This dissertation examines the nature of the concept of the presence of God as expressed in chapters 12-50 of the book of Genesis. It does this on the basis of the text of these chapters as divided among the literary sources of the Pentateuch, as those sources have been traditionally understood. The introductory chapter reviews the history of the study of the concept of the Presence in the Hebrew Scriptures. It traces the origins of the commonly held view that the Hebrew concept of the Presence developed from a nomadic concept of the Presence in which God was thought to be associated with persons to a view that incorporated place-oriented element borrowed from Israel's Canaanite neighbours. It also examines two general concepts of the Presence: the 'Accompanying Presence' in which God is thought reveal Himself in association with persons, and the 'Local Presence' in which God is thought to reveal Himself in association with places. The bulk of the dissertation consists of a close examination of passages in the patriarchal narratives where the concept of the presence of God appears. In this process the dissertation isolates three types of texts: those which contain elements of the Accompanying Presence only, those which contain elements of the Local Presence only, and those which contain elements of both concepts of the Presence intermixed. This examination reveals that the concept of the Presence was a much more significant theological construct in the religious thought of the Hebrew Scriptures than has been commonly recognized. The conclusion notes the distribution of these different types of passages, particularly the mixed-type passages, across the commonly-held literary sources of the Pentateuch and explores the implications of these discoveries. On the basis of this examination, the dissertation proposes a <I>bi-polar </I>concept of the Presence in which both elements of the Accompanying Presence and the Local Presence exist together in a dynamic tension that helps share the Hebrew faith.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:595345 |
| Date | January 1997 |
| Creators | Adams, David Lee |
| Publisher | University of Cambridge |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/283718 |
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