Our passage states that God cannot “repent” (Hebrew nacham). This is taken to mean that God is impassible. The impassibility of God is the dogmatic assertion that God is incapable of being affected by the created order over whish He transcends. However, the witness of Moses and the Prophets suggests that God can be and is affected dynamically by the created order. In the following passages, God will be shown to “repent” or “feel remorse” with regard to an action taken. Through this brief exercise, it will become clear that the rejected “repentance of God” in Numbers 23:19 is not an unmitigated or comprehensive statement about the nature of God.
The Hebrew term for “repent” in the following passages is nacham which is the word used in Number 23:19. Moses writes, “YHWH repented that He had made man on the earth…” (Genesis 6:6). Similarly, in the face of the golden calf incident, Moses asks God, “Turn from Your burning anger and repent of the evil to Your people” (Exodus 32:12).
The prophet Joel (2:13) writes:
Consistent with the examples in Moses, Joel goes further. He demonstrates that the “repentance of God” (nachmat Elohim) is part of the very nature of God. However, this exercise reveals an aspect of God’s nature inconsistent with a specific reading of Numbers 23:19. God is capable of “repenting” or “changing His mind.” He is affected by creation and not the impassible, static deity of the stoics.
Our journey through this passage hence commences with a demonstration that Numbers 23:19 is not a comprehensive statement about the nature of God. More will follow.
The Hebrew term for “repent” in the following passages is nacham which is the word used in Number 23:19. Moses writes, “YHWH repented that He had made man on the earth…” (Genesis 6:6). Similarly, in the face of the golden calf incident, Moses asks God, “Turn from Your burning anger and repent of the evil to Your people” (Exodus 32:12).
The prophet Joel (2:13) writes:
[God] is gracious and compassionate,
Slow to anger, abounding in
kindness,
And repenting of evil.
Consistent with the examples in Moses, Joel goes further. He demonstrates that the “repentance of God” (nachmat Elohim) is part of the very nature of God. However, this exercise reveals an aspect of God’s nature inconsistent with a specific reading of Numbers 23:19. God is capable of “repenting” or “changing His mind.” He is affected by creation and not the impassible, static deity of the stoics.
Our journey through this passage hence commences with a demonstration that Numbers 23:19 is not a comprehensive statement about the nature of God. More will follow.
2 comments:
This is intriguing. It is not only us (Torah-pursuant Christians) who believe this about Moshe, in fact in Talmud - Mas. Mo'ed Katan 16b we find the following (referencing 2 Samuel 23:2)
The God of Israel said, The Rock of Israel spoke to me: Ruler over man shall be the righteous, even he that ruleth through the [reverent] fear of God. (33) What does this mean? Said R. Abbahu, It means this: The God of Israel said, to the [David] spake the Rock of Israel; I rule man; who rules Me? [It is] the righteous: for I make a decree and he [may] annul it.
(33) II Samuel 23:2-3. V. Hananel.
(34) The righteous have power to move God to change his adverse decree by prayer. Cf. Genesis 18:20 and following; Exodus 32:7-14.
Footnotes from the Soncino Edition. The two passages referenced for examples of a tzaddik causing HaShem to repent are of Abraham bargaining with Him over Sodom, and Moses pleading with HaShem not to destroy the people of Israel and start over.
Hello Nate!
Thank you for the input. The rabbis teach that God is capable of aborgating an evil decree but not a positive one. Hence, when Jonah announced, "40 days and Nineveh will be destroyed," this promise was abated due to the repentance of the people. The rabbis seem to be onto something here as I see multiple negative decrees of the Almighty abrogated but few if any positive ones cancelled in Tanakh.
kol tuv,
Peter
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