Earticle

The interpretation of the dietary regulations in the OT has been an important hermeneutical issue among Biblical and Jewish scholarship. There have been numerous attempts to find the theological meaning and motive behind the law, which has been understood to have brought forth unsatisfactory results. This paper tries to find out the theological meanings and implications through the exegetical work in the literary context and the comparative study of the two texts(Leviticus and Deuteronomy) The first part of the paper puts emphasis on the analysis of the Levitical texts in order to show the distinctive meaning of the dietary regulations in the book. The study of the Levitical texts demonstrates that the law is incorporated into the cultic setting as an theological ideal to function as an identity marker and to make Israel into 'apriestly and holy nation.' The second half of the paper studies the Deuternomic texts in comparison to the Levitical texts. This part tries to show how the Deuteronomic writer applies the Levitical material to the context in which Israel is about to enter the promised land. The Deuteronomic writer raises the humanitarian issue in the use of the animal for food, while implementing the material as the theological statement that Israel became 'a priestly and holy nation.' This paper emphasizes the importance of the comparative analysis between the two texts in the immediate literary contexts in order to find out the theological implications of the dietary regulations in the OT.