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Jacob Milgrom

Bio: Jacob Milgrom is an academic researcher. The author has contributed to research in topics: Temple Scroll & Biblical studies. The author has an hindex of 14, co-authored 43 publications receiving 708 citations.

Papers
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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the author traverses the shoals of legal thought and liturgical practice in ancient Israel and clearly explains the role of the Tabernacle of the Wilderness as the all-important center of Israelite worship, the locus of the priestly orders, sacrificial rituals, and practices of purity.
Abstract: At the beginning of his academic career, author Jacob Milgrom determined to make his lifework a probing study of the "Laws of the Torah". Here, with "Leviticus 1-16", the first of three volumes on Leviticus, he has reached the pinnacle of his long pursuit. No other contemporary commentary matches Milgrom's comprehensive work on this much misunderstood and often underappreciated biblical book.In this richly detailed volume, the author traverses the shoals of legal thought and liturgical practice in ancient Israel. He clearly explains the role of the Tabernacle of the Wilderness as the all-important center of Israelite worship, the locus of the priestly orders, sacrificial rituals, and practices of purity to which the congregation repaired for penitence and reconciliation, restoration and renewal. At the heart of the dwelling place of God was the real presence of the God of Israel, present through his splendor in the midst of the camp and the congregation - a permanent sign of the unique privilege and responsibility of Israel, perceived as a worshipping and serving people.

208 citations

Book
01 Dec 1991
TL;DR: The first volume of three volumes on Leviticus 1-16 was published by Jacob Milgrom as mentioned in this paper, with the focus on the Tabernacle of the Wilderness as the locus of the priestly orders, sacrificial rituals, and practices of purity.
Abstract: At the beginning of his academic career, author Jacob Milgrom determined to make his lifework a probing study of the Laws of the Torah. Here, with Leviticus 1-16, the first of three volumes on Leviticus, he has reached the pinnacle of his long pursuit. No other contemporary commentary matches Milgrom’s comprehensive work on this much misunderstood and often underappreciated biblical book. In this richly detailed volume, the author traverses the shoals of legal thought and liturgical practice in ancient Israel. He clearly explains the role of the Tabernacle of the Wilderness as the all-important center of Israelite worship, the locus of the priestly orders, sacrificial rituals, and practices of purity to which the congregation repaired for penitence and reconciliation, restoration and renewal. At the heart of the dwelling place of God was the real presence of the God of Israel, present through his splendor in the midst of the camp and the congregation – a permanent sign of the unique privilege and responsibility of Israel, perceived as a worshipping and serving people.

110 citations

Book
05 Dec 2000
TL;DR: In this article, a new translation, introduction and commentary on the book of law that shaped the religion in Israel is presented, together with an introduction and a discussion of its history.
Abstract: This volume is a new translation, introduction and commentary on the book of law that shaped the religion in Israel.

