Implied Law in the Abraham Narrative: A Literary and Theological Analysis

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This study examines the significance of implied law in the Abraham narrative. It analyzes legal and juridical terminology in the text and provides a close reading of legal referents found in Genesis 18.16-20.18. Bruckner demonstrates that the literary and theological context of implied law in the narrative is creational, since the implied cosmology is based in Creator-created relationships, and the juridical referents are narratively prior to the Sinai covenant. The narrative's canonical position is an ipso jure argument for the operation of law from the beginning of the ancestral community. The study suggests trajectories for further research in reading law within narrative texts, pentateuchal studies, and Old Testament ethics.

Author Bio

James Bruckner is Assistant Professor of Old Testament, North Park University, Chicago, Illinois.