Violent rituals of the Hebrew Bible / Saul M. Olyan.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Olyan, Saul M., author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Bible. Old Testament--Criticism, interpretation, etc.

Bible. Old Testament.

Violence in the Bible.

Ritual--Biblical teaching.

Ritual.

Biblical teaching.

Genre:

Criticism, interpretation, etc.

Physical Description:

xii, 165 pages ; 25 cm

Place of Publication:

New York, NY : Oxford University Press, [2019]

Summary:

"Although seldom studied by biblical scholars as a discrete phenomenon, ritual violence is mentioned frequently in biblical texts, and includes ritual actions such as disfigurement of corpses, destruction or scattering of bones removed from a tomb, stoning and other forms of public execution, cursing, forced depilation, the legally-sanctioned imposition of physical defects on living persons, coerced potion-drinking, sacrificial burning of animals and humans, forced stripping and exposure of the genitalia, and mass eradication of populations. This book, the first to focus on ritual violence in the Hebrew Bible, investigates these and other violent rites, the ritual settings in which they occur (e.g., the temple, the royal court, the battlefield), their various literary contexts (e.g., legal texts, narrative, visions, dreams and oracles), and the identity and aims of their agents in order to speak in an informed way about the contours and social aspects of ritual violence as it is represented in the Hebrew Bible. Violence, ritual violence, ritual, law, narrative, visions, dreams, oracles, ritual theory, social relationships, sacrifice"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Ritual violence prescribed

Violent rites narrated

Ritual violence envisioned

Ritual inversion and mitigating rites

The role of circumstantially dependent rites in ritual violence

The social dimensions of ritual violence.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and indexes.

ISBN:

9780190681906

019068190X

OCLC:

1099539896