A C T A U N I V E R S I T A T I S L O D Z I E N S I S
FO LIA ARCHAEOLO G1CA 26, 2009
JOHN T. Gr e e n e
Michigan State University
IRON AGE TZER: PRELIMINARY STUDIES TOWARD
A HISTORY OF THE RELIGION OF THE GESHURITES
WHO RESIDED THERE*
Jacob N eusner, the famous scholar of Form ative Judaism , m aintains that when one studies a religion, one m ust compare religions (Neusner 1988, p. 156 (Т.). T h at is, one m ust compare the not-so-know n religion under investigation with som e knowns, or at least better knowns o f similar religions. Concerning Judaism(s), one m ust compare one cultural artifact, a text for instance, with a similar cultural artifact in order to identify some points o f difference (p. 156). The Bethsaida R esearch Project has produced enough artifacts o f a material-cultural nature during its now sixteen years o f examining
et-Tell to hazard a prelim inary study o f the religion(s) practiced by its Iron IIB
rulers.** In fact, the kernel for such a study has been undertaken, as one might expect, by Professor R am i A rav, D irector o f Excavations o f the Project, in his “ Tow ard a Comprehensive History of the G eshurites” in Volume III o f Bethsaida: A City by the N orth Shore o f the Sea of Galilee (Arav and Freund 2004, p. 1-37). But this work is designed to be a general approach to both the G eshurite culture and history as they reveal themselves from et-Telľs artifacts when combined with artifacts of other suspec-ted G eshurite sites, as well as with literature concerning this people. Employing Profes-sor Peter Berger’s functional definition of religion as a world-building and also a world- m aintaining system (Berger 1967), this study seeks to combine the approaches o f Neus-ner and Berger, and bring them to bear on the evidence available to construct the outlines o f the religion practiced a t T ier (Bethsaida) [and n o t ju st a t its city-gate complex].
* A paper presented at the International M eeting of the Society o f Biblical Literature, G ro -ningen, T he N etherlands, July 25-28, 2004.
** These rulers appear to have held loyalties to quite a num ber of religious practices and “ traditions” because o f the particular geographical “corner” they occupied. Yet, a common religious thread from their ancestral homeland seems to have run through the fabric of their later practices.
Religion at tzer (et-Tcll)
Prolegomena:
Searching for Geshurites of et-Tcll: Issues o f Location:
The Phenomenon of Pairs Plus
T h e arg u m en t th a t identifies the ruins o f e t-T e ll’s Iro n Age strata as a city nam ed Tzer (follow ing Jo sh u a 19: 35, and A rav 1995, p. 193-201 on this passage) is still questioned (Lipiński 2000, p. 334-337). T h e argum ent holds fu rth e r th a t Tzer was the capital city o f the K ingdom o f G cshur (A rav 2004). A rchaeologists w ho study the “ Land o f G c sh u r” o r “ K ingdom of G c sh u r” (2 Sam uel 3: 3; 1 C hronicles 3: 2) have had to co n cen trate on two different places: one n ear the extrem e n o rth ea st o f the territo ry occupied by Israel, and one located closer to the present-day G a za S trip (K ochavi, 1989; 1994; 1996). F ro m the m o u th o f D av id ’s rebellious son, P rincc A bsalom , one learns th a t the form er G esh u r was located east o f th e Jo rd a n R iver in the area o f the Sea o f G alilee (“ F o r your servant vowed a vow while I dw elt at G e sh u r in A ram , ...” (2 Sam uel 15: 8). Jo sh u a 13: 13 provides a supporting geographical locatio n fo r G eshur. In fo rm atio n concerning th e latter is found in Jo sh u a 13: 2, where one learns th a t the Israelites did n o t capture all o f the socalled P rom ised L and, and th a t there were possessions yet to be in co rp o -rated into Isra el’s G od-given land (“T his is the land th a t yet rem ains: all o f the regions o f the G eshurites ... east o f Egypt, north w ard to the boundary o f E k ro n [which was one o f the five cities o f the Philistines]”). T his text describes geography located along and near the so u th eastern M editerranean coast. 1 Sam uel 27: 8 reinforces this conclusion w hen one reads th a t D avid, now em ployed by the Philistines, “ ...m ade raids u p o n the G eshurites, the G irzites, and th e A m alekites...” T he area occupied by the A m alekites and G irzites was w ell-know n as having been located betw een the M editerranean southeastern coastal plain eastw ard to the Negev. T h e n o rth ea ste rn G eshuri-tes did n o t engage the Israelieshuri-tes m ilitarily, as far as in fo rm atio n suggests. T here are periods d u rin g the 9th century B.C.E. w hen G e sh u r’s status changed from independent to A ram ean-dom inated d u rin g which it could have been p a rt o f an A ram ean coalition against Israel-the-K ingdom (A rav 2004; G reene 2004). W e learn, then, th a t the Bible is aw are o f tw o groups o f G eshurites, if n o t tw o G eshurs also. H ow is this so?
Brow n, D river, and Briggs (BDB), A Hebrew and English L exicon o f the O ld Testam ent 1977, p. 178, advises th a t geshur m eans bridge o r land of bridges. A n allied m eaning is to arc a bridge. T h u s the general m eaning is to designate land connecting tw o m ajo r know n regions. I f this holds, then the n o rth ea ste rn G csh u r region/kingdom would have bridged the G ilead
with the U erm o n , being located as it was in the w estern G o lan . In a sim ilar m an n er in the southw est, those G eshurites p ro b ab ly occupied a (now unlocated) area between the “ River o f E gypt” bound ary -m ark er and territory controlled by the Philistines. H ere one could perh ap s also use the term “ no m a n ’s la n d .” B ut here I m erely speculate. W here I need n o t speculate, how ever, is in reference to a practice o f several places bearing the same nam e in ancient C a n a a n - because they p robably shared the sam e ch arac-teristics o r functioned in the sam e [ritualistic] way (and in the m odern w orld as well!).
T h e C an aa n ite s were aw are o f three Apheks, one located in the eastern Plain o f Sharon/w cstcrn Shephelah (foothills), n o rth ea st o f present-day Tel A viv-Jaffa; a second located southeast o f Aceo in Phoenicia; and the third located on the eastern side o f the Jo rd a n in the ancient territo ry o f G eshur o pposite H am m ath, itself on the western shore o f the Sea o f Chinnereth. A phek, m eaning riverbed, could have been as p o p u la r in C an aa n itc as the A rab ic w ord for riverbed today, wadi\ (M ay 1965, p. 62-63).
C arm el is b o th the nam e by which a m o u n ta in range in the n o rth o f the C anaanitc territory, which ju ts into the M editerranean (G reat Sea), is know n, as well as a sm all tow n in southern Ju d a h (N o rth ern Negev) from which K ing D avid to o k a wife, A bigail, widow o f a p ro m in en t m an there nam ed N abal. Carmel, from Kerem (vineyard of) and E l (general designation for deity in the C an aa n ite w orld) com bine to becom e the ‘vineyard o f G o d ,’ p ro b ab ly a m ost beautiful place (M ay 1965, p. 62-63).
T here were fo u r localities nam ed Gath in Philistine o r n ear Philistine territo ry , and one Gath-hepher in the central G alilee (M ay 1965, p. 62-63). T h e n o rth ern m o st o f the four Gaths was located n o rth e a st o f ancient Joppa; it bears the com bined nam e Gath-immon and is d u e west o f Eben-ezer also. A second ap p e ars to have been the hom e o f tw o G aths, fo r it is also know n as G ittaim . T he ending, laim ', signals the d u al in C an aa n ite dialects. T he Ju d a h ite p ro p h e t o f the eighth century, M icah, is said to have hailed from a n o th e r locus nam ed M oresheth-gath located n o rth ea st o f the south ern m o st o f the Gaths. T his third place would be the altern ativ e hom e o f the prophet. T h e so u th ern m o st Gath is located northw est o f Lachish, one o f the largest and m o st im p o rta n t tow ns in so uthern Ju d ah . Gath m eans winepress, and w ith th a t having been such a com m on pheno m en o n , these Gaths were m ost likely official wine press centers bearing area-specific ritual significance.
