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134-485: Almost the entirety of Deuteronomy is presented as the last few speeches of Moses , beginning with an historical introduction as well as a second introduction which expands on the Ethical Decalogue, and ending with hortatory speeches and final words of encouragement. Between these is found the law code, at Deuteronomy 12–26. In critical scholarship , this portion, as well as the majority of the remainder of Deuteronomy,

268-476: A theophoric name with the god’s name omitted. The suffix mose appears in Egyptian pharaohs’ names like Thutmose ('born of Thoth ') and Ramose ('born of Ra '). One of the Egyptian names of Ramesses was Ra-mesesu mari-Amon , meaning “born of Ra, beloved of Amon” (he was also called Usermaatre Setepenre , meaning “Keeper of light and harmony, strong in light, elect of Re”). Linguist Abraham Yahuda , based on

402-508: A Greek historian, geographer and philosopher, in his Geographica (c. 24 CE), wrote in detail about Moses, whom he considered to be an Egyptian who deplored the situation in his homeland, and thereby attracted many followers who respected the deity. He writes, for example, that Moses opposed the picturing of the deity in the form of man or animal, and was convinced that the deity was an entity which encompassed everything – land and sea: 35. An Egyptian priest named Moses, who possessed

536-550: A bullock, rather than the goat that is required according to Leviticus 9:15, 16:8, and Numbers 15:24. Critical scholars, therefore, regard this chapter as being a much later addition to the sin-offering laws. Different stages of precision are also thought evident in Numbers 8. Numbers 8:15b-26 repeats the rules of Numbers 8:6-15a, but also connects the ownership of the firstborn with the Exodus from Egypt, as well as adding rules concerning

670-525: A clear image. His primary work, wherein he describes Jewish philosophy , is his Histories ( c.  100 ), where, according to 18th-century translator and Irish dramatist Arthur Murphy , as a result of the Jewish worship of one God, " pagan mythology fell into contempt". Tacitus states that, despite various opinions current in his day regarding the Jews' ethnicity, most of his sources are in agreement that there

804-460: A distinct text to Leviticus 13:47-59. This latter text, discussing mildew, noticeably appears to interrupt Leviticus 13:1-14:32, discussing leprosy, since prior to it is a law ordering that a leper be sent out of the camp to dwell alone, and after the mildew section is a law instructing priests to go out of the camp and inspect the leper to see if they are yet healed. Consequently, Leviticus 13:1-46 and 14:2-32 are viewed as one, original, text into which

938-530: A distinctive colouring to every part of his work, but the long and rolling clauses in which the author expresses himself are a new feature in Hebrew literature. Nowhere else in the Old Testament does there breathe such an atmosphere of generous devotion or of benevolence, neither is there such strong eloquence when duties are elsewhere set forward. According to textual criticism, Deuteronomy is only remotely related to

1072-413: A familiar motif in ancient Near Eastern mythological accounts of the ruler who rises from humble origins. For example, in the account of the origin of Sargon of Akkad (23rd century BCE): My mother, the high priestess, conceived; in secret she bore me She set me in a basket of rushes, with bitumen she sealed my lid She cast me into the river which rose over me. Moses' story, like those of

1206-432: A god. Other ritual laws also involve an animal being sacrificed, and its blood again being passed onto the sinner, but this time as a symbol that the sinner has paid for their sin, and is now forgiven their sin. These laws involve the idea that sin is something to be atoned for rather than taken away. In anthropology generally, as well as in biblical criticism, this is viewed as a later development, replacing conceptions of

1340-669: A historical Moses-like figure include the princes Ahmose-ankh and Ramose , who were sons of pharaoh Ahmose I , or a figure associated with the family of pharaoh Thutmose III . Israel Knohl has proposed to identify Moses with Irsu , a Shasu who, according to Papyrus Harris I and the Elephantine Stele, took power in Egypt with the support of "Asiatics" (people from the Levant ) after the death of Queen Twosret ; after coming to power, Irsu and his supporters disrupted Egyptian rituals, "treating

1474-464: A lamb or kid (of a goat) is described at Leviticus 5:1-6, whereas Leviticus 5:7-10 states that two turtledoves or two pigeons suffice, whereas Leviticus 5:11-13 further states that mere flour is sufficient. Biblical critics assert that it is difficult to see why anyone would go to the extent of bringing a lamb, when flour is enough, and similarly, if flour is sufficient, they assert that mentioning more costly losses, such as lambs, would be unexpected from

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1608-457: A later addition to Leviticus 5:1-6, and Leviticus 5:11-13 as an even later addition, reflecting the ritual gradually being watered down over time. Despite the disparate nature of the Priestly Code, it is nevertheless believed possible to identify a few authors who have worked on more than one of the laws. The most noticeable of these is an author who writes, unlike the remainder, in the style of

1742-399: A military expedition to Ethiopia , where he won great victories. After having built the city of Hermopolis , he taught the people the value of the ibis as a protection against the serpents, making the bird the sacred guardian spirit of the city; then he introduced circumcision . After his return to Memphis , Moses taught the people the value of oxen for agriculture, and the consecration of

1876-470: A minimum age and a retirement age. Standard textual criticism, as well as the repetition, is thought to indicate that the second portion is by a different writer, creating an explanation that was not originally present. Such increasing of precision is not only present in direct modification of the law, and there are examples of instances where narrative frameworks present modifications of the law, but openly admitting that they are extra rules, not present when

2010-572: A more highly organised community than is contemplated in the legislation of the Covenant Code, and therefore critical scholarship regards the Deuteronomic Code as a development of the Covenant Code reflecting the increased organisation of society in the time between the two. Repeatedly and pointedly the older laws of the Covenant Code are restated in Deuteronomy in terms which inescapably suggest

2144-480: A number of US government buildings. In the medieval and Renaissance period, he is frequently shown as having small horns , as the result of a mistranslation in the Latin Vulgate bible, which nevertheless at times could reflect Christian ambivalence or have overtly antisemitic connotations. The Egyptian root msy ('child of') or mose has been considered as a possible etymology, arguably an abbreviation of

2278-649: A portion of the country called the Lower Egypt , being dissatisfied with the established institutions there, left it and came to Judaea with a large body of people who worshipped the Divinity. He declared and taught that the Egyptians and Africans entertained erroneous sentiments, in representing the Divinity under the likeness of wild beasts and cattle of the field; that the Greeks also were in error in making images of their gods after

