Abstract
The repeated Old Testament injunction that God ‘visits the guilt of the fathers on the sons’ raises difficulties for the modern reader who might question the justice or morality of such divine behaviour. This paper explores: the injunction within its various literary, sociological, historical and theological contexts; how this injunction is applied internally in the Old Testament; and how it differs from the realm of the criminal justice system and the theme of individual responsibility. As result, one learns that this phrase, in its full expression, uses figurative and formulaic language from the legal context of covenant. It belongs to an expression that emphasizes the lasting mercy of God, while still communicating the serious collective consequences of breaking covenant.
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