Creation and the Persistence of Evil

Jon D. Levenson is Albert A. List Professor of Jewish Studies at Harvard Divinity School.

• Abbreviations ix Acknowledgments xi Note on the Text (1994) xiii Preface (1994) xv Preface xxix Part I THE MASTERY OF GOD AND THE VULNERABILITY OF ORDER 1. The Basic Idea of Israelite Religion? 3 2. The Survival of Chaos After the Victory of God 14 3. The Futurity and Presence of the Cosmogonic Victory 26 4. Conclusion: The Vitality of Evil and the Fragility of Creation 47 Part II THE ALTERNATION OF CHAOS AND ORDERGENESIS 1:1-2:3 5. Creation Without Opposition: Psalm 104 53 6. Creation in Seven Days 66 7. Cosmos and Microcosm 78 8. Rest and Re-Creation 100 9. Conclusion: Chaos Neutralized in Cult 121 Part III CREATION AND COVENANT: THE DYNAMICS OF LORDSHIP AND SUBMISSION 10. The Two Idioms of Biblical Monotheism 131 11. The Dialectic of Covenantal Theonomy 140 12. Argument and Obedience 149 Notes 157 Scripture Index 177 Author Index 181

"A doctrine of creatio ex nihilo and a perception of creation as essentially a fait accompli 'in the beginning' have stripped much of the drama from the views of creation found in the Hebrew Bible. Levenson seeks--with impressive success--to restore that drama. He provides, thereby, a reflective biblical foundation, based in solid philological and comparative study."--Lee Humphreys, Hebrew Studies "This masterful biblical and rabbinic study of creation and evil may challenge Christian proponents of creation theology and spirituality and adherents of the doctrine of creatio ex nihilo."--John C. Endres, S.J., Theological Studies