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Full-Text Articles in Arts and Humanities

Scripturalization And The Aaronide Dynasties, James W. Watts Jan 2013

Scripturalization And The Aaronide Dynasties, James W. Watts

James Watts

Priests claiming descent from Aaron controlled the high priesthood of temples in Jerusalem and on Mount Gerizim in the Second Temple period. These Aaronides were in a position to influence religious developments in this period, especially the scripturalization of the Torah. The priests’ dynastic claims were probably a significant factor in the elevation of the Pentateuch to scriptural status. This claim can be tested by correlating what little we know about the Aaronide dynasties with what little we know about the scripturalization of two different portions of the Hebrew Bible, the Pentateuch and Ezra-Nehemiah.


The Political And Legal Uses Of Scripture, James W. Watts Jan 2013

The Political And Legal Uses Of Scripture, James W. Watts

James Watts

No abstract provided.


Relic Texts, James Watts Jun 2012

Relic Texts, James Watts

James Watts

Religious traditions typically ritualize their scriptures in three dimensions. Other kinds of texts may be ritualized in one or two dimensions (e.g. the performative dimension of the scripts of plays or sheet music, the semantic dimension of national law codes), but the regular ritualization of a text in all three dimensions usually distinguishes it as a scripture or sacred text. There are, however, some texts or, more accurately, some specific copies of texts, that tend to be ritualized only in the iconic dimension, and scriptures feature prominently among them. I term such texts “relic books.” Relic books are writings that …


The Rhetoric Of Sacrifice, James W. Watts Jan 2011

The Rhetoric Of Sacrifice, James W. Watts

James Watts

No abstract provided.