Historically, those studying Israelite religion have ignored the existence of women in Iron Age Israel (1200–587 BCE). They have, therefore, accounted neither for the religious beliefs of half of ...ancient Israel’s population nor for the responsibilities that women assumed for maintaining religious rituals and traditions. Such reconstructions of Israelite religion are seriously flawed. Only in the last four decades have scholars, primarily women, begun to explore women’s essential roles in Israel’s religious culture. This article utilizes evidence from the Hebrew Bible and from archaeological sites throughout Israel. It demonstrates that some women had roles within the Jerusalem Temple. Most women, however, resided in towns and villages throughout the Land. There, they undertook responsibility for clan-based and community-based religious rituals and rites, including pilgrimage, seasonal festivals, rites of military victory, and rites of mourning. They fulfilled, as well, essential roles within the sphere of domestic or household religion. At home, they provided medico-magical healing for all family members, as well as care for women and babies throughout pregnancy, childbirth, and beyond. They, and the men in their communities, worshipped Yahweh, Israel’s primary deity, and the goddess Asherah, as well; for most people, these two divinities were inextricably linked.
In Pursuit of Visibility honors the distinguished career of a scholar of Canaan and ancient Israel, Beth Alpert Nakhai. In fifteen diverse essays, Professor Nakhai’s students and colleagues celebrate ...her important contributions to the field of Near Eastern Archaeology, including her research into gender, household, and cult in the Bronze and Iron Age southern Levant, and her tireless efforts to acknowledge and support women in the profession. These essays reflect Professor Nakhai’s commitment to combining archaeology and text to reconstruct aspects of ancient life and make those who are marginalized visible in both the past and the present.
Household & Family Religion in Persian-Period Judah: An Archaeological Approach. By José E. Balcells Gallarreta. Ancient Near East Monographs, vol. 18. Atlanta: SBL Press, 2017. Pp. xiv + 192. $33.95 ...(paper).
Like many whose fieldwork takes place far from home, I found the 2014 report "Survey of Academic Field Experiences: Trainees Report Harassment and Assault," which documented the dangers that ...fieldwork in isolated settings poses to (primarily) women, both riveting and horrifying. Physical assault, racial or religious harassment, theft, and vandalism each occurred at approximately one quarter of field projects. Create healthy fieldwork environments that, among other things, restrict alcohol consumption, ban drug use, and prohibit abusive language targeting race, religion, gender, dress, and physical attributes.
This volume examines developments in the fields of premodern Jewish studies over the last thirty years. The essays in this book, written by leading experts, are grouped into four overarching temporal ...areas: the First Temple, Second Temple, Rabbinic, and Medieval periods. These time periods are analyzed through four thematic methodological lenses: the social scientific (history and society), the textual (texts and literature), the material (art, architecture, and archaeology), and the philosophical (religion and thought). Some essays offer a comprehensive look at the state of the field, while others look at specific examples illustrative of their temporal and thematic areas of inquiry.
Dr. Seymour Gitin is completing his tenure as Director and Dorot
Professor at the W. F. Albright Institute of Archaeological
Research in Jerusalem. Much of his long career has been spent
helping ...young scholars expand their contacts and hone their skills.
This volume is a collection of articles by some of the many
developing scholars and Albright fellows with whom Sy has shared
his time and knowledge. Their appreciation shows in the quality of
their articles, the breadth of their interests, and their
dedication to Sy Gitin.
The articles range from a discussion of tomb robbing in
Palestinian areas, to a geographical analysis of the Shephelah
region, to Islamic historical texts, to Israelite cult stands, to
Middle Bronze Age burials. In addition, there are several articles
by former members of the Tel Miqne-Ekron staff that draw on the
finds from that site and further demonstrate Sy's willingness to
mentor and to share the publication of the site's rich trove of
materials.
This book not only honors Dr. Gitin by the willingness of
fellows to contribute to the volume; it also expands our knowledge
base of the southern Levant and shows that "Material Culture
Matters."
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