2412-525: A prophet. Traditionalists generally maintain that the Deuteronomic Code was, indeed, the work of Moses. As regards the contention that the earlier books do not emphasize the centrality of the Temple worship in Jerusalem, those books primarily discuss the service in the desert Tabernacle. Nevertheless, Leviticus 17 clearly mandates a centralized venue of sacrifice. The similarity to the works of Jeremiah appears to be

2546-435: A reference to Cicero , Moses is the only non-Greek writer quoted in the work; contextually he is put on a par with Homer and he is described "with far more admiration than even Greek writers who treated Moses with respect, such as Hecataeus and Strabo ". In Josephus ' (37 – c. 100 CE) Antiquities of the Jews , Moses is mentioned throughout. For example, Book VIII Ch. IV, describes Solomon's Temple , also known as

2680-399: A result of the renewed interest in Deuteronomy during the reign of King Josiah, but with Jeremiah borrowing from the conventions of Deuteronomy—not the other way around. It is characteristic of the discourses of the Deuteronomic Code that the writer's aim is throughout parenetic , making passing allusions to history, for example at Deuteronomy 13:4–5, and 24:9, for the sake of the lessons that

2814-461: A rod, in remembrance of that used for Moses' miracles. He describes Moses as 80 years old, "tall and ruddy, with long white hair, and dignified". Some historians, however, point out the " apologetic nature of much of Artapanus' work", with his addition of extra-biblical details, such as his references to Jethro: the non-Jewish Jethro expresses admiration for Moses' gallantry in helping his daughters, and chooses to adopt Moses as his son. Strabo ,

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2948-449: A sacrificial offering, an idea represented elsewhere. This change from more supernatural ideas methods to naturalistic ones is present also in aspects of law other than completely sacrificial rituals. Numbers 5:12-31 presents the law concerning the treatment of a suspicion of adultery, and is believed, in critical scholarship, to contain two versions of the law. These two versions are thought to be intricately woven together, but nevertheless

3082-581: A single writer of the law. Textual criticism identifies quite different writing styles between each of these three sections, the first section not detailing any ritual whatsoever, merely what should be brought, the second giving quite detailed instructions of ritual, and each being progressively more verbose, the first merely writes shall make an atonement for him concerning his sin , whereas the third produces shall make an atonement for him as touching his sin that he hath sinned in one of these . For these reasons, critical scholars usually identify Leviticus 5:7-10 as

3216-416: A teacher, and is consequently sometimes referred to, in critical scholarship, as the priestly teacher ( Pt ). The laws typically ascribed to this supposed author are either started by a phrase such as this is the law of... , as is the case, for example, with Numbers 19:14-22; or end with a colophon of the form this is the law of [subject A], [summary of the law concerning subject A], [subject B], [summary of

3350-493: Is also an additional, abrupt change at Leviticus 13:47, between discussion of leprosy , and of leprosy of clothing ( mildew ), only presenting part of a sentence, devoid of any verb clause — [...] without the camp shall his habitation be. The garment also that the plague of leprosy is in, whether it be [list of types of garment]. And if the plague be greenish or reddish in the garment [...] . Thus, taking this as another border, in critical scholarship, Leviticus 13:1-46 represents

3484-414: Is associated with narratives of an exodus and a conquest, and several motifs in stories about him are shared with the Exodus tale and that regarding Israel's war with Moab ( 2 Kings 3 ). Moab rebels against oppression, like Moses, leads his people out of Israel, as Moses does from Egypt, and his first-born son is slaughtered at the wall of Kir-hareseth as the firstborn of Israel are condemned to slaughter in

3618-446: Is composed of several mitzvot or commandments, approximately one third of the mitzvot in the Torah, and is therefore a major constituent of Jewish Law . While several of the laws are repetitions of those present elsewhere in the Torah, many have notable variations, and there are additionally many further laws which are unique to the code. Moses In Abrahamic religions , Moses

3752-400: Is generally considered that each appear be based on laws from different periods of history to one another, since some, such as Leviticus 14:33-57, include less naturalistic rituals for transferring sin, and others, such as Leviticus 15 prefer a ritual of atonement, and yet others, such as Leviticus 13:47-59 do not mention atonement at all. Another distinct style is that of case law , in which

3886-558: Is generally regarded to contain the following laws : It is also generally regarded as containing the following descriptions and rules of ritual: The majority of the Priestly Code is presented in the Torah as the Law which is given to Moses directly by God at Mount Sinai . Unlike the Decalogues, however, Yahweh speaks the laws to Moses while descended, in a cloud, upon the Tabernacle which

4020-637: Is mentioned in ancient Egyptian literature . In the writing of Jewish historian Josephus , ancient Egyptian historian Manetho is quoted writing of a treasonous ancient Egyptian priest, Osarseph , who renamed himself Moses and led a successful coup against the presiding pharaoh , subsequently ruling Egypt for years until the pharaoh regained power and expelled Osarseph and his supporters. Moses has often been portrayed in Christian art and literature, for instance in Michelangelo's Moses and in works at

4154-486: Is no textual indication that this daughter of Pharaoh is the same one who named Moses. Ibn Ezra gave two possibilities for the name of Moses: he believed that it was either a translation of the Egyptian name instead of a transliteration or that the Pharaoh's daughter was able to speak Hebrew. Kenneth Kitchen argues that the Hebrew etymology is most likely correct, as the sounds in the Hebrew m-š-h do not correspond to

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4288-404: Is remarkable that Amos (c. 760 BCE), Hosea (c. 750 BCE), and the undisputed portions of Isaiah (Isaiah 1–39 ["First Isaiah"], c. 700 bce) show no certain traces of any influence from the Deuteronomic Code, or its style, while Jeremiah exhibits marks of these things on nearly every page, especially in his prose . The prophetic teachings, the leading theological ideas, and the principles which

4422-615: Is the high honour in which it holds the peoples of the East in general and some specific groups among these peoples." In addition to the Judeo-Roman or Judeo-Hellenic historians Artapanus , Eupolemus , Josephus , and Philo , a few non-Jewish historians including Hecataeus of Abdera (quoted by Diodorus Siculus ), Alexander Polyhistor , Manetho , Apion , Chaeremon of Alexandria , Tacitus and Porphyry also make reference to him. The extent to which any of these accounts rely on earlier sources

