Old Testament Theology Volume II (Old Testament Library)

449 Pages·1996·6.45 MB·English

by  Horst Dietrich Preuss

OLD TESTAMENT THEOLOGY
THE OLD TESTAMENT LIBRARY
Editorial Advisory Board
JAMES L. MAYS
CAROL A. NEWSOM
DAVID L. PETERSEN
Horst Dietrich Preuss
OLD TESTAMENT
THEOLOGY
Volume II
Westminster John Knox Press
LLLLLi Louisville, Kentucky
Translated by Leo G. Perdue from Theologie des Alten Testaments, Band II: Israel's
Weg mit JHWH, published 1992 by W. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart
© 1992 W. Kohlhammer GmbH
English translation © 1996 Westminster John Knox Press
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form
or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by
any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the
publisher. For information, address Westminster John Knox Press, 100 Witherspoon
Street, Louisville, Kentucky 40202-1396.
Book design by Drew Stevens
First published 1996
by Westminster John Knox Press
Louisville, Kentucky
This book is printed on acid-free paper that meets the American National Standards In­
stitute Z39.48 standard. ©
PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 - 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Preuss, Horst Dietrich, 1927-
[Theologie des Alten Testaments. English]
Old Testament Theology / Horst Dietrich Preuss.
p. cm. — (Old Testament library)
Includes bibliographical references and indexes.
ISBN 0-664-21844-X (v. 1 : alk. paper)
ISBN 0-664-21843-1 (v. 2 : alk. paper)
1. Bible. O.T.-Theology. I. Title. II. Series.
BS1192.5.P6913 1995
230-dc20 95-19162
CONTENTS
Preface x
PART THREE. THE CONSEQUENCES OF
AND FURTHER THINKING ABOUT PRIMAL ELECTION:
ADDITIONAL OBJECTS OF THE HISTORICAL,
ELECTING ACTS OF YHWH 1
Chapter 6. The Narratives about the Ancestors 3
6.1 Historical Background? 3
6.2 The Milieu of the Narratives about the Ancestors 4
6.3 Concerning the Problem of the "God of the Ancestors" 5
6.4 Ancestral Religion and El Religion 7
6.5 YHWH Religion and the Promises to the Ancestors 10
6.6 The "Ancestors" in Later Texts 13
Chapter 7. Kingship and Messianic Hope 19
7.1 Concerning the Book of Judges 19
7.2 The Origin of the Monarchy and Saul 21
7.3 David and Solomon 24
7.4 The Criticism of Kingship 26
7.5 "Royal Ideology" in the Old Testament 29
7.6 The Positive Evaluation of Kingship and the Royal Psalms 31
7.7 The Messianic Hope 34
Chapter 8. The Temple and the City of God
(the So-called Zion Tradition) 39
8.1 Jerusalem—Zion—the City of God 39
8.2 Jerusalem in the History of Old Testament Faith 40
vi Contents
8.3 The "Zion Tradition" 48
8.4 Jerusalem in Old Testament Future Expectation 49
Chapter 9. Priests and Levites 52
9.1 Priests and Levites as "Chosen" 52
9.2 Concerning the History and Functions of the
Old Testament Priesthood 52
9.3 Concerning the History and Functions of the Levites 58
9.4 Literary Forms from the Sphere of Priestly Ceremony 62
9.5 Concerning the Theological Significance of Priestly Ritual 65
Chapter 10. The Prophets 67
10.1 The Election of Israel and the Message of the Prophets 67
10.2 "Prophecy" in Israel's Religious Environment 69
10.3 Old Testament Prophecy before Amos 70
10.4 The "Word of YHWH" in the Prophets 73
10.5 The Different Kinds of Texts in Prophetic Preaching 76
10.6 Judgment and Salvation 81
10.7 "True" and "False" Prophets 82
10.8 Concerning the Message of the Individual Writing Prophets 87
