What is it about?
In the eyes of a later redactor of the book of Leviticus, the more egalitarian tendencies of the Holiness Code seemed to diminish the place of priests as those who make distinctions and teach statutes in Israel. As a result, at strategic points in Leviticus 11–16, this redactor inserted subtle references to 10:8–11, where YHWH commands the priests to make distinctions and teach. These insertions once more assert the central role of the priesthood in Israel's communal life.
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Why is it important?
Reinhard Achenbach, Christoph Nihan, and others suggest that Leviticus 10 is a late text in the redaction of the book of Leviticus. I support this theory by finding even more widespread evidence of redactional activity in the book of Leviticus associated with the insertion of Leviticus 10. This article thus addresses the redaction history of Leviticus but also testifies to how different groups in the Persian period viewed the role of the priesthood.
Perspectives
This article is part of a larger project (in association with my 2017 presentation at the SBL Annual Meeting) that finds the priestly distinguishing and teaching role that is expressed in Leviticus 10:8–11 as central for the book of Leviticus as a whole. I ultimately want to analyze the entire book of Leviticus in light of this priestly function.
Dr. Nathan Hays
Baylor University
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: The Redactional Reassertion of the Priestly Role in Leviticus 10–16, Zeitschrift für die Alttestamentliche Wissenschaft, May 2018, De Gruyter,
DOI: 10.1515/zaw-2018-2003.
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