GEN657 The Tanakh assumes that there is a universal standard of ethical behavior for which God will punish nations other than Israel … the expression “fear of God/the gods” as the equivalent of “common decency” assumes that all nations are capable of behaving according to basic ethical standards. The Psalmist lauds God as one “who will rule the world justly, and its peoples with equity” Psalm 98:9, an idea evident in biblical narrative. God tests Abraham’s worthiness by revealing to him His plan to destroy the people of Sodom and Gomorrah because of their immorality Genesis 18:17-20, not their presumed idolatry. Jeremiah is appointed as a “prophet to the nations,” and several of the prophetic books include collections of oracles concerning other nations Isaiah 13-23, Jeremiah 46-51, Ezekiel 25-32, Amos 1:3-2:3, Obadiah, Nahum 1-3. Jonah is sent to Nineveh, the capital of the Assyrian empire, to call its inhabitants to repentance: “Let everyone turn back from his evil ways and from the injustice of which he is guilty” Jonah 3:8. In Genesis 9:1-7, the aftermath of the flood, God gives laws for Noah and his family and authorizes capital punishment for homicide, but even prior to this, Genesis 1-8 presuppose a moral order that all people are expected to recognize and observe without the benefit of specific divine instruction, so that Cain and the generation of the flood can be punished for their misdeeds. Abraham shows keen awareness of this universal standard and holds God accountable to it when He threatens to decimate the Cities of the Plan: “Shall not the Judge of all the earth deal justly?” Genesis 18:25. The Bible never explicitly elucidates the origins of this universal ethical consciousness, but it is logical to assume that biblical authors could hardly imagine a basis for it other than God, as noted above regarding “fear of God.” (By Elaine Adler Goodfriend, “Ethical Theory and Practice in the Hebrew Bible) OXFORD 45