The Books of Leviticus and Numbers

A long time rather neglected by biblical scholars, the books of Leviticus and Numbers have recently, after the breakdown of the traditional documentary models, shifted into the centre of the pentateuchal research. According to the new consensus the Torah came into existence during the Persian period as a founding document of nascent Judaism; the books of Leviticus and Numbers contain numerous texts which reflect the very last stages of the formation of the Pentateuch in the Persian period, revealing at the same time that an urge was felt for a continuing actualization and interpretation of the mosaic Law. This volume contains papers about the books of Leviticus and Numbers presented at the Colloquium Biblicum Lovaniense in 2006. The first part gathers essays dealing with general questions of origin, structure and function of Leviticus and Numbers in the whole of the Pentateuch. The second part is dedicated to more particular issues of these books, covering the fields of textual criticism, history of redaction, synchronical analysis and reception history. With more than 30 papers written by international specialists, the present collection is a valuable contribution to the progress of scholarship on these two biblical books.