The Legal Characterization of God in the Pentateuch
Speeches always indirectly characterize their speaker by providing readers the basis for inferring what kind of person talks this way. So the law codes voiced directly by God in Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers provide a powerful impression of the divine character. The character of YHWH as law-giver w...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
HUC
1997
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| In: |
Hebrew Union College annual
Year: 1996, Volume: 67, Pages: 1-14 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Parallel Edition: | Non-electronic
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| Summary: | Speeches always indirectly characterize their speaker by providing readers the basis for inferring what kind of person talks this way. So the law codes voiced directly by God in Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers provide a powerful impression of the divine character. The character of YHWH as law-giver which emerges from these speeches resembles the characterizations of their sponsors provided by many ancient Near Eastern law collections, treaties, and commemorative and dedicatory inscriptions. Civil provisions reflect the similar goals of biblical and Mesopotamian law, namely, the characterization of the law-giver as just according to internationally recognized standards of law. Many of the religious provisions resemble those found in inscriptions commemorating the founding of a temple or cult, and cast YHWH as the ruler who by sponsoring the cult guarantees the cosmic order. The sanctions attached to laws and collected in lists of blessings and curses emphasize God's willingness to act as royal enforcer. Even the traces of legal development in the codes represent the divine king's work of legal interpretation and reform. Thus throughout YHWH's speeches, the law collections of Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers implicitly depict their speaker as fulfilling the ancient ideal of a good monarch. |
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| Contains: | Enthalten in: Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, Hebrew Union College annual
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