SOURCE: "Interpreting Literary Sources: The Yahwist and the Promise" in Literary Criticism of the Old Testament, Fortress Press, 1971, pp. 43-64.

[In the following essay, Habel dissects the literary structure and style of the Yahwist in order to recognize the writer's characteristic way of interpreting Israel's past.]

As a literary artist the Yahwist¹ has been compared to Homer and as a theologian to St. Paul. These accolades may be true but they may also prove a smoke screen for the beginning student of the Pentateuch. He wants to see the evidence for a Yahwist source beyond the texts of Genesis 2-9. We could, of course, follow the lead of most introductions to the source hypothesis of the Pentateuch and list all proposed Yahwist style and theology. Such a method is comfortable. It adopts the findings of some great scholar and assumes that the evidence for identifying the Yahwist writer throughout, the Pentateuch is the same or similar to that provided in the preceding analysis of Genesis 1-9. The critical reader, however, will want to test these assumptions. He will want to know what kind of data, criteria, or evidence play a role in the identification and understanding of the Yahwist in the patriarchal, exodus, and wilderness traditions.

It is obvious that we will not have opportunity here to discuss each proposed Yahwist passage. Nor will we have a chance to treat many passages where the separation of Yahwist and Elohist sources is problematical. We shall therefore choose typical and normative materials to illustrate the literary character of the Yahwist subsequent to Genesis 2-9. In so doing we hope that convincing connections with the Yahwist texts of Genesis 2-9 will become apparent and the governing characteristics of the Yahwist's total literary work will be revealed. At the same time we do not want the bold outline of the Yahwist which follows to obscure the fact that many contours of the Yahwist literary source have become blurred in the course of textual redaction and transmission.

The Yahwist at work: a classic passage

Genesis 18 provides a profitable example of Yahwist literary formulation. In this chapter we can discern many of those features which are normative and typical of his literary artistry. A brief analysis of the chapter points up the following structural outline.

18:1-15 The Theophany at Mamre The Meal (1-8) The Annunciation (9-15)	(A) A patriarchal tradition story with editorial marks.
18:16-21 The Decisions of Yahweh Moving to Sodom (16) Soliloquy One (17-19) Soliloquy Two (21-21)	(B) A transition text with programmatic Yahwist passages
18:22-23 The Dialogue over Sodom Introduction (22) The Dialogue (23-32) Conclusion (33)	(C) A patriarchal tradition of heroic intercession

The three kinds of literary material suggested by the above outline provide suitable general categories for studying much of the Yahwist's literary work. To the first category belongs that mass of patriarchal traditions which have been preserved and formulated by the Yahwist in concise and classic story form. In this connection scholars have praised the grace, simplicity, economy of words, rapid movement of events, the suggestion of a setting with but limited detail, the building of suspense and the ability to involve the reader in the drama of an episode, as features typical of this master storyteller. Much of this honor may be due to ancient bards and elders of Israel who retold these incidents in the community circle. Be that as it may, many of these traditions have been preserved, reformulated, introduced, and combined by someone into a literary whole. Marks of one literary artist, identified here as the Yahwist, reappear within the text and context of these classic stories.

What are the grounds for that assertion? 'Let us consider first the literary features of Genesis 18:1-15. Legends about men entertaining divine beings or the annunciation of special births by heavenly figures can be found elsewhere in ancient literature. But few compare with this one in irony, simplicity, and beauty. Three men appear before Abraham in the heat of the day. The very hour of their appearance suggests something unusual about the adventure. Mystery shrouds the entire scene. The men are not identified to Abraham and their purpose is not revealed until after the meal. Abraham must first play the hospitality game. The account of that game is a masterpiece of humor and style. Each action is reported with extreme brevity and each statement is an ironic understatement. Abraham depicts himself as the supremely unworthy host. Typical Yahwist expressions which highlight that feature in the speeches of Abraham include, "your servant," "if I have found grace," "a little water," and "a morsel of bread."

By contrast, the actions of Abraham betray his intense efforts to please his guests with a massive display of hospitality. It is the heat of the day and yet every move of Abraham denotes great exertion. He "runs to meet" his unexpected, unidentified guests. "He bows to the earth" and "washes their feet." He "hastens to the tent" and orders cakes to be "made ready quickly." He "runs to the field," "takes a calf," and has his servant "hasten to prepare it." After this frenzy of activity on behalf of his alien guests he steps aside in silence as they conclude their veritable banquet of veal, curds, milk, and fresh cakes.

After the meal, the first remark of the satisfied guests has the potential to shock even the most congenial host in the ancient Near East. They bluntly ask for Abraham's wife. The gasping listener is quickly assured that their purpose in coming is honorable if indeed ridiculous. What man would be interested in Sarah, that laughing old woman eavesdropping from within the goatskin tent? Then suddenly the mood switches. The hospitality game is followed by a divine joke. The guests announce a miracle. Barren old Sarah is to have a baby boy by the following Spring. That was too much too soon for Sarah. She laughs her head off and reveals her unfaith. In so doing she establishes the character and name of her future son as Isaac, the Joke, the Laughing One. He is to be the miracle child whose coming was announced by the passing strangers at the banquet in the heat of the day.

How does the Yahwist betray his hand? Apart from the subtleties and word colors of the story already mentioned and specific expressions such as "find grace in your eyes," we can recognize an editorial framework. The story as such relates the advent of three men to Abraham's tent. Their names are unknown to Abraham. In his editorial preface, however, the Yahwist interprets the story of their coming as a theophany. He explains that God "appeared" to Abraham (v. 1). The Yahwist, moreover, identifies that God as "Yahweh," the God of Israel. Likewise in verse 13 he identifies the previously anonymous spokesman of the three as Yahweh. In short, we see signs of an author retelling and interpreting this ancient patriarchal tradition in terms of his faith in "Yahweh's" guidance of patriarchal history. This observation is supported by the connected segment of material in Genesis 18:16-21. To this text we shall turn our attention below.

