Understanding Imitatio Dei in the Holiness Source
This essay concerns the vexed question of imitatio Dei in the Holiness Code (Lev 17–26) and, to a minor degree, other Holiness (H) traditions in the Pentateuch. I argue that H possesses a robust theology of imitatio Dei, but that the specific form that this imitation takes requires further clarifica...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Published: |
2023
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| In: |
Vetus Testamentum
Year: 2023, Volume: 73, Issue: 4/5, Pages: 622-644 |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Law
/ Holiness (motif)
/ Leviticus
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| IxTheo Classification: | HB Old Testament HD Early Judaism |
| Online Access: |
Presumably Free Access Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | This essay concerns the vexed question of imitatio Dei in the Holiness Code (Lev 17–26) and, to a minor degree, other Holiness (H) traditions in the Pentateuch. I argue that H possesses a robust theology of imitatio Dei, but that the specific form that this imitation takes requires further clarification. Conceptually, I distinguish between the imitandum (i.e., that which is to be imitated) and the imitatio (i.e., the act of imitating). I argue that the imitandum is holiness understood as a quality proper to the deity that is irreducible to a code of conduct, but that this does not vitiate the applicability of the concept of imitatio Dei. On the level of the imitatio, I emphasize the irreducibly social nature of the imitatio, as well as its theocentric logic of justification. Within a typology of imitational structures, H represents an interesting case where both the imitandum and imitatio are heteronomously determined by the external demand of the deity and where the impulse of private, subjective moral growth plays a negligible role. |
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| ISSN: | 1568-5330 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Vetus Testamentum
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1163/15685330-bja10106 |