In the Lectionary reading for today from 1 Samuel 15:24-35, v. 29 reads:
Moreover, the Glory of Israel will not recant or change his mind; for he is not a mortal, that he should change his mind.’
And then in v. 35:
...And the Lord was sorry that he had made Saul king over Israel.
There are many more examples.
ReplyDeleteGod is a Dynamic god, a Creator, never to be expected to stay in the spot/pedestal we like to confine him/her/it to.
Only Hellenist Philosophy (Indo European religion) talks of eternal, immutable, immovable...
ReplyDeleteI don't think God changes his mind, but I'm pretty sure humans do...! Saul had changed his mind about being faithful to God (at least as 1 Samuel tells the story.
ReplyDeleteVerse 29 follows on from verse 28, which says that the Lord had made a decision to remove the kingdom from Saul and give it to a better candidate. Verse 29 ('for he is not a mortal, that he should change his mind'), in context, means that this decision is irrevocable. This is in agreement with verse 35, which, as you note, says that the Lord was sorry he'd made Saul king.
I have to admit, though, to having a sneaking suspicion that reading about Saul in the books of Samuel is a bit like reading about Richard III in Shakespeare - in the days when the Tudor dynasty needed to put their claim to the throne beyond doubt...
What a bad thought for a good evangelical boy like me!!!
God is not immutable, because God changed when the Word became flesh. I lean toward the idea of a dynamic God, too, Göran. And I'm not sure that God doesn't have changes of mind.
ReplyDeleteTim, I don't take the words in the passage literally, but when I read them this morning, I started thinking - always a dangerous undertaking.
Your naughty thought only adds a little spice to the good evangelical boy.
"Set the word itself against the word." Naughty.
ReplyDelete[Thought this was scripture, but turns out it's "Richard II"]
It seems to me that Moses talked God out of a couple of potentially very bad decisions.
ReplyDeleteLapin, you know so much more than I do, but those words are so absolutely Shakespearean.
ReplyDeleteRichard, who is in prison and about to be murdered, continues
ReplyDelete'As thus: "Come, little ones," and then again, "It is as hard to come as for a camel To thread the postern of a small needle's eye".' - so this is what he was talking about.
Maybe that's why you associated the words with the Bible.
ReplyDeleteExactly why - among other things Shakespeare's Richard was pointing out the ambiguity of Scripture.
ReplyDeleteTranslation alert--probably the KJV thought the original text was being euphemistic (which the Bible and rabbinic literature often is), and therefore did not literally translate the actual Hebrew text, which uses the verb "nacham", meaning "comfort" or "console". (As in Isaiah's proclamation of "comfort ye, comfort ye, o my people", and the Hebrew name Menachem (as in PM Begin).) (As an illustration of euphemism, the upcoming month of Av is known as Menachem-Av, because of its connection to the destructions of the Two Temples, and the tradition that the Messiah will be born during that month.)
ReplyDeleteSo it's really "The Lord was comforted...", not "The Lord repented...".
Another, less important mistranslation: the term translated here "Glory of Israel" is really "Eternal One of Israel" or "Enduring One of Israel"--Netzach Yisrael, which does suit the context somewhat better.
Kishnevi, the Lord was comforted that Saul was no longer king? Is that it?
ReplyDeleteIt's true that Eternal One or Enduring One would suit the context better.
Interesting thoughts! I think we've lost Him/Her in translation. If we were created like Him, then we have similar characteristics and one could very well be an open mind to change!
ReplyDelete