Sin & Sacrifice in Ancient Israel Ryan White Part 5 Resources • Jacob Milgrom • Mary Douglas • Gary A. Anderson Sin: A History • Henry P. Smith The Hebrew View of Sin • Baruch Schwartz The Bearing of Sin in Priestly Literature • Jeremiah Unterman For the Image of God as Redeemer of Israel • Margaret Barker Atonement: The Rite of Healing • Jonathan Klawans Purity, Sacrifice, and the Temple Resources • Marcel Mauss The Gift • Henri Hubert and Marcel Mauss Sacrifice • Gordon Wenham The Book of Leviticus • Yitzhaq Feder Blood Expiation in Hittite and Biblical Ritual • Allen Ross Holiness to the LORD • Dennis Pardee Divinatory and Sacrificial Rites • William Gilders Sacrifice in Ancient Israel Dealing with the Critics Judaism/ Christianity • Theologically Evolved • Attained the goal • Understands the Ancient Israel spiritual • Remove the Magic Pre-Israel • Weaning off sacrifice • Magic to counteract • Control of laity demons • Violence-driven • Food for the gods 4,400 year old skull with regrowth of bone It takes 15 years of schooling to become a Neurosurgeon today Interesting Facts: • Built in 30 years, contains ~2.3 million stone blocks weighing from 2 to 70 tons each. • Outer surface had 144,000 marble stone casings, flat to within 1/100th of an inch an weighing 15 tons each. Highly reflective. • Located at the center of land mass on earth. • Slightly concave (0nly pyramid like this), its curvature matches that of the earth exactly. • Built facing true north and located on an underground stone mountain (support) • Cornerstones used ball & sockets to last through earthquakes, heat, cold, just like modern bridge design. Great Pyramid of Giza – Oldest known Pyramid ~4,600 years old. • Numbers designed into it – 3.14159, 365.24, 5449 (Isaiah 19:19-20) Ancient man’s Modern man’s cognitive ability≥ cognitive ability Judaism/ Christianity • Theologically Evolved • Attained the goal Ancient Israel • Understands the spiritual • Remove the Magic Pre-Israel • Weaning off sacrifice • Control of laity • Magic to counteract demons • Violence-driven • Food for the gods Ezekiel 38-48 Restoration Not Evolution Rejected system OR Rejected Priesthood? Paul himself offered sacrifices • Acts 18:18, Acts 21:23-26 Yeshua taught to sacrifice after resolving the conflict with your brother • Matthew 5:23-24 The prophets opposed improper sacrifices • Malachi 1 • 2 Samuel 24:24 • Isaiah 61:8 ‘ Sacrifice ‘ ? קרּבן H7133 H7126 Psalm 50:12-14 Demonology Incantations Idolatry Chthonic worship Purpose of the Sacrificial System • Attract God’s presence to the earth • Audience with the King • Maintain God’s presence in the midst of the camp • Act of restitution for crimes • Reconfirming of the covenant bond Attracting the Deity The eleventh tablet of the standard Babylonian (Ninevite) version of the Epic of Gilgamesh: (155) I let out to the four winds and I offered a sacrifice. (156) I made an offering at the mountain top. (157) I set up cult vessels by sevens. (158) Under them I poured reed, cedar and myrtle. (159) The gods smelled (its) sweet savor. (161) The gods, like flies, around the offerer gathered. Basic Sacrifice Procedure 1. Select an animal 2. Ensure your ritual cleanliness 3. Bring your animal to the tabernacle, to the priest 4. Lay your hand on the animal’s head 5. Kill your animal 6. Priest manipulates the blood 7. Part of the animal or all of the animal is placed on the altar 8. Covenant meal of the sacrifice (as applicable) 9. Thus atonement is made on behalf of him and forgiveness is rendered (if applicable) #1 Animal Selection #1 Animal Selection Blemish in Justice Consequences (Leviticus 19:35) (Malachi 1:13-14) #1 Animal Selection Matthew 25:31-33 #1 Animal Selection – Income Source • Source of • Milk • Wool • Milk manure • Cheese • Offspring • Plowing fields • Offspring • Lawnmower • Grinding grain • Offspring • Transport • Offspring Animal kingdom as a microcosm of the world Unclean animals = Gentiles • Allowed for usage while alive, but prohibition against corpses prevented Israel from profiting from their death (skins, meat, etc) (cf. Lev 19:16) Kosher animals = Israelite laity • This explains why Lev 17 equates unsanctioned slaughter to murder Only 3 ruminants & 1 type of fowl are permissible on the altar • Like the kohenim, they had had to be without blemish Basic Sacrifice Procedure 1. Select an animal 2. Ensure your ritual cleanliness 3. Bring your animal to the tabernacle, to the priest 4. Lay your hand on the animal’s head 5. Kill your animal 6. Priest manipulates the blood 7. Part of the animal or all of the animal is placed on the altar 8. Covenant meal of the sacrifice (as applicable) 9. Thus atonement is made on behalf of him and forgiveness is rendered (if applicable) #2 Ritual Cleanliness Corpse Defilement Tzav Tsarot Parturient #2 Ritual Cleanliness “Death and Sex are contrary to His nature” Basic Sacrifice Procedure 1. Select an animal 2. Ensure your ritual cleanliness 3. Bring your animal to the Tabernacle, to the priest 4. Lay your hand on the animal’s head 5. Kill your animal 6. Priest manipulates the blood 7. Part of the animal or all of the animal is placed on the altar 8. Covenant meal of the sacrifice (as applicable) 9. Thus atonement is made on behalf of him and forgiveness is rendered (if applicable) #3 Basic Sacrifice Procedure 1. Select an animal 2. Ensure your ritual cleanliness 3. Bring your animal to the tabernacle, to the priest 4. Lay your hand on the animal’s head 5. Kill your animal 6. Priest manipulates the blood 7. Part of the animal or all of the animal is placed on the altar 8. Covenant meal of the sacrifice (as applicable) 9. Thus atonement is made on behalf of him and forgiveness is rendered (if applicable) #4 Single hand • Due to the animal’s size, and there being multiple animals in the tabernacle, the possibility to make mistake could occur • Thus “this is mine”, not “this is me” – eliminates confusion of ownership • This is why the action was not performed with the bird or the grain (Lev 1:14-17, 5:7-11) • Judaism teaches binyan av’ to always use 2 hands based off Lev 16 (but this doesn’t follow the actual text). “The Gesture of Hand Placement in the Hebrew Bible and in Hittite Literature” Author(s): David P. Wright Basic Sacrifice Procedure 1. Select an animal 2. Ensure your ritual cleanliness 3. Bring your animal to the tabernacle, to the priest 4. Lay your hand on the animal’s head 5. Kill your animal 6. Priest manipulates the blood 7. Part of the animal or all of the animal is placed on the altar 8. Covenant meal of the sacrifice (as applicable) 9. Thus atonement is made on behalf of him and forgiveness is rendered (if applicable) #5 Slaughter of the Animal - Controlled Manner of Slaughter Ezekiel 34:15-16 Basic Sacrifice Procedure 1. Select an animal 2. Ensure your ritual cleanliness 3. Bring your animal to the tabernacle, to the priest 4. Lay your hand on the animal’s head 5. Kill your animal 6. Priest manipulates the blood 7. Part of the animal or all of the animal is placed on the altar 8. Covenant meal of the sacrifice (as applicable) 9. Thus atonement is made on behalf of him and forgiveness is rendered (if applicable) #6 Blood Manipulation Blood is used for: • Olah – consecration/dedication of the altar or person (note: also used in certain chatta't) • Chatta't - expiation, purgation. Removes impurity from the altar or the temple and provides restitution by means of blood payment. • Asham - form of graduated chatta't with emphasis on sins against fellow man • Shelamim - Payment by means of blood for the fulfillment of a vow. Also the blood could be used to come into blood/threshold covenants to enjoin an alien into the family (indexes members of the household together into a common covenant bond) Basic Sacrifice Procedure 1. Select an animal 2. Ensure your ritual cleanliness 3. Bring your animal to the tabernacle, to the priest 4. Lay your hand on the animal’s head 5. Kill your animal 6. Priest manipulates the blood 7. Part of the animal or all of the animal is placed on the altar 8. Covenant meal of the sacrifice (as applicable) 9. Thus atonement is made on behalf of him and forgiveness is rendered (if applicable) Olah - Whole Burnt Offering Total consecration of the gift to YHVH Personal audience with the king Malachi 1 : 8 Connection with the Chatta’t Suet • From the POV of the butcher, the suet is a hard casing that covers the soft, innermost parts of the animal’s innards Liver-Lobe • The word used suggests ‘surplus, excess, what is not required, a remnant • See Zechariah 14:2 Kidneys • Weighty part, associated with glory, with the Shekinah Intestines (genitals) • Used in swearing of an oath Basic Sacrifice Procedure 1. Select an animal 2. Ensure your ritual cleanliness 3. Bring your animal to the tabernacle, to the priest 4. Lay your hand on the animal’s head 5. Kill your animal 6. Priest manipulates the blood 7. Part of the animal or all of the animal is placed on the altar 8. Covenant meal of the sacrifice (as applicable) 9. Thus atonement is made on behalf of him and forgiveness is rendered (if applicable) #8 Covenantal Meal Eating of flesh was for special occasions Basic Sacrifice Procedure 1. Select an animal 2. Ensure your ritual cleanliness 3. Bring your animal to the tabernacle, to the priest 4. Lay your hand on the animal’s head 5. Kill your animal 6. Priest manipulates the blood 7. Part of the animal or all of the animal is placed on the altar 8.