphins and porpoises. In their cases, it is          usually with the male underneath the female. [iii] 

 

As for Rabbi Hiyya’s statement that serpents, i.e., snakes, mate face to face,                belly to belly, this also is not true.

Most snakes tend to intertwine while copulating, with both heads in the same      direction but the male snake’s head is always on top resting on the back of her head        or beside her. This includes the great ‘serpents’: the very large boa constrictor, [iv]        the longest of all, the python[v] (up to over 6 metres long[vi]) and the heaviest of           all serpents, the anaconda[vii]

Hardly “face to face”.     

Snakes that do not entwine have the male slither on top with his belly on her back --  such as the cobra.[viii]

Again, not what Rabbi Hiyya states.   

So, of Rabbi’s Hiyya’s claims that fish and snakes copulate like humans, it is only        true of just 3 ‘fish’ and not true for any serpents and snakes.

 

It is also important to note Rabbi Hiyya’s source for this claim: that humans, fish          and snakes mate alike.

He uses verses in the Tanach based on the commonality that God spoke  to these      three: and so they must be equal in some way – speculating copulation.

 

   … three who mate face to face because the Divine Presence spoke to them. These    are: man, the serpent, and the fish. Man, as it is stated: “To Adam, He said: Because    you heeded your wife’s voice” (Genesis 3:17); the serpent – “the Lord God said to the serpent” (Genesis 3:14); the fish – “The Lord said to the fish, and it spewed Jonah” (Jonah 2:11).

                                                      (Sefaria Bereshit Rabbah online)

  

But this is simply not true.

  

Copulating “back to back”

Two animals are stated to copulate אָחוֹר כְּנֶגֶד אָחוֹר  “back to back”, them being            the dog and the camel.

 

Now dogs and camels were common in the Ancient World and many people            would be familiar with how they mate. Even accidentally seeing dogs copulate                 -- and even camels doing so -- would not have been difficult.

With dogs, the female stands still while the male rises up on her back so his               belly is on her back and their ‘rear ends’ appear to be touching.

This could be described as אָחוֹר כְּנֶגֶד אָחוֹר “back to back”.

 

Similarly with camels, except the female sits on the ground.

 

         


          

 

In fact, this rear mounting method is nearly universal among all land animals other      than humans. Be they mammal, birds or reptiles.

The female standing position is used by sheep, goats, horses, donkeys, bears,      foxes[ix], wolves, moose/elk/deer/caribou, kangaroos, elephants, giraffes,     hippopotami, seals, walruses, monkeys (with the rare exception of bonobos which     mate face to face about 1/3 of the time[x]) and countless others.

The female sitting position is used by all domestic small cats to tigers and lions,          and llamas.  All like the camel.

 

All birds use this same male on top position (tail to tail) with the female sitting:         from chickens to geese to ducks to eagles[xi] and falcons[xii] to ostrich and emu.

Herons, however, prefer to do so with the female standing.[xiii]

 

Lastly, all reptiles use this male on top – tail to tail – position from alligators and crocodiles[xiv] to lizards to turtles to snakes[xv].

 

So while Rabbi Hiyya’s statement is correct for dogs and camels, he is totally          wrong when he states:


 “All creatures cohabit front facing back[xvi], with the exception of                    two who mate back to back, and they are the camel and the dog…”

 

“Cohabit front facing back”  פָּנִים כְּנֶגֶד עֹרֶף,

Rabbi Hiyya mentions this position first, and claims it is universal --with the few exceptions he notes.

But in reality, such a copulation position is non-existent.

So further examination is needed.

Q:  What does it mean to copulate “front facing back”, פָּנִים כְּנֶגֶד עֹרֶף? 

First, Sefaria’s English text, following the Jastrow dictionary’s translation of עֹרֶף          as “back”, is misleading. It obscures the fact the Hebrew text uses for this first      position the term עֹרֶף rather than the ensuing and common word for back or rear: אָחוֹר.

Secondly, Jastrow’s translation of the noun עֹרֶף as “back” is most odd.

Jastrow’s entry begins by pointing out the verb  עָרַף always means to “cut” or “divide” and gives various Biblical and Talmud Bavli examples as proof.[xvii] 

Jastrow also states that the noun עֹרֶף is a play on words on the name  עָרְפָּה,  Ophrah, a nickname given to Goliath’s mother.

Jastrow simply cites Talmud Bavli Sota 42.b for this nickname connection.

But the actual Talmud Bavli Sota 42.b section 7 explains she was given this ‘nickname’ as she was sexually promiscuous and often sodomized.[xviii]

So why does Sefaria (following Jastrow) uniquely translated עֹרֶף  as “back”?  

