Traditionsverdichtung - eine Tora im Werden: Einblicke in die gegenwärtige Numeriforschung

Abstract

The current paper takes the literary and theological devaluation of the book of Numbers in classical Pentateuch studies as its starting point and, in contrast to this, develops a higher estimation of the book by relating it to processes of adaptive »Fortschreibung« and the megatrend of so-called inner-biblical exegesis. Through this changed approach, which moves beyond a source-critical model, the book of Numbers unfolds a growing densification of a network of traditions that results in the Torah in the 4 th century BCE. This new understanding of the book is related to a more recent understanding of the concept of »tradition« as dynamic, variable, and adaptive. The innovative character of the book of Numbers, in adapting and transforming traditions alike and in forming a collective identity of »Israel«, is demonstrated by the example of the Levites, the twelve-tribe system, the cities of asylum, and the bless-ing of Israel.