Currents in Biblical Research 18, 2 (February 2020)

The latest Currents in Biblical Research recently arrived, with titles and abstracts of the main articles as below.

Joshua T. James

Research Trends in the Study of the Ethics of the Psalms

The study of the ethics of the Psalms is a relative newcomer in the field of Old Testament ethics, having garnered most of its interest following Wenham’s initial essay on the subject in 2005. In hindsight, the neglect of the Psalms is surprising given its overt ethical concerns, but throughout the early phase of the re-emergence of Old Testament ethics (from 1983 to the end of the twentieth century), it was indeed woefully overlooked. The goal of this article is to provide a survey of work on the subject. Because the content and themes of these studies are still somewhat limited, the article is arranged according to the interpretive methodology or hermeneutical framework guiding the various authors’ contributions. In addition to surveying the field, this approach allows for the dominant trends to be observed and set within their proper context.

Tammi J. Schneider

In the Beginning and Still Today: Recent Publications on Genesis

This article reviews the monographs and edited volumes on the book of Genesis published since 2015. As a means of organizing the material, the books reviewed are categorized into groupings that reflect different aspects of the study of Genesis as a book, as well as the field of biblical studies and its placement within the humanities writ large. The organizational process leads to examining who writes about Genesis, the perceived audience, and how publishers consider their task and role in the process of disseminating scholarship on the book. An apparent shift in biblical studies, or at least in research on the book of Genesis, is identified towards situating the material more into world history and contemporary issues than into the historical-critical method.

T.M. Lemos

Order from Chaos: Comparing Approaches to Violence in Anthropology, Assyriology, and the Study of the Hebrew Bible

This article compares the history of scholarship on violence in anthropology in the past one hundred years to major approaches to studying violence in the ancient Near East and ancient Near Eastern sources, including ancient Israel and Israelite literature. The article demonstrates that anthropology and ancient Near Eastern studies have diverged widely in their approaches to violence. In the past two to three decades, the concept of structural violence and new materialist approaches have dominated the study of violence in anthropology, while in Assyriology and the study of ancient Israel/Israelite literature, studies of violence have repeatedly turned to an order and chaos framework. The article ends by suggesting that scholars of ancient West Asia incorporate new materialist approaches more concertedly in studies of violence and either rethink or jettison the simplistic order/chaos dyad.

Matthew W. Bates

The External-Relational Shift in Faith (Pistis) in New Testament Research: Romans 1 as Gospel-Allegiance Test Case

Evidence is marshalled for a recent ‘external-relational shift’ in scholarly understandings of pistis (traditionally translated ‘faith’) among New Testament scholars and historians of early Christianity and its social world. There is a movement away from predominantly personal existential accounts of pistis toward those that are relational and outwardly manifest. ‘Faith’ (pistis) is predominantly a way of life characterized by fidelity or loyalty which is outwardly expressed in relationships. Beyond the New Perspective on Paul, which is an obvious factor, four streams are feeding this shift: (1) the pistis Christou debate, (2) increased appreciation of ancient social and cultural norms, (3) advances in linguistics, and (4) an emphasis on the gospel as a royal proclamation. To show why the external-relational shift matters theologically, Paul’s use of pistis in Romans 1 is explored along external-relational lines.

Themelios 42, 1 (April 2017)

Somehow I missed it when it first came out, but the latest Themelios is online here (and available here as a single pdf), containing the below articles.

Editorial

D.A. Carson

Subtle Ways to Abandon the Authority of Scripture in Our Lives

Off the Record

Daniel Strange

‘Just Mike’: A Tribute to Mike Ovey (1958–2017)

The Rev Dr Mike Ovey was principal of Oak Hill College in London and served as consulting editor of Themelios from 2012 until his sudden death 7 January, 2017 at the age of 58. Ovey trained for ministry at Ridley Hall, Cambridge, was ordained in the Church of England, and earned a PhD at King’s College, London. He was author or co-author of several important books, including Pierced for Our Transgressions (Crossway, 2017), Confident (Christian Focus, 2015), and Your Will Be Done (Latimer Trust, 2016). This final installment of the ‘Off the Record’ column is Dan Strange’s tribute to his friend and Oak Hill colleague, first delivered at Ovey’s London funeral.

Jason S. DeRouchie

Is Every Promise “Yes”? Old Testament Promises and the Christian

Which biblical promises are for Christians? God’s promises play a vital role in helping believers grow in sanctification and suffer with hope, but should we claim all OT promises as our own, seeing as God gave them to a different people and under a different covenant? This article considers why and how every promise is “Yes” in Christ and seeks to empower believers to faithfully appropriate OT promises without abusing them. In the process it supplies five foundational principles that clarify the Christian’s relationship to OT promises, and then it gives three guidelines for hoping in OT promises through Christ.

