Legal Revision and Religious Renewal in Ancient Israel

by Bernard M. Levinson

• ISBN13: 9780521513449
• ISBN10: 0521513448
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2008-08-04
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

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 valuable bibliographical essay on the distinctive approach of 'inner-biblical exegesis' showing the contributions of European, Israeli, and North American scholars. The volume opens new perspectives on current debates within the humanities about canonicity, textual authority, and authorship.

Table of Contents

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

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