The 'The Book of the Covenant'

A Literary Approach

Joe M. Sprinkle

• Publisher: Sheffield Academic Press
• Year: 1994
• Print ISBN:
  9780567324818
• eBook ISBN:
  9780567588395
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Biblical Studies

This volume offers a synchronic, literary reading of the final form of the laws of Exodus 20.22-23.19 (commonly, though inaccurately labelled "The Book of the Covenant"), in contrast with primarily source- and form-critical approaches commonly utilized in the past. The work seeks to demonstrate that this literary unit is much more coherent, more integrated into its narrative context, less in need of the positing of corruptions, secondary insertions, rearrangements or the like than has usually been recognized. The approach instead seeks to find authorial purpose in each case where scholars have often posited scribal misadventure, "seams" between sources, disorder, contradiction, or corruption.

Table of contents

• Contents
• Preface
• Abbreviations
• Introduction
• Chapter 1 THE NARRATIVE FRAMEWORK OF EXODUS 20.22–23.33
• Chapter 2 ON IMAGES AND ALTARS: EXODUS 20.22–26
• Chapter 3 THE QUESTION OF SERVITUDE AND FREEDOM: EXODUS 21.2–11
• Chapter 4 OFFENSES BY HUMANS AGAINST OTHER HUMANS: EXODUS 21.12–27
• Chapter 5 GORING OXEN AND DANGEROUS PITS: EXODUS 21.28–36
• Chapter 6 THEFT AND DAMAGE OF PROPERTY: EXODUS 21.37–22.16
• Chapter 7 CULTIC REGULATIONS AND SOCIAL JUSTICE: EXODUS 22.17–23.19
• Chapter 8 EVALUATION, OBSERVATIONS AND CONCLUSION
• Bibliography
• Index of References
• Index of Authors