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Gray, David (2025) Ancestor Veneration in Ancient Israel and in the Hebrew Bible. PhD thesis, University of Gloucestershire. doi:10.46289/NQZJ3375
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15779 Gray (2025) Ancestor Veneration in Ancient Israel.pdf - Accepted Version Available under License All Rights Reserved. Download (4MB) | Preview |
Abstract
I used a social-scientific approach for my research, with a special interest in anthropology. The aim of this thesis is to show that there were two types of ancestor veneration (AV) in ancient Israel. The first type of AV is a belief that the ancestors are still alive, that they need feeding, and that they can be consulted to find out the future, or what to do in the present to have a successful future. I also discovered that there is a strong connection between the ancestors and the land, in that those who die must be buried with their ancestors, and that there is a connection between the ancestors and the fertility of the land. I found it was also important to have children, as they continued to remember the names of the ancestors. I investigated offerings to the ancestral spirits and found that there is no rule in torah teaching against giving such gifts to the ancestors. There are, however, laws against consulting ancestral spirits, and a law about tithing to YHWH. No tithe can be shared between the ancestors and YHWH. The second type of AV is a veneration of the Patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. These characters in the Hebrew Bible were culture heroes for the Israelites, and were treated with much honour, because they received the promises about becoming a people, and inheriting the land of Canaan, which was a rich and fertile land. Both the honour-shame paradigm and the idea of collective memory are what ties the two types of AV together, in that in both cases people want to honour their ancestors, who are still considered part of their community. In Type 1 AV they are tempted to go too far and consult ancestral spirits, as they are viewed as having power. This is because they were viewed to be in the realm of gods.
| Item Type: | Thesis (PhD) | ||||||
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| Uncontrolled Keywords: | ancestor veneration (AV); ancient Israel; ancestral spirits; YHWH; patriarchs; Abraham; Isaac; Jacob; Hebrew Bible; Israelites; Canaan | ||||||
| Subjects: | B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BL Religion B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BM Judaism B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BS The Bible |
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| Divisions: | Schools and Research Institutes > School of Arts, Culture and Environment | ||||||
| Depositing User: | Anne Pengelly | ||||||
| Date Deposited: | 27 Jan 2026 15:55 | ||||||
| Last Modified: | 27 Jan 2026 15:55 | ||||||
| URI: | https://eprints.glos.ac.uk/id/eprint/15779 |
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