God’s People in God’s Land: Family, Land, and Property in the Old Testament
Overview
In recent sociological approaches to the Old Testament, Christians have been finding unexpected resources for their ethical reflection and action relative to the modern world’s pressing social and economic dilemmas. This unique survey by Christopher Wright examines life in Old Testament Israel from an ethical perspective by considering how the economic facts of Israel’s social structure were related to the people’s religious beliefs. Observing the centrality of the family in social, economic and religious spheres of Israelite life, Wright analyzes Israel’s theology of land, the rights and responsibilities of property owners, and the socioeconomic and legal status of dependent persons in ancient Israel—wives, children, and slaves—showing the mutual interaction between such laws, institutions, and customs and the nation’s covenant relationship with God. While primarily exegetical, God’s People in God’s Land contains many useful insights for Christian social ethics: Wright suggests how the ethical application of his findings might proceed as Christians with different theological perspectives and cultural contexts seek to work out the relevance of the Old Testament for today.
Top Highlights
“Are these regulations therefore excluded from the allegedly quite distinct realm of the land gift, settlement tradition? Von Rad implies as much by saying that Deut. 26:1ff., which explicitly relates the offering of firstfruits to God’s gift of the land, does so ‘quite exceptionally’ (p. 87, n. 16). This seems quite irreconcilable with his earlier statement: ‘It is surely inherent in the logic of early Israelite belief that thanksgiving for the harvest should stand side by side with, and indeed be contained within, thanksgiving for deliverance from bondage and for the gift of the promised land.” (Pages 11–12)
“Theologically, the land could be viewed from two angles. From Israel’s point of view it was the land of promise and gift—the major theme of their historical traditions. From Yahweh’s point of view it was the land which belonged in a unique sense to him, and his prior ownership of it must be acknowledged by Israel in cultic and legal institutions. These are complementary, not ‘basically quite distinct viewpoints’” (Page 10)
“A discrepancy, however, only exists if it be assumed (as it usually is) that Exodus, Deuteronomy, and Leviticus are all concerned with the same thing—a straightforward release of slaves—and that the only major difference is the matter of the length of enslavement.” (Page 252)
“The individual level. The Israelites are addressed as sons or children of Yahweh, in the plural.” (Page 18)
“pastoral farming like Israel, land was the only permanent possession” (Page 3)
- Title: God’s People in God’s Land: Family, Land, and Property in the Old Testament
- Author: Christopher J. H. Wright
- Publisher: Eerdmans
- Print Publication Date: 1990
- Logos Release Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
- Subjects: Land use › Biblical teaching; Economics in the Bible; Sociology, Biblical; Bible. O.T. › Criticism, interpretation, etc
- ISBNs: 9780802803214, 0802803210
- Resource ID: LLS:GDSPPLGLDTSTMNT
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2022-09-30T00:13:29Z