There are some words and themes which have been misunderstood much in the English Bibles. The question that is often asked as a result of these translations is, “Is the God of the Bible- especially the Old Testament a violent and destructive God”? After all, it is claimed, that Moses and his militia “captured” and “destroyed” the villages of peoples groups like the Amorites (Numbers 21:31). Again, so it is claimed, Moses commanded the people to “drive out” the inhabitants of the land where they were going (Numbers 33:52, 53, 55; Deuteronomy 4:38; etc.). Indeed, it is claimed, this is what Joshua did. He “drove out” the inhabitants of the land (Joshua 3:10; 13:6). It is further claimed that all the future problems this group of people had was entirely because they “failed to drive out” the Gerushites, Maacathites, and so on (Joshua 13:13; 16:10).
All these kinds of texts in the Old Testament, it is claimed, show that the God of the Old Testament is a violent God, and the people of the Old Testament are a violent people. Therefore, some people suggest that the Christian Church should just do away with the Old Testament. The God of the Old Testament is a violent God. The God of the New Testament is a loving God. It is claimed, therefore by some, that these are contrasting images of God.
At least, so it seems in the venerable King James Version, and those translations which follow the King James Version.
Of course, this is not a new claim. There have been Greek thinkers, way back in the history of the Church, who have suggested the dumping of the Old Testament for various reasons. One of them was a man by the name of Marcion, who lived about AD 140 or so. He and his followers were Gnostic thinkers. Their idea of God, envisaged a God, who could never associate with the material world. The material world was evil. The realm of God was the spiritual world. That realm was good. Any idea of God that engaged with the material world, they suggested, was evil, and therefore should be rejected. Based on this idea, Marcion, and his followers rejected the Old Testament, and the God of the Old Testament. They also rejected large parts of the New Testament, which reminded them of the Old Testament. They accepted one Gospel, the Gospel of Luke, and just 10 epistles of the Apostle Paul. The God of the Old Testament, they suggested, was violent and a demiurge, and therefore should be rejected.
This thought may be seen in modern times, as well. Thomas Jefferson, e.g. was a Deist. He could not envision a God who engaged with the natural world. He therefore rejected all of the Old Testament. He also cut out from his New Testament, any reference to the supernatural. He kept Jesus’ moral teaching. However, any reference to Jesus’ divinity, miracles, second coming, etc. were deleted by him. Jefferson’s Bible is a very thin Bible.
In the light of these two illustrations, centuries apart from each other, the question we must answer is, “Who is the God of the Bible? Is there a difference between the God of the Old Testament, and the God of Jesus and the New Testament?”
The early Church fathers discussed much Marcion’s thought and claims. Much is found in the writings of Church Fathers like Irenaeus, especially in his Against Heresies 4 (AD 189); Hippolytus (AD 200); Cyprian of Carthage (AD 250), Augustine (AD 390); Jerome (AD 400); and the such. Church Councils discussed the thought of Maricionism in much detail: Councils like the Council of Rome (AD 382); Council of Hippo (AD 393); Council of Carthage III (AD 397), and the such. They came to the conclusion that Marcionism and related thoughts were heresies. They saw the Old Testament, and the New Testament as two parts of the Bible, holding together. They saw that the New Testament flowed from the Old Testament, and that one cannot understand Jesus, the Gospels, and the Writings of the Apostles apart from the Old Testament.
This has been the thought of the Church and Christianity, from the beginning of Church History.
In our time, there are some thinkers who are going back the ideas similar to Marcion and the Deists. Much of their claims are based on Old Testament verses, which I have mentioned in the previous paragraph.
In this blog, I want to focus on a couple of much maligned words, which in the English Bibles are translated as “drive out, or destroy,” and “acquire” etc. This portrays the God of the Bible to be violent, destructive, and one who encourages the acquiring of slaves of conquered people.
The God of the Bible Redeems and Recreates
The latter word is found in a very crucial text in the Book of Genesis- Genesis 14:19. It is the word, qanah. Sadly, and unfortunately, in several English translations this word is translated as “buying or acquiring” the conquered people (So it is in Exodus 21:2; Lev. 22:11; Lev. 25:45, etc.). It seems like the NIV translation of Genesis 14:19 has this word right. Melchizedek comes to Abraham, the great Patriarch of the Old Testament and blesses him with the following blessing, “”Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth. (Genesis 14:19 NIV). The word which is translated as “Creator,” is the much maligned Hebrew word “qanah!” This incipient text defines the God of the Old Testament, with the same Hebrew word, Qanah. This God is not a violent possessor and acquirer of captured slaves. He is a constructive Creator God. This is what the people were supposed to be doing as they entered the promised land.
