10 Francesca Stavrakopoulou precise purpose of the activities described in these verses, the view that they are best understood as rituals within a cult of the dead is probably correct. This may find further support in the broader context of the oracle surrounding these verses, in which the motif of ancestors and descendants is prominent (vv. 7.9). It would thus appear that in 65,3- 4, the gardens are closely associated with tombs and mortuary rites. Though admittedly this text is not explicit in locating the tombs precisely within the confines of the gardens, the direct and intentional association of gardens and tombs is rendered wholly plausible in view of a further reference to garden cults in 66,17: Those who sanctify and purify themselves (to go) to the gardens [twng], following (the) one in the centre, eating the flesh of pigs and vermin and rodents, shall come to an end together — oracle of YHWH. This is also a problematic verse, in which textual difficulties and interpretative uncertainties render some of the activities described imperceptible. Yet it portrays the gardens as sacred space in which rituals elsewhere associated with a cult of the dead are performed. It seems likely that this text is intended to refer to the same group of worshippers condemned in 65,3-5: both groups are accused of performing rituals in gardens, eating pigs’ flesh and other unclean material, and as having a prominent concern for their sacred status. Moreover, these accusations employ the same language in referring to the gardens (twng), the consumption of pigs’ flesh (ryzjh rçb lka), and the consecrated nature of the worshippers (çdq). Of particular note, however, is the fact that in 66,17, the feasting rituals occurring in the gardens are the same as those occurring in the tombs in 65,4. This suggests that the association of gardens and tombs in 65,3-5 is more than coincidental; rather, the tombs in which the worshippers sit and eat in v. 4 are best understood as being located within the gardens of the preceding verse. In both 65,3-5 and 66,17, therefore, it would appear that the twng under prophetic attack are mortuary gardens, cult places in which rituals directed at or concerned with the dead are performed. This contrasts with the more frequent and mistaken interpretation of 66,17 —————— association of Ugaritic mrzh≥ is often discussed in relation to the cultic veneration of the dead, particularly with reference to Amos 6,7 and Jer 16,5-9; however, this is all extremely uncertain. See further J.L. MCLAUGHLIN, “The marzeah≥ at Ugarit: A Textual and Contextual Study”, UF 23 (1991) 265-281; ID., The marzeah≥ in the Prophetic Literature. References and Allusions in Light of Extra-Biblical Evidence (VTS 86; Leiden 2001); LEWIS, Cults of the Dead, 80-94.