65 ZEBACH TÔDÂ [hdWt xbz] IN TRADITION A STUDY OF ‘SACRIFICE OF PRAISE’ IN HEBREW, GREEK AND LATIN JAMES SWETNAM The present article surveys the Old Testament expression zebach tôdâ, as it is described in various primary sources and in various languages where it can always be translated as ‘sacrifice of praise’, with a view to elucidating the meaning of the word tôdâ. Introduction One of the more intriguing Old Testament traditions which can serve as a background for the New Testament Eucharist is the tôdâ (hdWt). In the words of one scholar: “ . . . the Last Supper was a tôdâ, a liturgical meal accompanied by words of praise and proclamation, but not necessarily literally a sacrifice”.1 The word tôdâ is part of the fuller Old Testament expression zebach tôdâ (hdWt xbz) which is a type of bloody sacrifice proper to the worship of the temple (zebach) but which also involves cer- emonies which in themselves are not a sacrifice (tôdâ). These ceremonies consist of a ritual offering and consumption of bread that is accompanied normally by a hymn of praise and thanksgiving, i.e., the ceremonies are not bloody. But together with the bloody temple sacrifice they constitute an integral religious ceremony of public praise and thanksgiving that is known in its entirety as a type of sacrifice. The word tôdâ is found approximately thirty times in the Hebrew text of the Old Testament. In a more limited number of instances it is found as part of the full expression zebach tôdâ. The present article traces in summary fashion this full expression, zebach tôda, as it is described in various primary sources and in various languages in which it can always be translated ‘sacrifice of praise’. First, the expression as it is described in the Hebrew Masoretic text of the Old Testament, then in the Greek of the Septuagint, then in the Greek text of the New Testament, and finally, in the Latin text of the New Testament and in the Roman Canon of the Latin Mass. R. F. O’Toole, “Last Supper”, ABD, IV, p. 236. 1 Filología Neotestamentaria - Vol. XV - 2002, pp. 65-86 Facultad de Filosofía y Letras - Universidad de Córdoba (España)