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Hebrew Studies 44 (2003) 248 Reviews UNDERSTANDING OLD TESTAMENT ETHICS: APPROACHES AND EXPLORATIONS. By John Barton. Pp. xi + 212. Louisville, Ky.: Westminster/John Knox, 2003. Paper, $24.95. This collection of essays brings together a number of John Barton's previously published articles from the past twenty-five years. These include: "Understanding Old Testament Ethics," JSOT 9 (1978): 44-64; "Natural Law and Poetic Justice in the Old Testament," JTS 30 (1979): 1-14; "The Basis of Ethics in the Hebrew Bible," Sem 66 (1995): 11-22; "Reading for Life," in The Bible ill Ethics, JSOTSup 207, pp. 66-76; "Virtue in the Bible," SeE 12 (1999): 12-22; "Amos's Oracles against the Nations," SOTSMS 6; "Ethics in Isaiah of Jerusalem," JTS 32 (1981): 1-18; "Ethics in the Book of Isaiah," VTSup 70: I (1997): 67-77; and "Theological Ethics in Daniel," in The Book oJDalliel, ed. Collins and Flint, 2001, pp. 661-670. Often when a collection of essays by a single author is published, there is unevenness in the style of presentation and an overall lack of coherence. Fortunately, such is not the case with this volume. The author's presentation is consistently critical and insightful; throughout the essays, certain recurring themes and arguments appear. Barton addresses the methodological challenges in generating an authentic analysis of Old Testament ethics, and the following observations may be distilled from his essays: I) Though Barton is candid about admitting the difficulty in explicating the ethics of the Old Testament and pointed in his critique of previous attempts, he credits Eckart OUo (Theologische Ethik des Altell Testaments [Stuttgart: Kohlhammer, 1994]) with a significant accomplishment. Relevant Old Testament texts come from only a few select social-religious groups over a vast period of time, so that we can craft neither a historical nor a systematic presentation of biblical ethics. The values, culture, and especially the Hebrew language of the Old Testament, which does not lend itself to the abstractions of modern discourse, all make this goal difficult for us. 2) He believes there is a concept of "natural law" among the biblical spokespersons, despite declarations to the contrary by traditional Protestant theologians and recent critical biblical scholars. It is not the same as our developed western European concept of "natural law," but it entails assumptions probably shared with the ancient world about proper human behavior. Amos and Isaiah especially may be mined for such assumptions. 3) Ethics can be generated from legal texts and passages in the wisdom tradition, for they contain "explicit" ethical values, which Otto expounds upon in his volume. But Barton also argues that "implicit" ethical values may be gleaned from narrative texts and the prophets. Though narratives do not pass judgment on people's actions; nonetheless, implicit virtues are commended within the narrative plots. Hebrew Studies 44 (2003) 249 Reviews 4) If we were to construct an ethical system from the Old Testament, it would be built upon certain propositions: obedience to God's revealed will, conformity to natural order, and the attempt to imitate God. (Barton believes there is a difference in trying to imitate God and those false attempts to be like God, as in Genesis 3.) 5) Amos and Isaiah have drawn Barton's attention over the years as sources for discerning Old Testament ethics. Amos' condemnation of the foreign nations implies that his Israelite audience assumed certain actions may be perceived as universally wrong, whether or not those foreigners actually shared the same assumptions. Isaiah's morality may come from an international wisdom tradition and reflect an aristocratic ethos that favors hard work, personal humility, and a desire for social stability combined with concern for helping the poor. These essays come together nicely in view of the common themes they share, and Barton provides a freshly written introduction and conclusion, both of substance, to tie the essays together. Having said that, I must admit that I would have edited out some material, especially in the fifty-three pages of chapter 6, which was drawn from his dissertation, for portions of it dwelt upon the historical background to the actions of foreign nations condemned by Amos in his "Day of the Lord" oracle (Amos...

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