Jared M. August

The Messianic Hope of Genesis: The Protoevangelium and Patriarchal Promises

In Genesis 3:15, the Lord announces the future coming of a “seed” ( ז רֶַ֫ע ) who will bruise the head of the serpent. While many have long considered this verse the protoevangelium, or the first gospel, others have been quick to doubt its “messianic” intention. However, when one examines Genesis 1–3 in context, an anticipatory expectation emerges as the most viable option. Furthermore, once the interpreter understands the promise God gave to Abraham concerning his “seed” (22:17–18) as a contextual allusion to 3:15, it becomes clear that this verse stands as the fountainhead of the Old Testament’s anticipatory hope. Therefore, although the book of Genesis uses neither the noun מ שָ יִ ח nor the verb מ שַָׁח to refer to this coming individual, due to the anticipatory hope found within, Genesis 3:15 is best understood as the protoevangelium.

Matt Champlin

A Biblical Theology of Blessing in Genesis

This article examines the meaning of blessing as expressed in the structure and narratives of Genesis. After highlighting the pattern of blessings offset by curses embedded within the “generational” structure of Genesis, the nature of blessing is explored in its varying contexts. Given the quantity of blessings in Genesis, it is natural to expect fulfillments, partial or complete, of the blessings; thus, the article considers the degree to which readers are shown fulfillments and the degree to which they are pointed on towards future fulfillments. Finally, the human role in blessing is considered, both the human blessing of other humans as well as the human blessing of the Lord.

Dane Ortlund

Reflections on Handling the Old Testament as Jesus Would Have Us: Psalm 15 as a Case Study

In appreciation of the renaissance of christocentric and redemptive-historical hermeneutics and homiletics in our generation, this article selects an OT text, Psalm 15, that appears on the surface to be maximally resistant to a Christ-centered reading and preaching of Scripture. The article makes five overarching preliminary reflections in approaching a text such as Psalm 15 in a whole-Bible way, and then offers several specific observations about the text as an offering of one way to handle a text such as this. The purpose of the article is to encourage readers and preachers to handle every nook and cranny of Scripture in light of Christ, yet to do so in ways that avoid errors such as crass moralizing or strict Lutheranizing.

Robert S. Smith

Belting Out the Blues as Believers: The Importance of Singing Lament

Many churches seem to have lost the art of singing lament. This article urges a recovery of this forgotten practice, firstly, by demonstrating from within the Psalter itself the importance of singing the psalms (including the laments) and setting them to music; secondly, by exploring some of the obstacles to singing in times of distress; thirdly, by examining the way in which lament enables a singing of pain and sorrow; fourthly, by investigating what can be known of the manifold powers of music and song (for proclaiming and recalling God’s word and consoling and uniting God’s people); and, finally, by articulating something of the important relationship between lament and praise.

David Starling

“For Your Sake We Are Being Killed All Day Long”: Romans 8:36 and the Hermeneutics of Unexplained Suffering

This article explores the function of Paul’s citation from Psalm 44:22 within the rhetoric of Romans 8:31–39. It offers a brief discussion of the meaning of Psalm 44:22 when the verse is read within its original historical and canonical contexts, then a summary and evaluation of the two main answers typically given by scholars to the question of whether and to what extent that meaning is retained in the verse’s new context in Romans 8. The final section of the article argues for a reading of Romans 8:36 in which the psalm-citation retains its original force and meaning as an expression of protest and lament, reinforcing the validity of the question in verse 35 before Paul answers it in verse 37.

Frederik S. Mulder

Gospel Differences, Harmonisations, and Historical Truth: Origen and Francis Watson’s Paradigm Shift?

Claiming to stand on the shoulders of the later Origen, in Gospel Writing: A Canonical Perspective, Francis B. Watson makes a compelling case that all attempts to address alleged contradictions and establishing historical truth in and between the four canonical Gospels must be abandoned. Watson proposes that the later Origen’s preference for deeper spiritual and theological truth, in the wake of alleged empirical falsehood, should be embraced as a new paradigm and more ‘comprehensive approach’, subverting and destroying previous approaches. In this article, I test Watson’s relevant interpretations of Origen, focusing on his Commentary on John, Book 10 (Comm. Jo.); Against Celsus (Cels.); and On First Principles (Princ.). In addition, I offer evidence challenging Watson’s claim that the later Origen’s return to addressing some contradictions and establishing historical truth in Cels. reflects popular apologetics for the wider public, in contrast to more radical thoughts on hermeneutics in Book 10 of his Comm. Jo. It is argued that a more comprehensive and persuasive understanding of Origen’s approach to Gospel differences and historicity, requires a close reading of his early and later treatises, resulting in a nuanced middle position.

Book Reviews

The Bible Project on Genesis 12-50

I blogged on this project here a few months ago.

A small team is aiming to put together a series of short videos introducing the structure and themes of biblical books and tracing some major themes through the entire Bible. They’re seeking to make the videos and supporting study guides available for free – although they’re asking for donations in order to do so.

They’ve just made available the next video on Genesis 12-50. Check it out from here (click on ‘Videos’ or scroll down to the ‘Videos & Study Guides’ section).

The Bible Project on Genesis 1-11 and Heaven and Earth

This fairly new project looks like it could be excellent.

