In comparing the Sinai covenant with suzerainty treaties of the ancient Near East between a sovereign and a subject, Levenson shows how the Israelites were dutifully bound to YHWH, their Creator and Redeemer. Creation, according to Levenson, is about the separation of order from disorder and of bringing life from chaos.įinally, Levenson brings together the two themes of creation and covenant by illustrating how YHWH’s victory over the forces of chaos in creating the world and the regular celebration of this in worship, form the basis of Israelite faith.
When faced with the persistence of evil, Israelites took refuge in Temple worship, with the Temple representing a “microcosm” of creation with orderly and separate realms. He places much stock on the Documentary Hypothesis’ Priestly source as being responsible for structuring the seven days of creation in Genesis 1 to highlight the concept of “rest.” “Rest” in this case means a reprieve from the threat of chaos. Second, Levenson delves into Genesis 1-2 and argues that, while God’s victory in the past and in the future is guaranteed, his sometimes frightening absence in the face of evil and chaos can be addressed through the temple cultic system. He argues that while other mythic accounts see a chief god achieving “mastery” over other gods through defeating them in battle, YHWH achieves “mastery” by subduing the primeval forces of chaos and is proclaimed as “Lord of all the earth” and “King of kings.” Yet Leveson points out this subduing of chaos in the past was a subduing, not an annihilation. Levenson carries forward this thesis in three separate parts of his book.įirst, he explores the theme of God’s defeat of the chaos monsters like Leviathan, making fascinating comparisons to other ancient Near Eastern “cosmic battle” stories to illustrate similarities and differences. Old Testament faith consists of calling God to remember that first act and to show his power and mastery over creation in the present where the “persistence of evil” is not yet fully vanquished. God’s creation of the world results from his victory over the forces of evil and chaos. However, his omnipotence is not a “static attribute,” as is in classical theology, but rather a “dramatic enactment.” This type of creation theology is expressed throughout the Hebrew Bible as the Israelites attempt to “goad God into reactivating his primal omnipotence, which is never relinquished but often agonizingly, catastrophically dormant.” Levenson states, “the overwhelming tendency of biblical writers as they confront undeserved evil is not to explain it away but to call upon God to blast it away.” For the Israelites, God is clearly omnipotent, so the limited God view must be rejected. He sets his argument in opposition to the theodicies of Christians who adopt either classical theology or modern process theology that entails a limited God.
In Creation and the Persistence of Evil, Jewish scholar Levenson articulates a Hebrew response to the problem of evil.
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