67 citations

Book
30 Jun 1995
TL;DR: The Bearing of Sin in the Priestly Literature - Baruch J. Freedman as discussed by the authors discusses the bearing of sin in the priestly literature in the Dead Sea Scrolls and discusses the relationship between sin and the passage of the third commandment in Deuteronomy.
Abstract: Preface, by David Noel Freedman Bibliography of the Published Writings of Jacob Milgrom Abbreviations SECTION I: RITUAL, LAW, AND THEIR SOURCES The Bearing of Sin in the Priestly Literature - Baruch J. Schwartz Another Prolegomenon to Leviticus 17:11 - Rolf Rendtorff Philology, Archaeology, and a Terminus a Quo for P's 'hatta't' Legislation - Ziony Zevit 'ola' and 'hatta't' in the 'Temple Scroll' - Lawrence H. Schiffman Intentional and Unintentional Sin in the Dead Sea Scrolls - Gary A. Anderson Some Considerations on the Translation of 'kapporet' in the Septuagint - Klaus Koch An Ethnoarchaeological Analysis of Hannah's Sacrifice - Carol Meyers The Akedah: A Paradigm of Sacrifice - Gordon J. Wenham Census and Intercession in a Priestly Text (Exodus 30:11-16) and in Its Midrashic Transformation - Michael Fishbane Conceptual Aspects in Exodus 25:1-9 - Rolf P. Knierim The Incense of the Tabernacle - Yehuda Feliks Solomon's Golden Vessels (1 Kings 7:48-50) and the Cult of the First Temple - Victor Avigdor Hurowitz Terms and Epithets Relating to the Jerusalem Temple Compound in the Book of Chronicles: The Linguistic Aspect - Avi Hurvitz Prophets, Priests, and the Efficacy of Ritual - Ronald S. Hendel Concerning Amos' Repudiation of the Cult - Meir Weiss David Autem Remansit in Hierusalem: Felix Coniunctio! - David P. Wright Sacred Geography as Narrative Structure in 2 Kings 11 - Burke O. Long Poetic Structure in Leviticus - Mary Douglas 4QLev (4Q25, 26a, 26b) - Emanuel Tov A Calendrical Scroll from a Qumran Cave: 'Mismarot' B, 4Q321 - Shemaryahu Talmon and Israel Knohl Simon the Just: Simon I or Simon II? - James C. VanderKam The Road to En-dor - Mordechai Cogan The Significance of the Veil in the Ancient Near East - Karel van der Toorn The Formula 'If He Shall Not (Do)' and the Problem of Sanctions in Biblical Law - Gershon Brin The Fundamental Code Illustrated: The Third Commandment - Herbert B. Huffmon Some Archaeological Notes on Deuteronomy - Jeffrey H. Tigay Could keleb in Deuteronomy 23:19 Actually Refer to a Canine? - Elaine Adler Goodfriend The Social-Legal Origin for the Image of God as Redeemer of Israel - Jeremiah Unterman The Place of the People in the Making of Law and Judgment - Ze'ev Weisman The Rhetoric of Collective Responsibility in Deuteronomic Law - Dale Patrick Matrilineal Determination of Jewishness: Biblical and Near Eastern Roots - Mayer I. Gruber A Fragment on Fetal Life and Pregnancy in 4Q270 - Joseph M. Baumgarten Stylistic Conceits II: The Absolute Infinitive in Biblical Law - Reuven Yaron On the Political Use of the Bible in Modern Israel: An Engaged Critique - Moshe Greenberg A Peace of Compromise between Israel and the Arabs - Ze'ev W. Falk SECTION II: OTHER LITERARY, HISTORICAL, AND LINGUISTIC STUDIES Unruly Elements in Late Bronze Canaanite Society: Anson F. Rainey Genesis 14: An Enigma - Francis I. Andersen Juxtaposition in the Abraham Cycle - Yair Zakovitch Reuben's Sin with Bilhah in the 'Testament of Reuben' - James Kugel The Firstborn Plague and the Reading Process - Edward L. Greenstein A Contest of Magicians? The Plague Stories in P - John Van Seters The Hidden Made Manifest: Muslim Traditions and the 'Latent Content' of Biblical and Rabbinic Stories - David J. Halperin The Song of Deborah and Barak: Its Prosodic Levels and Structure - Jan P. Fokkelman Observations on the Jael-Sisera Story (Judges 4-5) - Baruch Margalit Reflections on Historiography in the Account of Jehoshaphat - Ralph W. Klein The Deuteronomist and the Exile - Yair Hoffman The 'Desert of the Sea' Pronouncement (Isaiah 21:1-10) - Benjamin Uffenheimer A Misunderstood Medieval Translation of 'sered' (Isaiah 44:13) and Its Impact on Modern Scholarship - Joshua Blau Jeremiah's Instructions to Seraiah (Jeremiah 51:59-64) - William McKane Hosea 7:16: Gibberish Jabber - Shalom M. Paul The Crisis of the Mid-fifth Century B.C.E. Second Zechariah and the 'End' of Prophecy - Eric M. Meyers The Structure of Psalm 119 - David Noel Freedman Some Performative Utterances in the Bible - Delbert R. Hillers Scurrilous Etymologies - William W. Hallo Some Remarks on the Semantics of the Root 'b't' in Classical Hebrew - Jacob Hoftijzer Is There a Word for the Royal Harem in the Bible? - Abraham Malamat The '*qatala' Form in Ugaritic Narrative Poetry - Mark S. Smith 4Q127: An Unknown Jewish Apocryphal Work? - Devorah Dimant Sage and Super-sage in Philo of Alexandria - David Winston INDEXES Index of Authors Index of Scripture Index of Ancient Sources

