Dating the Priestly text in the pre-exilic period : some remarks about anachronistic slips and other obstacles

Abstract

This article engages with the work of scholars such as Jacob Milgrom and Avi Hurvitz on dating the Priestly text (P) in the pre-exilic period. In response to Wellhausen’s argument that P is guilty of archaising, Milgrom and Hurvitz have always maintained that there would be some ‘anachronistic slips’. In this article the author points out a few examples from Leviticus which could be understood as ‘anachronistic slips’. The author also shows the difficulties one encounters when attempting to interpret a text such as Leviticus 26 in the pre-exilic period.