I think I understand your point.
But what if the writers of Genesis 1-11 knew they were not writing history,
but myth and theological essay? I know how you feel about the Documentary
Hypothesis, but J and E almost certainly knew that much of what they were
writing of those chapters was myth, legend and allegory (in fact, one
writer has suggested that J was written more as a historical novel than a
book of theology) and P was mainly concerned with genealogies, ritual and
(in a few places like Genesis 1) essays on the nature of God and His
activities. My point is that if Genesis 1-11 was not meant to be history,
then the entire problem you are struggling with evaporates. (Or so I
think.)
Kevin L. O'Brien
klob@lamar.colostate.edu