The Philosophy of Hebrew Scripture

In his most recent book, "The Philosophy of Hebrew Scripture", Yoram Hazony successfully demonstrates the importance of reading the Hebrew Scriptures as works of reason, rather than as revelation, vis-à-vis the Greek understanding of reason and revelation. While he states that he is "not interested in denying that the Bible is a work of revelation", he argues that "we'll get much farther in understanding them if we choose to read the Hebrew Scriptures as works of reason". In his introduction, Hazony points out that the reason-revelation dichotomy basic to a Greek and Christian methodology of interpretation is not relevant for the Hebrew Scriptures as this distinction was developed centuries after the composition of the Hebrew texts and is a foreign concept to the authors of those texts. Therefore, the application of the reason-revelation dichotomy to the Hebrew texts results in a distortion of the intent of their authors, as well as historic misinterpretation and current avoidance of these texts in academia. Already in the introduction, Hazony has presented groundbreaking material that provides a firm foundation for the insightful and compelling arguments that follow.In the first three chapters of this book, Hazony provides his interpretive framework for understanding the philosophical content of the Hebrew Scriptures. His purpose is to develop a new framework to address what he sees as the challenges to understanding the philosophy contained in the biblical texts. Chapter one identifies the literary structure of the Hebrew Bible and establishes the History of Israel (Genesis-Kings) as "the defining statement of ancient Israelite thought", and "a work with a strong internal coherence"; conclusions that are essential for the rest of the work. Chapter two differentiates the purposes of the authors of the Hebrew Bible from those of the New Testament texts and concludes that the History of Israel was written "in the hope of achieving a desperate political purpose", as well as the "investigation of the moral and political order". In other words, the History establishes general metaphysical truths for the purpose of understanding particular concerns of the Jewish people. Chapter three identifies techniques used by the authors of the Hebrew Bible to make arguments that address general questions of human experience; techniques that are not only demonstrated through examples in this chapter, but are applied throughout the rest of the book as well.Following his thorough explanation of the methodology necessary for reading the Bible as a work of reason, Hazony spends five chapters presenting specific, and interrelated, studies that demonstrate the ethics, political philosophy and metaphysics of Hebrew Scripture. Chapter four focuses on the characters of Abel, Abraham, Joseph and Jacob in order to demonstrate God's preference for the ethics of the shepherd, which include retaining independent judgment of what is right even if it means resisting God, and the "ability to act against the interest of worldly power in the service of something higher, that is the source of man's capacity to act justly". The fifth chapter addresses general issues in political philosophy raised in the History of Israel such as the relationship of the individual to the state, anarchy, political order and reasons that a state might fail, for the purpose of proposing a political philosophy that will "secure a life of freedom for Israel" as it seeks "the good and the right". Chapter six uses the book of Jeremiah to wrestle with the question of how a person can discern between right and wrong, truth and falsity, and advances the compelling argument that every person has the individual responsibility to learn the truth for themselves. The seventh chapter continues the discussion on truth by reconstructing what the biblical authors meant by truth. Through insightful discussions of truth as "agreement with reality", the truth of objects and persons, and Hebrew davar as word and thing, Hazony demonstrates that in the Bible, the truth of words, objects and people are synonymous and proven over time - in contrast to Greek philosophical thought, which understands the truth of words and thoughts as independent of objects and as existing in a given moment. And finally, chapter eight contrasts faith as understood by Tertullian of Carthage with reason and the human search for truth, wisdom and justice advocated by the authors of the Hebrew Bible.Through these thought-provoking studies, Hazony has not only demonstrated that the Hebrew Scriptures can be read as works of reason, but he has provided the interpretive framework for how to understand their philosophical content and made a brilliant case as to why it is necessary to read them as such. He has thoroughly supported his claim that "biblical metaphysics does not appear capable of sustaining the Greek-style conception of revelation". And in contrast to the reason-revelation dichotomy basic to a Greek and Christian methodology of interpretation, Hazony arrives at what can only be described as a groundbreaking conclusion when he suggests that after "our understanding of God's revelation to man in Hebrew Scripture, and our understanding of reason" become clear, it is not clear how possible it will be "for us to hold apart and keep distinct" the two terms. One would hope in light of this statement, that Hazony will publish a subsequent work; one that further develops our understanding of revelation and reason in Hebrew Scripture, as well as their relationship to each other.In spite of the desire for an even deeper understanding, the interrelation of revelation and reason has been demonstrated through Hazony's studies from the Hebrew Bible. Therefore, this book is a must read for both biblicists and philosophers. Furthermore, because Hazony makes thorough use of applicable methodology from the fields of biblical studies and philosophy, this book is an excellent example of interdisciplinary research - again making it a must read for philosophers and biblicists alike. And because the studies from the Hebrew Bible make clear applications of general knowledge to particular cases, Hazony's conclusions are not only groundbreaking in the academic realm for biblicists and philosophers, but they are insightful and compelling for interpretive communities as well.Tricia M. Aven, Ph.D. in Hebrew Bible, Adjunct Professor at Claremont School of Theology

