Fifth Century Patristic and Rabbinic Ethical Interpretation of Cult and Ritual in Leviticus

Fifth Century Patristic and Rabbinic Ethical Interpretation of Cult and Ritual in LeviticusSyriaca.org: The Syriac Reference PortalThe National Endowment for the HumanitiesThe International Balzan Prize FoundationDavid A. Michelsoncbsc_adminRecord added to Zotero bycbsc_adminSyriaca.org: The Syriac Reference Portalhttp://syriaca.org/cbss/W2MBS2Q3/tei

Distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.

2024-08-15-04:00

Born digital.

CREATED: This bibl record was autogenerated from a Zotero record.Scott A.SwansonFifth Century Patristic and Rabbinic Ethical Interpretation of Cult and Ritual in Leviticushttp://syriaca.org/cbss/W2MBS2Q3https://www.zotero.org/groups/a_comprehensive_bibliography_on_syriac_studies/items/W2MBS2Q3https://www.zotero.org/groups/4861694/items/W2MBS2Q32004This is a comparative study of the Leviticus commentary of Cyril of Alexandria and Theodoret of Cyrus, along with the contemporary aggadic midrash of the Rabbis, Leviticus Rabbah. The focus is on their reinterpretation of the sacrificial cult and ritual impurity. Relationship to previous exegetical traditions is also considered: for the Fathers, Origen's homilies and scholia, fragments from Eusebius of Emesa, Diodore and Apollinaris; for the Rabbis, especially Sifra. This is also set against the background of the development of ideas of sacrifice and ritual from Second Temple times to late antiquity. The late 4 th through the 5 th centuries witnessed a heightened polemical confrontation between Jews and Christians, and this gave impetus to an exegetical effort by both sides to offer a contemporary religious and ethical meaning for outmoded forms of cult and ritual law. Yet, while the polemic inhibited any significant dialogue, the shared heritage of biblical and Second Temple traditions, as well as common late antique religious ideas, resulted in significant similarities of both hermeneutical approach and exegetical conclusions. For example, common themes are the true inner meaning of sacrifice as the offering of one's life and doing good deeds, and leprosy as a metaphor for sin and its consequences. Hermeneutically, it becomes clear that aggadic midrash and Christian typology have significant points of contact. Our patristic and rabbinic interpreters employ metaphor, symbol, and analogical reasoning in their treatment of this material, often in parallel ways. Also, the approaches of Cyril and Theodoret have much more in common than is typically thought. The inadequacy of the standard Alexandrian/Antiochene dichotomy is demonstrated. In Part 1, we situate each of our principals in their unique contexts of Jewish-Christian confrontation and respective exegetical traditions. In Part 2, we examine our commentators' interpretations of sacrifice, focusing especially on topics from Lev. 1-3. In Part 3, we compare their derivation of moral instruction from the pure and impure animals (Lev. 11), and the laws of leprosy (Lev. 13-14). Some of these interpretations diverge considerably, and yet we find significant correspondence of both goal and method. Swanson, Scott A. “Fifth Century Patristic and Rabbinic Ethical Interpretation of Cult and Ritual in Leviticus.” Ph.D. dissertation, Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion (Ohio), 2004. Scott A. Swanson, Fifth Century Patristic and Rabbinic Ethical Interpretation of Cult and Ritual in Leviticus (Ph.D. dissertation, Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion (Ohio), 2004).Antiochene schoolLeviticusOld TestamentTheodoret of CyrusV CEexegesis