Chosen and unchosen : conceptions of election in the Pentateuch and Jewish-Christian interpretation
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Bibliographic Information
Chosen and unchosen : conceptions of election in the Pentateuch and Jewish-Christian interpretation
（Siphrut : literature and theology of the Hebrew Scriptures, 2）
Eisenbrauns, 2009
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Note
Includes bibliographical references (p. 227-244) and indexes
Description and Table of Contents
Description
Winner of the 2011 RBY Scott Award from the Canadian Society of Biblical Studies/Societe canadienne des etudes bibliques
The God of the Bible favors a national people, Israel, and this is at the cost of the other nations. In fact, not being Israel usually means humiliation or destruction or simply being ignored by God. Reading the text "with the grain" or placing oneself within the chosen's perspective may seem very well until one considers the unchosen. There is much regarding the unchosen that has not been explored in scholarly research, but in this important work, Lohr attempts to make sense of the question of election and nonelection in the OT as a Christian interpreter and with a concern for the history of interpretation and Jewish-Christian dialogue.
He also corrects a Christian tendency to read election and nonelection as love and damnation, respectively, a perception that is altogether foreign to the OT itself. The unchosen are important to the overall world view of Scripture and, although election entails exclusion, and God's love for the one people Israel is a love in contrast to others, it does not follow that the unchosen fall outside of the economy of God's purposes, his workings, or his ways. The unchosen often face important tests of their own and have a responsibility to God and the chosen, however much this idea defies modern-day notions of fairness. It is a central idea of Scripture that already appears in the original call of and promises made to Abram and something that, if ignored, places our larger understanding of God at risk.
Equally important, if contemporary faith communities (both Jewish and Christian) form their understanding of "the other" on a faulty reading of Scripture regarding the unchosen, chaos and hatred can ensue. The political and religious climate of our contemporary world has never presented a more important time to get this matter right. Scholars and students alike are finding Chosen and Unchosen to be an indispensable resource as they mull over these difficult questions.
Table of Contents
Preface: Election and Nonelection: Why Bother?
Acknowledgments
Abbreviations
Part 1: Election in Jewish and Christian Interpretation
Chapter 1. Introducing Election and Nonelection: Christian Interpretation
Theological Dictionaries
Monographs
Old Testament (and Biblical) Theologies
Summary
Chapter 2. Jewish Election Theologies: Exclusion and Disgrace?
Joel S. Kaminsky
David Novak
Michael Wyschogrod
Jon D. Levenson
Conclusion: Jewish Interpretation and the Way Forward
Part 2: Election and Nonelection in the Pentateuch: Test Cases
Chapter 3. Blessing or Curse? Abraham, Election, and the Nations:The Story of King Abimelech
Wives, Sisters, a Righteous Nation, and a God-Fearing King
Conclusion
Chapter 4. An Unchosen Figure Who Saves a People (Exodus 2:1-10)
A Numerous and Special People, a People Promised Land
The Birth, the Hiding, and the Finding
Naming, Ownership, and Adoption
Summary and Conclusion
Chapter 5. Numbers: Balaam and Yhwh's Irrevocable Love for Israel
Numbers and the Book of Balaam
The Text: Numbers 22-24
Conclusion
Chapter 6. Israel and the Nations in Deuteronomy
Deuteronomy 4: Allotted to Whom and Why?
Deuteronomy 7: Herem and Election?
Deuteronomy 10:12-22
Conclusion
Chapter 7. Chosen and Unchosen: Can Good Come from a God Who Favors?
Putting It Together
Can Good Come from a God Who Favors?
Appendix 1. The Tendency to View Balaam as Sinner
Appendix 2. Herem in the Old Testament: An Overview
Herem as Sacrifice?
Preliminary Observations
Herem as a Divine Command?
Contemporary versus Ancient Sensibilities
A God Who Gets His Hands Dirty?
The Smoking Gun (or Bloody Sword): The Herem Never Happened
Perhaps Judgment?
Conclusion
Bibliography
Indexes
Index of Authors
Index of Scripture
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