by jimwalton » Mon May 18, 2020 3:46 pm
"10 generations" was an idiom for "forever," so the text technically excludes such people forever, with the purpose of keeping the covenant people pure unto God. But we know such idioms are hyperbolic. Judah had a sexual relationship with Tamar (Gn. 38), and gave birth to Perez. His descendants were not excluded from the assembly. Jephthah was the son of a prostitute (Judges 11.1-2), but is also listed as a hero of Israel (Heb. 11.32-34). Ruth, a Moabitess, was received into the assembly.
Therefore we take the 10 generations of exclusion as a way represent the severity of the infraction and God's concern to keep the covenant people pure.
Family continuity and being in good standing with the covenant were supreme cultural and cultic values. the threat of being permanently cut off would be a strong deterrent.
In addition, we know that the Torah (“instruction”) was casuistic, not legislative. The idea was certainly not that people were to count generations, but that they understood the importance of keep the covenant people pure. Because the law was casuistic and not apodictic, each situation would be evaluated on its own merits and decisions would be made accordingly.
> My question is, can you be excluded from god/heaven for something that happened in your family 9 generations ago?
No. This law pertains to Israel under the covenant and to Israel under theocratic rule. Once Judah fell in 586 BC, this law became defunct. A way to comparatively understand that is this: If the United States fell to some other foreign power, would any of us continue to live as if we were under the authority of the Constitution? No. That would have disappeared when the country fell.
"10 generations" was an idiom for "forever," so the text technically excludes such people forever, with the purpose of keeping the covenant people pure unto God. But we know such idioms are hyperbolic. Judah had a sexual relationship with Tamar (Gn. 38), and gave birth to Perez. His descendants were not excluded from the assembly. Jephthah was the son of a prostitute (Judges 11.1-2), but is also listed as a hero of Israel (Heb. 11.32-34). Ruth, a Moabitess, was received into the assembly.
Therefore we take the 10 generations of exclusion as a way represent the severity of the infraction and God's concern to keep the covenant people pure.
Family continuity and being in good standing with the covenant were supreme cultural and cultic values. the threat of being permanently cut off would be a strong deterrent.
In addition, we know that the Torah (“instruction”) was casuistic, not legislative. The idea was certainly not that people were to count generations, but that they understood the importance of keep the covenant people pure. Because the law was casuistic and not apodictic, each situation would be evaluated on its own merits and decisions would be made accordingly.
> My question is, can you be excluded from god/heaven for something that happened in your family 9 generations ago?
No. This law pertains to Israel under the covenant and to Israel under theocratic rule. Once Judah fell in 586 BC, this law became defunct. A way to comparatively understand that is this: If the United States fell to some other foreign power, would any of us continue to live as if we were under the authority of the Constitution? No. That would have disappeared when the country fell.