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The Immorality of God: Reflections On Some Passages in Genesis, Job, Exodus and Numbers

45 Hills Lane, Ely, Cambridgeshire CB6 1AY

A number of Old Testament texts—specifically Genesis 2-3, 18.22-33, Job 1-2, Exod. 32.7-14, Num. 11, 14.11—25—are discussed which depict God as a flawed deity behaving immorally or capriciously. Two of these—Genesis 2-3 and Job 1-2 may reflect the notion, found inter alia in the Ugaritic literature, of a pantheon in which conflict takes place among its members. Genesis 18.22-33 expresses a concern about the morality of God's standard of justice. The confrontations between Yahweh and Moses in Exodus and Numbers, which appear incongruous within their wider contexts, may preserve traces of an earlier saga about the life of Moses as the hero who defended his people against a vengeful deity.

Journal for the Study of the Old Testament, Vol. 21, No. 72, 89-120 (1996)
DOI: 10.1177/030908929602107206


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