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    Genesis Xu

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    hanxx254
    Abraham's conversation with God about the fate of Sodom and Gomorrah establishes a unique relationship between God and a mortal man. God expresses uncertainty about revealing his plans to Abraham and seems to recognize Abraham as a great man. Abraham then proceeds to subtly change God's decision through logical reasoning, convincing God not to destroy the cities if they contain a certain number of righteous people. This portrayal of a mortal altering God's decision through persuasion differs from relationships between gods and mortals in Greek literature, where mortals could be favored but not influence gods' actions. It also differs from earlier parts of Genesis that distinguished God as the superior creator and tester of mankind.

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    Genesis Xu

    Uploaded by

    hanxx254
    23 views1 page
    Abraham's conversation with God about the fate of Sodom and Gomorrah establishes a unique relationship between God and a mortal man. God expresses uncertainty about revealing his plans to Abraham and seems to recognize Abraham as a great man. Abraham then proceeds to subtly change God's decision through logical reasoning, convincing God not to destroy the cities if they contain a certain number of righteous people. This portrayal of a mortal altering God's decision through persuasion differs from relationships between gods and mortals in Greek literature, where mortals could be favored but not influence gods' actions. It also differs from earlier parts of Genesis that distinguished God as the superior creator and tester of mankind.

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    Abraham's conversation with God about the fate of Sodom and Gomorrah establishes a unique relationship between God and a mortal man. God expresses uncertainty about revealing his plans to Abraham and seems to recognize Abraham as a great man. Abraham then proceeds to subtly change God's decision through logical reasoning, convincing God not to destroy the cities if they contain a certain number of righteous people. This portrayal of a mortal altering God's decision through persuasion differs from relationships between gods and mortals in Greek literature, where mortals could be favored but not influence gods' actions. It also differs from earlier parts of Genesis that distinguished God as the superior creator and tester of mankind.

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    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as RTF, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as rtf, pdf, or txt
    23 views1 page

    Genesis Xu

    Uploaded by

    hanxx254
    Abraham's conversation with God about the fate of Sodom and Gomorrah establishes a unique relationship between God and a mortal man. God expresses uncertainty about revealing his plans to Abraham and seems to recognize Abraham as a great man. Abraham then proceeds to subtly change God's decision through logical reasoning, convincing God not to destroy the cities if they contain a certain number of righteous people. This portrayal of a mortal altering God's decision through persuasion differs from relationships between gods and mortals in Greek literature, where mortals could be favored but not influence gods' actions. It also differs from earlier parts of Genesis that distinguished God as the superior creator and tester of mankind.

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    Download as rtf, pdf, or txt
    of 1

    - Shuang Xu 1 Shuang Xu

    UNI: sx2125
    Genesis XII-XXXVI: The Patriarchal Cycle
    Discuss Abraham's conversation with God about the fate of Sodom and Gomorrah in
    Genesis 18:16-33. How does Abraham's relationship with God, as demonstrated here,
    compare with other relationships you've read about between gods and mortals, either in
    Greek literature or earlier in Genesis?
    The conversation between Abraham and God in Genesis 18: 16-33 is unique in its
    establishment of the relationship between the mortal man Abraham and the holy God. The
    excerpt begins with Gods uncertainty. God is contemplating whether or not he should reveal to
    Abraham his investigation of Sodom and Gomorrah, saying, Shall I hide from Abraham what I am
    about to do, seeing that Abraham shall become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of
    the earth shall bless themselves by him? In one way, this self-inquiry and self doubt makes God
    seem almost mortal-like, for he has doubts about his actions and therefore seems imperfect with
    mortal-like flaws. This characteristic of God resembles that of the immortal gods of Greek
    literature. For example, Zeus is mortal-like and imperfect for his lust for other women, while Hera
    is flawed in her jealousy. Also, here, God is being very considerate and caring toward a mortal.
    Gods speech insinuates that he recognizes Abraham as a great man, and he takes this into
    account as he contemplates what he should do. This Gods care for a specific mortal individual
    resembles the way gods of Greek literature favors certain individuals (for example, Athena favors
    Odysseus), and this Gods care for a man resembles the beginning of Genesis, when God
    creates woman because he did not want man to be lonely.
    This excerpt of Genesis 18 continues with the conversation between Abraham and God,
    which reveals a unique relationship between God and mortal not characterized in the Greek
    literature or in the earlier sections of Genesis. As Abraham asks God wilt thou indeed destroy the
    righteous with the wicked? suppose there are fifty righteous with in the city; wilt thou then
    destroy the place and not spare for the fifty righteous forty-five thirty twenty ten he is
    subtly changing Gods initial decision and is convincing God to not destroy Sodom and Gomorrah
    with reasoning: if God would not destroy a city with fifty righteous, why would he destroy a city
    with ten righteous? Why would God destroy a city that he knows probably contains some
    righteous people? In the end, when God answers, For the sake of ten I will not destroy it [the
    city], it is revealed that in a way Abraham has succeeded in convincing God to a degree with
    mortal wit. This seem to make the mortal more powerful before God in comparison to the mortal
    in the Greek literature, who can be favored by the gods by performing sacrifices but can rarely
    alter gods decision with logic. The way that Abraham, a mortal, was able to convince God makes
    mortal seem no less intelligent than the immortal God, and this is different from the earlier
    sections of Genesis, which seems to distinguish God as the superior being that creates man,
    punishes man and woman, and is able to test mortals.

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