Files

Abstract

The aim of this dissertation is to trace and delineate the moral vision, aim, and values in the Priestly document among the four Pentateuchal sources. This text has been largely regarded and treated in biblical scholarship as having no moral concerns. The general assumption is that P is so focused on so-called ritual and religious matters that it is barely interested in morality that other Pentateuchal and broader biblical texts strive hard to set up. This trend is not least because the literary nature of the entire Priestly document has not been properly taken into account. This document is a historical narrative. The cultic laws are a necessary part of this larger narrative and should be read in light of its plot. Reading the text with a literary approach, I argue that a consistent moral aim of human peace and well-being (shalom) are latent throughout the Priestly history. The morality in this narrative is closely related to the anthropomorphic divine character it describes, for instance, his sensitive bodily senses and certain aesthetic nature and preferences. Human violence disturbs his sensitive senses and inclination toward repose and peace. The cultic laws serve to elaborate this divine character in the course of the plot development. Along with the deity’s bodily senses, the royal character becomes prominent in the laws. The entire law focuses on how to serve the sovereign deity’s repose that is inseparable from the peace and well-being of the world with the relevant moral values, such as restoration and responsibility. This dissertation proposes a new significance of the Priestly history. Contrary to the somewhat pejorative characterization of the text being legalistic and ritualistic, this Pentateuchal source does not merely include moral concerns, but in fact has morality as its major interest. It is suffused throughout P’s plot, story, speeches, concepts, themes, and laws. It is only hidden by P’s style and narrative technique that exploit a large quantity of technical religious language.

Details

Actions

PDF

from
to
Export
Download Full History