Divine Kinsman

Karen Joines ( The Incomparable Divine Kinsman of Second Isaiah ) gives this fine summary of the Old Testament description of Yahweh as go’el : ” Go’el used of God means that he is the ‘kinsman’ of those without kinsmen, that he can withhold life from the jaws of Sheol, that he is the rock that shields spiritual nomads from the sandstorms of life, that he liberates his people from bondage, that in revenge he destroys the enemies of his people, and that the land of his people cannot be withheld permanently from them” (34-5).

She points out that Yahweh is never describes as the go’el haddam , the kinsman of blood, but her description shows that Yahweh does fill this role – striking down those who shed the blood of His kin, His brothers and His Bride, bone of His bone, flesh of His flesh.