I suggest that here too the word עֹרֶף means ‘cut’ and refers to the female genital opening.

 

In any case, an impossible position when all animals: male and female, have their reproductive organs lower down on their bodies.

 

CONCLUSION 

Rabbi Hiyya’s claims re: three copulation positions, with by far the most common being פָּנִים כְּנֶגֶד עֹרֶף, is nearly all factually wrong.

And his using biblical verse similarities to prove claims re: animal biology and reproduction, is more than unwise. It is foolish.

But it reflects a rabbinic mindset that all verses -- and every word of the Bible -- from Genesis 1:1 to Psalms to 2 Chronicles 36:23, are all equally Divinely inspired and contain all ‘truths’ about ‘everything’ in this world and universe.

 

 

Pregnancy length

 Bereshit Rabbah continues with statements re: the gestation length of various animals.

 

20: 4 A large kosher animal gives birth after nine months [of gestation], a large non-kosher animal gives birth after twelve months; a small kosher animal gives birth at five months, and the dog at fifty days, the cat at fifty-two, the pig at sixty days, the mongoose at seventy days, the deer and the fox at six months, and all the other swarming creatures at six months, the lion, the bear, the tiger, the elephant, the monkey, the hedgehog at three years, the serpent at seven years, and the adder at seventy years.


A certain scholar once sought to ascertain after how long the serpent bears an offspring. When he saw them mating with one another, he took them and placed them in a barrel, and provided them with sustenance until they gave birth. When the elders once traveled to Rome, he [the scholar] asked Rabban Gamliel: After how long does the serpent bear an offspring? He was unable to answer him and his face turned pallid. Rabbi Yehoshua encountered him and his face was sickly. He said to him: ‘Why is your face sickly?’ He said to him: ‘I was asked a question and I was unable to answer it.’ He said to him: ‘What was it?’ He said: ‘After how long does the serpent bear an offspring?’ He said to him: ‘After seven years.’ He said to him: ‘From where do you know this?’ He said to him: ‘The dog is a non-kosher beast and bears offspring after fifty days. A non-kosher animal gives birth at twelve months. It says [of the serpent]: “Cursed are you from all the animals and from all the beasts of the field.” Just as the animal is seven times more cursed than the beast [dog], so, the serpent is seven times more cursed than the animal.’ Towards evening, he [Rabban Gamliel] ascended and said it to him [the scholar]. He began banging his head against the wall. He said: ‘After everything that I toiled for seven years, this man comes and presented it to me with a reed.’

                                  (Sefaria Bereshit Rabbah online, with my red lettering)


 

 Scientific facts:

Below are the “approximate” gestation periods of various animals from the official veterinary manual at https://www.merckvetmanual.com/multimedia/table/approximate-gestation-periods.   Other sources are cited with endnotes.

 

 

 

cow

 279 to 292 days ( breeds vary)

sheep

150 days

goat

150 days

pig

114 days

dog

 62-64 days

cat

65 days

camel

365 -400 days

horse

335 - 342

Fox

52 days

Lion

108 days

Tiger

103 days

Elephant

660 days

Monkey

180 days to 255 days (gorillas)[xix]

bear

210 days

deer

200 days

hedgehog

 34 – 37 days[xx]

mongoose

42 to 105 days[xxi]

 

 

So, are the claims of Bereshit Rabba 20.4  accurate?

 

Animal

Bereshit Rabba claim

accuracy

Large kosher animal = cow

9 months =  270 days

close to lower limit

Large non-kosher animal = camel

12 months = 365 days

at lower limit

Small kosher animal = sheep/goat

5 months = 150 days

YES

dog

50 days

NO

cat

52 days

NO

pig

60 days

NO!!!

deer

6 months = 180 days

NO

mongoose

70 days

NO

fox

6 moths = 180 days

NO

lion

3 years = 1095 days

NO !!!

tiger

3 years = 1095 days

NO !!!

elephant

3 years = 1095 days

NO!!!

monkey

3 years = 1095 days

NO !!!

bear

3 years = 1095 days

NO !!!

 

So, the numbers given in Bereshit Rabbah are wrong and way off the biological      reality except for sheep, goats, cows and camels.  Four domesticated animals readily ‘visible’ and ‘well known’, having been herded and used throughout the Ancient      World for centuries.

But the claims for dogs, cats, pigs and all wild animal species are wrong and often      way, way off.

 

Finally, 20.4 states the serpent’s gestation period is 7 years and the adder’s 70 years.

