BIBLICAL LAW
S. Amsler, "Amos et les droits de l'homme", in De la
Tôrah au Messie (H. Cazelles Festschrift), ed. M. Carrez, J. Doré
and P. Grelot (Paris, 1981), 181-187. - This study of Amos' oracles against
the foreign nations (Amos 1-2) attempts to discover the theological basis
on which the prophet can condemn the nations in the name of the God of Israel.
He discusses various possibilities which he does not find entirely satisfactory:
that the victims of the injustices condemned were all Israelites, that the
nations concerned had an indirect association with the kingdom of Yahweh
by virtue of having been part of the Davidic empire, that the oracles presupposed
the Noachic covenant with mankind, or that they presupposed the notion shared
by all the ancient orient according to which the gods were guarantors of
the cosmic order. Amsler prefers the view that the law revealed to Israel
was regarded as having universal scope. He points out that although the
oracles concern the nations, they were in fact addressed to Israel. (J.D.)
A. Bartal, "Otherwise... When My Lord Shall Sleep with his Fathers
I and my Son Solomon Shall be Counted Offenders (1 Kings 1:21)", BM
23 (1978), 433-435, 523-524 (Heb.). - Bathsheba's use of hataíim,
"sinners", in reference to her own and Solomon's presumed
status should Adonijah reign is here understood as "legally culpable"
and thus deserving of execution. This, however, is not, as most moderns
suppose, because they are members of a rival faction and thus - in accord
with ancient royal practice - to be done away with, but rather, as perceived
by Abrabanel, because they will be considered guilty of particular offences:
Bathsheba of adultery and Solomon, as her son, as unfit to rule. Thus, Bathsheba's
plea to the dying David is that Solomon may reign, so that her sin - and
David's - may remain undisclosed. (B.J.S.)
C. M. Carmichael, "Forbidden Mixtures", VT 32 (1982),
394-415. - C. examines the problematic laws prohibiting certain mixtures
(Deut. 22:9-11). These are original to the Deuteronomist and constructed
akin to the composition of proverbs. They represent clever, allusive, proverbial-type
commentary upon certain happenings in the patriarchal narratives. They are
not to be taken literally, unlike Lev. 19:19, by which time the Levitical
legislator no longer understands their real meaning. Their inspiration comes
from Jacob's cryptic comments upon his sons' activities (Gen. 49),
and are judgments in condemnation of Judah, aimed at prohibiting Canaanite
and Israelite marriages. The prohibition against planting two seeds in the
vineyard is a cryptic judgment on Judah's dilemma over the perpetuation
of his line (Gen. 30-38; cf. Gen. 49:8-12). The mixed seed,
Er and Oran, and the seed that was sought through their union with Tamar
came to nothing. The prohibition against ploughing with an ox and an ass
is open to the use of figurative language, using animal and sexual imagery,
to condemn the influx of Hivite women into Jacob's group (Gen. 34:29;
35:1-4) and Jacob's marriage between an Israelite and Canaanite. The prohibition
against putting on a shatnez is a synecdoche referring to a luxurious
garment which comes to represent a prostitute (Tamar). This is a negative
comment upon Judah's (wool) involvement with the harlot Tamar (linen) in
Gen. 38. Such negative judgments against a revered ancestor had to
be expressed indirectly. (K.W.W.)
Calum M. Carmichael, Law and Narrative in the Bible, Ithaca
and London, Cornell University Press, 1985, ISBN 0-8014-1792-9, Pp.356,
Price: $38.50. - Sub-titled "The Evidence of the Deuteronomic Laws
and the Decalogue", this book pursues further Carmichael's now-familiar
thesis from The Laws of Deuteronomy (1974) and Women, Law and
the Genesis Traditions (1979). He looks particular at the choices made
in arranging and formulating the laws (some quite general, others extremely
specific), and the reasons for their attribution to God in the case of the
Decalogue, Moses in the case of Deuteronomy. "In order to preserve
the prophetic impact of their material, the compilers closely studied existing
biblical narrative, and selected laws which maintained the appropriate historical
context. Using this perspective, Carmichael is able to detect strong logical
continuity in both the structure and the content of the Decalogue and the
Deuteronomic laws" (from the jacket). (B.S.J.)
