Deuteronomy 25:5–10 : a rite for the living or for the dead?
Institution: | University of Texas – Austin |
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Department: | Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures |
Degree: | MA |
Year: | 2015 |
Keywords: | Rite; Deuteronomy 25:5-10; Anthropology; Hebrew Bible |
Record ID: | 2060903 |
Full text PDF: | http://hdl.handle.net/2152/28657 |
This work looks at the rite presented in Deut 25:5–10 through a sociological framework. As such, it argues that ritual is a social act aimed at protecting communal interests over the interests of its individual members. More specifically, the rite described in Deut 25:5–10 was meant to act as a bulwark against infiltration of tribal land through exogamy. In later periods, it is argued that the focus of the rite narrowed to the priestly class.