7/27/2019 Levinson review

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Bernard M. Levinson,A More Perfect Torah: At the Intersection of Philology andHermeneutics in Deuteronomy and the Temple Scroll(Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns),2013.

Bernard Levinsons new volume which inaugurates a new series titled Critical Studies in theHebrew Bible is a decidedly appropriate one. It is technically difficult (requiring of readersa considerable depth of knowledge) and intellectually challenging.

It is comprised of two major parts- actually two separate essays: Part One- RevelationRegained: The Hermeneutics of and in the Temple Scrollwhich was written not onlybe Levinson but also by Molly Zahn and it was first published several years previouslyelsewhere. And Part Two- Reception History as a Window into Composition History:Deuteronomys Law of Vows.

Both essays are meticulously and carefully written in the highest critical spirit and with thelatest cutting edge methodology. The volume also contains an Afterword in whichLevinson interacts with more recent scholarship on The Hermeneutics of and in theTemple Scroll especially with the work of Simone Paganini. Indeed, the Afterword shouldactually, in my view, be read as soon as readers complete Part One. It clarifies much andalso updates that segment of the volume.

It (the work at hand) concludes with a number of appendices (3 of them to be precise), abibliography, and indices of authors, Scripture, ancient sources, and subjects, and it is

bespeckled throughout with numerous figures and tables.

It is, let me be clear, a demanding book to read. Those who lack Hebrew will simply be lostas the technical nature of the topics discussed absolutely requires a decent familiarity withthat ancient language. But it rewards those who are interested and determined.

Levinson writes of it

7/27/2019 Levinson review

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Part One is entitled Revelation Regained: The Hermeneutics of andin the Temple Scroll. Co-written with Molly M. Zahn just over a decadeago, it examines the frequent replacement of conditional and inthe Temple Scroll and argues that a new conceptual model is necessary toexplain the phenomenon accurately (p. xi).

Levinson accomplishes his goal with a clarity and specificity that is in sum nearlyunassailable. Part Two is written solely, again, by Levinson and

closely examines the syntax and content of the law of vows in Deut 23:22-24 (p. xii).

Here too Levinson states his case clearly, carefully, and brilliantly. Why do these studiesmatter? I think that our author is right when he opines

the history of the reception and interpretation of the Bible in the SecondTemple period offers a window into the compositional history of the biblicaltext. Analysis of the exegetical reworking of the Bible in the Dead Sea Scrollsand in rabbinic literature can provide a valuable critical tool for a more acuteunderstanding of the process of composition of the biblical text (p. xiii).

And then

By beginning with the Temple Scroll and then working back to the moredetailed study of the biblical text (in part 2), I sought to implement the bookslarger intellectual project: to show the relevance of reception history forunderstanding composition history (p. xiii).

Mission accomplished.

But take note and be careful, Levinsons argument is so persuasive and his critical skills sosharpened by use that readers may find themselves bewitched into accepting withoutargument or question the conclusions he proffers. Every writer deserves a sympathetichearing (unless they are beset by and ensconced in the wretched dilettantism so widespreadthese days on the internet); but every scholar also deserves a critical distance no matter howbrilliant. Only by maintaining that but what if stance will readers honestly engage inand interact with other scholars.

That said, it is so very tempting to surrender and suggest that Levinson has uttered the finalword on the subject. The book is just that good.

7/27/2019 Levinson review

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Students of the Hebrew Bible who have sufficient mastery of the language are urged to takethe time necessary to engage Levinsons tome.

Jim West

Quartz Hill School of Theology