Many other patriarchal stories are preserved by the Yahwist with minimal editorial change. Typical examples include the jeopardizing of Abraham's beautiful wife (Gen. 12:10-20), the destruction of Sodom (Gen. 19:1-28), the discovery of Rebekah and the betrothal of Isaac (Gen. 24:1-67), and the blessing of Isaac (Gen. 27:1-45).²

The second major literary unit of Genesis 18 consists of verses 16-21. This unit, in turn, has three relatively independent sections (v. 16, vv. 17-19, and vv. 20-21). The first of these (v. 16) is a unifying passage designed to link the preceding theophany episode with the following record of Abraham's intercession for Sodom. The same function is served by verse 22. These two verses introduce the Sodom setting and the opportunity for Abraham to confront Yahweh with an alternate solution. Verses 20-21 go a step further and provide the divine rationale for the forthcoming destruction of Sodom. This rationale is given in the form of a divine soliloquy and corresponds to the divine musings in passages such as Genesis 6:7; 8:21-22; or 11:6-7. In typical Yahwist style Yahweh is the speaker and the reader is the listener. Yahweh is heard speaking to himself about the latest problem that has arisen on earth. As on other occasions Yahweh is portrayed in blatantly human terms. He has to check out the situation at Sodom to determine its seriousness. Then he will "know." As at the tower of Babel, Yahweh sighs, "Let me go down and take a look …" It is in these soliloquies and similar passages where we find the Yahwist giving an explicit interpretation of Yahweh's role and character as he directs the course of history. They offer Yahweh's rationale for his own action. These texts, as in Genesis 18, are usually supplementary to the story line of the context but are given to interpret, introduce, or reflect upon the episode involved. Among the list of these rationale passages we should mention Genesis 2:18; 3:22; 6:5-8; 8:21-22; 11:6-7; 18:20-21.

The divine soliloquy of Genesis 18:17-19 is equally important. Its significance lies in its programmatic character. Yahweh's words' are not a command to Abraham concerning a specific situation in the life of the patriarch. His divine self-deliberation is not part of the story line of the episodes that precede or follow. Rather these words interpret what Yahweh was "up to" in the total life of Abraham. They give the divine program for the destiny of the patriarchs. Through this soliloquy the writer interprets what Yahweh was doing. Precisely because this is a programmatic passage we meet a set of loaded terms that reflect the theological perspective of the Yahwist. Verse 17 expressly asserts that Yahweh has a plan for the seed of Abraham. The nature of his destiny is summarized in the great Yahwist expressions clustered together in verse 18: "a great and mighty nation," "by him they will be blessed," "all nations of the earth."

Variations of these thematic expressions occur in other programmatic passages, but not with sufficient consistency to argue for a second literary hand in these texts. These programmatic texts provide the basis for our study of how the Yahwist develops his interpretation of the patriarchal promise. All of these passages have Yahweh speaking to himself or to a hero. Usually they are cast in the form of a promise. The passages involved include a sequence relating to the future of Abraham (Gen. 12:1-3; 13:14-17; 15:4-5; 18:17-19; 26:2-5; 28:13-15) and a similar sequence pertaining to the promised land (Gen. 12:7; 15:18-21; Exod. 3:7-8, 16-17). Many of the thematic terms from these programmatic passages appear as earmarks of Yahwist interpretation in other contexts as well. As examples we might cite Genesis 24:7; 27:27-29; 30:27; Numbers 22:6 and 24:9.

The third major literary unit of Genesis 18 is the dialogue over Sodom (vv. 22-33). Dialogues are not unusual in themselves, but when we meet God and man locked in this kind of bold verbal duel we sense something special. In the Pentateuch that kind of encounter reflects the mood and message of the Yahwist. Apart from the Yahwist connection in verses 16-21, the dialogue is introduced with Yahweh standing before Abraham in a typical human stance of subservience. (The RSV at this point preserves the later version of the text according to which Abraham stands before Yahweh). The dialogue itself enables Abraham to be the hero, the mighty mediator. He makes a valiant effort to save despicable Sodom. He appeals for justice to Yahweh, "the judge of all the earth." Ultimately his demand is dependent on more than justice. Only on the basis of mercy could Yahweh spare that city and on that score Abraham, Jacob, and Moses appeal for deliverance again and again. They are portrayed as the great heroes of the promise. The language of this dialogue reflects that kind of bold epic encounter. "Far be it from you," cried Abraham. Or in a modern translation he cries, "How dare you? Surely the Judge of all the earth will do the decent thing" (v. 25). Abraham cajoles God down from fifty to ten potential redeemers within the city. But the city apparently has no righteous inhabitants. As in the story of the flood they all deserve to die. Lot alone finds grace.

Similar dialogues appear throughout the Yahwist materials of the Pentateuch. In most cases we feel the same direct fearless encounter with the deity. There is something epic and mighty in the way these men of God grapple with their Lord. They are giants of prayer and intercession. Their God is so accessible he almost seems vulnerable.

The need for the promise

Our analysis of Genesis 18 was more than an exercise in literary skill. Here we saw the Yahwist at work as an interpreter in one segment of Genesis. Literary cirticism is also concerned with tracing the hand of this interpreter wherever he may be found. In so doing we can discover one way in which the ancient traditions of Israel were understood by its spokesmen. How does the Yahwist treat his traditions? What fresh insights into Israel's past are gained by tracing his interpretations through the Pentateuch? What do we unveil if we follow the trail of his programmatic passages and comments from Abraham to Moses? The outline of the Yahwist source which follows does not claim to cover all of the major themes or techniques of its author. We shall focus upon the motifs of programmatic texts such as Genesis 18:17-19 treated above. This means that the promises to the patriarchs will be at the core of our investigation. We shall discuss their function in the literary plan of the Yahwist. Thus we shall highlight their importance for a rich understanding of this literary strand in the Pentateuch. We hope thereby to illustrate further how the results of literary criticism aid the student of the Pentateuch.