T hree cities//oci b ore the nam e Gilgal (M ay 1965, p. 62-63). T he m ost fam ous o f these was the locus n o rth east o f Jericho in the Jo rd a n Plain. It served as one o f the staging areas for the m ilitary cam paigns o f Jo sh u a (Jo sh u a 4: 19) and the Israelites who had ju st crossed over the Jo rd a n and set up o p erations. J u st southw est o f the city o f Shiloh was located another Gilgal in the central hill country Israel w ould occupy. T h e th ird Gilgal was
locatcd so u th o f the Brook o f Kanah in the Plain o f Sharon, near the above-m entioned A phek o f this plain. All three seem to have in com m on th a t they were originally cultic centers where series o f circled stones served to dem arcate special, hallow ed, or holy ground, or w here m oving in a cultic, circular fashion was p a rt o f the cerem onies conducted there. ‘Sacred circle o f stones’, suggests BD B 1977, p. 166.
T h e C anaan ites knew o f (at least) tw o Bethlehem s, i.e., ‘H ouse of food (b read ),’ as well: one in the territo ry th a t cam e to be know n as Israel, and one in Ju d a h . T hese tw o Bethlehems have dictated restudy o f the genealogical tables and m ovem ents o f the fam ily o f the in fan t Jesus in th e G ospels o f M atth ew and L u k e .1 T h e n o rth e rn B ethlehem was locatcd n o rth o f the Kishon River th a t followed a so u theast-northw est trajectory th ro u g h the P lain o f M egiddo on the n o rth ern side o f the C arm el M o u n ta in R ange. Bethlehem o f Judah is far b etter know n from the literatu re ab o u t R u th , D avid, and the Jesus nativity story in M a t-thew . T his Bethlehem is located southeast o f and n ear Jerusalem (M ay
1965, p. 62-63).
N o r do these exam ples exhaust the doublets (triplets or quadruplets!?) of cities in ancient C an aa n . Janoah, Aijalon, Jezreel, R im m on/E in-A in-R im m on, Kanah (in P hoenicia) and the B rook o f Kanah n o rth o f Joppa in the Sharon m ay be appended to this list (M ay 1965, p. 62-63).
T h a t there were tw o Geshurs, then, need no longer dism ay o r delay us. T h e ancient w riters were n o t in erro r, and they knew th eir geography well, b etter th an m o st m o d ern Bible readers! W hile therefore n o t being oblivious to the fact th a t tw o Geshurs existed, we w ant herein to focus on the G eshur closest to the K ingdom o f A ram , and attem p t to develop the outlines o f its religious trad itio n s. W hile the “ southern G e sh u rites” m ay have been o f (uncertain) H am itic/S em itic/A egean-M editerranean o rig in ,2 we know with a certainty th a t the “ n o rth ern G eshurites” w ere neither o f Sem itic nor In d o -A ry a n /E u ro p e a n origin. M orrison, q u o ted by A rav, says o f them “T he H u rrian s were a unique non-Sem itic and n o n -In d o -E u ro p ea n ethnic group th a t originated in n o rth ern M esopotam ia and constitu ted the kingdom of M itta n n i” (M o rriso n 1992; A rav 2004, p. 6). W e will pay close atten tio n to w hat we know ab o u t the religious sensibilities o f the M itta n n ia n s/H u rrian s therefore.
1 T he genealogical tables have no geographical connection to the contents o f these infancy narratives. They reflect more ignorance o f the geography than a specific argum ent for a southern (i.e., Judah-based) provenance.
2 M orton Smith and others have studied the demographics o f this corner o f the M editerranean and suggest quite the m ixture o f peoples. Cf. Sm ith’s Palestinian Parties and Politics that Shaped the Old Testam ent (SCM Press, Ltd., New Y ork & London 1971).
Part one: Description
The Data from et-Tell and the Region
Л. Some Prelim inary C onsiderations
T h e “ N o rth e rn G e sh u r” bordered on the Y arm uq R iver in the south, its w estern b o rd er was the Jo rd a n R iver and eastern sh o re o f Lake K inneret, its n o rth e rn b o rd e r ab u tted the H erm on M o u n ta in range, an d seems to have had the w estern territo ry o f Bashan and its capital, A shtarot, as its eastern b o rder, in all som e 700 square m eters (A rav 2004, p. 7). Socio- politically, it seems to have developed from city-states organized into a league before becom ing a kingdom (M aoz 1992, p. 996; K och av i 1996; Glucck 1940; A rav 2004, p. 6) d u rin g the 11th century B .C.E. T h e leadership o f the G cshurites, on the strength o f nam es o f rulers alone [viz. A m ihud/A m ihur, T alm ai w hose d a u g h te r had the H u rrian nam e M aa cah /M ac h i = nicknam e? (M azar 1986; 1975)] was o f Ilu rria n descent (A h a ro n i 1962, p. 130; Y on 2000, p. 200). A rav (A rav 2004, p. 6) states categorically “T h e nam e T alm ai (2 Sam uel 3: 3) is the latest H u rria n nam e know n to u s.”
If we’ve learned anything from the studies o f b o rd e r religions by Y ohan- n an A h a ro n i (A haroni 1962),3 o u r task is com plicated by the know ledge of the outlines o f the territo ry occupied by the K in g d o m o f G e sh u r and its fo u r borders, and th a t they were controlled a t various points in their existence by the E gyptians (14th century [Tel El-A m arna Letters]),* perhaps by the A m m onites to their south, as well as n eo -H ittite/A ra m e an s on their n o rth ern border. A nd because it abutted eastern C anaan /Israel on its western side, we should n o t be surprised were we to uncover evidence o f th a t com bined influence as well. T his said, w hat should be expected is an example o f a m a jo r (near o r p ro ) syncretistic religious practice a t the capital city (which would reflect vestigial E gyptian and H u rria n , as well as aspects of the “ com m on religion o f the ancient N ear E a st” (Sm ith 1952, p. 135 ff.), and v ariatio n s on th a t practice/them e on the fringes o f the kingdom . We shall proceed, therefore, with these suspected p ro syncretism s in m ind.
3 A haroni advanced the thesis th at significant changes in the norm alized state religion(s) were noticeable wherever they were practiced on the fringes o f th at state. T here practices tended to “ bleed” over into those o f the surrounding area. The Temple a t A rad was for him a classical example. Both a t the fortress temple (with its holy o f holies) and the cultic center a t Kuniillet Ajrud - both suggesting worship of Yahweh and his A sherah - are illustrative o f this practice.
4 Stelae from this period - such as A khnaton’s stelae a t Aketaton - m ay have influenced the use of stelae discovered a t et-Tell and elsewhere in the region.
В. Possible M aterial-C ultural Evidcncc of a S tate Religion a t Tzer
Foreword
W h at building blocks does the historian o f rcligion(s) need in ord er to co n stru ct the outlines o f a given religion? T h e im m ediate response is evidence! H ere we m ean physical evidence, and specifically in the form of m aterial culture. Below we shall study w hat religious p a rap h ern alia Level 5 has offered up, and how parallel m aterialculture from other sites th ro u g h -o u t the ancient N ear E ast illum inates these p arap h ern alia. In P A R T T W O we shall bring all o f these d a ta together in an analysis o f w hat it m ay tell us o f the religion(s) practiced at Tzer.
