Chapter II presents the raison-d'etre of the volume, which is to determine the
cultic character as well as importance of the (sub)themes on the tomb's false door and west wall especially, whether these were subject to chronological developments, and what such changes indicate about the on-going provisioning of the deceased's ka by the individuals tasked with this responsibility.
By virtue of the divine selection of foundational activity, the founder retains certain rights and privileges (including the selection of successors) and is responsible for the
cultic institution.
Arrangement is in sections on the northern Levant, southern Levant, Jerusalem and Gerizim,
cultic paraphernalia, and comparative aspects.
Olyan, and his own doctoral dissertation (2001) conducted under Olyan, Representation and Interpretation: Blood Manipulation in Ancient Israel and Early Judaism (though Gilders makes no mention of his dissertation in his current work), as well as a comprehensive review of recent theories regarding ritual practice, Gilders provides a bold and sophisticated elucidation of blood manipulation, arguing that blood handling functions to index social structure and holy space within the
cultic sphere.
Moreover, at the risk of being accused of stereotyping, let me suggest that the "
cultic model" of priesthood strongly favored by younger priests over the "servant leadership model" might also have something to do with the Catholic priesthood fast becoming a gay profession.
According to Flinker, the Canticles tradition begins with ancient Near Eastern poetic texts which bear striking parallels to the Song of Songs and celebrate a sacred wedding or other
cultic rite.
That lore may be commonplace, as in the allegories of medieval Christianity, or
cultic, as in Mozart's coded freemasonry, or wholly individual - as in Matthew Barney.
All too often, it seems, the answer has been in favour of a '
cultic' interpretation, when closer study indicates more nuanced and often negative conclusions.
He covers seeing the unseen in the Pentateuch, to see or not to see: the appearances of God in Genesis, hidden in the clouds: the appearances of God in Exodus,
cultic theophanies and the Levitical theophanic type-scene: the appearances of God in Leviticus, theophanies (re)contextualized: the appearances of God in Numbers, and re-reading the type-scene with Deuteronomy.
Such criteria are clear enough in case of official archives, taking into account the requirements of public administration: commercial, financial, diplomatic, etc., on the one hand, and
cultic and religious on the other.
Voluntary associations may have been organized for
cultic reasons around the devotion to a particular divinity, or for noncultic fellowship within a particular trade or profession like linen workers or firefighters.
Among the topics are the role of rhetorical elaboration in the formation of Mark's passion narrative 14:43-16:8, the enigma of imperial
cultic activities and Paul in Corinth, Pauline paraenesis in Romans 12 and Greek gnomic wisdom, journeys to the upper and outer regions of the world, and generic relationships in Hellenistic Judaism and early Christianity.
In some ways the most surprising of all, Paul even uses technical
cultic language to describe his evangelistic activity.
Zephaniah's words against idolatry such as astral worship (1:4-5) and aping foreign customs could, therefore, be dated before the
cultic reform in 622.