Genesis 12:1-3 stands at the head of the patriarchal history and sets the agenda for the program of salvation.³ In the wording of the Yahwist, Yahweh outlines a plan of blessing for the patriarchs, their seed, and their neighbors. The governing thematic terms are italicized in the following translation.

Now Yahweh said to Abram:
"Go from your country and your kindred
and from your father's house
to the land that I will show you.
And I will make you a great nation
and I will bless you,
and I will make your name great
so that you will be a blessing.
And I will bless those who bless you;
and those whom you curse I will curse.
By you all families of the ground
will be blessed."

This plan of blessing begins with the patriarchs. It is absent from the primeval history. In fact the term "blessing" plays no important role in the Yahwist texts of Genesis 2-11. He views the primeval era as the age of man under the curse. With Genesis 12:1-3 a new way of blessing is opened for one family and its contacts. Genesis 2-11 shows the need for that new plan of salvation. His unique portrait of the background and need for these promises commences with Genesis 2, which is programmatic for the Yahwist's understanding of man.

The Yahwist begins by establishing an intimate bond between Yahweh and man ('adam) on the one hand, and between man and the ground ('adamah) on the other. Yahweh molds man and gives him life. Man is animated dust and Yahweh is his personal master (Gen. 2:4b-7). Man's tie with the earth is also expressed in his character as a farmer. Before his advent there was no man ('adam) to till the ground ('adamah). After his creation Yahweh plants a garden for man to till and keep. Yahweh, in turn, cares for man and experiments with various forms of life to find a suitable companion for man. Like man, all the animals are formed from the ground. A special creative act was required, however, to produce a partner fitting for man (Gen. 2:8-25). The symbol of Yahweh's authority is found in the form of a tree called the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Thus the stage is set for the progress of primeval history.

The Yahwist narratives in Genesis 3-11 follow a general pattern of sin, judgment, and grace or sin, punishment, and forgiveness. This pattern is evident in the Adam, Cain, Noah, and Babel stories. In each case sin disturbs the balance between Yahweh, man, and the ground. The first humans rebel by eating from the forbidden tree. The crime of Cain is murder in the first degree. At the time of the flood, evil is rampant in the hearts and lives of all men. The tower of Babel episode portrays man challenging Yahweh in heaven above. In these accounts the Yahwist portrays man as a powerful rebel. He has surging evil drives that must be controlled by one means or another. From the beginning man chose a course in opposition to Yahweh and in conflict with his fellowman. Adam and Cain are characteristic of all men.

In his preface to the flood story the Yahwist defines the nature of man (Gen. 6:5-8). His heart is so corrupt that all of his ideas are evil. This utter perversity of man is the basis for Yahweh's decision to exterminate all men. Because man is apparently trapped in this condition Yahweh discards annihilation as a future solution (Gen. 8:21). Yahweh's answer to the uprising of mankind at Babel was dispersion by confusion of languages. Here again the abnormal potential of evil man is emphasized. "Nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them" (Gen. 11:6). A similar limitation of human control is reflected in the soliloquy of Genesis 3:22 where Yahweh decides to expel man from the garden because "he has become like the gods, knowing good and evil." According to the Yahwist, man has the drive to conquer the heavens and partake of the divine. That urge must be kept within bounds. "Hence," says Yahweh, "my spirit will not abide in man forever, for he is flesh" (Gen. 6:3). There must be a limit to man's life span. As Yahweh faces man's growing potential for evil he sets new limits to his capacity. The patriarchs are men of like character. They are heirs of these primeval rebels and in need of divine deliverance. Accordingly the Yahwist portrays the patriarchs in their full human colors.

The judgment phase of the Yahwist pattern of primeval history is regularly defined in terms of the curse. After the fall, the snake is cursed by Yahweh and destined to eat dust (Gen. 3:14). The ground ('adamah) is cursed because of man ('adam). In the sweat of his brow he must till that ground until he returns to the dust from which he came (Gen. 3:17-19). Thus the eternal link between man and the ground is reaffirmed. The curse expresses the alienation of man from that ground. The curse is evoked by man but the ground suffers as a result. Cain too is "cursed from the ground" when Yahweh hears the blood of Abel crying from that ground (Gen. 4:10-11). This enmity persists between Cain and the ground. It will never yield to Cain's hand (Gen. 4:12).

With the flood story Yahweh's judgment reaches extreme proportions. He plans a universal curse. Man is to be exterminated "from the face of the ground" (Gen. 6:7; 7:23). For Noah's son Canaan the curse meant a history of abject slavery. "Cursed be Canaan, a slave of slaves he shall be to his brothers" (Gen. 9:25). Dispersion is the course of action taken at Babel; man is scattered abroad "across the face of all the earth" (Gen. 11:8-9). Like Cain he is forced to wander and his powers are curtailed. Hence, at the brink of the patriarchal age we find man spread over the accursed ground. Man has failed to achieve a great name for himself (Gen. 11:4). The future of man under the curse is a vast question mark.

