This work presents the Creation stories of Genesis 1-11 as an account of the mutual relationship between God and humankind. Using a 'close-reading' methodology, the author provides a literary and exegetical analysis of Genesis 1-11. The examination of the text's literary artistry evokes a re-examination of some widely accepted assumptions about this text's theological perspective. The sequence of the narrative is seen as motivated by God's inner struggle with two conflicting tendencies: God's ultimate goodness, and the principle of freedom of choice. The author postulates that the question behind all of these stories is the extent to which God prefers the freedom of choice to all other virtues. This question is seen as being pushed to escalating extremes, reaching the brink of absurdity in the Tower and City narrative. Thus, the principle of freedom of choice, and its repeated examination in the context of various conflicts, forms the central thematic axis along which the Creation narrative unfolds, and through which a coherent theology emerges which treats this principle as the most exalted of moral values.
| ISBN: | 9780788503436 |
| Publication date: | 1st January 1997 |
| Author: | Shamai Gelander |
| Publisher: | University of South Florida |
| Format: | Hardback |
| Pagination: | 140 pages |
| Series: | South Florida Studies in the History of Judaism |
| Genres: |
Stationery and miscellaneous items |