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Informationen zum Autor JAMES W. WATTS is Professor of Hebrew Bible in the Department of Religion at Syracuse University. His research involves the overlaps between rhetoric, ritual and scriptures, with a particular focus on the Pentateuch. Klappentext Understanding the Pentateuch as a Scripture is a unique account of the first five books of the Bible, describing how Jews and Christians ritualize the Pentateuch as a scripture by interpreting it, by performing its text and contents, and by venerating the physical scroll and book. Pentateuchal studies are known for intense focus on questions of how and when the first five books of the Bible were composed, edited, and canonized as scripture. Rather than such purely historical, literary, or theological approaches, the author organizes this description of the Pentateuch from the perspectives of comparative scriptures and religious studies. He describes how the Pentateuch has been used in the centuries since it began to function as a scripture in the time of Ezra, and the origins of its ritualization before that time. The book: Analyzes the semantic contents of the Pentateuch as oral rhetoric that takes the form of stories followed by lists of laws and sanctions Gives equal space to its ritualization in the iconic and performative dimensions as to its semantic interpretation Fully integrates the cultural history of the Pentateuch and Bible with its influence on Jewish and Christian ritual, and in art, music, theatre, and film Understanding the Pentateuch as a Scriptur e is a groundbreaking work that highlights new research data and organizes the material to focus attention on the Pentateuch's -- and Bible's -- function as a scripture. Zusammenfassung A cutting-edge scholarly review of how the Pentateuch functions as a scripture! and how it came to be ritualized in this way. Inhaltsverzeichnis List of Boxes ix List of Tables xi List of Figures xii Abbreviations xv Preface xvii Acknowledgements xxii 1 Ritualized Text: The Pentateuch as a Scripture 1 Torah and Pentateuch 2 Scripture and Ritual 3 The Three Dimensions of Written Texts 6 Ritualizing Scriptures in Three Dimensions 8 The Pentateuch in Three Dimensions 10 Scripturalizing Torah in the Time of Ezra 13 Reading the Pentateuch as a Scripture 17 2 Textual Rhetoric: The Persuasive Shaping of the Pentateuch 19 The Pentateuch as Literature 20 The Pentateuch as Rhetoric 23 Logos: The Story¿List¿Sanction Rhetorical Strategy 25 Ethos and Pathos in Pentateuchal Rhetoric 59 3 Scroll, Tablet, and Codex: Ritualizing the Pentateuch's Iconic Dimension 68 The Iconic Dimension of Scriptures 69 The Pentateuch's Iconic Dimension After Ezra 70 Ezra's Scroll 70 Torah Scrolls in the Late Second Temple Period 71 Textual Amulets 74 Torah Arks 77 Synagogue Scrolls 80 Desecrated Torah Scrolls 84 Relic Torah Scrolls 85 Torah Myths 89 Scroll and Codex 92 Ritualizing Gospels and Bible instead of Torah 95 Publishing Torahs and Bibles 99 Decalogue Tablets 105 Summary 107 The Pentateuch's Iconic Dimension Before Ezra 107 The Tablets of the Commandments 108 The Ark of the Covenant as Torah Shrine 110 The Priestly Blessing Amulets 113 The Torah as Monumental Inscription 115 Josiah's Torah Scroll 116 The Pentateuch as Replacement for Tablets and Ark 120 4 Reading, Performance, and Art: Ritualizing the Pentateuch's Performative Dimension 123 The Performative Dimension of Scriptures 124 The Pentateuch's Performative Dimension After Ezra 126 Ezra's Torah Reading 126 Reading Torah in Later Second Temple Judaism 128 Reading...
