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Priestly Sanctity by Design in Leviticus 21: Discursive Constructions of Gender, Class, and Impurity

Han, Amelia (2025) TRVM50 20251
Centre for Theology and Religious Studies
Abstract
This study demonstrates how Leviticus 21 formulates priestly sanctity through laws that regulate gender, class, and impurity within the Holiness Legislation. By applying a synchronic critical discourse analysis, informed by the distinction between ritual and moral impurity, the analysis explores how legal form produces hierarchical exclusions that reinforce priestly dominance, sanctioned through appeals to divine authority. In addition to sacred anointing, which elevates the priesthood above the laity, the chapter embeds hierarchical norms into the fabric of the community in order to maintain institutional legitimacy. Comparative analysis of key textual witnesses (LXX, DSS, MT, NRSVUE) demonstrates that translation and transmission are... (More)
This study demonstrates how Leviticus 21 formulates priestly sanctity through laws that regulate gender, class, and impurity within the Holiness Legislation. By applying a synchronic critical discourse analysis, informed by the distinction between ritual and moral impurity, the analysis explores how legal form produces hierarchical exclusions that reinforce priestly dominance, sanctioned through appeals to divine authority. In addition to sacred anointing, which elevates the priesthood above the laity, the chapter embeds hierarchical norms into the fabric of the community in order to maintain institutional legitimacy. Comparative analysis of key textual witnesses (LXX, DSS, MT, NRSVUE) demonstrates that translation and transmission are shaped by the ideological context of scribes, highlighting the interpretive dynamics involved. These texts exert enduring influence on social imagination within communities that treat biblical morality as ethically normative, and they continue to mediate contemporary debates on justice, power, and human dignity. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Han, Amelia
supervisor
organization
course
TRVM50 20251
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
keywords
Leviticus 21, Holiness Legislation, biblical law, priestly sanctity, hierarchy, sexuality, impurity, authority, interpretation
language
English
id
9210346
date added to LUP
2025-08-20 12:27:35
date last changed
2025-12-19 14:18:02
@misc{9210346,
  abstract     = {{This study demonstrates how Leviticus 21 formulates priestly sanctity through laws that regulate gender, class, and impurity within the Holiness Legislation. By applying a synchronic critical discourse analysis, informed by the distinction between ritual and moral impurity, the analysis explores how legal form produces hierarchical exclusions that reinforce priestly dominance, sanctioned through appeals to divine authority. In addition to sacred anointing, which elevates the priesthood above the laity, the chapter embeds hierarchical norms into the fabric of the community in order to maintain institutional legitimacy. Comparative analysis of key textual witnesses (LXX, DSS, MT, NRSVUE) demonstrates that translation and transmission are shaped by the ideological context of scribes, highlighting the interpretive dynamics involved. These texts exert enduring influence on social imagination within communities that treat biblical morality as ethically normative, and they continue to mediate contemporary debates on justice, power, and human dignity.}},
  author       = {{Han, Amelia}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Priestly Sanctity by Design in Leviticus 21: Discursive Constructions of Gender, Class, and Impurity}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}