Preface

Abbreviations

Introduction: How It All Began

Culture, Religion, and Ritual: Definitions and Interaction

Ritual from a Social-Science Perspective: Tracing the Outline of an Idea

Ritual and Bible: The Genesis of a New Discipline

Biblical Ritual in History: Periods and Perspectives

Reading Ritual: Strategies and Trigger Points

Structure, Order and Sequence, Space, and Time: Ritual Elements 1

Objects, Action, Participants, and Language: Ritual Elements 2

“What Does It All Mean?”

Dimensions and Functions of Ritual

“Looking over the Fence”: Ritual and Other Areas

of Biblical and Theological Research

Ritual Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow, or: Some Type of a Conclusion for a Christian Theology

Appendix: Ritual Texts in the Pentateuch

Bibliography

Indexes

Index of Authors

Index of Scripture

Index of Other Ancient Sources