Numbers 20:14-21 as a reply to Deuteronomy 23:4-9

Matan Orian

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

2 Scopus citations

Abstract

The law of Deuteronomy 23:2-9 (MT), stipulating who is to be excluded from the Assembly of God, envisaged a need to explain its absolute exclusion of two foreign nations (the Ammonites and the Moabites), alongside its more lenient approach towards members of two other foreign nations (the Edomites and the Egyptians), as expressed in their temporal exclusion from the Assembly. The eternal exclusion of the Ammonites and the Moabites is justified by their historical, unfriendly treatment of Israel on its march from Egypt to the Promised Land. The immediate question, however, is whether the other two nations mentioned in this law treated Israel any better, prior to that march and during its course. Indeed, answering this question in the negative appears to be the goal of another Pentateuchal text, Numbers 20:14-21. Underlying the criticism of Deuteronomy 23:4-9 in Numbers 20:14-21 is the Priestly-Deuteronomic fundamental controversy over the meaning of the covenant of circumcision.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)109-116
Number of pages8
JournalVetus Testamentum
Volume69
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Jan 2019
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Deuteronomy 2
  • Deuteronomy 23:4-9
  • Inner-Pentateuchal polemic
  • Numbers 20:14-21
  • The Priestly source
  • The covenant of circumcision

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Language and Linguistics
  • History
  • Religious studies
  • Linguistics and Language
  • Literature and Literary Theory

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