Skip to main content Accessibility help

12 - Genesis and Ethics

from Part III - Themes and Literary Motifs of Genesis

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 02 June 2022

By

Edited by

Show author details

Bill T. Arnold: Affiliation:
Asbury Theological Seminary, Kentucky

Summary

Biblical ethics reflects upon maxims of moral behavior from the perspective of normative good and examines its legitimations and justifications, as well as the consequences of what can be called a morally positive or negative behavior. If maxims of good behavior are to be derived from historical narrative traditions, such an undertaking is confronted with the problem that implicit maxims of moral behavior are entangled with a number of other motifs and can never be isolated purely. The narratives of the Bible are subject to this challenge for any reconstruction of a historical ethos and its ethics. Their moral maxims were also anchored in the cultural contexts and ideals of their time. Although biblical narratives, including some in the book of Genesis, were ethically self-reflecting, they participated in the historicity of the cultural ideal motifs of their time.1 The solution for the resulting hermeneutical problem for any historical ethics due to the “nasty gap of history” (Gotthold Ephraim Lessing) – the tensions between modern ethical maxims and those of the Bible – is the main problem for any biblical ethics of the Torah or more specifically, the book of Genesis.

Type: Chapter
Information: The Cambridge Companion to Genesis , pp. 262 - 280

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108529303.012 [Opens in a new window]

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Print publication year: 2022

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Select Bibliography

Barr, James. The Garden of Eden and the Hope of Immortality. London: SCM Press, 1992.Google Scholar

Barton, John. Ethics in Ancient Israel. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014.Google Scholar

Crüsemann, Frank. “Dominion, Guilt, and Reconciliation: The Contribution of the Jacob Narrative in Genesis to Political Ethics.” Pages 67–77 in Ethics and Politics in the Hebrew Bible. Edited by Douglas, A. Knight and Meyers, Carol. Semeia 66. Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1995.Google Scholar

Fischer, Georg. “Die Josefsgeschichte als Modell für Versöhnung.” Pages 243–71. in Studies in the Book of Genesis: Literature, Redaction and History. Edited by Wenin, André. BETL 155. Leuven: Peeters, 2001.Google Scholar

Krüger, Thomas. “Genesis 38 – ein ‘Lehrstück’ alttestamentlicher Ethik.” Pages 205–26 in Konsequente Traditionsgeschichte. Edited by Bartelmus, Rüdiger et al. OBO 126. Fribourg: Universitätsverlag; Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1993.Google Scholar

Millard, Matthias. Die Genesis als Eröffnung der Tora: Kompositions- und auslegungsgeschichtliche Annäherungen an das erste Buch Mose. WMANT 90. Neukirchen-Vluyn: Neukirchener, 2001.Google Scholar

Otto, Eckart. “Encountering Ancient Religions: Law and Ethics.” Pages 84–97 in Religions of the Ancient World. Edited by Johnston, Sarah Isles. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2004.Google Scholar

Otto, Eckart “The Study of Law and Ethics in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament.” Pages 594–621 in Hebrew Bible/ Old Testament: The History of Its Interpretation III/2: The Twentieth Century. Edited by Magne, Sæbø. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2015.Google Scholar

Otto, Eckart Theologische Ethik des Alten Testaments. Theologische Wissenschaft 3/2. Stuttgart: Kohlhammer, 1994.Google Scholar

Otto, Eckart “Der Urmensch im Paradies: Vom Ursprung des Bösen und der Freiheit des Menschen.” Pages 679–89 in Die Tora: Studien zum Pentateuch. Gesammelte Schriften. BZABR 9. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 2009.Google Scholar

Otto, Eckart “Woher weiß der Mensch um Gut und Böse? Philosophische Annäherungen der ägyptischen und biblischen Weisheit an ein Grundproblem der Ethik.” Pages 207–31 in Recht und Ethos im Alten Testament: Gestalt und Wirkung. Edited by Beyerle, Stefan et al. Neukirchen-Vluyn: Neukirchener, 1999.Google Scholar

