The Year of Jubilee and Old Testament Ethics: A Test Case in Methodology

Abstract

This thesis argues that the “ethical triangle” model of C. J. H. Wright’s OT ethics, slightly adjusted, offers a convincing account of the Jubilee, which is here analysed from the perspective of each of the triangle’s vertices: theological, social, and economic. The meaning and paradigmatic value of the Jubilee is assessed before its correlation to the NT is sought. Wright’s model requires three adjustments. First, an OT topic’s essential thematic components need to be analysed by extremely close readings guided by the priority of the theological angle. Second, the relevant topic and its components must be traced through the OT to demonstrate how changing contexts affect the said topic’s inclusion into larger biblical-theological themes. Finally, each topic must come into conversation with Jesus’ claim of fulfilment, therefore, the last question to ask is how the new covenant, as the ultimate context change, affects the topic. This methodology was explored with the Year of Jubilee as a test case. A close “triangle” reading determined that the legislation was highly theological with economic expression—the opposite of the stereotype current in modern scholarship. The Jubilee was applicable only to the Israelites in the covenant community who were to provide mutual care for their “brothers.” Correlating the Jubilee to the restorative events of the entry into the land and to the Exodus highlights the Edenic motifs within the legislation and show it to be a cyclical re-creation of the original state, arrived at by the power of a redemptive covenant. These themes, and others, are traced through the OT and into the NT, predominantly focusing upon the Lucan corpus