Does H Advocate the Centralization of Worship?

Heretofore it has been taken for granted or allegedly proven from Lev. 17.1-7 that centralization of worship is a fundamental doctrine of the Priestly sources. Elsewhere (Leviticus 1–16 [AB, 3; New York: Doubleday, 1991], pp. 29–34), I have argued that P allows for multiple sanctuaries. I now argue...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal for the study of the Old Testament 2000-06, Vol.25 (88), p.59-76
Main Author: Milgrom, Jacob
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Exegesis and biblical criticism
History and sciences of religions
Leviticus
Old testament
Pentateuch
Citations: Items that this one cites
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Heretofore it has been taken for granted or allegedly proven from Lev. 17.1-7 that centralization of worship is a fundamental doctrine of the Priestly sources. Elsewhere (Leviticus 1–16 [AB, 3; New York: Doubleday, 1991], pp. 29–34), I have argued that P allows for multiple sanctuaries. I now argue the same for H. Both textual and archaeological evidence demonstrate that multiple sanctuaries abounded in the time of H, eighth-century Judah. Hezekiah's reform was not based on H, but on political grounds. As for Lev. 17.1-7, its absolute ban on nonsacrificial slaughter could not be implemented if worship were limited to a single centralized sanctuary
ISSN:0309-0892
1476-6728
DOI:10.1177/030908920002508805