Thomas Dozeman | United Theological Seminary (original) (raw)

Papers by Thomas Dozeman

THE PENTATEUCH INCLUDES THE FIRST FIVE BOOKS of the Hebrew Bible (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Num... more THE PENTATEUCH INCLUDES THE FIRST FIVE BOOKS of the Hebrew Bible (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy). These books separate into two unequal parts: Genesis and Exodus-Deuteronomy. Genesis traces the ancestral origins of Israel. No single character dominates the story. Genesis 1-11 presents a panoramic view of creation, including the formation of heaven and earth and all humanity. The time span from the creation of Adam (Gen. 1:26-27) to the birth of Terah, the father of Abraham (Gen. 11:24), is 1,876 years. Genesis 12-50 narrows in scope to chronicle the family history of Israel through a series of migrations. Israel's story begins in Ur of Babylon with Terah. The main subject matter concerns the three original generations of Israelites represented by Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, whose stories take place primarily within Canaan, the land promised by God to Abraham and his descendants (Gen. 12:1-4). Genesis ends with the fourth generation of Israelites (i.e., Jose...

L'intention de l'A. est d'analyser le terme hebreu signifiant mer rouge du point de v... more L'intention de l'A. est d'analyser le terme hebreu signifiant mer rouge du point de vue de la tradition de l'exode et de la traversee du Jourdain. Le terme de mer rouge apparait trois fois dans le contexte de l'exode: Exode 15:4 dans la chanson de la mer lorsque Pharaon et son armee sont aneantis; en Exode 13:18 dans un recit de voyage lorsqu'Israel quitte l'Egypte; en Exode 15:22 lorsqu'Israel quitte la mer rouge pour s'engager dans le desert de Shur. On rencontre egalement le terme de mer rouge dans Josue 4:21-24 qui fait le recit de la traversee du Jourdain par la generation du prophete

L'A. met en lumiere dans son analyse, un theme qui donne son unite aux parties de la legende ... more L'A. met en lumiere dans son analyse, un theme qui donne son unite aux parties de la legende de I Rois 13, sous sa forme predeuteronomiste: les criteres de la fausse et de la vraie prophetie.

Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Religion, 2016

The Pentateuch (“five books”) is the title for the first five books of the Bible in the Greek tra... more The Pentateuch (“five books”) is the title for the first five books of the Bible in the Greek translation, known as the Septuagint (LXX). The more original title is the Hebrew, Torah, meaning “law.” The revelation and composition of the Torah is attributed to Moses, which is reflected in the additional designation of the books as the “Torah of Moses.” The authorship of the Pentateuch is central to its interpretation in Jewish and Christian tradition. The Mosaic authorship characterized the interpretation of the Pentateuch in the precritical period of research. The study of the Pentateuch in the modern era has been dominated by the quest to identify its anonymous authors and the changing social contexts in which the literature was written.

Journal of Biblical Literature, 1999

Israel am Gottesberg: Eine Untersuchung zur Literargeschichte der vorderen Sinaiperikope Ex 19-24... more Israel am Gottesberg: Eine Untersuchung zur Literargeschichte der vorderen Sinaiperikope Ex 19-24 und deren historischem Hintergrund, by Wolfgang Oswald. OBO 159. Freiburg: Universitatsverlag; Gottingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1998. Pp. x + 286. S.Fr. 89.00. The book is a dissertation written under Thomas Kruger for the University of Zurich. Oswald's aim is to reassess the literary-historical development of Exodus 19-24 and the social circumstances giving rise to the text. In chapter I Oswald eschews source criticism in favor of a supplemental or redaction approach. Current research (e.g., Blum, Dozeman, Renaud, Van Seters) from this perspective, however, has left important questions unresolved: the relationship of literary criticism and tradition history, the role of theology and theory in the interpretation of literature, and the need for clearer description of social setting to account for the formation of Exodus 19-24. These questions provide the central impetus for Oswald's study. Chapter 2 is a synchronic reading of Exodus 19-24 in the larger context of Exodus-Numbers. The itinerary structure of the exodus and the wilderness journey, the varieties of law codes (six), and the many trips by Moses up and down the mountain (nine) create degrees of literary incoherence. Close reading indicates points of tension with regard to textual topography (e.g., distinct names, locations, actions, and deitic elements surrounding Moses' trips to and from God on the mountain). Thus God lives permanently on the mountain, dwells in heaven, approaches in a cloud, and descends to the summit, while theophany also changes in location. Textual topographies provide a window into distinctive epistemologies (e.g., verbs of perception, knowledge, and communication), with the result that the content of theophany shifts between visual and auditory experiences. The synchronic study yields a variety of textual typologies in chapter 3 (YHWH-Yarad; YHWH-Mountain; YHWH-Approach; YHWH-Heaven; People-- Ascend; Visio-Dei). The process by which these typologies are interwoven and the social context out of which there were created are described in chapter 4. Oswald seeks to demonstrate in chapters 3 and 4 that incoherence in the present form of the text must be read in light of its formation, and that the process of growth must be grounded in concrete social and political contexts. The results can be summarized in three phases. Law is essential throughout the development of the literature. There is no theophany independent of law. First, a deuteronomistic perspective evolves through four stages (1) A Mountain of God Pericope (Exod 19:2b, 3a, loa-11a, 14a-15b, 16-17, 18b, 19a; 20:18b-d, 21be, 22a; 21:2-23:19; 24:3, 12-13 18be) is part of a larger narrative beginning with the exodus, the Exodus-Gottesberg-Narrative (EG). The Book of the Covenant is central to the EG, as the legal charter for an exilic community located at Mizpeh and led by Gedaliah. It indicates a break with the Davidic monarchy-the exodus and the premonarchical period become the paradigmatic time in history, law is from God independent of the king, and worship is modeled without priests. (2) Redactors, most likely from Mizpeh, add a democratizing element with the Decalogue (Exod 20:1, 2-17, 19, 21a)-Moses is now with the people in hearing the divine word. (3) The theme of covenant (Exod 19:3b-7a, 7c-8, 9f., 13f.; 20:22b-23; 21: 1; 24:48) is woven into the EG in the early postexilic (Persian) period as a result of conflicts between residents in the land and the Gola returnees from Babylon (i.e., land possession, urban vs. rural life, Mizpeh vs. Jerusalem as the religious and social center, the nature of political organization in relationship to Persia). The covenant texts emphasize an exclusive allegiance with YHWH to express opposition to Persian influence. (4) The role of the elders (Exod 24:13a-14), the messenger texts (Exod 23:20-33), and the command for Israel to ascend the mountain (Exod 19:13f. …

