The Pentateuch

Walter Houston

Description

This book introduces students with a little background in biblical studies to the scholarly study of the Pentateuch (Genesis to Deuteronomy). Existing introductions to the Pentateuch are either mainly concerned with historical criticism or taken up with a survey of the contents of the five books, or both. This book is distinctive in that every chapter is concerned with the whole Pentateuch, and in that it approaches the subject from three completely different points of view, following the way in which biblical scholarship has developed over the past 30 years. The first part attempts to understand the text as it stands, as narrative, law and covenant. The second surveys the work that has been done on the history and development of the text, and its historicity. The third is concerned with its reception and interpretation. There are many detailed examples throughout, and aids to study include tables and boxes in the text, questions to enable students to come to grips with the issues either in private study or in class, and detailed guides to further reading.

Informations

• Publié par: Hymns Ancient & Modern
• Date de parution: 22 octobre 2013
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780334052142
• Langue: English

Extrait

SCM CORE TEXT
Pentateuch
Walter J. Houston






© Walter J. Houston 2013
Published in 2013 by SCM Press
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All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher, SCM Press.
The Author has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as the Author of this Work
British Library Cataloguing in Publication data
A catalogue record for this book is available
from the British Library
978-0-334-04385-0
Typeset by Regent Typesetting, London
Printed and bound by CPI Group (UK) Croydon



Contents
Preface
Abbreviations
1. Approaching the Text
What is the Pentateuch and why is it worth reading?
The significance of the Pentateuch
The shape of the Pentateuch
Questions
The task ahead
Part A
2. The Pentateuch as Narrative
Genre
Plot
Narrative discourse
Overall theme
Further reading
3. The Pentateuch as Torah
Torah and law
The unfolding of the revelation to Israel
Law, moral exhortation and ritual instruction: the teaching viewed analytically
Torah and life: the teaching viewed thematically
Further reading
4. Covenant-making in the Pentateuch
The covenants in the Pentateuch
The meaning of the word
Cultural models
Covenant promises by God in the Pentateuch
Covenants of obedience to YHWH by Israel
The treaties and the covenants
Further reading
Part B
5. The composition of the Pentateuch
The problem
The emergence of historical criticism
The production of texts in ancient Israel
A review of theories
Testing the theories
Conclusion
Suggested exercises
Further reading
6. The Coming to Be of the Torah
When was the Torah completed and authoritative?
The authority of the Torah
Historical context
The issues at stake
What was the Torah needed for?
Beyond Jerusalem
The theory of imperial authorization
How was the Pentateuch completed?
The Pentateuch becomes a prescriptive legal code
Further reading
7. The Historicity of the Pentateuch
History as cultural memory
Finding history in the Pentateuchal traditions
Further reading
Part C
8. The Pentateuch in Judaism and Christianity
The Torah in Judaism
The Pentateuch in Christianity
Further reading
9. The Modern Reader and the Pentateuch
Reading from this place
Reading for contradiction
Feminist readings
Queer readings
Readings from a class point of view
Postcolonial readings
Ecological readings
Further reading
10. The Theology of the Pentateuch
The nature of the task
A thematic outline of the theology of the Pentateuch
Further reading
Bibliography




