Frazer. Folklore in the Old Testament, Part 3

Today's free book is Folklore in the Old Testament: Studies in Comparative Religion, Legend, and Law by James George Frazer. The book is in 4 parts, divided in 3 volumes. Below is the index for Part III, "The Times of the Judges and the Kings," which is split between Volume 2 and Volume 3, along with the chapter titles for Part IV, "The Law," in Volume 3.

For the table of contents, check at the bottom of this post below the image. I have provided a detailed table of contents for Part III, along with the chapter titles for Part IV.

Frazer Folklore in the Old Testament, Volume 2
Internet ArchiveHathiGoogle Books

Frazer Folklore in the Old Testament, Volume 3
Internet ArchiveHathiGoogle Books


PART III: THE TIMES OF THE JUDGES AND THE KINGS

CHAPTER I: MOSES IN THE ARK OF BULRUSHES
National history of Israel begins with Moses
Exposure and preservation of the infant Moses
Exposure and preservation of Semirainis
Exposure and preservation of Gilgamus
Exposure and preservation of Cyrus
Exposure and preservation of Perseus
Exposure and preservation of Telephus
Exposure and preservation of Aegisthus
Exposure and preservation of Oedipus
Exposure and preservation of Romulus
Exposure and preservation of Sargon
Exposure and preservation of Prince Karna in the Mahabharata
Exposure and preservation of Trakhan, king of Gilgit
Water ordeal to test the legitimacy of children

CHAPTER II: THE PASSAGE THROUGH THE RED SEA
Passage of the Israelites through the Red Sea
Passage of Alexander the Great through the Pamphylian Sea
Passage of a Roman storming-party through the sea at New Carthage
African stories of miraculous passages through water

CHAPTER III: THE WATERS OF MERIBAH
How Moses produced water from a rock with his staff
How Dori produced water from a rock with his spear

CHAPTER IV: GIDEON'S MEN
Gideon commanded to deliver Israel from Midian
The deliverers chosen for their mode of drinking water
Throwing water into the mouth in Africa
Throwing water into the mouth in Cambodia, Samoa, and New Caledonia
Throwing water into the mouth in the New Hebrides
Reason for this mode of drinking
An incident in the wars of Massachusetts

CHAPTER V: JOTHAM'S FABLE
How Abimelech made himself king of Shechem
How Jotham spoke to the men of Shechem
His fable of the bramble as king of the trees
Rivalry between the trees in Aesop's fables
Callimachus on the rivalry of the laurel and olive
Rivalry between the trees in an Armenian fable
Rivalry between plants in a Malay story
Jotham's fable inserted in mediaeval collections

CHAPTER VI: SAMSON AND DELILAH
Incongruity of Samson among the judges
The home country of Samson
Samson's strength in his hair: the secret betrayed
Belief in East Indies that a man's strength is in his hair
Belief in Europe that the power of a witch is in her hair
Similar belief as to witches in India and Mexico
Niasian story of king whose strength was in his hair
Ballad of Lord Soulis and his charmed life
Ancient Greek stories like that of Samson and Delilah
Russian story of Koshchei the Deathless
Serbian story of the warlock True Steel
Serbian story of the dragon of the mill
Islay story of the giant and the egg
Argyleshire story of the giant and the thorn
Indian story of the ogre king of Gilgit
Resemblance of all these stories to the Samson legend
Transposition of the hero and the villain
The harlequins of history

CHAPTER VII: THE BUNDLE OF LIFE
The wilderness of Judea
David and Abigail
"The bundle of life"
Belief that souls can be abstracted from their bodies
Souls extracted to keep them out of harm's way
Bundles of sticks and stones as receptacles of souls in Central Australia
Analogy of these bundles to "the bundle of life"
Ezekiel on women who hunt and catch souls
The art of hunting and catching souls
Trapping souls in Celebes
"Houses of the soul" denounced by Isaiah
"Houses of the soul" perhaps scent-bottles
Folk-lore and poetry