R. Clifford, Deuteronomy, with an Excursus on Covenant and Law,
Wilmington: Michael Glazier Inc., l982, Pp. x, 193, Price: $6.95 (New Testament
Message, A Biblical-Theological Commentary, 4); see BL 1983 p. 46.)
D. J. A. Clines, "Nehemiah 10 as an Example of Early Jewish Biblical
Exegesis", JSOT 21 (1981), 111-117. - Neh. 10 is a fine
example of the post-exilic interpretation of earlier Israelite law. It consists
of a set of halakhot, probably devised by priestly or levitical lawyers
and assented to by the people. Every halakhah has a certain novelty,
while remaining an exegesis of earlier Pentateuchal law. C. assumes that
Neh. 10 is preceded by Ezra's judicial appointments (Ezra 7:25),
and the setting up of a bet midrash (Neh. 8:13-15) and Nehemiah's
second governorship (Neh. 13). He traces five different types of
legal development: (i) the establishment of machinery for carrying out a
prescription (e.g. 10:35 allows the performance of Lev. 6:1-6);
(ii) the machinery for carrying out a prescription (e.g. 10:39 allows
the Levites to collect tithes, cf. Deut. 14:23-26, Mal. 3:10);
(iii) the creation of a new prescription for a Pentateuchal precedent (e.g.
Ex. 30:11-16, cf. 10:33), (iv) the redefinition of categories
for greater comprehensiveness (e.g. 10:36, cf. Deut. 26:2);
(v) the integration of distinct and therefore potentially competing prescriptions
(e.g. 10:36-40 - specifies that all Pentateuchal taxes are cumulative).
C. identifies some of the exegetical principles guiding these developments.
Every halakhah has some connection with a Pentateuchal law but a
reapplication may bypass the letter of the law to preserve its spirit. Ancillary
law is necessary for Pentateuchal law to be effectual. Since these laws
are regarded as essentially harmonising, any apparent tensions have to be
resolved by additions rather than mediation or compromise. This is not a
systematic commentary on Pentateuchal law but rather designed to meet contemporary
problems. C. concludes with an examination of Neh. 10 and earlier
law on sabbath and intermarriage. (K.W.W.)
George W. Coats, "II Samuel 12:17a", Interpretation 40
(1986), 170-175; see OTA 9/3 (1986), no.790.)
Peter C. Craigie, Ugarit and the Old Testament, Grand Rapids,
Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1983, Pp. vii, 100, ISBN
0-8028-1928-1, Price: $5.95. - This is an introduction for the general reader
to the discovery of Ugarit and its relevance to the study of the Old Testament.
It includes an account of the proposed Ugaritic parallel to Deut 14:21
(seething a kid in its mother's milk), at 74-76, 108 (but omitting Haran,
JJS 30 (l979), 23-35: see Survey no. 310, JLA 111). (B.S.J.)
David Damrosch, The Narrative Covenant: Transformations of Genre
in the Growth of Biblical Literature, Ithaca and New York: Cornell
University Press, 1987, pp.x, 352, ISBN 0-8014-9934-8, pbk., Price: $14.25
- The author argues for integration of the comparative study of Near Eastern
literature, the historical study of sources within the biblical texts, and
literary analysis of the text as it develops into its canonical form, in
order to explain the emergence of the "two great bodies of narrative"
within the Bible, namely, the Pentateuch and the Deuteronomic history -
bodies of literature which the author regards as manifestly superior to
the historical prose of neighbouring countries. Of particular interest to
readers of the Annual is chapter 6: "Law and Narrative in the
Priestly Work", in which the author argues that the interweaving of
law and history was the central literary concern of the Priestly writers.
The Law of Holiness is seen as a reflection upon "the law in exile":
"if a metaphoric union with God is no longer possible in a fallen world,
the Law can instead create a life built around a principle of separation
that would serve as a metaphor for the transcendent otherness of God ...
Leviticus presents a body of ritual that had never been fully observed and
whose physical and spiritual focus, the Temple, had now been destroyed.
