Genesis 15:6 part 2

Genesis 15:6

Introduction:

Genesis 15:6 is one of the most important verses with regard to Christian theology in the whole Old Testament--it is quoted by both Paul (Galatians 3:6, Romans 4:3) and James (James 2:23). I want to argue that the standard evangelical understanding of this verse is mistaken and that this mistake has monumental consequences for Christian theology. My main goal is to determine how Paul interpreted the verse in both Galatians and Romans, but before I do that I need to lay the groundwork. The reader is invited to read my commentaries on Galatians and Romans for a more comprehensive reading of Paul’s theology—this exploration of Genesis 15:6 is only meant to bolster that reading.

The Verse:

Literally the verse reads: and he trusted/had faith in Yahweh and he reckoned it to him righteousness.
Hebrew: hqdx wl hbvjyw hwhyb ,mahw
1. The verb “trusted/had faith” means to have confident trust in someone and the form of the verb (perfect with waw consecutive) refers to repeated action. The verb, which is used with a “b”, is translated in the NRSV as “believed in” (Ex. 14:31, Num. 14:11, Jer. 12:6 [without the “in”], Ps. 119:66, and 2 Chron. 20:20), but also as “trust/trusted” (Ex. 19:9, Num. 20:12, 1 Sam. 27:12). This verb is to be distinguished from the same root verb but used with a “l” which means to accept a report or what one says as true, which the NSRV always translates as “believe/believed” (Gen. 45:26, 1 Kings 10:7/2 Chron. 9:6, Isa. 53:1, Jer. 40:14, Prov. 14:15). This is a point to which I will return.
2. The context of the verse is a dialogue between Abraham and Yahweh. The verse seems to be an interpretive comment otherwise unparalleled. One might have expected a response from God in the order of: “you are righteous before me”. Again, this a point to which I will return.
3. The subject of “reckoned” linguistically could either be Abraham or God. The two main interpretations I will consider take the subject to be God.
4. The meaning of “righteousness” is also a point of contention. It could either mean righteousness of Abraham, that is, right standing before God in the sense of meeting the criterion of correct behavior or it could mean the righteousness of God in the sense that God will act righteously with regard to Abraham and those associated with him by delivering, vindicating, and blessing etc.

The Two Main Interpretations

The Standard Evangelical Interpretation:

The Standard Evangelical interpretation takes the verse to mean that Abraham believed God and that his belief was reckoned as righteousness. The thought is that merely believing takes the place of righteous behavior in God’s eyes. God demands righteous behavior but humans cannot deliver so merely believing is the substitute. Clearly on this reading the “righteousness” is Abraham’s and pertains to his standing before God.

The Problem:

There are severe problems with this reading. The main one is that the context in Genesis never makes a distinction between “merely believing” and righteousness seen as correct behavior. The intended audience would simply not make this dichotomy because it is totally unmotivated. For the standard reading to make sense Abraham’s mere belief has to be a one-time event and it is this belief that is reckoned as righteousness. However, as mentioned above the verb form implies repeated action and it is clear that Abraham believed God prior to 15:6. Already at 12:4 (So Abram went, as the LORD had told him) we are told that Abraham obeyed God and we assume he believed him in order to obey. The NT book of Hebrews harkens back to this verse when it says that by faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to set out for a place that he was to receive as an inheritance (Heb. 11:8). Also, Abraham certainly believed the promises at 13:14-17, well before 15:6. Therefore, it is unlikely that the author of Genesis has in mind Abraham’s one-off act of belief in 15:6, but has a wider reference and a reference that includes Abraham’s obedience.

The Gospel Beyond Belief Interpretation:

The Gospel Beyond Belief interprets the verse as follows: Abraham was faithful to Yahweh and Yahweh rewarded Abraham by crediting to Abraham righteousness in the sense that Yahweh promised Abraham that he (Yahweh) would act righteously toward Abraham and those associated with him. On this reading, Abraham’s faith does not mean merely believing but includes his obedience and the righteousness in question is God’s.

The Advantages:

