STORY AS TORAH

Reading the Old Testament Ethically

Gordon J. Wenham

T&T CLARK

EDINBURGH

T&T CLARK LTD

59 GEORGE STREET

EDINBURGH EH2 2LQ

SCOTLAND

www.continuumbooks.com

Copyright © T&T Clark Ltd, 2000

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of T&T Clark Ltd.

ISBN 0 567 08767 0

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

Contents

Acknowledgements

Abbreviations

1. Introduction

2. Critical Methodology

3. The Rhetorical Function of Genesis

4. The Rhetorical Function of Judges

5. Ethical Ideals and Legal Requirements

6. Some Problematic Tales

7. New Testament Prespectives

8. Conclusions

Works Cited

Index of References

Index of Modern Authors

Index of Subjects

Acknowledgements

I should like to thank my friends and colleagues, Andrew Lincoln, Katharine Martin, Robin Parry, David Reimer and Peter Widdowson, who have been kind enough to read all or part of the manuscript and offer their advice. I should also like to express my gratitude to the Bible House Research Fund for a grant that enabled me to take a sabbatical to write this book.

Abbreviations

AB Anchor Bible

AnBib Analecta Biblica

ANET Ancient Near Eastern Texts

Bib Biblica

Bib Int Biblical Interpretation

BN Biblische Notizen

BZAW Beihefte zur Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft

CBQ Catholic Biblical Quarterly

ConBOT Coniectanea Biblica Old Testament Series

ET English translation

EvQ Evangelical Quarterly

ExpTim Expository Times

ICC International Critical Commentary

Int Interpretation

JBL Journal of Biblical Literature

JETS Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society

JJS Journal of Jewish Studies

JPS Jewish Publication Society

JSNT Journal for the Study of the New Testament

JSOT Journal for the Study of the Old Testament

JSOTSup JSOT Supplement Series

OTL Old Testament Library

RIDA A Revue Internationale des Droits de l’Antiquité

TDOT Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament

TynBul Tyndale Bulletin

UF Ugarit-Forschungen

VT Vetus Testamentum

VTSup Vetus Testamentum Supplements

WBC Word Biblical Commentary

WTJ Westminster Theological Journal

ZAW Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft

1

Introduction

For centuries Jews have read the Bible didactically drawing from its stories moral and legal principles to guide daily life. Encouraged by Jesus and Paul (Matt 19:4; 1 Cor 10:11) and common ancient practice,1 Christian teachers and preachers have similarly read the Old Testament with a view to using its stories to instil ethical principles in their hearers.

However, some of the lessons drawn from these texts are arbitrary and whimsical at the one extreme and banal at the other. Augustine’s delightful and witty interpretation of the flood story may be right to compare the ark to the Church, for both act as means ...