ABSTRACT
Ritual narratives can be identified through the following three general categories: (1) prescriptive texts, or those texts/narratives in which the ritual performance is found within instruction concerning the performance and as such represents an idealized version of the ritual behavior; (2) descriptive texts, or those texts/narratives that are presumed to describe actual ritual performance, and which often indicate efficacious vs. inefficacious ritual; and (3) “divine” texts, or those texts/narratives in which divine ritual activity, either situated in the divine realm or mortal realm, are described. 1 These categories are not isolated but often overlap, with a descriptive text including a divine text, or a narrative containing a prescriptive text, followed by a descriptive text. This chapter explores the value of approaching biblical ritual from the perspective of the categories provided above, by a review of two such narratives, the anointing of Aaron and his sons and the Saulide narrative, and how the categories mentioned above interweave throughout the narratives, suggesting that in doing so, we gain a greater understanding as to what ritual meant for ancient Israel.
