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Old Testament Ethics: A Guided Tour
What is ethics?
Ethics is not merely about tricky situations or hot topics. Instead, ethics asks questions about what sort of people we are, how we think, what sort of things we do and don't do, and how we ought to live our everyday lives.
How might we learn ethics from the Old Testament? Instead of searching for support for our positions or pointing out problems with certain passages, trusted guide John Goldingay urges us to let the Old Testament itself set the agenda. In this volume, readers will encounter what the Old Testament teaches about relationships, work, Sabbath, character, and more.
Featuring Goldingay's own translation and discussion questions for group use, Old Testament Ethics: A Guided Tour is a resource for ethics like no other. Topically organized with short, stand-alone chapters, this book is one to keep close at hand.
Ethics is not merely about tricky situations or hot topics. Instead, ethics asks questions about what sort of people we are, how we think, what sort of things we do and don't do, and how we ought to live our everyday lives.
How might we learn ethics from the Old Testament? Instead of searching for support for our positions or pointing out problems with certain passages, trusted guide John Goldingay urges us to let the Old Testament itself set the agenda. In this volume, readers will encounter what the Old Testament teaches about relationships, work, Sabbath, character, and more.
Featuring Goldingay's own translation and discussion questions for group use, Old Testament Ethics: A Guided Tour is a resource for ethics like no other. Topically organized with short, stand-alone chapters, this book is one to keep close at hand.
288 pages, Paperback
Published April 16, 2019
20 people are currently reading
102 people want to read
About the author
John E. Goldingay
87 books68 followersJohn Goldingay is David Allan Hubbard Professor of Old Testament at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California. An internationally respected Old Testament scholar, Goldingay is the author of many commentaries and books.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
October 7, 2022
I continue to enjoy this author’s works on the Old Testament, and this book is no exception. This is a really good introduction to Old Testament Ethics, in a book that is easy to read. It makes heavy use of the Old Testament text, and the Author has written (and continue to write) many fine commentaries on the OT. Thus he is well experienced and qualified to cover such a broad topic.
I was also pleased that this book does not pit the OT against the NT. Whilst it has the Christian approach, of seeing the OT in the light of Jesus, the author presents what starts in the OT continues into the NT. So this is a good book to introduce Biblical (OT+NT) Ethics, or even to look at the Biblical basis for Christian Ethics.
Each of the 43 chapters does have so points for reflection at the end, so this would also be an ideal book for a group Bible study.
I would have liked a “Further Reading” - even a book or two suggested following the “For Reflection” would’ve been nice.
I would highly recommend this for new Christians who want to get a better understanding of the OT, and for those like me who’ve been around awhile it is a good refresher - helps you to think again about some topics you may have neglected.
I was also pleased that this book does not pit the OT against the NT. Whilst it has the Christian approach, of seeing the OT in the light of Jesus, the author presents what starts in the OT continues into the NT. So this is a good book to introduce Biblical (OT+NT) Ethics, or even to look at the Biblical basis for Christian Ethics.
Each of the 43 chapters does have so points for reflection at the end, so this would also be an ideal book for a group Bible study.
I would have liked a “Further Reading” - even a book or two suggested following the “For Reflection” would’ve been nice.
I would highly recommend this for new Christians who want to get a better understanding of the OT, and for those like me who’ve been around awhile it is a good refresher - helps you to think again about some topics you may have neglected.
May 7, 2019
Old Testament Ethics may sound to some like an oxymoron, with all of the bloodshed, wrath of God, conquests, sexual trysts, aged legal requirements, and prohibitions. But John Goldingay, professor of Old Testament at Fuller Theological Seminary, past principal and professor of Old Testament and Hebrew at St. John's Theological College in Nottingham, England, and prolific author, takes a stab at laying out the ways and means of morality in the Hebrew Scriptures in his new book. "Old Testament Ethics: A Guided Tour" is 288 pages of reading fun and fastidiousness, ideal for seminarians, pastors, professors and interested parties. Neither fatiguing nor flocculent, this softback is accessible to most any reading audience.
The author focuses mostly "on what is the Old Testament's own agenda and how it raises questions that we have to respond to" (2). And so his approach is to side with Jesus who says the Hebrew Scriptures are primarily grounded in two central commandments - love God and your neighbor. That is how he addresses the various sections of the Tanakh by asking "how is this command a working out of either love for God or love for neighbor" (4).
