Making Wise the Simple : The Torah in

"Making Wise the Simple" addresses the need for a Christian appropriation of the first five books of the Bible, the Torah, as crucial for its perception of God and self, and for its life with the neighbor, especially the Jewish neighbor.

Johanna W. H. van Wijk-Bos is Dora Pierce Professor of Bible and Professor of Old Testament at Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary, Louisville, Kentucky

Acknowledgments

xiii

Introduction

xv

Abbreviations

xxiv

PART I The Torah in Bible and Tradition

Introduction: Torah in a Covenant Context

1

(2)

The Torah in Judaism and Christianity

3

(12)

What Is the Torah?

3

(2)

``God Made Flesh'' --- Jewish Views of the Torah

5

(2)

A Lack of Intimacy --- Christian Understandings of the Torah

7

(8)

The Bible and the Torah

15

(10)

A Treasure above All Peoples (Exodus 19:3-6)

15

(4)

God's Own People (1 Peter 2:9-10)

19

(3)

A Conversation between Texts

22

(3)

A Way into Torah: The ``Stranger in Your Gates''

25

(15)

The Identity of the Stranger

25

(4)

To Know the Heart of the Stranger (Exodus 23:9)

29

(4)

Conclusion: Torah in a Covenant Context

33

(2)

PART II The World of the Torah

Introduction: The People of the Tale

35

(5)

The World of the Tale

40

(18)

Family, Field, and Town

40

(8)

Piety, Practices, and Prescriptions

48

(8)

Worship of the One

48

(1)

Places of Worship

49

(1)

Sacrifice

50

(1)

Prayer

51

(1)

Holy Days and Festivals

52

(4)

Worlds Apart

56

(2)

The Tale in Historical Context

58

(13)

The Writers of the Tale

58

(4)

The Truth of the Tale

62

(4)

The Boundaries of Truth

66

(3)

A Conversation between the Testaments

69

(2)

A Tale of One City (Genesis 11:1-9)

71

(10)

``Its Name Is Called Babel''

71

(3)

For the Benefit of the Earth

74

(4)

Conclusion: The Tale and Its World

78

(1)

PART III The Story of the Torah: The Making of a World (Genesis 1:1-11:32)

Introduction: A Prelude to a Theme

79

(2)

Motifs of the Theme

81

(28)

The Making of the World

81

(2)

The Marring of the World

83

(1)

World's Mending

84

(1)

Instructions

85

(1)

A Penchant for What Is Weak

86

(4)

Approaches to God

90

(5)

Sacrifice

90

(2)

Prayer

92

(2)

Sabbath

94

(1)

The Families of the World

95

(14)

Adam's Descendants (Genesis 4:17--5:32)

96

(6)

From Noah to Joktan (Genesis 10:1-32)

102

(3)

From Shem to Abram (Genesis 11:10-32)

105

(4)

A Tale of a Garden (Genesis 2:4b--3:24)

109

(24)

Of Field, Stream, and Human (Genesis 2:4b-14)

109

(1)

A Fit Counterpart (Genesis 2:15-25)

110

(3)

The Snake and the Tree (Genesis 3:1-5)

113

(1)

With Both Eyes Open (Genesis 3:6-13)

114

(1)

Now, Look What You've Done (Genesis 3:14-24)

115

(2)

What the Story Is All About

117

(2)

Type and Countertype (Romans 5:18-19)

119

(2)

In Full Submission (1 Timothy 2:11-15)

121

(1)

Ways of Reading

122

(4)

Conclusion: The Prelude and the Bible

126

(3)

PART IV The Story of the Torah: The Making of a People (Genesis 12:1--Deuteronomy 34:12)

Introduction: A People of God's Pasture

129

(4)

Wandering Arameans My Ancestors (Genesis 12:1--50:26)

133

(16)

A Family of Strangers

133

(3)

The Presence of the Other (Genesis 16 and 38)

136

(9)

Genesis 16

136

(6)

Genesis 38

142

(3)

Whose Memories Are These?

145

(4)

And, There, Became a People (Exodus 1:1-24:18)

149

(20)

Getting Out and Getting On (Exodus 1:1-18:27)

149

(4)

The Exodus in History

153

(1)

Covenant (Exodus 19-24)

154

(15)

The Announcement of the Covenant (Exodus 19:3-6)

155

(2)

The Ten Words of the Covenant (Exodus 20:1-17)

157

(7)

The Execution of the Covenant (Exodus 24:3-8)

164

(3)

Historical Context of the Covenant Texts

167

(2)

``And Brought Us to This Place'' (Numbers 11:1-15; Deuteronomy 34:5-6)

169

(10)

In the Wilderness

169

(2)

The Cucumbers and Melons of Egypt (Numbers 11:1-15)

171

(5)

The End of the Story (Deuteronomy 34:5-6)

176

(3)

Instructions for the Covenant Life

179

(24)

The Book of the Covenant: Organization and Content of Exodus 20:22-23:19

180

(12)

The Ones Who Cry to God (Exodus 22:21-27)

185

(3)

The Heart of the Stranger (Exodus 23:1-9)

188

(4)

The Life of Holiness (Leviticus 19)

192

(5)

The Surplus of the Harvest

193

(1)

Love for the Neighbor

194

(1)

Love for the Stranger

195

(2)

Priestly Regulation in Historical Context

197

(1)

The Company of Strangers: Deuteronomy

198

(3)

The Identity of the Stranger

201

(2)

Instructions for Life with God

203

(30)

A Place of Meeting (Exodus 25:1--31:11; 35:1--40:38)

204

(3)

This Is Your God, O Israel (Exodus 32--34)

207

(6)

A Way of Meeting (Leviticus)

213

(17)

The Acceptable Sacrifice

215

(3)

Purity and Impurity

218

(1)

Foods

218

(1)

Reprehensible Fluidity: Menstruation

219

(4)

Intimate Relations

223

(4)

Holy Days: Atonement

227

(3)

Conclusion: A Holy Nation

230

(1)

PART V Living with the Torah

Introduction: God and People in Covenant

231

(2)

God in the Torah

233

(30)

A God Who Regrets

234

(8)

A God Who Appears

242

(4)

A God Who Accompanies

246

(5)

A God Who Is Prejudiced

251

(2)

A God Who Is Passionate

253

(9)

Conclusion

262

(1)

Christ and Torah

263

(33)

Jesus and the Torah

264

(11)

Assumptions

264

(3)

The Teachings of Jesus

267

(1)

The Good Samaritan

268

(1)

The Frame

268

(2)

The Story

270

(2)

How Do We Read?

272

(3)

Paul and the Torah

275

(17)

Torah and Nomos

276

(2)

Context

278

(3)

The Teachings of Paul

281

(1)

The Law of Love (Romans 12:9-13; 13:8-10; Galatians 5:1, 13-14)

282

(2)

Gender Relations (1 Corinthians 7:17; 11:1-16; 14:33-36; Romans 1:26-27)

284

(6)

Post-Pauline Codification of Gender Relations

290

(2)

The Gospel of God

292

(4)

How Then Shall We Live?

296

(10)

Galatians 3:26-29

296

(4)

Conclusion: How Do We Read?

300

(6)

Bibliography

306

(10)

Index of Names and Subjects

316

(5)

Index of Biblical References

321

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Making Wise the Simple : The Torah in Christian Faith and Practice

Summary

Author Biography

Table of Contents

Supplemental Materials