There is another poignant text, where this much maligned word is used. It is found in the Book of Ruth. In this text a woman, whose name is Naomi, goes and lives as a refugee in the land of Moab, with her husband and sons, because there is a famine in her own land. The men of the family die during this refugee sojourn in Moab. Naomi returns to her own land, Bethlehem, with her daughter-in-law Ruth, when she learns that the famine is over. The rest of the story of Ruth is a beautiful story. It is the story of two Hebrew words- Go’el and qanah. Boaz and Ruth fall in love with each other, but he cannot marry her because there is another person, a Go’el or Kinsman Redeemer, who is supposed to be marrying her. This person was first supposed to redeem the property for Naomi and Ruth, and then he was supposed to be marrying Ruth.
Here is how most English Bible translations put the dialogue that happens in Ruth chapter 4. Boaz says to this other Kinsman Redeemer, “Naomi, who has come back from the country of Moab, is selling the parcel of land that belonged to our kinsman Elimelech. So I thought I would tell you of it, and say: “Buy” it in the presence of those sitting here, and in the presence of the elders of my people. If you will redeem it, redeem it; but if you will not, tell me, so that I may know; for there is no one prior to you to redeem it, and I come after you.” So he said, “I will redeem it.” Then Boaz said, “The day you “acquire” the field from the hand of Naomi, you are also “acquiring” Ruth the Moabite, the widow of the dead man, to maintain the dead man’s name on his inheritance.” At this, the next-of-kin said, “I cannot redeem it for myself without damaging my own inheritance. Take my right of redemption yourself, for I cannot redeem it.” (Rut 4:3-6 NRSV)
On the surface, all seems well and good, except that at a closer look we will note that Ruth, and the property, are both treated on the same level. They are both properties to be bought and sold. This is horrible, then and now. However, this is not what we see in the the Hebrew word. The Hebrew word, qanah is the same as used in Genesis 14:19. There it is translated as “Creator;” here it is translated as “buy or acquire.” Boaz, it seems clear in the Hebrew, is not asking the Kinsman Redeemer to “acquire or buy” either the land or Ruth. Boaz is asking for a “recreation” of a new agrarian economy and society; and the recreation of a new woman, who has been destroyed by Moabite society. Society around them had developed destructive economics, which led to poverty and slavery. Society around them has led to abuse of women, especially foreign women, like Ruth. This destroyed womanhood. Boaz says, “We need the recreation of a new economics, and the recreation of a new women’s identity.” The other so called Kinsman Redeemer was not willing to do this. It was too radical for him. It was not in his good interest. So, Boaz said, “I will do this.” Boaz did just as God is defined in Genesis 14:19. He is the “Creator, qanah, of heaven and earth.” He expects his followers to do the same in society- then and now. He disdains the acquiring of slaves, and abusive economic and systems. The mission of the people of God is “Recreation,” because God is a “Re-creator.” This is the God of the Old Testament, and the New Testament.
Mechizedek, the King of Jerusalem, is also highlighted in a crucial Messianic Psalm- Psalm 110. “The LORD says to my lord: “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.” (Psalm 110:1 NIV) This verse is cited in Mathew 22:44; Mark 12:36; and Luke 20:42, 43. All three Synoptic Gospels claim that this Psalm refers to Jesus the Messiah, as the LORD of the Old Testament. The Psalm further goes on to mention the aforementioned, Melchizedek, the King of Jerusalem. “The LORD has sworn and will not change his mind: “You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.” (Psalm 110:4 NIV). This King of Jerusalem, Mechizedek, whose name means King of Justice, is an Old Testament type of the Messiah Jesus.
The Book of Hebrews in the New Testament, extensively refers to this Messianic Psalm, and to Melchizedek, King of Jerusalem. Jesus the Messiah is called the “Great High Priest, after the order of Melchizedek.” (Hebrews 4:14-5:10; Hebrews 7).
The New Testament describe Jesus the Messiah to be the “Re-creator” of a new heavens and new earth (2 Corinthians 5:17; Ephesians 2:10; Colossians 1:15; Rev 21:1-6). The systems of society in human history have been destructive and abusive. The Messiah seeks to Redeem and Recreate, just like the God of the Old Testament seeks to Redeem and Recreate.
The God of the Old Testament Missionally possess destroyed people
I want to return back to the other much maligned Hebrew word, yarash. We saw in the earlier survey that this word, in English translations, following the KJV, is translated as “drive out, destroy, dispossess, etc.” Much of this is portrayed in very violent forms. Naturally, reading the English translations, people consider the God of the Bible to be a violent God.