Looking towards the future, the entire collection functions prophetically,
and this aspect comes to the fore in the bookís conclusion"
(290-291). The law is here seen as an "anti-narrative" to the
narrative structure of the Priestly work, with emphasis placed upon the
sins of Aaron and his sons, and on the wilderness. Unfortunately, within
the scope of a single chapter, this thesis - particularly as regards the
detail of the ritual law - is not given sufficient scope for a full exposition.
(B.S.J.)
E.B. Firmage, B.G. Weiss and J.W. Welch, eds., Religion and Law:
Biblical Judaic and Islamic Perspectives, Winona Lake, Eisenbrauns,
1990, Pp. xii, 401, ISBN 0-931464-39-0. - This volume, which originated
in a conference at the University of Utah and Brigham Young University in
1985, is a valuable resource for the comparison of Jewish with Islamic conceptions
of the relationship between law and religion. The contributions from the
Jewish side focus mainly upon biblical themes: M. Weinfeld on "The
Decalogue: Its Significance, Uniqueness, and Place in Israelís Tradition"
G.E. Mendenhall, "The Suzerainty Treaty Structure: Thirty Years Later",
M. Greenberg, "Biblical Attitudes Toward Power: Ideal and Reality in
Law and Prophets" J.W. Welch, "Reflections on Postulates: Power
and Ancient Laws - A Response to Moshe Greenberg" Z.W. Falk, "Spirituality
and Jewish Law" E.P. Sanders, "When is a Law a Law? The Case of
Jesus and Paul" J. Milgrom, "Ethics and Ritual: The Foundations
of the Biblical Dietary Laws" D.P. Wright, "Observations on the
Ethical Foundations of the Biblical Dietary Laws: A Response to Jacob Milgrom"
B.S. Jackson, "Legalism and Spirituality: Historical, Philosophical,
and Semiotic Notes on Legislators, Adjudicators, and Subjects" J. Milgrom,
"Some Consequences of the Image Prohibition in Jewish Art", with
a reply by S.I. Hallet; D.N. Freedman, "The Formation of the Canon
of the Old Testament: The Selection and Identification of the Torah as the
Supreme Authority of the Postexilic Community" S.M. Paul, "Biblical
Analogues to Middle Assyrian Law" D.R. Hillers, "Rite:
Ceremonies of Law and Treaty in the Ancient Near East" I. Englard,
"Religious Freedom and Jewish Tradition in Modern Israeli Law - A Clash
of Ideologies". (B.S.J.)
M. Fishbane, "Revelation and Tradition: Aspect of Inner Biblical
Exegesis", JBL 99 (1980), 343-361. - A study of inner-biblical
exegesis used to reapply or reinterpret divinely revealed authoritative
traditions with particular reference to law, homily and prophecy. The first
part examines the reapplication or reinterpretation of legal provisions
to fit new situations or unseen contingencies (e.g. Num. 27: 1-11;
36: 1-14; 9:6-14; 27: 8-11; 2 Chr. 29, 30). The author also deals
with the way in which legal traditions, developed to add operative force
to earlier laws, were also represented as of divine origin while their human
origins are obscured (2 Chron. 30, cf. Num. 9; 2 Chr. 35:6).
The rubric Vehen taëase is often used to introduce later legal
explications (Ex. 23:4, cf. Deut. 22:1-3; Ex. 23:10-11,
cf. Lev. 25:3-7). Fishbane also deals with the addition of protective
restrictions (e.g. Jer. 17:19-27) and the subsequent recombination
of earlier and disparate texts to create a new divine law (e.g. Ex. 22:30
and Ex. 23:19 combined in Deut. 14: 21). He sees this, along
with the study of homily and prophecy, as reflecting an incipient canonical
consciousness whereby the authority of revelation predominates over tradition.
(K.W.W.)
B. Halpern, "The Centralization Formula in Deuteronomy",
VT 31 (1981), 20-38. - The writer concentrates on the two basic formulae
for cult centralization in Deuteronomy which are distinguished by
the interchange of the verbs swm and skn (14:23; 16:2,6,11;
26:2; cf. 12:21; 24:24) is the only instance of the centralizing
formula in Deuteronomy that qualifies "the place that Yhwh chooses"
without attaching to it the placing of the name. He distinguishes two strata
in the centralizing laws: 12:2-12 is secondary to 12:13-19. The early strand
begins with the unique formula in 12:14 and contains no verb of motion.
