The Consuming Fire: The Complete Priestly Source, from Creation to the Promised Land

by Liane Feldman

Uncovering an ancient foundation myth, and literary tour de force, obscured within the modern Bible. 
 
Embedded within the Bible lies a largely unknown story of the founding of ancient Israel and its religion, interwoven with other ancient tales more than two thousand years ago in the process of creating the Torah. Generations of scholars have painstakingly worked to recreate the “Priestly Source,” also known as “P.” The complete text has not appeared until now on its own in either Hebrew or English.
 
Beginning with the creation of the world and ending at the edge of the promised land, the Priestly Source offers a distinctive account of the origins of the people of Israel and a unique perspective on their relationship with their god, Yahweh—one in stark contrast to what is found when we read the Bible now. With a translation by Liane Feldman, an authority on the text, The Consuming Fire reveals the mythical foundation for the practice of sacrifice in ancient Israelite and Jewish religion. By presenting this fascinating material on its own, The Consuming Fire offers an opportunity to expand our understanding of ancient traditions and to find something new and beautiful at the source.

Genres: Religion, History, Judaism

296 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 11, 2023

Reviews

[joan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really fascinating. If the author has done her job, she presents us with, what is it, things hidden since the creation of the world. A Mycenae or a Gilgamesh. A very foreign, but orderly, symmetrical system, simple and cold.

All of the doublets are gone, all the folk tale elements, almost all the human interest. Yet all the main people are marked in, like components on a circuit board. It speaks to the authenticity of it being the document of a live cult that it has a schematic feel. Were the more colourful stories from this cult, or from somewhere else?

The word play is still there, what are now dead metaphors that were then alive. It’s very interesting that the author reenergises familiar biblical words with novel translations.

I find myself wondering about men and women in building and (here) unbuilding such a system, and further compiling it to make the OT. What’s the best way to describe the Torah, and what’s the best way to describe its dismantling? Is it like taking a homemade car apart, or unpicking an embroidery, or clearing up a hoarder’s house? What happens to the fragments, what happens to the whole?

[Emanuel · Rating 5 out of 5]

En översättning av en hypotetisk källa till moseböckerna, den så kallade P-källan (prästerliga källan). Det känns oftast som att lyssna på en snustorr ordningsälskande nörd. Långa listor, detaljerade instruktioner som sedan utförs till punkt och pricka, massor av detaljerade regler. Det finns något fint med en Gud som kräver vackra gardiner med fabeldjur, att alla ska ha manteltofsar och att övertsteprästen ska dekorera sig med små granatäpplen och bjällror. "Älska din nästa som dig själv" kommer också från P, Jesus bara citerar. Men det är också en bitvis mycket våldsam text, med brutala dödsstraff för sådant som för en modern läsare framstår som helt harmlöst och massavrättningar av krigsfångar. Appendixet med möjligt P-material från Josua lyckas maximera våld OCH tråk.

5 stjärnor är för översättningen.

[Lark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very fun. Obviously half of the strand Feldman puts together is the book of NUMBERS which is a SLOG but that isn't her fault and there are still interesting footnotes to keep your interest and good explanations for why the pacing slows so far down for these sections.
The beginning of the book - the arguments for theory, a background on the debate, an in-depth look at the unique style that makes the "Priestly" strand stand out - is the most interesting portion. There is a lot to learn, and Feldman does a great job at keeping it interesting for the lay person while not getting bogged down into arguments that her scholarly audience don't need rehashed and her lay audience will be overwhelmed by.

Perhaps my only complaint is something that also couldn't be helped. The book is at the mercy of the pacing of the Strand. I imagine even scholars have a hard time making it through the 12 tribes each bringing the same exact gifts to the Dwelling Place. Obvs this is a lot to ask for, but I would have liked more footnotes throughout, if only to shake up the pacing with more trivia.
Then again, the pacing is important! Perhaps we are just as bored as the compilers would have been!

So anyways 5 stars very fun read despite the source text!

[Clayton Hashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Certainly a significant and impressive work. Disentangling the priestly source from the rest of the Pentateuch seems like a logical thing to do in order to fully grasp the unique perspectives and emphases of its individual sources. Feldman does this well, employing non-Christianese language in her translation as well as providing a very easy to understand introduction to the book. The priestly source in itself is not driven by narrative in a modern sense, which makes for a tedious and repetitive read at times. However, five main differences between the priestly source and the compiled Pentateuch are identified by Feldman: 1) focus on the fundamental goodness of creation, including mankind, 2) far less emphasis on Israel's patriarchs and their stories (again, not a lot of narrative), 3) the bulk of the source focuses on the construction of the Tabernacle (Dwelling Place) at Sinai and subsequently the sacrificial procedures, 4) Israel's wilderness complaints are directed only at Moses and Aaron, and 5) no conquest of cities takes place in the 40 years of wilderness wandering. The source is laser-focused on reaching the Promised Land and is not interested in unnecessary conquest.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Since the 18th century, scholars have debated the origin of the Bible, generally dividing it into four source documents written or compiled by the Yahwist, the Elohist, the Priestly writers and the Deuteronomist. Numerous books in contemporary times have sought to determine which chapters and verses belong to each source. In “The Consuming Fire: The Complete Priestly Source, from Creation to the Promised Land” (University of California Press), Liane M. Feldman has isolated and translated what she believes are the sections belonging to the priestly authors.
See the rest of my review at https://www.thereportergroup.org/past...

[Charles Meadows · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book includes a 50 or so page introduction followed by Prof Feldman's reconstruction of the P source (from JEDP). She identifies as a "neodocumentarian" (along with Joel Baden, Benjamin Sommer, and Baruch Schwartz), seeing 4 distinct sources rather than P,D and a bunch of other little additions. The P material by itself is a very interesting read!

[Audrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

read for class. after reading the introduction i had the most vivid dream where i had to disseminate broadly this version of the priestly source. i also had to harbor my friend from the law, something i was hesitant to do because i wasn’t sure if he believed in the validity of the documentary hypothesis. wowzers.

[ND · Rating 5 out of 5]

To be clear, reviewing for the technical elements: selection, translation, academic support for this view of P (not universally shared, needless to say), and presentation, formatting, layout. A very useful volume.

[Pāvels Šnejersons · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good source for anyone interested in the Documentary Hypothesis. All material known as the Priestly source in one place with the author’s commentary.

[Lance · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredible. Just the text of the P source of the Pentateuch. Super helpful and enlightening