Before the Decalogue
In Search of the Oldest Written Torah
Taking its cue from the earliest reference to written torah (Hos 8:12), this article seeks to identify the content and purpose of the oldest written tôrôt. I focus on quotations from "temple-entry liturgies" or temple tôrôt (Hos 4:2; Jer 7:9; Ps...
mehr
Fernleihe:
keine Fernleihe
|
Taking its cue from the earliest reference to written torah (Hos 8:12), this article seeks to identify the content and purpose of the oldest written tôrôt. I focus on quotations from "temple-entry liturgies" or temple tôrôt (Hos 4:2; Jer 7:9; Ps 50:18- 19; 81:9-11) and compare them with the Decalogue (Deut 5:17; Exod 20:13). It turns out that the Decalogue had a forerunner consisting of a small set of apodictic rules about individual social behavior. This prequel to the Decalogue had its origins in the sanctuaries of the Northern Kingdom. Though the various instances of temple torah were in origin oral performances, they had a material counterpart in written copies of a proto-Decalogue. These were monumental texts on display in several Israelite temples. In some respects they compare to the Balaam text from Deir ‘Alla and the theophany text from Kuntillet ‘Ajrud; in other respects they compare to the copies of Hammurabi’s Code present in the temples of Babylon and Sippar. What distinsguishes them from these texts, however, is their terseness and their claim to be copies of an original that was handwritten by God.
|