A distributive interpretation of 12:14 is a distinct possibility. He claims
that this theory has far- reaching implications: Deuteronomy represents
a conservative balwork against cultic innovation rather than a reform programme,
it protects the Levites against rival claims to priesthood (esp. Deut.
18:6-8), and it is not designed to disenfranchise existing priesthoods
or close existing shrines but to recognise and ratify their claims. This
code thus enforces a Levite priestly monopoly as the cultic status quo.
(K.W.W.)
M. Haran, "Behind the scenes of History: Determining the Date
of the Priestly Source", JBL 100 (1981), 321-333. - H. argues
that P. is pre-exilic and preceded D. He sees P. as earlier than the law
code of Ezek. 40-48, which looks merely as an epigonic outgrowth
of the priestly source. P.'s early composition and later publication explains
the fact that although it is pre-exilic it remains undetectable until the
post-exilic period and Ezra. Ezra promulgated and canonised this source,
which was already quite ancient, as part of the complete Pentateuch. The
utopian idealism and idealistic laws of P. were not designed to be put into
practice. P. was unlike D., which was moralising and designed to move its
readers to reform. He detects strong sectarian features emanating from a
semi-esoteric circle of the Jerusalemite priesthood and dating to the time
of the reforms of Ahaz and Hezekiah. (K.W.W.)
M. Haran, "Behind the Stage of History - On the Dating of the
Pentateuchal Priestly Source" (Heb.), Zion 45 (1980), i, 1-20.
- Hebrew version of 844.
C. Houtman, "Ezra and the Law. Observations on the supposed relation
between Ezra and the Pentateuch", OS 21 (1981), 91-115. - This
essay consists of two parts. In the first Houtman gives a historical survey
of opinions on the view that Ezra was responsible for a re-edition of the
Pentateuch (cf. IV Ezra xiv 18ff.). In the second part he discusses
the question of the identity of Ezra's law-book, or better, the identity
of the law-book which the books of Ezra and Nehemiah presuppose. He concludes
that this was neither the P Code, nor the Pentateuch as a whole, but rather
a law- book which contained some laws agreeing with those in the Pentateuch
but also some laws not known in the Pentateuch. In support of the possibility
of such a document existing he cites the example of the Temple Scroll from
Qumran. (J.D.)
B.S. Jackson, "The Ceremonial and the Judicial: Biblical Law
as Sign and Symbol", JSOT 30 (1984), 25-30. - The claim of A.J.
Phillips that biblical law can be studied only as law is rejected. Starting
from Aquinas's classification of biblical law in three categories of moral,
ceremonial and judicial law, use is made here of legal semiotics, the study
of the relation between sign and symbol and the thing signified. A semiotic
approach has some similarities to literary structuralism but is distinct
from hermeneutics. It is employed here to examine the function of the legal
texts of the Old Testament. The work of a number of scholars who have made
use of this method is examined. Jackson argues that a semiotic approach
pays attention to what the texts have to say about the nature of the message,
to the manner of use of biblical norms, to semiotic choices made by the
text and the nature of the communities within which the biblical law was
designed to be communicated. Such methods show that judicial and moral laws
operated in wider groups than ceremonial laws. (R.A.M.)
The JPS Torah Commentary, Exodus, The Traditional
Hebrew Text with a New JPS Translation, Commentary by Nahum M. Sarna,
Philadelphia and New York: The Jewish Publication Society, 1991, pp. xxv,
278, ISBN 0-8276-0324-4 - The principal feature of the JPS Torah Commentary
(of which Genesis, Leviticus and Numbers have already appeared) is its annotated
commentary, which contains references to modern scholarly literature. This
is a considerable advance for commentaries designed primarily for lay and
synagogal use. Students of the "Covenant Code" (Exodus
21-22) will find useful material in the relevant annotations and notes;
there is also an Excursus on Biblical and Ancient Near Eastern Law (pp.
273-276). (B.S.J.)