Now the adder or viper: small and venomous, is also a snake.[xxii]

And it only lives 5 to 10 years. [xxiii]

And its gestation period is just 3 to 4 months.[xxiv] 

So, a claim of 70 years is totally bizarre.  

Possibly the ‘intent’ was to have it the same as the serpent at 7 years, but our      surviving text has -- due to a long-ago scribal error -- an enlarged number.

 

As for serpents or other snakes, the gestation lengths of the largest are:

·        Cobra:  55 days[xxv]

·        Boa Constructor  --  on average 123 days[xxvi]

·        Python  --   44 to 54 days[xxvii]

·        Anaconda --  approximately 6 months[xxviii]

 

Again, the Bereshit Rabba 20.4 text of 7 years is way, way wrong!

 

 

Now the Bereshit Rabbah text gives no source for its gestation figures except for          just one.

The rationale for claiming a snake gestates for 7 years is based on a biblical text.

In the length anecdote recounting someone asking this question, the 7 year ‘solution’    was given by Rabbi Yehoshua.

He deduced this 7 year figure based on wording of the biblical text where God        curses the serpent of the Garden of Eden, verse Gen. 3: 14.

Then God … said to the serpent,
“Because you did this,
More cursed shall you be
Than all cattle
And all the wild beasts:
On your belly shall you crawl
And dirt shall you eat
All the days of your life.

 

Here is Rabbi Yehoshua’s deduction as stated in 20.4 :

… ‘After seven years.’ He said to him: ‘From where do you know this?’ He said to him: ‘The dog is a non-kosher beast and bears offspring after fifty days. A non-kosher animal gives birth at twelve months. It says [of the serpent]: “Cursed are you from all the animals and from all the beasts of the field.” Just as the animal is seven times more cursed than the beast [dog], so, the serpent is seven times more cursed than the animal.’

 

Dogs gestate 50 days, it claims, and large non-kosher animals 12 months.

So, Rabbi Yehoshua argues that if a large non-kosher animal’s gestation is 7 times        that of a dog, then the even more cursed serpent would have a 7 times longer gestation than the large non-kosher animal’s 12 months.

Hence, 7 years.


This of course assumes a calendar year is not 365 days but 12 x 50 = 360 days.

And, more importantly, that the serpent’s curse is mathematically proportionate to        and a simple multiple of the other animal numbers.

Interesting logic but dead wrong.

 

Put simply, no serpent or snake even remotely takes 7 years to gestate its offspring.

 

Again, relying on biblical verses – and extrapolating from them -- is poor science        and produced wrong answers. 

 

 

CONCLUSION

Rabbinic supplied copulation and gestation information in Bereshit Rabbah 20.2 and 20.4 is almost entirely incorrect.

Trying to find or deduce scientific numbers from biblical verses is foolhardy.

No one should be deceived that this source has ‘accurate scientific information’ -- just because rabbis say so.

 

 

             

 






           

Text Box: sharks                                  



[ii] https://www.mantatrust.org/mating-games#:~:text=Armed%20with%20little%20more%20than,copulation%20lasting%20only%20thirty%20seconds 

[vii] https://animals.mom.com/mating-habits-anacondas-11544.html and https://www.google.com/search?q=anaconda+copulation&sca_esv=7301607fefdb0770&rlz=1C1RAEH_enCA867CA867&ei=E- bhZs7XC_z_ptQP1Im_2AM&ved=0ahUKEwiOramHx7uIAxX8v4kEHdTEDzsQ4dUDCA8&oq=anaconda+copulation&gs_lp=Egxnd3Mtd2l6LXNlcnAiE2FuYWNvbmRhIGNvcHVsYXRpb25IpChQ7wlY7wlwAXgAkAEAmAGhAaABoQGqAQMwLjG4AQzIAQD4AQGYAgGgAg3CAgsQABiwAxiiBBiJBcICCxAAGIAEGLADGKI

                     

 

                            

[xvi] The Hebrew text here uses the term עֹרֶף rather than the ensuing and common word for back or rear: אָחוֹר.  Sefaria in its lexicon notes on  עֹרֶף (copied from Jastrow’s dictionary) shows the verb means to “cut” or “divide” and various Biblical and Talmud Bavli examples are cited as proof.  It also noted that its use here is a play on words with the name Ophrah, a nickname given to Goliath’s mother, and follwoing Jastrow simply cites Talmud Bavli Sota 42.b But the actual Sota 42.b 7 section explains she was given this ‘nickname’ as she was sexually promiscuous and often sodomized.

 

 So why does Sefaria (following Jastrow) uniquely translated as עֹרֶף  as “back”?   I suggest that here too the word עֹרֶף means ‘cut’ and refers to the female genital opening.

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