Jacob's Tears: The Priestly Work of Reconciliation

by Mary Douglas

Who is Israel? Who were the priestly authors of the Pentateuch? This anthropological reading of the Bible, by a world-renowned scholar, starts by asking why the Book of Numbers lists the twelve tribes of Israel seven times. Mary Douglas argues that the editors, far from being a separate elite unconcerned with their congregation's troubles, cherished a political agenda, a religious protest against the government of Judah's exclusionary policies. The priestly theology depends on God's Covenant with all the descendants of Jacob, including the sons of Joseph. It would have been unpatriotic, even subversive, to speak against the wars with Samaria. This book suggest an explanation of the editors' disappearance from the history of Israel.

Genres: Theology, Religion, Anthropology

218 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2004

Reviews

[Andrew Marr · Rating 5 out of 5]

As an anthropologist who has done her share of field work, Mary Douglas brings a unique perspective to biblical studies. This book is a collection of essays which gains some unity through the theme of the priestly writers in the Hebrew Bible. She argues that the priestly writers strove for a unified Israel (healing the divided kingdom) and an open society that would include all Jews and those Gentiles who might convert.

The Jacob saga in Genesis is not so much ancient history but a story urging reconciliation of Israel's tribes during the time of the building of the Second Temple. Joseph and Judah represent the two main actors who need to be reconciled just as the tribes represented by them (Joseph being divided between Ephraim and Manasseh) need to be reconciled at the time of the writing of this story. In any case, this narrative is not just a nice story but an earnest attempt to forge a reconciling influence in real life.

In several essays, Douglas writes about the social tensions shown in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah where these writers represent a closed society that, among other things, required the putting away of all "foreign" wives, some of whom were fellow Jews but the wrong kind, i.e. Samaritans. Discussion of these tensions is important background to the Gospels as well as a case study for social tensions today between achieving social identity through exclusion or enriching society through broader inclusion.

In earlier books, Douglas has constructed intriguing, if controversial theories on the literary style of the Pentateuch, Numbers and Leviticus in particular. Fuller treatments are to be found in the earlier books but the shorter versions here give readers the gist in smaller doses and they also include Douglas's revisions of her theories in response to criticisms of her work. Her seminal work "purity and Danger" is also subjected to revision in several essays.

Mary Douglas in an important and stimulating writer in anthropology and biblical studies who is worthy of study and reflection.