Reading Leviticus: Responses to Mary Douglas

by John F. A. Sawyer

Publisher:

Sheffield Academic Press

, 1996

Overview

Until recently, Leviticus has been read, especially in Christian circles, as part of a 'priestly' work with a predominantly prescriptive and ritualistic agenda. In this volume of papers read at a colloquium held in honor of Mary Douglas at Lancaster University in 1995, experts in the Hebrew Bible, Jewish law, comparative law, classical literature and social anthropology raise challenging questions about the composition, context and purpose of the book. Can it be read as an autonomous literary unit? How significant are its unique ethical insights? Is it law or narrative? Does it reflect actual Second Temple Period practice? How is it related to the Mishnah?

Product Details

• Title: Reading Leviticus: Responses to Mary Douglas
• Author: John F. A. Sawyer
• Publisher: Sheffield Academic Press
• Publication Date: 1996
• Pages: 290

About John F. A. Sawyer

John F. A. Sawyer is Emeritus Professor of Religious Studies at Newcastle University and of Biblical and Jewish Studies at Lancaster. Among his many publications are Sacred Texts and Sacred Meanings (2011), A Concise Dictionary of the Bible and its Reception (2009), and The Fifth Gospel. Isaiah in the History of Christianity (1996). He is co-editor of the Concise Encyclopedia of Language and Religion (with J. M. Y. Simpson, 2001), and series editor (with Christopher Rowland, Judith Kovacs and David Gunn) of the reception-history-based Blackwell Bible Commentary Series.