Ritual Violence in the Hebrew Bible

Ritual Violence in the Hebrew Bible PDF Author: Saul M. Olyan
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0190249595
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 209

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Book Description
Although the relationship of the Hebrew Bible and violence has been of interest to scholars in recent years, ritual violence in its various manifestations has been underexplored, as have been the theoretical dimensions of ritual violence. This volume is intended to bring into relief the full range of violent rites represented in the Hebrew Bible, many rarely, if ever, considered before. The book seeks to explore what acts of ritual violence might have accomplished socio-politically in their particular settings and the ways in which engagement with theory from a variety of disciplines can contribute to our understanding of ritual violence as a phenomenon. It consists of an introduction and eight essays. Topics include cognitive perspectives on iconoclasm, the instrumental dimensions of ritual violence against corpses, the ritual of killing cities ("urbicide"), royal rites of military loyalty, the ends accomplished by the violence against Rechab and Baanah in 2 Samuel 4, material dimensions of the herem and Rwanda genocide compared, the exchange of women among men and its violent dimensions, and Josiah's ritual assault on Bethel. Authors include Debra Scoggins Ballentine, T. M. Lemos, Mark Leuchter, Nathaniel B. Levtow, Susan Niditch, Saul M. Olyan, Rüdiger Schmitt, and Jacob L. Wright.

Ritual Violence in the Hebrew Bible

Ritual Violence in the Hebrew Bible PDF Author: Saul M. Olyan
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0190249595
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 209

Get Book Here

Book Description
Although the relationship of the Hebrew Bible and violence has been of interest to scholars in recent years, ritual violence in its various manifestations has been underexplored, as have been the theoretical dimensions of ritual violence. This volume is intended to bring into relief the full range of violent rites represented in the Hebrew Bible, many rarely, if ever, considered before. The book seeks to explore what acts of ritual violence might have accomplished socio-politically in their particular settings and the ways in which engagement with theory from a variety of disciplines can contribute to our understanding of ritual violence as a phenomenon. It consists of an introduction and eight essays. Topics include cognitive perspectives on iconoclasm, the instrumental dimensions of ritual violence against corpses, the ritual of killing cities ("urbicide"), royal rites of military loyalty, the ends accomplished by the violence against Rechab and Baanah in 2 Samuel 4, material dimensions of the herem and Rwanda genocide compared, the exchange of women among men and its violent dimensions, and Josiah's ritual assault on Bethel. Authors include Debra Scoggins Ballentine, T. M. Lemos, Mark Leuchter, Nathaniel B. Levtow, Susan Niditch, Saul M. Olyan, Rüdiger Schmitt, and Jacob L. Wright.

Violent Rituals of the Hebrew Bible

Violent Rituals of the Hebrew Bible PDF Author: Saul M. Olyan
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0190681918
Category : Bibles
Languages : en
Pages : 181

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Book Description
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, their various literary contexts, 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.

Violent Rituals of the Hebrew Bible

Violent Rituals of the Hebrew Bible PDF Author: Saul M. Olyan
Publisher:
ISBN: 019068190X
Category : Bibles
Languages : en
Pages : 181

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Book Description
Although seldom studied by biblical scholars as a discrete phenomenon, ritual violence is mentioned frequently in biblical texts. Violent Rituals of the Hebrew Bible is the first book to investigate violent rites, the ritual settings in which they occur, their various literary contexts, 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 in the Hebrew Bible

Violence in the Hebrew Bible PDF Author: Jacques van Ruiten
Publisher: Oudtestamentische Studiën, Old
ISBN: 9789004434677
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 438

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Book Description
"In Violence in the Hebrew Bible scholars reflect on texts of violence in the Hebrew Bible, as well as their often problematic reception history. Authoritative texts and traditions can be rewritten and adapted to new circumstances and insights. Texts are subject to a process of change. The study of the ways in which these (authoritative) biblical texts are produced and/or received in various socio-historical circumstances discloses a range of theological and ideological perspectives. In reflecting on these issues, the central question is how to allow for a given text's plurality of possible and realised meanings while also retaining the ability to form critical judgments regarding biblical exegesis. This volume highlight that violence in particular is a fruitful area to explore this tension"--

The Oxford Handbook of Ritual and Worship in the Hebrew Bible

The Oxford Handbook of Ritual and Worship in the Hebrew Bible PDF Author: Samuel E. Balentine
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0190944935
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 589

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Book Description
Ritual has a primal connection to the idea that a transcendent order - numinous and mysterious, supranatural and elusive, divine and wholly other - gives meaning and purpose to life. The construction of rites and rituals enables humans to conceive and apprehend this transcendent order, to symbolize it and interact with it, to postulate its truths in the face of contradicting realities and to repair them when they have been breached or diminished. This Handbook provides a compendium of the information essential for constructing a comprehensive and integrated account of ritual and worship in the ancient world. Its focus on ritual and worship from the perspective of biblical studies, as opposed to religious studies, highlights that the world of ritual and worship was a topic of central concern for the people of the Ancient Near East, including the world of the Bible. Given the scarcity of the material in the Bible itself, the authors in this collection use materials from the ancient Near East to provide a larger context for the practices of the biblical world, giving due attention to historical, anthropological, and social scientific methods that inform the context of biblical worship. The specifics of ritual and worship life-the sacred spaces, times, and actors in worship-are examined in detail, with essays covering both the divine and human aspects of the sacred dimension. The Oxford Handbook of Ritual and Worship in the Hebrew Bible considers several underlying concepts of ritual practice and closes with a theological outlook on worship and ritual from a variety of perspectives, demonstrating a fruitful exchange between biblical studies, ritual theory, and social science research.

