Ethical Issues in the Abraham Narrative

Eryl W. Davies enhances understanding of the ethical issues embedded in the stories concerning Abraham in Genesis 12-25. He focuses on the ethics of deception in Gen. 12:10-20 and 20:1-18 and the ''dark side'' of the character of God, as revealed in stories such as the binding of Isaac in Gen. 22, while also considering how the writings of philosophers such as Kant, Kierkegaard and Habermas illuminate aspects of the biblical stories. Davies closely explores the ambivalence of characterisation, the subtleties and ambiguities of plot, the significance of narrative point of view, and how the actions of the characters have been evaluated both within the text itself and by subsequent commentators. By examining the morally problematic issue of the connection between deed and consequence, the plight of Hagar, the nature of sin in the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah and the perspectives surrounding the incest of Lot and his daughters, Davies demonstrates how biblical narratives can function in ethical deliberation.

List of contents

Preface
Abbreviations
Chapter One: Ethics and Biblical Narrative
Chapter Two: The Ancestress in Danger (Gen. 12:10-20; 20:1-18)
Chapter Three: The Story of Hagar (Gen. 16:1-15; 21:1-20)
Chapter Four: Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen. 18:1-19:38)
Chapter Five: The Aqedah (Gen. 22:1-19)
Chapter Six: Conclusion
Bibliography
Index

About the author

Eryl W. Davies is Professor Emeritus of Hebrew Bible at Bangor University, UK. His previous publications include Prophecy and Ethics: Isaiah and the Ethical Traditions of Israel (1981); a commentary on Numbers in the New Century Bible Commentary Series, and The Dissenting Reader: Feminist Approaches to the Hebrew Bible (2003)

Product details

• Authors: Eryl W Davies, Eryl W. Davies
• Publisher: T. & T. Clark Ltd.
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 16.10.2025
• EAN: 9780567719850
• ISBN: 978-0-567-71985-0
• No. of pages: 184
• Dimensions: 156 mm x 236 mm x 16 mm
• Series: The Library of Hebrew Bible/Old Testament Studies
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > Religion/theology > Christianity; Non-fiction book > Philosophy, religion > Religion: general, reference works; Ancient / Biblical Israel, Criticism and exegesis of sacred texts, RELIGION / Biblical Studies / Old Testament / General, Other Geographical Groupings, Oceans & Seas, Biblical Studies & Exegesis, Judaism: sacred texts and revered writings, Old Testaments