Assemblage, Service, and Porterage: Achronology, Priestly Scribes, and the Thematic Arrangement of the Tabernacle Texts of the Pentateuchal Priestly Writings

This study examines the narratives in the Priestly writings that pertain to the setting up of the Tabernacle and the beginning of cultic service there (Exodus 40, Leviticus 8–10, and Numbers 7). Upon close examination, these passages and the surrounding Priestly material exhibit clear instances of narrative disorder, what I call achronology. This study examines again these key passages that display such disorder and lays forth clear evidence of textual development of the Priestly materials, often connected to achronology. Yet, the achronology often relates to the relevant theme pertaining to the Tabernacle. Thus, the material in Exodus deals with the construction and assemblage of YHWH’s abode, the passages in Leviticus connect to the Tabernacle as the site of sacrifice, and the relevant section of Numbers places the cultic tent in the context of the whole Israelite camp. The study further argues that achronology is not only a result of diachronic growth but is the result of the Priestly scribal tendency to group the material pertaining to the Tabernacle according to theme.