RamistThomist
Puritanboard Clerk
And Dolezal's exegesis isn't always spot on. Consider:
He alludes to Numbers 23 where God does not repent. Mind you, I don't think God does repent, but this is poor exegesis as it stands, considering that the same word is used elsewhere to the opposite effect: there are numerous passages that say that God does repent. The same verb (nâcham) is used in Exodus 32:14: “And YHWH repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his people.” Similarly, 1 Sa 15:35 (“YHWH repented that he had made Saul king over Israel”), 2 Sa 24:16 (“YHWH repented him of the evil [the plague]”).
He mentions Malachi, where God does not change. But this is better seen as covenantal language.
God appeals to the “Sons of Jacob” who “from the days of our fathers have gone away from my ordinances.” One wonders whether Dolezal even looked at the context at all, for in the very next line, YHWH urges:
“Return to me, and I will return to you.”
Shuvu ēlî we’ašuvâ elêkem
In light of Malachi’s symmetrical use of the same verb, shuv, for both Israel’s and God’s act of “returning,” it is a singularly terrible text to use as a proof of Israel’s relationship with an immutable God.
Thanks to Matt Colvin for the Hebrew.
He alludes to Numbers 23 where God does not repent. Mind you, I don't think God does repent, but this is poor exegesis as it stands, considering that the same word is used elsewhere to the opposite effect: there are numerous passages that say that God does repent. The same verb (nâcham) is used in Exodus 32:14: “And YHWH repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his people.” Similarly, 1 Sa 15:35 (“YHWH repented that he had made Saul king over Israel”), 2 Sa 24:16 (“YHWH repented him of the evil [the plague]”).
He mentions Malachi, where God does not change. But this is better seen as covenantal language.
God appeals to the “Sons of Jacob” who “from the days of our fathers have gone away from my ordinances.” One wonders whether Dolezal even looked at the context at all, for in the very next line, YHWH urges:
“Return to me, and I will return to you.”
Shuvu ēlî we’ašuvâ elêkem
In light of Malachi’s symmetrical use of the same verb, shuv, for both Israel’s and God’s act of “returning,” it is a singularly terrible text to use as a proof of Israel’s relationship with an immutable God.
Thanks to Matt Colvin for the Hebrew.