Three Times a Year: Studies on Festival Legislation in the Pentateuch (Forschungen Zum Alten Testament)

The festival calendars in the Pentateuch have made up the heart of critical biblical research from the beginning. Each of the calendars was thought to have taken shape against its own specific historical background and to accurately reflect a distinct stage in the development of Israelâ€TMs cultic and social institutions. Classical hypotheses used them to distinguish the different legal codes in the Pentateuch from each other, to define the original compositions, and to arrange them relative to each other in an historical, chronological sequence. Shimon Gesundheit challenges the classical historical reconstructions and the methodology driving them. He presents an alternate point of view, according to which the festival laws do not simplistically reflect the specific cultic or social realities of actual historical periods. Rather, through their legal discourse, they shape and promote new ideas by textual revision and redaction, in the lemmatic style of midrash, and they represent a process of progressive literary development. Three Times a Year: Studies on Festival Legislation in the Pentateuch 4 Acknowledgements 6 Table of Contents 8 List of Abbreviations 12 Introduction 16 The Subject of this Study 16 Methodology 19 1 The Festival Calendars in Exod 23:14–19 and 34:18–26 27 1.1 The Problem 27 1.2 Additions in Exodus 34 as Compared with Exodus 23 32 1.2.1 The Law of the First-Born 32 1.2.2 The Cessation of Work on the Seventh Day 36 1.2.3 The Epithet “God of Israel” 37 1.2.4 Verse 24 38 1.3 Changes in Exodus 34 as Compared with Exodus 23 40 1.3.1 The Name שָׁבֻעֹת and the Designation “First-Fruits of the Wheat Harvest” 40 1.3.2 The Date of the Festival of the Ingathering 41 1.3.3 The Replacement of תִזְבַּח(“Sacrifice”) by תִשְׁחַט (“Slaughter”) 43 1.3.4 Designation of the Pesah Sacrifice as זֶבַח חַג הַפָּסַח 43 1.4 Passages Lacking in Exod 34:18–26 as Compared with Exod 23:14–19 46 1.4.1 “On Three Occasions You Shall Feast to Me During the Year” (23:14) 46 1.4.2 The Festivals of the Harvest/Weeks and the Ingathering: Exod 34:22 versus Exod 23:16 50 1.5 Summary and Conclusions 51 2 The Pesaḥ and the Unleavened Bread in Exod 12:1–28 59 2.1 Introduction 59 2.2 The Structure of the Pesaḥ Laws in Exod 12:1–11 61 2.3 The Origin of Exod 12:21–27 73 2.3.1 The Priestly Character of Exod 12:22–27a, 28 76 2.3.2 The Redactional Frame in vv. 21, 27b 81 2.3.3 The Revision of vv. 23 and 27 in vv. 11bβ–13 82 2.4 Schematic Summary of the Literary Layers in Exod 12:1–28 89 2.5 The Problem of the Combination of the Pesah and the Unleavened Bread Pericopes 91 2.5.1 Exod 12:14–17 94 2.5.2 Exod 12:18–20 and the Priestly Calendars 99 2.6 Summary and Conclusions 104 2.6.1 The Literary Complexity of the Pesah Pericope 104 2.6.2 The Programmatic Redaction in Exod 12:1–28 105 2.6.2.1 The Expansional Layer 106 2.6.2.2 Verses 14–17 107 2.6.2.3 Verses 18–20 108 3 The Deuteronomic Festival Calendar (Deut 16:1–17) 111 3.1 Introduction 111 