Leviticus: The Priestly Laws and Prohibitions from the Perspective of Ancient Near East and Africa

458 Pages·2008·3.15 MB·English

by  Johnson M. Kimuhu

Leviticus
Studies in Biblical Literature

Hemchand Gossai
General Editor

Vol. 115

PETER LANG
New York (cid:1) Washington, D.C./Baltimore (cid:1) Bern
Frankfurt am Main (cid:1) Berlin (cid:1) Brussels (cid:1) Vienna (cid:1) Oxford
Johnson M. Kimuhu

Leviticus

The Priestly Laws and Prohibitions
from the Perspective of
Ancient Near East and Africa

PETER LANG
New York (cid:1) Washington, D.C./Baltimore (cid:1) Bern
Frankfurt am Main (cid:1) Berlin (cid:1) Brussels (cid:1) Vienna (cid:1) Oxford
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Kimuhu, Johnson M.
Leviticus: the priestly laws and prohibitions from the perspective
of ancient Near East and Africa / Johnson M. Kimuhu.
p. cm. — (Studies in biblical literature; v. 115)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Family—Biblical teaching. 2. Kinship—Biblical teaching. 3. Bible.
O.T. Leviticus—Criticism, interpretation, etc. I. Title.
BS1255.6.F32K56 222’.1306—dc22 2007051201
ISBN 978-1-4331-0200-4
ISSN 1089-0645

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Printed in Germany
Dedicated to
the loving memory of my mother Leah Nyakĩo,
my father Joseph Kĩmũhu,
my father-in-law
John Mwangi,
and
our dear daughter
Leah Nyakĩo

Inyuothe Ngai aromũiga
handũ hega
rĩerainĩ

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Editor’s Preface................................................................................xiii
Preface................................................................................................xv
Acknowledgments............................................................................xvii
List of Abbreviations........................................................................xix
Introduction.........................................................................................1

Part 1: Understanding Biblical Laws and Prohibitions
from the Perspective of Ancient Near East.......................................5

1. Scholarly Works and Methodology...................................................7
Review of Nonbiblical Scholarly Works...............................................7
Emile Durkheim.............................................................................8
Claude Lévi-Strauss......................................................................11
Sigmund Freud.............................................................................13
Incest: African Perspective............................................................15
Critique of the Study of Kinship....................................................17
Conclusion....................................................................................19
Review of Scholarly Works on the Bible and the Ancient Near East...21
Priestly Laws and the Canaanites and Egyptians............................21
Priestly Laws and Apodictic Laws................................................24
Priestly Laws and the Covenant Formulary...................................26
Priestly Laws and the Ancient Near Eastern Legal Texts...............28
Priestly Laws and the Hebrew Bible Laws in General....................31
Conclusion....................................................................................34
Methodology.....................................................................................36
Diachronic Approach....................................................................37
Form-Critical Approach....................................................37
Redaction Approach.........................................................39
Synchronic Approach....................................................................40
Comparative Approach.................................................................40
Interdependence of Methodology..................................................42
viii Priestly Laws and Prohibitions

Notes.................................................................................................43

2. Family Laws in Leviticus 18............................................................59
Men of the Land Introduced (vss. 1–5)...............................................67
Deeds of the Men of the Land Stipulated (vss. 6–23)..........................69
Nakedness of the Near of Kin (vs. 6).............................................69
Nakedness of the Mother (vs. 7)....................................................72
Nakedness of a Stepmother (vs. 8)................................................77
Nakedness of a Uterine Sister or Half-sister (vs. 9)........................80
Nakedness of Grandchildren (vs. 10).............................................80
Nakedness of a Stepsister (vs. 11).................................................81
Nakedness of Aunts (vss. 12, and 13) and of a Father’s
Brother’s Wife (vs.14)..................................................................86
Nakedness of a Daughter-in-law, a Brother’s Wife,
and Others (vss. 15–17).................................................................90
Nakedness of a Wife and Her Sister (vs. 18)..................................93
Nakedness of a Menstruating Woman (vs. 19)...............................94
Adultery (vs. 20)...........................................................................95
Sacrificing Children to Molech (vs. 21).........................................96
Man-to-Man Union (vs. 22)..........................................................97
Bestiality (vs. 23)..........................................................................98
Men of the Land Punished (vss. 24–30)..............................................98
Conclusion........................................................................................100
Notes................................................................................................101

3. Incest among the Ancient Egyptians..............................................113
Historical Background......................................................................114
Abominations of the Ancient Egyptians............................................118
Pharaonic Times Royal Family Incestuous Marriages.......................119
Pharaonic Times Nonroyal Family Incestuous Marriages..................120
Ptolemaic and Roman Times Incestuous Marriages...........................121
Other Types of Incestuous and Forbidden Unions..............................123
Origin of Incestuous Relationships in Egypt......................................126
Love Passions...................................................................................129
Preservation of Property....................................................................132
Closed Royal Family.........................................................................136
Romans and Greeks..........................................................................138
Table of Contents ix

Incestuous Marriages in the Divine World.........................................139
Problems...........................................................................................142
Conclusion........................................................................................143
Notes................................................................................................145

4. Family Laws in Ugarit.....................................................................155
Sources.............................................................................................155
Discovery.........................................................................................156
City..................................................................................................157
Inhabitants........................................................................................158
External Influences...........................................................................162
Religion.......................................................................................162
Culture.........................................................................................163
Abominations of the Canaanites........................................................166
Marriage......................................................................................167
Brother-Sister Marriage...............................................................169
Prostitution and Fertility Cult.......................................................174
Cultic Prostitution...........................................................174
Fertility Cult in Ugaritic Literature..................................175
Fertility Cult in Nude Female Figurines...........................178
Adultery, Man-to-Man Union, and Bestiality................................182
Critique of the Use of Mythology as Evidence of Human Practice.....183
Conclusion........................................................................................187
Notes................................................................................................189

5. Hittite and Priestly Family Laws....................................................201
Hittite Laws in General.....................................................................202
Hittite Laws on Forbidden Relationships...........................................204
Structure of the Hittite Laws............................................................205
Forbidden Unions between Children and their
Parents (§§189–190)....................................................................207
Forbidden Unions between a Man and Woman in
General (§§191–198)...................................................................207
Forbidden Unions between Human Beings
and Beasts (§§199–200a).............................................................209
Marriage Laws and Forbidden Union in Lev 18.................................211
Conclusion........................................................................................214
Notes................................................................................................215