Milgrom-keret

Posted on March 12, 2014 by jamesbradfordpate

theoutwardquest

Here is an interesting take on the Hebrew Bible’s idea of the afterlife.

Jacob Milgrom, in Leviticus from the Continental Commentary series, considers the Hebrew word karet.  We translate it as “cut off”.  There are 18 offenses in the P stratum of the Pentateuch that carry the penalty of karet, being cut off from your people.  In Leviticus 7:25 it says you will be cut off from your people if you eat fat from a sacrifice.  Verse 27 says you will be cut off from your people if you eat blood.

This could mean that you will have no offspring to carry on your name.  Or it could mean that, if you have offspring, they will not live to reproduce.  Your family line will be terminated.

But Milgrom uses Mesopotamian and Egyptian parallels to argue that it also means that after death you will not be allowed to join…

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About jamesbradfordpate

My name is James Pate. This blog is about my journey. I read books. I watch movies and TV shows. I go to church. I try to find meaning. And, when I can’t do that, I just talk about stuff that I find interesting. I have degrees in fields of religious studies. I have an M.Phil. in the History of Biblical Interpretation from Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati, Ohio. I also have an M.A. in Hebrew Bible from Jewish Theological Seminary, an M.Div. from Harvard Divinity School, and a B.A. from DePauw University.
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