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15 - Jewish Reflections on Universalism and Particularism in Genesis

from Part IV - Reception History of Genesis

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 June 2022

By
Joel S. Kaminsky
Edited by
Bill T. Arnold
Bill T. Arnold
Affiliation:
Asbury Theological Seminary, Kentucky
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Summary

Already in antiquity Jewish interpreters commented upon the oddity that the Torah, a book centered upon and preoccupied with the laws given at Sinai, contains such an extended prologue. Thus, the following reflection from the Mekhilta of Rabbi Ishmael, an anthology of legal midrashim from second/third-century CE Palestine, comments on why the Ten Commandments are not given in Genesis:

I am the Lord your God: Why were the ten commandments not stated at the beginning of the Torah? An analogy: A man enters a province and says (to the inhabitants): I will rule over you. They respond: Did you do anything for us that you would rule over us? Whereupon he builds the (city) wall for them, provides water for them, wages war for them, and then says: I will rule over you, whereupon they respond: Yes! Yes! Thus, the Lord took Israel out of Egypt, split the sea for them, brought down manna for them, raised the well for them, brought in quail for them, waged war with Amalek for them, and then said to them: I will rule over you, whereupon they responded: Yes! Yes!1

As one can see, the Mekhilta answers its own rhetorical question with a wonderful parable about how a king who wishes to rule over people must first do things to earn the respect of his subjects. Likewise, God first redeemed Israel from Egypt and also provided the Israelites with manna and quails before asking for their fealty.Similarly, Rashi, the great medieval Jewish exegete, initiates his running commentary on Genesis by asking why the Torah does not begin with the first commandment given to the whole people of Israel, a command that occurs in Exodus 12. Rashi sees the preceding materials in Genesis as necessary so that other nations cannot claim that Israel illicitly stole the Holy Land. Here God’s ownership over creation is stressed as a way to explain God’s right to take land from the Canaanites and give it to the Israelites (see Rashi on Gen 1:1).

Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge Companion to Genesis , pp. 322 - 340
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2022

