They Shall Purify Themselves": Essays on Purity in Early Judaism.

• Author: Harrington, Hannah K.
• Position: Book review

"They Shall Purify Themselves": Essays on Purity in Early Judaism. By SUSAN HABER. Edited by ADELE REINHARTZ. Early Judaism and its Literature, vol. 24, Atlanta: SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL LITERATURE, 2008. Pp. x + 240. $32.95 (paper).

This book is a collection of essays on purity in Second Temple Judaism by the late Susan Haber. The work is divided into three sections: Bibliographic Studies, Literary Studies, and Historical Studies. The "Bibliographic Studies." a survey of scholarship on purity (until 2006) in the Bible and early Judaism, provides a useful tool for any newcomer to the field. Haber evaluates the major contributions of key scholars and tackles the current debate on moral versus ritual impurity in the texts.

In "Literary Studies," Haber reveals a wide range of insights. Beginning with the "mother-martyrs" of 2 Maccabees, Haber claims that the pious Jews willing to become martyrs are primarily "the weak in the society: the women, children, and the aged," not the priests and powerful leaders. Haber points out that the heroic mother-martyrs in the narratives are in charge of circumcising and instructing their sons; fathers are largely absent and public male figures often corrupt.

The essay on "Metaphor and Meaning the Dead Sea Scrolls" attempts to distinguish between literal and metaphorical uses of purity language in the Scrolls. In the Hodayot the language of ritual purity is used, as in the Psalms to contrast God's greatness with humans, a source of impurity and sin. The Community Rule, on the other hand, uses purity language both metaphorically and literally in the process of atonement. While Haber seems on target in distinguishing between these two usages of purity terminology, much of this difference probably reflects genre rather than competing ideologies. As hymns to God, the Hodayot naturally uses metaphors, of purity and otherwise, to extol God's greatness. The Community Rule, on the other hand, focuses on establishing correct ritual and legal procedures for participation in the community.

Haber rejects the view that the Qumran community considered itself a replacement temple. She claims that the community simply regarded itself as the faithful priestly line, "holy house" retelling not to the temple, but to priestly lineage. However, the Community Rule refers to both a "holy house for Israel" as well as a "most holy assembly for Aaron" (1QS VIII, 5-9). Thus, "holy house" refers not only to priestly lineage but to the function...