What is the Bible for?

Expressing God’s longing for relationship with creation

What’s the Bible for? We asked dozens of writers to respond to this question in seven words or less, as well as to expand on their response in a few sentences. To see all of the responses together as they are posted, bookmark this page.

Expressing God’s longing for relationship with creation

‌The Hebrew Bible depicts God as feeling a range of emotions. Besought with creation, God feels love, loyalty, and desire. By entering the realm of creation, God reminds the covenantal people, and all people, that they are created in the image of God and called to imitate God. Of course, we cannot be like God, because God’s true essence is incomprehensible. So God self-constricts and feels as we feel, to cultivate a connection with us. The mystery of election lies in this idea.

Malka Z. Simkovich

Malka Z. Simkovich teaches Jewish studies and directs the Catholic-Jewish studies program at the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, and is a Kogod Fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute of North America. Her latest book is Discovering Second Temple Literature (Jewish Publication Society).

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