A small team is aiming to put together a series of short videos introducing the structure and themes of biblical books and tracing some major themes through the entire Bible.

They’re seeking to make these videos and supporting study guides available for free – although they’re asking for donations in order to do so.

Currently available is a video on Genesis 1-11 and another on the theme of heaven and earth in Scripture, lasting about 6 minutes each, and well worth checking out.

Ecclesia Reformanda 3, 1 (April 2011)

The latest Ecclesia Reformanda arrived this morning, this issue containing the following articles:

Steffen Jenkins

Served to Serve: Why Food is Central to the Anthropology of Creation in Genesis 1-3 and to the Plot of Genesis

The book of Genesis is laden with references to food. Recent scholarship has begun to pay attention to food in the Bible and especially found that it functions as a Leitmotif in the Joseph narrative which concludes Genesis. This article will demonstrate that food is central to the opening three chapters of the book. Creation and the place of people within it cannot be understood without close attention to food, which explains its prominent place and function in the rest of Genesis. We conclude with some reflections on the food imagery of redemption on the lips of Jesus, and by noting the inescapably earthy and physical contribution of food to the future hope held out in the gospel.

Neil G.T. Jeffers

Reformed Defences of God’s Righteousness in Ordaining the Fall. Part Two

This concludes the treatment of Reformed defences of God’s righteousness in ordaining the Fall begun in Ecclesia Reformanda 2.2 (2010): 154-185. The conclusion focuses particularly on the evaluation of divine permission as a defence.

Alastair Roberts

Just Cause Against Same-Sex Marriage: Why We Cannot Hold Our Peace

As the questions raised by same-sex marriage are frequently foreclosed for participants from the various sides of the debate, the particular issues that they highlight are seldom given the sustained and close attention that they merit. Placing the argument against same-sex marriage on a broad foundation, these articles explore the ways in which its legalization would transform the institution, in its relationship to individuals, the genders, marriage partners, children, society, and past and future generations. By emphasizing these distinct matters, Christians will be better equipped to establish points of contact around which meaningful dialogue can be forged.

Book Reviews

Russell R. Reno on Reading Genesis Theologically

Russell R. Reno, ‘Reading the Bible with the Church’, Calvin Theological Journal 43, 1 (2008), 35-47.

One of a number of essays devoted to Genesis in this issue of Calvin Theological Journal, this one explores some issues related to theological interpretation of Scripture, on which Reno has published elsewhere.

Reno is slated to write the commentary on Genesis in the ‘Brazos Theological Commentary on the Bible’ series (published by SCM in the UK) for which he is also the general editor. The inaugural volume was Jaroslav Pelikan, Acts (Grand Rapids: Brazos, 2005), though a number of others have appeared since.

Reno writes that the series is written with ‘the conviction that dogma clarifies rather than obscures’ (‘Series Preface’, in Pelikan, Acts, 13). The aim of the series is to use the Nicene tradition as the ‘proper basis for the interpretation of the Bible as Christian Scripture’, on the understanding that ‘doctrine provides structure and cogency to scriptural interpretation’ (‘Series Preface’, 14, 16.). Hence the series has turned to theologians rather than biblical scholars, ‘chosen because of their knowledge of and expertise in using the Christian doctrinal tradition’ (‘Series Preface’, 14).

These same concerns are explored in this essay on Genesis focusing particularly on the contentious issues of the ‘beginning’ in 1:1 and of ‘creation out of nothing’ in 1:2.

Reno notes that exegetes fear that theological loyalties ‘have for too long overdetermined our reading of Scripture’ (37), and that ‘many modern readers recoil at the notion that doctrine should be relevant to any critically responsible approach to the Bible’ (42).

But he wonders whether biblical exegesis may be ‘blind to the wealth of reasons in favor of traditional readings’ (37), asks whether doctrine is ‘really so alien to a close analysis of the biblical text’ (35), and says that ‘we ignore our dogmatic, ecclesiastical, liturgical, and spiritual traditions at our peril’ (47).

He is not advocating an approach which ignores or distorts the text, but recognises that ‘doctrines such as creatio ex nihilo became authoritative precisely because communities of readers found them to be very helpful guides to a coherent, overall reading of Scripture’ (42).

‘A theological reader is theo-logical precisely because he or she wants to read Scripture in such a way as to sustain a coherent view of God’s plan and purpose’ (39).

‘[D]octrinal governance of scriptural interpretation is not a simpleminded submission to a biblically extrinsic authority. Traditional doctrines involve complex, multilayered exegetical judgments that operate across the biblical text as a whole’ (46).

Michael J. Williams on the Deceptions of Genesis

Michael J. Williams, ‘Lies, Lies, I Tell You! The Deceptions of Genesis’, Calvin Theological Journal 43, 1 (2008), 9-20.

This entire fascicle of Calvin Theological Journal contains essays on Genesis, based on papers first given at a Bible and Ministry Conference in June 2007, ‘Hearing and Reading Genesis: Texts of Order, Disorder, Deceit, and Destruction’.