4556-496: Is thought to represent the earlier law, which subsequently evolved into the other version more concerned with atoning. Leviticus 11, discussing clean and unclean animals, mentions carcasses at Leviticus 11:8, and then lists which animals are unclean, appearing to end the list at Leviticus 11:23. Leviticus 11:24-31 expands on the subject of carcasses, and then mentions several other animals which are unclean. Since both of these features are expansions, and appear out of place, rather than

4690-478: Is unknown, but it is commonly assigned to the late 1st century C.E. The writer quotes Genesis in a "style which presents the nature of the deity in a manner suitable to his pure and great being", but he does not mention Moses by name, calling him 'no chance person' ( οὐχ ὁ τυχὼν ἀνήρ ) but "the Lawgiver" ( θεσμοθέτης , thesmothete ) of the Jews, a term that puts him on a par with Lycurgus and Minos . Aside from

4824-615: Is unknown. Moses also appears in other religious texts such as the Mishnah (c. 200 CE) and the Midrash (200–1200 CE). The figure of Osarseph in Hellenistic historiography is a renegade Egyptian priest who leads an army of lepers against the pharaoh and is finally expelled from Egypt, changing his name to Moses. The earliest existing reference to Moses in Greek literature occurs in

4958-640: The Book of Deuteronomy another. Moses has traditionally been regarded as the author of those four books and the Book of Genesis , which together comprise the Torah , the first section of the Hebrew Bible . Scholars hold different opinions on the historicity of Moses. For instance, according to William G. Dever , the modern scholarly consensus is that the biblical person of Moses is largely mythical while also holding that "a Moses-like figure may have existed somewhere in

5092-481: The Book of Joshua to the Books of Kings (I Kings 6), sacrifices are frequently described as offered in various parts of the land, without any suggestion, by either the characters present in the narrative, or the narrator themselves, that any law, such as that of Deuteronomy, is being broken. Other laws appear to more specifically point to a terminus post quem , after which the code must have been composed. The law concerning

5226-448: The Jewish religion or took a tip from Jochebed (Moses' mother). The Egyptian princess who named Moses is not named in the book of Exodus. However, she was known to Josephus as Thermutis (identified as Tharmuth), and some within Jewish tradition have tried to identify her with a "daughter of Pharaoh" in 1 Chronicles 4:17 named Bithiah , but others note that this is unlikely since there

5360-469: The Priestly Code and there are certainly no verbal parallels. Some of the institutions and observances codified in the Priestly Code are indeed mentioned, mainly burnt-offerings , peace offerings , heave-offerings , the distinction between "clean" and "unclean", and rules about leprosy . However, they are destitute of the central significance with which they are placed in the Priestly Code. Conversely,

5494-525: The Priestly Source except for the Holiness Code. Under the documentary hypothesis , while some scholars believe that the Priestly Code was created to rival the Ethical Decalogue and Covenant Code, others believe was intended as only supplementary to the Holiness Code. Although the majority of the code forms the bulk of Leviticus, there are several laws which appear in other places in the Torah. The code

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5628-761: The Red Sea Crossing as a sign of his power to Israel and the nations. After defeating the Amalekites in Rephidim , Moses led the Israelites to Mount Sinai , where he was given the Ten Commandments from God, written on stone tablets . However, since Moses remained a long time on the mountain, some of the people feared that he might be dead, so they made a statue of a golden calf and worshipped it , thus disobeying and angering God and Moses. Moses, out of anger, broke

5762-468: The Torah . According to the Book of Exodus , Moses was born in a time when his people, the Israelites, an enslaved minority, were increasing in population and, as a result, the Egyptian Pharaoh worried that they might ally themselves with Egypt 's enemies. Moses' Hebrew mother, Jochebed , secretly hid him when Pharaoh ordered all newborn Hebrew boys to be killed in order to reduce the population of

5896-559: The documentary hypothesis , this large variation is explained, by the Code being identified as the work of a group of priests, centred at Shiloh , who were rival to the Aaronid group to whom the Priestly Code is assigned. Unlike the Priestly Code, with the laws contained in the Holiness Code , the Deuteronomic Code has some parallels, chiefly moral injunctions. Nevertheless, although in such cases

6030-469: The 4th century BCE, long after he is believed to have lived. No contemporary Egyptian sources mention Moses, or the events of Exodus–Deuteronomy, nor has any archaeological evidence been discovered in Egypt or the Sinai wilderness to support the story in which he is the central figure. David Adams Leeming states that Moses is a mythic hero and the central figure in Hebrew mythology. The Oxford Companion to

6164-643: The Bible states that the historicity of Moses is the most reasonable (albeit not unbiased) assumption to be made about him as his absence would leave a vacuum that cannot be explained away. Oxford Biblical Studies states that although few modern scholars are willing to support the traditional view that Moses himself wrote the five books of the Torah , there are certainly those who regard the leadership of Moses as too firmly based in Israel's corporate memory to be dismissed as pious fiction . The story of Moses' discovery follows

6298-476: The Biblical story may reflect an attempt to cancel out traces of Moses' Egyptian origins . The Egyptian character of his name was recognized as such by ancient Jewish writers like Philo and Josephus . Philo linked Moses' name ( Ancient Greek : Μωϋσῆς , romanized :  Mōysēs , lit.   'Mōusês') to the Egyptian ( Coptic ) word for 'water' ( môu , μῶυ ), in reference to his finding in

6432-432: The Egyptian history of Hecataeus of Abdera (4th century BCE). All that remains of his description of Moses are two references made by Diodorus Siculus, wherein, writes historian Arthur Droge, he "describes Moses as a wise and courageous leader who left Egypt and colonized Judaea ". Among the many accomplishments described by Hecataeus, Moses had founded cities, established a temple and religious cult, and issued laws: After

6566-450: The Exile (i.e., in the first half of the 6th century BCE), testifies to tension between the people of Judah and the returning post-Exilic Jews (the " gôlâ "), stating that God is the father of Israel and that Israel's history begins with the Exodus and not with Abraham . The conclusion to be inferred from this and similar evidence (e.g., the Book of Ezra and the Book of Nehemiah ) is that