1. The first advantage to consider is that the context supports this reading. Other texts in Genesis explicitly state that God’s righteousness is given on account of Abraham’s obedience. In 26:3-4 we are told that God will act righteously because Abraham obeyed my voice and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, my laws. Genesis 22:16-18 also links God’s righteous activity to Abraham’s obedience. God will be righteous because you [Abraham] have done this, you have not withheld your son, your only son. It is significant that there is actually a formal link between Abraham’s obedience in 22:16, which uses the triplet “your son, your only one, whom you love” and a triplet found in 12:1, which uses “your land, your birthplace, your father’s house”. The triplets seem to highlight the cost that Abraham must pay to obey God. Also, in both chapters 12 and 22 God tells Abraham to go to a place God will show him. We ought also to include the story in chapter 19:29 where God acts righteously toward Lot seemingly on account of Abraham (God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow).
2. There is a very similar verse to Genesis 15:6 in Psalm 106:30-31 and there the righteousness that is reckoned is clearly God’s. Psalms 106:30-31 reads: “Then Phineas stood up and interceded, and the plague was stopped. And that has been reckoned to him as righteousness from generation to generation forever.” This no doubt harkens back to Phineas’ faithful act recounted in Numbers 25. The meaning is clear; Phineas’ act is rewarded with God’s righteousness.
3. The context of Genesis chapter 15 echoes the story-line in Numbers 25 in that God rewards obedience with his righteousness. This righteousness in both cases takes the form of a covenant (15:7-12 in the Abraham case, Numbers 25:12 in the Phineas case). This provides a rationale as to why the narrator decided to comment on Abraham’s faithfulness and deem it worthy of God’s covenant. Therefore, the Gospel Beyond Belief provides a reason why Genesis 15:6 is said, a feature that we have seen the standard reading lacks. In this regard, it is noteworthy that the covenant chapter 17 is precisely predicated on Abraham’s obedience: “I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless…And I will make my covenant between me and you” (17:1-2).
4. Since I am ultimately interested in Paul’s reading it is of some importance to show that other writings interpreted Genesis 15:6 in the manner of the Gospel Beyond Belief. This is of some importance in that if Paul was going to argue using Genesis 15:6, then his arguments would be stronger if they were based on readings accepted by his opponents. For example, Sirach 44:19-21 attributes God’s covenant (his righteousness) to Abraham’s faithfulness under trial and 1 Maccabees 2:52 explicitly alludes to Genesis 15:6: “Was not Abraham found faithful under temptation, and it was reckoned to him for righteousness,” and regardless of whose righteousness is meant it is clear that more is involved than just belief. Both Sirach and Maccabees were in the LXX that Paul would have read. We also ought not to downplay James 2:23, if not for thinking that the righteousness is God’s but for the sense that Abraham’s faith was not mere belief. If Christians are to take seriously the entire canon, then James ought to at least be factored in how Genesis 15:6 ought to be interpreted.


Paul’s Use of Genesis 15:6

I now will argue that Paul’s understanding of Genesis 15:6 is in line with the Gospel Beyond Belief. As a preface I will say that I think two of the reasons Paul used Genesis 15:6 are that Abraham was uncircumcised at that time and that it was in here that scripture linked faithfulness with God’s righteousness. I will begin with Galatians and use that as a springboard for Romans.
Galatians

I argued in my commentary on Galatians that in Galatians 3:2, 5 Paul mentions that the gift of the Spirit was given on account of Jesus’ faithfulness. Now, this gift of the Spirit in on par with God acting righteously. Therefore, when in Galatians 3:6, Paul quotes Genesis 15:6 it would make complete sense to equate the righteousness in question as God’s righteousness. If God’s righteousness is in mind, then the rest of Galatians 3 fits nicely into place. We can now flesh out God’s righteousness as “blessings” (vss. 8, 14), “the promise” (vss. 14, 16, 17, 18, 19, 21, 22, 29; note that in verse 14 the promise concerns the Spirit which would directly tie-in with 3:2, 5), “a covenant” (vss. 15, 17, see also 4:21-31) and grace (v. 18). I would even argue that Galatians 3:8 is really a restatement of 3:6=Genesis 15:6:

Galatians 3:8: will be blessed in you all the nations.

The blessedness in 3:8 corresponds to the righteousness in 3:6; the “in you” in 3:8 corresponds to the merit-earned faithfulness of Abraham in 3:6.

Paul’s plan in Galatians is to show that Gentiles are included in what was merited to Abraham. In other words, Gentiles are saved not like Abraham, but because of Abraham. Anyway, the standard reading has problems with Abraham because his faith was in God and not Jesus. Also, once Paul is said to be making a distinction between faith and works, then faith is turned into a work as that which humans must meet in order to meet God’s standards.

Romans

As with Galatians, Paul uses Abraham to show that Gentiles are members of his family because membership in his family is not solely based on physical descent. It has been suggested that the opening verse in chapter 4 ought to be translated “Do you think that we Jews have considered Abraham our forefather only according to the flesh?” Paul will argue that, no, Abraham is the father of all those who are faithful and not just the Jews, that is, not just those who have the works of the law (= circumcision). The boast before God in verse 2 has to do with being Jewish and it is this that Paul questions. In 2:17, Paul says that being Jewish is consistent with being disobedient (=unfaithful). But then Paul quotes Genesis 15:6 to show that Abraham is the father of both Jews and Gentiles who are faithful, which is exactly his line of argument in chapter 2. Paul is not talking about Abraham’s belief as opposed to works, he is referring to Abraham’s faithfulness. Again, Paul chooses Genesis 15:6 because at that time Abraham was not circumcised so that he could also be the father of the uncircumcised Gentiles. The talk of “works” in verses 4-5, is solely related to the issue of being Jewish and not related to good deeds. The lesson in verses 6-7 is the same, Gentiles who are faithful will be forgiven, that is, their lawless deeds will not be accounted.

Conclusion

There is no reason to suppose that Paul did not read Genesis 15:6 as his fellow Jews would have read it. It is an interpretive principle to assume that Paul would agree with this common reading and then see if his ideas make sense. In this case, Paul comes out better on the Gospel Beyond Belief reading than on the standard evangelical reading, which has to posit a reading of Paul at odds with the common Jewish reading.