Open Theodicy A study of Genesis 18
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The problem of justice and the treatment of the righteous has been an issue that has dominated the Hebrew Bible. Genesis 18:16-33 can be used as an integral passage in the development of justice and theodicy in Hebrew thought. The transition from Genesis 18 to the narrative in Genesis 19 leaves many questions for the reader and gives an incoherent account of any message the text is forwarding (at least in current form of the text). To understand the potential "lesson" in theodicy or divine justice we may look to other sources within the Hebrew Bible. The concept of justice is not one restrained to the narrative concerning Sodom and Gomorrah, examples abound the Hebrew Bible. Moses delivers guidance to the Israelites concerning justice and theodicy in his speech in Deuteronomy 28. Psalm 53 tries to provide clear explanation of God's justice through the explanation of theodicy. The introduction to Job in chapters 1 and 2 also provides an interesting insight into the justice of God and provides some theodicy to draw upon. An intertextual comparison of these texts functions to reveal the differences between all of them and the difficulties that arise when one attempts to reconcile these ideas to one another. The "otherness" of the Genesis 18 and 19 account also becomes prevalent when the text are compared...