An Infelicitous Feast: Ritualized Consumption and Divine Rejection in Amos 6.1–7
Previous studies of the marzeaḥ in Amos 6.1-7 have tended to put forth one of two opposing views. Scholars who focus on the religious or ritual aspects of the banquet have claimed that the marzeaḥ was lewd, ‘pagan’, and ‘syncretistic’. Calling into question the assumptions of Israelite exceptionalis...
| 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
[2020]
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| In: |
Journal for the study of the Old Testament
Year: 2020, Volume: 45, Issue: 2, Pages: 178-197 |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
marzeaḥ
/ Ritual meal
/ Bankettopfer
/ Banquet
/ Amos, Prophet
/ Eid al-Adha
/ Prophecy (Motif)
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| IxTheo Classification: | BC Ancient Orient; religion HB Old Testament |
| Further subjects: | B
Mesopotamia
B marzēaḥ B Feasting B Iconography B Amos 6.1–7 B Amos 6 B banqueting B Levant |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | Previous studies of the marzeaḥ in Amos 6.1-7 have tended to put forth one of two opposing views. Scholars who focus on the religious or ritual aspects of the banquet have claimed that the marzeaḥ was lewd, ‘pagan’, and ‘syncretistic’. Calling into question the assumptions of Israelite exceptionalism underlying this approach, a second group argues that the prophetic critique is economic rather than religious in nature. Both approaches are potentially reductive. This paper analyzes the marzeaḥ of Amos 6 in the context of ancient Middle Eastern banquets, with a focus on commensality as a means for human-divine communication. I conclude that the marzeaḥ functioned as an offertory event, in which participants focalized divine presence through ritualized consumption in honor of a patron deity. Banqueters could hope to accrue divine favor through their own feasting. Amos 6.1-7 condemns the affluent for believing that they can give Yahweh their cake and eat it too. |
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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: 10.1177/0309089220903344 |