6700-670: The Exodus story, in what Calvinist theologian Peter Leithart described as "an infernal Passover that delivers Mesha while wrath burns against his enemies". An Egyptian version of the tale that crosses over with the Moses story is found in Manetho who, according to the summary in Josephus , wrote that a certain Osarseph , a Heliopolitan priest, became overseer of a band of lepers , when Amenophis , following indications by Amenhotep, son of Hapu , had all

6834-802: The First Temple, at the time the Ark of the Covenant was first moved into the newly built temple: Priestly Code The Priestly Code (in Hebrew Torat Kohanim , תורת כהנים) is the name given, by academia, to the body of laws expressed in the Torah which do not form part of the Holiness Code , the Covenant Code , the Ritual Decalogue , or the Ethical Decalogue . The Priestly Code constitutes

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6968-489: The Holiness Code itself, although the underlying laws appear to have a greater affinity. As far as critical scholarship is concerned, the Covenant Code , and the Ritual Decalogue which partially repeats it, can be seen to form the foundation of the Deuteronomic legislation. This is evident partly from the numerous verbal coincidences, whole clauses, and sometimes even an entire law, being repeated verbatim , and partly from

7102-435: The Israelites have constructed. The remainder is present as scattered laws either given by Moses directly, or by being given in a similar manner to the majority, via the tabernacle, but after the Israelites have moved elsewhere, taking the tabernacle with them. The implication, therefore, is that the tabernacle is the place where God speaks with the priesthood. It is evident that rules of priestly procedure must have accompanied

7236-595: The Israelites. Through Pharaoh's daughter , the child was adopted as a foundling from the Nile and grew up with the Egyptian royal family. After killing an Egyptian slave-master who was beating a Hebrew, Moses fled across the Red Sea to Midian , where he encountered the Angel of the Lord , speaking to him from within a burning bush on Mount Horeb . God sent Moses back to Egypt to demand

7370-503: The Nile and the biblical folk etymology . Josephus, in his Antiquities of the Jews , claims that the second element, -esês , meant 'those who are saved'. The problem of how an Egyptian princess (who, according to the Biblical account found in the book of Exodus , gave him the name "Moses") could have known Hebrew puzzled medieval Jewish commentators like Abraham ibn Ezra and Hezekiah ben Manoah . Hezekiah suggested she either converted to

7504-462: The Priestly Code by an editor, and may, slightly, pre-date the Priestly Source. Another set of distinctive colophons are those of the form this is the law of [subject A], and [subject B], and [subject C], .... , which occur for Leviticus 7:28-38, 11:1-47, 13:47-59, 14:33-57, and 15:1-31. Of these, Leviticus 15 is noticeably repetitive, repeating both bathe [itself] in water and be unclean until

7638-501: The additions thought present in laws such as that concerning clean and unclean animals. Likewise, the ritual of the Red Heifer at Numbers 9:1-13, in which water of cleansing is produced, is generally thought by academic criticism to be early. The idea of this liquid, with which to wash away ritual uncleanliness, is thus thought to have become superseded by the more naturalistic idea that such uncleanliness merely needs to be atoned for, by

7772-507: The age of 120, within sight of the Promised Land . The majority of scholars see the biblical Moses as a legendary figure, while retaining the possibility that Moses or a Moses-like figure existed in the 13th century BCE. Rabbinical Judaism calculated a lifespan of Moses corresponding to 1391–1271 BCE; Jerome suggested 1592 BCE, and James Ussher suggested 1571 BCE as his birth year. The Egyptian name "Moses"

7906-450: The age of one hundred and twenty: So Moses the servant of the LORD died there in the land of Moab according to the word of the LORD. And He buried him in the valley in the land of Moab, opposite Beth-peor; but no man knows his burial place to this day. (Deuteronomy 34:5–6, Amplified Bible ) Moses is honoured among Jews today as the "lawgiver of Israel", and he delivers several sets of laws in

8040-458: The age, a century, as Jeremiah readily testifies, in which religious viewpoints, other than that of centralised worship of Yahweh, were making serious encroachments in the Kingdom of Judah , associated with its decline . The Deuteronomic Code thus may be described as the prophetic reformulation and adaptation to new needs of an older legislation, essentially the work not of a jurist or statesman, but of

8174-400: The atonement sacrifice, and listing examples of what constitutes contact. Another of these, Leviticus 11, which defines and lists animals which are ritually unclean, also provides an extensive list. Several of the laws appear very similar to those given on the subject in Holiness Code, and thus several critics infer that this chapter is a later expansion of the Holiness Code. Other critics view

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8308-452: The author seeks to inculcate, exhibit many points of contact with that of Jeremiah and Ezekiel, and especially with the characteristic principles of the compiler of the Book of Kings, who must have lived after the events described in that Book, or during the later ones. If the code had been composed between Isaiah and Jeremiah, these facts would be exactly accounted for. It is for these reasons that

8442-479: The banks of the Jordan River , in sight of the land, Moses assembled the tribes . After recalling their wanderings, he delivered God's laws by which they must live in the land, sang a song of praise and pronounced a blessing on the people, and passed his authority to Joshua , under whom they would possess the land. Moses then went up Mount Nebo , looked over the Promised Land spread out before him, and died, at

8576-424: The basic outline of a brief problem is described, such as Leviticus 15:32-41, discussing how to deal with a man who has collected sticks on the sabbath, and whether that constitutes a violation of the rule not to commit work on that day, and then the solution is explained by Moses, often after he has consulted with God. This is present on multiple occasions, such as concerning the daughters of Zelophehad , as well when

8710-491: The break between Leviticus 7:31 and Leviticus 11:1, as well as those caused by the presence of the Holiness Code, it is more difficult to identify other potential borders between sources. One observation that can be made is that after each colophon, in Leviticus, there is a new introduction, of the form and the L ORD said unto Moses... . Several critical scholars have proposed that these introductions are an attempt to patch over

8844-420: The breaks between sources, and therefore conclude that everywhere there is a new introduction, there must be a break between sources. In addition to the colophons, and narrative breaks, this adds additional borders at Leviticus 4:1, 5:14, 6:1, 6:19, 6:24, 7:22, 7:28, 13:1, 14:33, and 15:1. More detailed textual criticism, comparing vocabulary, writing styles, and so forth, is seen, by critical scholars, to support

