RT Article
T1 Before the Decalogue: In Search of the Oldest Written Torah
JF The catholic biblical quarterly
VO 85
IS 3
SP 385
OP 401
A1 Toorn, Karel van der 1956-
LA English
PB Catholic Biblical Association of America
YR 2023
UL https://www.ixtheo.de/Record/1861113293
AB Taking its cue from the earliest reference to written torah (Hos 8:12), this article seeks to identify the content and purpose of the oldest written tôrôt. I focus on quotations from "temple-entry liturgies" or temple tôrôt (Hos 4:2; Jer 7:9; Ps 50:18- 19; 81:9-11) and compare them with the Decalogue (Deut 5:17; Exod 20:13). It turns out that the Decalogue had a forerunner consisting of a small set of apodictic rules about individual social behavior. This prequel to the Decalogue had its origins in the sanctuaries of the Northern Kingdom. Though the various instances of temple torah were in origin oral performances, they had a material counterpart in written copies of a proto-Decalogue. These were monumental texts on display in several Israelite temples. In some respects they compare to the Balaam text from Deir ‘Alla and the theophany text from Kuntillet ‘Ajrud; in other respects they compare to the copies of Hammurabi’s Code present in the temples of Babylon and Sippar. What distinsguishes them from these texts, however, is their terseness and their claim to be copies of an original that was handwritten by God.
K1 Decalogue
K1 Hosea
K1 Psalms of Asaph
K1 entry torah
K1 law codes
K1 Torah
K1 written torah