... To describe the process that takes place in the late priestly texts of the Pentateuch, other concepts than the concept of “theocracy” may be more accurate and may therefore serve us better. Borrowing a concept already used in other areas of religious studies, one could speak here of a process of “priestification,” in which the priestly revisions of the Pentateuch—and possibly of other collections of scriptures as well—somehow go hand in hand with a conception conferring increased agency to the priests. ...Background here and links.
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