Eridu, Marduk, Yggdrasil, are all separate cultural depictions of the tree of life. The bible also talks of the tree of life. While these are not exactly the same thing in each description, it is interesting that many ancient cultures and religions speak of similar concept. This is not the only similarity between the Bible and other teachings. Simple teachings will mirror other simple teachings and concept no matter the origin. If the teachings in the Bible are solid and wise then there should be no surprise that the basic concepts behind them show up else where. The difference in the Bible is that even the simple concept are surrounded by deeper wisdoms. While Egyptian proverbs may make comments on the product of laziness, the Lord's teachings show whole chapters relating to it. A lot of the words of the Lord are deep and difficult for a young Christian to understand, but there are a lot of simple moral teachings as well. Yet these are always connected to deeper life lessons. I believe this can be understood as the Lord's instruction if looked at as a whole with everything else that precedes and follows. If you just look at a verse about the consequences of laziness it may seem like something too simple for the Lord to be saying, but if you lead up to it and see what follows, there is usually a more complete, profound teaching here.
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