ABSTRACT
Paul thought he was solving the problem of the covenant by his Janus-faced interpretation of the election doctrine, which makes it look two ways- the old way and the new. It is no solution, however; it only aggravates the quarrel between Jew and Christian over who enjoys the election and the covenant. The rabbinic interpretation of election is a necessary one, for it puts the emphasis where it belongs- on service and not on prerogatives. If the President were elected for anything other than service, he would be unbearable; the election concept would then be totally discredited. It is the same with the election of Israel. The doctrine can be saved only by the interpretation made by the Rabbis- an interpretation entirely in the spirit of the Bible. There was the problem of squaring the doctrine of the election of Israel with a world view of history.