Our tour guide takes us to five thematic sites giving us a healthy dose of the contents of the Old Testament. Like any tour, it will not tackle every scene or situation, but it will touch on enough material that the tourist can walk away better informed. The five sites begin with qualities like godlikeness, compassion, honor, anger and other traits. It then turns the corner to examine aspects of life, such as wealth, violence, shalom and justice, to name a few. Next, it enters into relationships, to include friends, women, who you can have sex with, parents and children, and migrants. Further, it dabbles in texts taking up various pericopes and parcels from Genesis 1 and 2, Ruth, Psalm 72, and Song of Songs, for example. Finally, our tour rounds out by talking about people, dwelling on many of the big-hitters, covering Abraham, Sarah and Hagar, and several others.
There's nothing namby-pamby in "Old Testament Ethics." Though the author is fairly gentle, yet his approach is instructive, insightful and injunctive. Whether he is writing about how love in the older Scriptures is more about loyalty than liking, or the way the tenth commandment on coveting is still pertinent for the twenty-first Century, or role of empires and place of imperial power, he almost always comes down on the side of the angels. Goldingay even takes on the thorny issue of how the Canaanites were dealt with. In chapter-after-chapter he repeatedly surprises with his conclusions and how he works them out. Though there were a few conclusions I took issue with, I found myself appreciating what he was doing, why, and how he got there.
Goldingay is playful at times, at other times he's pertinacious; but in every case he is always purposeful. The author truly wants the readers to take away a better sense of what the Hebrew Scriptures are saying about loving God and neighbor, as well as what God says about it. Though he never stomps on toes, he does come close a time or two. And yet I almost imagined him speaking, not as an academic or adjudicator, but more as a grandfather talking to grown grandchildren. "Old Testament Ethics" is the kind of book you can give as a gift to inquiring friends. It is also ideal for book-reading or study groups. But most of all get a copy for yourself. You won't regret the cost of money or time. I highly recommend the book.
Thanks to IVP Academic for sending me a copy of the book at my request that I used for this review. And my further thanks that the publisher made no stipulations on me other than to write a review. Therefore, all of my comments are uncoerced and uncompelled, but are freely written and freely given.
The author focuses mostly "on what is the Old Testament's own agenda and how it raises questions that we have to respond to" (2). And so his approach is to side with Jesus who says the Hebrew Scriptures are primarily grounded in two central commandments - love God and your neighbor. That is how he addresses the various sections of the Tanakh by asking "how is this command a working out of either love for God or love for neighbor" (4).
Our tour guide takes us to five thematic sites giving us a healthy dose of the contents of the Old Testament. Like any tour, it will not tackle every scene or situation, but it will touch on enough material that the tourist can walk away better informed. The five sites begin with qualities like godlikeness, compassion, honor, anger and other traits. It then turns the corner to examine aspects of life, such as wealth, violence, shalom and justice, to name a few. Next, it enters into relationships, to include friends, women, who you can have sex with, parents and children, and migrants. Further, it dabbles in texts taking up various pericopes and parcels from Genesis 1 and 2, Ruth, Psalm 72, and Song of Songs, for example. Finally, our tour rounds out by talking about people, dwelling on many of the big-hitters, covering Abraham, Sarah and Hagar, and several others.
There's nothing namby-pamby in "Old Testament Ethics." Though the author is fairly gentle, yet his approach is instructive, insightful and injunctive. Whether he is writing about how love in the older Scriptures is more about loyalty than liking, or the way the tenth commandment on coveting is still pertinent for the twenty-first Century, or role of empires and place of imperial power, he almost always comes down on the side of the angels. Goldingay even takes on the thorny issue of how the Canaanites were dealt with. In chapter-after-chapter he repeatedly surprises with his conclusions and how he works them out. Though there were a few conclusions I took issue with, I found myself appreciating what he was doing, why, and how he got there.
Goldingay is playful at times, at other times he's pertinacious; but in every case he is always purposeful. The author truly wants the readers to take away a better sense of what the Hebrew Scriptures are saying about loving God and neighbor, as well as what God says about it. Though he never stomps on toes, he does come close a time or two. And yet I almost imagined him speaking, not as an academic or adjudicator, but more as a grandfather talking to grown grandchildren. "Old Testament Ethics" is the kind of book you can give as a gift to inquiring friends. It is also ideal for book-reading or study groups. But most of all get a copy for yourself. You won't regret the cost of money or time. I highly recommend the book.
Thanks to IVP Academic for sending me a copy of the book at my request that I used for this review. And my further thanks that the publisher made no stipulations on me other than to write a review. Therefore, all of my comments are uncoerced and uncompelled, but are freely written and freely given.
