Duke Divinity School
Madison Grace McNeece is a first year Master of Divinity student at Duke Divinity School and a recent graduate of Baylor University. Madison Grace studies the intersection of the Hebrew Bible and feasting, with a special interest in the Torah.
As Ellen Davis asserts, the land (ארץ) in Ancient Israel is axiomatic to understanding the Hebrew Bible properly.1 Found in the early pages of the Torah, the Garden of Eden offers an archetype of perfect land, as well as how humans are to interact with it. From this framework, subsequent Scripture reflects an Edenic vision, and as such, reading ensuing narratives should return the reader to a vision of the Garden of Eden. Though Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden, they—and thus humanity—were not expelled into oblivion devoid of the relationships established; even a post-lapsarian world carries an expectation from God to live in relation to the land (Gen 3:23). As readers of the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures encounter stories, he or she ought to observe echoes of previous stories.2 When encountering any feast, particularly the Feast of First Fruits in Lev 23, the reader should hear echoes of the Garden of Eden. Leviticus 23 draws deeply upon an Edenic vision. In this paper, I will offer an innovative reading of Lev 23 as a parallel text of the opening chapters of the Genesis narrative which contains the story of the Garden of Eden. To do so, I will argue that both narratives focus on honor among diverse audiences, emphasize the sanctification of those who participate, prioritize God’s abundance and generosity as provider, and highlight the unity between God and humanity. In doing so, this paper will demonstrate that even as God’s people no longer are communing in the Garden, they can participate in God’s divine economy.