The Alien in Israelite Law

200 Pages·1991·0.26 MB·English

by  Christiana Van Houten

JOURNAL FOR THE STUDY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT
SUPPLEMENT SERIES
107
Editors
David J.A. Clines
Philip R. Davies
JSOT Press
Sheffield
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THE ALIEN IN
ISRAELITE LAW
Christiana van Houtcn
Journal for the Study of the Old Testament
Supplement Series 107
Copyright © 1991 Sheffield Academic Press
Published by JSOT Press
JSOT Press is an imprint of
Sheffield Academic Press Ltd
The University of Sheffield
343 Fulwood Road
Sheffield S10 3BP
England
Typeset by Sheffield Academic Press
and
Printed on acid-free paper in Great Britain
by Billing & Sons Ltd
Worcester
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
Van Houten, Christiana
The Alien in Israelite law.—(JSOT supplement
series. ISSN 0309-0787; 107)
I. Title H. Series
933.02
ISBN 1-85075-317-2
CONTENTS
Preface 7
Abbreviations 9
Chapter 1
THE ALIEN IN BIBLICAL RESEARCH 11
1. Introduction 11
2. Survey of Past Research 14
3. Proposal and Method 20
Chapter 2
THE ANCIENT CONTEXT 23
1. Ancient Near Eastern Legal Collections 23
2. The Alien in the Ancient Mediterranean 34
Chapter 3
THE PRE-DEUTERONOMIC LAWS 43
1. The Book of the Covenant 43
2. The Decalogue 62
3. Conclusion 66
Chapter 4
THE DEUTERONOMIC LAWS 68
1. Introductory Matters 69
2. The Deuteronomic Laws Pertaining to the Alien 77
3. Conclusion 106
Chapter 5
THE PRIESTLY LAWS 109
1. Introductory Matters 109
2. The Priestly Laws Pertaining to the Alien 119
3. Conclusion 155
6 The Alien in Israelite Law
Chapter 6
CONCLUSION 158
1. History of the Identity of the Alien 159
2. Development of the Forms of Laws 165
3. Development of Motivation Clauses 166
4. Characteristics of this Legal Development 173
Appendix
THE TRANSLATION OF -a nsr THE SEPTUAGINT 179
Bibliography 184
Index of References 193
Index of Authors 199
PREFACE
This book is based on a thesis entitled The Legal Status of the Alien: A
Study of the Pentateuchal Laws Pertaining to the Alien which was
submitted to the University of Notre Dame for the degree of PhD in
November, 1989. The greater part of the work remains unchanged
except for the chapter dealing with the Priestly laws. The recent book
by Daniel Smith, The Religion of the Landless (Bloomington: Meyer
Stone Books, 1989) convinced me that I had to rethink the dating of
the laws calling for equality between the alien and the native. These
laws, I concluded, did not fit in with the social dynamics of the
community in exile, but rather with the conflicts that group
experienced upon returning to their homeland.
I have followed the translation of the New Revised Standard
Version which happily now translates ger as 'alien', rather than as
'stranger' or 'sojourner' as it did previously. When the translation was
not precise enough for our purposes, I have noted that in a footnote.
I wish to thank especially my advisor, Dr Joseph Blenkinsopp, for
his encouragement and support for what turned out to be a long haul.
My readers, Dr John Collins, Dr Eugene Ulrich and Dr John H.
Yoder, made many helpful suggestions which have made this a
stronger, more clearly argued presentation. I also wish to
acknowledge the assistance of Dr Norbert Lohfink, who very kindly
gave me a copy of his speech, 'The Option for the Poor: Views of an
Old Testament Scholar', which he delivered at the Annual Meeting of
the Catholic Biblical Association in August 1990. His enthusiasm that
we had embarked on similar projects and had come to similar
conclusions was very encouraging to me. Calvin College has also
supported me in this endeavor by granting me a reduced teaching load
so that I could revise this manuscript. I am grateful for their
commitment to promoting excellence in scholarship. Finally, special
thanks are due to the editors of the Journal for the Study of the Old
8 The Alien in Israelite Law
Testament for their insightful comments and for their graciousness in
including this work in their Supplement Series.
Christiana de Groot van Houten
February 1991
ABBREVIATIONS
AnBib Analecta biblica
ANET J.B. Pritchard (ed.), Ancient Near Eastern Texts
ATR Anglican Theological Review
BA Biblical Archaeologist
CBQ Catholic Biblical Quarterly
HSM Harvard Semitic Monographs
HTR Harvard Theological Review
ICC International Critical Commentary
IDE G.A. Buttrick (ed.), Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible
IDBSu IDE, Supplementary Volume
Int Interpretation
JAOSSup Journal of the American Oriental Society Supplement
JBL Journal of Biblical Literature
JNES Journal of Near Eastern Studies
JSOT Journal for the Study of the Old Testament
JSOTSup Journal for the Study of the Old Testament Supplement Series
JSS Journal of Semitic Studies
NCB New Century Bible
NICOT New International Commentary on the Old Testament
OTL Old Testament Library
OTS Oudtestamentische Studien
RB Revue biblique
SBLDS SBL Dissertation Series
SBT Studies in Biblical Theology
SJT Scottish Journal of Theology
SOTSMS Society for Old Testament Study Monograph Series
TynBul Tyndale Bulletin
VT Vetus Testamentum
VTSup Vetus Testamentum, Supplements
ZAW Zeitschriftfur die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft