Ritual Studies and the Study of the Hebrew Bible

The interdisciplinary nature of ritual studies has drawn contributions from many fields, including biblical studies. This article offers a critical overview of scholarship that integrates ritual studies into the interpretation of the Hebrew Bible. It opens with a brief history of ritual studies, tracing developments from early myth and ritual theories to socio-functional, symbolic, and performative approaches. The central section examines how these models have been appropriated over the last two decades in interpretations of Hebrew Bible passages that describe, prescribe, or envision ritual practices. The article categorizes this scholarship, assesses its methodological strengths and limitations, and outlines four directions for future research, concluding with a call for more theoretically rigorous engagement with ritual in Hebrew Bible studies.