Abstract

For all its anthropocentric focus on human agency in history and creation, the Hebrew Bible’s valuing of nonhuman life and its diversity cannot be gainsaid among certain traditions. Such is the case in three major creation texts: Genesis 1, Psalm 104, and Job 38–41. Each in its own way, these biblical accounts affirm the intrinsic worth of biodiversity, the expansiveness of life, and a God who values the flourishing of all creation.

Highlights

  • Sun, and moon set in the heavens and the various forms of life “of every kind” filling the sky, land, and sea, creation proceeds from emptiness to fullness in the right column, a fullness that is by no means homogenous

  • Haldane (1892–1964) was asked what biology could say about God

  • The three creation texts discussed above vividly illustrate, each in its own way, just how immensely “fond” God is of biodiversity

Read more

Summary

Introduction

Not until the end of the twentieth century and the beginning of the twenty-first have biblical scholars begun to appreciate the theological value of “nature,” and that of nonhuman life, in the Bible Biblical studies that focus on the place of animals in the Bible and in ancient Israelite society have themselves become legion.2 In this modest exegetical contribution to this growing focus in biblical research, I take up the specific issue of biodiversity and its theological value in the Hebrew Bible.

Genesis 1
The Joy of Biodiversity in Psalm 104
Biodiversity Gone Wild in Job
Findings
Conclusions
Full Text
Paper version not known

Talk to us

Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have

Schedule a call