Abstract
Chang’s monograph, which is a revised version of his doctoral thesis, aims to show that understanding covenant and priesthood in combination is important for a proper interpretation of certain Second Temple texts. Chang rightly highlights the fact that studies of covenant in Second Temple literature have often focused on Jewish identity and the people’s relationship with God, but have often neglected priestly elements. To rectify this, Chang provides three case studies, 1–2 Maccabees, Dead Sea Scrolls, Hebrews, as each collection of texts represents a particular group’s ideology: Hasmoneans, Qumran community, and early Jewish Christian community, respectively. These texts are not treated in isolation, as Chang also engages with these themes in Sirach and Jubilees, seeing to set (particularly the Qumran documents) in a wider context.
Chang is clear that this study does not provide a full understanding of covenant or a reconstruction of the priesthood in the second century, but solely looks at the combination of these two ideas in selected texts. This is accomplished primarily by identifying key words (e.g., διαθήκη/ברית) and characters (e.g., Phinehas, Aaron, Zadok, etc.). These pairings allow Chang to determine the ideological leanings of the author and the way that they read/interpreted Scripture within their respective communities.
Although Chang is successful in his ultimate goal, it is possible that deeper insights could have been gained by tracing the entirety of each theme within the respective works, not only where they intersect (e.g., 1–2 Maccabees). This would give an idea of how specific changes within the themes occur at the place of interaction. Conversely, it would also have been interesting to hear why (in his opinion) some Jewish authors (e.g., Philo) did not bring these themes together. Third, on a related topic, it would have been helpful for Chang to provide a clearer understanding of what he thinks constitutes an author’s invoking of the concepts of covenant and priesthood.
Despite these critiques, this work addresses an important and neglected pairing of topics and provides a foundation for further inquiry.