Date of Award

2005

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

College

Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary

Program

Religion, Old Testament Studies PhD

First Advisor

Richard M. Davidson

Second Advisor

Randall W. Younker

Third Advisor

John T. Baldwin

Abstract

The present dissertation seeks to develop a theology of judgment in Gen 6-9. Following an introductory chapter, the second chapter is devoted to analyzing the three main extrabiblical ANE flood stories (the Eridu Genesis, the Atra-Hasis Epic, and the Gilgamesh Epic) from the four aspects of judgment: date, cause and purpose, extent, and procedure. The analysis of those stories reveals that the ANE flood was a historical and local (global dimension is implied) event without moral cause, and that the judgment of the deities had a procedure of investigation, sentence, execution, and mitigation. The third chapter treats the theology of judgment on the basis of textual evidence in Gen 6-9 focusing on the date, cause and purpose, extent, and procedure. The text reveals that the Genesis flood was a historical and global event caused by the broken relationship between God and humankind. God’s judgment was processed by the steps of probation, investigation, sentence, execution, and mitigation. The fourth chapter is devoted to investigating the various theological motifs that have close relationship with the judgment theme in Gen 6-9: theodicy, human moral responsibility, creation, revelation, and eschatology. The Genesis flood judgment demonstrates God’s love and justice toward His creation. Humankind, being the image of God, is responsible for one’s multiple relationships including God, humankind, subhumankind, and the environment. The creation theme underlies in a pattern of creation—uncreation—re-creation in God’s judgment, and is closely linked with the theme of eschatology. God’s revelation creates a remnant that survives God’s judgment. Close relationship is found between protology and eschatology. The relationship is illustrated by comparison between Gen 6-9 and Rev 12-22 from the aspects of three phases of eschatological time (prejudgment time—judgment time—postjudgment time). The fifth chapter is devoted to investigating the intertextuality of some biblical passages that have a textual and/or thematic relationship with the Genesis flood narrative; the passages include Ps 29:10; Isa 54:9-10; Ezek 14:12-20; Matt 24:36-39 (cf. Luke 17:26- 30); Heb 11:7; 1 Pet 3:19-21; 2 Pet 2:5; 3:6-7 and Rev 14:7. The above texts were analyzed in their own literary context from the aspects of cause and purpose, extent, procedure, divine salvific activities, and human moral responsibility. The analysis reveals that these texts take the Genesis flood narrative as a historical and global event and utilize the flood as their type for God’s judgment from the aspect of salvation and punishment, and that these biblical texts describe God, who is willing to save but is reluctant to punish humankind, as offering the way of salvation to humankind. The sixth chapter contains a summary and conclusions. The Genesis flood narrative presents a fertile soil that produces abundant theological reflections on the saving and punishing God and morally responsible humankind before God

Subject Area

Judgment--Religious aspects, Bible, Genesis 6-9--Criticism, interpretation, etc, Andrews University--Dissertations--Judgment--Religious aspects.

DOI

https://dx.doi.org/10.32597/dissertations/121/

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