Did God Have a Wife? : Archaeology and Folk Religion in Ancient Israel

by Dever, William G.

• ISBN13: 9780802828521
• ISBN10: 0802828523
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2005-06-15
• Publisher: Eerdmans Pub Co

Summary

"Did God Have a Wife? is a richly illustrated, non-technical reconstruction of "folk religion" in ancient Israel, based largely on recent archaeological evidence, but incorporating biblical texts where possible even though they deal more with "book religion."

Author Biography

William G. Dever is professor emeritus of Near Eastern archaeology and anthropology at the University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona

Table of Contents

Introduction	ix
I. Defining and Contextualizing Religion	1	(31)
The Phenomenon of Religion	1	(1)
Religion as "Ultimate Concern"	2	(2)
The "Care and Feeding of the Gods"	4	(1)
On "Folk Religion"	5	(3)
"Folk Religion": Toward a Methodology	8	(1)
"Phenomenology of Religion"	9	(3)
The "Context" of Folk Religion	12	(17)
Religion and the "Good Life"	29	(3)
II. The History of the History: In Search of Ancient Israel's Religions	32	(31)
The "History of Religions" School	32	(1)
The "Myth and Ritual" School	33	(2)
Old Testament Theology	35	(4)
Sociological Approaches	39	(1)
A Revival of Interest in Israelite Religion	40	(19)
An Overall Critique of Previous Scholarship	59	(4)
III. Sources and Methods for the Study of Ancient Israel's Religions	63	(27)
The Biblical Texts and Their Limitations	64	(4)
Some Caveats	68	(5)
Non-biblical Texts	73	(1)
Archaeology as a "Primary Source" for History and Religion	74	(2)
Depreciating Archaeology: Who and Why	76	(3)
Setting the (Archaeological) Record Straight	79	(2)
What Archaeology Can and Cannot Do	81	(6)
Why Another History?	87	(3)
IV. The Hebrew Bible: Religious Reality or Theological Ideal?	90	(20)
Part I. Cultic Terminology in the Hebrew Bible	92	(11)
Bamôt, or "High Places"	92	(3)
Family and Household Shrines	95	(1)
Temples	96	(2)
Cult Paraphernalia in the Hebrew Bible	98	(5)
Part II Cultic Activities in the Hebrew Bible	103	(7)
The Sacrificial System	103	(1)
Some Caveats Regarding Sacrifice	104	(2)
Prayers and Vows	106	(1)
Festivals	107	(3)
V. Archaeological Evidence for Folk Religions in Ancient Israel	110	(66)
Local Shrines and Family Religion	111	(14)
An Excursus on "Magic"	125	(10)
Public Open-Air Sanctuaries	135	(32)
Monumental Temples	167	(9)
VI. The Goddess Asherah and Her Cult	176	(33)
The Figurines: Who Is She?	176	(19)
Votives, Vows, and Folk Religion	195	(1)
Characterizing Asherah and Her Cult	196	(13)
VII. Asherah, Women's Cults, and "Official Yahwism"	209	(43)
Asherah in Canaan	209	(2)
Asherah in the Hebrew Bible	211	(1)
Asherah, Yahweh, and "Syncretism"	212	(7)
Iconographic Evidence of the Goddess	219	(17)
Asherah and Women's Cults	236	(3)
Archaeological Correlates of Women's Cults	239	(8)
Other Ethnographic Parallels	247	(5)
VIII. From Polytheism to Monotheism	252	(52)
"Patriarchal" Religion in Canaan: El and "the God of the Fathers"	252	(12)
"Holy Places" in Pre-Israelite Times	264	(2)
The Israelite Sacrificial System as "Canaanite"	266	(1)
The Calendar	267	(2)
The Question of "Syncretism"	269	(2)
Changes with the Monarchy: Religion in Crisis	271	(9)
Rebellion: "To Your Tents, O Israel"	280	(1)
Civil War: The "State Cult" in the North	281	(4)
Judah and the "Yahweh Alone" Movement	285	(6)
The Fall of Judah and Religious Crisis	291	(2)
The Empty Land	293	(1)
Out of the Ashes	294	(1)
Toward One God	294	(3)
Why Monotheism? and Whither?	297	(2)
Archaeological Evidence for Reforms	299	(1)
The Afterglow	300	(1)
Magic Bowls and the Goddess Lilith	300	(1)
"Ashera Abscondita" and Jewish Mysticism	301	(3)
IX. What Does the Goddess Do to Help?	304	(10)
Afterword (and Foreword Again)	314	(4)
Some Basic Sources	318	(16)
Index of Authors	334	(3)
Index of Subjects and Places	337	(4)
Index of Scripture References	341