Child Sacrifice in Ancient Israel by Heath Drewell

Child Sacrifice in Ancient Israel by Heath Drewell

Among the many religious acts condemned in the Hebrew Bible, child sacrifice stands out as particularly horrifying. The idea that any group of people would willingly sacrifice their own children to their god(s) is so contrary to modern moral sensibilities that it is difficult to imagine that such a practice could have ever existed. Nonetheless, the existence of biblical condemnation of these rites attests to the fact that some ancient Israelites in fact did sacrifice their children. Indeed, a close reading of the evidence—biblical, archaeological, epigraphic, etc.—indicates that there are at least three different types of Israelite child sacrifice, each with its own history, purpose, and function. In addition to examining the historical reality of Israelite child sacrifice, Dewrell’s study also explores the biblical rhetoric condemning the practice. While nearly every tradition preserved in the Hebrew Bible rejects child sacrifice as abominable to Yahweh, the rhetorical strategies employed by the biblical writers vary to a surprising degree. Thus, even in arguing against the practice of child sacrifice, the biblical writers themselves often disagreed concerning why Yahweh condemned the rites and why they came to exist in the first place.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9781575064949
ISBN 10	1575064944
Title	Child Sacrifice in Ancient Israel
Author	Heath Drewell
Series	Explorations In Ancient Near Eastern Civilizations Ser
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Hardback
Publisher	Pennsylvania State University Press
Year published	2017-05-30
Number of pages	300
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.