Wenn Gott versucht: zur "Theodizee der Erprobung" im Alten Testament
In the current debate about the petition on temptation in the Lord’s Prayer, references to the Old Testament are widely absent from the discussion. In rendering the Hebrew nsh (D-stem) or the Greek peirázein into being »tried« or »tested«, modern translations prove that its biblical usage is semanti...
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | German |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Echter
2019
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| In: |
Zeitschrift für katholische Theologie
Year: 2019, Volume: 141, Issue: 1, Pages: 22-43 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Parallel Edition: | Electronic
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| Summary: | In the current debate about the petition on temptation in the Lord’s Prayer, references to the Old Testament are widely absent from the discussion. In rendering the Hebrew nsh (D-stem) or the Greek peirázein into being »tried« or »tested«, modern translations prove that its biblical usage is semantically wider than the almost exclusively negative connotation attributed to being »tempted« (Ger. versuchen). Although Old Testament instances of being »tempted by God« cannot be attributed to a particular redactional layer, they do constitute a loosely organised »Theology of Trial«, which in turn practically serves as a kind of theodicy within periods of Israel’s history which it finds difficult to interpret otherwise. This article discusses those references, setting out with the »foundational figure« of Abraham, in whom Israel’s experiences during its desert wanderings and within the Promised Land are already presupposed. Hermeneutically, the instances of Abraham’s being tried by God prove themselves to be circumstances in which both Abraham and Israel are to show reverence and obedience towards God. Should they succeed in doing so, they would be richly blessed by God. The tendency towards understanding trial as »temptation towards evil« by Satan can be traced from the Book of Job, along the Book of Jubilees to prayers from Qumran. This might be the background of the addition to the sixth petition of the Lord’s Prayer in the Gospel according to Matthew. Independent of its rendering, the Old Testament Theology of Trial acts as a safeguard against the Image of God being obscured and allows God’s actual positive intentions to become intelligible when He »leads us«, as His People, »into temptation«. |
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| Contains: | Enthalten in: Zeitschrift für katholische Theologie
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