Purity and Monotheism: Clean and Unclean Animals in Biblical Law
Overview
The distinction between clean and unclean animals—probably originating in tensions between shepherds and farmers—is transformed into an important theological principle in the biblical laws of Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14. In this wide-ranging and elegantly written study, Houston argues that the avoidance of “unclean” foods is a mark of the exclusive devotion of Israel to one god. In a concluding chapter, it is suggested that the abolition of the distinction in early Christianity corresponds to the universal horizon of the new faith.
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- Exegesis of clean and unclean rituals in Biblical law
- Careful examination of the practice of justice in ancient Israel
- All Scripture references are linked to the Bibles in your library
- Title: Purity and Monotheism: Clean and Unclean Animals in Biblical Law
- Authors: Walter Houston
- Publisher: Sheffield Academic Press
- Publication Date: 2009
- Pages: 314
Walter Houston is Fellow Emeritus at Mansfield College, University of Oxford, and Honorary Research Fellow in the Department of Religions and Theology at the University of Manchester, UK. He is a contributor to the Oxford Bible Commentary and Eerdmans Bible Commentary.