Schlimm, Matthew R. From Fratricide to Forgiveness: The Language and Ethics of Anger in Genesis. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 2011.Google Scholar

Schmid, Konrad. Theologie des Alten Testaments. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2019.Google Scholar

Steck, Odil Hannes. Die Paradieserzählung: Eine Auslegung von Genesis 2,4b–3,24. BibS(N) 60. Neukirchen-Vluyn: Neukirchener, 1970.Google Scholar

Steins, Georg. Die “Bindung Isaaks” im Kanon (Gen 22): Grundlagen und Programme einer kanonisch-intertextuellen Lektüre. HBS 20. Freiburg: Herder, 1999.Google Scholar

Barr, James. The Garden of Eden and the Hope of Immortality. London: SCM Press, 1992.Google Scholar

Barton, John. Ethics in Ancient Israel. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014.Google Scholar

Crüsemann, Frank. “Dominion, Guilt, and Reconciliation: The Contribution of the Jacob Narrative in Genesis to Political Ethics.” Pages 67–77 in Ethics and Politics in the Hebrew Bible. Edited by Douglas, A. Knight and Meyers, Carol. Semeia 66. Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1995.Google Scholar

Fischer, Georg. “Die Josefsgeschichte als Modell für Versöhnung.” Pages 243–71. in Studies in the Book of Genesis: Literature, Redaction and History. Edited by Wenin, André. BETL 155. Leuven: Peeters, 2001.Google Scholar

Krüger, Thomas. “Genesis 38 – ein ‘Lehrstück’ alttestamentlicher Ethik.” Pages 205–26 in Konsequente Traditionsgeschichte. Edited by Bartelmus, Rüdiger et al. OBO 126. Fribourg: Universitätsverlag; Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1993.Google Scholar

Millard, Matthias. Die Genesis als Eröffnung der Tora: Kompositions- und auslegungsgeschichtliche Annäherungen an das erste Buch Mose. WMANT 90. Neukirchen-Vluyn: Neukirchener, 2001.Google Scholar

Otto, Eckart. “Encountering Ancient Religions: Law and Ethics.” Pages 84–97 in Religions of the Ancient World. Edited by Johnston, Sarah Isles. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2004.Google Scholar

Otto, Eckart “The Study of Law and Ethics in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament.” Pages 594–621 in Hebrew Bible/ Old Testament: The History of Its Interpretation III/2: The Twentieth Century. Edited by Magne, Sæbø. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2015.Google Scholar

Otto, Eckart Theologische Ethik des Alten Testaments. Theologische Wissenschaft 3/2. Stuttgart: Kohlhammer, 1994.Google Scholar

Otto, Eckart “Der Urmensch im Paradies: Vom Ursprung des Bösen und der Freiheit des Menschen.” Pages 679–89 in Die Tora: Studien zum Pentateuch. Gesammelte Schriften. BZABR 9. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 2009.Google Scholar

Otto, Eckart “Woher weiß der Mensch um Gut und Böse? Philosophische Annäherungen der ägyptischen und biblischen Weisheit an ein Grundproblem der Ethik.” Pages 207–31 in Recht und Ethos im Alten Testament: Gestalt und Wirkung. Edited by Beyerle, Stefan et al. Neukirchen-Vluyn: Neukirchener, 1999.Google Scholar

Schlimm, Matthew R. From Fratricide to Forgiveness: The Language and Ethics of Anger in Genesis. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 2011.Google Scholar

Schmid, Konrad. Theologie des Alten Testaments. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2019.Google Scholar

Steck, Odil Hannes. Die Paradieserzählung: Eine Auslegung von Genesis 2,4b–3,24. BibS(N) 60. Neukirchen-Vluyn: Neukirchener, 1970.Google Scholar