May 17, 2019
Mark this down is an interesting addition on a subject that runs as wide a gamut as almost any in biblical studies: Old Testament ethics. Enter John Goldingay who has written both major exegetical commentaries and substantial works on Old Testament theology into the Old Testament ethical debates. To be honest, sometimes he’s just a little too far left for me. On the other hand, if we were to tabulate the top scholars on the Old Testament today, he would make most people’s list. I actually enjoyed this volume more than some others of his that I have reviewed.
He divides the book into five parts with the first 3 being subject oriented. He categorizes those subjects as qualities, aspects of life, and relationships. Part four looks at eight of the most important texts in the Old Testament, or at least texts where ethics would be most discussed. Part five contains seven chapters on various people in the Old Testament who had pronounced ethical dilemmas. In my view, this was an excellent framework to approach ethics in the Old Testament.
I found some of the subjects enlightening while others were provocative. If you’ve read him before, that comes as no surprise. In a few cases, he shocked me by taking a more conservative viewpoint than I anticipated. In a few other cases, I found him a little hesitant. In other words, I sensed he might be afraid he would offend someone a little left of him. That’s just my impression. Impressions are a dime a dozen so you can analyze that for yourself.
In any event, there is some good material here to help you wrestle with these highly-debated subjects. In a book of this nature, it’s not if a writer agrees with you on every point, but if he or she is able to stretch you to think about more sides of the issue than you otherwise would have. On that score, Mr. Goldingay has wonderfully succeeded.
I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
He divides the book into five parts with the first 3 being subject oriented. He categorizes those subjects as qualities, aspects of life, and relationships. Part four looks at eight of the most important texts in the Old Testament, or at least texts where ethics would be most discussed. Part five contains seven chapters on various people in the Old Testament who had pronounced ethical dilemmas. In my view, this was an excellent framework to approach ethics in the Old Testament.
I found some of the subjects enlightening while others were provocative. If you’ve read him before, that comes as no surprise. In a few cases, he shocked me by taking a more conservative viewpoint than I anticipated. In a few other cases, I found him a little hesitant. In other words, I sensed he might be afraid he would offend someone a little left of him. That’s just my impression. Impressions are a dime a dozen so you can analyze that for yourself.
In any event, there is some good material here to help you wrestle with these highly-debated subjects. In a book of this nature, it’s not if a writer agrees with you on every point, but if he or she is able to stretch you to think about more sides of the issue than you otherwise would have. On that score, Mr. Goldingay has wonderfully succeeded.
I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
March 14, 2023
Disclaimer: I only read chapters 1-14 out of 43 chapters.
Goes through various topics in the Old Testament - trusting God, anger, contentment, migrants, etc., as well as dealing with ethical issues concerning a few specific texts and specific people. Ubiquitous Old Testament quotes, translated by the author himself. Very helpful to have such collections of scriptures so the reader can see the breadth and focus of the Old Testament in dealing with various topics. Looks at the Old Testament as a whole, but generally focuses more on the law and wisdom literature than on the rest. The book is short, so it naturally doesn't deal in depth with any of the issues. Helpfully challenges the reader with questions such as, "Have you ever refrained from doing something you shouldn't do because you weren't as angry as you should have been?" (paraphrased).
What I don't like is that the application questions are often pretty limited in their breadth. For instance in the application questions on "justice", the reader is only challenged as to their community's judicial system. Moreover, he doesn't deal much with seeming contradictions and problems as I had expected. My least favorite example of this is how he deals with the difference between texts on how much a thief is to restore, saying "These differences reflect how the rules came into being in different historical or social contexts. For instance, I take the rules in Exodus to reflect the life of a village community in the time of the Judges, whereas the rules in Leviticus or Deuteronomy come from life in urban Jerusalem several centuries later." Other difficulties like the laws of war prisoners taken as wives, are brushed off with, "these rules are there to limit evil" without, I feel, really resolving the tension.
Goes through various topics in the Old Testament - trusting God, anger, contentment, migrants, etc., as well as dealing with ethical issues concerning a few specific texts and specific people. Ubiquitous Old Testament quotes, translated by the author himself. Very helpful to have such collections of scriptures so the reader can see the breadth and focus of the Old Testament in dealing with various topics. Looks at the Old Testament as a whole, but generally focuses more on the law and wisdom literature than on the rest. The book is short, so it naturally doesn't deal in depth with any of the issues. Helpfully challenges the reader with questions such as, "Have you ever refrained from doing something you shouldn't do because you weren't as angry as you should have been?" (paraphrased).