Preface
This is not a book-by-book survey. It is an introduction to scholarship on the Pentateuch as a whole, in three main areas, concerning the text in itself, its historical origins and the ways in which it has been and is being read. Where there is no existing work to draw on, I have offered my own observations. I hope that the material for reflection and exercise and the suggestions for further reading, which are reasonably comprehensive, will make it suitable for use both by the individual student and the general reader, and in class. I assume readers will have a basic knowledge of the history of ancient Israel and Judah and of the Old Testament generally, but scholarly approaches are explained as required.
The Bibliography is intended partly for reference – the works given by author and abbreviated title in the footnotes refer to it – and partly to back up the sections on further reading with general works and commentaries. Only works in English are listed; of course, that includes articles in foreign-language periodicals and collections.
The book should be used with the Bible open beside it. References are to the English versions, where the numbering of verses in the Hebrew text differs. However, quotations, unless otherwise stated, are given in my own translation from the Hebrew. I do not want to privilege any particular English version of the text.
A word on language and gender. Human beings are always referred to in inclusive language, where appropriate – so ‘the ancestors’ rather than ‘the patriarchs’, unless the reference is exclusively to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. However, God will frequently be found referred to with masculine pronouns. Most references to ‘God’, and all references to ‘YHWH’, which is how I render the divine name, occur in discussion of the text of the Pentateuch, where Israel’s God is treated as masculine, so it is realistic to follow this usage. But I have tried, particularly when discussing the theology of the Pentateuch in Chapter 10, to be sparing in the use of pronouns.
This work has occupied the bulk of my time for the past three years, and the road has been harder going than I expected. The work still has its defects, but they would have been far more numerous than they are without the generously given advice of several friends and colleagues, including the two anonymous peer reviewers, who saw a sample chapter as well as the outline of my proposed work. Those whose names I know are Graham Davies, Cheryl Exum, Walter Moberly, John Sawyer and the late and much missed Roger Tomes. I warmly express my gratitude to them all. I am also grateful to the SCM Press commissioning editor, Natalie Watson, who gave me the opportunity of writing the book and was very patient in waiting for it. My wife Fleur, as always, has been constant in her interest and encouragement. Without her this would have been a much harder and more lonely road to travel.
Walter J. Houston




Abbreviations
This list does not include abbreviations of the names of books of the Bible, or of states of the USA, or the best-known general abbreviations.

AB
Anchor Bible
ABD
Anchor Bible Dictionary
ACCS
Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture
BASOR
Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research
BCE
before the Common Era (= BC)
CBQ
Catholic Biblical Quarterly
CE
of the Common Era (= AD)
ECC
Eerdmans Critical Commentary
EQ
Evangelical Quarterly
HBOT
Sæbø (ed.), Hebrew Bible/Old Testament: The History of its Interpretation
HCOT
Historical Commentary on the Old Testament
ICC
International Critical Commentary
IDB
Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible
JAAR
Journal of the American Academy of Religion
JBL
Journal of Biblical Literature
JSOT
Journal for the Study of the Old Testament
JTS
Journal of Theological Studies
KJV
King James Version
LCL
Loeb Classical Library
NCB
New Century Bible
NEB
New English Bible
NICOT
New International Commentary on the Old Testament
NIV
New International Version
NRSV
New Revised Standard Version
OTC
Old Testament Commentary
OTL
Old Testament Library
REB
Revised English Bible
VT
Vetus Testamentum
ZAR
Zeitschrift für die altorientalische und biblische Rechtsgeschichte
ZAW
Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft





1. Approaching the Text
What is the Pentateuch and why is it worth reading?
The first five books of the Old Testament or Hebrew Bible, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy, have always been recognized as a distinct unit, often known as the ‘five books of Moses’ or as the Pentateuch, from the Greek, meaning ‘the five scrolls’. For Jews it is the ‘Torah’ or ‘teaching’.
Why is it worth reading? That depends on the reader. I am assuming that the majority of readers of this book will be Christians. Many of the foundations of the Christian faith are found here, foundations that are taken for granted in the New Testament. It speaks of creation, of sin and the fall, of God’s promise, of the calling of God’s people, of liberation and of hope. Many readers, it is true, are put off by the numerous pages of laws and cultic regulations. But they should persevere. After all, the ‘Law’ includes the Ten Commandments, and the two ‘great commandments’ identified by Jesus: ‘You shall love the L ORD your God’ and ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself.’ And those are by no means the only passages of moral value in these pages. That is to say nothing of the stories – Adam and Eve, Jacob and Laban, Joseph, Moses and the burning bush …