• The Role of Exchange in Ancient Mediterranean Religion and Its Implications for Reading Genesis 18–19

    Author(s):
    Thomas Bolin (see profile)
    Date:
    2004
    Group(s):
    Biblical Studies, Catholic Biblical Association, Religious Studies
    Subject(s):
    Bible. Pentateuch
    Item Type:
    Article
    Tag(s):
    Hebrew bible, Pentateuch
    Permanent URL:
    http://dx.doi.org/10.17613/hjbd-xv58
    Abstract:
    This article reads Genesis 18-19 in the light of the principal of exchange at work in ancient religious belief concerning divine justice. Genesis 18.1-15 and 19.1-29, as examples of the well-worn tale of the divine visitor, are narrative expressions of confidence in a divine justice that rewards the kind and punishes the inhospitable. In the dialogue of 18.6-33, Abraham explicitly raises the question of divine justice, but complicates it by also exploring the possibility of divine mercy. The second divine visitor tale in Gen. 19.1-29, in which Sodom is justly destroyed while Lot is spared out of mercy, shows that Yahweh operates according to more stringent ideas of justice than humanity would wish.
    Metadata:
    xml
    Published as:
    Journal article     Show details
    Publisher:
    Sage
    Pub. Date:
    2004
    Journal:
    Journal for the Study of the Old Testament
    Volume:
    29
    Issue:
    1
    Page Range:
    37 - 56
    ISSN:
    0309-0892
    Status:
    Published
    Last Updated:
    2 years ago
    License:
    Attribution
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