What I don't like is that the application questions are often pretty limited in their breadth. For instance in the application questions on "justice", the reader is only challenged as to their community's judicial system. Moreover, he doesn't deal much with seeming contradictions and problems as I had expected. My least favorite example of this is how he deals with the difference between texts on how much a thief is to restore, saying "These differences reflect how the rules came into being in different historical or social contexts. For instance, I take the rules in Exodus to reflect the life of a village community in the time of the Judges, whereas the rules in Leviticus or Deuteronomy come from life in urban Jerusalem several centuries later." Other difficulties like the laws of war prisoners taken as wives, are brushed off with, "these rules are there to limit evil" without, I feel, really resolving the tension.
April 11, 2022
If one were to plot this book on the spectrum of Goldingay's writings, with his Old Testament for Everyone commentaries on the easiest end, and his heavyweight commentary writing for series such as the ICC or WBC, this book falls much closer to the former's side. His writing is engaging (though at times, it feels like he's trying too hard to be engaging or accessible), and he provides a great introduction to the breadth of OT ethics from multiple angles, with sections on "qualities," "aspects of life," "relationships," "texts," and "people." Each individual chapter also has a number of reflection questions, which makes this book very easy to use in a local church setting or Bible study. This book opens many avenues for laypeople to think about OT ethics. Some of the reflection questions are better than others, though.
If you're researching or looking to go deeper into OT ethics, this might not be the first place you want to go (it could certainly spark some ideas or open avenues for research - there aren't any footnotes, and there isn't a bibliography, though). Goldingay's 3-volume Old Testament Theology would be a better place to turn for that sort of work.
If you're researching or looking to go deeper into OT ethics, this might not be the first place you want to go (it could certainly spark some ideas or open avenues for research - there aren't any footnotes, and there isn't a bibliography, though). Goldingay's 3-volume Old Testament Theology would be a better place to turn for that sort of work.
April 6, 2025
Initially, when reading the first couple of chapters of this fascinating tour of the Hebrew Scriptures, there was an inward sigh. This was due to a pre-existing bias against those who go to great lengths to use trendy language to make the Bible relevant by way of drawing 'the youth of today' into Christianity. It brought up memories of being one of those 'youth of today', when we all kind of saw through the down-with-the-kids style of ministry and didn't think much of it. Give me the traditionalist over that any day, I thought at that time, and the prejudice persists to this day.
However, this is not really the full story with this tour of the ethics of ancient Israel. As you get into the book, you start to realise that Goldingay's mode of communication has a logic to it, and makes biblical studies accessible to many who may think of this field as highly abstruse and inaccessible. His own translations of long passages from the ancient Hebrew to English cast light on certain aspects of the stories that make you regularly see the Yahweh of the Israelites from a new angle. Vital cultural and historical context is provided to cast light on some of the common myths about these scriptures that we hear a lot these days from those who are not as learned as Goldingay (or presumably as the numerous rabbinical scholars over the centuries who could provide nuanced interpretations of these scriptures).
It's worth getting past any initial doubts about the writing style to the meat of the book and persisting until the end, as there's a lot of valuable insight here that's accessible to all readers.
However, this is not really the full story with this tour of the ethics of ancient Israel. As you get into the book, you start to realise that Goldingay's mode of communication has a logic to it, and makes biblical studies accessible to many who may think of this field as highly abstruse and inaccessible. His own translations of long passages from the ancient Hebrew to English cast light on certain aspects of the stories that make you regularly see the Yahweh of the Israelites from a new angle. Vital cultural and historical context is provided to cast light on some of the common myths about these scriptures that we hear a lot these days from those who are not as learned as Goldingay (or presumably as the numerous rabbinical scholars over the centuries who could provide nuanced interpretations of these scriptures).
It's worth getting past any initial doubts about the writing style to the meat of the book and persisting until the end, as there's a lot of valuable insight here that's accessible to all readers.