PART FOUR. THE RESULTS AND CONSEQUENCES
OF ELECTION EXPERIENCED IN HISTORY 97
Chapter 11. The Israelite and His Relationship
to God (Anthropology) 99
11.1 Human Being as Creature (Biological and Biographical) 99
a. From Birth to the Family 99
b. Marriage 103
c. Work 105
d. Aging and Dying 105
e. Woman 107
11.2 Anthropological Terms 109
11.3 Genesis l:26ff.: Humanity as the Partner of God 114
11.4 Humanity according to the Witness of Different Groups
of Texts 117
a. Priestly (Basic) Source 117
b. The Yahwist 119
Contents vii
c. The Law and the Prophets 121
d. The Book of Psalms 123
e. The Book of Proverbs 126
f. The Book of Job . 129
g. Qoheleth 131
h. Basic Structures Held in Common 134
11.5 The Language of Humans 135
11.6 Pain and Fortune 141
11.7 Life, Death, Resurrection 147
a. The Value of Life 147
b. Death 147
c. Translation 150
d. Resurrection 151
11.8 Humanity before God 153
a. Hearing—Serving—Loving—Following 153
b. FearofYHWH/FearofGod 155
c. Faith 160
d. Trust 165
e. Righteousness 167
f. Knowledge of God 170
11.9 Sin and Guilt 170
a. Narrative Texts 171
b. Terms 174
11.10 Atonement and Guilt 177
a. sto] = nasa! 178
b. vbo = salah; nss = kapar; ms = padd; bun = gd'al 179
Chapter 12. The Life of the Elect (Foundational Questions
for Ethics and Ethos) 185
12.1 Election and Obligation 185
12.2 Ethos and Morality 188
12.3 An Ethos Shaped by YHWH 188
12.4 An Ethos Related to Community 193
12.5 Strength for Moral Activity 197
12.6 Some of the Contents of the Ethos 198
12.7 The Place for Animals 200
12.8 The Ethics of Wisdom Literature 203
12.9 The Limits of Old Testament Ethics 207
viii Contents
Chapter 13. The Worship of Israel (Cult) 209
13.1 Concerning the Evaluation of the Old Testament Cult 209
13.2 Cult—History—Revelation 211
13.3 Concerning the History of Old Testament Worship 214
13.4 The Festival Calendar and the Festivals 224
13.5 Sabbath and Circumcision 235
13.6 Sacrifice 238
13.7 Prayer 245
13.8 The Cult in the Wisdom Literature 250
13.9 The Theological Location of the Old Testament Cult 251
Chapter 14. The Future of the People of God
(Expectations concerning the Future, Eschatology, Apocalyptic) 253
14.1 Concerning the Conceptions of Future 253
14.2 The Question concerning the Fundamental Root of
Old Testament Eschatology 256
14.3 Yahwistic Faith and Future Expectation 257
14.4 Statements of Hope 259
14.5 Concerning the Development of Old Testament Expectations
of the Future 262
14.6 Rejection by YHWH? 265
14.7 Judgment 267
14.8 Remnant 271
14.9 The Day of YHWH 272
14.10 The Expectation of Salvation and the Promise of Salvation 274
14.11 The Origins of Old Testament Apocalyptic 277
14.12 Old Testament Apocalyptic (the Book of Daniel) 279
Chapter 15. The Chosen People of God and the Nations 284
15.1 A Comprehensive Overview of Election 284
15.2 A Historical Look at "Israel and the Nations" 285
15.3 The Foreigner and the Stranger 295
15.4 The Destruction of the Nations (Judgment) 298
15.5 The Nations as the Spectators of YHWH's Salvific Activity 300
15.6 Salvation Also for the Nations —"Mission"? 301
Contents ix
15.7 The Servant of God 303
15.8 The Openness of the Old Testament 305
Abbreviations 309
Notes 311
English Translations of Selected German and French Books 407
Index of Hebrew Words 410
Volume I 410
Volume II 412
Select Index of Biblical Citations 416
Index of Subjects 431