Relational metaphors and divine omniscience in the Hebrew Bible.

摘要

Because the controversy over open theism finds itself within evangelicalism, theologians have turned to the Bible. Although the situation seems to be improving, there is a noticeable paucity of careful exegesis. The main contribution of this dissertation is to offer exegetical evaluations of representative passages that are frequently cited in the debate. This study comprises three sections. First, chapter one discusses hermeneutical and methodological issues. Second, chapter two provides the theological context for the dissertation. Third, chapters three through six comprise exegesis of selected passages in which omniscience is explicitly ascribed to God (ch. 3), God changes his mind (ch. 4), God expresses emotions such as regret, surprise or frustration (ch. 5), and God says "maybe" (ch. 6). The exegetical analysis attempts to demonstrate that the Hebrew conceptualization of Yahweh is one of a truly relational God. However, such dynamic relationality does not demand the denial of the traditional doctrine of divine omniscience.