The Archaeology of the Israelite Cult: Questioning the Consensus, Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research 360:23-35. (original) (raw)
Related papers
Israelite Temples: Where Was Israelite Cult Not Practiced, and Why
Religions, 2019
Most scholars in the late 20th and early 21st century believed that cultic activity in the kingdoms of Israel and Judah was practiced in various temples that were scattered throughout the kingdoms. Still, a detailed study of the archaeological evidence on Israelite cult reveals that Israelite cultic buildings were extremely rare, both in absolute terms and when compared to other ancient Near Eastern societies, suggesting that cultic activity in temples was the exception rather than the norm and that typical Israelite cult was practiced in the household and in other, non-temple settings. Hence, the evidence suggests that rather than viewing temples, like the one in Arad, as exemplifying typical cultic activity, they should be viewed as exceptions that require a special explanation. The first part of the article develops and updates the suggestion, first raised about ten years ago, that Israelite temples were indeed extremely rare. Given the ancient Near Eastern context, however, such practices seems to be exceptional, and the second part of the article will therefore explain why was such a unique pattern not identified in the past, and will suggest a possible explanation as to how was such an outstanding practice developed and adopted.
The Archaeology of Cult of Ancient Israel’s Southern Neighbors and the Midianite-Kenite Hypothesis
In J.M. Tebes & Ch. Frevel (eds.), The Desert Origins of God: Yahweh's Emergence and Early History in the Southern Levant and Northern Arabia. Special volume of Entangled Religions 12/2 (2021).
The Midianite-Kenite hypothesis, the idea that the pre-Israelite roots of Yahwism can be traced back to the areas south and southeast of Palestine, has a long pedigree in biblical scholarship. Analyses supporting this view generally agree in three main points. First, they assume that the influence of the southern cultic practices on Yahwism occurred during a restricted period of time, traditionally dated to the Early Iron Age. Second, theysee the origins of Yahwism through the lenses of diffusionist perspectives, characterizing this process as a movement or migration of one or a few determined groups to Canaan. And third, adequate analyses of the archaeological evidence of the arid areas to the south of Palestine are few. In this article I will turn the interpretation of the epigraphic and archaeological evidence upside down. Instead of looking to the (mostly biblical) evidenceon the origins of the cult of Yahweh and assuming its genesis lies in movements of peoplefrom the southern regions to Canaan in the Early Iron Age, I will focus attention on the historyof the cultic practices in the Negev, southern Transjordan, and northern Hejaz during the entire Iron Age, and how this information is related to the religious practices known in Judah and Israel during the biblical period, shedding new light on the prehistory of the cult of Yahweh. I will evaluate the evidence not as a single, exceptional event, but as a long-term process within the several-millennia history of cultic practices and beliefs of the local peoples.
Archaeology and the Religion of Israel
Penn State University Press eBooks, 2002
Sixty-five years have elapsed since the original publication of this influential work. In spite of the many advances and discoveries that have occurred in the field during this time span, this work remains surprisingly somewhat relevant, particularly as an introduction to a way of investigating the past that was dominate in the United States for decades. Th is volume, which is a reprint of the fifth edition of Archaeology and the Religion of Israel published in 1968, is greatly enhanced for contemporary readers by the introduction with hundreds of updated citations by Th eodore J. Lewis (p. xlviii). While situating Albright in his historical context, Lewis displays Albright's affinity for the "history of religions" approach to biblical studies. "Th e methodology of this approach was comparative: to understand the Bible and its religion in light of much earlier cognate texts, especially those coming from Mesopotamia. . ." (p. xvii). Lewis also discusses how Albright argued "for an early date of monotheism (associated with the historical Moses)," and was engaged in "fighting the German source-critical consensus on the academic battlefield" (p. xviii) without completely rejecting source criticism. In fact, Albright was critical of those who did (p. xix). Lewis stresses that Albright utilized an "informed critical approach" and emphasized a typological method in archaeology (pp. xix-xxii). After Lewis lays out some of Albright's theological presuppositions, one sees more clearly the emphasis in his work on the uniqueness of Israel, his great appreciation for the Hebrew Bible with its beauty and morality, and the common practice in his day of "demonizing the Canaanites" (p. xxix). His "overarching purpose was to reconstruct the culture and intellectual history of the ancient Near East in a way that would highlight biblical religion as its crowning achievement." (p. xxii). Lewis concludes with a section on how the field has evolved since the last edition of the book, including brief discussions on child sacrifice, sexual depravity, divination and prophecy, death and afterlife, and sacrifice and blood. Chapter one is surprisingly an integration of psychology and biblical studies. Entitled "Archaeology and the Ancient Near-Eastern Mind," this is perhaps the least helpful chapter of the volume. Chapter two, the "Archeological Background of Old Testament Religion" is broken down into two main sections. Th e first section is a helpful examination of different geographical regions and related archaeological findings: Syria and Palestine, Mesopotamia and Persia, Egypt and Ethiopia, Asia Minor (Hittites), Arabia, and Cyprus and the Aegean (pp. 37-59).
Review of Richard S. Hess, Israelite Religions: An Archaeological and Biblical Survey (TrinJ, 2008).