Punishment by Yahweh is normally followed by expressions of his grace and forgiveness. The very survival of Adam is evidence of divine forbearance. Yahweh did not execute his threat of capital punishment. There is life for man despite the curse. Adam names his wife Eve because she is "the mother of all living" (Gen. 3:20). Further, Yahweh fashions clothing for the first couple. This act symbolizes the divine acceptance of man regardless of his sin and disgrace (Gen. 3:21). Cain, too, is given a sign of Yahweh's grace. The mark he receives assures him of protection while wandering through the earth (Gen. 4:13-16). Even this murderer is not put to death. Despite his deed, he confronts Yahweh with a blunt protest, "I cannot stand this punishment." This bold appeal of Cain wins mercy. He is protected even though he deserves death. In this he becomes a hero. The Yahwist includes many such heroes. They are men under the curse whose audacity gains them Yahweh's goodwill. Man is not impotent before the curse. He can scream to Yahweh for a revised plan of action.

It is typical of the Yahwist that Yahweh can and will change his mind. The decision of Yahweh to annihilate man means that his "experiment" with mankind has apparently failed. "He changed his mind about making man" (Gen. 6:7). That decision, in turn, is reversed by divine grace. "Noah found grace in the eyes of Yahweh" (Gen. 6:8). The decision, however, is not a fickle change of mind. He "grieved" over the condition of man before the flood (Gen. 8:6) and he rejoiced with Noah after the flood (Gen. 8:21). The welfare of man demands that Yahweh never again "curse the ground because of man" nor disrupt the cycles of nature (Gen. 8:21-22). Man can only survive if Yahweh operates on the grounds of free and forthright grace.

The sudden dispersion of mankind after the Babel episode leaves the world inhabited by a mass of frustrated rebels who have thwarted Yahweh's kindness at every turn. But with the advent of Abraham we hear the good news of a fresh program of redemptive action announced by Yahweh himself (Gen. 12:1-3). The sweeping array of promises wrapped in a concise message to Abraham offer Yahweh's personal dramatic answer to the looming question about God's goodwill to all men scattered across the "face of the ground." Now "all families of that ground will be blessed through Abraham," whispers Yahweh (Gen. 12:1-3). By Abraham the curse which was rampant over the ground during primeval times will be reversed and a bold new plan of blessing set in motion. As we trace this bundle of promises through the Pentateuch we shall be demonstrating a concern for more than literary style. Terminological features will inevitably be involved in the analytical process and certain identifying features will continue to be underscored, but thematic and programmatic characteristics will also be given due attention. For the theological perspective and groundwork uncovered in our study of Genesis 2-11 must now be related to the major centralizing motif of the promise to Abraham. Can that motif be isolated as a literary thread of the Yahwist? Does it persist as a governing theme in the midst of a vast panorama of old stories that seem to capture the interest of the reader on their own terms? Can a literary analysis discern those features of the record which reveal the Yahwist as an interpreter as well as a brilliant storyteller?

The patriarchs and the promise

Genesis 12:1-3 appears to be both the structural climax to the fourfold cycle of sin, judgment, and grace developed in the primeval history and also the magna carta for the fresh plan of redemption extended to the patriarchs. In the chapters which follow Genesis 12:1-3 the Yahwist is especially interested in how these promises fare at the hands of doubting and devious men like the patriarchs. Hence the Yahwist's selection of patriarchal narratives seems to be related to the fate of the promise given to Abraham in Genesis 12:1-3 and subsequently reiterated in various forms. The patriarchal stories illustrate the numerous obstacles that stood in the way of accepting the promise and the extreme lengths to which Yahweh went in order to fulfill the promise. Interpretive comment and promise formulation within the narrative accounts indicate how the Yahwist links his stories and relates them to the governing motif of his work. The central unifying elements of the programmatic passages are drawn together in the text of Genesis 12:1-3. These themes can be summarized under four heads: seed, land, greatness, and mediation of blessing.

Seed: those chosen descendants who heard and transmitted the promises through the era of doubtful beginnings to the day of expansion and nationhood.

Land: that territory of Canaan and beyond which Yahweh bound himself by covenant to give to Abra-ham's seed as their inheritance.

Greatness: the destiny of Abraham's sons to achieve a great name and nationhood, despite the repeated possibility of their annihilation.

Mediators of Blessing: the privilege and responsibility of Abraham's seed to mediate the blessing of life to neighboring nations.

The bundle of promises in Genesis 12:1-3 is also a direct call for Abraham to express his faith in Yahweh by leaving his homeland and wandering off to some unknown corner of the earth. This initial outburst of faith is immediately tested when Abraham discovers that the promised land is really controlled by Israel's ancient enemy. Indeed, comments the Yahwist, "the Canaanites were then in the land" (Gen. 12:6). As we will come to expect in Yahwist contexts, the pertinent promise is repeated when its potential fulfillment has been challenged. "To your seed I will give this land" cries Yahweh. Canaan is not for the Canaanites, but for Abraham's progeny.

Time and again the promise stands in jeopardy. The sequence of narratives which the Yahwist selects for Genesis accentuates this precarious pose of Yahweh's good news to the patriarchs. For hardly has the promise been announced and confirmed upon arrival in Canaan when Abraham's land and seed are both in danger of becoming lost dreams. A famine arises in Canaan and Abraham runs to the nearest prosperous civilization for aid (Gen. 12:10-20). His lack of trust is further exhibited when he thinks of his own neck and allows Sarah to become Pharaoh's wife. Only by drastic divine intervention is Abraham rescued and his wife restored unharmed. Curse rather than blessing is mediated to the Egyptians as plagues fall on Pharaoh's household and foreshadow greater plagues to come.

Despite his spectacular deliverance from Egypt, Abraham must live with Canaanites and with a brother (Lot) who grabs the choicest regions of the land (Gen. 13:1-18). This situation prompts the Yahwist to add a postlude addressed to Abraham that heightens the previous promises of territory and progeny:

All the land which you see I will give to you and to your seed forever. I will make your seed as the dust of the earth, so that if one can count the dust of the earth, your seed also can be counted (Gen. 13:14-16).