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References

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Bakhos, Carol. Ishmael on the Border: Rabbinic Portrayals of the First Arab. SUNY series in Judaica: Hermeneutics, Mysticism, and Religion.Albany: SUNY Press, 2006.Google Scholar
Clifford, Richard J. “Election in Genesis 1.” Pages 7–22 in The Call of Abraham: Essays on the Election of Israel in Honor of Jon D. Levenson. Edited by Anderson, Gary A. and Kaminsky, Joel. Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame, 2013.Google Scholar
Freedman, David Noel. The Nine Commandments: Uncovering a Hidden Pattern of Crime and Punishment in the Hebrew Bible. New York: Doubleday, 2000.Google Scholar
Fretheim, Terence. Abraham: Trials of Family and Faith. Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina, 2007.Google Scholar
Grüneberg, Keith Nigel. Abraham, Blessing and the Nations: A Philological and Exegetical Study of Genesis 12:3 in its Narrative Context. BZAW 332. New York; Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, 2003.Google Scholar
Kaminsky, Joel S. Yet I Loved Jacob: Reclaiming the Biblical Concept of Election. Nashville: Abingdon, 2007.Google Scholar
Leibowitz, Nehama. Studies in Bereshit (Genesis) in the Context of Ancient and Modern Jewish Bible Commentary. Jerusalem: World Zionist Organization, 1972.Google Scholar
Levenson, Jon D. “The Universal Horizon of Biblical Particularism.” Pages 143–69 in Ethnicity and the Bible. Edited by Brett, Mark. Leiden: Brill, 1996.Google Scholar
Lohr, Joel N. Chosen and Unchosen: Conceptions of Election in the Pentateuch and Jewish-Christian Interpretation. Siphrut 2. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 2009.Google Scholar
Lyke, Larry. King David with the Wise Woman of Tekoa: The Resonance of Tradition in Parabolic Narrative. JSOTSup 255. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1997.Google Scholar
Moberly, R. W. L. The Bible, Theology, and Faith: A Study of Abraham and Jesus. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000.Google Scholar
Moberly, R. W. L. “Is Monotheism Bad for You? Some Reflections on God, the Bible, and Life in the Light of Regina Schwartz’s The Curse of Cain.” Pages 94–112 in The God of Israel. Edited by Gordon, R. P.. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007.Google Scholar
Noble, John T. A Place for Hagar’s Son: Ishmael as a Case Study in the Priestly Tradition. Minneapolis: Fortress, 2016.Google Scholar
Schwartz, Regina. The Curse of Cain: The Violent Legacy of Monotheism. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1997.Google Scholar
Williamson, Paul R. Abraham, Israel and the Nations: The Patriarchal Promise and its Covenantal Development in Genesis. JSOTSup 315. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 2000.Google Scholar
Wolff, Hans Walter. “The Kerygma of the Yahwist.” Pages 41–66 in The Vitality of Old Testament Tradition. Edited by Brueggemann, Walter and Wolff, Hans W.. Atlanta: John Knox, 1975.Google Scholar
Bakhos, Carol. Ishmael on the Border: Rabbinic Portrayals of the First Arab. SUNY series in Judaica: Hermeneutics, Mysticism, and Religion.Albany: SUNY Press, 2006.Google Scholar
Clifford, Richard J. “Election in Genesis 1.” Pages 7–22 in The Call of Abraham: Essays on the Election of Israel in Honor of Jon D. Levenson. Edited by Anderson, Gary A. and Kaminsky, Joel. Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame, 2013.Google Scholar
Freedman, David Noel. The Nine Commandments: Uncovering a Hidden Pattern of Crime and Punishment in the Hebrew Bible. New York: Doubleday, 2000.Google Scholar
Fretheim, Terence. Abraham: Trials of Family and Faith. Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina, 2007.Google Scholar
Grüneberg, Keith Nigel. Abraham, Blessing and the Nations: A Philological and Exegetical Study of Genesis 12:3 in its Narrative Context. BZAW 332. New York; Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, 2003.Google Scholar
Kaminsky, Joel S. Yet I Loved Jacob: Reclaiming the Biblical Concept of Election. Nashville: Abingdon, 2007.Google Scholar
Leibowitz, Nehama. Studies in Bereshit (Genesis) in the Context of Ancient and Modern Jewish Bible Commentary. Jerusalem: World Zionist Organization, 1972.Google Scholar
Levenson, Jon D. “The Universal Horizon of Biblical Particularism.” Pages 143–69 in Ethnicity and the Bible. Edited by Brett, Mark. Leiden: Brill, 1996.Google Scholar
Lohr, Joel N. Chosen and Unchosen: Conceptions of Election in the Pentateuch and Jewish-Christian Interpretation. Siphrut 2. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 2009.Google Scholar
Lyke, Larry. King David with the Wise Woman of Tekoa: The Resonance of Tradition in Parabolic Narrative. JSOTSup 255. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1997.Google Scholar
Moberly, R. W. L. The Bible, Theology, and Faith: A Study of Abraham and Jesus. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000.Google Scholar
Moberly, R. W. L. “Is Monotheism Bad for You? Some Reflections on God, the Bible, and Life in the Light of Regina Schwartz’s The Curse of Cain.” Pages 94–112 in The God of Israel. Edited by Gordon, R. P.. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007.Google Scholar
Noble, John T. A Place for Hagar’s Son: Ishmael as a Case Study in the Priestly Tradition. Minneapolis: Fortress, 2016.Google Scholar
Schwartz, Regina. The Curse of Cain: The Violent Legacy of Monotheism. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1997.Google Scholar
Williamson, Paul R. Abraham, Israel and the Nations: The Patriarchal Promise and its Covenantal Development in Genesis. JSOTSup 315. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 2000.Google Scholar
Wolff, Hans Walter. “The Kerygma of the Yahwist.” Pages 41–66 in The Vitality of Old Testament Tradition. Edited by Brueggemann, Walter and Wolff, Hans W.. Atlanta: John Knox, 1975.Google Scholar
Bakhos, Carol. Ishmael on the Border: Rabbinic Portrayals of the First Arab. SUNY series in Judaica: Hermeneutics, Mysticism, and Religion.Albany: SUNY Press, 2006.Google Scholar
Clifford, Richard J. “Election in Genesis 1.” Pages 7–22 in The Call of Abraham: Essays on the Election of Israel in Honor of Jon D. Levenson. Edited by Anderson, Gary A. and Kaminsky, Joel. Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame, 2013.Google Scholar
Freedman, David Noel. The Nine Commandments: Uncovering a Hidden Pattern of Crime and Punishment in the Hebrew Bible. New York: Doubleday, 2000.Google Scholar
Fretheim, Terence. Abraham: Trials of Family and Faith. Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina, 2007.Google Scholar
Grüneberg, Keith Nigel. Abraham, Blessing and the Nations: A Philological and Exegetical Study of Genesis 12:3 in its Narrative Context. BZAW 332. New York; Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, 2003.Google Scholar
Kaminsky, Joel S. Yet I Loved Jacob: Reclaiming the Biblical Concept of Election. Nashville: Abingdon, 2007.Google Scholar
Leibowitz, Nehama. Studies in Bereshit (Genesis) in the Context of Ancient and Modern Jewish Bible Commentary. Jerusalem: World Zionist Organization, 1972.Google Scholar
Levenson, Jon D. “The Universal Horizon of Biblical Particularism.” Pages 143–69 in Ethnicity and the Bible. Edited by Brett, Mark. Leiden: Brill, 1996.Google Scholar
Lohr, Joel N. Chosen and Unchosen: Conceptions of Election in the Pentateuch and Jewish-Christian Interpretation. Siphrut 2. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 2009.Google Scholar
Lyke, Larry. King David with the Wise Woman of Tekoa: The Resonance of Tradition in Parabolic Narrative. JSOTSup 255. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1997.Google Scholar
Moberly, R. W. L. The Bible, Theology, and Faith: A Study of Abraham and Jesus. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000.Google Scholar
Moberly, R. W. L. “Is Monotheism Bad for You? Some Reflections on God, the Bible, and Life in the Light of Regina Schwartz’s The Curse of Cain.” Pages 94–112 in The God of Israel. Edited by Gordon, R. P.. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007.Google Scholar
Noble, John T. A Place for Hagar’s Son: Ishmael as a Case Study in the Priestly Tradition. Minneapolis: Fortress, 2016.Google Scholar
Schwartz, Regina. The Curse of Cain: The Violent Legacy of Monotheism. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1997.Google Scholar
Williamson, Paul R. Abraham, Israel and the Nations: The Patriarchal Promise and its Covenantal Development in Genesis. JSOTSup 315. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 2000.Google Scholar
Wolff, Hans Walter. “The Kerygma of the Yahwist.” Pages 41–66 in The Vitality of Old Testament Tradition. Edited by Brueggemann, Walter and Wolff, Hans W.. Atlanta: John Knox, 1975.Google Scholar

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