Through the Shedding of Blood: a Comparison of the Levitical and the Supyire Concepts of Sacrifice
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DigitalResources SIL eBook 60 ® Through the Shedding of Blood: A comparison of the Levitical and the Supyire concepts of sacrifice Michael William Thomas Jemphrey Through the Shedding of Blood: A comparison of the Levitical and the Supyire concepts of sacrifice Michael William Thomas Jemphrey SIL International® 2013 SIL e-Books 60 2013 SIL International® ISBN: 978-1-55671-366-8 ISSN: 1934-2470 Fair-Use Policy: Books published in the SIL e-Books (SILEB) series are intended for scholarly research and educational use. You may make copies of these publications for research or instructional purposes free of charge (within fair-use guidelines) and without further permission. Republication or commercial use of SILEB or the documents contained therein is expressly prohibited without the written consent of the copyright holder(s). Editor-in-Chief Mike Cahill Managing Editor Bonnie Brown Michael William Thomas Jemphrey LLB (QUB, 1981) BD (QUB, 1986) THROUGH THE SHEDDING OF BLOOD: A comparison of the Levitical and the Supyire concepts of sacrifice Thesis offered for the degree of MASTERS OF PHILOSOPHY COLLEGE OF THE HUMANITIES THE QUEEN’S UNIVERSITY, BELFAST MAY 2000 ii PREFACE In 1992, my wife, Miranda, our two-year-old daughter, Shona, and I took up residence in the village of Kabakanha, which lies twenty miles west of Sikasso town, on the main road towards the capital of Mali, Bamako. We joined the SIL team that is working on linguistic and anthropological research, literacy and Bible translation among the Supyire people. As the time approached for the move, the whole idea became daunting. But over the years, as together we learned the language, made a circle of friends and acquaintances, rejoiced as Stephanie was born into our little family, listened to the personal and family dramas unfolding around us, sought co-operation with church leaders and missionaries, studied and worked on producing written materials in Supyire, the sense of utter strangeness gave way to one of belonging. Of course, we will always be strangers, we will never fully understand, nor will our strange ways ever be fully understood here; but still, the place has become more and more like home for us. Working on Bible translation, we have been confronted day in, day out, with the fact that we are not just translating from one language to another, but from one whole worldview to another. A simple word like “dog” seems easy to translate into Supyire. Pwun certainly designates the familiar four-legged creature, but what about all the differing connotations that the word may bring to the mind of the hearer? To the Jews “dog” was a term used of the despised Gentiles. To the Supyire it may bring up images of a hunting animal, or of a bloody sacrificial offering to a fetish. Now add in the complicating factor of a multiethnic team: for me, to call someone “dog”, or even more so, a female of the species is most derogatory. A German colleague, on the other hand, assures me that Hund! can be used to compliment someone, for example for his intelligence. Being on guard against possible mismatches in meaning is essential in the process of translating. In translating Jesus’ remark to the Gentile woman “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs” it proved necessary to add an explanatory footnote to bridge the cultural gap and increase comprehension of the dialogue. iii When it came to translating passages involving sacrifice, which is a rich and central theme both of the Bible and of Supyire life, the issues became all the more complex. Coming from a culture where animal sacrifice is not practised and is seen as alien, if not repulsive, I felt the need to gain a much deeper understanding of the concept in both the Hebrew and Supyire worldviews. It is primarily this which has prompted me to follow this line of research. The dissertation was written over a two-year period. The first was on location in Mali, and the second during our home assignment in Belfast. It has been far from a one-man venture. As the Supyire proverb puts it, “One finger alone cannot lift a pebble.” My present understanding of the Supyire view of sacrifice is thanks to the help and co-operation of many within the Supyire community, and many outsiders who themselves have sought understanding of the matter. Particular thanks should go to: Those members of the Supyire community who have given interviews about their sacrificial practices, and the role they play in Supyire life.1 The members of the translation and literacy team, who spent hours with me shedding light on otherwise incomprehensible words and events. Our SIL colleagues, Joyce Carlson whose detailed anthropological journal of Supyire life