Rivalry and Reconciliation in Genesis
First Things, 03 March 2021
Genesis gives us clues that strife does not have the final word among siblings.
Pope Francis arrives in Iraq on Friday, fulfilling a Jubilee Year desire of St. John Paul II to visit Ur of the Chaldees as part of his millennial biblical pilgrimage. Saddam Hussein would not permit the visit in 2000. In the intervening years, the situation of the Christians in Iraq has become quite dire. Pope Francis will arrive to comfort them, strengthen their witness, and advance one of his signature initiatives: the “Human Fraternity” project he launched in the United Arab Emirates two years ago.
Meanwhile, on the diplomatic side, the “Abraham Accords” have led to normalized relations between Israel and the UAE, Bahrain and Sudan. The common paternity of Abraham—“father of multitudes”—is thought to be a theological, political, and sociological foundation for harmonious relations between Israelis and Arabs, Christians, Jews, and Muslims.
Which is rather remarkable. The book of Genesis provides some confidence that paternity and the promise can be handed down from one generation to the next, though not without some twists and turns. But as to fraternity, the project is more fraught. It’s fraternity that is the biblically greater challenge.
The late Rabbi Jonathan Sacks once pointed out to me that a deeper reading of Genesis reveals the problem of fraternity at the forefront—and offers hope that the problem can be solved.
In a public conversation we had in Toronto five years ago, I raised with Rabbi Sacks the issue of divine election. God chooses this one and not that one. Are we simply to accept that choice? Do we get to know the reasons?
Sacks explained that divine election in terms of paternity is relatively straightforward. God creates Adam. God chooses Abram, and promises to make him the father of a great nation. The man receives his paternity and it passes on to his sons.
But to which son? That’s where the problem arises. Sibling rivalry is more complicated than father-son relationships, because while there can be many sons, there is only one father. Who gets what he has? Who inherits the promise?
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