ABSTRACT
According to the Hebrew Bible, God is the all-good ruler of the universe. Thus in the Psalms He is described as good and upright (Psalm 25:8); his name is good (Psalm 54:8); He is good and does good (Psalm 118:68); He is good to all (Psalm 145:9). In rabbinic literature the same view prevails: God is the supremely beneficent creator who guides all things to their ultimate destiny. In the unfolding of his plan, He has chosen Israel as his messenger to all peoples – as creator and redeemer, He is the father to all. Such affirmations about God’s goodness have given rise to intense speculation about the mystery of evil. In Scripture the authors of Job and Ecclesiastes explored the question why the righteous suffer, and this quest continued into the rabbinic 391period. Yet, it was not until the Middle Ages that Jewish thinkers began to wrestle with the philosophical perplexities connected with the existence of evil.
