Further, we have seen that there was a very widespread belief that the sacred dance originated with the gods, or, in the case of savages, with animals regarded as ancestors. While there is no hint in the Old Testament of any similar belief among the Israelites, we may well ask, in view of what has just been said about the ubiquity of the sacred dance itself, whether such a belief, or the echo of it, may not actually have existed among them. It can scarcely be without significance that we get definite traces of it in the later Jewish literature which preserves in such numberless instances ancient traditions. It is said, for example, in the Midrash _Shir ha-Shirim_ to vii. 1 that God Himself will lead the dance of the righteous in the world to come. In an exegetical exercise of a typically Rabbinical type on Ps. xlviii. 13, 14 (14, 15 in Hebr.) we are told that the words: “Mark well her bulwarks,” should be rendered: “Direct your heart to the dance”; for instead of _lĕḥēlah_ one must read _lĕḥūlah_ (“to the dance”). It is said, further, that, in that day the righteous shall point with their fingers and say, “This is our God, who will lead us,” _i.e._ in the dance. Then it is said that the last word of the psalm _ʿal-muth_ (“unto death”) should be read _ʿalamôth_ (“maidens”), _i.e._ God will lead the dance of the righteous in the world to come just as the maidens lead the dance in this world! We are not concerned with the exegesis, but only with the idea put forth. It is quite conceivable that some old-world tradition lies behind it. In any case, it suggests a parallel to the belief of many other peoples. It shows also that we may at times be justified in seeking for side-lights upon the religion of Israel from quarters which may not appear promising; we fully realize the pitfalls into which we may stumble in such cases, and the consequent need of caution; but one must be venturesome on occasion. We drew attention just now to the belief of the Central American Indians that their gods could be prevailed upon to answer prayer by means of the sacred dance; the “limping” dance of the prophets of Baal had a similar purpose, though in this case there is a toning down inasmuch as there is an appeal to the pity of the god. Not very far removed from this is the idea of putting compulsion upon the god; an idea familiar to uncivilized man[132]; and it is quite possible that in some cases the sacred dance was believed to have the effect of coercing the god to do what was required of him. The underlying idea is similar to that expressed in Gen. xxviii. 20-22: And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on, so that I come again to my father’s house in peace, then shall Jahwe be my God.... CHAPTER VI THE RITUAL DANCE ROUND A SACRED OBJECT I