Niels Peter Lemche, Det gamle Israel. Det israelitiske samfund
fra sammenbruddet af bronzealderkulturen til hellenistisk tid, Aarhus:
Forlaget Anis, 1984, ISBN 87-7457-028-5, Pp.240, Price: Dkr.130,00. - The
author tries to present the history of Israel in ancient times as a social
process. His study is based on a supposed general late date of the historical
traditions in the OT, which were hardly written down before the middle of
the 1st mill. B.C.E. Thus the OT view of the history of Israel is only the
expression of a late reconstruction, and very little of this is of any use,
especially as a witness to the pre-monarchical history of Israel. The O.T.
law material, as it is transmitted by the O.T., is mostly to be found in
very late sources, and in its present shape it reflects the customs of the
post-exilic Jewish community. The O.T. picture of the religious history
of Israel is based on the concept of God in the Torah, and this picture
is retrospectively used as a kind of "filter" through which we
now see the pre exilic Israelite religion. This religion was as a matter
of fact a "Canaanite" religion, and only the experiences of the
Babylonian exile transformed it into the Jewish law religion. (K.N.)
H. Lennard, "Die kultischen Anordnungen Gottes im Zusammenhang
mit den übrigen Gesetzen des Alten Testaments", ZAW 97
(1985), 414-423. - The writer examines various investigations into categories
of "Law" including those of Rendtorff, Koch, Preise, Reventlow,
Schulz, Wagner and Halbe. General conclusions reached by such study has
shown that casuistic law usually relates to the individual; law relating
to death usually assumes the participial form and is often related to the
cult; Divine commands relate both to everyday life and the cult, although
the former often embrace ethical matters while cultic regulations do not,
and "wisdom" exhortations are advice based on the commandments.
Lennard examines the Prohibition and finds that some forms of it begin with
a noun, others with a verb. Cultic regulations usually begin with a noun.
The writer examines various forms of this kind, dividing them into a number
of types which include the basic function of the cult related mostly to
thanksgiving and expiation. Cult law is usually introduced by the word torah
in the Tetrateuch which the LXX renders by nomos and this, in the
New Testament, stands most often for "the cult". (R.A.M.)
M. Lind, "Law in the Old Testament", Christian Legal
Society Quarterly 4 (1983), 32-34. - In Lind's view, there is today
"a revival of the church's interest in justice and law" and their
proper foundation. He emphasizes that the Old Testament is itself a rich
source of law, and is the original and still proper model, along with the
New Testament, of law for all who seek to retain a covenantal relationship
with God. Citing numerous passages from the Covenant code (Exodus
20:22-23:33), Deuteronomic code, and the Holiness code, Lind emphasizes
the covenantal nature of Old Testament law and the continued recognition
of covenantal law in the New Testament. Lind contrasts the direct teaching/preaching
(parenesis) form employed by God in pentateuchal law, the numerous "motive
clauses" which set forth God's reasons and purposes, and the second
person singular, apodictic, form of Old Testament law with the secularity,
human origin, and power orientation of law as set forth in other ancient
Near Eastern codes. Contrast is also drawn with medieval legal theory based
on the natural law theory of Augustine and Aquinas, which Lind characterizes
as "paganizations" of law suited to administration through "the
impersonal powers of the state". (D.H.P.)
P. Maon, "Responsabilité", in Supplément
au Dictionnaire de la Bible (fascicule 55), ed. H. Cazelles and A. Feuillet
(Paris, 1981), 357-356. - A comprehensive survey, including sections on
semantic analysis, responsibility in law, and conclusion, together with
useful bibliographical citations. (J.D.)