8978-428: The chapter as an excerpt from a further once independent body of teaching, a view not completely incompatible with those who see it as ultimately being based on the Holiness Code. The relationship of Leviticus 15, and the other, less list-like, sections having the same style of colophon as Leviticus 11, to this supposed earlier body, is not generally agreed upon. However, even if they are part of this earlier collection, it

9112-455: The course of the four books. The first is the Covenant Code , the terms of the covenant which God offers to the Israelites at Mount Sinai. Embedded in the covenant are the Decalogue (the Ten Commandments , Exodus 20:1–17), and the Book of the Covenant (Exodus 20:22–23:19). The entire Book of Leviticus constitutes a second body of law, the Book of Numbers begins with yet another set, and

9246-459: The decisive role he played in Israelite religion, and a third that argues there are elements of both history and legend from which "these issues are hotly debated unresolved matters among scholars". According to Brian Britt, there is divide amongst scholars when discussing matters on Moses that threatens gridlock. According to the official Torah commentary for Conservative Judaism, it is irrelevant if

9380-474: The details concerning carcasses being mentioned after Leviticus 11:8, and the additional animals being part of the list, it is generally considered amongst textual critics that Leviticus 11:24-31 is a later addition to the chapter, added in order to make it more precise. Leviticus 11:32-38 also is regarded as appearing out of place, since it returns to the subject of carcasses, the subject having previously moved away. This segment offers even more precision, detailing

9514-464: The details to writing. Critical scholars assert that in addition to this, over time, variations of detail would develop, authority for which must be committed to writing, so that actual practise would become justified by law. One would, therefore, suppose beforehand that such a code would exhibit evidence of gradual growth. Colophons , which, according to textual criticism , are best explained as survivals from previous collections, are found in parts of

9648-522: The distinction between priests and other Levites, the Levite cities, the jubilee year , the offering of cereal crops, sin offerings , and Yom Kippur , which are fundamental institutions in the Priestly code, are not mentioned at all in the Deuteronomic Code. In the laws which do touch common ground, there are frequently large discrepancies, which in some cases are regarded irreconcilable by critical scholarship. In

9782-613: The end of the Exodus journey had become the enemies of the Israelites due to their notorious role in enticing the Israelites to sin against God . Moses was twice given notice that he would die before entry to the Promised Land: in Numbers 27:13, once he had seen the Promised Land from a viewpoint on Mount Abarim , and again in Numbers 31:1 once battle with the Midianites had been won. On

9916-435: The entire Priestly Code is a later addition, within the Priestly Source, to the earlier Holiness Code. However, textual criticism indicates it as having several different authors, some of whom appear, according to textual critics, not only to have added laws, but to have added modifications onto earlier ones within the Code. Some of the ritual laws, or at least portions of these laws, involve two similar animals being brought to

10050-402: The establishment of settled life in Egypt in early times, which took place, according to the mythical account, in the period of the gods and heroes, the first ... to persuade the multitudes to use written laws was Mneves, a man not only great of soul but also in his life the most public-spirited of all lawgivers whose names are recorded. Droge also points out that this statement by Hecataeus

10184-403: The even , for almost every verse, as well as the detail of the atonement sacrifice. This chapter is therefore, under academic criticism, viewed as a late expansion of an earlier, much shorter, law, which simply laid out the basic rule that running issue of bodily fluids is ritually unclean, and contact with it, including with the person that possesses it, is ritually unclean, rather than detailing

10318-468: The fact that frequently a law in Deuteronomy consists of an expansion, or application to particular cases, of a principle laid down more briefly in the Covenant Code or Ritual Decalogue. This can, for example, be seen in Deuteronomy 16:1–17, concerning the three annual feasts, which are described very basically in the Covenant Code, at Exodus 23:14–17. The civil and social enactments which are new to Deuteronomy make provision chiefly for cases likely to arise in

10452-421: The figure of Moses and the story of the Exodus must have been preeminent among the people of Judah at the time of the Exile and after, serving to support their claims to the land in opposition to those of the returning exiles. A theory developed by Cornelis Tiele in 1872, which has proved influential, argued that Yahweh was a Midianite god, introduced to the Israelites by Moses, whose father-in-law Jethro

10586-529: The first stage, including Moses and his direct heirs; to the final stage where "the Temple of Jerusalem continued to be surrounded by an aura of sanctity". Strabo's "positive and unequivocal appreciation of Moses' personality is among the most sympathetic in all ancient literature." His portrayal of Moses is said to be similar to the writing of Hecataeus who "described Moses as a man who excelled in wisdom and courage". Egyptologist Jan Assmann concludes that Strabo

10720-471: The first time under King Josiah , giving credence to the theory that Deuteronomy was written around that time. Many of the other laws can be found elsewhere in the Torah , and it is likely the Deuteronomistic author(s) were influenced by such laws. Biblical scholar Michael Coogan notes two examples, the Covenant Code and the Ritual Decalogue found in Exodus 20:22–23:33 and Exodus 34 respectively. It

10854-511: The five, originally independent, themes of that work. Manfred Görg  [ de ] and Rolf Krauss  [ de ] , the latter in a somewhat sensationalist manner, have suggested that the Moses story is a distortion or transmogrification of the historical pharaoh Amenmose ( c.  1200 BCE ), who was dismissed from office and whose name was later simplified to msy (Mose). Aidan Dodson regards this hypothesis as "intriguing, but beyond proof". Rudolf Smend argues that

10988-409: The general content of the rituals are still thought able to be separated. One version is considered to only involve a jealousy offering , of barley , being placed in the woman's hands, and then waved by the priest, with a handful being subsequently burnt, the other version involving the woman drinking cursed water. The version involving the less naturalistic idea of a curse making a woman's thigh rot

11122-481: The gods like the people" and halting offerings to the Egyptian deities. They were eventually defeated and expelled by the new Pharaoh Setnakhte and, while fleeing, they abandoned large quantities of gold and silver they had stolen from the temples. Non-biblical writings about Jews, with references to the role of Moses, first appear at the beginning of the Hellenistic period , from 323 BCE to about 146 BCE. Shmuel notes that "a characteristic of this literature

11256-594: The guidance of the first being, by whose aid they should get out of their present plight. In this version, Moses and the Jews wander through the desert for only six days, capturing the Holy Land on the seventh. The Septuagint , the Greek version of the Hebrew Bible, impressed the pagan author of the famous classical book of literary criticism, On the Sublime , traditionally attributed to Longinus . The date of composition