Abraham's need for a son is the focal point for several episodes selected by the Yahwist interpreter. Abraham doubts whether any natural course of procreation will provide him with an heir. He therefore tries to guarantee progeny by proposing that he follow the ancient Near Eastern custom of adopting a slave as one's heir (Gen. 15:1-6). Yahweh immediately rejects this scheme of Abraham and counters with a clear repetition of the promise that a son from Abraham's own loins will be his heir. The closing comment of the Yahwist at this point expresses succinctly his whole theological attitude to the patriarchal promise and its function in the life of those men. "Abraham believed in Yahweh and Yahweh counted that faith to him as righteousness" (Gen. 15:6). His living faith in the face of unbelievable odds establishes a true relationship with Yahweh. No cultic or sacrificial act was necessary to gain public recognition as a righteous man before God.⁴ Faith in Yahweh and his promise was the crucial ingredient that bound Abraham to his God. This dilemma of faith continues to be posed by the Yahwist as generation after generation confront Yahweh and his good news.

Even the doubts of Abraham persist. "O Yahweh God, how am I to know that I shall possess it (the land)," he retorts (Gen. 15:8). Yahweh's complete commitment to his promise of the new land is publicized by an ancient covenant rite (Gen. 15:7-21). Here only do we find the Yahwist linking the patriarchal promise to an explicit covenant. He reports that, "Yahweh cut a covenant with Abraham saying, 'To your seed I will give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates"' (Gen. 15:18). The extent of this projected empire suggests the greatness of the Davidic domain.⁵ Those who were flushed by the sudden advent of power, greatness, fame, and international influence under David and Solomon certainly needed to hear the message that all their might was an undeserved gift and all their blessings due to Yahweh's patient guidance of his promised plan. Neither Israel nor their patriarchal forefathers had done anything along the way to earn that kind of goodness and glory.

The machinations of Abraham lead him to devise another means of obtaining progeny by begetting children through his concubine Hagar (Gen. 16:lb-2, 4-14). His scheme backfires, however, when Sarah forces the woman and her child out into the wilderness. Ironically Hagar is protected and given the divine blessing because of her association with Abraham. Thus Abraham unwittingly mediates blessing to the Ishmaelites, the descendants of Hagar's son Ishmael. Barren and disbelieving Sarah remains the final great obstacle to any possible fulfillment of Yahweh's promise for seed from Abraham's loins. She laughs with disdain at the announcement of her forthcoming pregnancy. The prediction of the three mysterious messengers from the desert is no more than a joke to her (Gen. 18:1-15). As analyzed earlier, this narrative is followed by a programmatic passage outlining Yahweh's intentions for Abraham. Once again the reason for the promised miraculous birth is the ultimate goal of greatness and mediated blessing which Yahweh plans to effect through the seed of Abraham. The soliloquy of Yahweh makes this conclusion clear:

Then Yahweh said, "Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, seeing that Abraham shall become a great and mighty nation, and that by him all nations of the earth shall be blessed? For I have chosen (known) him, that he may charge his children and his household after him to keep the way of Yahweh by doing righteousness and justice; so that Yahweh may bring to Abraham what he has promised him" (Gen. 18:17-19).

The following heroic dialogue between Yahweh and Abraham suggests a further explication of Abraham's role as a mediator of blessing. He attempts to salvage Sodom by a direct appeal to Yahweh (Gen. 18:22-33). The account of the destruction of Sodom is somewhat similar to the flood narratives (Gen. 19:1-38), for this account functions as an illustration of the continuing evil of man in need of Abraham's blessing and the ultimate judgment that descends when evil reaches unbearable proportions. The cry had reached heaven and Yahweh was moved to action (Gen. 18:20). As in the Noah tradition, the household of Lot survives the holocaust by the grace of God. His family, too, believes they are the last surviving people on the earth.

Into that evil world the promised son is born. Yahweh overcomes all the obstacles set by Abraham or his household and visits Sarah with a miracle (Gen. 21:1-2). "Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would suckle children?" she cries (Gen. 21:6-7). With this dramatic beginning the promise is finally on the road to fulfillment. This seed is not a part of the natural order of things implanted in man at the beginning (as in Gen. 1:28). Isaac represents a new line that arises in the face of old, impotent, and doubting parents. The child is a gift of grace, a seed of hope, and a sign of the promise. Such is the perspective of the Yahwist program of salvation through promise. The Yahwist expansion of the story of the attempted sacrifice of Isaac underscores this governing viewpoint (Gen. 22:15-18).⁶

As the Yahwist interprets the course of patriarchal history, the line of Isaac has to be kept intact and kept pure. Isaac is not to select a wife "from the daughters of the Canaanites" among whom Abraham dwelt (Gen. 23:3). The story of the courtship of Rebekah illustrates this motif and highlights several others (Gen. 24:1-67). Foremost among these is the theme of greatness for Abraham and his progeny. Abraham has been blessed and his servant is certain that the God of Abraham will prosper his way. The extent of Abraham's might is related by the servant to the household of Laban:

I am Abraham's servant. Yahweh has greatly blessed my master, and he has become great; he has given him flocks and herds, silver and gold, menservants and maidservants, camels and asses (Gen. 24:34-35).

Wealth is the first expression of that greatness. A second element is enunciated by the relatives who bless Rebekah with the words, "Our sister, be the mother of thousands and tens of thousands, and may your seed possess the gate of those who hate them" (Gen. 24:60).