T w o significant studies (M o n ik a B ernett and O th m a r K eel, M ond, Stier und K ult am Stadttor: Die Stele von Betsaida (e t-T e ll), Orbis Biblicus et O rientalis 161 (U niversitaetsverlag, F reib u rg 1998) and T in a lia c ttn e r Blom- quist, G ates and G ods: C ults in the City G ates o f Iron Age Palestine, An Investigation o f the A rchaeological and Biblical Sources, Coniectanea Biblia, Old T estam ent Scries 46 (Alm qvist & Wiksell In tern atio n al, Stockholm 1999) have focused on gate cults during the Iro n Age, and b o th have involved artifacts from et-T e ll’s Level 5. T he form er w ork focuses on the cultic value o f stelae at Bethsaida (et-Tell), while the latter seeks a b ro a d er connection o f gate cult phen o m en a at som e eleven sites th ro u g h o u t ancient P alestine.5 Each w ork m arks a m ajo r m ilestone within the study o f gate cult phenom ena and their significance for the history o f ancient Israelite and regional religion. B ernett an d K eel focused on the num erous stelae at et-Tell, one in particular, and their relatio n sh ip with o th er stelae o f sim ilar m o rp h o lo g y th ro u g h o u t the ancient N e a r E ast locatcd a t city-gates. B lom quist’s study - when exam ining e t-T e ll’s yields - included the:
1) aniconic & iconic stelae < at various corners o f the gate com plex > 2) tw o perfo rated trip o d cups found in a
3) basin o f a podium < near the iconic stela >
4) num ero u s shard s o f sim ilar vessels, bowls, plates, juglets and
5) an ostracon bearing the inscription L S H M (in the nam e of...) [One th in k s o f a given g o d ’s nam e here] follow ed by an a nkh-like sign/sym bol <1>.6
5 Cf. N ote 2 o f D r. Nickolae R oddy’s review o f Blom quist’s work in Review o f Biblical L iterature (2002).
O ne m ajo r difference between these w orks and the present w ork is th at the present a u th o r is n o t convinced th a t the d a ta suggests th a t even q u asi-Israelite religion o r even general C an aa n ite /A ram ca n religion is w hat is m irro re d in the artifacts uncovered a t et-T ell and th a t are presently available fo r study. M oreover, due to the unique h istory o f the region in w hich e t-T ell is located, Tzer - w hat we argue was the identity o f the city located there - was occupied by a unique people w ho, consequently, prac-ticed - while n o t to tally unique! - som ething bo rd erin g on n o t a syncretistic religion, bu t one th a t m ade sense to the sensibilities and problem -solving needs o f those in h a b ita n ts o f Tzer w ho lived a t the confluence o f several n atio n al b orders - Israel, A ram -D am ascus, and vestigial G esh u r - (and w ho co u ld n ’t ignore those (conflu-) influences?).
T he present w ork casts its net m ore broadly both in term s o f on artifacts it focuses as “ o f religious value,” and on how all o f these artifacts both in /a t the city-gate o r elsew here in A rea A ’s Iro n Age strata m ay be able to yield valuable in fo rm atio n ab o u t the religious sensibilities o f the in h ab itan ts o f Tzer. F o r instance, in addition to the above-m entioned gate-based artifacts included in B lom quist’s study, the present study includes:
1) a m ale figurine w earing an ‘a te f crow n 2) a P ataikoslP atekos figurine o f faience, and
3) a female figurine with the typical H athor-style headdress
as being relevant also for assessing the religious sensibilities o f the inhabitants o f Tzer. M oreover, the present study questions the suggested identity o f the h orned figure o f et-T ell's iconic stela1 on the basis o f w ho w ould have been occupying Tzer, and m akes some suggestions as to the possible identity of this deity and a closer relationship o f the artifacts identified as:
1) the m ale figurine with ‘a te f crow n
2) the fem ale figurine with H athor-likc headdress 3) the iconic stela, and
4) the ankh-hke sign/sym bol.
W e shall accordingly describe and exam ine the relevant d a ta available in the form o f et-T ell artifacts yielded by excavations, as well as allied artifacts from o th e r excavations in the general region relevant to tho se at et-T ell [including E gypt, Israel, Ju d ah , A ram D am ascus, M eso p o tam ia, an d A n a to -lia]. T hese include (1) stelae (b o th inscribed an d uninscribed) and seals;
1 It appears that Keel is convinced - in a faxing to D r. A rav - th a t the iconic stela depicts the god Reshef.
(2) high placcs; (3) cily-gates [and perm an en t installations]; (4) various po ttery an d (5) artw o rk th a t m ay assist us in a b ro a d er analysis o f the religious sensibilities (i.e., w orld-building and w orld-m ain tain in g systcm(s) th a t m ay have been exercised a t Tzer. We shall tak e up in tu rn descriptions o f m aterial-cu ltu rc in each o f these categories. T zer's artifacts are preceded by an asterisk.
1. Stelae
Stelae are u p rig h t slabs o r pillars (including obelisks) o f stone bearing an inscription or sculptured (iconic) design, o r n o th in g a t all (uniconic). O ftentim es they were utilized as religious “ billb o ard s” fo r various com -m un icatio n s, such as fu nerary stelae, inscribed ones depicting a p articu lar deity, stelae m a rk in g b o u n d arie s o f a given ru le r’s te rrito ry , o r w hat ruler had been conquered by w hom . Som etim es, as in the case o f obelisks, they were huge and contained a bevy o f in fo rm atio n , a t o th er times they were m iniscule and left blank. T here could be com b in atio n s o f stelae types in one locus, and they are evident in the ruins from the entire ancient N e ar East.
a*. Uninscribed/U niconic Stelae at et-Tcll. C onvincing argum ents have been presented th a t identify Tzer, the capital o f Geshur, w ith the Iro n Age II ruins o f Levels 5 and 6 at et-T ell (A rav 1995, p. 193-201). A rav argues th a t “ A lthough there is no t yet enough evidence to d ate precisely the fo u n d a tio n o f the earliest stratum at [et-Tell] B ethsaida, the m onum entality o f the [Tzer] B ethsaida rem ains indicates th a t this was their perm anent capital city from at least as early as [the] m id-tenth century B .C .E .” (A rav 2004, p. 6). B oth excavations from Tel lia d a r (S tratu m IV /K ochavi 1994, p. 136-141) an d from et-T ell (Level 6B /A rav 2004, p. 6-7), dem onstrate th a t tw o o f the m o st im p o rtan t cities o f the G eshurites were destroyed by m a jo r conflagrations. A rav argues fu rth er th a t when the city enshrined in the form er (i.e., Hadar) was destroyed it gave rise to founding Tzer as its (new?) capital city (A rav 2004, p. 6). T h a t new city was itself destroyed or d am aged severely in ca. 925 B.C.E. T he two conflagrations m ay reflect either internal strife am ong form er G eshurite independent city - states during developm ents tow ard a m onarchy-w hich would n o t have been unheard o f - o r aggressions from one o f its neighbors on its so u th ern or western b orders - because o f the location o f Tel Hadar. A lthough a fuller discussion o f the c a p ita l’s state religious practices will be conducted below, evidence of a religious n a tu re from this late ten th century B .C .E. gate com plex area in Level 6B tu rn s up in the Level 5 eastern wall o f one o f the tw o grain silos
(C h am b er 2) located there in the new city-gatc com plex as a recycled, uninscribcd stela." Since stelae, especially uninscribed ones (N a ’am an 2000), were found in situ in such ab u ndance — 6 stelae — in religious contexts in Level 5 a t et-Tell, we proceed on the assum ption th a t this im bedded lone stela (num ber 7!) had served som e religious p u rp o se in Level 6b also. N um erous stelae, therefore, are one m ajo r in d icato r o f state religious accout-rements a t Tzer. H ow they were possibly utilized will be discussed below.
