Religion Compass, Vol. 1, Issue 6

About a month and a half ago, I mentioned that my article, "Funerary Practices and Afterlife Expectations in Ancient Israel" had been published on-line in Religion Compass (Blackwell Synergy). I noted that you could access the article at Religion Compass by clicking here. I also mentioned that when the November "issue" of the journal came online with a table of contents that I would post the link, so, true to my word, here it is: simply click here to access Religion Compass, November 2007, Vol. 1, Issue 6, Pages 587-800. Thanks!

Here, again, is the article's official abstract:

Ancient Israel was thoroughly familiar with existence beyond death. Individual personalities survived the death of the body, most Israelites believed, albeit in a considerably weakened and vulnerable state. The ensnaring tentacles of Sheol constantly threatened the living-dead, but the fortunate among them were able to use the power of kinship bonds to keep Sheol’s threats at bay. The traditional ties of lineage and kin-bonding, according to biblical Yahwism, were an actual way for the living-dead to pull themselves back from death’s devouring suction. Ancient Israel’s funerary practices and afterlife expectations are greatly illumined by recent archaeological studies and by a new comparative model that draws on data gleaned from African ethnography.