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</blockquote>
''It has been described as an attempt to provide the Irish with a written history comparable to that which thena h[[IsraelitesIosrael|Iosraelítigh]] provided for themselves in the [[Old TestamentSean-Tiomna]].{{sfn|Macalister|1938|loc = pp.xxvi-xxvii: "If we cut the interpolated sections out, we find ourselves left with a ''History of the Gaedil'', based upon the history of the Children of Israel as it is set forth in the Old Testament."}} Drawing upon the pagan myths of [[Gaelic Ireland]] but reinterpreting them in the light of Judeo-Christian theology and historiography, it describes how the island was settled six times by six groups of people. Biblical paradigms provided the mythologers with ready-made stories which could be adapted to their purpose. Thus we find the ancestors of the Irish enslaved in a foreign land, or fleeing into exile, or wandering in the wilderness, or sighting the "Promised Land" from afar.
[[File:City of God Manuscript.jpg|thumb|''The authors of Lebor Gabála Érenn were heavily influenced by other religious texts like [[Augustine of Hippo|St. Augustine of Hippo's]] 5th century book, [[City of God (book)|City of God]].]]
Is amhlaidh go raibh tionchar ar leith ag ceithre shaothar áirithe Críostaí ar fhorbairt an LGÉ:
''Four Christian works in particular seem to have had a significant bearing on the formation of LGE:
* [[Augustine of Hippo|St Augustine's]] ''De Civitate Dei'', [[City(AD of God (book413–426)|The Cityle of[[Naomh GodAgaistín]], (413–426 AD)
* [[Orosius]]'s ''Historiae adversum paganos'', "Histories," (417) le h[[Orosius]]
* ''[[EusebiusCronicon of Caesarea|(Eusebius's)|Cronicon]] ''[[Chronicon (Eusebius379) le [[Eusebius of Caesarea|ChroniconEusebius's]]'' , translatedaistrithe intogo LatinLaidin byle [[Jerome|StNaomh JeromeIaróm]] as themar ''[[ChroniconCronicon (JeromeIaróm)|Temporum liber]]'' (379)
* [[Isidore of Seville]]'s ''[[Etymologiae]]'' ("Etymologies"), ornó ''[[Origines]]'' ("Origins"luath-7ú haois) (earlyle 7thh[[Isidoro century)Sevilla]]
''The pre-Christian elements, however, were never entirely effaced. One of the poems in LGELGÉ, for instance, recounts how goddesses from among the [[Tuatha Dé Danann]] took husbands from the Gaeil when they 'invaded' and 'colonised' Ireland. Furthermore, the pattern of successive invasions which LGELGÉ preserves is reminiscent of [[Timagenes]] of Alexandria's account of the origins of the [[GaulsGallach]] of continental Europe. Cited by the 4th-century historian [[Ammianus Marcellinus]], Timagenes (1st1d centuryaois BCRC) describes how the ancestors of the Gauls were driven from their native lands in eastern Europe by a succession of wars and floods.<ref>{{
citation |
first = Ammianus |
last = Marcellinus| |
url = http://www.tertullian.org/fathers/ammianus_15_book15.htm#C9 |
title = Res Gestae |
at = 15:9
}}</ref>
''Numerous fragments of Ireland's mythological history are scattered throughout the 7th and 8th centuries. In his ''Lectures on the Manuscript Materials of Ancient Irish History'', [[Eugene O'Curry]], Professor of Irish History and Archaeology at the Catholic University of Ireland, discusses various genres of historical tales mentioned in the manuscripts:
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