Sacrifice, Cult, and Atonement in Early Judaism and Christianity: Constituents and Critique

For centuries the Jerusalem temple cult epitomized the religious, cultural, and sociopolitical identity of Judaism. The contributions to this volume address and explore various aspects of that reality, focusing in turn on purification in the Torah and Dead Sea Scrolls, prophetic critiques of sacrifice, atonement in Judaism and Christianity, and the temple and priesthood in the Dead Sea Scrolls and the New Testament. Each essay offers thoughtful and creative critique of established traditions, attempts to renegotiate those traditions, and affirms the continuing relevance of ancient Jewish cultic notions for modern readers, long after the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE. An international group of contributors representing different fields and diverse religious backgrounds includes David Calabro, Nicole Wilkinson Duran, Christian A. Eberhart, Göran Eidevall, Dorothea Erbele-Küster, Aaron Glaim, Hannah K. Harrington, Maricel S. Ibita, Joshua M. Vis, Timothy Wardle, Jarvis J. Williams, and Ross E. Winkle.