Atoning for the Land in Early Biblical Interpretation

What is it about?

This paper considers the biblical theme of atonement for the land and its reception throughout Second Temple and rabbinic Judaism. While the existence of divergent approaches to this issue has been noted, no study has considered the history of interpretation of this theme in early Judaism, including rabbinic literature. The paper finds that the relatively limited biblical phenomenon of atoning for the land expands throughout Second Temple literature, and is then supplanted in rabbinic literature by the inverted concept of the land itself atoning for people. This touches on a variety of central issues across the period: conceptions of Temple – existing or not, legitimate or not; valuation of the Land of Israel and patriotism; conceptions of atonement, whether it is primarily achieved through sacrificial means or not. The paper situates the matter of land atonement as a through line that connects these issues and interpretive communities, demonstrates the contrasts between them, and notes the creative interpretations applied in this context.

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