3.2 The Pesaḥ and Unleavened Bread in the Deuteronomic Festival Calendar (Deut 16:1–8) 111 3.2.1 The Difficulties in the Literary Flow of the Paragraph 113 3.2.2 The Text and its Parallels 114 3.2.3 The Original Deuteronomic Pesah Law Underlying the Paragraph 115 3.2.4 The Additions in Verses 1, 3–4, 8 121 3.2.4.1 Verses 3–4 121 3.2.4.1.1 Set B – The First Insertion: “You Shall Not Eat with It Leavened Food”; “And None of the Meat...Shall Remain Overnight till Morning” 126 3.2.4.1.2 “You Shall Not Sacrifice תִזְבַּח” (Exod 23:18) → “You Shall Not Slaughter תִשְׁחַט” (Exod 34:25) → “You Shall Not Eat” (Deut 16:3) 127 3.2.4.1.3 “My Festal Fat” (Exod 23:18) → “the Pesaḥ-Festival Sacrifice” (Exod 34:25) → “of the Meat That You will Sacrifice in the Evening” (Deut 16:4) 128 3.2.4.1.4 “That You will Sacrifice in the Evening” (Deut 16:4) 129 3.2.4.2 Set C – The Second Insertion: “For Seven Days You Shall Eat with It Unleavened Bread”; “And Leaven Shall Not Be Detectable to You...for Seven Days” 130 3.2.4.2.1 “For Seven Days You Shall Eat with It Unleavened Bread”(Deut 16:3αβ) 130 3.2.4.2.2 “And Leaven Shall Not Be Detectable to You, Within Your Entire Territory, for Seven Days” (Deut 16:4a) 133 3.2.4.3 Set D – The Third Insertion: “Meager Bread”; “Because You Left the Land of Egypt in Haste...All the Days of Your Life” 135 3.2.4.4 Verses 1 and 8 139 3.2.4.5 Verse 1 139 3.2.4.5.1 “Keep the Month of Abib” 140 3.2.4.5.2 “Because in the Month of Abib YHWH Your God Took You out of Egypt” 143 3.2.4.5.3 “And You Shall Perform וְעָשִׂיתָ the Pesah for YHWH Your God” 143 3.2.4.5.4 “Keep the Month of Abib...because in the Month of Abib...at Night” 144 3.2.4.5.5 The Original Frame of the Pesaḥ Law 147 3.2.4.6 Verse 8 148 3.3 Summation 153 3.3.1 The Method of the Literary-Critical Analysis and Its Results 153 3.3.2 Implications of the Literary-Critical Analysis 159 3.3.2.1 The Alleged Replacement of the Festival of Unleavened Bread by the Pesah in Deuteronomy 159 3.3.2.2 Pesaḥ and the Question of Literary Links between D and P 159 3.3.2.3 Did the Festival Calendar of Exodus 34 Have Any Impact on the Literary Development of the Deuteronomic Festival Calendar? 162 3.4 The Festivals of Weeks and Tabernacles in the Deuteronomic Festival Calendar (Deut 16:9–12, 13–15) 165 3.4.1 The Festival of Weeks 167 3.4.2 The Festival of Tabernacles 169 3.5 The Literary Frame of the Deuteronomic Festival Calendar 172 3.6 The Presumed Development of the Deuteronomic Festival Calendar 177 4 The Laws of Unleavened Bread and the First-Born in Exod 13:1–16 182 4.1 Introduction 182 4.2 Survey of Literary-Critical Scholarship 183 4.3 The Law of the First-Born (Exod 13:11–16) 187 4.3.1 The Uniqueness of the Historical Rationale for the Law of the First-Born 187 4.3.2 The Law of the First-Born as an Alternative to the Apotropaic Cult of the Pesah 189 4.3.3 The Controversy Concerning the Pesah 192 4.3.4 The Literary Sources of the Law of the First-Born 193 4.3.4.1 “You Shall Transfer All Womb-Breachers to YHWH” (vv. 12–13, 15) 194 4.3.4.2 “From Human