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Longing for justice: a study on the cry and hope of the poor in the Old Testament

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SaidDH_1987redux.pdf (54.46Mb)
Date
1987
Author
Said, Dalton Henriques.
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Abstract
 
 
This thesis is a theologico-exegetical study of the OT motif of the cry and hope of the poor, designed to bear on the Latin American liberationist theological context. It is divided into two parts. Part I stresses the cry as presented in different OT literary genres, whereas Part II emphasizes the related aspect of hope in the Psalms and Prophets chiefly as God's answer to the historical cry of the poor. In each part two levels of analysis are employed. A limited number of relevant key passages are subjected to a detailed exegetical study which is either followed or preceded by a broader analysis of their general context, involving the consideration of a larger number of related passages from different sections of the OT. The cry is seen as always pointing to a prevalent situation of injustice, which ultimately compels God to intervene. Its connection with the future hope of Israel is also established.
 
Part I comprises three chapters. Ch. 1 deals with the theme of the cry of the oppressed Hebrews in Egypt, with close attention to Ex 2:23-25; 3:7-10; 6:5-6, and ch. 1. A comparison is made between the exodian cry and the Babylonian mythology, stressing both their similarities and differences. The author presents a descriptive analysis of the oppressive situation that gives rise to the cry, the words used to express it (vocabulary of lament), God's answer to it, and how the memory of the exodian cry was preserved in different literary records of the OT, serving as a permanent reminder of the ancient belief that whenever the poor raise their cry God is bound to intervene on their behalf. Ch. 2 is a study of the Book of Job from the perspective of 24:1-12, which is examined in detail. Here again the plight of the poor is fully analysed, and emphasis is put on the innocence of the sufferer, his perplexity and complaints against God, and the presence of hope amid confusion and despair. Ch. 3 presents a study of the Psalms of Lament, taking Ps 17 as the object of detailed analysis. Here and elsewhere particular attention is given to the vocabulary of oppression, of salvation, of lament, of the poor, and of supplication. The suppliant's character and status are examined and an indication is made of the fact that the Hebrew words ordinarily translated by "righteous", "poor", etc. should more often than not be taken in their concrete, physical sense.
 
Part II comprises chs. 4-7. Ch. 4, dealing with the question of future hope in the Psalms, and discussing its main sources, constitutes a general introduction to Ch. 5, which presents a thorough exegetical analysis of Ps 72 in the light of the whole Psalter. It is observed how central is the question of the liberation of the poor (which is basically tantamount to the practice of justice) in ancient Israel and in their vision and hope of an ideal ;future. Like Ch. 4, Ch. 6 is also in a sense introductory to the following chapter. It briefly surveys the message of the eighth century prophets (especially Amos) as a kind of hope for the poor and oppressed. It is Ch. 7, with a detailed analytical study of Is 11:1-9, which, like Ch. 5, depicts the future era of justice and universal peace under the rule of the Anointed One of Yahweh, stressing, again, the restoration of the lost harmony between God, man, and the whole of Creation.
 
Some of the conclusive ideas stressed throughout are: God's bias towards the poor is an undeniable fact; he is always mindful of the cry of the poor and may employ any means to attain their liberation; he demands the practice of justice which is basically understood as the liberation of the poor; justice is a 4 sine-qua-non condition of the achievement of real peace; worship is futile when the cry of the poor is ignored; the kingdom of God is envisaged as primarily a kingdom for the poor; it is on the effective practice of justice on behalf of the poor that the legitimacy of all instituted governing power depends.
 
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http://hdl.handle.net/1842/30716
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