Freethought & Rationalism Archive

vid · 12-08-2009, 05:36 AM

I'd like some overview of what archaeology has to say about worship of single god / many gods / pantheon during Davidic era (around 1000-900 BCE) in the area of Israel and Judah.

I know there was some polytheistic stuff found (Yahweh and his Asherah, Baal), but I'd like some broader overview of what gods (and in what extent) were worshipped in the area.

semiopen · 12-08-2009, 11:15 AM

These are restrictive dates, I think the stuff below applies until the return from Babylon.

From Pagan Yahwism: The Folk Religion of Ancient Israel
By Ephraim Stern - BAR May/Jun 2001

Quote:

While Yahweh was the god of the Israelites, other nations had their own national gods. The chief god of the Phoenicians was Ba‘al. For the Philistines, the chief god was at first Dagon and later also Ba‘al (Judges 16:23; 2 Kings 1:2). For the Ammonites it was Milkom. For the Moabites, Chemosh. For the Edomites, Qos. And for the Israelites and Judahites—Yahweh. Except for the Edomite god Qos, who appears only in the archaeological record, all of these gods are mentioned in the Bible (1 Kings 11:5, 7, 33).

There is a continuing debate over whether the numerous female figurines found are Goddesses. A large percentage are found near the temple mount.

Quote:

There were male figurines, though not as many as there were female figurines. In Judah, we have a few dozen. They come in two types: riding on horses (see photo), and wearing a round turban, sometimes with a raised hand.

The male Gods were all involved with Asherah.

The centralization of worship in Jerusalem (if it actually happened) was not until much later. Before that temples generally had a similar design throughout Canaan.

Celsus · 12-08-2009, 11:51 AM

I think Dever's got a book (or via: amazon.co.uk) about Yahweh/Asherah worship though it's somewhat later than David. I'm a fan of Mark Smith (Origins of Biblical Monotheism (or via: amazon.co.uk)) but he's quite hard going compared to Dever. To be honest, Baal as Phoenician is anachronistic and ahistorical. Baal was a Canaanite god attested at Ugarit (c.1400 BCE) and clearly shares syncrestic features with El (the chief god of Ugarit) especially later on, as does Yahweh, who is so conflated with El that you have to use faint clues like Deuteronomy 32:8-9 (and this is why I'm also skeptical of an independent "E"). Part of the reason for the enduring struggle between Baal and Yahweh in the Bible is because Baal was indigenous, whereas Dagon or Chemosh were not, and their allure was only as good as the relative fortunes of the neighbouring states.

vid · 12-08-2009, 12:43 PM

Thanks for tips, I'll try to get those books. Lot of Mark Smith is online, unfortunatelly he seems to be centered around texts encompassing much broader area, and from centuries earlier, than my focus is.

Dates aren't fixed at all, anything post-davidic goes. I am interested in archaeologic evidence of heno/polytheism (preferably inscriptions, as those are quite undisputable) in the area of Israel.

semiopen · 12-08-2009, 01:33 PM

The scope of the Stern article I quoted was the Assyrian Period from about 721 to 586 BCE.

The most important hard evidence is the figurines, but he continues...

Quote:

Not only was the female consort the same, the various nations used the same cult objects, the same types of incense altars made of stone and clay, the same bronze and clay censers, cult stands and incense burners, the same chalices and goblets and the same bronze and ivory rods adorned with pomegranates. It was easy to take cult vessels of one deity and place them in the service of another one—and this was commonly done. For example, in the ninth-century B.C.E. stela erected by Mesha, the king of Moab, he describes himself as the “son of Chemosh,” and tells how he defeated the Israelites (see also 2 Kings 3:4–27). He then brags, “[I] took t[he ves]sels of Yahweh, and I hauled them before the face of Chemosh.”

The Mesha stella is very important.

Also regarding the Asherah:

Quote:

I have already mentioned the inscriptions from the Israelite sanctuary at Kuntillet ‘Ajrud in the Sinai, dating to the late ninth or early eighth century B.C.E., that refer to Yahweh “and his Asherah.” This site of course is outside the borders of Judah. But a reference to the divine couple has also been found at the site of Khirbet el-Kom, in the heart of Judah (near Hebron). A tomb inscription there reads: “Blessed will be Ariyahu to Yahweh and his Asherah.”9

These people would not blend in well with current day monotheists.

wavy_wonder1 · 12-08-2009, 03:44 PM

See Dever, Zevit, Albertz.

Finis,
ELB

vid · 12-08-2009, 07:46 PM

Going over Zevit (much of him is available on google books), and so far it looks to be just what I needed (even though bit hard to grasp sometimes). Thanks!

Minimalist · 12-09-2009, 05:53 PM

In The Quest for the Historical Israel, even Amihai Mazar has come around to the henotheistic approach put forward by Dever.

The fundies will go nuts but scholarship seems to be moving against them.

12-08-2009, 05:36 AM	#1
vid Regular Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Myjava, Slovakia Posts: 384	Archaeology on poly/mono/henotheism in Davidic era I'd like some overview of what archaeology has to say about worship of single god / many gods / pantheon during Davidic era (around 1000-900 BCE) in the area of Israel and Judah. I know there was some polytheistic stuff found (Yahweh and his Asherah, Baal), but I'd like some broader overview of what gods (and in what extent) were worshipped in the area.

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12-08-2009, 11:51 AM	#3
Celsus Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Singapore Posts: 2,875	I think Dever's got a book (or via: amazon.co.uk) about Yahweh/Asherah worship though it's somewhat later than David. I'm a fan of Mark Smith (Origins of Biblical Monotheism (or via: amazon.co.uk)) but he's quite hard going compared to Dever. To be honest, Baal as Phoenician is anachronistic and ahistorical. Baal was a Canaanite god attested at Ugarit (c.1400 BCE) and clearly shares syncrestic features with El (the chief god of Ugarit) especially later on, as does Yahweh, who is so conflated with El that you have to use faint clues like Deuteronomy 32:8-9 (and this is why I'm also skeptical of an independent "E"). Part of the reason for the enduring struggle between Baal and Yahweh in the Bible is because Baal was indigenous, whereas Dagon or Chemosh were not, and their allure was only as good as the relative fortunes of the neighbouring states.

12-08-2009, 12:43 PM	#4
vid Regular Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Myjava, Slovakia Posts: 384	Thanks for tips, I'll try to get those books. Lot of Mark Smith is online, unfortunatelly he seems to be centered around texts encompassing much broader area, and from centuries earlier, than my focus is. Dates aren't fixed at all, anything post-davidic goes. I am interested in archaeologic evidence of heno/polytheism (preferably inscriptions, as those are quite undisputable) in the area of Israel.

12-08-2009, 03:44 PM	#6
wavy_wonder1 Junior Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Kansas City, MO Posts: 88	See Dever, Zevit, Albertz. Finis, ELB

12-08-2009, 07:46 PM	#7
vid Regular Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Myjava, Slovakia Posts: 384	Going over Zevit (much of him is available on google books), and so far it looks to be just what I needed (even though bit hard to grasp sometimes). Thanks!

12-09-2009, 05:53 PM	#8
Minimalist Veteran Member Join Date: May 2007 Location: Arizona Posts: 1,808	In The Quest for the Historical Israel, even Amihai Mazar has come around to the henotheistic approach put forward by Dever. The fundies will go nuts but scholarship seems to be moving against them.

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