306 THE EVOLUTION OF THEOLOGY VIII 



although he has a priest at his elbow. David 

 seems to do the same. 



Moreover, Elohim constantly appear in dreams 

 which in old Israel did not mean that, as we 

 should say, the subject of the appearance 

 " dreamed he saw the spirit " ; but that he 

 veritably saw the Elohim which, as a soul, visited 

 his soul while his body was asleep. And, in the 

 course of the history of Israel, Jahveh himself 

 thus appears to all sorts of persons, non-Israelites 

 as well as Israelites. Again, the Elohim possess, 

 or inspire, people against their will, as in the case 

 of Saul and Saul's messengers, and then these 

 people prophesy that is to say, " rave " and 

 exhibit the ungoverned gestures attributed by a 

 later age to possession by malignant spirits. 

 Apart from other evidence to be adduced by and 

 by, the history of ancient demonology and of 

 modern revivalism does not permit me to doubt 

 that the accounts of these phenomena given in 

 the history of Saul may be perfectly historical. 



In the ritual practices, of which evidence is to 

 be found in the books of Judges and Samuel, the 

 chief part is played by sacrifices, usually burnt 

 offerings. Whenever the aid of the Elohim of 

 Israel is sought, or thanks are considered due to 

 him, an altar is built, and oxen, sheep, and goats 

 are slaughtered and offered up. Sometimes the 

 entire victim is burnt as a holocaust ; more 

 frequently only certain parts, notably the fat 