b. Stelae a t H a z o r’s A rea C. A lthough from an earlier era, bu t still in the general n eighborhood, a shrine discovered in A re a С o f H azor's Lower, L ate B ronze Age city, and now displayed in Jeru salem ’s Israel M useum , has sim ilarities to the collection o f iconic and uniconic stelae discovered in the city-gatc at Tzer. Som etim es know n as the stelae shrine o r tem ple, this one sm all ro o m contained a row o f eleven stelae with the central one having been carved in relief. <2> I shall describe th a t one in section I.e. o f In scribed/Iconic Stelae im m ediately below .9 Included in the shrine were a m in iatu re relief o f a crouching lion, a statu e o f a sitting m ale figure [either a god o r a priest] and an offering tab le m ad e o f one stone slab. It is possible th a t the uniconic stelae contained in the sh rine/tem ple had the sam e function as those found a t et-Tell. B ut this is yet to be determ ined.
c. Stelae a t the Tel A ra d S anctuary. Sim ilar in m o rp h o lo g y and a rra n -gem ent to the san ctu ary at the inner gate a t et-T ell - altars in close relationship to stelae - is a “ holy o f holies” in the san ctu ary inside the Israelite fo rtress a t Tel Arad. T herein, (non-identical) tw in square incense altars are accom panied/flanked by (non-identical) tw in uniconic stelae. <3> In his Jerusalem Post O nline article, H aim S hapiro advances the th eo ry concer-ning the function o f the tw o stelae and the tw o alta rs th a t “ one represents the m asculine deity, the other the fem inine,” i.e., one representing Yahweh and the o th er his Asherah (p. 5). Because A ra d was located on the border betw een J u d a h and E dom , the Ju d ah ite deity - norm ally viewed in the Old T estam e n t/H e b rew S criptures as a bachelor [and p erh ap s single father!] is there depicted as having a female consort - a wife, lover, queen, colleague!10
8 This stela had been beheaded ju st as those we discovered a t et-TeWs cultic center. However, it was taller and more narrow , thus belonging to a different genre o f stelae, and thus probably earlier. Its having been masonried into a wall suggests th at specific stelae have specific value for only specific people. Similarity does not guarantee veneration or symbolic significance, especially by enemies.
9 Included in the shrine were a m iniature relief o f a crouching lion, a statue o f a sitting male figure [either a god or a priest] and an offering table m ade o f one stone slab.
10 A p h o to can be obtained from the Jerusalem Post Online, p. 1 in an article entitled “ Day Tripper: M ound o f M ystery” written by Haim Shapiro, Sunday June 10, 2001.
d. Tel D an’s M asseboth/Stelae. N ickolae R od d y , reviewing B lom quist’s w ork, G ates and G o d s, m entioned above, writes o f Tel D a n ’s evidence: “ ...there is a p ro m in en t lim estone ashlar stru ctu re adjoining the o u ter face o f the n o rth e rn tow er o f the lower m ain gate com plex (Stra ta 3-2), an add itio n al podium stru ctu re nearby, and a num ber o f m asseboth, o r standing stones. Between the m ain and o u ter gates were found a n u m b er o f vessels, including trip o d al incense cups sim ilar to those recovered at B ethsaida.” 11 As a t T el Arad, T el D an's installation bears m an y - bu t n o t identical! - features and appurtenances to those o f Tzer's city-gate installation(s) which arc thus n o t unique in themselves, but all m irro r religious significance.
E t-T e ir s (T ze r's) uniconic stelae share the characteristics o f being locatcd at shrinc/cultic areas o f either city-gate com plexes (D an ) o r small temples located w ithin cities o r fortresses (A rad). A nd they share these areas with iconic stelae, incense stands and ceram ic accoutrem ents a n d /o r altars.
2. Inscribed/Iconic
T h e inscribed/iconic, basalt stela discovered at et-T ell is im pressive and fascinating fo r w esterners. T hose w ho discovered it m u st have experienced a trem endous rush o f excitem ent. Subsequent to this discovery it has become know n th a t several o th e r sim ilar inscribed/iconic stelae exist th ro u g h o u t the m o d ern M iddle E a s t.12 T heir overw helm ing sim ilarities so impressively dull the senses th a t one is in danger o f failing to notice glaring dissim ilarities which tend to disassociate them , i.e., fo c i on specific identity and function(s) o f a given deity represented on an iconic stela. Some o f these differences are detailed in N o te 44 o f P A R T TW O . T hey also share a n um ber o f other characteristics w ith o th e r iconography discovered th ro u g h o u t the region, som e o f which have been found on a nu m b er o f clay seals and inscriptions discovered at the H u rria n capital, N uzi, on the Tigris. T h eir com parative value is significant for explaining the features o f et-Telľs, iconic stela.
a. Three Seals from N u zi with Stylized Bovine Im agery. C ylinder seals were rolled o n to clay tab lets or clay sealings for identification, verification o r au th o riz atio n purposes. They were the ancient equivalents o f to d a y ’s official stam ps and seals. T reasu re troves o f seals have been discovered th ro u g h o u t the area o f the ancient N ear E ast. F ro m ancient N uzi, three seals are o f im po rtan ce for the present study. In bold are the focal images
11 See N ote 5 above.
12 An iconic stela very similar (but not identical!) to et-T etfs stela is housed in the National M useum o f D am ascus. Unlike the stela at et-Tell, however, it was n o t discovered in situ. F urther confer: I. Skupiáska-Levset, ‘T h e Results o f the Excavations a t Et-Tell, The Cult Site at the G ate” , [in:] The O rient and the Aegean Papers presented a t the Warsaw Symposium, 9th April 1999, F. M . Stępniowski (ed.), W arsaw 2003, p. 131-144.
o f each seal. C on su lt the IL L U S T R A T IO N S section <4> th a t accom pany this w ork.
1. B ulla w ith Seal o f K ing Ar-Shali: T w o figures face a central star- stan d ard ; a storm god holding lightening bolt and sickle sw ord stands on a fire-spitting d ragon (left); a w orshiper holding a sacrificial kid raises his right hand tow ard the sta n d a rd 13 (right). Field: Star, antelope head, bird. Inscription: “A r-Shali son o f A ria , servant o f the gods S ham ash and Ish k u r.” [The stan d ard is described and discussed im m ediately below in 2.d.]
2. Seal o f Ith i-T esh sh u p T w o figures stand beside a star-and-crescent stan d ard ; the ruler raises his right hand (left); the o th er figure (right) grasps the stan d ard . Inscription: “ Ithiya, king o f A rra p h a , son of K ip i-T esh sh u p .” T his seal com es from the palace o f S tratum II at N uzi (Y orghan Tepe).
3. Seal o f Ithi-T eshshup Prim ary scene: the ruler stan d s facing right. Secondary scene: a winged hum an-headed reptile, kneeling scorpion- m an w ith to n g u e o f fire, storm god on fire-spitting d ra g o n wielding lightening bolt, bird-m an bent at w aist, winged fish-dem on, double- headcd griffin, fro n tal nude female. Field: star-disk crescent, dem on m ask. Inscription: “ Ithi-T eshshup, son o f K ipi-T eshshup, king o f the land o f A rra p h a , uses this seal in m atters p ertain in g to land and buildings. M ay n o one ever b reak (this tab let).”
