Ethical Issues in the Abraham Narrative

Eryl W. Davies enhances understanding of the ethical issues embedded in the stories concerning Abraham in Genesis 12-25.

He focuses on the ethics of deception in Gen. 12:10-20 and 20:1-18 and the ’dark side’ of the character of God, as revealed in stories such as the binding of Isaac in Gen. 22, while also considering how the writings of philosophers such as Kant, Kierkegaard and Habermas illuminate aspects of the biblical stories.

Davies closely explores the ambivalence of characterisation, the subtleties and ambiguities of plot, the significance of narrative point of view, and how the actions of the characters have been evaluated both within the text itself and by subsequent commentators. By examining the morally problematic issue of the connection between deed and consequence, the plight of Hagar, the nature of sin in the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah and the perspectives surrounding the incest of Lot and his daughters, Davies demonstrates how biblical narratives can function in ethical deliberation.

Eryl W. Davies is Emeritus Professor and formerly Head of School of Philosophy and Religion, Bangor University, Wales, UK.