Writing a Commentary on Leviticus

Hermeneutics – Methodology – Themes

Contributions by Hannah K. Harrington Contributions by Christian A. Eberhart Contributions by Thomas Hieke Contributions by Roy E. Gane Contributions by William K. Gilders Contributions by Naphtali S. Meshel Contributions by Nicole J. Ruane Contributions by James W. Watts Contributions by David P. Wright Edited by Christian A. Eberhart Edited by Thomas Hieke

Book cover: Writing a Commentary on Leviticus

Extent: 270 pages

Publisher: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht

Subjects: Biblical Studies

Series: Forschungen zur Religion und Literatur des Alten und Neuen Testaments

Language: English

Hardback (Published)

(April 2019)

ISBN: 9783525534717

6.34 x 9.33 inches

Price: $113.00

In stock

Approaching “the Cult, the Bad, the Holy”: What does it take to write a commentary and what do we take from it?


Writing a commentary on a biblical book is not limited to the scholar’s study and desk. Hence, several experts in the field of Hebrew Bible currently writing a larger commentary on the book of Leviticus followed the invitation of Christian Eberhart and Thomas Hieke to meet between 2014 and 2016 at the Annual SBL Conference. They shared their experiences, discussed hermeneutical and methodological considerations, and presented their ideas about particular themes and issues in the third book of the Torah. The results of these consultative panels had significant impact on the production of the commentaries. The first part of this volume features essays reflecting on the process of writing a Leviticus commentary, including boosts and obstacles, while suggesting innovative insights on particular problems of the book. The second part identifies certain themes of Leviticus, especially sacrifices and rituals (“the cult”), the notion of unintentional and deliberate sins and purity/impurity (“the bad”) and how to eliminate them, and the relationship to the sphere of God (“the holy”). This section demonstrates how commenting a biblical book highly depends on the perspective a scholar takes, and how different commentaries on the same biblical text come to different conclusions because of a diversity of methodological and hermeneutical approaches. These are issues innate in the subject matter; in the end the variety of approaches bears witness to the complexity, intricacy, and richness of the biblical text. This volume, therefore, offers a fascinating inside view into the studies and onto the desks of several prolific biblical experts who share their reflections and concepts about their commentaries on Leviticus with an interested audience.

Dr. Hannah K. Harrington is Professor of Old Testament and Chair of the Department for Biblical and Theological Studies at Patten University.

  • Contributions by Hannah K. Harrington
  • Contributions by Christian A. Eberhart
  • Contributions by Thomas Hieke
  • Contributions by Roy E. Gane
  • Contributions by William K. Gilders
  • Contributions by Naphtali S. Meshel
  • Contributions by Nicole J. Ruane
  • Contributions by James W. Watts
  • Contributions by David P. Wright
  • Edited by Christian A. Eberhart
  • Edited by Thomas Hieke