Chance in the Hebrew Bible: Views in Job and Genesis 1

Abstract

There are a variety of views on ‘chance’ to be found in the Hebrew Bible, or Old Testament. In this chapter we will discuss the Book of Job and the opening chapter in the Book of Genesis, i.e. Genesis 1, both as narratives and as poetic texts and explore the philosophical and theological consequences for a better understanding of the concept of chance. In the prologue of the Book of Job, chance is referred to as the result of a wager between God and the satan, who is described as one of the sons of God. In the dialogue between Job and his friends, bad luck is viewed as a consequence of bad behaviour while good luck is the result of good behaviour. In this sense, chance clearly functions within a moral framework of retribution. At the end of the Book of Job, in God’s speech out of the whirlwind, chance is linked to a multifocal view of the universe and understood in terms of position, perspective, and scale. Also the opening chapter of the Book of Genesis offers a non-deterministic view on chance. Chance is not the exception in a causal or necessary chain of events, but it stands out in a framework of non-linear thinking in which totality and instantaneity alternate. With regard to both biblical texts, God’s speech in the Book of Job and Genesis 1, chance can be conceived as a disqualifier of this chain of events, and even as an ultimate denial of the existence of necessity.