First-Born to Animal First-Born” (v. 15) 198 4.3.4.3 “YHWH Slew (וַיַּהְַרֹג) Every First-Born in the Land of Egypt” (v. 15) 201 4.3.4.4 “With Strength of Hand” (בְּחֹזֶק יָד) and “With a Strong Hand” (בְּיָד חְַזָקָה) (vv. 3, 9, 14, 16) 203 4.3.4.5 “And It Shall Be a Sign on Your Hand and a Mark Between Your Eyes” (v. 16) 207 4.3.4.6 “When Pharaoh Stubbornly Refused to Let Us Go” (v. 15) 212 4.4 “Consecrate to Me Every First-Born” (vv. 1–2) 214 4.4.1 The Problem 214 4.4.2 A New Reading 216 4.5 The Unleavened Bread Section (vv. 3–10) 223 4.5.1 Literary Parallels and Motifs in Exod 12:25–27; 13:5–10, 11–16 224 4.5.2 A Diachronic Perspective on the Unleavened Bread Section (vv. 3–10) 227 4.5.2.1 The Pesah as a Commemoration of the Exodus from Egypt 228 4.5.2.2 The Integration of the Pesah with the Unleavened Bread 231 4.5.3 The Text in its Present Form 232 4.6 Summary and Conclusions (Exod 13:1–16) 237 5 Summary and Conclusions 238 5.1 Results 238 5.2 Implications of the Methodological Approach for the Study of the Festivals 243 5.2.1 Exegetical Layer 244 5.2.2 Expansional and Supplementary Layer 245 5.2.3 Rewriting and Replacement 245 Bibliography 250 Index of Sources 268 Hebrew Bible 268 Pre-Rabbinic Jewish Sources 276 New Testament 277 Rabbinic Sources 277 Mishnah, Toseftah, and Talmud 277 Targum 277 Midrash 277 Index of Modern Authors 279 Index of Subjects 284 2.3.1.the Priestly Character Of Exod 12:22-27a, 28 -- 2.3.2.the Redactional Frame In Vv. 21, 27b -- 2.3.3.the Revision Of Vv. 23 And 27 In Vv. 11b[beta]-13 -- 2.4.schematic Summary Of The Literary Layers In Exod 12:1-28 -- 2.5.the Problem Of The Combination Of The Pesah And The Unleavened Bread Pericopes -- 2.5.1.exod 12:14-17 -- 2.5.2.exod 12:18-20 And The Priestly Calendars -- 2.6.summary And Conclusions -- 2.6.1.the Literary Complexity Of The Pesah Pericope -- 2.6.2.the Programmatic Redaction In Exod 12:1-28 -- 2.6.2.1.the Expansional Layer -- 2.6.2.2.verses 14-17 -- 2.6.2.3.verses 18-20 -- 3.1.introduction -- 3.2.the Pesah And Unleavened Bread In The Deuteronomic Festival Calendar (deut 16:1-8) -- 3.2.1.the Difficulties In The Literary Flow Of The Paragraph -- 3.2.2.the Text And Its Parallels -- 3.2.3.the Original Deuteronomic Pesah Law Underlying The Paragraph -- 3.2.4.the Additions In Verses 1, 3-4, 8 -- 3.2.4.1.verses 3-4 -- 3.2.4.1.1.set B - The First Insertion: You Shall Not Eat With It Leavened Food; And None Of The Meat...shall Remain Overnight Till Morning -- 3.2.4.1.2.you Shall Not Sacrifice (exod 23:18)-> You Shall Not Slaughter (exod 34:25)-> You Shall Not Eat (deut 16:3) -- 3.2.4.1.3.my Festal Fat (exod 23:18)-> The Pesah-festival Sacrifice (exod 34:25)-> Of The Meat That You Will Sacrifice In The Evening (deut 16:4) -- 3.2.4.1.4.that You Will Sacrifice In The Evening (deut 16:4) -- 3.2.4.2.set C - The Second Insertion: For Seven Days You Shall Eat With It Unleavened Bread; And Leaven Shall Not Be Detectable To You...for Seven Days -- 3.2.4.2.1.for Seven Days You Shall Eat With It Unleavened Bread (deut 16:3a[beta]) -- 3.2.4.2.2.and Leaven