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The Ceremony of the Red Heifer: Its Purpose and Function in Narrative Context

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The Ceremony of the Red Heifer: Its Purpose and Function in Narrative Context Durham E-Theses The Ceremony of the Red Heifer: Its Purpose and Function in Narrative Context HUMANN, JOEL,RICHARD How to cite: HUMANN, JOEL,RICHARD (2011) The Ceremony of the Red Heifer: Its Purpose and Function in Narrative Context , Durham theses, Durham University. Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/608/ Use policy The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that: • a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in Durham E-Theses • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. Please consult the full Durham E-Theses policy for further details. Academic Support Oce, Durham University, University Oce, Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HP e-mail: [email protected] Tel: +44 0191 334 6107 http://etheses.dur.ac.uk 2 The Ceremony of the Red Heifer: Its Purpose and Function in Narrative Context by Joel Humann Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Theology and Religion University of Durham Copyright c 2011 by Joel Humann Abstract The Ceremony of the Red Heifer: Its Purpose and Function in Narrative Context Joel Humann The present thesis is a synchronic investigation of the ceremony of the Red Heifer of Num 19, which describes a purificatory ritual that cleanses persons who have become defiled through contact with the dead. In seeking the autho- rial intent and meaning behind the elusive symbolism of the rite, two avenues complex חטאת! are pursued: 1) an investigation of the rite’s relationship to the of sacrifices; 2) an analysis of the text of Num 19 from within, and in rela- tionship to, its narrative framework in Numbers and the Torah. Comparative reveals that the Red Heifer is best understood as a rite חטאת! study with other de passage which effects separation and transfer from a state of impurity. In narrative context, this rite of separation entails a spatial transfer—separation from the domain of death typified by the wilderness and reintegration into the camp of Israel gathered around the holy Sanctuary. Narrative context sup- plies much of the symbolic import of the law. By means of its placement in Numbers, juxtaposition with narrative, and employment of allusive keywords, the prescriptions of the ritual text are endowed with symbolic meaning. The Red Heifer thematises Israel’s transit through the wilderness, the death of the old generation and the birth of the new. Its textual location contributes to Numbers’ rhetorical concern for high-priestly succession. Lastly, the primeval narratives of Creation and Flood, the story of Israel’s passage through the Red Sea, and the drama of man’s expulsion from the Garden of Eden, all pro- vide cosmological and foundational motifs with which the symbolism of the ceremony of the Red Heifer interacts. i Declaration This thesis is the product of my own work and does not include work that has been presented in any form for a degree at this or any other university. All quotations from, and reference to, the work of persons other than myself have been properly acknowledged throughout. Statement of Copyright The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. No quotation from it should be published in any format, including electronic and the internet, without his prior written consent, and information derived from it should be appropriately acknowledged. ii Contents Abstract . i Declaration & Statement of Copyright . ii Abbreviations . vi Acknowledgements . ix 1 Introduction 1 1.1 Paradoxes and Problems: A Brief Survey of Interpretation . 4 1.2 A Statement of the Problem and Approach . 30 and the Red Heifer 33 חטאת! 2 Offering in Leviticus . 36 חטאת! The 2.1 Expiatory or Purificatory? . 41 :חטאת! The 2.2 as an Expiatory Sacrifice . 41 חטאת! The 2.2.1 as a Purificatory Rite . 43 חטאת! The 2.2.2 46 . חטאת! The Two Kinds of 2.2.3 50 . חטאת! Milgrom’s Theology of the 2.3 2.4 Milgrom and the “Paradox” of Num 19 . 54 Theory . 63 חטאת! Critique of Milgrom’s 2.5 as a rite de passage? .................. 67 חטאת! The 2.6 Concluding Remarks . 74 :חטאת הוא! 2.7 iii 3 A Close Analysis of Numbers 19 78 3.1 The Structure of Numbers 19 . 79 3.1.1 Diachronic Analyses of the Structure of Num 19 . 79 3.1.2 The Binary Structure of Numbers 19 . 88 3.2 Numbers 19.1–13 . 92 3.2.1 The Superscription of Num 19.1–13 . 92 3.2.2 The Character of the Victim . 103 3.2.3 The Roles of Aaron and Eleazar . 110 3.2.4 The Burning of the Heifer . 124 3.2.5 Cedar, Hyssop and Scarlet Thread . 127 3.2.6 The “Water of Impurity” . 133 137 . (נפש!) The Corpse 3.2.7 3.2.8 The Consequence and Punishment for Failure to Purify . 144 3.3 Numbers 19.14–22 . 