Book Review of Story as Torah by Wenham - Part 4

Wenham’s Problemmatic Tales

Wenham’s “Problemmatic Tales” are problematic as he notes. They are also problemmatic in a way that Wenham surely does not intend. By noting these, he notes the fundamental flaw in his thesis—namely, that all stories do not fit the mold. There are some stories about which the reader simply cannot discern the implied author’s ethical ideal. He uses two examples.

1. Shechem and Dinah (p. 110ff.). There are conflicting issues: Jacob’s response of doing nothing at the news of rape vs. his anger at the news of slaughter. The reprehensibleness of Shechem (rape, seduction, or willing girl) vs. the reprehensibleness (or justification) of Simeon and Levi. The author leaves this story completely unresolved.

2. Gideon (pp. 119ff.) – Here again are conflicting issues: Gideon’s fear of inadequacy with dependence on God, followed by his pursuit of Zebah and Zalmunnah without reference to YHWH’s approval or instruction, followed by the construction of the ephod (which some defend as well intended, though it leads to idolatry).

These types of situations (and these two are not the only two that could be raised) do not disprove Wenham’s thesis so much as they note its inadequacy to deal completely with the text.

Conclusion

Wenham is most assuredly correct when he argues that stories have instruction. However, the means by which he goes about determining that instruction is not clearly laid out, even when he finally gets to it on p. 88. However, his closing comments provide helpful direction.

“The Church today, like Israel of old, still hopes and prays for the consummation. It still has to live in a world distorted by hardness of heart and not as it was in the beginning. It still lives in a world where sin and violence are endemic. Individual Christians and the Church are afflicted by both. They need the laws and narratives of the Old Testament to remind them of the creator’s ideals and how to handle situations which fall short of these ideals. In this way the experience of the saints of the Old Testament has much to teach those of the New” (p. 154).

He closes by emphasizing two key points, which are perhaps the two key points in the OT. The first is God’s tolerance, that thought he has a high ideal, he is a God of grace who does remembers that we are but dust and treats us accordingly. The second is God’s faithfulness to his promises in spite of his unfaithful people. Over and over again, these two points arise throughout the biblical narrative, reminding us that story is torah, at least in some respects.