MF CASR lunch with Anne Katrine de Hemmer Gudme

Yahweh’s Signature Scent: Perfume and Power in the Hebrew Bible

In the Hebrew Bible, Yahweh’s sanctuary is conceptualized as space that addresses the entire sensorium. It is packed with colours, textures, tastes, sounds and smells, and the sense of smell in particular, olfaction, appears to be stressed. Yahweh enjoys the ‘pleasing odour’ that ascends from the sacrifices on the altar, Yahweh receives daily incense offerings of the highest quality, and both Yahweh’s sanctuary and his priesthood are anointed with the precious and luxuriously fragrant anointing oil.

In my CASR lunch talk, Anne Katrine de Hemmer Gudme will introduce what she calls the Hebrew Bible’s Cultic Olfactory Theology, and show how the use of scents and senses in the texts constructs a deity, who is both majestic, powerful and present in his sanctuary.

Please join us in person at the MF Library, or watch on Zoom: https://mf-no.zoom.us/j/64105595003?pwd=S0JpdTIyT1dBcjRwTjg2YzVxdmVRQT09

Zoom Meeting ID: 641 0559 5003
Passcode: MFCASR