59 citations

Book
22 May 2001
TL;DR: The "Anchor Bible Commentary on Leviticus" as discussed by the authors provides an authoritative and comprehensive explanation of ethical values concealed in Israel's rituals, including the jubilee, the priestly answer to socioeconomic problems of their time.
Abstract: Jacob Milgrom, a rabbi and Bible scholar, has devoted the bulk of his career to examining the laws of the Torah. His incisive commentary on Leviticus, which began with Leviticus 1-16, continues in this last volume of three. It provides an authoritative and comprehensive explanation of ethical values concealed in Israel's rituals. Although at first glance Leviticus seems far removed from the modern-day world, Milgrom's thoughtful and provocative comments and notes reveal its enduring relevance to contemporary society."Leviticus 23-27" brings us to the climactic end of the book and its revolutionary innovations, among which are the evolution of the festival calendar with its emphasis on folk traditions, and the jubilee, the priestly answer to the socio-economic problems of their time.With English translations that convey the nuance and power of the original Hebrew, this trilogy will take its place alongside the best of the "Anchor Bible Commentaries".

45 citations


Cited by
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Book
01 Jan 1990
TL;DR: This paper found no positive difference in meaning between the pairs, apart from the few cases of collectives/nomina unitatis (# 6 and perhaps # 3) and found that one of the forms occurs in a poetic or elevated style, and the other mainly in an ordinary prosaic style.
Abstract: nouns (## 1–2), parts of body (## 3–4), agricultural terms (## 5–6), words connected with clothing (## 7–8); and pairs of words with initial ma-/mi(## 9– 12; see 5.6), seven of which are from medial-waw roots (## 11–12). He finds no positive difference in meaning between the pairs, apart from the few cases of collectives/nomina unitatis (# 6 and perhaps # 3). 1. המשא / םשא guilt 2. המקנ / םקנ dominion, vengeance 3. הרבא / א רב pinion 4. הרג / רג back 5. הקלח / ח קל territory 6. הציצ / ץיצ blossom 7. הדפא / דופא ephod 8. הרוגח / רוגח loin-covering 9. הנתמ / ןתמ gift 10. תרכממ / מ רכמ ware 11. הרוגמ / רוגמ terror 12. הלוחמ / לוחמ dance In five cases he found that one of the forms occurs in a poetic or elevated style, and the other mainly in an ordinary prosaic style (## 13–17).

