Explorations in Theological Interpretation – serie

Among the most enigmatic passages in the Bible are those featuring God's election of some and rejection of others. While many interpreters appeal to mystery or divine sovereignty as solutions to these difficult passages, intensive evaluation and sustained reflection on these passages and their implications can benefit both the church and the academy. In Divine Rejection, R. J. Balfour provides such evaluation and reflection on the notion of divine rejection in Christian theology through close readings of two paradigmatic biblical accounts of divine rejection, namely, the narratives of Esau and Saul.Balfour contributes to the scholarly understanding of these narratives in their received form while providing extensive Christian theological reflection on the notion of divine rejection. Balfour's reading is carried out in conversation with significant historic and contemporary interpreters in order to exemplify what sustained theological interpretation might look like. By adopting this structure, Balfour seeks to model a retrieval of historic theological interpretations that is sensitive to the concerns and interests of the contemporary academy.Balfour ultimately argues that these two narratives display differing accounts of divine decision-making. In the narrative of Saul's rejection, YHWH rejects Saul in an explicit fashion in response to his actions. By contrast, the grammatical ambiguity of the oracle at the outset of the Esau narrative (Gen 25:23), combined with the inversion of roles in the narrative's climax (Gen 32–33), prevents the reader from drawing strong conclusions as to the terms and nature of Esau's rejection. The book concludes with a series of reflections on how both aspects of divine decision-making have been incorporated into a Christian doctrine of election and how they might stimulate fresh Christian theological reflection on this important doctrine.

Exodus and Exile is a masterpiece of biblical theology, newly available in English. The capstone work of legendary Dutch teacher Karel Deurloo, the book makes a brief and accessible argument: that the themes of exodus and exile constitute the dual center of all Scripture. These events disclose the person of God, the One who is powerful to liberate and merciful to restore. The book begins with a focus on the Name of God. Over against prepackaged, default, and ambient knowledge of God, Deurloo restarts, theologically, from presentations of Yhwh in Hebrew Scripture. The book then provides a birds'-eye view of the Law and the Prophets, rereading these canonical units according to the major event at the heart of each, namely, exodus and exile. Through careful mapping of these texts, Deurloo uncovers what the disparate voices of Scripture tell us about Yhwh.Intended for a wide readership of scholars, pastors, pastors-in-training, and interested Christians, the bold and distinctive vision of Exodus and Exile will provoke and inspire biblical theology and theological interpretation of Scripture. A key feature of the book's appeal is the way it draws together threads that typically remain separate: it attends to the texture of the Hebrew language, à la Robert Alter. It takes up the mantle of Franz Rosenzweig and Martin Buber. It prioritizes the canonical form of scripture, à la Brevard Childs. In the wake of Karl Barth, the book further assumes a dialectical and dissident interest. With post-supersessionist theology, it shares a keen awareness of Israel's priority and gentile ingrafting. This then carries the story of Scripture—of God's dealings with the people of God—forward into the life of the church today.