Endnote 3 – Saul as Sacrifice

“Sacrifice” here is used in its broad sense. Ancient Israel conducted various forms of sacrifice, each with its specific purpose and ritual. It should be noted that in most instances the sacrificial rituals seem not to have carried the “substitutional” sense prominent in Western perceptions. Nevertheless, the killing of the sacrificial victim was fundamentally enacted for the sake of some communal benefit. For more on this, see the influential work of Rene Girard, Violence and the Sacred, trans. Patrick Gregory (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University, 1977), and The Scapegoat, trans. Yvonne Freccero (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University, 1986); as well as the recent article by James Williams, “Sacrifice and the Beginning of Kingship,” Semeia 67 (1994), pp. 73–92. For an excellent introduction to the role of sacrifice in Israel’s social and conceptual life, see Richard D. Nelson, Raising Up a Faithful Priest: Community and Priesthood in Biblical Theology (Louisville: Westminster/John Knox, 1993), pp. 55–82.