over the years has been a veritable gold mine of anecdotes and insights, and Robert Carlson whose musings on the matter, as on any matter, invariably provoke further questions. Emilio, who opened up for me the significant research on sacrifice, carried out by himself and others in the Roman Catholic community. I am very thankful that God has surrounded us with extended family and friends in Belfast who, along with our home congregation, Knock Presbyterian Church, have supported and encouraged us unstintingly throughout our years in Mali. I was amazed and very grateful too to find a supervisor, almost on our doorstep in Belfast. Dr. T.D. Alexander, who has written on sacrifice in Leviticus, has given me 1It seemed clear that there were parts of their work they were willing to discuss and other parts “trade secrets” as it were, which they were not. This is understandable and did not prejudice our purpose, which was to gain an understanding of sacrifice among the Supyire population as a whole. A large majority of the population is aware that certain practitioners have certain secrets to which they will never have access. There is also a large body of public knowledge, and it is that which we are studying. iv the benefit of his experience, provided wise guidance and made timely, incisive comments. A translation strives to communicate as fully as possible the original intentions of the author. Translators readily admit though that the subtle complexities of each language, the connotations, the play on words mean that they will always fall short of the ideal. When the translator has turned off his computer, the task of bridging the gap between the two worldviews must be taken up by others. My prayer is that this thesis may make a contribution not only to translation of the Scriptures into Supyire, but also to the understanding of the biblical and Supyire worldviews for those evangelists, pastors, and teachers who seek to communicate the translated Word of God to the Supyire people. Note: For the purposes of confidentiality names of certain persons and villages have been changed. v CHIEF ABBREVIATIONS Biblical books 1 Sam 1 Samuel 2 Chr 2 Chronicles 2 Sam 2 Samuel 2 Tim 2 Timothy Deut Deuteronomy Exod Exodus Ezek Ezekiel Gen Genesis Heb Hebrews Isa Isaiah Judg Judges Lam Lamentations Lev Leviticus Num Numbers Phil Philippians Prov Proverbs Ps Psalm Biblical versions GW God’s Word for the Nations KJV King James Version LXX Septuagint NASB New American Standard Bible NCV New Century Version NIV New International Version NLT New Living Translation NRSV New Revised Standard Version REB Revised English Bible RSV Revised Standard Version TEV Today’s English Version (Biblical quotations are from the NIV unless otherwise specified.) BDBG The New Brown-Driver-Briggs-Gesenius Hebrew-English Lexicon fn. footnote SIL Summer Institute of Linguistics NIDOTT New International Dictionary of Old Testament Theology JPS Jewish Publication Society vi TABLE OF CONTENTS PREFACE ii CHIEF ABBREVIATIONS v TABLE OF CONTENTS vi LIST OF FIGURES vii 1. INTRODUCTION 1 2. THE SUPYIRE PEOPLE AND CULTURE: AN OUTLINE 6 SKETCH 3. SACRIFICE IN SUPYIRE SOCIETY 28 4. LEVITICAL SACRIFICE IN RELATION TO HOLINESS 58 5. THE FIVE MAJOR SACRIFICES IN LEVITICUS 1-7 70 6. LEVITICAL AND SUPYIRE CONCEPTS OF SACRIFICE 117 COMPARED AND CONTRASTED 7. TRANSLATING LEVITICAL SACRIFICES INTO SUPYIRE 125 8. CONCLUDING REFLECTIONS 138 APPENDICES A. HISTORY OF THE SUPYIRE PEOPLE 142 B. OCCUPATIONS OF THE SUPYIRE PEOPLE 145 C. THE SUPYIRE CALENDAR 146 BIBLIOGRAPHY 148 vii LIST OF FIGURES 1. Map of North and West Africa 10 2. Map of Supyirephone area in Mali 11 3. Supyire vocabulary in the domain of sacrifice 54 4. Structure of Exodus 19 – Leviticus 27 58 5. Dynamics of sacrifice sin and infirmity in Leviticus 64 6. Dynamic categories of holiness and impurity 65 7. Gradations of holiness 66 8. Holiness spectrum 66 9. Five sacrifices in Leviticus 1-7: summary of their forms 70 10. The hlu ritual 71 11. The hjnm ritual 83 12. The <ymlv ritual 88 13. The tafj ritual 99 14. The priest’s actions in the greater and lesser tafj rituals 99 15. Tafj prescribed for different offenders 101 16. The <va ritual 108 17. Five sacrifices in Leviticus 1-7: summary of their functions 115 18. Five sacrifices in Leviticus 1-7: translations in English versions 129 1 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 THE THEME OF SACRIFICE IN HEBREW AND SUPYIRE CULTURE Sacrifice is offered on account of a birth, a marriage, barrenness, farming, family disputes, death; sacrifice runs as a thread through the whole of Supyire life. From Cain to Abraham to Moses to Isaiah to the Lamb that was slain, the same thread can be traced through the Bible. The writer to the Hebrews comments: “Without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins” (Hebrews 9:23b).