Shall Not Be Detectable To You, Within Your Entire Territory, For Seven Days (deut 16:4a) -- 3.2.4.3.set D - The Third Insertion: Meager Bread; Because You Left The Land Of Egypt In Haste...all The Days Of Your Life -- 3.2.4.4.verses 1 And 8 -- 3.2.4.5.verse 1 -- 3.2.4.5.1.keep The Month Of Abib -- 3.2.4.5.2.because In The Month Of Abib Yhwh Your God Took You Out Of Egypt -- 3.2.4.5.3.and You Shall Perform The Pesah For Yhwh Your God -- 3.2.4.5.4.keep The Month Of Abib...because In The Month Of Abib...at Night -- 3.2.4.5.5.the Original Frame Of The Pesah Law -- 3.2.4.6.verse 8 -- 3.3.summation -- 3.3.1.the Method Of The Literary-critical Analysis And Its Results -- 3.3.2.implications Of The Literary-critical Analysis -- 3.3.2.1.the Alleged Replacement Of The Festival Of Unleavened Bread By The Pesah In Deuteronomy -- 3.3.2.2.pesah And The Question Of Literary Links Between D And P -- 3.3.2.3.did The Festival Calendar Of Exodus 34 Have Any Impact On The Literary Development Of The Deuteronomic Festival Calendar? -- 3.4.the Festivals Of Weeks And Tabernacles In The Deuteronomic Festival Calendar (deut 16:9-12, 13-15) -- 3.4.1.the Festival Of Weeks -- 3.4.2.the Festival Of Tabernacles -- 3.5.the Literary Frame Of The Deuteronomic Festival Calendar -- 3.6.the Presumed Development Of The Deuteronomic Festival Calendar -- 4.1.introduction -- 4.2.survey Of Literary-critical Scholarship -- 4.3.the Law Of The First-born (exod 13:11-16) -- 4.3.1.the Uniqueness Of The Historical Rationale For The Law Of The First-born -- 4.3.2.the Law Of The First-born As An Alternative To The Apotropaic Cult Of The Pesah -- 4.3.3.the Controversy Concerning The Pesah -- 4.3.4.the Literary Sources Of The Law Of The First-born -- 4.3.4.1.you Shall Transfer All Womb-breachers To Yhwh (vv. 12-13, 15) -- 4.3.4.2.from Human First-born To Animal First-born (v. 15) -- 4.3.4.3.yhwh Slew () Every First-born In The Land Of Egypt (v. 15) -- 4.3.4.4.with Strength Of Hand () And With A Strong Hand () (vv. 3, 9, 14, 16) -- 4.3.4.5.and It Shall Be A Sign On Your Hand And A Mark Between Your Eyes (v. 16) -- 4.3.4.6.when Pharaoh Stubbornly Refused To Let Us Go (v. 15) -- 4.4.consecrate To Me Every First-born (vv. 1-2) -- 4.4.1.the Problem -- 4.4.2.a New Reading -- 4.5.the Unleavened Bread Section (vv. 3-10) -- 4.5.1.literary Parallels And Motifs In Exod 12:25-27; 13:5-10, 11-16 -- 4.5.2.a Diachronic Perspective On The Unleavened Bread Section (vv. 3-10) -- 4.5.2.1.the Pesah As A Commemoration Of The Exodus From Egypt -- 4.5.2.2.the Integration Of The Pesah With The Unleavened Bread -- 4.5.3.the Text In Its Present Form -- 4.6.summary And Conclusions (exod 13:1-16) -- 5.1.results -- 5.2.implications Of The Methodological Approach For The Study Of The Festivals -- 5.2.1.exegetical Layer -- 5.2.2.expansional And Supplementary Layer -- 5.2.3.rewriting And Replacement. The Subject Of This Study -- Methodology -- 1.1.the Problem -- 1.2.additions In Exodus 34 As Compared With Exodus 23 -- 1.2.1.the Law Of The First-born -- 1.2.2.the Cessation Of Work On The Seventh