cheenc03a.pdf

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SACRIFICE
the definitions of P and the Mishna may sometimes be
of making s)srematic discrimination between
terms once loniely equivalent. The tendrncy of the
.-. . ,
ritnal development was to reduce to rule and measure Haans ; cp below. $ 31 n.)
whnt was once more freiee. and to convert into a Wx, for Sacrifices were generally offered at home ; every
the support of the clel-0.. what formerly. ar a glft to villare had its altar lmiab+d, rlnuchter " nlacei, . ,. \\here
the deity, had s~rually fallen in whale or in part to his Liewon. the bictims slain and feasts held :
ministers. Aparchie were offered not only of things Md OCEasiOm~ thither the firstlings and other ohlithat
were eaten, but also of Hax and ,7001 (Hor. 259 Dl. - entorv , offerines were broueht iree
IS4). lnarmuch as thee offerirlgs have a history of H~CH PLACE, 9 4). There w& more famaus holy
their own it hnr seemed best to treat them separately ; places to which men resorted in numbus, especially
see TaxArroN, TITHES. Rrligious dedications of a at the autumn festival (see FEASTS. 5 4). The
different character are the 'orl~ih of fruit-tiees in the
first three years of bearing. followed in the fourth by
rimes of sacrifice were in part fixed by custom, in
part dependent on the occasion or on the "ill of the
the consrcrstion of the crop as liIIaZinr (Lev. 19~3.~~). worshippsr. To the former class belong the Pasrover
which corresponds to the sacrifice of the fintlingr of at the vernal full moon (see above, §g qp), and the
animals : the @ah, or unreaped corner of the grain- agricultural season feasts at the beginning and end of
field; the gleanings of the harvest-field, orchard, and the grain harvest, and at the close of the vintage (see
(Leu.lS9 f ); and the spontaneous crops of FFSTS).' At the last three custom required every man
the fallo\*. . year (EX. . 2310 f ). (See YA.CGRE WORSHIP, to 'see the face of Yahr*.' with an offering (EX.
83.)
23.7). The new moon was a favaurite time for feasts :
The form of presentation of first-fruits ir described Saul expects all his court to be present on such an
only in part. In Lev. 23x0 f 14 (old laws in H) the occasion (I S.20, f. cp 181,s) : the annual mcrifirst
sheaf of barley (originally from each field, or from fice of David's clan at Bethlehem is held on e new moon
each village) is brought and 'waved' (hzniph, T?" a (c S. 20s f q). See NEW Mom. The Sabbath, appargesture
of thro~ing) beforeyahwh at thelocal sanctuary; ently in a lesser dep, enjoyed the same preference.
until this is done the new crop must not be used in nny When a regular cultur becameestablished at the greater
form (Y. I+); unleavened cakes (mnrr8lh) of the new sanctu;lries, moue numeroua victims were offered on
barley meal are eaten for seven days (see FEASTS, these days (ree below, § 33). The specific occasions
PASSOYEK~. At the end of wheat harvest a corresponding
ceremony is the presentation in a similar way of two
loaves of leavened bread [originally from each household.
Lei,. 23x5-17 Cp Frazer. (:olden BougnPl,
Z3,9. Dt.26~8 prescribes that specimens of the
choicest of the fruits of the land shall be brought by
each landowner in a bnrket and set down before the
altnr with 2 solemn liturgy of thanksgiiing: the presentation
ir followed by a feast (see below. § 12).
Another kind of obllation, which, though of much less
primitive character than the kinds just mentioned, cm
be tnced back lo an early period in the history of Israel
in Cxnaan, is the setting before the deity of a table
spread with food and drink (see, further, below, 3 gqn).
Such war the custom at Nob (IS. 21 g-6[1-7]) as well as
st Jerusalem (I K. 748). and probably wherever God
had a house or temple. On this table stood bread,
which at certain intervals was exchanged for fresh loaves
hot from the oven : the loaves that were removed were
eaten as 'holy brezd' by the priests, and-under er-
crprionnl circumstances-by laymen who had 'hallowed'
themselver (r S. 21 4~6). It is natural to suppore that.
as among other peoples, wine too, in cops or chalices.
