Abstract
Blood plays a crucial role in the Hebrew Bible and in Hebrew Bible rituals. The aim of this study is to examine the ritual efficacy of blood in the Hebrew Bible and this will be conducted by investigating the meanings and functions of selected blood rituals in the Hebrew Bible. The questions in this study will be as follows: Why is blood – and not spit, water, semen, urine, or milk – used as a ritual ingredient and how is blood used in a ritual manner? I will apply ritual theory to the Hebrew Bible texts to show how ritual actions are expected to be efficacious and to show how they are interpreted as having meanings and functions by the writers of the texts. The anthropology of blood in the Hebrew Bible and the ancient Near East will supplement ritual perspective since concepts of blood in the Hebrew Bible and in the ancient Near East play an important role in the ritual process by substantiating ritual efficacy. By using the ritual and anthropological perspectives in my study, I aim to map the different meanings and functions of selected blood rituals in the Hebrew Bible.
Contact information
E-mail: asc(at)teologi.dk
Supervisors
Professor Anne Katrine de Hemmer Gudme