573 citations

01 Jan 2012
TL;DR: The origin of the ESCHATOLOGICAL FEAST as a wedding banquet in the SYNOPTIC GOSPels and its role in the development of language and culture are studied in an qualitative study.
Abstract: The Problem. The problem this dissertation seeks to address is the origins of the wedding banquet imagery in the teaching of Jesus. Frequently, scholars will state that the image of a wedding banquet was a common messianic image in the first century. However, other than Isa 25:6-8, sources for the image of a banquet for the messianic age in the Hebrew Bible are sparse. Yet the image of a banquet clearly appears in the Synoptic Gospels in both the actions of Jesus as well as his teaching. Because the metaphor of a wedding banquet is not found in the literature of the Second Temple Period, scholars frequently assume that this sort of language was created by the Gospel writers and that Jesus himself did not claim to be a bridegroom. Method. In this study I propose an intertextuality method which seeks to give full weight to the rhetorical value of anauthor's use of earlier texts or traditions. First, the reader must first "hear an echo" within the text. By this I mean one recognizes something in the words or deeds of Jesus that sounds like a text or tradition from the Hebrew Bible. Second, having heard the echo of an earlier text or tradition, one must then determine which texts and traditions may have been used by the author. Since allusions to tradition are not direct citations, a wide range of texts must be gathered with linguistic and thematic links to the later text. Third, these observations drawn from the Hebrew Bible and Second Temple Period literature must be applied to the texts in the Synoptic Gospels which contain banquet or wedding imagery. This third step can be used as a test of the authenticity of the sayings of Jesus. I propose a "criterion of tradition congruence": If it is shown that a saying of Jesus stands within well-known traditions from the Hebrew Bible, then that saying is more likely to be authentic. Conclusion. Jesus did indeed claim to be a bridegroom and his ministry was an anticipation of the eschatological banquet. While there is no single text in the Hebrew Bible or the literature of the Second Temple Period which states the "messiah is like a bridegroom," the elements for such a claim are present in several traditions found in this literature. Jesus created this unique image by clustering three traditions drawn from the Hebrew Bible and applying them to his ministry. First, the eschatological age is inaugurated by a banquet eaten in the presence of God (Isa 25:6-8). Second, the end of the exile is often described as a new Exodus and a new journey through the wilderness (Isa 40-55). Third, the relationship of God and his people is often described as a marriage (Hosea, Jer 2-4). Jesus claimed that his ministry was an on-going wedding celebration which signals the end of the Exile and the restoration of Israel to her position as the Lord's beloved wife. Jesus himself combined the tradition of an eschatological banquet with a marriage metaphor in order to describe the end of the Exile as a wedding banquet.

126 citations

Dissertation
01 Jan 2019
TL;DR: In this paper, it is shown that the distinction between image and likeness is not applicable to the human, who is created in the "image...likeness" of the divine creator.
Abstract: it defines and limits the meaning of selem. Second, the two words are interchangeable; no distinction is discoverable between them. Third, both words are included in Genesis 1:26. However, only selem is used in Genesis 1:27, but the omission of d§mu®t does not diminish the meaning. Preuss, noting the occurrence and semantic field of the verb and noun forms for t...wm√;d defines it as a “copy,” “reproduction” or “image” (Preuss 1997:3.259). The eighth century prophet Isaiah warns the nation of Israel not to pursue lRs‹RÚpAh “the idol” (Is 40:19), since wáøl ...wk√rAo¶A;tt...wäm√;d_hAm...w l¡Ea N...wâyV;mådV;t yTMIm_lRa◊w “to whom will you liken God? Or what likeness will you compare with Him?” (Is 40:18). Idols, which are creations of human hands, lack the “likeness” of the divine creator. Isaiah’s comparison is not applicable to the human, who is created in the “image...likeness” of God. The context of Isaiah 40 expresses comfort for God’s people (40:1), whose Lord has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand (40:12), sits enthroned above the circle of the earth (Is 40:22), and is the Everlasting God, Creator of the ends of the earth who does not grow weary or tired (40:28b). Idols do not compare. Feinberg (1972:236) notes the difference between sΩelem, which refers to human essence, and d§mu®t as the aspect of the person that changes. Both concepts evolve from the Greek and Latin father’s distinction between sΩelem, as the physical condition of the human, and d§mu®t which refers to the ethical expression of the divine image emanating from God. Although distinctions between image and likeness are noted, Kidner (2008:55) deduces that the words reinforce one another in Genesis 1:26, since the conjunction is absent

100 citations

01 Jan 2008
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors discuss the passage of the "SON" in the letter to the "Anchor of the SOUL that ENTERS within the veil".
Abstract: “THE ANCHOR OF THE SOUL THAT ENTERS WITHIN THE VEIL”: THE ASCENSION OF THE “SON” IN THE LETTER TO THE HEBREWS

89 citations