Graded Holiness: A Key to the Priestly Conception of the World
Overview
This study focuses on holiness and the priesthood based on the writings of the Old Testament. Author Philip Peter Jenson focuses on several aspects of holiness as it relates to the ancient priests: spatial, personal, ritual, and dimension. He provides a theological and exegetical study of the worship practices outlined in the Old Testament.
- Includes introductions, bibliography, and indexes.
- The Cultic Texts of the Priestly Writing
- Concepts of Holiness and Purity
- The Holiness Spectrum
- The Spatial Dimension
- The Personal Dimension
- The Ritual Dimension
- The Dimension of Time
Top Highlights
“A better suggestion is that holiness (and its opposite, the profane) represents the divine relation to the ordered world, and the clean (with its opposite, the unclean) embraces the normal state of human existence in the earthly realm. The holy-profane pair represents (positively and negatively) the divine sphere, and this may be distinguished from the human sphere (which is marked by the opposition between clean and unclean).2 The presence of a holy God and a holy sanctuary in the midst of Israel ensures that these two points of view overlap in a complex way.” (Pages 47–48)
“An even more comprehensive approach is suggested by some of the recent discussion of metaphor and analogy (cf. §3.2). The starting point for theological concepts is basic physical and social experiences of life. In the cult, these are integrated and related to the character of God and his demands on Israel. Some of the structural parallels which allow this analogical process to take place are represented by the Holiness Spectrum.” (Pages 41–42)
“In addition to this general calendrical system, a second type of time reckoning existed in Israel which has not been found in the same form elsewhere in the ancient world. It comprised the regular seven-day cycle of the week, culminating in the Sabbath or the seventh day (§7.3.2). This was independent of any natural cycle, and the sabbatical principle affected the way in which the festivals were celebrated to a remarkable degree (§7.3.1).” (Page 182)
“For them, it is rather that holiness is located in the God-ordained ordering of the sanctuary, as reflected and safeguarded in the laws and institutions of the cult. God’s holiness may be ultimately hidden and inviolable in the Holy of Holies, but the primary emphasis is on the visible and realized holiness of the sanctuary, mediating his nearness and accessibility (‘before Yahweh’).” (Page 43)
- Title: Graded Holiness: A Key to the Priestly Conception of the World
- Author: Philip Peter Jenson
- Publisher: Sheffield
- Publication Date: 1992
- Pages: 289