Michael J. Williams kicks off with an essay on the deceptions of Genesis, noting that ‘almost every significant narrative in the book contains an incident of deception’ (9).

In defining deception, he notes the importance of intentionality: ‘Deception takes place when Party A intentionally distorts, withholds, or otherwise manipulates information reaching Party B in order to stimulate in B a belief that A does not believe in order to serve A’s purpose’ (11).

This being the case, he lists the deceptions in Genesis as follows (11):

(1) The serpent’s deception of Adam and Eve (3:1-19)
(2) Abram’s deception of Pharaoh (12:10-20)
(3) Abraham’s deception of Abimelech (20:1-18)
(4) Isaac’s deception of Abimelech (26:6-11)
(5) Rebekah’s and Jacobs’s deception of Isaac and Esau (27:1-40)
(6) Laban’s deception of Jacob regarding his wife (29:15-30)
(7) Laban’s deception of Jacob regarding his wages (31:4-9, 38-42)
(8) Jacob’s deception of Laban (31:17-18, 20-29)
(9) Rachel’s deception of Laban (31:19, 30-35)
(10) Jacob’s sons’ deception of the Shechemites (34:1-31)
(11) Joseph’s brothers’ deception of Jacob (37:29-35)
(12) Tamar’s deception of Judah (38:1-26)
(13) Potiphar’s wife’s deception of Potiphar (39:1-20)
(14) Joseph’s first deception of his brothers (42:7-28)
(15) Joseph’s second deception of his brothers (44:1-34)

Although most of the deceptions are evaluated negatively by the text, events 12, 14, and 15, he claims, ‘are evaluated positively, at least implicitly, by the narrative itself’ (12).

He rejects the views that deception is positive if (1) a person of lower social standing deceives a person of higher social standing, (2) if it is perpetrated by a patriarch, and (3) if an Israelite deceives a non-Israelite (13-14).

Instead, he suggests ‘that the only criterion for positive deception in the Bible is the motive of the deceiver, and the only acceptable motive for perpetrating deception on someone else is… the restoration of shalom… the normal relationship of things or people to each other’ (14).

When shalom is disturbed, where expectations and responsibilities in relationship have become imbalanced, then ‘the wronged part may legitimately use deception to restore that shalom to what it was before’ – providing that the deception is ‘limited to the person who caused the original wrong’, that it does not ‘disadvantage the deceived person’, and does not ‘advantage the deceiver beyond his/her status prior to what it was before suffering the original wrong’ (14-15). He argues that these criteria fit Tamar’s deception of Judah, and Joseph’s deception of his brothers, but not the other incidents of deception in Genesis.

From a big picture perspective, the deceptions show that God ‘continues to advance his plan of salvation’, and ‘will accomplish his purposes in spite of, and even by means of… human deceitfulness’ (16).

On the issue of whether the conclusions about deceptions in Genesis apply to deception elsewhere in the Bible, he notes the change in social structure from family groups to a multi-tribal people, but holds that there are places where the same principle of protecting or restoring shalom in the covenant community is operative – notably in the Hebrew midwives (Exodus 1:15-20), Rahab (Joshua 2:1-21), Ehud (Judges 3:12-30), Jael (Judges 4:17-22), Nahash the Ammonite (1 Samuel 11:1-11), and David (1 Samuel 21:10-15) (18-19).

On the matter of whether there are instances in the Bible where God himself deceives, Williams points to Exodus 3:18; 14:1-4; 1 Samuel 16:1-5; 1 Kings 22:19-23; Ezekiel 14:1-11 (19-20), as well as making something of the church fathers’ view that God deceived Satan through the cross of Christ (17).

On the question of whether this understanding of deception weakens the ninth commandment about not giving false testimony (Exodus 20:16; Deuteronomy 5:20), he argues that the commandment, presupposing a covenantal context, ‘is in effect prohibiting exactly the kind of violation of the responsibilities and expectations of this preexisting relationship that positively evaluated deception rectifies’, and thus ‘deception that is perpetrated for the purpose of restoring shalom does not violate the ninth commandment; just the opposite!’ (20).

[Williams has also written a full-length study on this subject: Michael J. Williams, Deception in Genesis: An Investigation into the Morality of a Unique Biblical Phenomenon, Studies in Biblical Literature 32 (New York: Peter Lang, 2001).]

Robert Alter on Genesis 38

Genesis 38 (describing the Judah-Tamar incident) is set between the story of Joseph being sold as a slave into Egypt (Genesis 37) and the account of Joseph in the house of Potiphar (Genesis 39).

‘Critical’ scholarship has generally seen the chapter as an independent unit, having little connection with the wider Joseph saga. Kinder interpretations say that it builds an element of suspense into the story of Joseph, but it is still taken as something of an aside, perhaps even the result of poor editing.

Robert Alter, however, begins his The Art of Biblical Narrative (London: George Allen & Unwin, 1981) with a delightful treatment of Genesis 38, showing how the final form of the text demonstrates an intricately interconnected literary unity.

