Anthropology of religion and covenant theology

The Blood Covenant: A Primitive Rite and Its Bearings on Scripture

A pioneering anthropological study of the universal human practice of 'blood-brotherhood' and the blood covenant. Trumbull traces the ritual from primitive tribes to the high civilizations of antiquity and finally to its theological fulfillment in the Judeo-Christian tradition. He explores the exchange of blood as a means of creating an indissoluble bond of life-union, providing deep insights into the meaning of sacrifice, atonement, and ritual taboo.