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Document Details : Title: The Direction of Dependence between the Laws of the Pentateuch Subtitle: The Priority of a Literary Approach Author(s): KILCHÖR, Benjamin Journal: Ephemerides Theologicae Lovanienses Volume: 89 Issue: 1 Date: 2013 Pages: 1-14 DOI: 10.2143/ETL.89.1.2985319 Abstract : Several studies that deal with the making of the Pentateuch leave the legal texts completely aside in their investigation. If the laws are considered at all, they are treated often within a framework that already presupposes their relative chronological order. In this article I make a case for an approach that I call a 'literary' one. The idea is first to compare all the laws concerning a certain topic on the level of language, not content, and to check in a synopsis whether a younger law combines older laws. This can be done not only for a single topic, but also for a sequence of topics. In two examples this approach is demonstrated: first, for a single topic, by means of the Passover legislation; secondly, for a sequence of topics, by means of some social laws. The advantage of this approach is to bring the discussion to a level more objective and to avoid arguments that are almost always reversible. |
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