A More Perfect Torah: At the Intersection of Philology and Hermeneutics in Deuteronomy and the Temple Scroll
Language: English
Published by Eisenbrauns Incorporated, 2013
- Softcover
- New

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- Title
- A More Perfect Torah: At the Intersection of Philology and Hermeneutics in Deuteronomy and the Temple Scroll
- Author
- Levinson, Bernard M.
- Publisher
- Eisenbrauns Incorporated
- Publication year
- 2013
- Condition
- New
- Binding
- Soft cover
- Language
- English
- ISBN 10
- 1575062593
- ISBN 13
- 9781575062594
The historical-critical method that characterizes academic biblical studies too often remains separate from approaches that stress the history of interpretation, which are employed more frequently in the area of Second Temple or Dead Sea Scrolls research. Inaugurating the new series, Critical Studies in the Hebrew Bible, A More Perfect Torah explores a series of test-cases in which the two methods mutually reinforce one another.
The volume brings together two studies that investigate the relationship between the composition history of the biblical text and its reception history at Qumran and in rabbinic literature. The Temple Scroll is more than the blueprint for a more perfect Temple. It also represents the attempt to create a more perfect Torah. Its techniques for doing so are the focus of part 1, entitled "Revelation Regained: The Hermeneutics of KI and 'IM in the Temple Scroll." This study illuminates the techniques for marking conditional clauses in ancient Near Eastern literature, biblical law, and the Dead Sea Scrolls. It also draws new attention to the relationship between the Temple Scroll's use of conditionals and the manuscript's organized spacing system for marking paragraphs.
Part 2 is entitled "Reception History as a Window into Composition History: Deuteronomy's Law of Vows as Reflected in Qoheleth and the Temple Scroll." The law of vows in Deut 23:22-24 is difficult in both its syntax and its legal content. The difficulty is resolved once it is recognized that the law contains an interpolation that disrupts the original coherence of the law. The reception history of the law of vows in Numbers 20, Qoh 5:4-7, 11QTemple 53:11-14, and Sipre Deuteronomy confirms the hypothesis of an interpolation. Seen in this new light, the history of interpretation offers a window into the composition history of the biblical text.
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Review
"L. has provided us with two fine detailed studies that nicely demonstrate the interplay of language and hermeneutics. The brief summary presented here does not do full justice to his arguments, which draw parallels from cuneiform law and rabbinics as well as from the Bible and the Dead Sea Scrolls." —John J. Collins in Theologische Literaturzeitung 139.2 (2014)
"[In this book,] Levinson accomplishes his goal with a clarity and specificity that is-in sum-nearly unassailable. . . . [He] states his case clearly, carefully, and brilliantly. . . . Levinson's argument is so persuasive and his critical skills so sharpened by use that readers may find themselves bewitched into accepting without argument or question the conclusions he proffers. . . . [As a result,] it is so very tempting to surrender and suggest that Levinson has uttered the final word on the subject. The book is just that good." —Jim West, "Zwinglius Redivivus" blog (2013)
"This is a highly persuasive and compelling study, less accessible to non-specialists, but essential reading for understanding the development of authoritative Judaean texts in the Second Temple Period." —Sandra Jacobs, Journal for the Study of the Old Testament 38:5 (2014): 194
“A More Perfect Torah contains two short yet richly rewarding studies which seek to combine what are frequently considered separate disciplinary pursuits within biblical studies, skillfully demonstrating the benefits of a broader and more integrative approach to the field. . . . —Deane Galbraith, University of Otago, Relegere: Studies in Religion and Reception 4:1 (2014): 105–8
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