Search engine for discovering works of Art, research articles, and books related to Art and Culture
ShareThis
Javascript must be enabled to continue!

The Levites Strike Back

View through CrossRef
The formation of the northern monarchy spurred the Levites to create countertraditions to reclaim their place in Israelite religious society. All of these countertraditions revolve around the institutions of the state, institutions that the Levites increasingly viewed as avatars of destructive cosmic forces. In the Golden Calf tradition of Exodus 32 and the “Song of Moses” in Deuteronomy 32, the northern state cult is characterized as a portal to the chaotic wilderness, its iconography as manifestations of YHWH’s enemies, and the agents and devotees of its cult as traitors to YHWH. Hosea’s eighth-century oracles takes up these earlier concepts and develop them into a cosmic-political drama, clarifying that the struggle Israel faces is no less than the struggle against Death (Mot)—but Israel’s adherence to Levite teachings could provide redemption and a renewed, reexperienced Exodus. This laid the foundation for development of the Deuteronomistic tradition roughly a century later.
Title: The Levites Strike Back
Description:
The formation of the northern monarchy spurred the Levites to create countertraditions to reclaim their place in Israelite religious society.
All of these countertraditions revolve around the institutions of the state, institutions that the Levites increasingly viewed as avatars of destructive cosmic forces.
In the Golden Calf tradition of Exodus 32 and the “Song of Moses” in Deuteronomy 32, the northern state cult is characterized as a portal to the chaotic wilderness, its iconography as manifestations of YHWH’s enemies, and the agents and devotees of its cult as traitors to YHWH.
Hosea’s eighth-century oracles takes up these earlier concepts and develop them into a cosmic-political drama, clarifying that the struggle Israel faces is no less than the struggle against Death (Mot)—but Israel’s adherence to Levite teachings could provide redemption and a renewed, reexperienced Exodus.
This laid the foundation for development of the Deuteronomistic tradition roughly a century later.

Related Results

Women and the Miners' Strike, 1984-1985
Women and the Miners' Strike, 1984-1985
Abstract Women and the Miners’ Strike, 1984–1985 is the first academic study of women’s experiences in the miners’ strike of 1984–5, in coalfields all around England...
The Levite Scribes, Part 1
The Levite Scribes, Part 1
Deuteronomy reflects the attempt of northern Levites living in Judah to stabilize Israelite society in the face of accumulated social disruptions and growing tensions between the r...
Combat in the Streets
Combat in the Streets
This chapter discusses the great railroad strike of 1877. In the summer of 1877, the United States experienced its first national strike, an unorganized, spontaneous rebellion of w...
Intelligence in War
Intelligence in War
A large literature has emerged on intelligence and war which integrates the topics and techniques of two disciplines: strategic studies and military history. The literature on inte...
The United States
The United States
This chapter analyzes US cyber strategy and coercion against rival states. First, the chapter situates the US approach to cyber in the larger intellectual history surrounding a pre...
To Quiet the Roar of the Mob
To Quiet the Roar of the Mob
This chapter examines the saga of George M. Pullman's “model town,” which he originally envisioned as a way to reform the senses of the working classes and achieve a peaceful and s...
The Ordeal of Eugene Debs
The Ordeal of Eugene Debs
The American panic of 1893 has its origins in the fiscal policy of the U.S. Congress. Within a year, the 1893 panic ushered in one of the most famous labor conflicts in American hi...
I Senza Patria
I Senza Patria
This chapter focuses on how Paterson became the center of what is probably the most important Anarchist group in the world. Italian anarchists were at the forefront of persistent l...

Back to Top