The Theme of the Pentateuch, Second Edition (Journal for the Study of the Old Testament Supplement Series, Vol. 178 | JSOTS)

by David J. A. Clines

Publisher:

Sheffield Academic Press

, 2001

Overview

This popular textbook regards the Pentateuch as a literary whole, with a single theme that binds it together. The overarching theme is the partial fulfillment of the promises to the patriarchs. Though the method of the book is holistic, the origin and growth of the theme is also explored using the methods of traditional source analysis. An important chapter explores the theological function of the Pentateuch both in the community for which the Pentateuch was first composed and in our own time. For this second, enlarged edition, the author has written an Epilogue reassessing the theme of the Pentateuch from a more current postmodern perspective.

Contents

Top Highlights

“As far as Deuteronomy is concerned, it goes without saying that everything focuses upon the land. Among its most characteristic phrases are ‘the land you are to possess’, which occurs (with variations) 22 times, and ‘the land (or, ground, gates, cities, etc.) that Yahweh your (or, our, etc.) God gives you (or, us)’, which occurs 34 times.” (Page 62)

“As I noted in my statement of theme (Chapter 5), in Genesis it is the promise of progeny that has predominated, in Exodus and Leviticus the promise of the relationship of Yahweh and Israel, and in Numbers and Deuteronomy the promise of the land.” (Page 65)

“Can there be more than one theme in a literary work? Ultimately, I think not” (Page 22)

“If ‘theme’ is a statement of the content, structure and development of a work, as I have suggested above, the ‘sin—speech—mitigation—punishment’ pattern, significant though it is, can only be called a recurrent motif in the primaeval history, and not the unifying theme of Genesis 1–11 as a whole.” (Page 69)

“As for the book of Leviticus, its function, within the scheme of the promise and its fulfilments, is to spell out in detail the means by which the relationship now established is to be maintained.” (Page 54)

Product Details

• Title: The Theme of the Pentateuch
• Author: David J. A. Clines
• Volume: 10
• Publisher: Sheffield Academic Press
• Print Publication Date: 2001
• Logos Release Date: 2010
• Pages: 176
• Era: era:Contemporary
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
• Subject: Bible. O.T. Pentateuch
• ISBNs: 9781850757924, 1850757925
• Resource ID: LLS:THEMEPENTCH
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2024-03-25T21:00:34Z

About David J. A. Clines

David J. A. Clines concentrated his studies on Hebrew lexicography and contemporary literary approaches to the Hebrew Bible. He studied classical languages in Sydney, Semitic Languages in Cambridge, and was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Amsterdam.

Clines was emeritus professor of biblical studies at the University of Sheffield where he previously served as head of the department for seven years. Clines also served as president of the Society for Old Testament Study, publisher and director at Sheffield Academic Press for 25 years, and president of the Society of Biblical Literature.

Clines authored and edited several publications including Interested Parties: The Ideology of Writers and Readers of the Hebrew Bible, On the Way to Postmodern, Esther Scroll: The Story of the Story, and The Dictionary of Classical Hebrew.