Pentateuchal Theory

The Covenants in the Old Testament

by Matthew Charlesworth SJ

Unpublished. Written for BTh 1st Year T10B: Introduction to the Old Testament and the Pentateuch, Hekima College, 28 November 2011. (3687 words)

This essay attempts to define covenant as seen in the Old Testament. It will give an overview of some of the current... more This essay attempts to define covenant as seen in the Old Testament. It will give an overview of some of the current and historical thinking on the subject and explain the types of covenant. Five covenants in particular shall be discussed: the Edenic, Adamic, Noahic, Abrahamic, Mosaic, Palestinian, Davidic and New Covenants – and the common strands within each will be identified. A common way of interpreting the covenants shall be explained before so that these five covenants can more easily be compared. The essay shall then conclude with an explanation of these strands and an allusion to the (re-)new(ed) covenant in the New Testament.

From Joseph to Moses: The Narratives of Exodus 1-2

by Joel Baden

Vetus Testamentum 62 (2012): 133-58.

Numbers

by Nathan MacDonald

in J.N. Lohr and R.S. Briggs (eds.),  A Theological Introduction to the Pentateuch: Interpreting the Torah as Christian Scripture (Grand Rapids: BakerAcademic, 2012), pp. 113–143.

Dissertation Conclusion: Yahweh as a Sexual Deity in J's Prehistory

by David Bokovoy

Dissertation Conclusion

by David Bokovoy

The conclusion to my dissertation provides a basic summary of the general arguments for my proposal that J viewed his... more The conclusion to my dissertation provides a basic summary of the general arguments for my proposal that J viewed his god Yahweh as a sexual deity.

review of R. Schmitt's newest book

by Jacob Wright

http://www.arts.ualberta.ca/JHS/reviews/reviews_new/review574.htm

"Reading Tobit Backwards and Forwards: In Search of Lost Halakhah"

by Mark Christian

Henoch 28, no. 1 (2006): 63-96.

Ritual Rhetoric in the Pentateuch: The Case of Leviticus 1-16

by James Watts

In The Books of Leviticus and Numbers, ed. Thomas Römer, Bibliotheca Ephemeridum Theologicarum Lovaniensium, Leuven: Peeters, 2008, pp. 305-18.

The writers of the Pentateuch combined distinct ancient literary conventions of ritual rhetoric from diverse genres in... more The writers of the Pentateuch combined distinct ancient literary conventions of ritual rhetoric from diverse genres in order to place ritual concerns at the thematic and literary center of the Torah. The combination emphasizes the ritual texts as key components of the Pentateuch's persuasive strategy. Ritual rhetoric plays a vital role in unifying the Pentateuch's diverse contents into a persuasive argument for obedience to Torah and for cultic mediation by Aaronide priests. In the Second Temple period, Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers presented a utopian religious ideal (worship in the Tent of Meeting surrounded by the idealized camp of the twelve tribes of Israel) as available from an existing dynastic institution (the Aaronide priesthood). Like priests elsewhere in ancient Near Eastern and Hellenistic cultures, the Aaronide priests avoided writing in their own voice. Instead, they grounded their ritual legitimacy in the ancient edicts of a divine king and his legendary prophet. The resulting document legitimized the priesthoods of both Jewish and Samaritan temples and became the prototypical example of a new religious force, the idea of scripture.

From Eden to Babylon; Reading Gen 2-4 as a Paradigmatic Narrative

by Cynthia Edenburg

Pre-publication version of the paper published in Pentateuch, Hexateuch, or Enneateuch: Identifying Literary Works in Genesis Through 2 Kings (eds. Thomas Dozeman, Thomas Römer and Konrad Schmid; Society of Biblical Literature Ancient Israel and Its Literature Series; Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2011), 155-67.

Whatever sources may lie behind the narratives in Gen 2-4, it is recognized that these chapters have undergone... more Whatever sources may lie behind the narratives in Gen 2-4, it is recognized that these chapters have undergone purposeful editing designed to impose continuity and thematic coherence. Notwithstanding, there is still much debate about their purpose within their specific context in the primeval history. This essay addresses these matters by examining how Gen 2-4 might be read as paradigmatic texts relating to exile. Read together, Gen 2-4 illustrate how exile is the inevitable consequence of violating YHWH's basic demands of compliance with his injunctions and upholding essential social norms. I suggest that the placement of these narratives together at the opening of the primeval history was intended to provide a key for understanding the unfolding of the Pentateuchal narrative. In addition, I consider how technical aspects of scroll production contribute to understanding their placement. Moreover, in as much as they foreshadow the conclusion of the DtrH in 2 Kgs 25:21, they play a central role constructing a thematic frame for reading Gen – Kgs as an Enneateuch or Primary History. This view holds implications not only for understanding the purpose of Gen 2-4, but for the historical context of their composition. In addition, I engage the question of whether the concept of an Enneateuch is a deliberate literary construct, or whether it is a reading strategy for uncovering a significant message within a set authoritative scrolls.