11390-431: The historical Moses existed, calling him "the folkloristic, national hero". Jan Assmann argues that it cannot be known if Moses ever lived because there are no traces of him outside tradition. Though the names of Moses and others in the biblical narratives are Egyptian and contain genuine Egyptian elements, no extrabiblical sources point clearly to Moses. No references to Moses appear in any Egyptian sources prior to

11524-424: The human form. For God [said he] may be this one thing which encompasses us all, land and sea, which we call heaven, or the universe, or the nature of things.... 36. By such doctrine Moses persuaded a large body of right-minded persons to accompany him to the place where Jerusalem now stands. In Strabo's writings of the history of Judaism as he understood it, he describes various stages in its development: from

11658-589: The idea that both the colophons, and the introductions, mark the borders between works originating from different writers, except for Leviticus 6:1. Leviticus 5:15-19 and 6:2-18 are usually regarded, under textual criticism, to have been from a continuous work, due to identical writing style, such as a ram without blemish out of the flock, with thy estimation ... , and trespass (ed) against the L ORD . Nevertheless, such textual criticism also identifies further abrupt changes in style, between Leviticus 1 and 2, between Leviticus 2 and 3, and between Leviticus 4 and 5. There

11792-402: The influence of Amos, Hosea and Isaiah. The difference between the two codes may be summarised as further tempering law on behalf of the offender, and providing a still more merciful view with respect to the weak, and powerless. It is a matter of dispute whether the author knew the Covenant Code and Ritual Decalogue as separate works, or after they had been united into JE , as rather than copying,

11926-417: The institution of the priesthood, and in the earliest of times, before writing was invented, these rules probably were transmitted orally. When writing was first employed in connection with them, it is likely that only some general directions, or some details deemed most important, were committed to writing. As time passed on the importance given to written law would lead the priesthood to commit more and more of

12060-463: The issue of the little passover was raised at Numbers 9:1-14. While many of these instances have, according to textual criticism, the resemblance of a single source, there are nevertheless portions which appear to be later layers, such as the additional return to the daughters of Zelophehad in Leviticus 36 to discuss a slightly different matter. Much of the remainder of the Priestly Code is viewed as more disparate. The benediction at Leviticus 6:22-27

12194-412: The journey, God tried to kill Moses for failing to circumcise his son, but Zipporah saved his life . Moses returned to carry out God's command, but God caused the Pharaoh to refuse, and only after God had subjected Egypt to ten plagues did Pharaoh relent. Moses led the Israelites to the border of Egypt, but their God hardened the Pharaoh's heart once more, so that he could destroy Pharaoh and his army at

12328-419: The king, and the prohibitions against "multiplying horses", "multiplying wives", and "multiplying silver and gold", at Deuteronomy 17:14–20, appears to be coloured by reminiscences of Solomon (c. 950 BCE), and the forms of idolatry referred to, especially worship of the "host of heaven", as described at Deuteronomy 17:3, appear to refer to behaviour during the reign of Ahaz (c. 730 BCE). The Deuteronomic Code

12462-558: The land. Later on, Korah was punished for leading a revolt against Moses. When the forty years had passed, Moses led the Israelites east around the Dead Sea to the territories of Edom and Moab . There they escaped the temptation of idolatry, conquered the lands of Og and Sihon in Transjordan , received God's blessing through Balaam the prophet, and massacred the Midianites , who by

12596-452: The land. The spies returned with samples of the land's fertility but warned that its inhabitants were giants . The people were afraid and wanted to return to Egypt, and some rebelled against Moses and against God. Moses told the Israelites that they were not worthy to inherit the land, and would wander the wilderness for forty years until the generation who had refused to enter Canaan had died, so that it would be their children who would possess

12730-517: The law concerning subject B], ... , as is the case with Numbers 6:1-21, and the more naturalistic parts of Numbers 5 (the portion thought by critics to be the later version of the remainder). Another aspect of the "priestly teacher's" apparent style is a concentration on atonement for uncleanliness and sin, particularly via rituals involving "wave offerings". In textual criticism, the laws attributed to this writer are seen as having formed an earlier independent collection of laws, which were later added to

12864-455: The laws of the Deuteronomic Code are variously free modification or enlargement of them. Consequently, amongst critical scholarship, some think it to be simply an enlarged edition of the old code, whereas others feel it to have been intended as a replacement. In the Deuteronomic Code, it is strictly laid down that sacrifice is to be offered at a single central sanctuary. However, in the Tanakh , from

12998-533: The laws were originally given out. For example, the law of the little passover in Numbers 9:9-14 adds rules concerning how people who have become unclean can manage to carry out the passover rules of Exodus 12:1-20. In a similar manner, the case law example, involving the daughters of Zelophehad, at Numbers 27:1-11, is returned to at Numbers 36, conveniently providing a framework to express a quite different law. There are also examples of clauses which appear to water down preceding laws. Leviticus 14:21-32 provides for

13132-584: The lepers in Egypt quarantined in order to cleanse the land so that he might see the gods. The lepers are bundled into Avaris , the former capital of the Hyksos , where Osarseph prescribes for them everything forbidden in Egypt, while proscribing everything permitted in Egypt. They invite the Hyksos to reinvade Egypt, rule with them for 13 years – Osarseph then assumes the name Moses – and are then driven out. Other Egyptian figures which have been postulated as candidates for

13266-416: The majority of Leviticus , as well as some of the laws expressed in Numbers . The code forms a large portion, approximately one third, of the commandments of the Torah, and thus is a major source of Jewish law . It is termed the Priestly Code due to its large concern with ritual and the Jewish priesthood, and also, in critical scholarship, it is defined as the whole of the law code believed to be present in

13400-515: The mildew section was inserted at a later date. Another section of the priestly code which is considered, by critical scholars, to interlace two earlier sources, is Leviticus 16. The ritual of the two goats, one being a scapegoat sent to Azazel , as a ritual to atone for sin as a nation, is given before, rather than within, instructions laying out how to observe Yom Kippur , leading to arguments that there were originally two separate sources describing this event. Further study on this question lead to

13534-433: The moral code are punished severely: death is the penalty not only for murder, but also for unchastity, and even for disrespectful behaviour by a son. The style of the Deuteronomic discourses is very marked, being particularly distinct when compared with the style of the rest of the Torah. Not only do particular words and expressions, embodying often the writer's characteristic thoughts, recur with remarkable frequency, giving

