"Introduction: Ritual Violence in the Hebrew Bible," Saul M. Olyan, Brown University ; "What Ends Might Ritual Violence Accomplish? The Case of Rechab and Baanah in 2 Samuel 4," Debra Scoggins Ballentine, Rutgers University ; "Dispossessing Nations: Population Growth, Scarcity, and Genocide in Ancient Israel and Twentieth-Century Rwanda," T. M. Lemos, Huron University College, University of Western Ontario ; "Between Politics and Mythology: Josiah's Assault on Bethel in 2 Kgs 23:15-20," Mark Leuchter, Temple University ; "Cognitive Perspectives on Iconoclasm," Nathaniel B. Levtow, University of Montana, Missoula ; "'The Traffic in Women': Exchange, Ritual Sacrifice, and War," Susan Niditch, ; Amherst College ; "The Instrumental Dimensions of Ritual Violence Against Corpses in Biblical Texts," Saul M. Olyan, Brown University ; "Establishing Communitas: Royal Rites of Military Loyalty and their Socio-Religious Function," Rudiger Schmitt, Westfalisch Wilhelms-Universitat Munster ; "Urbicide: The Ritualized Killing of Cities in the Ancient Near East," Jacob L. Wright, Emory University

This diverse collection is loosely unified only in that all have something to say about ritual violence as described at the top. The articles use a range of methods, and lean toward narrative texts. All are well written, and everything here will appeal to someone. Ritual Violence is a nice book to have around.

"This diverse collection is loosely unified only in that all have something to say about ritual violence as described at the top. The articles use a range of methods, and lean toward narrative texts. All are well written, and everything here will appeal to someone. Ritual Violence is a nice book to have around."--John W. Herbst, Biblical Theology Bulletin "This volume brings into relief the full range of violent rites represented in the Hebrew Bible, many of which have rarely, if ever, been considered before. The book explores what acts of ritual violence might have accomplished socio-politically in their particular settings and the ways in which engagement with theory from a variety of disciplines can contribute to our understanding of ritual violence as a phenomenon."--Interpretation: A Journal of Bible and Theology "Few studies have engaged the subject of violence in the Bible in as much depth as the essays in this volume. Not only do these essays draw attention to forms of violence in the Bible that are often overlooked, but they probe the question of how violence functions as a means of communication, by drawing on a range of disciplines such as ritual studies and sociology. In so doing they open new vistas in understanding both the phenomenon of ritual violence and the biblical text." --John J. Collins, Holmes Professor of Old Testament, Yale University "This volume is an important contribution to the question of violence in the Hebrew Bible and its sociological and historical contexts. It discusses a neglected aspect of this question: ritual violence. The different contributions edited in this very readable book offer manifold insights into this topic by analyzing biblical texts in an interdisciplinary perspective (social anthropology, sociology, psychoanalysis), making this book an excellent introduction and a must read for everyone interested in a problem which is today as topical as in biblical times." --Thomas Römer, Professor of Hebrew Bible, Collège de France - University of Lausanne "This volume is a rich contribution to the study of violence in the Hebrew Bible and to biblical ritual. It shows how broadly this motif or phenomenon appears in the text and demonstrates how theoretical models-from social anthropology, sociology, ritual theory, political theory, the study of myth, and cognitive science-along with comparative perspectives elucidate the reading of the biblical texts and data." --David P. Wright, Professor of Hebrew Bible and Ancient Near East, Brandeis University

Selling point: Applies latest understanding of ritual violence theory to biblical texts Selling point: Approaches ritual violence from cross-disciplinary perspectives (social anthropology, sociology, psychoanalysis, and genocide theory ) Selling point: Fresh and novel treatments of violent rites of current interest Selling point: Considers what acts of ritual violence might accomplish socio-politically

Saul M. Olyan is the Samuel Ungerleider Jr. Professor of Judaic Studies and Professor of Religious Studies at Brown University. The primary focus of his current research is a book entitled "Friendship in the Hebrew Bible," to be published by Yale University Press. His next book will focus on representations of ritual violence in biblical texts.

Selling point: Applies latest understanding of ritual violence theory to biblical texts Selling point: Approaches ritual violence from cross-disciplinary perspectives (social anthropology, sociology, psychoanalysis, and genocide theory ) Selling point: Fresh and novel treatments of violent rites of current interest Selling point: Considers what acts of ritual violence might accomplish socio-politically