Priestly Disability and Centralization of the Cult in the Holiness Code
This article analyzes how the notion of priestly disability in Lev. 21.16–23 is used in the Holiness Code (H) to construct social identity, shape culture, and organize the society of ancient Israel based on the cultural model of disability. The present study finds that the laws concerning the disabl...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Published: |
2022
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| In: |
Journal for the study of the Old Testament
Year: 2022, Volume: 46, Issue: 3, Pages: 291-305 |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Old Testament
/ Bible. Levitikus 21,16-24
/ Leviticus
/ Priest
/ Reinheitsgebot
/ Holiness (motif)
/ Physical integrity
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| IxTheo Classification: | HA Bible HB Old Testament |
| Further subjects: | B
Disability
B Holiness Code B Priest B Marginalization B Stigma B Cult Centralization |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | This article analyzes how the notion of priestly disability in Lev. 21.16–23 is used in the Holiness Code (H) to construct social identity, shape culture, and organize the society of ancient Israel based on the cultural model of disability. The present study finds that the laws concerning the disabled priests were used in H as a strategy for reconstructing and narrating a new social order, namely, the centralized cult. Although the disabled priests, in contrast to able-bodied priests, were marginalized insofar as they were banned from the most elite rites, they maintained a higher status in the cult compared to other groups in both the priestly and non-priestly communities. Thus, their unique priesthood status was affirmed regardless of their disability. Furthermore, by reinforcing the idea of the officiating priests as the normate image, H’s discourse on priestly disability centralized the authority in the cult of ancient Israel and granted power to the priests. |
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| ISSN: | 1476-6728 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Journal for the study of the Old Testament
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1177/03090892211032245 |