Joseph’s brothers dip his cloak into goat’s blood (37:31). They bring it to Jacob, and ask him to recognise it (37:32). As Alter notes, they are careful to let the object itself do the lying for them, and they refer to Joseph as ‘your son’ (4). Jacob, for his part, improvises wonderfully… he recognises it (37:33, same verb as 37:32) and immediately falls for the trick. The remainder of the chapter describes Jacob’s elaborate mourning rituals (37:34-36).

Then in chapter 38, the narrative leaves Joseph behind and moves straight into the story of Tamar and Judah. However, connections are made with the surrounding narrative, with parallels and contrasts.

The story begins in 38:1-11 with Judah parting from his brothers (literally, ‘he went down’) a reference which may connect his separation from the brothers with Joseph’s separation from the brothers (the same root is used of Joseph in 39:1) (6).

The preceding narrative ended with a father mourning the loss of a son; this section begins with a father fathering three sons. The whole process is narrated in a matter-of-fact manner: ‘Judah sees, takes, lies with a woman; and she, responding appropriately, conceives, bears, and… gives the son a name’ (6). Then, in 38:7, without any indication of time-gap, we read of Er’s death. Onan, the second son, ‘makes the mistake of rebelling… against the legal obligations of the system of primogeniture, refusing to act as his dead brother’s proxy by impregnating the widow in his brother’s name, and so he, too, dies’ (6-7). Though we had a lavish description of Jacob’s mourning for Joseph, Judah’s mourning for his sons is passed over in silence.

In 38:11, we move to direct speech, and the narrator also explains Judah’s motive (he’s concerned about his youngest son), but Tamar says nothing.

38:12 begins with a time indicator (‘After a long time…’), which marks the next stage of the narrative in which the tempo of the action slows down (7). Tamar has been without a husband for a long time (in fact, in 38:14, her own perception, according to the narrator, appears to be that she has been neglected). Judah is widowed, and the period of mourning is over (he is ‘consoled’ [38;12] in contrast to Jacob who refuses to be consoled [37:35]).

Then Tamar begins her plan (38:13-23). Until this point, she has been passive in the plot; now she moves into rapid and purposeful action. In 38:14, a series of verbs describes her as taking off, covering, wrapping herself, sitting down at a strategic place, and in 38:19, another set of verbs show her resuming her former role and attire (8).

Judah falls for it. As Alter notes, ‘his sexual appetite will not tolerate postponement though he has been content to let Tamar languish as a childless widow indefinitely’ (8). 38:16-18 give us the only extended dialogue in the chapter, and it’s rather brisk and business-like. She takes a pledge of Judah’s credit cards (according to Alter, his seal and cord and staff are a kind of legal surrogate) (9). 38:18 concludes quickly with three verbs – he gave, he lay, she conceived. Tamar has become the channel of the seed of Judah.

When Judah sends the kid by his friend Hirah, of course, there is no prostitute to be seen, nor has there been one in that area (38:20-23)…

38:24 then brings us towards the climax of the story. The words are strong and brutal, but in 38:25-26 she reveals all. In these verses, we have the re-occurrence of the verbs ‘to recognise’. Again, it is used here at the climax of this episode as a formula of recognition. (Alter [10] points out that the same verb will be used in the dénouement of the Joseph story, with Joseph recognising his brothers in Egypt, and them not recognising him.)

‘This precise recurrence of the verb in identical forms at the ends of Genesis 37 and 38 respectively is manifestly the result not of some automatic mechanism of interpolating traditional materials but of careful splicing of sources by a brilliant literary artist. The first use of the formula was for an act of deception; the second use is for an act of unmasking. Judah with Tamar after Judah and his brothers is an exemplary narrative instance of the deceiver deceived… He is taken in by a piece of attire, as his father was’ (10).

Judah is taken in by his pledge for a kid, just as Jacob was taken in by the garment which had been dipped in the blood of a goat. Alter points out that the Midrash on Genesis noted this more than 1,500 years ago:

‘The Holy One Praised be He said to Judah, “You deceived your father with a kid. By your life, Tamar will deceive you with a kid”… The Holy One Praised be He said to Judah, “You said to your father, haker-na. By your life, Tamar will say to you, haker-na”’ (Bereshit Rabba 84:11-12, cited in Alter, 11).

The chapter then concludes with the birth of twin boys. As in other places in the Book of Genesis, the one who is about to be born first suddenly takes second place (38:27-30).

But there is more…

‘When we return from Judah to the Joseph story (Genesis 39), we move in pointed contrast from a tale of exposure through sexual incontinence to a tale of seeming defeat and ultimate triumph through sexual continence – Joseph and Potiphar’s wife’ (10).

Genesis 39 is framed by references to Joseph and the Lord being with him and bringing him success in two different situations (39:1-6, 21-23). In between, we have the story of Potiphar’s wife and her attempted seduction of Joseph (39:7-20). 39:7 gives us the first dialogue in this episode. There are no preliminaries, no explanations – just a direct sexual proposition. It seemed as if these were the only words she ever spoke to Joseph (39:10), until one day she grabs him (39:12). In contrast to her few words, Joseph’s refusal is an outpouring of language (39:8-9) (108-109). The key word ‘all’ is used by Joseph and is found in the frames at the beginning and end of the chapter, as is the word ‘house’ which appears five times in the frame verses, and is used twice by Joseph here (109).

Joseph eventually flees and leaves his robe in her hand (39:12). 39:13 virtually repeats 39:12, and serves to emphasise the robe in her hand. Again, we should note that Joseph is ‘linked with the misleading evidence of a garment, as he was when his brothers brought the blood-soaked tunic to his father’ (110).

She lies, of course, and now she too shows she can say a lot when it is necessary to do so (39:14-18); and, of course, Potiphar responds by throwing Joseph into prison (39:19-20). Then we conclude with the final three verses of the chapter which close the story balancing the verses at the opening of the story.

Overall, then, there are parallels between chapter 37 and chapter 38. Mourning features in both chapters, as does shepherding and sheep. At the climax of each narrative is a symbolic action (37:31-36; 38:25-26) – the Hebrew is identical in all cases (‘do you recognise this?’) – and also the act of recognising. But there are also parallels between Genesis 38 and 39, with both chapters involving chastity and unchastity, and punishment (or not) for sexual offenses.

Set within the larger narrative framework of Genesis, the saving of lives is important, so that the promised seed of Abraham can continue through the generations. Genesis 38 is thus not at all out of place in the larger narrative framework. The seed of the chosen people of God continues even though Judah doesn’t really want it to. Even Joseph’s being sold down to Egypt and prison incident works towards this end (cf. 45:3-8; 50:15-20). God provides for Jacob’s sons and keeps them alive, so that his promise of blessing to Abraham, recapitulating his original blessing to all humankind, may be fulfilled.

And then, within the ongoing story line of the Bible, Tamar’s son is Perez, from whom comes Jesse, from whom comes David… from whom comes the Christ. Thus, not only is Genesis 38 an integral part of the book of Genesis, it’s an integral part of Scripture as a whole.

David L. Petersen on Genesis and Family Values

David L. Petersen, ‘Genesis and Family Values’, Journal of Biblical Literature 124, 1 (2005), 5-23.

David L. Petersen makes three main points about ‘family values’ in Genesis: (1) Genesis is a book that focuses on the family; (2) Genesis is a book that includes family literature, and (3) Genesis offers clear and significant family values.

(1) Genesis is concerned with families – obviously in the ancestral narratives, but also in the primeval history, in 12:3, and in the ‘generations’ formula. The primeval history depicts families. 12:3 promises blessing to families of all nations. The generations formula links the genealogies and narratives throughout Genesis. In Exodus, a transition has been made from a family to a people.

(2) Genesis is ‘family literature’ – which is literature produced by families or about families, like Icelandic sagas and the family novel.

(3) Genesis and family values – notably three important values:

• Genesis ‘challenges readers to have an expansive view of the family’ (as larger than a couple or a nuclear family).

• ‘Patterns of marriage and sexual access in Genesis attest to the importance of the family continuing over time’ (all of which connects with the promise of descendants to Abraham).

• ‘Members of the family use diverse strategies to keep from injuring or killing each other’ (e.g., Abraham and Lot separating to avoid conflict; Jacob and Laban drawing up a legal decree of separation to avoid violence; Jacob and Esau, with Jacob giving gifts and engaging verbally with Esau, opening the door to reconciliation.

In summary, ‘(1) the value of defining family in expansive terms; (2) the value of familial continuity; (3) and the value of nonviolent resolution of conflict within the family’.

Thomas W. Mann on the Theological Unity of Genesis

Thomas W. Mann, ‘“All the Families of the Earth”: The Theological Unity of Genesis’, Interpretation 45, 4 (1991), 341-53.

According to Thomas W. Mann, there are four main literary units to Genesis (345):

• The primeval cycle (1:1-11:26)
• The Abraham cycle (11:27-25:18)
• The Jacob cycle (25:19-36:43)
• The Joseph cycle (37:1-50:26)

Although the families in Genesis are largely dysfunctional, God still uses them as agents of his grace to ‘all the families of the earth’. The commission to Abraham (12:3) reflects a concern throughout the whole book, beginning with the blessing on humankind (1:28) and ending with Joseph’s words (50:24).

‘The central theological focus that unites the Book of Genesis is the promise that God makes first to Abraham and then repeats in various forms to Isaac, to Jacob, and, through Jacob, to Joseph: “In you shall all the families of the earth be blessed” (341).

In spite of the possibility of Genesis being made up of different literary strands, there are two key devices that cut across the sources and give the book of Genesis a unity: (1) the ‘generations’ formula, and (2) the divine ‘promises’.

(1) The ‘these are the generations of…’ formula begins in 2:4 and the book contains it 11 times, sometimes (e.g., 5:1 and 36:9) connected to a genealogy, and sometimes (e.g., 25:19 and 37:2) providing the heading for a large block of narrative material.