13668-430: The other patriarchs , most likely had a substantial oral prehistory (he is mentioned in the Book of Jeremiah and the Book of Isaiah ). The earliest mention of him is vague, in the Book of Hosea and his name is apparently ancient, as the tradition found in Exodus gives it a folk etymology. Nevertheless, the Torah was completed by combining older traditional texts with newly-written ones. Isaiah , written during

13802-406: The pattern, as it discusses childbirth, which can be viewed as sexually connected ( conception ) discharge (of a baby ) by a female. Although there is not complete agreement about why this Chapter was moved, the currently most prominent reason given is that, at a later point in time, the view of childbirth changed, and it was no longer viewed as a sexual discharge. According to critical scholarship,

13936-422: The poor and underprivileged. The Deuteronomic Code places special emphasis on the lower class and marginalized. For example, women and children, widows, foreigners and the poor. Deuteronomy 15:12–15 illustrates one example in which a former slave is to receive gifts. The law code seems methodically to provide legal compensation for those who are victimised by the inequities and brutalities that may otherwise inhere in

14070-408: The priest, one being killed in a certain manner, and its blood sprinkled onto the sinner, the other being sent away. Such rituals involve the idea that sin can be transferred, from the sinner to the living animal, via the blood of its dead associate. These are generally considered to be amongst the oldest layer of laws, since they invoke extended supernatural ideas, rather than simply involving belief in

14204-451: The priesthood under the sons of Moses' brother Aaron , and destroyed those Israelites who fell away from his worship. In his final act at Sinai, God gave Moses instructions for the Tabernacle , the mobile shrine by which he would travel with Israel to the Promised Land. From Sinai, Moses led the Israelites to the Desert of Paran on the border of Canaan. From there he sent twelve spies into

14338-467: The priestly code, at Leviticus 6:7, 7:37-38, 11:46-47, 13:59; 14:54-57, and 15:32-33. Colophons generally occur at the end of sources, and it is for this reason that Biblical Critics assert that the priestly code is composed of several originally separate documents placed together, with these colophons marking the ends of some of the source texts. Aside from these colophons, and obvious breaks between laws, such as those caused by narrative elements, for example

14472-506: The pronunciation of Egyptian msy in the relevant time period. The Israelites had settled in the Land of Goshen in the time of Joseph and Jacob , but a new Pharaoh arose who oppressed the children of Israel. At this time Moses was born to his father Amram , son (or descendant) of Kehath the Levite , who entered Egypt with Jacob's household; his mother was Jochebed (also Yocheved), who

14606-589: The release of the Israelites from slavery. Moses said that he could not speak eloquently, so God allowed Aaron , his elder brother, to become his spokesperson. After the Ten Plagues , Moses led the Exodus of the Israelites out of Egypt and across the Red Sea , after which they based themselves at Mount Sinai , where Moses received the Ten Commandments . After 40 years of wandering in the desert, Moses died on Mount Nebo at

14740-438: The ritual of Leviticus 14:2-8. There is also thought to be a different addition into this law, namely Leviticus 13:46b, and Leviticus 14:8b, adding the clause expelling lepers from society, backed up by an addition to the narrative giving a very thin account of Moses carrying out such expulsion. It is generally considered, in critical scholarship, that this change is due to an increasing strictness concerning hygiene, evident also in

14874-420: The ritual of purification after childbirth, which is strikingly similar to the rituals for purification after menstruation , and other bodily discharges ( bleeding , pus , vomit , etc.), at the end of Leviticus 15. Both, for example, involve two turtledoves, or two young pigeons brought to a priest, one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering , on the eighth day. According to textual criticism,

15008-498: The same by Moses gave rise to the cult of Apis . Finally, after having escaped another plot by killing the assailant sent by the king, Moses fled to Arabia , where he married the daughter of Raguel [Jethro], the ruler of the district. Artapanus goes on to relate how Moses returns to Egypt with Aaron, and is imprisoned, but miraculously escapes through the name of YHWH in order to lead the Exodus. This account further testifies that all Egyptian temples of Isis thereafter contained

15142-495: The social system. Duties involving directly the application of a moral principle are especially insisted on, particularly justice, integrity, equity, philanthropy, and generosity; for example insisting on strict impartiality and judges being appointed in every city, as well as insisting that fathers are not to be condemned judicially for the sins of their children, nor vice versa, in stark contrast to some other passages. Nevertheless, despite this general philanthropic nature, breaches of

15276-402: The southern Transjordan in the mid-late 13th century B.C." and that "archeology can do nothing" to prove or confirm either way. Some scholars, such as Konrad Schmid and Jens Schröter, consider Moses a historical figure. According to Solomon Nigosian, there are actually three prevailing views among biblical scholars: one is that Moses is not a historical figure, another view strives to anchor

15410-534: The spelling given in the Tanakh , argues that it combines "water" or "seed" and "pond, expanse of water," thus yielding the sense of "child of the Nile " ( mw - š ). The biblical account of Moses' birth provides him with a folk etymology to explain the ostensible meaning of his name. He is said to have received it from the Pharaoh's daughter : "he became her son. She named him Moses [ מֹשֶׁה , Mōše ], saying, 'I drew him out [ מְשִׁיתִֽהוּ , mǝšīṯīhū ] of

15544-423: The substance is often similar, the expression is nearly always different, for example the commandment concerning mourning at Deuteronomy 14:1 reflects Leviticus 19:28, and likewise the commandments of mixing kinds, at Leviticus 19:15 is reflected at Deuteronomy 16:19–20, but both occur in quite different phrasing. Thus it can not be said that the legislation of Deuteronomy is in any sense an expansion or development of

15678-491: The substitution of two turtledoves (or pigeons) for a lamb, reducing the cost to the provider of the sacrifice. While this is presented as being a response for poor sinners, critical scholarship interprets the section as indicating that, historically, an earlier sacrificial offering , of a lamb, was increasingly being replaced, over time, by a pair of turtledoves. Modification of this kind is also thought to be found twice in succession within Leviticus 5:1-13. A sacrifice involving

