»Study the Ritual not the Belief?«

Abstract

Rituals and scientific analysis of them have become very popular in recent years. It is surprising, therefore, that - in contrast to studies from anglo-saxon countries - these new studies are not included in Old Testament scholarship. This article deals with the question of whether conclusions from ritual theory can be productive and add to the field of biblical studies. To better answer this question, two recentmonographs are presented and critically discussed: »Rituals and Ritual Theory in Ancient Israel« by IthmarGruenwald and »Bridging the Gap. Ritual and Ritual Texts in the Bible« by Gerald Klingbeil. Both works focus on rituals and ritual texts and try to integrate anthropologicalmethodologies. Nevertheless the question remains as to whether and how the scientific focus on actions rather than words can lead to fruitful results.