Moral Compass Project

Subproject: Law, ethics and polarisation in the Bible and ancient Judaism

How universal is the divine law?

This subproject focuses on how universal divine law is in the Bible and ancient Judaism. How does the divine nature of biblical laws affect their validity? Can the Law of Moses have a universal appeal? If so, under which conditions? And is the law actually a good basis for morality? Whereas many contemporary views tend to assign little importance to the revealed or transcendent nature of the Good, ancient Jewish and early Christian literature is constantly attentive to this aspect of morality. Consider, for example, Jesus' statement that he came to fulfill the law, not to abolish it (Matt 5:17) or Paul's discussion of ‘the works of the law’ in his letters to the Romans and Galatians. At the same time, traditions can be discerned in the Bible in which the law seems to play only a marginal role: Wisdom (Proverbs, Ecclesiastes) and apocalypticism (Daniel, Revelation) are well-known examples.

Ancient Jewish and contemporary discussions

Discussions about the position and validity of the divine law are not limited to biblical writings, but are rooted in broader discussions within ancient Judaism. For example, Philo of Alexandria equates the Law of Moses with the Stoic Law of Nature. Philo describes the sage as cosmopolitan who lives in accordance with Nature. The book of Ben Sira equates the Law of Moses with wisdom as a universal ethical principle. Still other writings envision universal morality at the end of time, when all nations will turn to the God of Israel.

Ancient Jewish reflections have so far received relatively little attention in contemporary discussion of this topic. Rather, these ancient texts are read as a particular literary genre, with no special attention to their embedding in contemporary philosophical and theological debates. By bringing ancient Jewish writings into dialogue with contemporary philosophical and theological sources, this project encourages a reappraisal of ancient Jewish literature for thinking today.

Apocalypticism and ethics

Special attention in this subproject is given to the question of how morality is addressed in apocalyptic texts of ancient Jewish or early Christian origin. This includes Bible books such as Daniel and Revelation, as well as extra-Biblical texts such as 1 Enoch and 4 Ezra.

Such texts are not just about the end of time, but call (perhaps above all) for the good in the present. Visions interpret events in the reader's time. A striking tension in these texts is that between ‘clarity’ and ‘obscurity’. There is great ‘clarity’ in the visions about the events of the end times unfolding inescapably, especially in the form of divine judgment. On the other hand, it is not always clear exactly who will be condemned, and who are the ‘righteous’ that will be saved. The visions are often contained in mysterious imagery. There are also references to information that is withheld and not revealed. This whole complex seems not only to conjure up a final reality for the readers of the texts, but also to call for self-reflection. Do they belong to the righteous or not? There is an ethical appeal to this - an appeal from the transcendent Good.

Apocalyptic texts are often written in a crisis situation. Such a situation calls for thinking in a new way about what it is to live well and how the transcendent Good plays a role in it. Many people also experience the current times as in some sense apocalyptic, because of the major, life-threatening problems of climate change, global polarisation and increased wars. This study seeks to have voices from antiquity contribute to the current debate about morality in times of crisis and end-time mood.

Researchers

• Dr Bärry Hartog, associate professor of Biblical Studies and Ancient Judaism, focuses his research in particular on how discussions around the law fuel polarization and us-vs-them thinking between different Jewish groups. Relatedly, he analyses the rhetoric of emotions and the development of conspiracy thinking and group identities in ancient Jewish literature.
• Benjamin Bogerd focuses his doctoral research on the topic of apocalypticism and ethics.

Key publications

• Hartog, P.B. “Truth and Conspiracy in Three Qumran Teacher Hymns (1QH^a 10:5–21; 10:33–11:5; 12:6–13:6).” Te verschijnen in Was ist Wahrheit?“ (Joh 18,38): Kommunikation von Wahrheit durch Texte? Neutestamentliche Perspektiven in antikem und postmodernem Horizont. Geredigeerd door B. Siggelkow-Berner en S.K. Luther. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht.