The book of Leviticus provides two different theologies related to God’s presence within ancient Israel. Leviticus 1–16 was written by an elite caste of priests (P), and Leviticus 17–26 (H) was added to the book to “democratize” access to God. While the Priestly work has hardly inspired lay readers, the Holiness Writings provide some of the most inspiring and well-known verses from the Bible.
This volume shows how gender dynamics shift between the static worldview of P and the dynamic approach of H and that, ironically, as holiness expands from the priests to the people, from the temple to the land of Israel, gender behaviors become more highly regulated. This complicates associations between power and gender dynamics and opens the door to questions about the relationships between power, gender, and theological perspectives.
Recenzijas
"Kamionkowski offers a highly readable exploration of the book's complex and multi-faceted vision of what it means to live as YHVH's holy people. Scholarly without being prohibitively technical, wide-ranging, and punctuated with fascinating sidebar vignettes that supplement and illustrate the main lines of comment from a variety of perspectives, this insightful and creative treatment well deserves its place in a series that promotes the values of wisdom and inclusivity in biblical exegesis. Leviticus has frequently labored under the shadow of oppressively hierarchical and negatively ritualistic readings. Kamionkowski shows how often it is possible to see this admittedly dense and sometimes obscure book in a positive and egalitarian light. Her work is a gift to all those who want to see how Leviticus continues to resonate powerfully for the good in a context very different from that of its original creation."Deborah Rooke, Regent's Park College, University of Oxford "This commentary provides the balance of a feminist approach to such a markedly patriarchal text. Just as Kamionkowski values the scholarship of her contributors and of all those whose work she cites, readers can gain from this commentary by seeing it in the wider context of other studies of this challenging text." Australian Biblical Review "Even readers with little or no Hebrew will find this a highly accessible and enlightening exploration of an underappreciated OT book." The Bible Today "This work is helpful to the preacher and teacher, indeed to the believer who seeks to understand what a text that has had so much negative influence might mean positively." Women's Alliance for Theology, Ethics and Ritual (Water) "The end result is a complex, multivocal commentary on Leviticus. This commentary provides a rich, ideological approach to the text." Melinda Thompson, Abilene Christian University Graduate School of Texas
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ix | |
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xiii | |
Foreword "Tell It on the Mountain"---or, "And You Shall Tell Your Daughter [ as Well]" |
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xv | |
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Editor's Introduction to Wisdom Commentary: "She Is a Breath of the Power of God" (Wis 7:25) Barbara E. Reid, OP |
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xix | |
Acknowledgments |
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xxxix | |
Author's Introduction: Reading Leviticus with a Feminist Lens |
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xli | |
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Leviticus 1:1--3:17 Offerings, Offerers, and Considerations of Gender |
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1 | (24) |
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Leviticus 4:1--6:7 Something New: Purification and Guilt |
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25 | (22) |
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Leviticus 6:8--7:38 Another Perspective on Offerings, or What's In It for the Priests? |
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47 | (10) |
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Leviticus 8:1--10:20 Coming Into and Managing Power |
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57 | (24) |
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Leviticus 11:1--47 If You Must Eat Meat, Then... |
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81 | (18) |
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Leviticus 12:1--15:33 Bodies and Access to the Holy |
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99 | (54) |
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Leviticus 16:1--34 Purifying the Sancta: "It Takes a Village" |
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153 | (14) |
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Leviticus 17:1--16 A Bloody Mess |
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167 | (10) |
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Leviticus 18:1--20:27 From Ritual Impurity to Ethical Transgressions |
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177 | (56) |
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Leviticus 21:1--22:33 Protecting Priestly Privilege |
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233 | (18) |
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Leviticus 23:1--25:55 Sacred Time, Space, Speech, and Land |
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251 | (28) |
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Leviticus 26:1--46 Eco-Friendly Blessings and Curses of Chaos |
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279 | (10) |
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Leviticus 27:1--34 How Much Is a Woman Really Worth? |
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289 | (8) |
Postscript |
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297 | (2) |
Works Cited |
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299 | (18) |
Index of Scripture References and Other Ancient Writings |
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317 | (10) |
Index of Subjects |
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327 | |
S. Tamar Kamionkowski is professor of biblical studies at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College in Wyncote, Pennsylvania, where she served as the vice president for Academic Affairs for almost a decade. She holds a BA from Oberlin College, an MTS from Harvard Divinity School, and a PhD from Brandeis University. Kamionkowski is the author of Gender Reversal and Cosmic Chaos: Studies in the Book of Ezekiel (Sheffield Academic, 2003) and co-editor of Bodies, Embodiment and Theology of the Hebrew Scriptures (T&T Clark, 2010). She serves as co-chair of the SBLs Jewish Interpretation of the Bible session.
Barbara E. Reid, general editor of the Wisdom Commentary series, is a Dominican Sister of Grand Rapids, Michigan. She is the Carroll Stuhlmueller, CP Distinguished Professor of New Testament Studies, and president emerita of Catholic Theological Union (the first woman who held the position). She has been a member of the CTU faculty since 1988 and also served as vice president and academic dean from 2009 to 2018. She holds a PhD in biblical studies from The Catholic University of America and was president of the Catholic Biblical Association in 20142015. Her most recent publications are Luke 19 and Luke 1024, co-authored with Shelly Matthews (WCS 43A, 43B; Liturgical Press, 2021); and At the Table of Holy Wisdom: Global Hungers and Feminist Biblical Interpretation (Paulist, 2023).