Following on from the paperback edition of Leviticus as Literature, this is the revised paperback edition of Mary Douglas's classical account of the Book of Numbers. Up to now Bible scholars have tended to dismiss Numbers as a chaotic mix of narrative and laws. Mary Douglas argues that, like Leviticus, Numbers is actually a highly complex book arranged in a regular ring structure which plots the narratives and laws into 12 parts. She argues that it is only through an understanding of the ring formation of these parts that one can fully appreciate the meanings behind this complex work.
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Editorial Reviews
Review
`Review from previous edition There are many illuminating remarks and informative discussions scattered through its pages.' J. W. Rogerson, Times Literary Supplement, 1994
About the Author
Mary Douglas is also the author of Leviticus as Literature (1999).
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18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Stunning Insight and Smooth, Lucid Prose,
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This review is from: In the Wilderness: The Doctrine of Defilement in the Book of Numbers (Journal for the Study of the Old Testament. Supplement Series, 158) (Paperback)
Mary Douglas is very simply brilliant. That she's chosen to shine her unique light on the Book of Numbers is great good fortune for anyone who dives into this book. I wish I'd discovered her earlier on in my biblical research, but no matter. Perhaps I had to be ready for the insights she reveals into the reasoning that might lie beyond the rules pertaining to corpse impurity and the associations that might connect the ashes of the red heifer (used in ritual cleansing) to another obscure rite involving a woman accused of adultery. She mines the Bible for incalculable riches where others might shake their heads in confusion. Metaphor is alive to her. She feels the heartbeat behind the words. Her conclusions are undeniably brilliant, and she is compulsively readable and enjoyable at the same time. That this book is currently "not available" is dreadfully unfortunate. I was able to get a hardcover fairly easily however, and I urge others to track down the text even if it takes time. Meanwhile I'm on to more of Mary Douglas, of course.
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This review is from: In the Wilderness: The Doctrine of Defilement in the Book of Numbers (Journal for the Study of the Old Testament. Supplement Series, 158) (Paperback)
Mary Douglas' In The Wilderness: The Doctrine of Defilement in the Book of Numbers is truly magnificent.
This book came highly recommend; for, Professor Alan Segal of Columbia University recommended this fine work. Douglas's book provides marvelous insight into how the Babylonian exile influenced the shaping of the book of Numbers, and Douglas' book provides marvelous insight into the message this highly skilled work (the book of Numbers) provides. Well done! Barry C. Gaynor, M.Div., M.S.W.
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Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
The object of this study is to open a place for a new reading of the book of Numbers. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
legal rung, story rungs, enclave religion, second temple community, aniconic religion, biblical defilement, enclave culture, priestly editors, cursed sons, appointed feasts, purity code, individualist culture, priestly work, story sections Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Second Temple, Max Weber, King Balak, Cambridge University Press, New York, God of Israel, Jacob Neusner, Jacob Milgrom, Martin Noth, Aaron Wildavsky, Central African, Clarendon Press, Oxford University Press, University of Chicago Press New!
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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
The object of this study is to open a place for a new reading of the book of Numbers. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
legal rung, story rungs, enclave religion, second temple community, aniconic religion, biblical defilement, enclave culture, priestly editors, cursed sons, appointed feasts, purity code, individualist culture, priestly work, story sections Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Second Temple, Max Weber, King Balak, Cambridge University Press, New York, God of Israel, Jacob Neusner, Jacob Milgrom, Martin Noth, Aaron Wildavsky, Central African, Clarendon Press, Oxford University Press, University of Chicago Press New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 59
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53
books
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- Annotated Key to Lambdin's Introduction to Biblical Hebrew (Manuals Series) by H. G. M. Williamson on 4 pages
- Ancient Judaism by Max Weber on page 25, page 38, and Back Matter
- Studia Pindarica (California Library Reprint Series) by Elroy Bundy on page 92, and Back Matter
- Science and Civilisation in China: Volume 6, Biology and Biological Technology; Part 6, Medicine by Joseph Needham on page 89, and Back Matter
- The Anthropology of Performance (PAJ Books) by Victor Turner on page 153, and Back Matter
See all 59 books this book cites
- Punishment and Forgiveness in Israel's Migratory Campaign by Won W. Lee on page 4, and Back Matter
- Dinah's Daughters: Gender and Judaism from the Hebrew Bible to Late Antiquity by Helena Zlotnick in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- The Crusades: Islamic Perspectives by Carole Hillenbrand on page 323, and Back Matter
- The Eschatological Economy: Time and the Hospitality of God by Douglas Knight on page 127, and Back Matter
- Introduction to the Pentateuch by R. Norman Whybray on page 131, and page 143
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