Reading Law : the Rhetorical Shaping of the Pentateuch
Watts here argues that conventions of oral rhetoric were adapted to shape the literary form and contents of the Pentateuch. The large-scale structure-stories introducing lists of laws that conclude with divine sanctions-reproduces a common ancient strategy for persuasion. The laws' use of direct address, historical motivations and frequent repetitions serve rhetorical ends, and even the legal contradictions seem designed to appeal to competing constituencies. The instructional speeches of God and Moses reinforce the persuasive appeal by characterizing God as a just ruler and Moses as a faithfu
1 online resource (190 pages).
9780567193339, 0567193330
1049914578
Acknowledgments
Abbreviations
Introduction
Chapter 1 READING
1. Public Readings
2. The Possibility of Law Readings
3. The Probability of Law Readings
4. Writing Law for Public Reading
Chapter 2 RHETORIC
1. Rhetoric in Biblical Studies
2. The Rhetoric of Story, List and Divine Sanction
3. Pentateuchal Rhetoric
Chapter 3 INSTRUCTION
1. Address
2. Motivation
3. Repetition
4. Variation
5. Narration
Chapter 4 COMMANDMENT
1. YHWH as Law-Giver
2. Moses as Law-Speaker
3. Command and Audience
Chapter 5 LAW. 1. Law and Religion
2. The Composition of the Pentateuch
3. The Extent and Genre of the Pentateuch
4. The Meaning of Torah
Postscript on Rhetorical Ethics
Bibliography
Index of References
Index of Authors
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Index of Selected Topics
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