T h e H a rv a rd Sem itic M useum hosted recently an exhibit entitled Nuzi & the H u rrian s: F rag m en ts from a F o rg o tte n P ast, cu rated by D r. Jam es A rm stro n g , w herein these seals are displayed.14
O n one panel o f a seal belonging to K in g A r-Shali, son o f A ria, serv an t o f th e god S h am ash and Ish k u r, one notices fo u r figures in bas relief: from left to right, a b earded deity arm ed w ith a shield and tri-sw ord stan d in g squarely on the back o f a m ythological figure o f a winged lion o r d ragon. O n the extrem e right side o f this panel one notices an a n th ro p o m o rp h ic figure, highly d isto rted due to dam age o f th e seal. Its o u tlin e suggests the sam e o r sim ilar arm ed figure as th a t located on the extrem e left side o f the panel. In the very center o f this panel th ere is a figure holding a sm all anim al w ith tw o non- d istin c t objects a t its feet; they could be birds, bu t could be sm all, d e p e n d e n t ch ild re n o r even o th er sm all anim als. T his fig u re looks in the d ire c tio n o f an object to its rig h t w hich, w ith its rig h t h a n d in
13 These three seals are described in James Arm strong, curator, www.fas.harvard.edu/semi- tic/hsm /N uzi H om e Page.htm .
som e presum ably significant gesture, it salutes. T his brings m e to the fo u rth object on this panel and the one th a t interests and fascinatcs m e m ost.
T his figure, second from the left side o f the seal’s panel, has w hat ap p ears to be the head o f a horned beast with p ro m in en t and erect, outstretched ears. T h e horns/crescent encircle partially o r nestle a disc th at is inscribed with w hat appears to be a star aro u n d w hich, as if fixed in o rb it, arc a series o f “ spheres” , “ balls” or “ o rb s.” Below the “ disc and horned head with pro m in en t ears” 15 is a plaque w ith a n on-distinct, carved, geom etric design th a t form s its border. T h e plaque looks like rectangles fused to g eth er w hose fo u r corners have been extended to app ear like the tips o f spears. T his extension appears a t the m id p oints along the two longest sides o f the distorted rectangle also. Below this plaque extends a sto u t pole or s ta ll th a t appears to have been sim ply anchored into a small m o u n d in the g ro u n d .16
T h e principle elem ents seen on this stan d ard ap p ear also o n the two seals o f K ing Ithi-Teshup m entioned above: star and (disc-) crescent sym bols on a stan d ard and sym bolic circles (w hat they represent is unknow n to this w riter). T h eir arran g em en t, however, is som ew hat different. But cf. sim ilar imagery when we discuss the ankh symbols below, and the dual ankh symbols illustrated in <5>.
F ro m the N u zi seals, therefore, we have the co m m o n im ages o f a set of h orns o r crcsccnt holding either a m oon, star, or eith er w ith lesser “ o rb s.” T hese sym bols are accom panied by large circles n ear the crescent-m oon sym bol; itself located very near to a figure identified as a deity such as, in this case, Teshub/p, the well-know n chief/storm god o f the H urrians. Because these sym bols ap p e ar so frequently and in various configurations th ro u g h o u t the A N E , we will need to describe som e o f the o th er and allied co n -figurations as we proceed with o u r descriptive elem ents.
b*. The Iconic S tela from et-Tell. T hese clay seals from N u zi contain several features/elem ents they share in com m on w ith the iconic stela dis-covered in Level 5 at et-T ell <6> and its allied stelae elsew here in the A N E: (1) pro m in en t horns/crescents-stylized horns em bracing and supporting a (on-ly in the case o f the et-T ell - hypothesized) disc sym bol w ith astral figures therein [Space fo r such a disc is obvious but th e disc and sym bols m ay have been o b literated intentionally on et-T elľs figure by the neo-A ssyrian co n q u e ro rs {or m ay have been altogether absent here!}.] W e accordingly d o n t’t know w hat, if any, astral sym bol m ay have existed betw een the horn s o f et-T ell's iconic figure; (2) an a p p a re n t bovine headed, large,
15 But cf. below in d. another possibility of interpretation. 16 See below section d. for a discussion o f “poles” and “ staffs.”
prom incnt-carcd likeness o f a c re a tu re 17; and (3) below w hat ap p ears to be a b re a stp la te ,18 a long pole or sta ff o r stan d ard th a t is ro o ted in to a base [the earth?, fo u n d a tio n o f the universe?, etc.]. T his pole o r sta ff or standard m ay even have a sexual c o n n o tatio n , as I will discuss in S E C T IO N T W O . If Stein’s in terp re tatio n is correct when she identifies w hat I term a “ breast-p la te ” as tw o battle axes back-to-back, then e t-T elľs sw ord-girded, bovine- headed figure shares a fo u rth characteristic in com m on w ith the standard on the seal o f A r-S h a li from Nuzi: (4) w eaponry. F o u r o u t o f fo u r corres-pondences is n o t bad!
c. The Ilu rria n God Teshuh: A Possible Paradigm f o r the ‘H orned D e ity’ o f Tzer? W ho was the deity inscribed on the iconic stela discovered at e t-T e in Even those w ho have excavated him and those w ho have since studied him and com pared his m orphology to o th er sim ilar figures on sim ilar-looking stelae w ant to know.
W hat is clear from the A r-Shali seal is th a t the deity to the extrem e left, the one riding u p o n w hat Stein describes as a lion-dragon, and wiel-ding a triple-pronged lightning fork in one h and and a sickle sw ord in the other, is the Storm -god o f the H u rrian s know n as Teshub. H e is described variously as a ruler-god (like B a ’al o f the C anaanites), a fertility-god, ‘T he C o n q u e ro r’, ‘K in g o f H eaven’, and the son o f K umarbis, the fa th e r o f all gods. H is wife was H ebat. As chief am ong the gods, his sym bol is the bull, and he is a god o f battle and victory. W ith the assistance o f the gods A n u (s ) , Tasmisus, and A ranzhus10 he succeeded in seizing kingship in
17 I include the description o f this panel by D iana Stein to dem onstrate just how subject to interpretation is this seal. She writes:
A deity (Storm god) on his lion-dragon mount opposite a kid-bearing worshiper, flanking a six-pointed star surrounded by six drillings (rosette petals) within a crescent-disc on a volute standard, which is transected by a double-axe and a frontal antelope head on the lower right. The deity stands on his fi r e-spit ting lion-dragon mount, whose rein he holds in one
hand together with a triple-pronged lightning fo rk , while the other hand holds a sickle sword down behind. He wears a double-horned cap with a knob at the top over a neck-length chignon and an open skirt with a ridged edge. The kid-bearing worshiper stands facing left with his right hand raised before his face. He wears a round cap and an open mantle with ridged edge over a pleated kilt. Behind his fe e t is a bird.
(See IL L U ST R A T IO N S infra #s 1 & 2 and N ote 12 above.) 18 But cf. Stein’s illustration in #2 infra.