Journal of Biblical Literature, 2003

Page 1. JBL 122/3 (2003) 449–466 GEOGRAPHY AND HISTORY IN HERODOTUS AND IN EZRA-NEHEMIAH THOMAS B... more Page 1. JBL 122/3 (2003) 449–466 GEOGRAPHY AND HISTORY IN HERODOTUS AND IN EZRA-NEHEMIAH THOMAS B. DOZEMAN tdozeman@united.edu 314 Stewart Drive, Yellow Springs, OH 45387 The sequence of ...

Journal of Biblical Literature, 1998

... Gen 21:19 focuses on Hagar and repeats motifs from her original encounter with God in Gen 16:... more ... Gen 21:19 focuses on Hagar and repeats motifs from her original encounter with God in Gen 16:13-14 (eg, God [:',Tl]; new vision [tiH ... For discussion, see W. Zimmerli, I am Yahweh (Atlanta: John Knox, 1982) 1-7. 31 RL Cohn, The Shape of Sacred Space: Four Biblical Studies ...

Journal of Biblical Literature, 2000

... A mask, according to Ronald Grimes, is any mode of facial stylization intended to transform t... more ... A mask, according to Ronald Grimes, is any mode of facial stylization intended to transform the body.25 A mask, therefore, is a disguise, but ... that Exod 34:29-35 brings the narrative of Exodus 32-34 to a quiet con-clusion where tensions surrounding divine presence are resolved ...

Journal of Hebrew Scriptures, 2013

Interpretation: A Journal of Bible and Theology, 1993

PASTORS, students, and scholars familiar with the previous edition of The New Oxford Annotated Bi... more PASTORS, students, and scholars familiar with the previous edition of The New Oxford Annotated Bible (1973, 1977) will find this edition so far superior to its predecessor that they will eagerly discard that one in favor of this one. As many already know, the major difference be tween the two editions is that the annota tions of this one are no longer keyed to the RSV but to the NRSV, which first appeared as recently as 1989. Beyond this, the annotations themselves have been thoroughly recast or rewritten—as have the many essays explaining histori cal, religious, and literary aspects of the Bible—and the use of cross references within the annotations has been signifi cantly enhanced. The great array of maps printed at the end is a treasure trove in itself. In short, this edition of the NOAB, compared with its earlier counterpart, has been fully revised and greatly expanded.

Interpretation: A Journal of Bible and Theology, 2009

Interpretation: A Journal of Bible and Theology, 2005

Biblical writers present a grand vision of the priestly vocation, in which the sacramental life o... more Biblical writers present a grand vision of the priestly vocation, in which the sacramental life of worship is translated into an ethical mission to the world. It is a vision in which the priestly vocation of the ordained in the sanctuary and the priestly vocation of the laity in the world work in concert to fulfill the divine vision of a transformed earth. 1

LIBRARY OF HEBREW BIBLE OLD …, 2007

The Journal of Hebrew Scriptures, 2010

An acknowledged expert on the Hebrew Bible, Thomas Dozeman offers a fresh translation of the Hebr... more An acknowledged expert on the Hebrew Bible, Thomas Dozeman offers a fresh translation of the Hebrew and Greek texts of the book of Joshua and explores the nature, function, and causes of the religious violence depicted therein. By blending the distinct teachings of Deuteronomy and the Priestly literature, Dozeman provides a unique interpretation of holy war as a form of sacred genocide, arguing that, since peace in the promised land required the elimination of the populations of all existent royal cities, a general purging of the land accompanied the progress of the ark of the covenant. This essential work of religious scholarship demonstrates how the theme of total genocide is reinterpreted as partial conquest when redactors place Joshua, an independent book, between Deuteronomy and Judges. The author traces the evolution of this reinterpretation of the central themes of religious violence while providing a comparison of the two textual versions of Joshua and an insightful analysis...