This dissertation seeks to refine the meaning of [Torah] in Psalms 1, 19, 37, 40, 78, 89, 94, 105, and 119. Through an exegetical analysis of the nine Psalms that utilize the term, the study argues that [Torah] most frequently refers to the written Pentateuch. Chapter 1 introduc…
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This dissertation examines the teaching function of the Israelite priests in the Old Testament. Chapter 1 presents a history of the research concerning the Israelite priests in general and their relationship to tôrâ in particular. Chapter 2 offers an overview of the various prie…
Readers of scripture, from antiquity to modernity, have acknowledged the significance of circumcision. The Rabbis averred “Great is circumcision, for it is of equal weight to all the commandments in the Torah” ( b. Ned. 32a). More than a millennium later, Gunkel (1997:365) echoe…
An intertextual analysis of the Apostle Paul's Torah theology in the light of other early Jewish Torah theologies. The thesis is that when Paul wrote negatively about Torah (Jewish Law) he was not addressing Torah per se, but rather a particular mode of envisioning Torah that is…
The historical and ideological antecedents to Jeremiah's activity, most notably the early traditions associated with Shiloh and Josiah's Deuteronomic reform, significantly inform any discussion of the prophet or the book that bears his name. The prophet's background as a member …
The fact that scholars depict Sheol either as the underworld where the dead continue their existence or simply the grave has resulted in contradictory conclusions, fierce polemic, and unremitting disputes. This lack of consensus makes it imperative to justify another approach, w…
This study interprets the theme of election in the book of Sirach. A central problem in the interpretation of Sirach concerns the relation of Wisdom and Torah. Many scholars interpret Ben Sira's correlation of the universal Wisdom tradition with Israel's particular traditions of…
This dissertation is a hermeneutic phenomenological study of synagogue-school teachers of Jewish sacred text. The phenomenological question that orients this study asks, What is the lived experience of teaching sacred text in a Conservative synagogue-school? This study takes pla…
Torah study is the definitive religious activity of Rabbinic Judaism. Earlier, Torah study did not enjoy preeminence, and this difference indicates that a dramatic shift took place in the conception of Torah. The emphasis on Torah study in Psalm 119 is unique within the Hebrew B…
The literary ideological and theological controversy conducted by Jewish and Christian intellects resulted from foundational tenets that stood in antagonistic confrontation. The rabbinic Sages held that ontological Torah, as the receptacle of divine utterance, was the instrument…
The identity of the Torah that Yahweh promised he would write on the hearts of New Covenant participants, as prophesied in Jeremiah 31:33 and understood later in New Testament times by Paul, has been disputed in biblical studies. Although discussions on the nature of the Torah o…
As the primary stratum of the rabbinic corpus, the Mishna establishes a dynamic between rabbinic authority and olam haba that sets the course for all subsequent rabbinic discussions of the idea. The Mishna Sanhedrin presents the rabbis as arbiters of the afterlife, who regulate …
The emerging consensus of Matthean scholars is that, with regard to its view of the law, Matthew's Gospel is the most "conservative" or traditionally Jewish document in the NT. Their view is largely based upon the "conservative" attitude toward Torah allegedly evinced in Matt 5:…
The apparent absence of secrecy in Israelite religion in early antiquity, in contrast with the Greek mystery schools and the pervasive, structural secrecy of Egypt, is the dissertation's opening problem. The study posits that the First Temple priests crafted a "disaster-proof" t…
This work seeks to demonstrate that the sermon is imperative and comparative to the commandments. Also, that they are necessary for the life of every believer. Not only are they important but also their requirements are rooted in the heart. The areas that will be compared includ…
R. Levi ben Gershom, or Gersonides (1288-1344), was an outstanding intellectual in the medieval Jewish world. He was a renowned astronomer, mathematician, philosopher and biblical exegete. This dissertation focuses on what is perhaps the most neglected aspect of Gersonides' thou…
This study examines the broad rhetorical, attributional and thematic features of Mekhilta de-Rabbi Ishmael (MRI) to evaluate the extent to which it is a coherent text and to suggest possible purposes underlying its composition. Part I introduces the topic. Chapter 1 reviews scho…
The question of Moses' authorship has been a foundational issue, and one of the major chapters, in the history of biblical interpretation. The problem derives from two verses in Deuteronomy 31: "And Moses wrote this Torah" (Deut 31:9); "When Moses had finished writing the words …
This dissertation investigates the religious phenomenon of the three images of Torah as a mediator between God and human beings which are manifest in Jewish and Christian sources from the Second Temple and Rabbinic periods through the Middle Ages. This study conducts a philologi…