The greatness of Abraham is surpassed by the wealth of Isaac. His prosperity is achieved at the hands of the Philistines despite his own folly in surrendering his wife to Abimelech (Gen. 26:1-33). This achievement of Isaac at Philistine expense anticipates the later role played by David. The blessing of Isaac is described in Yahwist terms:

Isaac sowed in the land and reaped in the same year a hundredfold. Yahweh blessed him and the man became great. And he became even greater until he became very great. He had possessions of flocks and herds and a large household so that the Philistines envied him (Gen. 26:12-14).

This account of the jeopardizing of Rebekah and the subsequent prosperity of Isaac is preceded by a lengthy introduction in Genesis 26:2-5. These verses are not integral to the story itself but provide the Yahwist's continuity between the promise to Abraham and the first of his seed. The past promise to Abraham is now defined as an oath that must be kept by Yahweh. The consistent dimensions of the promise are reflected in the recurring terminology:

Sojourn in this land of which I shall tell you. I will be with you and bless you; for to you and to your seed I will give all these lands, and I will fulfill the oath which I swore to Abraham your father. I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven, and I will give to your seed all these lands. And by your seed all nations of the earth shall bless themselves (Gen. 26:3-4).

The promise to Abraham is viewed as normative for his descendants. They gain salvation because of the oath sworn to Abraham and are blessed "for my servant Abraham's sake" (Gen. 26:24).

The oath to Abraham is threatened by the antics of Jacob. The Yahwist exposes Jacob as a scoundrel who usurps the blessing and takes advantage of its power. Like his father Isaac, Jacob is a miracle child born from a barren mother (Gen. 25:21-26). Through Yahweh's special answer the promise of seed is preserved. Jacob's character, however, is hardly appropriate for Yahweh's chosen line. He tricks Esau into gaining birthright privileges from his brother (Gen. 25:27-34), and he schemes with his mother to obtain the filial blessing of Isaac (Gen. 27:1-45). That blessing turns out to be a poetic version of the patriarchal promise of greatness that suggests the might of David's empire:

May God give you the dew of heaven and of the fatness of the earth, and plenty of grain and wine. Let peoples serve you and nations bow down to you. Be lord over your brothers and may your mother's sons bow down to you. Cursed be every one who curses you and blessed be every one who blesses you (Gen. 27:28-29).

The stolen blessing from Isaac is confirmed by the promise of blessing from Yahweh himself (Gen 28:13-16). This passage is the Yahwist's programmatic text introducing the life of Jacob. The promise is connected with his journey away from the promised land, just as the initial promise to Abraham was linked to his trip from Mesopotamia and the opening promise to Isaac was tied to his journey into Philistine regions. In this promise to Jacob, great progeny and the mediating of blessing are closely related to the immediate assurance of inheriting the land. The continuity between this promise and its predecessors is reflected in Yahweh's self-identification as the God of both Abraham and Isaac. The dispersion of Jacob's seed in all directions is designed to provide blessing for all nations of the earth. This promise naturally recalls the expansion of the Davidic empire and suggests the divine reversal of Yahweh's earlier curse on all peoples when he scattered them in all directions (Gen. 11:109). This promise given to Jacob is worded as follows:

I am Yahweh, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and to your seed; and your seed shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south; and by you and your seed shall all families of the ground be blessed. Behold I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this ground, for I will not leave you until I have done that of which I have spoken to you (Gen. 28:13-15).

The narrative cycle relating to Jacob and Laban seems to include at least two different traditions (Gen. 29-31). The editorial hand of the Yahwist, however, is clearly evident. Not only does Jacob gain a large family, but he is blessed at every turn. He cannot help prospering (Gen. 30:30). More significantly, this blessing is mediated to Laban. "I have learned by divination," states Laban, "that Yahweh has blessed me because of you" (Gen. 30:27). And Jacob confesses that, "If the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac, had not been on my side, surely now you would have sent me away empty-handed" (Gen. 31:42).

The narratives about Jacob's return from Haran and his confrontation with Esau are again interpreted in the light of the promise. Jacob's prayer for help is worded in terms of Yahwist theology. Jacob admits he was blessed by the undeserved grace of Yahweh and recognizes his two companies as the result of divine goodness. His demand for future deliverance, however, is not based on any vow of loyalty, any oath of allegiance to God's law, any commitment of homage, but upon Yahweh's past promise of numerous seed. To Yahweh's face he cries, "You yourself said, 'I will do you good, and make your seed as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude"' (Gen. 32:12). That promise is the ground of Jacob's violent appeal. His is a heroic demand matched only by his nocturnal struggle for a special blessing (Gen. 32:24-32). The greatness of Jacob lies in these bold encounters with Yahweh from whom he wins protection, blessing, and a new name. His name Israel expresses that greatness, "for," says the angel of the night, "you have striven with God and men and have prevailed" (Gen. 32:28).

The cycle of stories related to Joseph and the descent of Jacob's household into Egypt highlights the mediating of blessing to Egypt in the face of apparent disaster for Israel (Gen. 39-47). Immediately upon arrival in Egypt the Yahwist declares that "Yahweh blessed the Egyptian's house for Joseph's sake; the blessing of Yahweh was upon all he had, in house and field" (Gen. 39:5). Even in prison Joseph continues in favor with both Yahweh and his prison keeper. His activity in prison is prospered by Yahweh himself. Nothing could stop the power of his blessing. His good fortune and political power are divine schemes to rescue his own family from starvation. Once in Egypt the household of Jacob again prospers until the Egyptians cry, "Behold the people of Israel are too many and too powerful for us" (Exod. 1:9). The Yahwist concludes the development of the patriarchal blessing motif in Genesis by incorporating Jacob's blessings for each of his twelve sons (Gen. 49:1-28). In this sequence the promise of ultimate political greatness and national might is given to Judah. He is to inherit the scepter and the obedience of the peoples (Gen. 49:8-12). In this blessing it seems that the Yahwist is deliberately linking the promise to the patriarchs with a later fulfillment under the Davidic monarchy. Through David the tribe of Judah gained "the scepter" of kingship and became a nation capable of ruling other peoples. With poetic beauty this final patriarchal promise reads:

The scepter shall not depart from Judah,
nor the ruler's staff from between his feet,
until he comes to whom it belongs;
and to him shall the obedience of the peoples
  be
(Gen. 49:10).