A.D.H. Mayes, "King and Covenant: a Study of 2 Kings chs. 22-23",
Hermatheia 125 (1978), 34-47. - The author claims that "the
widespread view that the original Deuteronomy, subsequently edited until
its present form, was a law book found in the temple in the time of Josiah
and made the basis of a reform by Josiah, is not tenable. Since, moreover,
there is no evidence of the existence of Deuteronomy earlier than this one
can only point to the period between Josiah's reform and 598 B.C., when
the deuteronomistic historical work containing Deuteronomy was compiled,
as its probable time of origin The Book may to a certain extent have been
the deposit of that reform, in that Josiah's reform measures, insofar as
they may be deduced from 2 Kings 23 4-20, are reflected in Deuteronomy;
but it was really only as a result of the redactional work of the deuteronomist
that the connection between Deuteronomy and the reform of Josiah became
firmly established. - As far as Josiah's covenant is concerned, this too
must be seen as deriving from deuteronomistic theological interests. Josiah
instituted a reform; but that any covenant was involved in this, whether
a covenant between king and people or between king and people on the one
hand and Yahweh on the other, is not to be established from 2 Kings 22f."
(J.D.)
J.G. McConville, Law and Theology in Deuteronomy, Sheffield:
J.S.O.T. Press, 1985, I.S.B.N. 0 905774 78 7 (pbk.79 5), Pp x, 240, Price:
£18.50 or $28.50, £8.95 or $13.50 (pbk.) (Journal for the Study
of the Old Testament Supplement Series 33). - The author describes his purpose
as to "explore how the distinctive theology of Deuteronomy is reflected
in its laws, in particular laws dealing with cultic matters (the sanctuary,
sacrifices, festivals, etc.)." In so doing, he relates the laws to
the narrative structure of the book, as speeches delivered on the eve of
entry into the promised land. In the course of his analysis, McConville
throws doubt upon traditional literary-historical analyses of Deuteronomy,
and sees the laws as a product of the theological tendencies of the book,
rather than as earlier, discrete sources which have been edited into a later,
theological framework. It would be interesting to see how the author would
relate the non-cultic laws to this thesis; in any event, his work is a stimulating
and important contribution to the study of one of the major sources of biblical
law. (B.S.J.)
E. Nielsen, "Moses and the Law", VT 32 (1982), 87-98.
- N. examines the notion of and critical stances towards Moses as law-giver
in the Pentateuchal traditions. He argues that the Law of Holiness (Lev.
17-26) is a Judaean parallel to the Deuteronomic legislation which suggests
that circles in Judah did not associate Yahweh's laws and commandments
with any special activity on the part of Moses. He believes that the promulgation
of laws (sacred, moral and religious) originally belonged to the cult but
that through Deuteronomy and P. it became historically and eventually exclusively
associated with Moses. This recognition of Moses as the law-giver coincided
with the first phase of the Deuteronomic movement after 722 B.C. It became
an accepted factor in Jerusalem after 587 B.C., and thereafter completely
dominated the law traditions of the Old Testament. The author concludes
that it is beyond doubt that the notion of Moses as law-giver was established
through the Deuteronomic traditions. ( (K.W.W.)
E. Otto, Wandel der Rechtsbegründungen in der Gesellschaftsgeschichte
des Antiken Israel: Ein Rechtsgeschichte des 'Bundesbuches'
Ex XX 22 - XXIII 13 (Studia Biblica III), Brill, Leiden, 1988, Pp. viii,
107, ISBN 90 04 08346 4, Price: Fl. 40.00 - The author here offers an original
interpretation of the significance of the development of the literary forms
of biblical law. The casuistic law is said to have originated in a tribal
society in which the main need was one of dispute resolution. Once the tribal
basis of society gave way to a monarchy with a class structure, the role
of casuistic law changed to one of maintenance of that structure, through
the imposition of punishments. Later still, the casuistic material was used
in a theological context, ultimately relying upon ethical preaching rather
than the imposition of sanctions. A parallel development affected the apodictic
law, taken to have originated in a family context, but then to have been
transferred to the sphere of local court administration. The author sees
the theological assumptions behind this process as residing in the attribution
of judgment to God as King. The current text of the Covenant Code, placed
there according to the author by the Deuteronomic editor, reflects the ultimate
view of the common origin and divine significance of laws of social protection
on the one hand, and sacral laws on the other. Moreover, the literary structure
of the Covenant Code, discussed at greater length by the author in his Rechtsgeschichte
der Redaktionen im Kodex Esnunna und im 'Bundesbuch': Eine Redaktionsgeschichtliche
und rechtsvergleichende Studie zu altbabylonischen und altisraelitischen
Rechts, reinforces this message. This is a major contribution
to biblical law. Many of its conclusions are controversial, but its supreme
merit lies in the attempt made by the author to provide a coherent account
of the relationships between the literary, social and theological dimensions
of the text. (B.S.J.)
