%0 Electronic Article %A Eilberg-Schwartz, Howard %I Dep. %D 1988 %G English %@ 0890-1112 %T Israel In The Mirror Of Nature: Animal Metaphors In The Ritual And Narratives Of Ancient Israel %J Journal of ritual studies %V 2 %N 1 %P 1-30 %U https://www.jstor.org/stable/44368361 %X The conversation that has been taking place between literary criticism and anthropology has drawn attention to the ways in which metaphors participate in shaping social practice. This paper explores the various relationships between certain dominant metaphors of Israelite thought and various rituals and narratives of ancient Israel. It argues that the root metaphors of Israelite thought, which are drawn from animal husbandry and agriculture, gave rise to a number of religious practices and provide the interpretive context in which these practices can be understood. By this account the rituals of ancient Israel act out the implications of those metaphors that dominate Israelite thought.