Moses and the promise

The patriarchal promise motif does not die with the patriarchs. Granted it does not appear with the same frequency or with the same full complement of terminological identification marks as in Genesis, but the basic promise theme remains a driving impulse for motivating Yahweh's actions. Many new colors and concepts now arise in the Yahwist portraits of Israel's history, but at crucial scenes in the life of Moses' people the promise reappears as the word of deliverance or the salutary basis for appeal. A demonstration of how this governing motif operates in the Mosaic period is attempted here as we quickly trace several normative Yahwist catchwords and concepts through Exodus and Numbers.

Throughout the Mosaic era we find deliverance evoked by heroic pleas of intercession, public cries of agony, or direct prayers of mediation. The endless scream of Israel under Egyptian bondage is the first great appeal that moves Yahweh to keep his promise (Exod. 3:7-8). As on past occasions the Yahwist describes Yahweh "coming down" to get personally involved in the human struggle (cf. Gen. 11:7). His goal is to deliver Israel from Egypt and return his people to their land, the land of the Canaanites. In the words of the Yahwist, the Lord is acclaimed as "Yahweh, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac and of Jacob" (Exod. 3:16). Yahweh is identified by virtue of his association with the heroes of the promise, and he renews that ancient promise of land to his oppressed people in slavery (Exod. 3:16-17). In this connection Moses becomes the peculiar symbol of Yahweh's mercy and the mediator of his promised program. "They will not believe me," objects Moses (Exod. 4:1). Like their forefathers the Israelites are not ready to "believe" without the assurance of signs and wonders (Exod. 4:1-31). At the crossing of the Red Sea the Israelites finally come to trust Yahweh and his representative. Only then do they "see the great work which Yahweh did against the Egyptians," and "believe in Yahweh and in his servant Moses" (Exod. 14:31).

The obstacles to fulfilling Yahweh's promises experienced by the patriarchs are dwarfed by the catastrophe of Israel's slavery. Deliverance called for drastic measures. And while the Yahwist includes the many plagues imposed upon Egypt to effect deliverance, he still sees opportunitites for mediating forgiveness and blessing even to the oppressor. "Forgive my sin, I pray you, only this once, and entreat Yahweh your God only to remove this death from me," pleads Pharaoh to Moses and Aaron (Exod. 10:17). After the Passover Pharaoh grants permission for Israel to worship for three days in the wilderness. At this time he is heard to summon Moses, "Go serve Yahweh your God, as you have said. Take your flocks and your herds, as you have said, and be gone, and bless me also" (Exod. 12:29-32). Pharaoh, too, seems to want the blessing available through the line of Abraham. Thus it is that Israel leaves Egypt, having "found grace in the eyes of the Egyptians," and having expanded to a "mixed multitude" (Exod. 12:33-39).

Throughout the wilderness travels Moses is portrayed as the mediator of life for the sons of Israel. Through direct communication with Yahweh he can avert doom for his own people just as he could revoke the curses upon Egypt. Like the patriarchs before him, his word can evoke unequivocal divine grace because of the promise. When the Israelites murmur over conditions at Marah and Rephidim, Moses intercedes on their behalf and Yahweh provides a convenient solution to the problem (Exod. 15:22b-25a; 17:1-7). Moses not only represents the people before Yahweh, however, but he also mediates Yahweh's will to the people. The fate of Israel depends on believing Moses, the mediator. The great theophany of Yahweh at Sinai (Exod. 19:9-25) is therefore designed to arouse trust in Yahweh and in Moses his spokesman:

And Yahweh said unto Moses, "Lo, I am coming to you in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with you, and may also believe you forever

(Exod. 19:9).

According to the Yahwist, Moses and Joshua ascend the mountain to receive the two tables of stone (Exod. 24:12-1Sa). Before descending they are confronted by Yahweh with an ultimatum for disaster. The golden calf built by God's people at the foot of the mountain is viewed by God as an enormity comparable to the evil of Sodom. It means death for Abraham's family line and a chance for Moses to inherit the promised blessings of progeny and great nationhood. It means an end to the old plan and the beginning of a new. It means starting another experiment, this time with Moses as the projected great nation:

Now therefore let me alone that my wrath may bum hot against them; but you I will make a great nation (Exod. 32:10).

Moses' response to the tirade and decision of Yahweh reflects the themes and theology of the Yahwist's work evident in the patriarchal stories. The grace of Yahweh is won by the bold word of a hero. The ground is Yahweh's own promise, for on that basis he can change his mind about the annihilation of his people. The classic protest of Moses recalls explicitly the oath to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The promise is indeed Israel's means of survival.

Moses entreated Yahweh his God and said, "O Yahweh, why does your wrath bum hot against your people, whom you have brought forth from the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? Why should the Egyptians say, 'With evil intent he brought them forth to slay them in the mountains and consume them from the face of the ground?' Tum from your fierce wrath and change your mind concerning this evil against your people. Remember Abraham, Isaac and Israel your servants to whom you swore by your self and said to them, 'I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven and all this land that I have promised I will give to your seed, and they shall inherit it forever."'

So Yahweh changed his mind concerning the evil he planned to do to his people (Exod. 32:11-14).

