Debating Temple and Torah in the Second Temple Period: Theological and Political Aspects of the Final Redaction(s) of the Pentateuch

Contrary to the current majority view, the formation process of early Judaism(s) reflects less an innovative achievement of an elite group of Judean exiles than a complex and multilayered process of negotiation between diverse groups. The most prominent and well researched groups that come to mind here are the Judean and the Samarian group(s). This thesis leads to the corollary that the late texts of the Hebrew Bible reflect this debate, especially with regard to the two most impactful religious and cultural-historical achievements of the post-exilic epoch, namely the temple, the cult centralization and the Torah. To illustrate this argument, article deals with the Judean and Samarian involvement in the production of the Pentateuch/Hexateuch. The article focuses on two particular Pentateuchal traditions regarding cult centralization, the late Persian redactional additions Deut 11:29–30; Deut 27* and the late Priestly texts. This uncovers a crucial debate revolving around the two important post-exilic institutions of temple and Torah, which, in turn, helps to understand the redactional processes of the final redaction(s) of the Pentateuch. In sum, the article provides a necessary clarification and modification of the modern theory of the so-called Common Torah, that is the Pentateuch understood as a Judean-Samarian co-production.