Legal revision and religious renewal in ancient Israel / Bernard M. Levinson. [print]

By:

Levinson, Bernard M. (Bernard Malcolm) [Author]

Material type: Text

text

Media type:

unmediated

Carrier type:

volume

ISBN:

9780521513449

Subject(s):

LOC classification:

BM729.L665.L443 2008

Online resources:

Available additional physical forms:

Contents:

Rethinking the relation between "canon" and "exegesis" -- The problem of innovation within the formative canon -- The reworking of the principle of transgenerational punishment: four case studies -- The canon as sponsor of innovation -- The phenomenon of rewriting within the Hebrew Bible: a bibliographic essay on inner-biblical exegesis in the history of scholarship.

Subject: This book examines the doctrine of transgenerational punishment found in the Decalogue-that is, the idea that God punishes sinners vicariously and extends the punishment due them to three or four generations of their progeny. Though it was "God-given" law, the unfairness of punishing innocent people merely for being the children or grandchildren of wrongdoers was clearly recognized in ancient Israel. A series of inner-biblical and post-biblical responses to the rule demonstrates that later writers were able to criticize, reject, and replace this problematic doctrine with the alternative notion of individual retribution. From this perspective, the formative canon is the source of its own renewal: it fosters critical reflection upon the textual tradition and sponsors intellectual freedom. To support further study, this book includes a bibliographical essay on the distinctive approach of "inner-biblical exegesis" showing the contributions of European, Israeli, and North American scholars.

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Holdings
Item type	Current library	Collection	Call number	Status	Date due	Barcode
Circulating Book (checkout times vary with patron status)	G. Allen Fleece Library CIRCULATING COLLECTION	Non-fiction	BM729.L485.L443 2008 (Browse shelf(Opens below))	Available		31923001809108

Biblical studies as the meeting point of the humanities -- Rethinking the relation between "canon" and "exegesis" -- The problem of innovation within the formative canon -- The reworking of the principle of transgenerational punishment: four case studies -- The canon as sponsor of innovation -- The phenomenon of rewriting within the Hebrew Bible: a bibliographic essay on inner-biblical exegesis in the history of scholarship.

This book examines the doctrine of transgenerational punishment found in the Decalogue-that is, the idea that God punishes sinners vicariously and extends the punishment due them to three or four generations of their progeny. Though it was "God-given" law, the unfairness of punishing innocent people merely for being the children or grandchildren of wrongdoers was clearly recognized in ancient Israel. A series of inner-biblical and post-biblical responses to the rule demonstrates that later writers were able to criticize, reject, and replace this problematic doctrine with the alternative notion of individual retribution. From this perspective, the formative canon is the source of its own renewal: it fosters critical reflection upon the textual tradition and sponsors intellectual freedom. To support further study, this book includes a bibliographical essay on the distinctive approach of "inner-biblical exegesis" showing the contributions of European, Israeli, and North American scholars.

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