Bible Review

A collection of these early interpretive texts is to be found in James Kugel’s engaging The Bible as It Was (Cambridge, MA: Harvard Univ., 1997), pp. 72–75.

For a concise survey of the satan question consult, Victor Hamilton’s article “Satan” in the Anchor Bible Dictionary (Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1992).

An accessible version of this tale, and others, can be found in Benjamin R. Foster, From Distant Days: Myths, Tales, and Poetry of Ancient Mesopotamia (Bethesda, MD: CDL Press, 1995). See Tzvi Abusch, “Gilgamesh: Hero, King, God and Striving Man,” Archaeology Odyssey, July/August 2000; and William H. Steibing, Jr., “A Futile Quest: The Search for Noah’s Ark,” Biblical Archaeology Review, June 1976.

Regulations for lepers and other people with such purity issues are spelled out in detail in Leviticus 11–15.

Miller, Religion of Ancient Israel, pp. 121–130.

There have been many discussions about the particulars of this ritual, and why the priests must burn these particular items. Excellent recent work is found in Mary Douglas, Leviticus as Literature (Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press, 1999).

This point is also made by the religious reforms and innovations introduced by Ahaz (2 Kings 16:10–18) and Manasseh (2 Kings 21:1–9), who (like Hezekiah and Josiah) brought the cult into line with their political agendas, in this case influenced by their vassal relationship with Assyria. Notice the statement in 2 Kings 16:18 that Ahaz “did this because of the king of Assyria.”

See, for example, Joshua 3–5 on the spring festival held at Gilgal, Deuteronomy 16 for the summer harvest festival, and Leviticus 23:39–43 for the autumn festival of “booths” or “ingathering.”

Miller, Religion of Ancient Israel, pp. 69–70. In addition to the zevach, Miller mentions the family aspects of the Passover feast as well as the family libations and offerings criticized by the prophet in Jeremiah 7:18.