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The sanctuary and rituals that formed the heart of ancient Judaism ceased to exist a long time ago, yet their images and concepts, especially that of “sacrifice,” have remained essential to the rhetoric of politics, religion, and secular culture. Pervasive sacrificial metaphors range from religious foundations for human ethics to attempts to glorify victims of military operations or natural disasters to much-debated ideas of vicarious atonement within Christianity. The essays in this volume deal with central aspects of sacrificial rituals and processes of metaphor development and spiritualization in Judaism and Christianity. The contributors include Christian A. Eberhart, Göran Eidevall, Stephen Finlan, George P. Heyman, Dominika Kurek-Chomycz, Jeffrey S. Siker, Jason Tatlock, Timothy Wardle, and James W. Watts.
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RITUAL AND METAPHOR
Society of Biblical Literature
Resources for Biblical Study
Tom Thatcher, New Testament Editor
Number 68 RITUAL AND METAPHOR Sacrifice in the Bible
RITUAL AND METAPHOR Sacrifice in the Bible
Edited by Christian A. Eberhart
Society of Biblical Literature Atlanta
RITUAL AND METAPHOR Sacrifice in the Bible
Copyright © 2011 by the Society of Biblical Literature
All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by means of any information storage or retrieval system, except as may be expressly permitted by the 1976 Copyright Act or in writing from the publisher. Requests for permission should be addressed in writing to the Rights and Permissions Office, Society of Biblical Literature, 825 Houston Mill Road, Atlanta, GA 30333-0399, USA. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Ritual and metaphor : sacrifice in the Bible / [edited by] Christian A. Eberhart. p. cm. — (Society of Biblical Literature resources for biblical study ; no. 68) Includes bibliographical references and indexes. ISBN 978-1-58983-601-3 (paper binding : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-1-58983-602-0 (electronic format) 1. Sacrifice in the Bible—Congresses. 2. Christian literature, Early—History and criticism—Congresses. I. Eberhart, Christian. BS1199.S2R58 2011 220.6´7—dc23 2011039047
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Contents
List of Abbreviations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii Preface. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xi Introduction: Sacrifice in the Bible . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xv Christian A. Eberhart Part 1: Sacrifice in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament 1. The Rhetoric of Sacrifice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 James W. Watts 2. Sacrifice? Holy Smokes! Reflections on Cult Terminology for Understanding Sacrifice in the Hebrew Bible . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Christian A. Eberhart 3. The Place of Human Sacrifice in the Israelite Cult . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 Jason Tatlock 4. The Role of Sacrificial Language in Prophetic Rhetoric. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 Göran Eidevall Part 2: Sacrifice in Early Christian Literature 5. Yom Kippuring Passover: Recombinant Sacrifice in Early Christianity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 Jeffrey S. Siker 6. Spiritualization of Sacrifice in Paul and Hebrews. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83 Stephen Finlan 7. Who Is Sacrificing? Assessing the Early Christian Reticence to Transfer the Idea of the Priesthood to the Co