Yoram Hazony offers an interpretation of the Hebrew Bible that may initially bother many religious people, but when they think about what he is saying, they may feel that they have gained a deeper understanding and appreciation of Scripture.Hazony states that we should read "Hebrew Scriptures as works of reason or philosophy," not as a document that must be accepted based on blind faith. It makes no difference whether one believes that Scripture was miraculously revealed or that it was composed by intelligent people, "we'll get much further in understanding what these texts were intended to say to us if we read them as works of reason." What is important is our duty to explore "how best to conduct the life of the nation and of the individual."He gives many examples that prove that the Hebrew Bible reflects natural law and that it teaches people to use their intelligence, think, seek truth, and not passively accept traditions. In fact, the Bible doesn't present a single view of life. The Bible is composed of "often sharply conflicting texts." It is an assembly of works "so readers could strive to understand the various perspectives embraced by [these views], and in so doing build up an understanding of their own."The Bible, Hazony emphasizes, extols the life of the shepherd over that of the farmer. Farmers and city dwellers are generally people who are stagnant, obey instructions, accept a way of life without questioning it and sticking to this life without personal growth; while shepherds are people on the move, always seeking to better themselves, thinkers. Biblical heroes such as Abel, Abraham, Jacob, Moses, David, and many others were shepherds. A shepherd is "disobedient, preoccupied with improving his own lot and that of his dependents, and willing to overturn the inherited order to achieve this end." Like Abraham and Moses, thinkers defy the views of the leaders of their society and even dispute with God. Thinkers feel that "A state that does not serve the right kind of ethical purpose is for them no state, just as a god that does not serve this purpose is for them no god." And the Bible is clear that God "loves those who disobey for the sake of what is right...when a man has used his freedom to wrestle with him and to prevail."The Bible holds "individuals and nations morally responsible for their actions even where they appear to have received no laws or commands from him of any kind." Thus, for example, Cain is punished for murdering his brother, Noah's generation is destroyed for their violence, and Sodom for its perversity, even though they were never commanded not to kill and to act properly. The "sheer quantity of such examples [shows that] God's commands are either supplementary to, or themselves expressions of, a fundamental moral law that derives from the nature of things." Biblical laws are a base that challenges people to build upon to create a better life.While demonstrating that the Bible teaches that people are obliged to think, Hazony offers his readers much more, including an extensive investigation into the meaning of terms that most people accept without really understanding them, such as truth, faith, justice, amen, and reliability, and what it means to be human and to obey God. Readers will be especially intrigued by Hazony's discussion on, if Scripture was not revealed by God, why does it say frequently "God said"? Among other things, Hazony shows that the ancient philosophers also ascribed their rational thoughts to a god.

