The repeated assertions of God’s control of the wicked sup-
port this interpretation. In any case, the more radical stance,
amounting to a dissolution of the theodicy problem, finds
expression elsewhere in the wisdom literature. Ecclesiastes, for
example, repeatedly emphasizes the obscurity of God’s ways
in dealing with humans. Occasionally the text despairs of
there being any justice in the world: “one fate comes to all,
to the righteous and the wicked, to the good and the evil”
(Eccl. 9:2).
These dramatic responses of the wisdom tradition are
not the only positions of the exilic and postexilic period. In
some of the later prophetic writings, especially in “Second
Isaiah,” a complex, new theodicy appears: the idea of the suf-
fering servant. This is the innocent “man of sorrows,” an “of-
fering for sin” who bears the sins of others and is “wounded
for our transgressions” (Is. 53:3–10). Just who this figure is
remains unclear. Is he the prophet himself or some other
charismatic figure? Is he the nation as a whole or a righteous
remnant? Whatever the answer, this idea embodies a new
theodicy, combining the free–will theodicy with elements of
the educative and communion theodicies. Suffering is still
produced by sin, but the servant suffers vicariously. He bears
his stripes to absorb the punishment of others, to highlight
and communicate the consequence of sin and God’s wrath
against it. His suffering teaches others and is also a unique
form of service to God. Finally, in a bid to the eschatological
theodicy, it is promised that this servant will ultimately have
his reward. He will be given a “portion with the great” and
will “divide the spoil with the strong” (Is. 53:12).
In the latest texts of the Hebrew Bible, as well as in
many writings of the intertestamental period, these eschato-
logical and recompense themes move to the fore with the ap-
pearance of apocalyptic writings, such as the Book of Daniel.
In these, history is viewed as moving toward a final cosmic
resolution, when God will smash the empires of the wicked
and raise the righteous dead to “everlasting life” (Dn. 12:2).
The Hebrew scriptures thus draw to a close with a reassertion
of the ultimate connection between suffering and sin.
Rabbinic teaching. Many of the motifs found in the He-
brew scriptures are continued in rabbinic thinking. Foremost
once again is the free–will theodicy and the link between suf-
fering and sin: “If a man sees that painful suffering visits
him,” says the Talmud, “let him examine his conduct”
(B.T., Ber. 5a). Or again, more radically, “There is no suffer-
ing without sin” (B.T., Shab. 55a). It follows from this that
any apparent discrepancy between conduct and its reward
must be overcome or denied. Eschatology becomes acutely
important. The righteous may look forward to the world to
come (’olam ha-ba’), where all inequities will be overcome
and the wicked must fear hell (Gehenna). Whatever observ-
able suffering one experiences may be regarded as expiation
of those inevitable sins that all human beings commit. Suf-
fering thus prepares one for final reward: “Beloved are suffer-
ings, for as sacrifices are atoning so is suffering atoning”
(Mekilta’ de Rabbi YishmaEe’l 2. 280).
This stress on the positive value of suffering is empha-
sized in a series of rabbinic teachings that go beyond the view
of suffering as retribution and emphasize its educative di-
mensions or the opportunity it provides for obedience to
God and communion with him. Sometimes, for example,
suffering is seen as having disciplinary value. Frequently al-
luded to is Proverbs 3:11, which teaches that God is like a
father who chastises a well-loved son. EAqiva’ ben Yosef, mar-
tyred by the Romans in the Bar Kokhba Revolt, is said to
have laughed during his torture. When asked by his tormen-
tor why he did this, EAqiva’ replied that all his life he had
been reciting the ShemaE, the ritual formula in which the
pious Jew is commanded to love God with all his heart, soul,
and might, and now, amidst his tortures, he realized that he
had finally been given the opportunity to fulfill this com-
mandment. For EAqiva’, as well as for many Jews who looked
to him, suffering becomes an occasion for divine grace.
Amidst suffering, these Jews came to see the presence of a
God whose purpose, at a price in suffering to himself and
to his people, was to render Israel a holy community.Christianity. The crucifixion of Jesus clearly forms the
focal point for all Christian thinking about suffering. But the
interpretation of this event varies widely in Christian think-
ing, as do the theodicies that it brings forth.
The New Testament. Although the problem of suffering
is everywhere present in the earliest Christian writings, what
theodicies we can identify in the New Testament writings are
largely implicit. Expectedly, many of the theodicies we exam-
ined in the context of biblical and rabbinic thought are clear-
ly assumed. Particular emphasis, for example, is given to as-
pects of the free-will theodicy. It is true that the crucifixion
provides for Christians decisive evidence that not all who suf-
fer are guilty. Nevertheless, the death of Jesus is also the re-
sult of almost every form of human wickedness. Factional-
ism, nationalism, militarism, religious hypocrisy, greed,
personal disloyalty, and pride all conspire here to effect the
death of an innocent man.The fact that Christ is clearly blameless provokes the
further question of why he should be allowed to suffer at all.
At least several answers appear throughout the New Testa-
ment, some of which are also applicable to other innocent
victims. On one level, in many New Testament texts a quali-
fied dualism makes its appearance. Evil and suffering are
traced to the agency of demonic forces or to Satan (e.g., Mk.
5:1–13; Mt. 9:32–34, 12:22–24). On another level, the es-
chatological theodicy is vigorously reasserted, with Christ’s
resurrection furnishing proof that the righteous are able to
vanquish all the forces of wickedness and to surmount suffer-
ing and death. The apostle Paul typically insists that the Res-
urrection is a source of personal hope and confidence for all
who follow Christ (1 Cor. 5:15–19; 2 Cor. 4:14). Side by side
with this, and found everywhere from the Gospels to Revela-
tion, is a vivid apocalyptic expectation. Christ is the “Son of
man” whose life (and death) will usher in the kingdom of
God. In this kingdom, worldly hierarchies of reward will be9116 THEODICY