Dale Patrick, Old Testament Law, London: SCM Press, 1986, ISBN
0-334-02228-2, Pp.278, Price: £8.50. - Described as a basic introduction
presupposing no prior knowledge, this book provides an introduction to biblical
criticism. followed by chapters devoted to the Decalogue, The Covenant Code,
the Deuteronomic Law and the Priestly Law, each one in the light of source
criticism, form criticism and tradition history. There are commentaries
on selected laws from each collection. Concluding chapters consider wider
questions: the purposes of the collections, the relations between law and
covenant, and the approach of the New Testament to Old Testament law. (B.S.J.)
Anthony Phillips, "The Book of Ruth-Deception and Shame",
JJS 37 (1986), 1-17; see OTA 9/3 (1986), no.788.)
W. Gunther Plaut and Bernard J. Bamberger, The Torah: A Modern
Commentary, New York: Union of American Hebrew Congregations, 1981,
ISBN 0-8074-0055-6, Pp. xxxvi, 1787, Price $25.00. - This is a lavishly
produced Pentateuch, designed for use in American Reform congregations.
The Hebrew text is accompanied by the Jewish Publication society translation;
the Haftarot are also included, in Hebrew and English. In addition
to the commentary, written by Plaut and (for Leviticus) Bamberger, a substantial
series of introductory essays to the books is contributed by Professor W.W.
Hallo, of Yale University. An advisory Board, consisting of many of the
leading scholars of the American Progressive movement, both from Hebrew
Union College and beyond, has contributed criticism and suggestions. As
a result, the general public has a commentary which reflects modern scholarly
discussion, and indeed cites modern literature, though not to the exclusion
of reference to the traditional commentaries. Sources to which reference
is made in the commentary or essays range from Ancient Near Eastern Literature
to Abraham Lincoln. This edition should find a wide use, well beyond its
denominational origins. It will assist students and discussion groups, and
provide a useful starting point for researchers on many topics in Biblical
law. (B.S.J.)
R. Rendtorff, "Esra und das "Gesetz"", ZAW
96 (1984), 165-184. - Ezra 7 and Neh.8 do not deal with the
same law. In Ezra 7 the Aramaic dat has a much more restricted
legal sense than the more general torah and anticipates later synagogue
practice. When the books of Ezra and Nehemiah received their final form
both Ezra 7 and Neh.8 were related to bring them into harmony
by making it appear as though they reflect the same practice. (R.A.M.)
Alexander Rofé, "Deuteronomy 5:28-6:1. Composition and
Text in the Light of Deuteronomy Style and Three Tefillin from Qumran
(4Q 128, 129, 137)", Henoch 6 (1984), 1-14; see OTA 9/2
(1986), no.626.)
R. Westbrook, "Biblical and Cuneiform Law Codes", RB
xcii (1985), 237-264. - The article examines nine so-called law codes of
the Ancient Near East. The two in the Bible (Exod.21:1-22:16, Deut.12-25)
show similarities in form and content with their extra-biblical parallels.
The similarities argue for a common type of intellectual activity. This
belongs primarily neither to the activity of royal apologists nor to scribal
exercise but, just as omen series were designed to give guidance to diviners,
so these law codes were designed to give guidance to royal judges as a practical
guide in difficult cases. (R.A.M.)
G.A. Yee, "A Form-Critical Study of Isaiah 5:1-7 as a Song and
a Juridical Parable", CBQ 43 (1981), 30-40. - The writer argues
that Is. 5:1-7 is composed of two different literary forms: a song
and a juridical parable. He compares Deut. 32 as an example of a
major Old Testament song which contains a lawsuit and then discusses the
formal aspects of what Simon terms juridical parables (2 Sam.12:1-14;
14:1-20; 1 Kings. 20:35-43). There are formal and functional
similarities between the song and the juridical parable. In Is. 5:1-7
the juridical parable is used in the overall framework of the song to lead
the southern kingdom to condemn itself. (K.W.W.)
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