What Becomes a Tradition

Most critical readers of the Bible today are attuned to the flow of the biblical canon as a living stream, addressing the challenges and concerns of the biblical people in their journey through time, and devising strategies for survival. Like Jon Meacham, in his new book, The Soul of America: The Battle for Our Better Angels (Random House, 2018), inspired biblical authors grappled with their real life challenges by dipping deep into their traditions to sustain the people's better angels. Biblical theologians analyze such developments using the term midrash to describe the process of applying preserved texts or traditions in new settings.

No people can journey through time unscathed by untoward happenings, whether from enemies, from failed leadership, or from the environment. Israel's scriptural canon reads like a diary attesting to these happenings while always finding strategies for rebounding from disaster to see better days, guided by higher principles, a rule of law embedded in the symbols of the tradition.

Meacham's reflections on “the soul” of America, in light of current American political leadership, is just such an exercise, quoting James Baldwin, who wrote that “history is literally present in all that we do,” and Lyndon B. Johnson's reflection on the presidency in which “the burden of his responsibility literally opens up his soul.” Abraham Lincoln's first inaugural address, despite the desperate times ahead, expresses hope, even confidence that “The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature.” Such is the hope and confidence that rests on the belief in the people and in their commitment to higher principles.

We see in Meacham's exercise today a continuation of the age-old scriptural quest for meaning, purpose, values, and dedication. At the same time, we must recognize that every such quest must be set in its own context, reflect the awareness of its own inspired authors, and provide insights suited to the people and the times in which they experienced the challenges of their time.

The critical biblical studies that appear in Biblical Theology Bulletin propose to help readers today to view the biblical canon as such a variegated set of reflections. Discovering the scene that each study explores helps to elucidate the vitality of the memory at work. It also helps readers to identify the process that people continue today as carriers of a tradition amid challenges to discover new meaning for new circumstances and awareness.

David J. Zucker proposes that the book of Esther develops a counterpoint to the capable wife described in Proverbs 31:10-31. In “Esther: Subverting the ‘Capable Wife,’” Zucker details how the author/editor of Esther describes a different kind of woman, even appearing to “make fun of the earlier idealized personage” in Proverbs with its own melodrama and irony of an idealized woman.

Lesley DiFransico, in “Distinguishing Emotions of Guilt and Shame in Psalm 51,” untangles the meanings of each emotion and attempts to find the correct term to elicit the emotions that Psalm 51 describes.

Nicholas J. Schaser raises a critical question regarding the roles of Peter and Paul in the writings of Luke. “Unlawful for a Jew? Acts 10:28 and the Lukan View of Jewish-Gentile Relations” suggests that Peter misrepresents the tradition whereas Paul acts in accord with its openness of Jews to relations with Gentiles.

Aaron White, in “Reading Inclusion backwards: Considering the Apostolic Decree Again in Fresh Context” demonstrates how Leviticus 17–19 serves as a blueprint for the Apostolic Decree, which then develops an eschatological ecclesiology that has ongoing impact on the biblical tradition.

In each instance, the later works reflect upon the earlier in new settings, providing new insights and developments within the biblical canon, seeking continuity amid change.