Divine Retribution in The Pentateuch
Divine retribution is easily seen in the Pentateuch or first five books of the Bible which set a hermeneutical foundation of the other Bible books. Major examples of divine retribution in the Pentateuch include:
| Biblical passages | incident | reason |
|---|---|---|
| Genesis 3:14-24 | Curse upon Adam and Eve and their expulsion from the Garden of Eden | disobedience and excuses including blaming God |
| Genesis 4:9-15 | Curse upon Cain after his slaying of his brother, Abel | deceit, murder, lies |
| Genesis 6-7 | The destruction of the Great Flood | rampant evil and Nephalim |
| Genesis 11:1-9 | The confusion of languages at the Tower of Babel | impiety on a massive scale |
| Genesis 19:23-29 | Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah | people of no redeeming value |
| Genesis 38:6-10 | Destruction of Er and Onan | wickedness in the Lord's sight |
| Exodus 7-14 | Plagues of Egypt | to establish his power over that of the gods of Egypt |
| Exodus 19:10-25 | Divine threatenings at Mount Sinai | warn that the mountain is off limits and holy |
| Exodus 32 | Plagues at the incident of the golden calf | disowning the people for breaking his covenant with them |
| Leviticus 10:1-2 | Nadab and Abihu are burned | offering unauthorized fire in their censers |
| Leviticus 26:14-39 | Curses upon the disobedient | divine warning |
| Numbers 11 | A plague accompanies the giving of quail meat in the wilderness | rejecting his gracious gift of heavenly food and failing his test of obedience |
| Numbers 16 | The rebellion of Korah, Dathan and Abiram - Their supernatural deaths and the plague that followed | insolence and attempting self promotion to roles they were unworthy of holding |
| Numbers 20:9-13 | Reprimand of Moses at the water of Meribah | disobeying the Lord's instruction, showing distrust and indÃfference in God's presence |
| Numbers 21 | Murmuring of the people and the plague of fiery serpents | spurning God's grace |
| Numbers 25 | Whoredom with the Moabites and resulting plague | breaching God's covenant through sexual immorality and worshipping other gods |
| Deuteronomy 28 | Curses pronounced upon the disobedient | another divine warning |
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Famous quotes containing the words divine and/or retribution:
“Not in vain is Ireland pouring itself all over the earth. Divine Providence has a mission for her children to fulfill; though a mission unrecognized by political economists. There is ever a moral balance preserved in the universe, like the vibrations of the pendulum. The Irish, with their glowing hearts and reverent credulity, are needed in this cold age of intellect and skepticism.”
—Lydia M. Child (1802–1880)
“You cannot do justice to the dead. When we talk about doing justice to the dead we are talking about retribution for the harm done to them. But retribution and justice are two different things.”
—William, Lord Shawcross (b. 1902)