A series of crisis situations arise after this dramatic act of deliverance at Sinai that reflect a similar pattern of salvation by intercession typical of Yahwist thinking.⁷ These crises culminate in Israel's cowardice before the giants of Canaan. Once again Yahweh chides his people for disbelief, and threatens to reorganize the program of promise around Moses by making him a great nation. Israel is not to inherit the promised land.

And Yahweh said to Moses, "How long will this people despise me? and how long will they not believe in me, in spite of all the signs I have wrought among them? I will strike them with pestilence and disinherit them, and I will make of you a nation greater and mightier than they" (Num. 14:11-12).

Moses thereupon takes up the cudgels for his people and bluntly confronts Yahweh with the situation. As Moses sees it, to disinherit Israel means that Yahweh will lose face in the sight of the other nations. Blessing cannot be mediated by annihilating the agents of blessing. Hence, Moses pleads for forgiveness and power from Yahweh commensurable with his past promises: "Let the power of Yahweh be as great as you have promised" (Num. 14:17). He asks for forgiveness on the ground that Yahweh has forgiven previously (Num. 14:13-19). The response of Yahweh is a modified expression of grace (Num. 14:20-25). As in previous instances the rebellion of man reaches a point where judgment is necessary. All but one of that generation of Abraham's seed would die before the land sworn to the fathers would be conquered and possessed. Caleb alone, like others before him, has a different spirit and finds grace in the eyes of Yahweh. The final great act of saving intercession by Moses is found in Numbers 21:4-9 where Yahweh instructs Moses to set up a bronze snake as a symbol of life to which all would turn in faith for healing.

Many of the Yahwist motifs are drawn together in the final series of texts dealing with Balaam. Moses' intercessions had rescued Israel time and again. Balaam's prayer now threatened to overthrow her. The Yahwist introduces Balaam as a professional expert in the art of cursing and blessing. He is summoned precisely because Israel had become a mighty nation and his curse is requested to counter the fulfilled blessing of Yahweh. "Come now curse this people for me," asks Balak, "since they are too mighty for me … I know that he whom you bless is blessed, and he whom you curse is cursed" (Num. 22:6). This wording recalls the promise of blessing and curse given to Abraham in Genesis 12:2-3. Balaam, however, is prevented from bringing a genuine curse upon Israel and ends up repeating an oracle of victory, prosperity, and blessing (Num. 24:3-9). This oracle reaffirms the past promises of Yahweh to the patriarchs and concludes with a recollection of Genesis 12:2:

Blessed is every one who blesses you
and cursed is every one who curses you
(Num. 24:9).

A subsequent oracle focuses upon the conquest of all the neighboring nations of Israel at the hand of the "star of Jacob." This figure is probably to be identified as the house of David through whom the promise of a great Israelite nation is fulfilled in the mind of the Yahwist writer (Num. 24:15-24).

Whether the Yahwist text ends at this point is not clear. The Balaam oracles, however, do provide a fitting finale to the Yahwist portrait of the plan for the patriarchal promise. Israel has become a nation too powerful for Moab to handle (Num. 22:6). The promised land awaits Israel's invasion. A glorious and prosperous kingdom is envisioned for God's people (Num. 24:6-7). A plan of conquest through the "star of Jacob" is spelled out by Balaam (Num. 24:15-24). He also delineates the same program of mediated blessing or cursing to any who acknowledge or reject Israel respectively. All of this is by the grace of Yahweh. If Israel has any doubt about that truth they need only recall one other incident that happened at Baal Peor (Num. 25:1-5). For at the very last minute, with a land in their grasp and Yahweh's promises all but completely fulfilled, the Israelites again revert to disbelief. They worship Baal and indulge in the fertility orgies of the local shrine.

When the greatness of the Davidic empire was finally achieved, Israel was forced to admit that she did not deserve the land or the fulfilled promises. To the bitter end, the history of the promise is a history of sheer grace in the eyes of the Yahwist. With literary finesse, beauty, and polish that message is conveyed through colorful narrative form. And with strategically placed references to the governing promise motif, the Yahwist work illustrates a provocative ancient mode of interpreting Israel's past traditions. The forcefulness of these insights, we contend, can only be fully appreciated when the techniques of literary criticism employed above are rigidly applied.

Notes

¹ The writer of the Yahwist literary source is usually designated the Yahwist as though he were a clearly identifiable individual. For the sake of convenience we have preserved this traditional designation. See P. Ellis, The Yahwist (Notre Dame, Ind.: Fides Publishers, 1968) for a recent analysis of Yahwist style and theology. This book provides a complete text of the Yahwist.

² See also Genesis 38:1-30; Exodus 2:1-10; 2:11-22; Numbers 12:1-16 and 24:4-59.

³ Perhaps the best treatment of the promise texts of the Yahwist is that of Hans Walter Wolff, "The Kerygma of the Yahwist," Interpretation 20 (1966): 131-58.

⁴ Note especially G. von Rad, "Faith Reckoned as Righteousness," in The Problem of the Hexateuch and Other Essays (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1966) for a complete discussion of this text.

⁵ R. Clements in Abraham and David (London: SCM Press, 1967) has isolated royal terminology in Genesis 15 and thereby introduced additional evidence for linking the chapter with the Davidic era. We should also make it clear that there is considerable difference of opinion among critics on the extent of the Yahwist material in this chapter. A variety of factors in the transmission of the traditions has no doubt led to a blurring of the original literary source contours.

⁶ The story of Isaac's near sacrifice is usually assigned to the Elohist, although this is far from certain. In any case the appendix to the story in Genesis 22:15-18 bears the marks of a Yahwist reinterpretation.

⁷ See Numbers 11:1-3; 12:1-16; 11:7-15 (especially v. 15); 11:16-19 and 11:31-35.