The Promise of the Land As Oath: A Key to the Formation of the Pentateuch (Beihefte Zur Zeitschrift Für Die Alttestamentliche Wissenschaft)

In this study, Suzanne Boorer provides a means of evaluating the various current and conflicting paradigms for the formation of the Pentateuch, by analyzing selected texts in Genesis to Numbers that express Yahweh's oath of the land to the ancestors, in order to determine their relative levels in relation to their surrounding contexts, in relation to each other, and in relation to their parallels in Deuteronomy. The findings generally support Wellhausen's conception, and some aspect of Noth's. Of possible interest to those studying the historical reconstruction, hermeneutics, or theology of the Old Testament. Preface 7 1. The Establishment of a Way into the Formation of the Pentateuch. Via the Oath of the Land 17 1.1. Introduction 17 1.2. The Formation of Genesis – Kings: History of Interpretation 21 1.3. Approach 50 1.4. Appendix: An Analysis of the Linguistic Expressions for the Oath of the Land 128 2. The Oath of the Land in the Context of the Exodus, Ex 13:5,11 145 2.1. Ex 13:5,11 as Elements of the Dtr Context Ex 13:3-16 145 2.2. The Relative Level of Ex 13:3-16 within the Literary Levels of Ex 12:1-13:16 159 2.3. Parallels to Ex 12:1-13:16 within and outside Deuteronomy 185 2.4. Conclusion 204 Excusus: A Survey of Scholarship Regarding the Passover 206 3. The Oath of the Land in the Context of Sinai, Ex 32:13 and Ex 33:1 219 3.1. The Dtr Contexts of Ex 32:13 and Ex 33:1 219 3.2. Ex 32:7-14 and Ex 33:1-3 as Additions to a Basic Narrative (Ex 24:12-15a, 18b; 31:18*; 32:1-6,15-24,30-35; 34:1-8, 10-28*) 244 3.3. Implications for the Oath Texts, Ex 32:13 and Ex 33:1 287 3.4. Deut 9:7-10:11 288 3.5. A Comparison of Ex 32-34* and Deut 9:7-10:11 313 3.6. Implications for the Oath Texts, Ex 32:13 and Ex 33:1 341 4. The Oath of the Land in the Context of the Wilderness/Conquest Traditions, Num 14:23a and Num 32:11 343 4.1. Introduction 343 4.2. Num 14:23a 347 4.3. Num 32:11 418 4.4. Conclusion 440 5. Conclusion 443 5.1. Results 444 5.2. Implications of these Results for the Formation of the Pentateuch 450 5.3. Implications for Methodological, Hermeneutical, and Theological Issues in Pentateuchal Studies 460 Bibliography 467 Selective Index of Biblical References 481 The series Beihefte zur Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft (BZAW) covers all areas of research into the Old Testament, focusing on the Hebrew Bible, its early and later forms in Ancient Judaism, as well as its branching into many neighboring cultures of the Ancient Near East and the Greco-Roman world. BZAW welcomes submissions that make an original and significant contribution to the field; demonstrate sophisticated engagement with the relevant secondary literature; and are written in readable, logical, and engaging prose.

The series Beihefte zur Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft (BZAW) covers all areas of research into the Old Testament, focusing on the Hebrew Bible, its early and later forms in Ancient Judaism, as well as its branching into many neighboring cultures of the Ancient Near East and the Greco-Roman world.