Eating the Blood: Saul and the Witch of Endor
This article re-examines the encounter between King Saul and the witch of Endor and demonstrates by a close reading of the text that the witch is not a solicitous hostess but an adroit strategist intent upon survival. The food she prepares for Saul is, firstly, a mantic sacrifice to the spirits of t...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Sage
1997
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| In: |
Journal for the study of the Old Testament
Year: 1997, Volume: 22, Issue: 73, Pages: 3-23 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | This article re-examines the encounter between King Saul and the witch of Endor and demonstrates by a close reading of the text that the witch is not a solicitous hostess but an adroit strategist intent upon survival. The food she prepares for Saul is, firstly, a mantic sacrifice to the spirits of the dead entailing the stringently pro scribed eating of blood. Secondly, the shared meal is an unholy but legally effective covenant between God's anointed first king of Israel and a sorceress. Thirdly, the forbidden meal serves an apostasy that warrants Saul's consequent suicide; and lastly, it provides a scenario for the contrast of Saul's treachery with David's constancy in an analogous situation. |
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| ISSN: | 1476-6728 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Journal for the study of the Old Testament
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1177/030908929702207301 |