The Pentateuch: Genesis

Abstract

The Pentateuch:Genesis Christopher T. Begg, Thomas Hieke, and Brian J. Meldrum Christopher T. Begg Catholic University of America Thomas Hieke Johannes Gutenberg Universität Mainz Brian J. Meldrum Catholic University of America 2126. [The Exodus; Debt Slavery; the Composition of the Pentateuch] Richard E. Averbeck, "The Exodus, Debt Slavery, and the Composition of the Pentateuch," Exploring the Composition of the Pentateuch, 26-48 [see #2517]. Torah scholarship as it is practiced in the academy today has a long and complicated history, and is an increasingly pluralistic affair. The historical-critical tradition goes back to the so-called Enlightenment, with even earlier precursors. As the tradition has continued to grow over the past few centuries, one method and its set of conclusions have led to the next, so that the buildup of the various competing or complementary methods and conclusions has yielded a complexity that is sometimes difficult to sort out. The goal of this essay is to propose and articulate some of the most important features of a revised, less intrusive and more self-critical approach to the entire historical-critical enterprise. As a test case, we then apply this approach to one of the key historical-critical issues for the composition of the Pentateuch: the debt-slave regulations in Exod 21:2-11; Lev 25:39-43; and Deut 15:12-18. [p. 26] The first part of this essay argues for a kind of approach to the historical-critical study of the Hebrew Bible that takes a "generous" approach to the text. We need to take historical-critical work seriously, but without the negative bias that it has toward the text as it stands. Both synchronic and diachronic analyses are important, but need to be pursued without falling into the pit of the diachronic fallacy or stepping into the trap of simplistic harmonization; it is important to let the text have its own say about its own compositional processes, although it is not always explicit about such matters. There is a lot of open territory. This means that we need to make a clear distinction between verifiable data from the Bible itself (and the ANE) and theories about the data, and not confuse the two, whether in a conservative or nonconservative direction. In turn, is also essential to distinguish between what we believe to be true and what we can actually show to be true. It is true that an argument that is convincing to one scholar may not be so to another scholar. This will always be true because there is so much open territory. That is why we need to consider seriously the arguments presented by other scholars, engage with them squarely and fairly in an intellectually honest way, and present our own arguments with the same principles clearly in mind. It will be for the reader to decide whether my application of these principles and procedures to the debt-slave regulations in the Torah have been up to the above-cited standards or not. In my view, these regulations are complementary, not contradictory. They come from different perspectives on various parts of the problem that debt slavery represents, namely, the economic distress that led to such slavery in the lives of real people and families in ancient Israel. There are both synchronic and diachronic exegetical issues at play here, but there is no subversion or contradiction. Other proposals have been made, of course, and the discussion continues among scholars, but as for me, I consider this to be the best way to read these texts in relation to one another. In my view, this is where the evidence takes us, when we face it fairly and squarely, with neither negative bias toward the text as it stands nor simplistic harmonization. [Author's conclusion, pp. 47-48, adapted—C.T.B.] [End Page 787] Google Scholar 2127. [Covenantal Instruction and Legal Reuse in Torah] Kenneth Bergland, "Memorized Covenantal Instruction and Legal Reuse," Exploring the Composition of the Pentateuch, 95-112 [see #2517]. Dissimilarity between the different legal corpora has been and still is a major source of controversy in regard to the composition of the Torah. A key question relevant to...