ABSTRACT
We turn now to a consideration of the myth and ritual pattern of the ancient Near East as it was taken over, developed, and transformed in and by Hebrew thought. We shall find that each of the elements in the pattern remains present in Hebrew thought, but we shall find also that they have been reworked in terms of the needs and character of the Hebrew people. At the outset, it would appear that Hebrew thought uncompromisingly rejects the pattern in a revulsion against its pagan origins and associations, but it is not long before we realize that the animus of the Hebrews is directed not against the pattern itself but against what they considered to be its brutalization and perversion by the pagans. In the process of taking over the pattern and cleansing it of what they supposed to be its foulness, the Hebrews tended to neglect some elements in the pattern while, at the same time, they gave others greater prominence, and in so doing revealed their particular character as a distinctive people. Thus, by contrasting how one people utilizes the myth and ritual pattern as compared with another, we have a more precise means of defining their unique nature, for, while the form remains essentially the same, the variations which are introduced in it are the result of differing qualities.
