Does Age Matter? This commentary is based upon an old idea expressed back in 1902 by F. Delitzsch in a paper called 'Babylon and Bible'  The quote can be found inthe book, 'Daily Life in Ancient MEsopotamia' by karen Rhea nemet-Nejat, pg.6.  it reads: "Delitzsch argued that the Bible was preceded by literature from an earlier time period; it was not the world's oldest book.Delitzsch contendedthat the Old Testament could no longer be regarded as unique and divine revelation." This is an odd conclusion to make as we all know that the Biblical books were written over a period of 1-2000 years by different men who were led and inspired by God. With Job thought of as themost ancient of all.  What Delitzsch's conclusion is saying is that because there were earlier writings the Bible could not be original and that God is nothing more than a plagerist. It must be remembered that oldest written, or first discovered, does not mean it is the original nor true, such thinking just demonstrates that limitedness applied to the Bible as it it seeks to undermine its words, message and claims.  All the existence of earlier books, mss., tablets and other written artifacts show is that literacy and writing have a deeper history than most,if not all, minimalists want.  They do not demonstrate or prove copying, editing or some other false charge non-believers throw at the Bible. When studying ancient writings, it must be kept in mind that we have not discovered every book that was written or every tablet that was carved andit must be remembered that the few we do have do not give dates as to when they were penned. In fact many tablets recovered were written a lot later than the actual date credited to the story, so it is difficult to say which was written first. Except, with the Bible we have an unbroken link between the pre- and post-flood worlds, Noah and his family. Thus we know that the events found in the Bible are accurate as God has promised to keep His word intact and He didn't start that promise with the KJV but from the beginning with Adam.  This is why the geneologies are so important when we find them in the Bible, especially those found in the early parts of the book of Genesis, because they provide confidence and support God's promise to provide us with the truth even though there are so many copies, alternatives and false accusations swirling around.