19 A long with Teshub himself, the four orbs/balls seen on the iconic, bull stelae from both
et-Tell and D am ascus could signal this association. But this is a far, interpretive reach
heav en .20 B ut he is n o t depicted as som e bovine deity: he has no bovine head on a h u m an body, he has no h orns inside o f which is som e astral sym bol, and while “ arm ed to the teeth ” in b o th h an d s, he is no t accom - panicd by any astral sym bols such as orbs, etc., and he does no t need the su p p o rt o f a stan d ard o r stake p ro tru d in g from his crotch into the [cosmic?] ground (ing). Instead, Teshub-of-the-seal o f A r-S h a li is associated with a set o f stan d ard (ized) sym bols th a t subsequently recall his ‘m ajesty an d p re ro -gatives’. A m ong the m o st prom inent and recurring o f these sym bols arc w eaponry, horns/cresccnts, astral sym bols and o th er either sm all o r large orbs/circles, an d an a p p a re n t “ stan d ard base” all o f which represent other astral an d cosm ic powers. A re these the sam e sym bols reflected on the et-T ell iconic stela!
d. P oles/S tak es/S tan d ard s. T he horned/crescent sym bol located next to the god Teshub on th e seal o f the H u rria n K in g A r-S h a li (discussed above in 2.a.) m ay have held all o f his “ offices,” “ a ttrib u te s,” and astral sym bols associated w ith him; a kind o f “ b illb o a rd ” on a pole or stake, oftentim es term ed a stan d ard . T his in itself is n o t unique in A N E imagery concerning deities, even H u rrian deities. T h e pole im age one also notices, for instance, w hen one references an o th er o f the H u rria n gods, Telepinu(s). As an agricultural deity, he is the favorite son and firstb o rn o f Teshub and H ebat (and thus an o th er possible ca n d id ate fo r the deity on the et-T ell stela). H e “ harrow s and plows. H e irrigates the fields and m akes the crops grow .” 21 His prosperity and fertility (associated with dying and rising deities) arc sym bolized by a pole suspending the fleece o f a sheep.22 T h e p o le/stak e/stan d ard im agery was also em ployed by the Egyptians. K n o w n as the Fetish, an anim al skin hanging from a stake o r pole, was u n d ersto o d as a sym bol o f both Osiris an d A nubis, deities associated w ith the ch th o n ic re alm .23
O n the seal o f K in g Ithi-Teshshup o f A rra p h a (S tratu m II at N uzi [Yorghan Tepe]) m entioned above in section 2.a. (and illustrated in <4>, two figures stand beside a star and crescent stan d ard . Instead o f the crescent cupp in g the star, b o th sym bols are side-by-side o n this seal <4>. Below them are co rresp o n d in g sm aller circles (very sim ilar to the circle m otifs noticed on the ankh sym bols associated with E gypt) all m o u n ted o n a stake rooted in to the ea rth (chthonic realm ?) [or possibly the cosm ic foundation].
20 This recalls M arduk’s seizing o f power in the cosmos after defeating Tiamal and Kingu in Babylonian mythology, but which is not necessarily earlier in chronological consideration. 21 O. R. G urney, p. 113 in Christopher B. Siren, H ittitc/H urrian M ythology R EF 1.2,
http://m em bers.bellatlantic.net/~vze.33gpz/hittite-ref.htm l. 22 Ibidem.
l'hc king raises his rig h t hand in som e so rt o f salute to w ard the standard th a t is being grasped by the adjoining an th ro p o m o rp h ise d figure.24 W hat this suggests is a separatin g ou t o f single sym bols representing aspects o f deities and their pow cr(s). W hat the reader should n o t m iss, how ever, is th a t they arc fo u r in num ber: (1) horns/crescents, (2) astra l bodies, (3) small circles (or som ething they represent), and (4) a stake or pole.
Level 5’s iconic stela (and sym bols contained therein) has c o u n terp art stelae located in А п а ^ П а Д и г к е у and in Syria (N a tio n a l D am ascus M u -seum ). T hey share the sam e characteristics o f astral sym bol(s), horn s/cres-cents, w eaponry and stan d ard s (rooted in the ch th o n ic realm ). T hey also differ in w hat I term significant ways as well. T h e connections are, how ever, therefo re significant in term s o f m eaning and possible identification of e t-T e irs h o rned deity.
B ut concerning stan d ard im agery this is n o t all, fo r e t-T e lľ s horned deity shares this pole or stake im agery with one o th er deity in ad d itio n to the D am ascus and T u rk ish horned deities to which I have already alluded (probably ResheJ), the Fetish o f Egypt, the stake o f T elip in u (s), the “ sta n -d a r -d ” p o rtio n o f the ankh, an-d the stan -d ar-d o f Ithi-T eshup o f Nuzi: the go-d Apis. A study o f A pis im agery presents him in tw o m a jo r ways: (1) as a bovine deity with a sun disc between his horns, and (2) a bovine deity w ith a sun disc betw een his horns and a thick stan d ard o r stake p ro tru d in g from his abd o m en and anchoring him to a podium ! <7> T h e stak e/stan d a rd is unnecessary to an c h o r the statue to any base, fo r the fo u r legs provide any balance necessary to such a basic purpose. It is there to represent an aspect o f A pis n o t alw ays presented. H ere we argue th a t enough has been presented concerning poles/stan d ard s/stak es and th eir p u rp o se elsew here in the A N E to suggest a sim ilar purpose when ap p earin g as p a rt o f A pis sta tu a ry o r art. S hould this n o t suffice, we m ay consider the Phoenician deity M oloch. H e is described as having a bovine head and a h u m an body. H is sta tu a ry was presented on a pole o r stake a t the p edestal/base o f which is w here sacrifices, including children, were burned to him . T h a t purpose associates the stan d ard with the chthonic realm . B ut m o re o f this in the A nalysis section o f P A R T T W O .
e. H a z o r’s Iconic S tela: “ S quare” H orns/C rescent and M oon Symbol. We stated above in Section l.b . th a t an iconic stela w as am o n g the num erous stelae discovered a t H azor. T his helped to illu strate the fact th a t both uniconic and iconic stelae were know n elsew here in the (alm ost) im m ediate area o f et-T ell (alth o u g h no t d uring the sam e historical period). L ocated directly in the center o f the row (five uniconic stelae o n either side), this
stela dcpicts tw o large hands and arm s raised in a prayer-like position. A bove the h ands arc a m oon cupped in a crescent - o r horn-shaped - sym bol <2> sim ilar to those viewable on the seals from N u zi, and the iconic stela from et-T ell (and associated stelae), alth o u g h the horns/crescent arc presented in a m ore “ sq u are” form o f the L ate B ronze Age. This crescen t/h o rn and astral sym bol im agery m ay be still fu rth e r illustrated and m ultiplied, as we shall accom plish below.
f. Bar-rekuh o f Damascus. A ltho ug h the im age was n o t available to this researcher, its existence serves to illustrate th a t the im agery described above was m ultip lied th ro u g h o u t th e A N E . T h e sym bols o f a stra l entity, horns/crescent, and bovine-headed entity arc alluded to in the description im m ediately below as well.
T he D am ascene ruler, K ing Bar-rekub, is depicted in a palace-inscription found in Zinjirli seated up o n his th ro n e with a tte n d a n ts in w aiting. In the su rro u n d in g field o f the inscription arc the em blem s o f a full m o o n and a crescent or horns. H e ascribed these sym bols to “B a'al o f H a rra n ,” the fam ous center o f m o on-w orship in N o rth e rn M esopotam ia. In o th er words, the deity could be represented to symbols w ith n o im age o f a deity anyw here nearby. T h u s the im portance o f the stan d ard or sim ilar im agery. This practice we saw already in effect a t Nuzi. B a'al o f H a rra n , a deity in H u rria n territo ry (now Zinj/girli), was related by this m o n arc h to the great H u rria n deity, Teshub, who m ay/m ight have been w orshipped locally as (a) B a'al/T eshub.25
g. T he Ila d a d Colossus of Panam m u I: Bovine S ym bols Transferred to a H elm et. A t Gerjin, no t far to the northw est o f Zinjirli in N orthw est Syria, was found a colossal statue o f Hadad, chief god o f the A ram eans. Panam m u I, king o f Ya'di, erected the statue and w rote upon it th a t he had received (a u th o riz atio n and sonship) from H adad and o th er gods, including El, R ekub-el, Shamash and Reshef. H a d a ď s beard and horned headdress, w ith which he is adorn ed , m odeled on th a t o f B abylonian and A ssyrian gods, were sym bols o f divine pow er. H ere, the h o rn /cres-cent sym bol has been transferred to a helm et/headdress and w orn direct-ly by the deity. B ut the astral sym bol o f either sun o r m o o n is absent in the colossus (as w ith the figure from et-T ell). T h is m ay represent a red u ctio n /a d ju stm en t in the fo c i o f this deity’s a ttrib u tes by the A ra -m eans o f Gerjin.26
25 This according to www.sacred-texts.com/anc/beheb.htm-101k April 29, 2004 29 Ibidem.
h. The Sun and the Lioness: Sakhmct o f Egypt. Such reduction in
sym bology as seen on the lla d a d C olossus is u n d ersco red fu rth e r by considering the E gyptian goddess, Sakhm et. As the d a u g h te r o f the sun god, Re, S a kh m et is depicted as w earing the solar disk in her headdress. U nlike Ila th o r, how ever, Sa kh m et's headdress co n tain s no horns, for she has the head o f a lioness! n o t a cow. W hy a lioness? Because lions were so lar sym bols because o f th eir golden co lo r, th eir ferocity, an d their strength.
