Abraham's dialogue with God over the destruction of Sodom

This dissertation analyzes the early history of the interpretation of Genesis 18:16-33. Because translation necessarily involves some level of interpretation, the Septuagint, Vulgate, Old Latin, Peshitta, and Samaritan Pentateuch are examined, along with the portion of our text that was found among the Dead Sea Scrolls. The rabbinic tradition that avers a scribal emendation to Gen 18:22 is likewise evaluated, with the conclusion that the earlier text, which read that YHWH remained standing before Abraham, makes better sense of the passage from a literary point of view, thereby supporting the tradition of a tiqqûn sop¯erîm. Chapter 2 surveys the allusions found in some of the post-biblical literature, including the Targumim, Josephus, Jubilees, Pseudo-Philo, the Greek Apocalypse of Ezra, and The Testament of Isaac . These showed increased freedom in the way they appropriated the passage, and point to the use of Abraham's dialogue with God as paradigmatic.

Chapter 3 focused on Philo of Alexandria, a Jew who lived in Alexandria, and his interpretation of Gen 18. His classical education included studying the works of Homer and their allegorical significance, a method he then applied to the Bible. His influence can be seen in the church fathers, particularly Origen. The patristic era dominates chapter 4, and we spend time looking at how Justin Martyr, Origen, Eusebius, Ambrose, John Chrysostom, and Augustine of Hippo interpret and use our passage. The theological controversies concerning the relationship between Christianity and Judaism, the nature of the divinity of Jesus, the developing doctrine of the Trinity, and the place of the church in the wider political affairs of the state are all reflected in the treatment of Gen 18 by the church fathers. Our passage lends itself to a variety of questions: the intellectual (or theological) milieu of each interpreter plays a critical role in determining which of these is actually addressed. We see, therefore, in the history of the interpretation of Gen 18, a representative view of the development of the history of ideas.