Winner of Biblical Archaeology Society AwardBest Scholarly Book on ArchaeologyHow were male and female deities understood in ancient Canaan and Israel? Did Yahweh, the God of Israel, ever have a divine consort or partner? How was the Yahweh cult affected by religious and political features of Egypt, Assyria, and Canaan? Vindicating the use of symbols and visual remains to investigate ancient religion, the authors reconstruct the emergence and development of the Yahweh cult in relation to its immediate neighbors and competitors.
Othmar Keel is Professor of Old Testament and Biblical Studies at the University of Freibourg, Germany.
Preface to the English Edition Preface to the German Edition I. Starting Point The Problem The Current State of the Question Archaeology and the Religious History of Palestine/Israel II. Points of Departure Symbols and Symbol Systems The Sources: Texts and-More Importantly-Images Methodology of the Iconographical Approach: Myth, Iconicity, Constellations Periodization of the Archaeology of Palestine/Israel Why this Survey Begins with Middle Bronze Age IIB III. Equality of the Sexes: Middle Bronze Age IIB Caprids and Lions The Hippopotamus Goddess and the Symbol Naked Goddess, Goddess Heads, and Trees The Iconography of the Cult Installations at Nahariyah and Gezer The Iconography of the Middle Bronze Age Temples of Tel Kitan and Megiddo The Weather God and His Consort The Falcon-Headed Figure The Ruler with Male and Female Worshipers CouplesSummary IV. Eqyption Colonialism and the Prevalence of Political and Warrior Deities: Late Bronze Age Hazor, or the Continuity of the Northern Syrian and Indigenous Traditions Megiddo: From the Gold Pendants of the Vegetation Goddess to the Dominance of Warriors Lachish and Egyptian-Canaanite Syncretism in Southern Palestine Beth-Shean or the Egyptian State God and His Officials Summary: Excursus: The Late Bronze and Early Iron Age So-Called "Astrte Plaques" V. The Hidden God, Victorious Gods, and the Blessing of Fertility: Iron Age I The Amun Temple in gaza and the Widespread Presence of the Hidden God Gods in Triumph and Domination: Seth-Baal, Reshef, and Horus The Conqueror, Who Triumphs over His Enemies Goddess Idols, Lyre Players, and Female Mourners: Elements of Philistine Iconography The Prosperity of Plants and AnimalsSummary VI. Anthropomorphic Deities Recede and Are Replaced by Their Attribute Animals and Entities: Iron Age IIA The General Decline of Anthropomorphic Representations of the Gods Phoenician and Northern Syrian Influences in Glyptic Art Icons of Blessing and the Substitution of the Goddess by Entities through which She Worked The Iconography of the Cultic Stands from Taanach and other Terra-Cotta Image-Bearing Artifacts The Iconography of the Jerusalem TempleSummary VII. Baal, El, Yahweh, and "His Asherah" in the Context of Egyptian Solar and Royal Imagery: Iron Age IIB "Lord of the Animals" and Animal Images in the Near Eastern Tradition Israel: God and Bull and Other baal Figures Isolated Anthropomorphic Images of a Goddess Theophoric Personal Names with Inscriptional Documentation Tell Deir Alla: El, Shagar, Ashtar, and Shaddayin Kuntillet 'Ajrud, Khirbet el-Qom and "Yahweh's Asherah" Solar Symbolism and Winged Protective Powers in Phoenician/Israelite Speciality Crafts Symbols of Royal/Courtly Rule Judah: From the Provincial Reception of Egyptian Royal Iconography to the Integration of Religious Solar SymbolismSummary VIII. The Astralization of the Heavenly Powers, the Revival of the Goddess, and the Orthodox Reaction: Iron Age IIC Assyria, Aram and the Astralization of the Heavenly Powers The Local Reception of Astralization Tendencies: The Crescent Moon Emblem of Haran, the Moon God in a Boat and the Asherah Once Again Distant and Close Heavenly Powers and the Significance of the Cult Terra-Cottas of Doves, Goddesses and Riders Egyptian and Egyptianized Amulets and Seals and the End of Solar Symbolism Contours of a New OrthodoxySummary IX. An Era Ends: Iron Age III Symbols of Changing Foreign Domination The Phoenician Economy Old and New in Northern Arabian and Edomite Forms Judah: Exclusivity X. Summary and Conclusion Word and Picture A New Undertaking Focal Points for the Individual Periods Open Questions Theological Perspectives Chronological Table for Palestinian/Israelite Archaeology in the Second and First Millennia Source Index of Illustrations Abbreviations Bibliography Index of Ancient Sources Index of Subjects The Authors