\,.as placed upon the table ; but there is no mention of it
in the O'r. (On P see below. 9 )qo) In the lecti-
ferni in of other religions Herh also was thus set before
the deity: it is not probable, however, that n~ch was
ever Irraelilr custom. Like the flesh or fat of animal
sacrifices and the oblation of bread, wine, and oil rith
them. the loaves of 'shew bread' were 'the food of
God ' (n,x!m di.
Offerings of wine in the form of libations were made
st the racrificinl feasts iahose. 6 " iri: ,. a libation of
.f?k,i~, properly any fermehted drink otha than wine, is
spoken of in x late law (Nu. 281 ; see below, 5 35).
but in no mcienf source : there seems to be no reason
why such libations should not have been made Honey
w s excluded from the preparation of sacrificial cakes
(I.ev.21~). in which it wnr much used in other cult5 ; 1
~t was brought with the other choicest products of the
land in the ceremony described io Dt.26rp. but did
not come upon the altar. Milk, often offered by other
peoples in libnti~nr,~ was not so used bv the Hebrews.
1 Libations of honey in antiquity, Theoehn*us in Porphyry
D< rrast. 210/: reasons for the prohibllion in Jewhh lax.:
Philo Dl rwr8yiconliaxr r 6 2215 Man ~y
% 1; Arabir. We, ~8;d.ill: r,r,? ~i6 ib Abcli offering
(lor, A"L i. 2 '1 is .i mirtanrlation of the rmbiguour ~ ~ ~ 5 " .
SACRIFICE
of sacrifice were manifold-the circ~~mciiion or weaning
of a son, marriage, the coming of a traveller, the
making of a compact, consultation of an oracle, the
mustering of a clan for war or the return from n
campaign. the accession of a king, the dedication of
a temple, the staying of a plague. Many sacrifices
were offered in fulfilment of vows for the obtaining
of the most varied objects of hunlan desire. Men
sacrificed alike when the" reioiced in the evidence of
Yah\r+?s favour, when tbry'beroughr his Irounty or
his help, and when thy had need to propitiate the
offended God. Many kinds of uncleanness required
purification by sacrifice.
The companies of worshippers for vhom and by
whom sacrifices were brouehr - orisinallv corresnnndrd
0~ ~,
to the natural groupings of the
lG.wOIBh iPP
pmple. the famliy or cia" for itself
(eg, I S.206), the village community at its own high
dace lr.~., r S. 9.2). Even at the erearer holy olnces.
which ;ere frequented at the fGtiva1 sea;ons by
multitutles from different tribes, these groups preserved
their idenfitv. Deuterooomv assumes that this will lle
the care at.~eruralem whei all bring their sacrifices
thither ; and in the Passover the 'household.' even
when casually constituted, continued to the last, and.
indeed, still continues, to be a distinct sacral group:
the great mass of worshippers did not became one worshipping
commanity, but remained many companies.
The only body of worshippers in ancient timer in which
the natural groups nie sunk is the army in time of war.
How far the persistence of the family as a society of
worship in the national religion is to he attril~uted to
the survival oi proper family cults, the worship of
aneston, if doer not fall within the province of this
article to disc,,sr.*
The worshippers prepared themselves for pnrti~ipn-
tion in the sacrifice as 'holy' by ' hallo~%~ing themselves'
(hilhhaddiJ; I 5. 165 Nu. llr8, cp Ex. 1910r+). An
obligatory part of this 'hallowing' on solemn occsrions
was abstinence for a time previous to the appearance
at the sacred place from sexual intercourse jcp IS.
21 i/ Ex. 191~);~ other preparatory ceremonies were
p~~rifications, ablutions, the washing of garments. Men
put on fertd attire, garment:, and ornaments not of