Old Testament stories and Christian ethics : some perspectives from the narrative of Judah and Tamar

摘要

The relationship between Old Testament narrative and Christian ethics is challenging.When it comes to finding ethical guideline Old Testament narratives are unresponsive.This is particularly the case with a narrative such as Genesis 38. Biblical scholars havewritten extensively on how the text can be interpreted. In this article we look at thevarious ways scholars in Biblical criticism have tried to make sense of the text. Weshow that narratives can function as a platform for dialogue to mirror the intricacies oflife. We do not attempt to resolve the tension between the story and ethics, but ratheraim to consider biblical criticism as a tool which stimulates ethical debate.