i. P harao h Akhenuten's Stelae: Boundary-Markers with an Altar in Between. T h is 14lh cen tu ry B.C.E. p h a ra o h an d religious refo rm er
es-tablished the n o rth ern and southern boundaries o f his new capital city, A khetaten, with tw o stelae cut into the cliffs th a t su rro u n d ed the site. They include dedications to the A ten (i.e., sun disc), as well as a list o f buildings he planned to build there. T h e im aginary line betw een the tw o stelae established an axis along which all the tem ples he built were aligned. H alfw ay betw een the tw o stelae, A khenaten established the city’s first a lta r to the A ten. Inscribed stelae an d a lta rs are d em o n strate d here to have a relationship th a t one notices also a t R a zo r, T el A rad and et-Tell.
j. The Byblos “Massehoth” . Byblos in present-day L ebanon is hom e to
the Temple o f the Obelisks. Som e 30 standing stones, know n in H ebrew as M asseboth, were cultic sym bols o f fertility w orship there. W hile som e o f the stelae m easure as m uch as tw o m eters in height, o thers are a m ere 25 centim eters in height. Located in the T em ple’s central chapel stood one tall obelisk (stela), a sym bol o f the w ar-god, Reshef. T his deity, like H adad in 2.g. above, was related to the im agery and general duties ascribed to the H u rria n deity, Teshub, in I.e. above.
k. Sum m ary. T h e sym bols o f horns/crescents, sun, lesser stars (i.e., small orbs o r circles), m o o n , large circles (i.e., larger, non-specific astral bodies), w eaponry (trid en t sw ords, hooked sw ords, stan d ard sw ords), and standards, poles, stakes ally the im ages inscribed in the et-T ell stela, corresponding stelae now in Syria and T urkey with inscribed stelae discovered in Egypt, M eso p o tam ia, Syria and Israel, and inscribed stele's location in relation to altars a n d /o r “ high places” located a t city-gates and o th e r locales within cities and forts. E t-T e lľs inscribed stelae fit rem arkably the area-w ide practice involving inscribed/uninscribed .v/e/ae-in-relation-to-altars/“ high places"/M as- seboth a t areas o f cities reserved for religious practice(s).
3*. “Iligh Places”
O ne o f the m o st basic loci for beginning to consider the religious history o f a given site has been the raised m ound o f d irt (and its later m ud brick im provem ents) in an otherw ise fairly flat area. W e surm ise th a t some stru ctu re /fix tu re rested or was erected on or near th a t m o u n d . H ere we describe the m ost elem entary bamah. A m ost extrem e developm ent o f the bamah is to be found a t M cgiddo’s ruins with its m assive, round a lta r m ade o f th o u san d s o f sto n es.27 T ze r’s ruins have offered up a t least tw o small bam oth, one erected into the eastern face o f the n o rth tow er o f the inner gate n ear the threshold leading into the four gate cham bers, the other locatcd w est o f the four-cham ber area o f the gate com plex. A rav suspects th a t th ere is yet a n o th e r locatcd ju st north o f the so u th , inner gate tow er n ear the threshold also (A rav 2004, p. 36). T h e tw o (or three!) bamoth may have served three separate yet related aspects o f the sacrificial/offertory practice o f the citizens o f Tzer.
4*. The City-Gate28
W hat could be easily overlooked-like the forest because o f the trees or vice-versa - is the religious role o f the city-gate (com plex) itself. F a r from ju s t providing a venue for entering/exiting a given city, gates were the hub o f the city. T h e B ook o f R u th provides two glimpses in to the buzz th a t occurred a t B ethlehem -of-Judah’s city-gate: once w hen N ao m i retu rn s from M o ab with her daughter-in-law , R uth, during barley harvest (R u th 1: 19-22), and again when N a o m i’s kinsm an, Boaz, goes to the gate to m ake his m atrim o n ial - if n o t levirate - intentions tow ard R u th know n in the legitim ate m an n er o f the tim e [viz., in the days o f the Judges (R u th 1: 1)] (R u th 4: Iff.). F ro m these glimpses we learn th a t grain was harvested in the Field but threshed (and perhaps stored!) in or n ea r the gate (R u th 3: 2-7), and th a t it was the place o f business: the city elders and rulers conducted the city’s business secular and religious there.
1 K ings 22 provides an o th er glimpse into how city-gates were utilized. D uring w hat was a m ajo r holiday celebration in IsraeltheK ingdom (p ro b ab -ly New Y ear), tw o kings one host (A hab), and one guest (Jeh o sh ap h at), sat on thro n es in th eir royal finery a t the city-gate o f the capital city, Sam aria. T h e reader is told also th a t the threshing floor was located at the city-gate.
27 This altar may be seen in Kathleen Kenyon, Archaeology in the H oly Land (Praeger Publishers, New Y ork 1970), p. 112. It is known as A ltar 4017 at M egiddo.
Bethlehem and S am aria thus shared threshing floors a t their respective city-gates, and in the case o f S am aria, was also a place w here a t least one m ajo r state religious holiday was observed.20 T h ere were also gruesom e cerem onies th a t to o k place a t city-gates when a city was conquered; the A ssyrian co n q u ero rs, for instance, bragged constantly in th eir an n als th at they exacted justice and trib u te from , and inculcated fear in the in h ab itan ts “ oppo site the city-gate” (G reene 2004).
Excavations at Tzer's Iron IIB Level city-gatc have revealed that two o f the fo ur-cham bered g a te ’s cham bers (C ham bers 2 and 3) were utilized as grain silos. T his suggests th a t Tzer m ay have contained a city-gate threshing floor as did B ethlchem -Judah and S am aria, o r one very close by, as in the case of A ra u n a h ’s thresh in g -flo o r in Jebus. A lthough it is yet to be discovered, one looks correctly fo r religious significance and practice, therefore, a t Tzer's gate as well. H igh places (bam oth) located near grain silos, them selves located in (or near) city-gates seem to suggest th a t long before public structures such as chapels and tem ples replaced them , the heart o f the religious practice/observa-tio n o f a city - an d especially a capital city - was located a t the city-gate. N o te, how ever, th a t while it pro b ab ly had religious significance long before David purchased it, the so-called Threshing-floor o f Araunah30 eventually served as the foundation for S olom on’s (the Second, and even later H e ro d ’s) Temple. T his locus was im m ediately n o rth o f the walled, Jebusite city, and n o t within the precincts o f the m ain gate o f th a t city-state - w hich was m o st probably located on the eastern side o f the city. T h a t the Tem ple was eventually erected th ere show s its religious significance as “ holy g ro u n d ” o r “ sacred space” for the in gathering o f grain, which was itself considered as having had its own sacred significance.31 Tzer's gate com plex was therefore a religious (as well as a secular) site sim ilar to the one discussed above a t Tel D an. (l.d .).