Uncovering Violence

Uncovering Violence PDF Author: Amy Cottrill
Publisher: Westminster John Knox Press
ISBN: 1646982185
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 188

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Book Description
It is no surprise that the Bible is filled with stories of violence, having come into being through the crucible of trauma, cultural conflict, and warfare. But the more obvious acts of physical or sexual violence in the Hebrew Bible often overshadow its subtler forms throughout Scripture and belie the variety of perspectives on violence embedded in biblical narratives. This hinders readers' ability to recognize the full spectrum of human engagement with violence, both in texts and in their lived experiences. Uncovering Violence: Reading Biblical Narratives as an Ethical Project seeks to provide a theoretical vocabulary for the various forms that violence can take—including textual violence, interpretive violence, moral injury, and slow violence—and to offer a fresh ethical reading of violence in the biblical text. Focusing on four narratives from the Hebrew Bible, Cottrill uses the approach of narrative ethics to lay out the many ways that stories can make moral claims on readers, not by delivering a discrete "lesson" or takeaway but by making transformative contact with readers and involving them in a more embodied dialogue with the text. Exploring the narratives of Jael’s killing of Sisera, the toxic masculinity of Samson, environmental devastation and failures of legal systems in Ruth, and Abigail’s mediation with King David, Uncovering Violence presents strategies for reading that allow for this close encounter. In doing so, it helps prepare readers to better recognize, interpret, and even respond to violence and its many effects within and beyond the text.

Child Sacrifice in Ancient Israel

Child Sacrifice in Ancient Israel PDF Author: Heath D. Dewrell
Publisher: Penn State Press
ISBN: 1646022017
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 253

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Book Description
Among the many religious acts condemned in the Hebrew Bible, child sacrifice stands out as particularly horrifying. The idea that any group of people would willingly sacrifice their own children to their god(s) is so contrary to modern moral sensibilities that it is difficult to imagine that such a practice could have ever existed. Nonetheless, the existence of biblical condemnation of these rites attests to the fact that some ancient Israelites in fact did sacrifice their children. Indeed, a close reading of the evidence—biblical, archaeological, epigraphic, etc.—indicates that there are at least three different types of Israelite child sacrifice, each with its own history, purpose, and function. In addition to examining the historical reality of Israelite child sacrifice, Dewrell’s study also explores the biblical rhetoric condemning the practice. While nearly every tradition preserved in the Hebrew Bible rejects child sacrifice as abominable to Yahweh, the rhetorical strategies employed by the biblical writers vary to a surprising degree. Thus, even in arguing against the practice of child sacrifice, the biblical writers themselves often disagreed concerning why Yahweh condemned the rites and why they came to exist in the first place.

Warfare, Ritual, and Symbol in Biblical and Modern Contexts

Warfare, Ritual, and Symbol in Biblical and Modern Contexts PDF Author: Brad E. Kelle
Publisher: Society of Biblical Literature
ISBN: 9781589839601
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
New perspectives on Israelite warfare for biblical studies, military studies, and social theory Contributors investigate what constituted a symbol in war, what rituals were performed and their purpose, how symbols and rituals functioned in and between wars and battles, what effects symbols and rituals had on insiders and outsiders, what ways symbols and rituals functioned as instruments of war, and what roles rituals and symbols played in the production and use of texts. Features: Thirteen essays examine war in textual, historical, and social contexts Texts from the Hebrew Bible are read in light of ancient Near Eastern texts and archaeology Interdisciplinary studies make use of contemporary ritual and social theory

The (De)Legitimization of Violence in Sacred and Human Contexts

The (De)Legitimization of Violence in Sacred and Human Contexts PDF Author: Muhammad Shafiq
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 3030511251
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 360

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Book Description
This book provides a multidisciplinary commentary on a wide range of religious traditions and their relationship to acts of violence. Hate and violence occur at every level of human interaction, as do peace and compassion. Scholars of religion have a particular obligation to make sense out of this situation, tracing its history and variables, and drawing lessons for the future. From the formative periods of the religious traditions to their application in the contemporary world, the essays in this volume interrogate the views on violence found within the traditions and provide examples of religious practices that exacerbate or ameliorate situations of conflict.

Violent Rituals of the Hebrew Bible

Violent Rituals of the Hebrew Bible PDF Author: Saul M. Olyan
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780190681937
Category : Bible
Languages : en
Pages : 165

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Book Description
"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"--