“He Fixed the Boundaries of the Earth”

The chapter addresses the terminology and vocabulary of the Deuteronomistic tradition (Deuteronomy–2 Kings) and Holiness tradition (mainly Leviticus 17–26) of the Hebrew Bible. It argues that these traditions divide Israelites and non-Israelites by common descent and territorial origins, and, consequently, conceptualize foreigners as ethnic groups. In addition to an analysis of specific Hebrew words, passages about eponymous ancestors and primordial divisions of the world into different “peoples” and “nations” play a prominent role in the assessment.