(2) The promise made to Abraham (initially in 12:1-3, but elsewhere as well) is repeated in various forms throughout the book: to Isaac (26:2-4); to Jacob (28:13-15; 35:9-12); connected with Joseph (46:1-4; 50:24-25).

The promise of blessing is for ‘all the families of the earth’, which is related to the ‘generations’ formula and, as Mann notes, ‘the formula combines with the genealogies to emphasize the continuity of God’s grace to humankind’ (345). In this way, 12:3 can be seen as a reiteration of 1:28.

The primeval narratives

For Mann, the tension throughout Genesis 1-11 is one between creation and civilisation (or nature and culture). Men and women are created in the image of God to have dominion over the world (1:28), but they try to do more than that. They try to become like God (3:5), to be autonomous; there is an illicit fusion between divine beings and human beings; at Babel they seek a security independently of God. Both 2:4-6:8 and 6:9-11:26 move from a human family to a story about the ‘attempted fusion of the divine and human realms (6:1; 11:4)’ (346).

The tension between creation and civilisation is not resolved at the end of the unit, with the scattering of the families of earth (11:4, 8, 9). It is only in the renewed promise of blessing through Abram to all the families of the earth that a resolution is offered.

The stories in this unit constitute a single narrative, tied together by the ‘generations’ formula, leading directly to the story of Abram and Sarai (347).

The patriarchal narratives

In contrast to the primeval cycle, the remaining units in Genesis provide a resolution to the tension that determines their plots (346).

• The Abraham cycle

‘The tension is not simply the anticipation of, and then the birth of, a son; rather, the tension involves the attitude of the human characters toward the God who promises a son, both before and after the son is born’ (346).

Abraham abandons Sarah in Egypt, thus casting the promise of God into jeopardy; he does this again in chapter 20. Sarah herself distrusts God (ch. 16). Yet, faith and commitment is still demonstrated (12:1-3; ch. 15; 17:22-27). The climax of the cycle is with God’s demand for the sacrifice of Isaac, and Abraham’s willingness to offer Isaac (ch. 22). ‘His act recognizes that loyalty belongs to the God of the promise, and not to the promise itself’ (348). Then in chapters 23 and 24, a piece of the promised land is secured legally and Isaac is married, thus securing the potential continuation of the family.

• The Jacob cycle

‘The tension within the Jacob cycle is between conflict and reconciliation’ (348). There is conflict between brothers, Jacob and his Esau, even in the womb (25:22), as well as at their birth (25:27) and as they grow up (25:27). There is conflict between husband and wife over their children (25:28), between nephew and uncle (chs. 29-31). There is conflict between wives and conflict between their concubines (29:31-30:24). Throughout all this conflict, there is deceit and trickery: Esau is tricked out of his birthright (25:33); Laban’s trickery over his two daughters (29:15-28); Jacob’s trickery over Laban’s sheep (30:25-39); Rachel’s trick over the household gods (31:19-44).

There is also a struggle between God and Jacob (28:11-22; 31:13; 35:1-15). Once Jacob has resolved a dispute with Laban (31:43-54), he wrestles with a mysterious being and sees the ‘face of God’, only then to have to move on to encounter Esau (chs. 32-33). Yet though he emerges from his wrestling match wounded, he prevails, and his meeting with Esau results in grace rather than revenge (348).

• The Joseph cycle

Mann understands the Joseph cycle as also working with the tension between conflict and reconciliation, only now within the entire family of Jacob (349). Again, the resolutions happen at the level of family. Jacob must be willing to give up his youngest son, just as his grandfather Abraham had to be willing to give up his son, in order for the family to survive (cf. 42:36-38; 43:13-15). Jacob must abandon the favouritism which caused much of the hostility in the family. Judah has to admit his own guilt and that of the brothers, and offer himself (rather than Benjamin) as a slave to Joseph (44:18-34). Joseph, for his part, has to forgive his brothers, and affirm his Israelite identity (45:4; 50:24-25).

But God, of course, is the real hero of the story. It is the tension between human rule and God’s rule which runs through the Joseph cycle. It is not Joseph’s role in the officialdom of Egypt (41:57); it is not Pharaoh, ruler of the greatest power of the world. It is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob who works to keep many people alive (50:19-20) (349).

N.T. Wright on the Bible

N.T. Wright, Simply Christian (London: SPCK, 2006), 148:

‘It’s a big book, full of big stories with big characters. They have big ideas (not least about themselves) and make big mistakes. It’s about God, and greed, and grace; about life, lust, laughter and loneliness. It’s about birth, beginnings and betrayal; about siblings, squabbles and sex; about power and prayer and prison and passion.

‘And that’s only Genesis.’

David J.A. Clines on the Theme of Genesis 1-11 (and the Pentateuch)

David J.A. Clines, The Theme of the Pentateuch, JSOTS 10 (Sheffield: JSOT Press, 1978).

