ANALECTA BIBLICA [STUDIA] - 18

FICCO Fabrizio

Blood and Liminality A common Thread in the book of Exodus

2023, pp. 272.

«Blood and Liminality» is a monograph dedicated to the study of texts drawn from the book of Exodus in which the blood, shed in a ritual action, constitutes a significant element of the narrative. Some of these passages (the circumcision in Exod 4:24-26; the blood of the lamb in 12:6-7, 21-23; the covenant in 24:3-8) contain rituals that are unique in the biblical panorama; moreover, blood manipulations are essentials in the consecration of Aaron and his sons (29,1-35), and in the annual feast of the Yom Kippur (30,10). The novelty of the work consists in the recognition of a common thread that runs through the book of Exodus and determines it in a significant way: when Moses and the people approach the threshold of death, the ritual blood enables them to cross that dangerous border. In all the texts analysed, human blood (for Moses in 4:24-26) and animal blood are shed and “circulate,” indicating and actualizing a relationship with God. This new bond is particularly highlighted in the narrative dedicated to the sealing of the covenant (Exod 24), where the reader can find a connection between blood ritual and oath.

Fabrizio Ficco, diocesan priest of Roma, currently teaches Biblical Theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. He has written on subjects ranging from the Book of Psalms to the narrative analysis of accounts in the Pentateuch and in the Former Prophets.