ictim
is burnt as a holocaust; more frequently only certain parts, notably
the fat about the kidneys, are burnt on the altar. The rest is properly
cooked; and, after the reservation of a part for the priest, is made the
foundation of a joyous banquet, in which the sacrificer, his family,
and such guests as he thinks fit to invite, participate. [11] Elohim was
supposed to share in the feast, and it has been already shown that that
which was set apart on the altar, or consumed by fire, was spoken of as
the food of Elohim, who was thought to be influenced by the costliness,
or by the pleasant smell, of the sacrifice in favour of the sacrificer.

All this bears out the view that, in the mind of the old Israelite,
there was no difference, save one of degree, between one Elohim and
another. It is true that there is but little direct evidence to show
that the old Israelites shared the widespread belief of their own, and
indeed of all times, that the spirits of the dead not only continue to
exist, but are capable of a ghostly kind of feeding and are grateful for
such aliment as can be assimilated by their attenuated substance, and
even for clothes, ornaments, and weapons. [12] That they were familiar
with this doctrine in the time of the captivity is suggested by the
well-known reference of Ezekiel (xxxii. 27) to the "mighty that are
fallen of the uncircumcised, which are gone down to [Sheol] hell with
their weapons of war, and have laid their swords under their heads."
Perhaps there is a still earlier allusion in the "giving of food for the
dead" spoken of in Deuteronomy (xxvi. 14). [13]

It must be remembered that the literature of the old Israelites, as
it lies before us, has been subjected to the revisal of strictly
monotheistic editors, violently opposed to all kinds of idolatry, who
are not likely to have selected from the materials at their disposal any
obvious evidence, either of the practice under discussion, or of that
ancestor-worship which is so closely related to it, for preservation in
the permanent records of their people.

The mysterious objects known as _Teraphim,_ which are occasionally
mentioned in Judges, Samuel, and elsewhere, however, can hardly be
interpreted otherwise than as indications of the existence both of
ancestor-worship and of image-worship in old Israel. The teraphim
were certainly images of family gods, and, as such, in all probability
represented deceased ancestors. Laban indignantly demand