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Using the Old Testament in Christian Ethics: the Story of Judah and Tamar

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Using the Old Testament in Christian Ethics: the Story of Judah and Tamar Using the Old Testament in Christian ethics: The story of Judah and Tamar by LEONORE PIETERSEN Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree MAGISTER ARTIUM in CHRISTIAN ETHICS AND DOGMATICS UNIVERSITY OF PRETORIA SUPERVISOR: DR W FOURIE CO-SUPERVISOR: DR E MEYER APRIL 2014 SUMMARY This study contributes to the available knowledge on the difficulty of using the Bible as a source in Christian ethics. In the study, the use of the Old Testament in Christian ethics is explored and analysed. The central research question is: What makes the use of the Old Testament in Christian ethics so difficult? The research findings reveal that the relationship between ethics and culture is problematic and contributes to the challenge of using the Old Testament in Christian ethics. The study is descriptive and is informed by research that has been done in the fields of Biblical Criticism and Christian ethics. The study focuses on methods and traditions of Biblical Criticism and Christian ethics that can play a role in interpreting biblical narratives in the Old Testament. It is important to look at the various tools and methods of Biblical Criticism to interpret biblical narratives and broaden our knowledge of biblical texts. Relevant approaches in Christian ethics can be useful in making pertinent contributions on moral issues since the focus is on character and community, and biblical texts can be used to shape moral identity. To demonstrate how a specific text in the Old Testament can be used in Christian ethics, the narrative of Judah and Tamar in Genesis 38 is discussed in terms of character and community. The objective of this part of the study is therefore to show how Biblical Criticism and Christian ethics can be used when interpreting a text. The main argument is that Christians often find it difficult to integrate ethics and culture because the relationship between ethics and culture is problematic. The challenge is how one should interpret ethics, in this case Christian, in a particular culture as it plays an integral part in identity and moral formation. Key words: Christian ethics, culture, Biblical Criticism, historical-critical approach, literary-critical approach, biblical interpretation, relationship DECLARATION "I declare that the dissertation, which I hereby submit for the degree Magister Artium Christian Ethics and Dogmatics at the University of Pretoria, is my own work and has not previously been submitted by me for a degree at this or any other tertiary institution." ABBREVIATIONS NV - No volume TABLE OF CONTENTS Summary ……………………………........................................................................i DECLARATION…………………………………………………………………………...ii ABBREVIATIONS…………………………………………………………………………iii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background………………….…................................………………….1 1.2 Problem statement…………………..……………................................2 1.3 Purpose of the study…………....................................……………..…3 1.4 Methodology…………………………………........................................5 1.5 Chapter outline…………………..................................................…....6 CHAPTER 2: THE PLACE OF GENESIS IN BIBLICAL CRITICISM 2.1 Introduction..............................…………………………………………8 2.2 Overview of the book of Genesis...................................................…9 2.3 The inclusion of the narrative of Judah and Tamar in the Joseph narrative.......…………………………………………………………….10 2.4 A diachronic or synchronic approach to biblical texts..................….11 2.5 The historical context.........................................…………………….13 2.5.1 The documentary hypothesis...................................….……14 2.5.2 The life setting of Israel….........................................……….16 2.6 Narrative criticism .……………….................................................….18 2.7 The social world of the Bible...…......................................................20 2.7.1 The patriarchs of Israel...…….…..........................................23 2.7.2 The religion of the patriarchs .…….......................................26 2.7.3 Morality in terms of cultural practices...................................27 2.7.4 The levirate law...……………...............................................28 2.8 Trickery and deception...…..............................................................31 2.9 Interpretation issues.……….............................................................33 2.10 Conclusion.......................................................................................39 CHAPTER 3: THE USE OF THE OLD TESTAMENT IN CHRISTIAN ETHICS 3.1 Introduction.……..............................................................................41 3.2 The development of Christian ethics……........................................42 3.2.1 The early church.………………………….............................44 3.2.2 Philosophy...........................................................................47 3.2.3 Developments in theology.……...........................................49 3.2.4 The use of biblical texts in Christian ethics..........................51 3.3 Different approaches to the use of the Old Testament in Christian ethics...............................................................................................55 3.4 The moral authority of the Bible.......................................................57 3.5 Christian ethics and persons of character.......................................59 3.5.1 Character formed within the community of faith....…...........63 3.5.2 Narrative..…………..............................................................64 3.5.3 History and tradition.………..…...........................................66 3.7 Christian ethics and gender….........................................................67 3.7.1 Patriarchy...……..................................................................68 3.7.2 Gender roles …...…............................................................69 3.7.3 Gender in the Old Testament..............................................70 3.8 Conclusion…..….............................................................................71 CHAPTER 4: THE STORY OF JUDAH AND TAMAR 4.1 Introduction…..…….........................................................................72 4.2 The narrative of Judah and Tamar..................................................72 4.3 Understanding Genesis 38 in terms of Biblical Criticism.................74 4.3.1 The social world of the narrative..…….................................75 4.3.2 The theme of the promise of progeny..................................77 4.4 The use of the narrative in Christian ethics…..................................80 4.5 Shaping character in terms of Genesis 38………...........................82 4.5.1 A character of trickery.…….................................................84 4.5.2 The community in Genesis 38.……….................................85 4.6 The feminist challenge.…...............................................................90 4.7 More difficulties when using Genesis 38 in Christian ethics...........91 4.8 Connecting the world of the text with the world of the interpreter...93 4.8.1 The narrative in current society……....................................95 4.8.2 Pluralism in society..............................................................98 4.9 The role of biblical interpretation in Christian ethics.…...................100 4.10 Challenges in interpretation.………….............................................102 4.11 Conclusion......................................................................................104 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION.…..........................................................................106 Bibliography.…………………………..........................................................116 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background Various sources give formative quality to ethics. The Bible serves as a primary source of Christian ethics (Fowl & Jones 1991:1). Christians claim that the Bible provides information for research and moral principles to govern conduct. Hence, it informs their values, religious beliefs, and moral codes and principles. This applies equally to the Old Testament and the New Testament as both have shaped Christianity. Each of the testaments concerns people’s relationship with God, be it the people of Israel or the Christian community (Birch 1991:19). Cahill (2002:3) points out that the link between biblical texts and ethics is intricate. It may, however, be dangerous to consider these texts as unchanging documents for ethical living since biblical writers portrayed behaviour that best illustrated devotion to God in their own communities (Cahill 1996:5 & 6). Today, conditions have changed and command different reactions from Christians than in the past. The Old Testament has become a neglected source of Christian ethics. In defending the validity of using it, Barton (1998a:17) asserts that the Old Testament should not be seen as a font for moral rules but rather as an example of human life and the trials and tribulations people encounter in society. In this study I examine and critically analyse the use of the Bible in Christian ethics, with specific focus on a biblical text in the Old Testament. This study contributes to the available knowledge on the use of the Old Testament in Christian ethics, especially with regard to the relationship between ethics and culture. 1.2 Problem statement The use of the Old Testament in Christian ethics has been a subject of research for many years and it is the topic
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