158 3.3.1 Situations Requiring Purification: Num 19.14–16 . 159 160 . מי נדה! The Application of the 3.3.2 Penalty . 165-כרת! Reiteration of the 3.3.3 3.3.4 The Contraction of Secondary Impurity . 167 3.4 Numbers 19: Concluding Remarks . 169 4 The Composition of Numbers 175 4.1 The Structure and Theme of Numbers . 177 4.1.1 The Problem of Numbers . 178 4.1.2 Death of the Old and Birth of the New Generation . 184 4.1.3 The Theme of Punishment and Forgiveness . 191 4.1.4 Narrative and Law—An Interpretive Key? . 198 4.2 Law and Narrative . 201 iv 5 Numbers 19 in Narrative Context 212 5.1 The Placement of Numbers 19: An Initial Consideration . 213 5.2 Death and Life in the Wilderness . 216 5.3 Numbers 19 and High-Priestly Succession . 231 5.4 Water in the Wilderness . 236 5.5 Tabernacle, Eden and the Red Heifer . 246 6 Summary & Concluding Remarks 261 Bibliography 266 v Abbreviations Texts and Versions 1QS Community Rule / Manual of Discipline (Dead Sea Scrolls) 11QT Temple Scroll (Dead Sea Scrolls) 4QMMT Halakah (Dead Sea Scrolls 4Q394–99) 4QNumb Numbers (Dead Sea Scrolls) 4QTohBa Laws of the Red Heifer (Dead Sea Scrolls 4Q276) 4QTohBb Laws of the Red Heifer (Dead Sea Scrolls 4Q277) Ant. Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews AV Authorised Version ‘Avod. Zar. Tractate ‘Abodah Zarah Barn. Epistle of Barnabas ET English Text G Greek Text (Septuagint) Kel. Tractate Kelim m. Mishnah MT Masoretic Text NEB New English Bible NT New Testament Num. R. Numbers Rabbah Ohol. Tractate Oholot OT Old Testament Par. Tractate Parah Pes. K. Pesiqta de Rab Kahana Pes. R. Pesiqta Rabbati S Syriac Version (Peshitta) Sam. Samaritan Text Sanh. Tractate Sanhedrin Somn. Philo, De somniis Spec. Leg. Philo, De specialibus legibus T Targum TJ II Fragment Targum (Targum Jerusalem II) TNf Targum Neofiti I TO Targum Onkelos TP Palestinian Targum TPJ Targum Pseudo-Jonathan V Vulgate vi Periodicals, Reference Works and Serials AJT The American Journal of Theology AB Anchor Bible ArBib The Aramaic Bible AUSDDS Andrews University Seminary Doctoral Dissertation Series BASOR Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research BETL Bibliotheca ephemeridum theologicarum lovaniensium Bib Biblica BibInt Biblical Interpretation: A Journal of Contemporary Approaches BJS Brown Judaic Studies BKAT Biblischer Kommentar: Altes Testament BSac Bibliotheca Sacra BTB Biblical Theology Bulletin: A Journal of Bible and Theology BWANT Beiträge zur Wissenschaft vom Alten und Neuen Testament BZAR Beihefte zur Zeitschrift für Altorientalische und biblische Rechtsgeschichte CBQ Catholic Biblical Quarterly DJD Discoveries in the Judaean Desert DSD Dead Sea Discoveries EHAT Exegetisches Handbuch zum Alten Testament ETL Ephemerides theologicae lovanienses EvQ Evangelical Quarterly ExpTim Expository Times FAT Forschungen zum Alten Testament HSM Harvard Semitic Monographs HTR Harvard Theological Review ICC International Critical Commentary Int Interpretation JAOS Journal of the American Oriental Society JBL Journal of Biblical Literature JETS Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society JJS Journal of Jewish Studies JPS Jewish Publication Society JQR Jewish Quarterly Review JR Journal of Religion JSJ Journal for the Study of Judaism in the Persian, Hellenistic and Roman Period JSOT Journal for the Study of the Old Testament JSOTSup Journal for the Study of the Old Testament, Supplement Series KHAT Kurzer Hand-Kommentar zum Alten Testament LCL Loeb Classical Library NCB New Century Bible NICOT New International Commentary on the Old Testament NRTL Nouvelle Revue Théologique Louvain vii Numen Numen: International Review for the History of Religions OBO Orbis biblicus et orientalis OTE Old Testament Essays OTG Old Testament Guides OTL Old Testament Library OTS Oudtestamentische Studiën Prooftexts Prooftexts: a Journal of Jewish Literary History RB Revue biblique RevQ Revue de Qumran SB Sources bibliques SBLDS SBL Dissertation Series SBLSCS SBL Septuagint and Cognate Studies Series SBLSP SBL Seminar Papers Semeia Semeia: An Experimental Journal for Biblical Criticism SJLA Studies in Judaism in Late Antiquity SJT Scottish Journal of Theology SR Studies in Religion/Sciences religieuses StudOr Studia orientalia TDOT Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament TLOT Theological Lexicon of the Old Testament TOTC Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries VT Vetus Testamentum WBC Word Biblical Commentary WMANT Wissenschaftliche Monographien zum Alten und Neuen Testament ZAH Zeitschrift für Althebraistik ZAW Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft viii Acknowledgements I wish to thank my supervisor, Professor Robert Hayward, from whose insight, encouragement and enthusiasm for the topic of the Red Heifer I have benefited greatly.
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