The strong and the fat heart in the Old Testament: Does God hearten the heart? (original) (raw)

Regeneration and the Heart Under the Old Covenant: A Study in Deuteronomy and the Major Prophets

Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, 2021

Biblical scholars debate whether elect members of the old covenant were regenerate, often tying the discussion to the language of circumcision of heart. Yet an analysis of heart transformation metaphors in the prophets reveals that all are mutually-interpreting, eschatological, and linked to the new covenant. This study examines and characterizes the moral heart and its transformation in the prophetic books of Deuteronomy, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel. The heart is shown to be determinant in both allegiance and action, and the epicenter of covenant knowledge and obedience. As a result, heart transformation is needed in order to change one’s relationship to YHWH and his commands. An analysis of the relevant data reveals that, while there is a qualitative difference between the hearts of the elect and non-elect under both covenants, in the new covenant the transformation of heart brings quantitatively new covenant knowledge of YHWH leading to Spirit-empowered obedience.

Scripture's Heart: An Empirical Study of the Word 'Heart' in the Bible

"This article describes an empirical study of the use and meaning of the word, 'heart' in the Bible, performed by identifying each verse in which the word 'heart' (or some variant) appears, and categorizing the word's meaning in that context. The word 'heart' appears in 1078 verses of the King James Version Bible (727 times in the Old Testament, 162 times in the New Testament, and 189 times in the Apocrypha). 'Heart' occurs with the highest rate in the Wisdom Literature (5.7% of all verses); the lowest rates occur in the Book of Revelations (0.7% of verses) and the Gospels/Acts (1.7% of verses). Seven dimensions of the heart as understood in the Bible are identified: cognitive activity (knowing), desiring, intending, emotion, purity and goodness, hardness, and wickedness. A short discussion is supplied that identifies certain salient questions about the Bible's anthropology or model of man's composition. Two items of particular interest concern the relationship of the heart and the mind, and an apparent distinction between the heart as a seat of sentiment and as a center (core) of ones being -- such that these two 'hearts' appear to be different things. The paper contains a link to an online dataset containing all verses of the Bible used in the analyses."

The Hardening of Pharaoh's Heart in Christian and Jewish Interpretation

Journal of Theological Interpretation, 2012

This essay examines theological responses to the hardening of Pharaoh's heart on the part of Christian and Jewish readers from the patristic period through the Reformation. Readings discussed include those of Origen, Gregory of Nyssa, Augustine, the Midrash Rabbah, Rambam, and Martin Luther. The concluding section draws on the history of interpretation to suggest ways in which the theological interpreter of our own day might make sense of the portrayal of God as hardening "the heart of whomever he chooses." Included in the discussion are the relative contributions of source-critical analysis of Exod 7–11.

Intensity Structure: An Exegetical Approach To Pharaoh's Heart Hardening

Problem How can the LORD ascribe sin to humans if He Himself hardens their hearts in order to resist His will? This investigation was directed to find a tentative answer to the paradoxical story of the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart. Various approaches to this phenomenon of hardening were explored. Among these views the most common are: (1) the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart, (2) Pharaoh hardened his own heart, and (3) the LORD and Pharaoh played a part in the process of the hardening. None of these approaches were found to be fully satisfactory, and no scholarly consensus has emerged in dealing with the problem. Method This investigation focused on an exegetical analysis of the meaning of the verbs חזק, קשה, and כבד in the context of the Exodus narrative. Results The result of this investigation was the revelation of an “Intensity Structure” of the story of Pharaoh’s heart hardening. Conclusion This revelation of an “Intensity Structure” tentatively offers a new approach to the unders...

Theopathic or Anthropopathic? A Suggested Approach to Imagery of Divine Emotion in the Hebrew Bible

Perspectives in Religious Studies, 2015

Many theologians treat biblical language that ascribes emotion to God as anthropopathic. That is, instances of divine emotion in the Hebrew Bible, especially anatomical imagery, are often interpreted as merely accommodative attributions of human pathos to God. This essay addresses three prominent rationales for treating depictions of divine emotion in the Hebrew Bible as anthropopathic and asks whether such rationales provide adequate support for excluding divine pathos in the interpretation of such imagery in the Hebrew Bible. In doing so, this essay critically examines the view that figurative anatomical expressions of divine emotion should be excluded as non-descriptive of God and suggests an alternative approach that intentionally avoids subjugating the text to theological presuppositions. An anthropomorphism (anthropos + morphos) is the attribution of human form (or behavior) to a non-human entity. Anthropopathisms (anthropos + pathos) more specifically ascribe human pathos (emotions) to non-human entities who do not possess such traits. In the realm of theology, such monikers are often applied to particular biblical language in order to convey the notion that such phraseology should not be taken to depict God accurately, i.e., that such language attributes to God human characteristics that do not actually correspond to him?

The Heart of Pharaoh in Exodus 4–15

The exegetical problems surrounding the hardening of Pharaoh's heart motif in Exodus 4–15 have long been noted by scholars. In one's attempt to grapple with the interpretive issues that arise from this familiar episode, it is expedient that one's efforts are firmly anchored in the grammar and syntax of the text itself. The following study attempts to analyze the heart-of-Pharaoh motif in light of three concerns: lexical, grammatical, and contextual. The aim of a threefold approach such as this is to offer a reanalysis of this text for the purpose of further elucidating the hardening of Pharaoh's heart as presented in the Exodus narrative.