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November 29, 2022Many Christians disregard the Old Testament as a valuable source of modern ethics, preferring the New Testament as a more relevant biblical source for morality. John Goldingay raises this issue in Old Testament Ethics: A Guided Tour, drawing attention to the preferred emphasis on so-called New Testament Christian principles of "love, justice, and liberation." What makes the Old Testament difficult, he answers, is that there is nothing clear-cut or clean about morality or moral ethics in the stories offered in the text. But complexity is no reason to disregard the Old Testament. Much of this book focuses on how complexities in the biblical text engage the reader to think more deeply about ethical matters. Goldingay encourages Christians to read scripture widely, even the disturbing parts, and embrace critical thinking about how biblical scripture shapes their moral center, from which ethical decisions extend. Old Testament Ethics: A Guided Tour is a neat follow-up to the Old Testament for Everyone series that provides readers with a next-level look at scripture in a way that encourages a practical and applied understanding of the Bible for living a morally good life.
Read
August 19, 2019John Goldingay has become my favorite commentator on the Old Testament of the Bible, or as he calls it, the First Testament. This book on the ethics found in the Old Testament is not written to simply help readers deal with tricky questions of moral behavior in ethical dilemmas, but to guide us in living our day to day lives as we discover what Old Testament writers say about life in a covenantal community. He deals with war, sex, use of land, treatment of migrants, family issues, and other topics and looks to the Biblical texts to guide his thoughts.
One idea this book sparked for me was from the story of Joseph in the Book of Genesis. Potiphar bought him, and then jailed him when he was accused of molesting his wife. Then Joseph is pardoned by the Pharaoh after solving a mysterious dream. There is no mention of Potiphar or his household again. Did Joseph's elevation silence his former master and wife, scare them into moving to a new location, or did Joseph forgive them the way he did his own brothers when they came to buy food from him. Hmmm...
One idea this book sparked for me was from the story of Joseph in the Book of Genesis. Potiphar bought him, and then jailed him when he was accused of molesting his wife. Then Joseph is pardoned by the Pharaoh after solving a mysterious dream. There is no mention of Potiphar or his household again. Did Joseph's elevation silence his former master and wife, scare them into moving to a new location, or did Joseph forgive them the way he did his own brothers when they came to buy food from him. Hmmm...
January 10, 2020
Goldingay has done a service to OT ethics and helped I believe reconfigure the relevance once again for the Older Testament being studied and appreciated within everyday Christian thought. Goldingay as a pastor, theologian, and prolific scholar enables an easy to read tour guide of how OT ethics can help us reimagine Christian theologizing for living and acting so as to conform to faith in Christ without necessarily overriding the narrative arc and complexity of the words of the apostles and Prophets.
A minor critique there are ways of conceptualizing lived faith within chapter sections which ring a bit awkward or needing more explanation, yet the aim of the book was to show the usefulness of reading the OT ethics for modern lived faith as a paradigm for critical reflection and enhancement of faith in Christ.
A minor critique there are ways of conceptualizing lived faith within chapter sections which ring a bit awkward or needing more explanation, yet the aim of the book was to show the usefulness of reading the OT ethics for modern lived faith as a paradigm for critical reflection and enhancement of faith in Christ.
November 23, 2024
The Author relies almost exclusively on proverbs. Proverbs is a tips and tricks book, I don't think proverbs actually has much to say about ethics. Unlike say, the minor prophets.
But the author stays away from books that 'speak truth to power' - perhaps because they present a more revolutionary ethic, that challenges oppressive systemic power. The author believes we should "be realistic", and follow rubrics that help us succeed within the systems we are born into.
Ultimately, the author defends the genocide of the Canaanites. Apparently these were "bad people" who engaged in human sacrifice. Perhaps they were... Does that make it okay for Joshua to pick up a scared, crying, Canaanite baby boy and press a knife down into its tiny body?
I can't recommend any book that doesn't at least wrestle with these issues.
But the author stays away from books that 'speak truth to power' - perhaps because they present a more revolutionary ethic, that challenges oppressive systemic power. The author believes we should "be realistic", and follow rubrics that help us succeed within the systems we are born into.
Ultimately, the author defends the genocide of the Canaanites. Apparently these were "bad people" who engaged in human sacrifice. Perhaps they were... Does that make it okay for Joshua to pick up a scared, crying, Canaanite baby boy and press a knife down into its tiny body?
I can't recommend any book that doesn't at least wrestle with these issues.
August 29, 2023
I get what the author was trying to do -- a brief synopsis of many different aspects of OT ethics is a worthy goal -- it just didn't work all that well for me. Each chapter is so short that they mostly left me wanting more.
August 1, 2019
本来只想打四星好了，但Goldingay也太会搞笑了吧
December 23, 2019
An excellent tour of OT ethics from a literary perspective. Goldingay models how to reason ethically with a mind steeped in the overall narrative of OT literature.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews