cultures surrounding the Bible, this elementary phenomenon of the history of religions found its most significant expression in the so-called ŝar-pûḥi (substitute king) and salam-pûḥi (substitute image) texts, whether from the Hittites of the 14th or 13th centuries BC, the Babylonians, or especially the Assyrian texts from the era of Asarhaddon (681–669 BC). In a magical rite, a substitute representative or a substitute image was exposed to the angry gods in place of the real king or another