Anticipations of Horeb: Exodus 17 as Inner-Biblical Commentary

by Nathan MacDonald

in D. Lipton and G. Khan (eds.), Studies on the Text and Versions of the Hebrew Bible in Honour  of Robert P. Gordon (Supplements to Vetus Testamentum, 149; Leiden: E.J. Brill, 2011), pp. 7-19.

Why Does the Plague of Darkness Last for Three Days? Source Ascription and Literary Motif in Exodus 10:21–23, 27

by Jeffrey Stackert

Vetus Testamentum 61 (2011): 657-76

Compositional Strata in the Priestly Sabbath: Exodus 31:12–17 and 35:1–3

by Jeffrey Stackert

Journal of Hebrew Scriptures 11 (2011), article 15

The Devastation of Darkness: Disability in Exodus 10:21-23, 27

by Candida Moss

Co-authored with Jeffrey Stackert. Forthcoming in Journal of Religion

Prä- proto- und antisamaritanisches und die Handschriften vom Toten Meer (inkl. Masada)

by PD Dr. Ursula Schattner-Rieser

in: St. Beyerle/J. Frey (ed.) Qumranica Aktuell. Kongresstagung Greifswald 2010, Neukirchner-Vluyn 2011, 67-109.

The Violent Origins of the Levites: Text and Tradition

by Joel Baden

Pages 103-16 in “The Lord is Their Inheritance”: Levites and Priests in History and Tradition. Edited by Mark A. Leuchter and Jeremy M. Hutton. Ancient Israel and Its Literature. Atlanta: SBL, 2011.

Using Ezra's Time as a Methodological Pivot for Understanding the Rhetoric and Functions of the Pentateuch

by James Watts

From The Pentateuch: International Perspectives on Current Research (ed. T. B. Dozeman, K. Schmid and B. J. Schwarz; Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2011), pp. 489-506.

The Persian period saw the transformation of pentateuchal materials into a scripture, the Torah. The story of Ezra... more The Persian period saw the transformation of pentateuchal materials into a scripture, the Torah. The story of Ezra exemplifies that transformation by its description of his manipulation of the physical scroll, his oral reading of it before the people of Jerusalem, and his arrangement for its professional translation/interpretation by Levites. These rituals have characterized the function of the Torah (and other scriptures) from that time forward. The Persian period, however, also marks a major change in the nature of our evidence for the form, contents and meaning of pentateuchal materials. The only historical evidence from before the time of Ezra for the Pentateuch’s composition, meaning and use must be derived inductively from literary analyses of biblical texts. From the time of the Ezra story on, our data comes increasingly from explicit references to Torah scrolls in other literature (including the books of Ezra and Nehemiah), translations of the Pentateuch’s text (e.g. the Septuagint) and material evidence such as manuscripts (e.g. Qumran) and ancient synagogue architecture. The transformation of the Pentateuch into scripture around the time of Ezra thus marks a watershed not only in Jewish religious history but also in the methods and data available to modern historians. Pentateuchal studies should develop the capacity to correlate the divergent methods used to study the Pentateuch on both sides of this scriptural divide in order to give a comprehensive account of the Torah’s history and significance. I suggest that rhetorical analysis can provide an overarching methodological umbrella under which to arrange the results of other methods of interpretation coherently.

The Deuteronomic Evidence for the Documentary Theory

by Joel Baden

Pages 327-44 in The Pentateuch: International Perspectives on Current Research. Edited by Thomas B. Dozeman, Konrad Schmid, and Baruch J. Schwartz. FAT 78. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2011.

Distinguishing Innerbiblical Exegesis from Pentateuchal Redaction: Leviticus 26 as a Test Case

by Jeffrey Stackert

Pages 369–86 in The Pentateuch: International Perspectives on Current Research. Forschungen zum Alten Testament. Edited by T. Dozeman, K. Schmid, and B. J. Schwartz. FAT 78. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2011.

Edom and Seir in the Narratives and Itineraries of Numbers 20-21 and Deuteronomy 1-3

by Nathan MacDonald

in G. Fischer, D. Markl and S. Paganini (eds.), Deuteronomium - Tora für eine neue Generation (Beihefte zur Zeitschrift für altorientalische und biblische Rechtsgeschichte, 17; Wiesbaden: Harrasowitz, 2011), pp. 83-103.

Aaron and the Golden Calf in the Rhetoric of the Pentateuch

by James Watts

Journal of Biblical Literature 130 (2011), 417-430.

In the Pentateuch, the contrast between law and narrative, or more precisely, ritual instructions and ritual... more In the Pentateuch, the contrast between law and narrative, or more precisely, ritual instructions and ritual narrative, is nowhere more stark than in the relationship between the Golden Calf story (Exod 32-34) and the instructions for building the Tabernacle (Exod 25-31, 35-40). The former vilifies Aaron by placing him at the center of the idolatrous event while the latter celebrates Aaron and his sons as divinely consecrated priests. Though source criticism has long since distinguished the authors of these accounts, it does not explain the intentions behind a literary juxtaposition that is too stark to be anything but intentional. Nor can it explain why the Aaronide dynasties who controlled both the Torah and the Second Temple allowed this negative depiction of Aaron to stand. Rhetorical analysis of the function of Exodus 32-34 in the Second Temple period provides a basis for seeking answers to these questions.