In his introduction, Hazony makes two major points. The first is that the history of philosophy as taught in the universities and in general text books, pays next to no attention to the philosophy of the Hebrew Bible: for them the history of philosophy begins with the Greeks and with Christianity. (Teaching, as I do, the philosophy of Biblical Judaism as part of my History of Philosophy course, I had been quite unconscious of this first point.) The second point is that, while they ignore the fact that early Greek philosophers like Parmenides, Empedocles and even Socrates claim that the philosophical positions they expounded were attained with the help of the gods, they dismiss as unworthy of philosophy any position in the Hebrew Bible that is attributed to a revelation by God. The distinction, let alone the clash, between Reason and Revelation, Hazony believes, simply did not exist before the Fathers of the Christian Church first adopted it, to be vigorously resumed by the Enlightenment as part of its denigration of Revelation.In the rest of the book Hazony then shows the philosophy that is to be found in the Hebrew Bible. He writes that the many books that make up the Hebrew Bible as we now have it were collected, EDITED and then presented to us to make a coherent philosophical whole. The Redactor saw the historical books from Genesis to the Babylonian exile as central, and the books of the Prophets as a philosophical, political, ethical and, above all, critical commentary on especially the later parts of that history. There is further philosophical material in Psalms, Proverbs, Job and Kohelet (Ecclesiastes).This does not mean that these philosophical commentaries have a single viewpoint or message - conflicting ones are presented to us as a challenge for our own philosophical thinking, their truth to be tested by experience and not (like the Virgin Birth, Resurrection, or the Trinity) laid down by credal formulations. God's wisdom is not contrary to the human wisdom resting on experience, but an extension of it.The historical books present their own philosophical material. The narrative is often "instructional". For example, a careful study of five of the sons of Jacob can, by implication, tell us what does and does not contribute to good leadership. The repetition across the Bible of certain similar but not identical situations were intended to invite us to see common principles at work in them, which is again an exercise of philosophical meditation. The repetition of certain phrases is also designed to emphasize what the contexts in which they appear have in common.The Hebrew Bible repeatedly makes the point that Abraham and his descendants will be a blessing to ALL by the nations of the world and a light to lighten the gentiles. That is because their values and their way of life - their philosophy, in short - has universal validity, and, because their ability to produce in practice the good life can be tested by experience, is capable of being perceived by all. (Hazony implies that obedience to the Mosaic Law can be justified because it has these good effects in practice. I can see that this is broadly true of the Ten Commandments - but not how it can be true of many of its remaining 603.)When it comes to what values the Hebrew Bible actually promotes, Hazony believes that they are the values of freedom and independence, as characterized by "shepherds" like Abel (and also Abraham, Jacob, Moses, and David) as opposed to those of "farmers" (like Cain), who are tied to the soil, to tradition, to obedience and - ingeniously - the urban life (Cain becomes the founder of Hanoch, the first city, Gen.4:17) - in other words the values prized by rulers of states and empires who, more often than not, will be the targets of the Prophets. Unlike the idea of surrounding states (and later of Plato and Aristotle) that it is the state in which man finds his fullest development, the ethos of the Hebrew Bible exalts the independent individual who does not hesitate to argue - successfully - even with God, as Abraham, Jacob (Israel, who "struggled against God and prevailed") and Moses sometimes do. The Bible recognizes that kingship is a necessary evil to prevent chaos, for God reluctantly accepts this (I.Sam. 8:22) and had even anticipated it in Deut.17:14-17; but it is made clear that this should be a limited and God-fearing monarchy, unlike the neighbouring ones in which the kings were treated as divine and ethically unaccountable. Alas, even the best of kings, like David, will have ethical failings for which they will be chastized by prophets.Hazony devotes a long chapter to the Bible's support for "the Ethics of a Shepherd" - illustrating it with the stories of Cain and Abel, of Abraham and of Joseph. The chapter is closely argued but intensely controversial and has in fact resulted in a lengthy debate (and not just about this point) between Hazony and another scholar, Jon D. Levenson, in the pages of the Jewish Review of Books in 2012 and 2013. Hazony's chapter includes an explanation why God accepted the sacrifice of Abel but spurned that of Cain, and including also a radical take on the so-called Sacrifice of Isaac, which many readers will find hard to take.In two chapters towards the end, Hazony discusses some rather technical differences - more of specialist than of general interest - between Biblical and Greek philosophy (How do we achieve knowledge of what is good? What is meant by saying that something is true?). There is also a technical appendix in which he explains what he means by Philosophy.Many of the end notes - 80 pages on a text of 273 pages - are not just references, but are a really important part of the book. That is a little trying in a work which, though difficult in places, is written (and argued) with exemplary and attractive lucidity.

Not an easy book to read, but an excellent one. Hazony shows that the Christian view of the Bible as ‘revelation’ is inapplicable to the Hebrew Scripture; and that the dichotomy between ‘reason’ and ‘revelation’ is erroneous. Instead he outlines the principles underlying Judaism and the Hebrew Bible.

A must for all thinking christians. First of all, because the author helps us demystify the Bible. By approaching it is as a book one can think about without necessarily stepping on sacred ground - because it is a book that has a lot to say about how we live, think and interact. The Bible is quite earthly.Also, mr Hazony sheds new light on what are by many considered to be "familiar" Scriptures, but lets us discover new perspectives by his knowledge of Hebrew.Easy to read, but profound in its insight.

Haven't yet finished reading but in terms of goods and services everything was excellent; the product was what I expected and in accordance with Kindle downloading services the book arrived immediately. Thank you

Book tries to hard to describe the Hebrew Scriptures as a non-revelatory tract based on reason and almost natural law. Some good textual analysis but still fee there is a hidden agenda which makes an otherwise scholarly work fall flat!