CHAPTER VIII: THE WITCH OF ENDOR
Saul and Samuel
The character of Saul
The eve of battle
Saul resolves to consult the ghost of Samuel
Saul and the witch of Endor
Necromancy among the ancient Hebrews
Necromancy in the Gilgamesh epic
Necromancy among the ancient Greeks
The oracles of the dead
The oracle of Aornum in Thesprotis
Oracles imparted by the dead in dreams
Dream oracle of the dead in Italy
Dream oracles on graves in North Africa
Dream oracles on graves in Celebes
Evocation of the ghosts of Darius, Achilles, and Homer
Lucan on the evocation of the dead
Horace and Tibullus on the evocation of the dead
Evocation of the dead by Nero and Caracalla
Necromancy in Africa
Oracles of dead kings among the Baganda
Oracles of dead kings among the Banyoro
Oracles of dead chiefs among the Basoga
Oracles of dead chiefs among the Bantu tribes of Rhodesia
Oracles of dead kings among the Barotse
Evocation of the dead among the negroes of West Africa
Consultation of the dead by means of their images
Evocation of the dead among the Maoris
Evocation of the dead in Nukahiva
Evocation of the dead in New Guinea and Celebes
Evocation of the dead in Borneo
Evocation of the dead among the Bataks of Sumatra
Evocation of the dead among the Eskimo
Necromancy and evocation of the dead in China
Evocation of the dead among the Mordvins
Wide diffusion of necromancy

CHAPTER IX: THE SIN OF A CENSUS
Aversion of Jehovah to the numbering of Israel
Aversion of Congo peoples to count themselves or their children
Aversion of East African tribes to count themselves or their cattle
Aversion of the Hottentots to be counted
Aversion to numbering people and things in North Africa
Mode of counting measures of grain in Palestine
Aversion to counting leaves in the Shortlands
Aversion to counting fruit or people among American Indians
Superstitious objection to counting in Europe
Jewish objection to a census probably superstitious
Later relaxation of the rule

CHAPTER X: SOLOMON AND THE QUEEN OF SHEBA
Riddles propounded to Solomon by the Queen of Sheba
Contest of wit between Solomon and Hiram
Contests of wit between two Rajahs of Celebes
Solomon, the Queen of Sheba, and the crystal floor
King Duryodhana and the crystal floor in the Mahabharata

CHAPTER XI: THE JUDGMENT OF SOLOMON
Solomon's test of motherhood
Repetition of the story in Jain literature

***** Volume III begins here*****

CHAPTER XII: THE KEEPERS OF THE THRESHOLD
The Keepers of the Threshold in the temple at Jerusalem
Modern Syrian superstition about treading on a threshold
Keepers of the Threshold at Peking in the Middle Ages
Not to tread on the threshold of a Tartar prince's hut
Respect for thresholds of caliphs of Baghdad and kings of Persia
Respect for thresholds of Fijian chiefs
Respect for thresholds in Africa
Respect for thresholds among aborigines of India and the Kalmuks
Conditional prohibitions to touch the threshold
Practice of carrying a bride over the threshold
Practice of carrying a bride over the threshold among Aryan peoples
The practice not a relic of marriage by capture
Sanctity of the threshold
Belief that the threshold is haunted by spirits
Custom of burying the dead at the doorway
Stillborn children buried under the threshold to ensure rebirth
Abortive calves buried under the threshold in England
Sanctity of the threshold and the theory of rebirth
Sacrifice of animals at thresholds
Brides stepping over blood at the threshold
Sacrifices to the dead at the threshold among the Bambaras
Sacrifices to the sun at the threshold among the Gonds
Sacrifices at the threshold among the South Slavs
Sanctity of the threshold in relation to spirits

CHAPTER XIII: THE BIRD-SANCTUARY
Birds nesting on the altars at Jerusalem
Birds unmolested in the sanctuary of Apollo
Aesculapius and the sparrows
The Syrian goddess and the pigeons
Immunity of birds in sacred places

CHAPTER XIV: ELIJAH AND THE RAVENS
Elijah and the ravens at the brook Cherith
The scenery of the Wady Kelt, the traditionary Cherith
The ravens at Jerusalem
The ravens at the Dead Sea
Prophetic power ascribed to ravens
The sagacity of the raven
Popular respect for a raven in ancient Rome
The raven's power of imitating the human voice
The raven as a bird of prey
Hyenas revered as devourers of the dead in Africa
Kinship of men with beasts and birds of prey