This volume contains the revised papers read by archaeologists and biblical scholars at the "millennium conference" in Jerusalem organized by James Charlesworth from Princeton Theological Seminary in the summer of 2000. The purpose of the conference was to describe "how New Testament scholars learn from archaeologists, who are expert stratigraphers of archaeological sites, and how archaeologists garner knowledge from New Testament scholars, who are experts in the stratification of texts" (Preface, p. xxiii). In his introductory essay "What is Biblical Archaeology?" (pp. 1-8), Avraham Biran defines "biblical archaeology" as the "archaeology of Bible lands in general and of the Holy Land in particular" (p. 2) without discussing the controversies concerning this term and the agenda linked with it. In his brief "Conclusion" ("The Historical Jesus and Biblical Archaeology: Reflections on New Methodologies and Perspectives," pp. 692-95), Charlesworth emphasizes that "it would be foolish to continue to foster the illusion that the Gospels are merely fictional stories ... or relics of ancient rhetoric" (p. 694). His challenge for biblical scholars to take archaeological discoveries seriously is a reminder that a proper interpretation of the NT (as that of the OT) needs to resist the temptation to focus only on literary questions, or only on theological questions-the historical, the literary, and the theological dimensions of the biblical texts all need to be taken seriously if we want to avoid one-dimensional readings.
The United and Divided Monarchy was the period that saw the development of the Israelite monumental architecture, royal fortifications, casemate walls and palace-temple complexes. Nevertheless, without waiving the evidence for an indigenous development which was influenced by preceding prototypes, a Phoenician tradition is demonstrated, especially in the building techniques, and the Assyrian Bit Hilani architectural type may also have been responsible for the general outline of the structures. Emphasis is given to the questions regarding the plan of the now missing Temple of Solomon at Jerusalem. It is assumed that this supposedly solid tripartite temple could have been influenced by cult structures of the Middle and Late Bronze Age and possibly provided the prototype for later temples. The information in the text derives from specific Israelite cult places which are cross-examined in terms of religious architecture and chronology with sites in Palestine and Syria.
Hebrew Bible and Ancient Israel, 2015
This article presents evidence relating to religious practices, cult objects and iconography revealed in the excavations at Tel Reḥov in the Jordan Valley and dated to the 10 th-9 th centuries b.c.e. This evidence includes an open-air sanctuary, pottery altars, a model shrine, clay figurines, amulets, seals and a few inscriptions. Two buildings of special significance are also discussed and interpreted. 1 Over the years, it has occasionally been suggested to us that Aram Beth Reḥob (2 Sam 10:6), or its parallel term Reḥob (2 Sam 10:8), refers to our city. However, the term Aram
Two Popular Cult Sites of Ancient Palestine
Although cult places have been the focus of research from the earliest beginning of archaeology in Palestine, not much attention has been given to the two sites discussed below, both dating from the later Iron Age. In Samaria a large trench was dicovered in the 1931-33/35 excavations, subsequently published by E.L. Sukenik as feature E 207. He describes a system of rock-cut trenches filled with an enormous amount of pottery sherds and figurines, which he interpreted as an `Israelite shrine' . In her excavations in Jerusalem Kathleen Kenyon found a large cave also filled with broken pottery and figurines. Cave I, as she called it, was described in her book Digging Up Jerusalem and has recently been published more fully. The striking similarity in repertoires and the possible relations between these two sites certainly deserves attention. As both sites fall outside the standard categories of temples, gateway cult places and `high places', they may reveal information on religious practices on which the scriptures do not elaborate, namely those of the common people. The aim of this paper is to to present the published evidence anew and to venture some thoughts on the function and meaning of these cult places.
Nephite insights into Israelite Worship Practices before the Babylonian Captivity
Interpreter: A journal of Mormon scripture, 2013
General historical consensus holds that synagogues originated before the destruction of the Second Temple in AD 70, and therefore probably originated during the Babylonian captivity. The suggestion in Philo and Josephus that synagogues may have originated during the exodus was discredited by some historians in the 17th century, yet the Book of Mormon speaks of synagogues, sanctuaries, and places of worship in a manner which suggests that Lehi and his party brought some form of synagogal worship with them when they left Jerusalem around 600 BC. This essay revisits the most up to date scholarship regarding the origin of the synagogue and suggests that the Book of Mormon record provides ample reason to look for the origins of the synagogue much earlier that has become the academic custom.
The Israelite cult and its connection to the surrounding culture
The Israelite cult and its connection to the surrounding culture Introduction to the book "A Brief History of Yahweh" The kingdoms of Israel and Judah were not disconnected from the cultures of the surrounding peoples, including in the realm of worship. The biblical texts themselves attest to this reality. It is therefore understandable to observe that the deity is presented in a diverse and sometimes even contradictory manner. This diversity can be explained by the layered composition of the Bible, written at different times by various authors. This present work delves into the representation of Yahweh in the biblical texts and attempts to conduct a thorough analysis of it. It seeks to highlight the variability of the identity of the god "Yahweh" across different texts, examining the political contexts that influenced this evolution. It demonstrates that theology, philosophy, society, and politics are closely intertwined, and that events related to the worship of Yahweh are intimately associated with the composition and writing of the Hebrew Bible. It is not coincidental that this study begins with the exploration of significant events in the monarchy of Judah, particularly during the time of King Josiah, under the supervision of his scribe, Shaphan, the son of Azalia. The starting point for these changes in Judean worship is the discovery, during the restoration of the Temple in Jerusalem, of a book that this study identifies as the "Deuteronomy." This research introduces a major modification by assigning crucial importance to the character of Shaphan and his lineage, his connection to the priestly tradition of Shiloh, and his role in formulating the principles of Deuteronomy's reform. The scribes responsible for this text also compiled oral traditions and existing texts of their time, arranging them according to their judgment. This reform had a decisive influence on the final version of the biblical writings, far beyond its initial historical context.