Michal's Moral Dilemma A Literary, Anthropological and Ethical Interpretation [Hardcover]

Michal's Moral Dilemma proposes that attention should be paid to the moral goods that feature in the text, before arguing that the family, a central feature of Old Testament morality, should be understood as a set of practices rather than an institution. Jonathan Rowe discusses the use of models of social action to comprehend the social world of the Bible, and suggests a modified version of Bakhtin's theory of heteroglossic voices can help readers appreciate how authors present a moral vision by approving some characters' actions whilst undermining others.

The discussion of Michal's moral dilemma adduces anthropological theories and ethnographic data concerning violence, lying, and the relationship between fathers and daughters. Given that the conflicts of moral goods are resolved by characters choosing to act in a certain way, Rowe enquires after the author's assessment of each character's moral choices, arguing that Michal's loyalty to David and deception of Saul was counter-cultural. By approving of her choice the author affirms the importance of loyalty to the Davidic dynasty.

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INTRODUCTION
1. Michal's Moral Dilemma
2. Interpreting Michal's Dilemma
Chapter 1 OLD TESTAMENT MORALITY AND VALUE CONFLICT
1. Old Testament Resources for Value Conflict
a. Old Testament Law
b. Old Testament Legal Motivations
c. Old Testament Legal Sanctions
d. Natural Morality in the Old Testament
e. Imitation of God
2. Moral Goods in the Old Testament
a. Good in the Old Testament
b. The Good Life
3. Conclusion: Conflicting Moral Goods
Chapter 2 THE PRIORITY OF THE GOOD
1. Moral Goods
a. The Nature of Moral Goods
b. Good and Right
c. Moral Goods, Moral Rules and Moral Order
d. Incommensurability and Moral Goods
2. Kinship as a Moral Good
a. Kinship as the Matrix of Old Testament Morality
b. A Familial Paradigm
3. Conclusion: The Priority of Kinship
Chapter 3 ANTHROPlƒ*