The heart made heavy, the heart made bold, the heart made strong: re-examining the 'hardened heart' motif in the Mighty Acts narrative (Ex. 7:8-11:10)

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Bullock, M.R. (2017) The heart made heavy, the heart made bold, the heart made strong: re-examining the 'hardened heart' motif in the Mighty Acts narrative (Ex. 7:8-11:10). MA(Res) thesis, University of Nottingham.

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Abstract

From introduction:

The Mighty Acts narrative in Exodus presents the reader with a difficult question: why is it that God commands Pharaoh to let his people go and yet hardens his heart in order to prevent Pharaoh doing so? Coover-Cox asks, “when the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart and used force against him, was the Lord both unjust and inept?” If the Lord wields control over the human “control centre” in the Exodus narrative then Pharaoh is, as Davies colourfully describes, a “theological ninepin” set up only to be knocked down again. This raises unsettling questions of the Lord’s justness in his restrictive, even despotic, hold over Pharaoh’s decisions – decisions which bring Pharaoh into opposition with the Lord. Especially of concern are the Mighty Acts which appear to act as punishments laid upon Pharaoh for actions over which he had no control ...

Item Type: Thesis (University of Nottingham only) (MA(Res))
Supervisors: Crouch, Carly
Van De Wiele, Tarah
Subjects: B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BS The Bible
Faculties/Schools: UK Campuses > Faculty of Arts > School of Humanities
Item ID: 48089
Depositing User: Bullock, Michael
Date Deposited: 13 Dec 2017 04:40
Last Modified: 14 Dec 2017 08:24
URI: https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/id/eprint/48089

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