5. V arious P o tte ry Types
P ro b ab ly the m o st difficult m aterial culture type to analyze is ceram ic rem ains: either vessels or im age-oriented. F o r this reason I shall exam ine b o th types separately.
29 M y suggested New Y ear Festival is based on the time th at kings went out to war, i.e., springtime. Jehoshaphat’s presence a t Samaria, however, suggests that Ju d ah ’s New Year Festival was celebrated a t a different time of the year, probably in the fall.
30 A raunah may be identical to the priest-king who ruled Jebus before David took it. Thus, since it belonged to him, it may be that he had utilized it for his own priest-kingly rituals involving agricultural ceremonies. Agreeable to this point o f view is Jonathan Kirsch, David King, The
Real Life o f the Man who Ruled Israel (Balantine Books, New York 2000), p. 265-267.
a*. C cram ic Vessels. W hile et-T ell has yielded up num ero u s shard s of ceram ic vessels - b o th restorable and representative o f various historical periods - the p rep o n d eran ce are - as one would expect - o f the utilitarian type. O ne o f tho se vessels is discusscd below un d er 5.b.3. N o stu d en t who studies with us fails after som e time at pottery -read in g to recognize shards o f eastern terra sigilata ( = signed earth , the equivalent o f to d a y ’s very fine china), the everted rim o f a H ellcnistic-cra coo k in g -p o t, a H cllcnistic-R om an E ra casserole, the near-m etallic cling o f a R o m an -E ra , g lobular cooking-pot - with or w ith o u t lid device, m ortaria,32 a crater, a baby-feedcr,33 juglets, jewelry, loom weights - both Iron Age and IIcllenistic/R om an E ra, amphorae for shipping, storing and dispensing oil and wine, as well as w ater, and o th er com m on ceram ic utensils o f the three m ajo r ages34 w e’ve investigated.
W hat have n o t been so com m on a t Tzer are several vessels discovered at the “scooped, stepped a lta r” in front o f the N o rth Inner G a te Defense Tower. Behind, i.e., ju st west of, this tower is locatcd C ham ber 4 o f the four chambers built into the inner city-gate com plex. T herein were unearth ed num erous shards which enable the restoration o f num erous vessels th a t were stored there. T h e restored vessels suggest th a t C ham ber 4 was used as a storage room for ceram ic vessels used in the cultic rituals in h o n o r o f the city-god (o r catheno- theistic chief o f the gods) o f Tzer at the city-gate. These vessels are globular in m orph o lo g y , stan d in g on three stum p legs, have everted rim s, and were handled by sacerdotal functionaries by tw o stub handles located on either side o f the vessels. They were discovered in a sealed locus under slabs o f the incised stelae th a t lay b roken over the “ scooped a lta r” , as well as in fro n t o f it. Obviously those w ho ransacked this religious area broke the stelae deliberate-ly.35 W h at is still a m ystery, how ever, is the function o f the n um erous small holes th a t perfo rated the globular p o rtio n o f each vessel. Im aginative and enthusiastic suggestions and speculations have been forw arded, and tests involving various liquids, semi-solids, and incense to determ ine function(s) have been m a d e ;36 no n e have w ithstood scathing scrutiny an d critiq u e to date.
32 These were large flowerpots brought by m ourners to the gravesite and deposited there. They
would be replanted with new flowers as needed.
33 This is a juglet with a “ nipple” which has been perforated.
34 The Bethsaida staff has concentrated on the Early R om an (ca. 60 B .C.E.-200 C.E.), Late Hellenistic (ca. 150-60 B.C.E.), and Iron Ages (1200-500 B.C.E.).
35 The principle was simply, “ N ot only was a people conquered, their deity (deities) was/were conquered (defeated) also.” D amaged icons, therefore, signaled this defeat o f the god(s). 36 N ickolae R oddy, (cf. N ote 5 above) however, expresses no doubt th a t they were indeed
utilized for the burning o f incense when he refers to “ tripodal incense cups similar to those recovered a t B ethsaida.” in his review o f T ina H aettner Blom quist, “G ates and G ods: Cults in the City G ates o f Iron Age Palestine, An Investigation o f the Archaeological and Biblical Sources” , Coniectanea Biblica, Old Testam ent Series 46 (Almqvist & Wiksell International, Stockholm 1999) in a Review o f Biblical Literature 10 article published in 2002.
b*. Image-Oriented Pottery/Ccramic Artifacts. O f th e im age-oriented yields a t et-T ell, three, relevant fo r studying the religious sensibilities practi-ced at Tzer, include: (1) a m ale-figured figurine with skittle/cone-shaped, bulbous crow n headdress, flanked by plum es o f feathers know n as an ‘a / e / crow n, (2) tw o fem ale-figured figurines with b ulbous eyes and headdress, (3) a shard o f p o ttery incised with w hat appears to be an ankhhke sym -bol/sign, and (4) a faience figurine o f the dw arf, E gyptian god, Pataikos.
* l ) T h e ‘A t e f - C r o w n e d F i g u r i n e . O ne figurine discovered at et-T ell w as crow ned with w hat one term s la t e f gear. <8> It was discovered w ithin the bit hilani structure. A m old cast figurine, it “ p resents,” writes D r. A rav, “th e head o f a m ale w earing a tall crow n w ith a thick knob at the (up p er) end, perh ap s representing a precious sto n e.” (A rav 1995, p. 17) W h at rem ains o f the figurine now was p a rt o f a com plete figure th a t still aw aits discovery. T h e crow n, festooned with tw o large feathers, one on either side as the figurine presents, was certainly utilized by the king o f the A m m onite peoples according to the description contained in 2 Sam uel 12: 30. A fter this k in g d o m ’s defeat by the forces o f K ing D avid, such a crow n was taken from the head o f the defeated K ing M a lk a m ,37 a questio n ab le name! and placed on D a v id ’s head. T his action showed th a t D avid had inherited all o f the pow ers [and thus significance] o f the one w ho had form erly w orn the ia t e f crow n. It m ade quite the political/religious statem ent.
T his ‘a t e f crow n, described in 2 Sam uel 12: 30 as having been w orn by the defeated king o f the A m m onites, was, from num ero u s reliefs and paintings found in E gypt, one o f at least five crow ns w orn by p h arao h s on various occasions. T h e Deshret (red crow n) represented L ow er Egypt. T he H edjet (white, skittle-shaped crow n) represented U p p e r E gypt. T h e Pshent o r D o u b le C row n, com bined b o th the Deshret and the H edjet and represen-ted a unified E gypt. N arm er, also know n as M enes, is repurepresen-ted to have been the first ru ler to w ear this co m bination crow n as fo u n d e r o f the F irst D ynasty ca. 3100 B .C .E . W hen the p h a ra o h led his arm ies into battle, it was trad itio n al th a t he w ore the blue, cerem onial crow n know n as the Khepresh. L astly, the A t e f was a crow n w orn by the god Osiris. It was m ad e up o f the H edjet, o r W hite C row n o f so u th ern E gypt, the Uraeus, the royal serpent sym bol, i.e., a hooded co b ra poised to strike, an d the red feathers th a t represent O siris's cultic center a t Busiris in the N ile D elta region. B ecause o f its location, this crow n and its significance could easily have influenced nearb y regions such as ancient C an aa n . A s one w riter
37 The C anaanite expression “hamelech shelahem", their king/m onarch/sovereign, can be cont-racted to m alkam. This same word appears in the 2 Samuel 12: 30 text as a proper noun and has consequently raised the suspicions o f some biblical scholars as appearing in a “ contrived text” .
