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  • From: "Jon Peter" <jnp AT home.com>
  • To: "Corpus Paulinum" <corpus-paul AT franklin.oit.unc.edu>
  • Subject: RE: One or two covenants in the OT?
  • Date: Mon, 31 May 1999 22:49:22 -0700


Liz wrote:

>
> The Jew views them as the same covenant, and the bible testifies that
> historically they were so viewed. In Ex. 3:23 we read "The Israelites
> groaned under their slavery and cried out. Out of the slavery their cry
for
> help rose up to God. God heard their groaning, and God remembered his
> covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. God looked upon the Israelites,
and
> God took notice of them."
>

At that point in the narrative, only 1 co. did exist, the 1 from Genesis.
Beginning in Ex 6, God begins to alter the terms significantly. Priests are
added. Laws and ritual obligations are required. God refers to this new
stuff as a "covenant" in Ex 19.5 and 34.27-28, and many times in Lev. The
revision process goes on through much of the Pentateuch. At the end God's
cov with Moses and Israel is altogether different from the one with Abraham,
Isaac and Jacob.

All of this can be viewed as "one" covenant that is radically expanded --
or, to be more technical about it, as 2+ covenant events. The Pentateuch
redactors create a smooth transition to make them "one."

Again, the key features are different for CovA and CovB. Respectively they
are: CovA, no law or cultus vs. CovB, with law and cultus. Participants in
CovA are Most High+Abraham . In CovB they are YHWH + Moses.

Besides these covenants there are others: Gen 9, Noah+God; with Phineas for
the priesthood in Num 25; with the monarchy in 2Sam25, and renewal
ceremonies in 2Chron.

[Liz's helpful summary of covenant theology noted, snipped]

>
> When you look at the relevant passages in the OT you must ask yourself who
> wrote them, when, and why. It must be kept in mind that Jewish priests
> wrote all these passages. They wrote them to explain their history, and
why
> they were now in Exile in Babylon. They were written to show that God
> remembered his covenant with Abraham. He brought their ancestors out of
> Egypt and will bring them out of Babylon.
>

All true. However, the deeper issue to be worked-out in the literature
concerned the question, "Where did we go wrong to deserve this captivity?"
Hence, we see the Bible's and clergys' increased emphasis on lawkeeping,
purification & atonement coming along at this post-Exilic time. If you study
the HB you see that the Israelites for the previous half-millenium did not
show a signficant awareness of ritual cleanness laws or much of the Torah.
Musta come later


> How Paul wanted to interpret these passages for his purposes is up to him.
> That his interpretation is contrary to the intent of the Biblical author
> (and I think there is such a thing as authorial intent) was not something
to
> bother Paul.
>

Paul was a rabbi arguing with other rabbis over 'authorial intent.' The
boundaries, status and legitimacy of the Torah, the Prophets, the
traditions, were unsettled in this period. Paulines weren't the only Jews
questioning "works of the law." All of this disorder yielded diverse views
and sects, all of which were only thinly documented.

In the end Rabbinical Judaism won. The Rabbis then fixed the canon, declared
what was "in" and "out" ideologically, taught in the synagogues and ran the
publishing office. Had a different group taken control, who knows how
Judaism would have come out looking?

Regards,

Jon





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