Day -- 1.2.3.the Epithet God Of Israel -- 1.2.4.verse 24 -- 1.3.changes In Exodus 34 As Compared With Exodus 23 -- 1.3.1.the Name And The Designation First-fruits Of The Wheat Harvest -- 1.3.2.the Date Of The Festival Of The Ingathering -- 1.3.3.the Replacement Of (sacrifice) By (slaughter) -- 1.3.4.designation Of The Pesah Sacrifice As -- 1.4.passages Lacking In Exod 34:18-26 As Compared With Exod 23:14-19 -- 1.4.1.on Three Occasions You Shall Feast To Me During The Year (23:14) -- 1.4.2.the Festivals Of The Harvest/weeks And The Ingathering: Exod 34:22 Versus Exod 23:16 -- 1.5.summary And Conclusions -- 2.1.introduction -- 2.2.the Structure Of The Pesah Laws In Exod 12:1-11 -- 2.3.the Origin Of Exod 12:21-27 -- Shimon Gesundheit. Includes Bibliographical References And Indexes. 2.3.1. The Priestly Character of Exod 12:22-27a, 28 2.3.2. The Redactional Frame in vv. 21, 27b 2.3.3. The Revision of vv. 23 and 27 in vv. 11b[beta]-13 2.4. Schematic Summary of the Literary Layers in Exod 12:1-28 2.5. The Problem of the Combination of the Pesah and the Unleavened Bread Pericopes 2.5.1. Exod 12:14-17 2.5.2. Exod 12:18-20 and the Priestly Calendars 2.6. Summary and Conclusions 2.6.1. The Literary Complexity of the Pesah Pericope 2.6.2. The Programmatic Redaction in Exod 12:1-28 2.6.2.1. The Expansional Layer 2.6.2.2. Verses 14-17 2.6.2.3. Verses 18-20 3.1. Introduction 3.2. The Pesah and Unleavened Bread in the Deuteronomic Festival Calendar (Deut 16:1-8) 3.2.1. The Difficulties in the Literary Flow of the Paragraph 3.2.2. The Text and its Parallels 3.2.3. The Original Deuteronomic Pesah Law Underlying the Paragraph 3.2.4. The Additions in Verses 1, 3-4, 8 3.2.4.1. Verses 3-4. 3.2.4.1.1. Set B The First Insertion: "You Shall Not Eat with It Leavened Food"; "And None of the Meat ... Shall Remain Overnight till Morning" 3.2.4.1.2."You Shall Not Sacrifice" (Exod 23:18)-> "You Shall Not Slaughter" (Exod 34:25)-> "You Shall Not Eat" (Deut 16:3) 3.2.4.1.3."My Festal Fat" (Exod 23:18)-> "the Pesah-Festival Sacrifice" (Exod 34:25)-> "of the Meat That You will Sacrifice in the Evening" (Deut 16:4) 3.2.4.1.4."That You will Sacrifice in the Evening" (Deut 16:4) 3.2.4.2. Set C The Second Insertion: "For Seven Days You Shall Eat with It Unleavened Bread"; "And Leaven Shall Not Be Detectable to You ... for Seven Days" 3.2.4.2.1."For Seven Days You Shall Eat with It Unleavened Bread" (Deut 16:3a[beta]) 3.2.4.2.2."And Leaven Shall Not Be Detectable to You, Within Your Entire Territory, for Seven Days" (Deut 16:4a). 3.2.4.3. Set D The Third Insertion: "Meager Bread"; "Because You Left the Land of Egypt in Haste ... All the Days of Your Life" 3.2.4.4. Verses 1 and 8 3.2.4.5. Verse 1 3.2.4.5.1."Keep the Month of Abib" 3.2.4.5.2."Because in the Month of Abib YHWH Your God Took You out of Egypt" 3.2.4.5.3."And You Shall Perform the Pesah for YHWH Your God" 3.2.4.5.4."Keep the Month of Abib ... because in the Month of Abib ... at Night" 3.2.4.5.5. The Original Frame of the Pesah Law 3.2.4.6. Verse 8 3.3. Summation 3.3.1. The Method of the Literary-Critical Analysis and Its Results 3.3.2. Implications of the Literary-Critical Analysis 3.3.2.1. The Alleged Replacement of the Festival of Unleavened Bread by the Pesah in Deuteronomy 3.3.2.2. Pesah and the Question of Literary Links between D and P 3.3.2.3. Did the Festival Calendar of Exodus 34 Have Any Impact on the Literary Development of the Deuteronomic Festival Calendar? 