15812-399: The suggestion, supported by a majority of critical scholars, that there were two originally separate rituals which have been intertwined, one involving the two goats, at Leviticus 16:5, 16:7-10, and 16:14-28, and the other involving bullocks, constituting the remainder of Leviticus 16. Textual criticism also produces a noteworthy observation concerning Leviticus 12. This brief chapter concerns

15946-420: The supernatural with simply being fined for the sin. Nevertheless, these laws are still viewed as indicating gradual progression from the earlier layer, since they still show a remnant of the earlier ritual, the blood still being sprinkled on the sinner. Modification of this kind is thought to be evident in the law concerning leprosy; Leviticus 14:10-20 is regarded by critical scholarship as a later substitute for

16080-425: The tablets, and later ordered the elimination of those who had worshiped the golden statue, which was melted down and fed to the idolaters . God again wrote the ten commandments on a new set of tablets. Later at Mount Sinai , Moses and the elders entered into a covenant, by which Israel would become the people of YHWH, obeying his laws, and YHWH would be their god. Moses delivered the laws of God to Israel, instituted

16214-459: The two details about Moses that were most likely to be historical are his name, of Egyptian origin, and his marriage to a Midianite woman, details which seem unlikely to have been invented by the Israelites; in Smend's view, all other details given in the biblical narrative are too mythically charged to be seen as accurate data. The name King Mesha of Moab has been linked to that of Moses. Mesha also

16348-418: The unanimous opinion of modern biblical criticism is that Deuteronomy is not the work of Moses, as is the traditionally held opinion, but that it was, in its main parts, written in the seventh century B.C., during the reign of Josiah. It is not difficult to realize the significance which the book must have had if it were written at this time. It would have formed a great protest against the prevalent tendencies of

16482-435: The uncleanliness of objects which have made contact with carcasses, and is thus usually thought of, by critical scholars, as an even later addition than Leviticus 11:24-31. Leviticus 4 is of this vein, extending the laws of the "sin-offering" to specify the penalty for each level of sin. Additionally, the ritual for the offering itself is more elaborate than that described elsewhere, for example at Leviticus 9:8-11, and utilizes

16616-510: The water'." This explanation links it to the Semitic root משׁה , m-š-h , meaning "to draw out". The eleventh-century Tosafist Isaac b. Asher haLevi noted that the princess names him the active participle 'drawer-out' ( מֹשֶׁה , mōše ), not the passive participle 'drawn-out' ( נִמְשֶׁה , nīmše ), in effect prophesying that Moses would draw others out (of Egypt); this has been accepted by some scholars. The Hebrew etymology in

16750-414: The writer believes deducible from it. In the treatment of the laws, they are not merely collected, or a series of legal enactments repeated, but developed with reference to the moral and religious purposes which they can subserve, and to the motives from which it is perceived that the Israelite is ought to obey them. The Deuteronomic Code reflects particular social concerns, more specifically in dealing with

16884-444: The writing style, vocabulary, and so forth, is also indicative of a single author for the two chapters. Consequently, most biblical critics view Leviticus 12 as originally belonging immediately after Leviticus 15:30, as Leviticus 15 has the structure of discussion on male non-sexual discharges, followed by discussion on male sexual discharges ( semen ), followed by discussion on female non-sexual discharges, and thus Leviticus 12 completes

17018-759: Was a prophet who led the Israelites out of slavery in the Exodus . He is considered the most important prophet in Judaism and Samaritanism , and one of the most important prophets in Christianity , Islam , the Baháʼí Faith , and other Abrahamic religions . According to both the Bible and the Quran , God dictated the Mosaic Law to Moses, which he wrote down in the five books of

17152-600: Was a Midianite priest. It was to such a Moses that Yahweh reveals his real name, hidden from the Patriarchs who knew him only as El Shaddai . Against this view is the modern consensus that most of the Israelites were native to Palestine . Martin Noth argued that the Pentateuch uses the figure of Moses, originally linked to legends of a Transjordan conquest, as a narrative bracket or late redactional device to weld together four of

17286-499: Was an Exodus from Egypt. By his account, the Pharaoh Bocchoris , suffering from a plague , banished the Jews in response to an oracle of the god Zeus - Amun . A motley crowd was thus collected and abandoned in the desert. While all the other outcasts lay idly lamenting, one of them, named Moses, advised them not to look for help to gods or men, since both had deserted them, but to trust rather in themselves, and accept as divine

17420-435: Was beating a Hebrew. Moses, in order to escape Pharaoh's death penalty , fled to Midian (a desert country south of Judah), where he married Zipporah . There, on Mount Horeb , God appeared to Moses as a burning bush , revealed to Moses his name YHWH (probably pronounced Yahweh ) and commanded him to return to Egypt and bring his chosen people (Israel) out of bondage and into the Promised Land ( Canaan ). During

17554-484: Was kin to Kehath. Moses had one older (by seven years) sister, Miriam , and one older (by three years) brother, Aaron . Pharaoh had commanded that all male Hebrew children born would be drowned in the river Nile , but Moses' mother placed him in an ark and concealed the ark in the bulrushes by the riverbank, where the baby was discovered and adopted by Pharaoh's daughter , and raised as an Egyptian. One day, after Moses had reached adulthood, he killed an Egyptian who

17688-544: Was similar to statements made subsequently by Eupolemus. The Jewish historian Artapanus of Alexandria (2nd century BCE) portrayed Moses as a cultural hero, alien to the Pharaonic court. According to theologian John Barclay, the Moses of Artapanus "clearly bears the destiny of the Jews, and in his personal, cultural and military splendor, brings credit to the whole Jewish people". Jealousy of Moses' excellent qualities induced Chenephres to send him with unskilled troops on

17822-414: Was the historian "who came closest to a construction of Moses' religion as monotheistic and as a pronounced counter-religion." It recognized "only one divine being whom no image can represent ... [and] the only way to approach this god is to live in virtue and in justice." The Roman historian Tacitus (c. 56–120 CE) refers to Moses by noting that the Jewish religion was monotheistic and without

17956-585: Was written by the Deuteronomist . It is difficult to date the laws found in the Deuteronomic Code. There are many laws unique to Deuteronomy, such as the prohibition of sacrifice outside "the place which the Lord your God will choose" (Deuteronomy 12:5) and having a national Passover sacrifice in a national shrine (Deuteronomy 16:1–8). In contrast, other books in the Pentateuch refer to altars throughout Israel without condemnation. Both of these laws were observed for

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