Terence E. Fretheim - The Pentateuch

THE

P ENTATEUCH

Terence E. Fretheim

ABINGDON PRESS

Nashville

THE PENTATEUCH

Copyright 1996 by Abingdon Press

All rights reserved.

No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by means of any information storage or retrieval system, except as may be expressly permitted by the 1976 Copy right Act or in writing from the publisher. Requests for permission should be addressed in writing to Abingdon Press, 201 Eighth Avenue South, Nashville, TN 37203.

This book is printed on recycled, acid-free, elemental-chlorinefree paper.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Fretheim, Terence E.

The Pentateuch / Terence E. Fretheim.

p. cm. (Interpreting Biblical texts)

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 0-687-00842-5 (alk. paper)

1. Bible. O.T. PentateuchCriticism, interpretation, etc.

I. Title. II. Series.

BS1225.2.F74 1996

222'.106dc20

96-33533

CIP

Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America.

Scripture quotations noted RSV are from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1946, 1952, 1971 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA. Used by permission.

96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

MANUFACTURED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

To my mother and father

from whom I first learned these stories

T his volume is primarily concerned with introducing students to the Pentateuch in its canonical form. The long and complex history of its interpretation will influence what I say, of course, and in more ways than I realize. But my preeminent interest is to enable the student of the Pentateuch to come to know more fully the Pentateuch's basic content, not this theory or that.

I undertake this study out of an interest in the capacity of the Pentateuch to speak a word of/about God to modern readers. These texts speak a word of God in the sense that they are means by which God speaks words of judgment and grace to readers in every generation. Hence, I will be concerned about the rhetorical strategy of the Pentateuch, that is, those matters of style and content that are designed in such a way as to have a certain effect upon its readers. The most basic effect desired, I believe, is to shape the faith and life of the Pentateuch's readers. To use the language of Deut 6:2, "so that you and your children and your children's children may fear the LORD your God all the days of your life, and keep all his decrees and his commandments... so that your days may be long."

In the service of this desired effect, these texts also speak a word about God. To use the language of the foreword, they are designed to "create worlds of meaning, and invite readers to enter them. When readers enter such textual worlds... they are confronted with theological claims." This means that I will give special attention to the theology in the text, most particularly its claims about God.

To that end, two introductory chapters will introduce the reader to the study of the Pentateuch and will present a proposal for reading the Pentateuch in terms of its rhetorical strategy. The remaining five chapters will seek to discern how that strategy works itself out within each book of the Pentateuch, using somewhat different approaches in view of the nature of the texts.

Conversations with many individuals have helped prepare the way for this book. I wish to express my special appreciation to students in my Pentateuch classes at Luther Seminary for interacting with this material. I am grateful to the series editor, Gene Tucker, and to Beverly Stratton and Richard Nysse for reading portions of the manuscript and offering helpful suggestions for its improvement. I also wish to thank the administration and Board of Directors of Luther Seminary for granting me a leave of absence to complete this project.