119 Carr, Writing on the Tablet of the Heart, 130. 120 Ibid.
121 Crenshaw, Education in Ancient Israel, 3. Judah Goldin, Studies in Midrash and Related Literature, ed.
Barry L Eichler and Jeffrey H Tigay, 1st ed., JPS Scholar of Distinction Series (Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 1988), 197. Cf. The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs.
Several trends have emerged from the preceding discussion of collective accountability in Proverbs. For both collective punishment and reward, many of the relevant statements deal with the “house/abode” or “family” of the wrongdoer or righteous individual.122 Some passages refer to the effect of one’s actions on his children or grandchildren, and a few note that a child’s behavior can have consequences for his parents. On the whole, collective accountability in the book of Proverbs appears to be transgenerational.
Under the rubric of collective punishment, the sin or crime for which one’s family suffers is often quite vague. In some cases it is a specific character trait (Prov. 11:17), rather than a particular action, but it many cases it is a general attribute, like wickedness (Prov. 3:33) or sinfulness (Prov. 13:22). Similarly, the punishment is also usually quite general, such as an unspecified curse (Prov. 3:33) or the troubling of one’s house (Prov. 15:27). Some of the more specific punishments suggest the loss of wealth or an inheritance (Prov. 11:29, 13:22). In most cases, YHWH’s role in administering the negative consequences for the family of the individual wrongdoer is not explicit, with Prov. 3:33 being the only exception. Only by recognizing the sage’s understanding of the universe and everything that occurs within it as the result of YHWH’s creative actions can one attribute the bad consequences that befall the family of sinners to the divine will. That YHWH’s role is only explicitly mentioned on one occasion speaks to the prominence of the act-consequence connection in Proverbs and wisdom literature more generally. Although YHWH ultimately lies behind the design of the universe that
automatically brings consequences upon individuals for their actions, the text rarely attributes intergenerational punishment to YHWH directly.
As many scholars have pointed out in their studies of collective accountability in the Hebrew Bible more generally, the types of crimes that merit intergenerational punishment are limited to those that involve infidelity to the covenant between the people of Israel and YHWH (Deut. 5:9-10).123 The types of misdeeds and character traits that result in negative consequences for the wrongdoer’s family in Israel’s biblical wisdom tradition are not examples of treason against YHWH. One instance, that of “being greedy for unjust profit,” bo®sΩeœa{ baœsΩa{ (Prov. 15:27), does involve the divine punishment of an
entire community in Jeremiah 6:13, but in that context, every individual is personally guilty; the group suffers for the sins of every member, not those of an individual or a smaller subset. Proverbs 17:13 forewarns that evil will not depart from the house of the one returning evil for good. A parallel to this situation occurs in Psalm 109: “They reward me evil for good, and hatred for my love.” The psalmist goes on to ask that the family of his enemies be punished for their iniquitous requital: “May the iniquity of his father be remembered before YHWH and do not let the sin of his mother be wiped out” (Psa. 109:14). Whether the psalmist’s plea for divine assistance in seeking revenge upon his enemies was answered is unknown. The psalm’s inclusion in the canon may suggest that the wider community accepted that returning evil for good merited transgenerational punishment, but most of the narrative material relating to this issue agrees in reserving such a severe punishment for the gravest crimes, those committed against YHWH himself.
Many of the observations made about collective punishment in Proverbs also apply to collective reward. The rewards are often quite general (Prov. 3:33, 14:26). In several cases, the rewards appear to be monetary (Prov. 13:22, 15:6, 21:20). This is especially true in the case of the contribution of the virtuous wife (}eœsûet◊-hΩayil) to her
family’s economy in Proverbs 31:10-31. The characteristics and deeds being rewarded are perhaps even more vague than they are for the misdeeds that are punished. Often the reward is for general character traits like being righteous (Prov. 3:33, 13:22, 15:6, 20:7), good (Prov. 13:22), or wise (Prov. 14:1, 21:20). Most of the verses do not directly attribute the good fortunes of the righteous to YHWH himself.
Proverbs generally holds that wisdom instruction, combined with discipline, has the power to produce good children who can avoid sin and punishment (Prov. 13:24, 19:18, 22:6, 23:13-14, 29:15, 17). Nevertheless, some statements suggest that some people exist who cannot be reached through wisdom and discipline (Prov. 9:7-9) or who turn out rebellious despite their parents’ efforts to raise them according to the law. Such children bring shame upon otherwise good parents, who are consequently deemed bad parents in the eyes of their peers (Prov. 27:11). Although several statements may grapple with the issues of theodicy and origins of bad children (Prov. 16:4), no answer is reached and the book on the whole tends to hold the individual accountable for his own behavior (Prov. 20:20).
Chapter Three: Collective Accountability in the Book of Job
I. Introduction
According to Halpern, “Job’s dilemma draws its locomotion from the dissonance, then, between rigid reality and the even more rigid theory of individual retribution; he, and he personally, must have sinned. Job, and Ecclesiastes, puncture the theory of individual retribution; against the old, supple idea of corporate responsibility, their lances would splinter harmlessly.”124 Despite the rise of the individual and the general shift from collective to individual accountability in ancient Israel, Job’s suffering has a large social dimension to it.125 A major component of his distress is the fact that his condition has alienated his friends and family (Job 19:13-22). Although his prominence in the community once earned him the respect, admiration, and acclaim of all his community’s members, from its orphans to its rulers (Job 29), he now suffers not only from the rejection of his friends and family, but also from the mockery of even the lowliest of his community (Job 30:1-15). Job’s complaint against God begins in earnest only when he personally experiences physical suffering (cf. the pious sufferer’s reactions in Job 1:18- 22 and 2:3-3:26), but his suffering is unbearable not so much because of the physical pain that he must endure as an individual but because of the ostracism that it ultimately causes him.
The discussion of collective accountability in the book of Job will begin with an
examination of the verses relating to collective punishment (section II) and those
124 Halpern, “Jerusalem and the Lineages,” 15.
125 In addition to the social dimension to Job’s suffering, every human action for good or evil, according to
pertaining to collective reward (section III). It will then consider examples in which the book rejects collective punishment (section IV), examine the role of wisdom instruction for helping children to reap rewards and avoid punishment (section V), and, finally, offer a summary of the findings (section VI).
II. Collective Punishment in Job