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Blood expiation in Hittite and biblical ritual: origins, context, and meaning
Yitzhaq Feder
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This pioneering study examines the use of blood to purge the effects of sin and impurity in Hittite and biblical ritual. The idea that blood atones for sins holds a prominent place in both Jewish and Christian traditions. The author traces this notion back to its earliest documentation in the fourteenth- and thirteenth-century B.C.E. texts from Hittite Anatolia, in which the smearing of blood is used as a means of expiation, purification, and consecration. This rite parallels, in both its procedure and goals, the biblical sin offering. The author argues that this practice stems from a common tradition manifested in both cultures. In addition, this book aims to decipher and elucidate the symbolism of the practice of blood smearing by seeking to identify the sociocultural context in which the expiatory significance of blood originated. Thus, it is essential reading for anyone interested in the meaning and efficacy of ritual, the origins of Jewish and Christian notions of sin and atonement, and the origin of the biblical blood rite.
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Frontmatter
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Acknowledgments (page vii)
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Abbreviations (page ix)
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Introduction (page 1)
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Part 1
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1: The Hurro-Hittite zurki Rite (page 7)
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2: The Biblical Sin Offering (page 35)
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3: The Question of a Historical Connection (page 115)
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Part 2
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4: Rituals, Signs, and Meaning: Theoretical Foundations (page 147)
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5: The Blood of the Sin Offering: Origins, Context, and Meaning (page 167)
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6: The zurki Rite: Origins, Context, and Meaning (page 209)
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7: Tracking the Blood Rite Tradition: Origins, Translation, and Transformation (page 243)
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Conclusion (page 261)
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Bibliography (page 273)
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Glossary (page 291)
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Subject Index (page 293)
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Source Index (page 295)
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Author Index (page 305)
Citable Link
Published: c2011
Publisher: SBL Press
- 9781589835542 (paper)