Deliverance from Slavery: Attempting a Biblical Theology in the Service of Liberation (Historical Materialism, 110)

‘Delivery from slavery’: these words, taken from a Dutch labour movement song, perfectly map onto the Bible’s central concern. They are also similar to the Torah’s key phrase: ‘I am YHWH, your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage' (Ex 20:2). The words are invoked here to serve as an axiom to be introduced into the modern period. The watchword ‘delivery from slavery’ translates the biblical message of the exodus from slavery into the theory and practice of a modern liberation movement. The present work argues that biblical theology is the attempt to ‘update’ the ‘language of the message’. It searches for a language that attends to the concerns of today’s world while ‘preserving’ the concerns that originally motivated biblical language. Biographical note Dick Boer, Dr. theol. [1939], theologian, retired professor at the University of Amsterdam. He has published monographs on 'theology and ideology', the history of modern theology and Karl Barth. Readership All interested in biblical theology, philosophy and Marxism. Contents 7 Translator’s Note 9 Foreword 10 Acknowledgements 18 Introduction 19 Chapter 1. Text and Context 35 Chapter 2. Canon 55 Chapter 3. Exodus 62 Chapter 4. Covenant 82 Chapter 5. Creation 111 Chapter 6. Anthropology (Gn 2–4) 138 Chapter 7. Entry 165 Chapter 8. The Real Israel 224 Postscript 1. Paul and the Messianic Community 245 Postscript 2. Though He Liberated Others, He Could Not Liberate Himself 276 References 291 Index of Authors 297 Index of Biblical References 299 Translator’s Note Foreword by Roland Boer Introduction 1. Text and Context 2. Canon 3. Exodus 4. Covenant 5. Creation 6. Anthropology (Gn 2–4) 7. Entry 8. The Real Israel Postscript 1. Paul and the Messianic Community Postscript 2. Though he liberated others, he could not liberate himself References Index