Other Gods and Idols: The Relationship Between the Worship of Other Gods and the Worship of Idols Within the Old Testament (The Library of Hebrew Bible / Old Testament Studies)

by Thomas A. Judge

Publisher:

T&T Clark

, 2019

Overview

This study questions why the relationship between the worship of other gods and the worship of idols within the Old Testament is difficult to define, acknowledging how various traditions have seen these two issues as synonymous and others have viewed them as separate commandments.

Judge argues that there are four factors at play in this diversity. He introduces the first three through an examination of the relationship between the prohibitions listed in the biblical text, and the fourth through a study of the biblical depiction of the war against idols before and after the fall of the Northern Kingdom. Judge argues that texts depicting the era before the fall provide a context in which there are strong grounds to distinguishing the worship of the “wrong gods” and the worship of the right God in the wrong way. However, texts depicting the era after the fall provide a context in which the issues appear to have been fused.

Key Features

• Considers the immediate context of the prohibitions to worship other gods and idols
• Examines the relationship between the prohibition of other gods and the prohibition of idols within the Ten Commandments
• Explores the war against idols before and after the fall of the Northern Kingdom

Contents

Part I: The Ten Commandments as Instruction

• The Linguistic Ambiguity
• The Grammatical Ambiguity
• The Theological Ambiguity
• Three Difficulties of Defining the Wider Relationship

Part II: The War Against Idols Before and After the Fall of the Northern Kingdom

• The War Before the Fall
• The War and the Fall
• The War After the Fall
• Returning to the Commandments in Light of the War

Product Details

• Title: Other Gods and Idols: The Relationship Between the Worship of Other Gods and the Worship of Idols Within the Old Testament
• Author: Thomas A. Judge
• Editors: Claudia V. Camp and Andrew Mein
• Series: Library of Hebrew Bible / Old Testament Studies (LHBOTS)
• Publisher: T&T Clark
• Publication Date: 2019
• Pages: 192
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Topic: Biblical Studies

About Thomas A. Judge

Thomas A. Judge is Tutor in Old Testament at King’s School of Theology, and Lecturer in Old Testament at St John's College, Durham University, UK.