4 the vast majority of those who have sinned are punished and the mitigation takes effect only for one man and his family;5 in 5 all those who have sinned are punished, and there is no direct mitigation. These variations are not insignificant. Where God’s relationship with individuals is concerned, his dealing can be highly personalized (note especially the differing punishments for the three principal actors in the Fall story). But where a whole community’s relationship with God is involved, the