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On Sauron
The parallel of Sauron losing his physical form and retreating into his fortress as a disembodied spirit relates to how in the Garden of Eden the presence of evil was the serpent in actual physical form. Today, we do not see a physical devil but fight an invisible spirit. Tolkien might have assumed that the Flood is where the change took place, where Satan lost his actual physical form on earth.
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Except that Sauron isn't disembodied in the War of Wrath- he is in the Downfall of Numenor, but only temporarily- could you be confusing the two? And why would Tolkien make such an assumption about Satan and the Flood, anyway? Is there some tradition about this that I wasn't aware of?
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Originally Posted by VarTalman
Around the Flood story in Genesis there are comments on the sons of god marrying the women of men and having children by them. Tolkien addresses this in the marriages between the Elves and Men.
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But Elves come from Northern European folklore- it's not another word for "angel" (a concept for which Middle-earth does have a much closer equivalent in the Ainur, anyway).
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He addresses the seeming near immortality of the early men who's lives extend 900 plus years in Genesis.
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I don't understand what you mean here by "address". Do you mean it's a parallel?
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I do not agree with Tolkien's dealing with Mortality as a blessing. To be true to the Bible - death came because of sin. Death is not a blessing, but a curse. The Bible speaks of death being our final enemy.
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Look, the
Silmarillion is not actually just a re-telling of Genesis. Certainly there are influences- but there are many others from non-Biblical sources as well. That being so, I don't see why Tolkien should have felt obliged to "be true to the Bible" (at least in the literal way you seem to mean). If he had, I rather think he'd have left the Elves out, for a start.