Abstract
The custom of tying a crimson thread to the head of an animal as part of the High Priest's official rites on the Day of Atonement and the purification rite for the leper is not specified in the Pentateuch but is known solely from mishnaic sources. The Second Temple practice is also attested by two independent early Christian sources that evidently drew on a common source that was not the Mishna. The present article searches for the origin of this tradition and its original purpose and setting through the ancient Syro-Anatolian apotropaic rites.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 530-552 |
| Number of pages | 23 |
| Journal | Journal for the Study of Judaism |
| Volume | 44 |
| Issue number | 4-5 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Jan 2013 |
Keywords
- Ambazzi ritual
- Crimson thread
- Day of Atonement
- Scapegoat
- Syro-Anatolian rites
- Yoma
All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Religious studies
- History
- Literature and Literary Theory
RAMBI publications
- rambi
- Assyro-Babylonian literature -- Relation to the Bible
- Bible -- Criticism, interpretation, etc
- Middle Eastern literature, Ancient -- History and criticism
- Mishnah -- Yoma -- Criticism, interpretation, etc
- Sacrifice -- Biblical teaching
- Sacrifice in the Bible
- Scapegoat
- Yom Kippur in the Bible