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SIN, PURIFICATION and SACRIFICE: Analysis and Comparison of Texts from the Book of Leviticus and Malagasy Traditional Rituals

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SIN, PURIFICATION and SACRIFICE: Analysis and Comparison of Texts from the Book of Leviticus and Malagasy Traditional Rituals SIN, PURIFICATION AND SACRIFICE: Analysis and Comparison of Texts from the Book of Leviticus and Malagasy Traditional Rituals Submitted by Olivier Randrianjaka In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) VID Specialized University, Stavanger February 2020 i ABSTRACT This study is an analysis and comparison of rituals in two different settings. Due to its ancient content, the book of Leviticus has been negatively received or is simply ignored by most western Churches. They see the book of Leviticus as irrelevant to today’s Christians. This research grows out of the interest to find why Malagasy Christians feel at home when reading the book of Leviticus. My research starts from the hypothesis that there might be some identifiable correspondences between ancient rituals in the book of Leviticus and some traditional Malagasy rituals. These correspondences might be the rationale behind the familiarity of Malagasy readers with the book of Leviticus and hence their positive acceptance. All these rituals have to do with sin, purification and sacrifice. My research is divided into two main parts. In Part One, I study three rituals from the book of Leviticus, namely, the ritual purification relating to intentional and unintentional sins in Lev 4:1– 5:13, the postpartum ritual purification in Lev 12 and the global ritual purification on the Day of Atonement in Lev 16. Part Two is devoted to the study of three seleted traditional Malagasy rituals, namely, the ritual purification relating to violation of taboo (fady), the eighth day postpartum ritual purification of the Malagasy northern ethnic groups and the New Year royal bath ritual of purification called fandroana. Throughout my study I seek to explore and analyze these rituals with the purpose of finding identifiable correspondences between rituals in Leviticus and Malagasy traditional rituals. As a result, I find out that the first “pair” of rituals have the same cause and consequence: violation of divine (or ancestral) prohibitions inevitably leads into sin and impurity that is fatally threatening God-human and human-human relationship. Violation of divine prohibitions does not only incur guilt towards God but also delineates the violator from his/her surroundings. To remedy such a catastrophe the violator must perform ritual purification by means of bloody sacrifice which substitutes for the transgressor. The second point to be highlihted is that in the second “pair” of rituals, after childbirth, the parturient has to offer a sacrifice to God. The purpose and the output of the sacrifice is slightly different in the two settings. In Leviticus, it aims at purifying the parturient who becomes ritually impure because of the postnatal discharge while in the Malagasy context the sacrifice is offered to beg the ancestors’ blessings for the newborn baby and the mother. ii The third “pair” of rituals relate to the need for a global purification used to purify the whole nation. In Leviticus, according to the Priestly theology, daily sacrifices purify sinners and transgressors from their sins and impurities but their impurities are accumulated in the Holy of Holies, which is the dwelling place of God in the sanctuary. Consequently, each year the ancient Israelites must undergo a global ritual purification on the Day of Atonement with the purpose of purifying both humans and the Tabernacle. The same concept is found in the traditional Malagasy royal bath called fandroana. At the New Year celebration a ritual purification is led by the monarch to purify the whole kingdom and the population. In both contexts sacrificial blood plays central role since it functions as ritual purifying detergent. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I want to express my gratitude to the Norwegian Mission Society (NMS) and the DANMISSION for having funded my PhD project. Without their financial support this study would not have been possible. I am thankful to Professor and Rector Bård Mæland at VID Specialized University in Stavanger and all the staff for the love and support they have shown during these years. I would never have been able to finish my dissertation without their supports. I would like to express my deepest gratitude to the Supervision Committee composed of Professor Jostein Ådna, Professor Hans Austnaberg and Associate Professor Gunnar Magnus Eidsvåg for their excellent guidance, caring, patience, and for providing me with an excellent atmosphere for doing research. I also extend my gratitude to the former President of the Malagasy Lutheran Church (FLM) Dr. Rakoto Endor Modeste and the current Dean of the Lutheran Graduate School of Theology (SALT) in Fianarantsoa, Dr. Lotera Fabien for having given me the opportunity to further my studies to this level. I would also like to thank a number of biblical scholars at VID Specialized University for their support and friendship: Professor Anna Rebecca Solevåg for her practical support, Professor Emeritus Magnar Kartveit, Professor Knut Holter, Associate Professor Gerd Marie Ådna, Dr Kristin Fjelde Tjelle and many good friends and colleagues at VID. A special thanks is given to the library personnel for their help and assistance during my research. And last but not least, my wife Fanomezana and our three children Fifaliana, Mino and Fihobiana for their love and prayers. My wife Fanomezana was always there cheering me up and stood by me through the good times and the bad. Misaotra betsaka! iv v TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract ............................................................................................................................................ i Acknowledgments.......................................................................................................................... iii Table of Contents ............................................................................................................................ v List of Abbreviations ..................................................................................................................... ix Chapter 1: Introduction ............................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Why Leviticus? ................................................................................................................. 1 1.2 Statement of the Problem .................................................................................................. 2 1.3 Research Question ............................................................................................................ 3 1.4 Methodology and Structure of the Thesis ......................................................................... 4 PART ONE: STUDIES OF RITUALS IN LEVITICUS ................................................................ 7 8 .............................................................. כִּפֶּ ר and חַטָּ את Chapter 2: Preliminary Investigation of 8 ................................................................. חַטָּ את Brief Survey of Scholarly Views on the 2.1 24 .............................................................................................. כִּפֶּ ר Study of the senses of 2.2 2.3 Concluding Summary ..................................................................................................... 42 Chapter 3: Sin and Ritual Sacrifice in Leviticus 4:1–5:13 ....................................................... 43 3.1 Key Terms and Concepts ................................................................................................ 43 43 ......................................................................................................... חטא The qal of 3.1.1 3.1.1.1 Semitic Cognates .............................................................................................. 43 45 ................................................................................... חטא Senses of the qal of 3.1.1.2 49 ......................................................................................................... אׁשם The qal of 3.1.2 51 ................................................................. ְׁשגָּגָּ ה and the Noun ׁשגה / ׁשגג The qal of 3.1.3 3.2 Four Cases of Deliberate Sins in Lev 5:1–4 ................................................................... 55 Ritual ........................................................................... 59 כִּפֶּ ר Offering and the חַטָּ את The 3.3 3.3.1 The Laying on of Hand(s) Rite ................................................................................ 60 3.3.2 The Slaughtering Rite .............................................................................................. 64 3.3.3 The Blood Rite ......................................................................................................... 65 3.3.4 The Burning Rite...................................................................................................... 73 3.4 Preliminary Conclusion .................................................................................................. 74 Chapter 4: Postpartum Ritual Purification in Leviticus 12 ....................................................... 77 4.1 Introductory Notes .......................................................................................................... 77 vi 4.2 Exegesis of Lev 12:1–8 ................................................................................................... 79 4.2.1 Text and Translation of Lev 12:1–8........................................................................
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