Hermann Spieckermann, «God's Steadfast Love Towards a New Conception of Old Testament Theology», Vol. 81 (2000) 305-327

This article argues in favour of a conception of Old Testament theology that is aware of the different hermeneutical presuppositions due to the different canonical shapes of the Jewish and the Christian Bible, respectively. An Old Testament Theology based on the canon of the Christian Bible has to do equal justice to the Hebrew and to the Greek version of the Old Testament, acknowledging that the Greek version, the Septuagint, is a dominant factor for the emergence of Christian faith. Perceiving the Old Testament from a Christian point of view sheds new light on a central theological issue thus far underestimated in scholarly research: God's steadfast love. The contribution tries to show how this characteristic insight into God's true being is reflected and interpreted in the different parts of the Old Testament.

(136,1.26). The Lord, the God of heaven (Mym#h l)¹⁵) (136,26), is bw+ ‘good’ (136,1). God’s being good emanates into creation as his dsx ‘steadfast love’. Everyone living in the Persian period and later in the Hellenistic age — not only in Israel — is able to perceive this as God’s true nature. Of course, God’s being good means above all his goodness as the Septuagint appropriately interprets bw+, rendering it as xrhsto/j ‘merciful’ (136,1 MT = 135,1 LXX) ¹⁶. This is in accordance with the practice of the Septuagint which translates dsx predominantly by e!leoj ‘mercy’¹⁷ foreshadowed in late Psalms’ interpreting dsx by Mymxr ‘mercy’¹⁸. God’s love has to be conceivable as goodness and mercy, if it is to affect men in Israel. The more time passes, the more the Israelites become aware that they themselves are incapable of being righteous (cf. Ps 143,2) and that, therefore, they are completely dependent on the good and merciful God¹⁹.

        In the Psalms the good and merciful God proves to be the saving God²⁰. This correlation is exemplified frequently. When the psalmist relies on God’s dsx, his heart may rejoice in God’s salvation (Ps 13,6). In post-exilic times the pre-exilic theological concept is embedded in a system of numerous relations. Praising God’s steadfast love (dsx) and faithfulness (tm)) is to proclaim God’s righteousness (hqdc), truth (hnwm)) and salvation (h(w#t) (Ps 40,10-11). Thus, praising God’s true