Journal article
Levitical singers in rabbinic sources: echoes of an ancient dispute
- Abstract:
- The Hebrew Bible reflects ambiguity concerning the historical existence of the Levites as a group distinguished from the priesthood. Post-exilic and late Second Temple sources also present a variety of voices concerning the extent to which Levites participated in the temple’s worship. This article argues that, while rabbinic sources appear to portray a straightforward retrospective description of the Levites as a group of temple-servants who are clearly subordinated to the priests and responsible for temple singing, a closer reading reveals differences of opinion. Disagreements concerning the exact place in the temple in which the Levites used to sing, reflect significantly different views concerning the status of the Levites in the temple and the importance of their singing. This rabbinic dispute echoes similar late Second Temple period controversies, and sources from the two periods may shed light on each other.
- Publication status:
- Published
- Peer review status:
- Peer reviewed
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(Preview, Version of record, pdf, 1.6MB, Terms of use)
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- Publisher copy:
- 10.1163/15700631-BJA10027
Authors
- Publisher:
- Brill Academic Publishers
- Journal:
- Journal for the Study of Judaism More from this journal
- Volume:
- 52
- Issue:
- 2
- Pages:
- 1-29
- Article number:
- 228–256
- Publication date:
- 2020-12-23
- Acceptance date:
- 2020-07-03
- DOI:
- EISSN:
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1570-0631
- ISSN:
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0047-2212
- Language:
-
English
- Keywords:
- Pubs id:
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1140275
- Local pid:
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pubs:1140275
- Deposit date:
-
2020-11-02
- ARK identifier:
Terms of use
- Copyright holder:
- Hallel Baitner
- Copyright date:
- 2020
- Rights statement:
- © Hallel Baitner, 2020. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the CC BY 4.0 license.
- Licence:
- CC Attribution (CC BY)
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