Numeri-Projekt: English version
Tradition and Redaction in the Book of Numbers
and Their Impact on the
Formation Process of the Pentateuch
Mercator Research Center Ruhr - Project PR 2010 - 0015
Participating scholars
Prof. Dr. Christian Frevel (Ruhr-University Bochum; chairman)
Prof. Dr. Thomas Pola (Dortmund University of Technology)
Prof. Dr. Aaron Schart (University of Duisburg-Essen)
News
The conference on "Torah in the Book of Numbers", held on April, 12th and 13th 2011 in Bochum, was accomplished successfully.
The homepage of the conference can be accessed » here...
A short report with some photos can be found » here...
Project plans
The final form of the Pentateuch is the result of complex processes, in which several traditions and texts where woven together by anonymous redactors over a period of a millenium. The research that tries to reconstruct these processes has yielded quite different and competing models. Debated are the size of a so called non-priestly narrative thread and its date, the extent and scope of the priestly stratum, and the redactional processes that have led to the acknowledgment of the Pentateuch as Torah, that is as God's law for Israel. At the same time the Torah was separated from the other historical works, especially Joshua, which were conceived as a kind of prophetic explikation of the Torah. The Book of Numbers has proven to stand in the midst of the recent debate, because the texts contained in Numbers
- form the narrative bridge between the Sinai-episode and the conquest of the land,
- display a very special literary character that stands in contrast to that of the texts in Gen-Lev on the one and to thos in Dtn-Jos on the other hand,
- reflect the social and institutional developments and conflicts of the post-exilic community (political leadership, priesthood, prophecy, etc.).
Within the recent scholarly debate the character of the final redaction, the sociological place of the anonymous redactors, and the relation of the texts to the history of the emerging post-exilic Judaisms are not sufficiently clear. From a comprehensive study of the Book of Numbers new revenues for future research can be expected:
- for understanding the pre-priestly tradition and its integration in the emerging Pentateuch,
- for the comprehension of the priestly narrative thread, especially its consistency and ending,
- for understanding the processes that led to the constitution of the Torah in early post-exilic time.
The narratives in the Book of Numbers have been long neglected in modern research, but they allow reliable insights into
- the hierarchically organized priesthood. The priestly order is constitutive for the emergence of the hierocratic organization of early Judaism in the Hellenistic period.
- the charismatic and democratic features of the post-exilic community. The Book of Numbers reflects the struggle between different claims to power within the 5th and 4th century.
- the relation of halachic and haggadic texts, which is more complex within Numbers than in any other part of the Torah. In this respect Numbers is a precursor to developments that became prominent in Qumran and early rabbinical literature.
- the emergence of a separatist identity in contrast to the nations by developing intolerant aspects, xenophobia and a problematic relationship to the state authority.
- a hitherto neglected attitude, especially in the Priestly code, to couch future-oriented social ideals and values into a narrative that contains episodes from a past time period that nevertheless is conceived as authoritative for the future.
The project is part of the UAMR- Alliance and supported by the MERCATOR research foundation from January 2011 until December 2012.