Steins, Georg. Die “Bindung Isaaks” im Kanon (Gen 22): Grundlagen und Programme einer kanonisch-intertextuellen Lektüre. HBS 20. Freiburg: Herder, 1999.Google Scholar

Barr, James. The Garden of Eden and the Hope of Immortality. London: SCM Press, 1992.Google Scholar

Barton, John. Ethics in Ancient Israel. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014.Google Scholar

Crüsemann, Frank. “Dominion, Guilt, and Reconciliation: The Contribution of the Jacob Narrative in Genesis to Political Ethics.” Pages 67–77 in Ethics and Politics in the Hebrew Bible. Edited by Douglas, A. Knight and Meyers, Carol. Semeia 66. Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1995.Google Scholar

Fischer, Georg. “Die Josefsgeschichte als Modell für Versöhnung.” Pages 243–71. in Studies in the Book of Genesis: Literature, Redaction and History. Edited by Wenin, André. BETL 155. Leuven: Peeters, 2001.Google Scholar

Krüger, Thomas. “Genesis 38 – ein ‘Lehrstück’ alttestamentlicher Ethik.” Pages 205–26 in Konsequente Traditionsgeschichte. Edited by Bartelmus, Rüdiger et al. OBO 126. Fribourg: Universitätsverlag; Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1993.Google Scholar

Millard, Matthias. Die Genesis als Eröffnung der Tora: Kompositions- und auslegungsgeschichtliche Annäherungen an das erste Buch Mose. WMANT 90. Neukirchen-Vluyn: Neukirchener, 2001.Google Scholar

Otto, Eckart. “Encountering Ancient Religions: Law and Ethics.” Pages 84–97 in Religions of the Ancient World. Edited by Johnston, Sarah Isles. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2004.Google Scholar

Otto, Eckart “The Study of Law and Ethics in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament.” Pages 594–621 in Hebrew Bible/ Old Testament: The History of Its Interpretation III/2: The Twentieth Century. Edited by Magne, Sæbø. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2015.Google Scholar

Otto, Eckart Theologische Ethik des Alten Testaments. Theologische Wissenschaft 3/2. Stuttgart: Kohlhammer, 1994.Google Scholar

Otto, Eckart “Der Urmensch im Paradies: Vom Ursprung des Bösen und der Freiheit des Menschen.” Pages 679–89 in Die Tora: Studien zum Pentateuch. Gesammelte Schriften. BZABR 9. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 2009.Google Scholar

Otto, Eckart “Woher weiß der Mensch um Gut und Böse? Philosophische Annäherungen der ägyptischen und biblischen Weisheit an ein Grundproblem der Ethik.” Pages 207–31 in Recht und Ethos im Alten Testament: Gestalt und Wirkung. Edited by Beyerle, Stefan et al. Neukirchen-Vluyn: Neukirchener, 1999.Google Scholar

Schlimm, Matthew R. From Fratricide to Forgiveness: The Language and Ethics of Anger in Genesis. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 2011.Google Scholar

Schmid, Konrad. Theologie des Alten Testaments. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2019.Google Scholar

Steck, Odil Hannes. Die Paradieserzählung: Eine Auslegung von Genesis 2,4b–3,24. BibS(N) 60. Neukirchen-Vluyn: Neukirchener, 1970.Google Scholar

Steins, Georg. Die “Bindung Isaaks” im Kanon (Gen 22): Grundlagen und Programme einer kanonisch-intertextuellen Lektüre. HBS 20. Freiburg: Herder, 1999.Google Scholar

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure coreplatform@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Genesis and Ethics
- By Eckart Otto
Edited by Bill T. Arnold, Asbury Theological Seminary, Kentucky
Book: The Cambridge Companion to Genesis
Online publication: 02 June 2022
Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108529303.012

Your Kindle email address

@free.kindle.com @kindle.com (service fees apply)

Available formats PDF

By using this service, you agree that you will only keep content for personal use, and will not openly distribute them via Dropbox, Google Drive or other file sharing services