David Clines here undertakes to look for the unity not just of Genesis, but of the Pentateuch as a whole. He understands ‘theme’ as a ‘statement of the context, structure and development of a work’, and describes it as follows:

‘The theme of the Pentateuch is the partial fulfilment – which implies also the partial non-fulfilment – of the promise to or blessing of the patriarchs. The promise or blessing is both the divine initiative in a world where human initiatives always lead to disaster, and a re-affirmation of the primal divine intentions for man’ (64).

In a subsequent chapter (61-79), he describes the theme of Genesis 1-11 as:

‘No matter how drastic man’s sin becomes, destroying what God has made good and bringing the world to the brink of uncreation, God’s grace never fails to deliver man from the consequences of his sin. Even when man responds to a fresh start with the old pattern of sin, God’s commitment to his world stands firm, and sinful man experiences the favour of God as well as the righteous judgement’ (76).

That’s it in summary form. Before he gets to this point, he highlights three suggested themes for Genesis 1-11, the first two originally forwarded by Gerhard von Rad and Claus Westermann. They are:

(1) a Sin – Speech – Mitigation – Punishment theme;
(2) a Spread-of-Sin, Spread-of-Grace theme, and
(3) a Creation – Uncreation – Re-creation theme.

Clines opts for a combination of (2) and (3) since they incorporate all the material in Genesis 1-11 – narratives, the creation account, and the genealogies (whereas the first theme, for instance, focuses only on the narratives).

Clines also discusses the theological relationship of the primeval history (Genesis 1-11) to the remaining sections of Genesis. He notes that it is significant that there is no clear-cut break at the end of the Babel story, between the primeval and the patriarchal history (77). What follows the Babel story (11:1-9) is a genealogy leading from Shem to Terah (11:10-26). But, as Clines points out, ‘who Shem is can be learned only from the Table of Nations, where his family is detailed (10:21-31)… or from the Noah story, where Shem is the son upon whom Noah has pronounced the blessing (9:26)’ (78). On the other hand, it is clear that the genealogy is leading to Abram (11:26-30) – it traces the ancestry of Abram and follows the line of descent from Shem.

The patriarchal narratives unfold the fulfilment of the divine promise, and this means that the most likely reading of Genesis 1-11 is a ‘positive’ one. Genesis 1:1-11:5 could be understood ‘negatively’ (as in the first theme above), but once it is followed by the patriarchal and Pentateuchal history, linked by a transitional passage, the tendency to read it as such is reversed (78).

This means that the patriarchal narratives function as the ‘mitigation’ element of the Babel incident, and that the divine promises to Abram may be read in conjunction with Genesis 1 – as a re-affirmation of the divine intentions for men and women. The promise of blessing is found in Genesis 1:26-30 and the promise of blessing to Abram envisages an overspill of blessing to humankind in general.

Clines concludes:

‘To link the primeval history with the patriarchal narrative specifies the thrust of the primeval history; it cannot be viewed negatively since it is the prelude to the promises and their fulfilment. But the dark side of the primeval history still remains. In itself it may be read as a story of how things go wrong when men take the initiatives; mankind tends to destroy what God has made good. Perhaps only the addition of a divine promise (Gen. 12) to a divine command (Gen. 1) can counteract that tendency’ (79).

On the Structure of Genesis

One of the simplest ways of looking at the book of Genesis is as follows:

1. Primeval Narratives (Genesis 1-11)

2. Patriarchal Narratives (Genesis 12-50)

(a) Abraham (12-25)
(b) Jacob (26-36)
(c) Joseph (37-50)

Although this outline gives an indication of the content of Genesis, it doesn’t suggest any possible relationship between the parts.

More significant is the repeated formula, ‘These are the generations of…’, which naturally arises from the text itself, leading to an outline of Genesis with an introductory section followed by ten further sections each introduced with the formula.

1. The story of creation (1:1-2:3)
2. The generations of the heavens and the earth (2:4-4:26)
3. The generations of Adam (5:1-6:8)
4. The generations of Noah (6:9-9:29)
5. The generations of the sons of Noah (10:1-11:9)
6. The generations of Shem (11:10-26)
7. The generations of Terah (11:27-25:11)
8. The generations of Ishmael (25:12-18)
9. The generations of Isaac (25:19-35:29)
10. The generations of Esau (36:1-37:1)
11. The generations of Jacob (37:2-50:26)

It is regularly noted that the movement in these sections is from progenitor to progeny, either through the narrative that follows or via a genealogy. The presence of the formula in both main sections (chs. 1-11 and 12-50) supports the text’s unity, and suggests a movement forward, possibly even a plan in progress.

Gordon D. Fee and Douglas Stuart on Genesis

Gordon D. Fee and Douglas Stuart, How to Read the Bible Book by Book: A Guided Tour (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2002), 33.

‘Genesis begins the biblical story with God as Creator, human beings as created in God’s image but fallen, and God’s response through a redemptive creation of a chosen people – and doing so through all kinds of circumstances (good and ill) and despite their faults.’