However, a cursory survey of this Hebrew word, yarash, just like the Hebrew word qanah, would show us that this negative usage of the word is unwarranted. The Hebrew word always signifies a gracious gift given by parents to the heir (Genesis 15:3, 4, 7). It is a gift given by God to people, so that they do not regard the land as a property they have forcibly acquired (Genesis 22:17). They possess it through God’s generosity.
In the Book of Deuteronomy, chapter 26 there is a very profound section which defines the nature of this gift. The people are told, ” When you have entered the land the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance and have taken possession of it and settled in it, take some of the firstfruits of all that you produce from the soil of the land the LORD your God is giving you and put them in a basket. Then go to the place the LORD your God will choose as a dwelling for his Name . . . Then you shall declare before the LORD your God: “My father was a wandering Aramean, and he went down into Egypt with a few people and lived there and became a great nation, powerful and numerous. But the Egyptians mistreated us and made us suffer, subjecting us to harsh labor. Then we cried out to the LORD, the God of our ancestors, and the LORD heard our voice and saw our misery, toil and oppression. So the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with great terror and with signs and wonders. He brought us to this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey; and now I bring the firstfruits of the soil that you, LORD, have given me.” (Deu 26: 1, 2, 5-10 NIV)
The people always had to remember where they came from. They always were and are “wandering immigrants.” They had to remember that they did not “capture” this land. It was given to them as a gift by God. When they keep this in mind, they will always be kind to the original dwellers of the land, especially the widows and the orphans, and all other wandering immigrants.
This theme of the Yarash, Creator, Giver God of the Old Testament, is found throughout the Hebrew Bible. The Psalms, e.g. use this word in a sentence that Jesus uses, “The poor shall inherit (Hebrew yarash) the land, and delight themselves in abundant peace.” (Psalm 37:9, 11, 22, 29, 34; Matthew 5:5). This is the gentle gift of a generous God to the poor. Hebrew word for poor, ‘anavim, is used of a category of people who are poor because of systems of injustice against them. These `anavim will inherit the land, because of a generous and loving God, who always cares for the marginalized.
I want to focus on one other text from the Prophets.
When Jesus is about 30 years old, he goes into the synagogue and reads his Bar Mitzvah text. It is Isaiah 60 and 61. The Gospel of Luke quotes this text:
“The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
(Luke 4:18-19 NIV)
The Gospel of Luke goes on to quote Jesus, who says, “Today, this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” (Luke 4:21). The mission of Jesus the Anointed One, Messiah, was a mission of mercy and justice to the poor, slaves, prisoners, blind, oppressed, and the such. The question is who is this Adonai, Kurios, Lord, to which Jesus is referring? The answer is found in the previous chapter, Isaiah 60, which was a part of Jesus’ Bar Mitzvah text.
“Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you.
See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples,
but the LORD rises upon you and his glory appears over you.
Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn . . .
The sun will no more be your light by day, nor will the brightness of the moon shine on you,
for the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory.
Your sun will never set again,
and your moon will wane no more;
the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your days of sorrow will end.
Then all your people will be righteous and they will possess the land forever.
They are the shoot I have planted, the work of my hands, for the display of my splendor.
The least of you will become a thousand, the smallest a mighty nation.
I am the LORD; in its time I will do this swiftly.”
(Isaiah 60:1-3; 19-22 NIV)
Jesus is talking about the God of the Old Testament, the God who revealed himself to Abraham and Moses. He is a God who creates light in the midst of darkness. He brings about justice in the midst of injustice. This was the mission of the Messiah Jesus of the New Testament. However, his person and mission are intrinsically linked with the Old Testament. We may note that the purpose of his mission, is to bring about “justice” and to “yarash, possess, or recreate the land forever,” through his people (Isaiah 60:21).
In the Torah, God saved a group of people who were severely oppressed and enslaved. God says to Moses,
“I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.”
The LORD said, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt.
I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers,
and I know their suffering.
I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians
and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land,
a land flowing with milk and honey—
the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites.
(Exo 3:6-8)
The mission of the people was not to destroy and plunder, but rather to yarash, recreate. They were to go to the poor, the enslaved, the blind, the oppressed, etc. of the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, and say to them, “Look the savior God has freed us. He has shown us his love and care. He has saved us from the slavery and oppression of the Egyptians. Just like he saw our misery, we see your misery. Just like he heard our cry, we hear your cry. Just like he knew our suffering, so we also know your suffering. Our mission is to yarash you, missionally possess you, and recreate you, just like our Savior God recreated us.”
Their mission was to save people like Rahab, and to yarash, i.e., to missionally possess and recreate them into the image of God.
This is the God of the Hebrew Bible, the Old Testament!
This is the mission of the God of the Old Testament!
This is the God of the New Testament!
This is the mission of the God of the New Testament!
This is the mission of the people of God- both in the Old Testament and the New Testament!
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