THEN THE PEOPLE STOOD AT A DISTANCE, WHILE MOSES DREW NEAR THE THICK DARKNESS WHERE GOD WAS - THE HEBREW CODE
THEN THE PEOPLE STOOD AT A DISTANCE, WHILE MOSES DREW NEAR THE THICK DARKNESS WHERE GOD WAS - THE HEBREW CODE
Author(s): Adriana Dana Listeş PopSubject(s): Christian Theology and Religion, History of Church(es), Theology and Religion, Biblical studies, Other Christian Denominations, Sociology of Religion, History of Religion
Published by: Editura Arhipelag XXI
Keywords: Moses; biblical law; political institution; divine authorship; Elephantine
Summary/Abstract: The biblical tradition ascertains Moses[1] as the archetypal legislator, though modern research calls it into doubt[2]. The metaphor “thick darkness” could be interpreted in various ways but in legal context it could be related to the procedure of freeing slaves mentioned in the collection of texts from Elephantine[3] in the formula “you are released from the shade to the sun”[4]. Bezalel Porten explained that “the emancipation formula was threefold, each time expanding the word "release" — "free," "from the shade to the sun," "to God/the god"[5]. Speiser acknowledged religion was the "backbone of society"[6] in ancient Israel as it was in Mesopotamia wherefrom the biblical law suffered some forms of influence[7]. Being part of the cuneiform legal tradition, ancient Hebrew law was characterized by the authority of the written legal document and the casuistic legal formulations.
Journal: Journal of Romanian Literary Studies
- Issue Year: 2025
- Issue No: 41
- Page Range: 1130-1136
- Page Count: 7
- Language: English
