Blood Expiation In Hittite And Biblical Ritual (writings From The Ancient World Supplements/society Of Biblical Literature)
by Yitzhak Feder /
2011 / English / PDF
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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.
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.