Including the Stranger: Foreigners In The Former Prophets (New Studies in Biblical Theology, vol. 50 | NSBT)
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Overview
The Old Testament, particularly the Former Prophets, has frequently been regarded as having a negative attitude towards foreigners. This has meant that these texts are often employed by those opposed to the Christian faith to attack the Bible; and such views can be echoed by Christians. While the story of David and Goliath is cherished, other episodes are seen to involve ‘ethnic cleansing’ or ‘massacre’ and are avoided.
David Firth’s contention is that this view emerges from an established interpretation of the text, but not the text itself. He argues that the Former Prophets subvert the exclusivist approach in order to show that the people of God are not defined by ethnicity but rather by their willingness to commit themselves to the purposes of Yahweh. God’s purposes are always wider than Israel alone, and Israel must therefore understand themselves as a people who welcome and include the foreigner.
Firth addresses contemporary concerns about the ongoing significance of the Old Testament for Christians, and shows how opponents of Christianity have misunderstood the Bible. His reading of the Former Prophets also has significant ethical implications for Christians today as they wrestle with the issues of migration and what it means to be the people of God.
- Explores the ethical implications for Christians as they wrestle with the issues of migration
- Examines how opponents of Christianity have misunderstood the Bible
- Addresses contemporary concerns about the ongoing significance of the Old Testament for Christians
Top Highlights
“In the end, although there is no one method and there are some figures whose status is never entirely clear, many foreigners are mentioned in the Former Prophets, with many of these included among the people of God so that the boundaries of this people is constantly being challenged; so Israel are constantly being reformed in ways that remind them that just as they were once a foreign people in Egypt, so other foreigners can become a part of them.” (Pages 10–11)
“A key theme running through Joshua was the fact that the people of God could not be reduced to something defined by ethnicity.” (Page 53)
“The narrator expects readers to discern why this behaviour is inappropriate without the need to make this explicit.” (Page 8)
“Rahab’s presentation in Joshua 2 is thus fraught with ambiguity—she is both stereotypically someone who should be placed under the ban, and yet also someone who confesses faith in Yahweh in a way that challenges this.” (Page 21)
“Second, the positive attitude towards foreigners also recognized that the people of God were not defined on the basis of ethnicity but rather on the basis of faith.” (Page 184)
David Firth carefully traces out what can be learned of the ways in which foreigners were viewed in the Former Prophets. Along the way he draws attention to surprises: a foreign prostitute like Rahab becomes an Israelite, and an Israelite like Achan is cut off from the Israelites. Tracing the trajectories, Dr. Firth opens up biblical texts that are not as widely known as some passages, and drops tantalizing hints about the ultimate canonical move to the notion of God’s people drawn from every tongue, tribe, people, and nation.
—D. A. Carson, Research Professor of New Testament, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, USA
- Title: Including the Stranger: Foreigners in the Former Prophets
- Author: David G. Firth
- Editor: D. A. Carson
- Series: New Studies in Biblical Theology (NSBT)
- Publisher: IVP
- Publication Date: 2019
- Pages: 240
- Resource Type: Biblical Theology
- Topic: Biblical Studies