CHAPTER XV: SACRED OAKS AND TEREBINTHS
The oak and the terebinth in Palestine
Three species of oaks in Palestine
The oak woods of Sharon, Tasso's Enchanted Forest
The oak woods of Zebulun and Asher
The oak woods of Banias at the springs of the Jordan
The oak woods of the Decapolis and Bashan
The oak woods of Gilead
The oak woods of Mahanaim. Absalom and the oak
The ruined castle of Hyrcanus
Veneration for oaks in Palestine
Abundance of oaks in Palestine
Sacred oak groves in Northern Syria
Sacred oaks beside the tombs of Mohammedan saints
The Wely or reputed tomb of a saint under a sacred tree
These shrines (Mukams) the real objects of worship in Palestine
Description of these shrines
Mode of worship at the shrines
Sanctity of the trees at the shrines
Antiquity of the worship at these "high places"
Modern examples of these local sanctuaries
Sacred oak trees hung with votive rags
Daughters of Jacob associated with oaks
Hebrew words for oak and terebinth
Terebinths in Palestine
Sacred terebinths hung with votive rags
The spirit or saint (Wely) in the tree
The oak predominantly the sacred tree of Palestine
Worship of oaks denounced by Hebrew prophets
Bloody sacrifices to sacred oaks
Bloody sacrifices to sacred trees in Africa
Jehovah associated with sacred oaks or terebinths
The oracular oak or terebinth at Shechem
The oak associated with the king
The oak or terebinth of Mamre
The three angels worshipped at the tree
The three gods in the holy oak at Romove
Church built by Constantine "at the oak of Mamre"
Annual festival at the terebinth or oak of Mamre
The end of the Jewish nation at the terebinth or oak of Mamre

CHAPTER XVI: THE HIGH PLACES OF ISRAEL
The high places formerly legitimate seats of worship
Abolition of worship at the high places
Green trees a prominent feature of the high places
Wooded heights still seats of religious worship in Palestine
Sacred groves, relics of ancient forests, on high places among the Akikuyu
Sacred groves, relics of ancient forests, among the Mundas
Analogy of the grove deities to the Baalim
Sacred groves, relics of ancient forests, on high places among the Afghans
Sacred groves, relics of ancient forests, on high places among the Cheremiss
The Baalim of Canaan probably old woodland deities
The sacred pole (asherah) and its analogue in Borneo

CHAPTER XVII: THE SILENT WIDOW
Restrictions laid on mourners for fear of the ghost
Silence perhaps imposed on Hebrew widows
Silence of widows in Africa and Madagascar
Silence of widows among North American Indians
Silence of widows in some tribes of North Australia
Silence of widows among the Arunta of Central Australia
Silence of widows among the Unmatjera and Kaitish
Silence of widows and other female mourners among the Warramunga
Silence of widows among the Dieri
The motive for silence a fear of the ghost
Confirmation from position in which widow stands to her deceased husband's younger brother
Similar customs and beliefs perhaps in ancient Israel

CHAPTER XVIII: JONAH AND THE WHALE
Jonah swallowed by a great fish and vomited up
A New Guinea parallel to the tale

CHAPTER XIX: JEHOVAH AND THE LIONS
Assyrian settlers in Israel protected against lions by Israelitish priest
In Celebes strangers employ native priests of the land
In Senegal the priesthood of Earth held by aborigines
Ceremonies for repression of tigers performed by aboriginal priests in India
Deities to be judged by the moral standard of their time

I have not provided the detailed outline for Part IV, but here are the chapter titles:

PART IV: THE LAW

CHAPTER I: THE PLACE OF THE LAW IN JEWISH HISTORY

CHAPTER II: NOT TO SEETHE A KID IN ITS MOTHER'S MILK

CHAPTER III: BORING A SERVANT'S EAR

CHAPTER IV: CUTTINGS FOR THE DEAD

CHAPTER V: THE BITTER WATER

CHAPTER VI: THE OX THAT GORED

CHAPTER VII: THE GOLDEN BELLS