Purity and Monotheism: Clean and Unclean Animals in Biblical LawThe distinction between clean and unclean animals, probably originating in tensions between shepherds and farmers, is in the biblical laws of Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14 transformed into an important theological principle. In this wide-ranging and elegantly written study, Houston argues that the avoidance of 'unclean' foods is a mark of the exclusive devotion of Israel to one god. In a concluding chapter, it is suggested that the abolition of the distinction in early Christianity corresponds to the universal horizon of the new faith. |
Contents
| 7 | |
| 9 | |
| 11 | |
| 13 | |
| 26 | |
Chapter 3 A REVIEW OF EXPLANATIONS | 68 |
Chapter 4 THE CONTEXT SURVEYED | 124 |
Chapter 5 THE CONTEXT INTERPRETED | 181 |
Chapter 6 PURITY AND MONOTHEISM | 218 |
Chapter 7 MONOTHEISM WITHOUT PURITY | 259 |
Bibliography | 283 |
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Other editions - View all
Purity and Monotheism: Clean and Unclean Animals in Biblical Law Walter Houston Limited preview - 1993 |
Purity and Monotheism: Clean and Unclean Animals in Biblical Law Walter Houston No preview available - 2009 |
Common terms and phrases
abominable ancient argues Ashdod Asherah associated Balaam beasts biblical birds boundaries Bronze Age camel cattle Chapter Christians classification clean and unclean cloven hooves context creatures criteria cult cultic culture custom deer defiled defined deity Deut Deuteronomy diet dietary laws distinction domestic animals Douglas Douglas's eaten evidence explain fallow deer Firmage forbidden gazelle Gentiles Harran Holiness Code hooves Horwitz human impurity interpretation Iron Age Israel Israelite Jerusalem Jewish Jews Judaism kind Lachish Leviticus 11 Mary Douglas means meat Milgrom monolatrous monotheism nomadic Old Testament Ophel original particular passage pastoral pastoralists Pentateuch pollution pork possible priestly priests prohibition purity reference relation remains ritual rules sacrifice sacrificed sanctuary Sarakatsani seen sense significance simply slaughter social society species structure suggests symbolic system taboo teeming things temple theory tion torah tradition true Ugarit unclean animals unclean flesh Weinfeld Yahweh