3.4. The Festivals of Weeks and Tabernacles in the Deuteronomic Festival Calendar (Deut 16:9-12, 13-15) 3.4.1. The Festival of Weeks 3.4.2. The Festival of Tabernacles 3.5. The Literary Frame of the Deuteronomic Festival Calendar 3.6. The Presumed Development of the Deuteronomic Festival Calendar 4.1. Introduction 4.2. Survey of Literary-Critical Scholarship 4.3. The Law of the First-Born (Exod 13:11-16) 4.3.1. The Uniqueness of the Historical Rationale for the Law of the First-Born 4.3.2. The Law of the First-Born as an Alternative to the Apotropaic Cult of the Pesah 4.3.3. The Controversy Concerning the Pesah 4.3.4. The Literary Sources of the Law of the First-Born 4.3.4.1."You Shall Transfer All Womb-Breachers to YHWH" (vv. 12-13, 15) 4.3.4.2."From Human First-Born to Animal First-Born" (v. 15) 4.3.4.3."YHWH Slew () Every First-Born in the Land of Egypt" (v. 15). 4.3.4.4."With Strength of Hand" () and "With a Strong Hand" () (vv. 3, 9, 14, 16) 4.3.4.5."And It Shall Be a Sign on Your Hand and a Mark Between Your Eyes" (v. 16) 4.3.4.6."When Pharaoh Stubbornly Refused to Let Us Go" (v. 15) 4.4."Consecrate to Me Every First-Born" (vv. 1-2) 4.4.1. The Problem 4.4.2.A New Reading 4.5. The Unleavened Bread Section (vv. 3-10) 4.5.1. Literary Parallels and Motifs in Exod 12:25-27; 13:5-10, 11-16 4.5.2.A Diachronic Perspective on the Unleavened Bread Section (vv. 3-10) 4.5.2.1. The Pesah as a Commemoration of the Exodus from Egypt 4.5.2.2. The Integration of the Pesah with the Unleavened Bread 4.5.3. The Text in its Present Form 4.6. Summary and Conclusions (Exod 13:1-16) 5.1. Results 5.2. Implications of the Methodological Approach for the Study of the Festivals 5.2.1. Exegetical Layer 5.2.2. Expansional and Supplementary Layer 5.2.3. Rewriting and Replacement. The Subject of this Study Methodology 1.1. The Problem 1.2. Additions in Exodus 34 as Compared with Exodus 23 1.2.1. The Law of the First-Born 1.2.2. The Cessation of Work on the Seventh Day 1.2.3. The Epithet "God of Israel" 1.2.4. Verse 24 1.3. Changes in Exodus 34 as Compared with Exodus 23 1.3.1. The Name and the Designation "First-Fruits of the Wheat Harvest" 1.3.2. The Date of the Festival of the Ingathering 1.3.3. The Replacement of ("Sacrifice") by ("Slaughter") 1.3.4. Designation of the Pesah Sacrifice as 1.4. Passages Lacking in Exod 34:18-26 as Compared with Exod 23:14-19 1.4.1."On Three Occasions You Shall Feast to Me During the Year" (23:14) 1.4.2. The Festivals of the Harvest/Weeks and the Ingathering: Exod 34:22 versus Exod 23:16 1.5. Summary and Conclusions 2.1. Introduction 2.2. The Structure of the Pesah Laws in Exod 12:1-11 2.3. The Origin of Exod 12:21-27.