Ritual and Power in Northern Israel: The Late Bronze and Iron Ages

This book aims to trace the evolution of public cult in the northern highlands and valleys of Canaan and the Northern Kingdom of Israel from the Late Bronze IIA to the Iron IIB (14th-8th centuries BCE) through the study of archaeological contexts and remains. It also examines the nature of cult and the relationship of ritual to power through an analysis of cult and centralization. It asks whether evidence for cult centralization, when viewed on an anthropological-archaeological level rather than from the biblical perspective, is apparent. This book also fills several gaps in the research. It eschews a focus on the biblical narrative in favor of anthropological and archaeological approaches to the study of ritual and cult. Since the biblical narrative has held so much sway in the research on the "ancient Israelite" cult, the archaeology of cult in the northern Kingdom of Israel has never been studied separate from the southern Kingdom of Judah. This then warrants a thorough examination of cult within the northern geopolitical entity, which developed along a different trajectory than its southern counterpart. A comparison of the Late Bronze Canaanite and Iron Age northern Israelite cults allows for a broader perspective on continuity and change as well as on the nature of the centralization or decentralization of ritual in Canaan/Israel and other areas within the ancient Near East. Overall, this book compiles and presents a database for current and future study. It is expected to have a long-lasting impact on interdisciplinary studies which seek to synthesize the archaeology of cult in the northern Kingdom of Israel with biblical studies and anthropology. Through the study of ritual in Canaan and Israel, it is anticipated that the idiosyncrasies of cult(s) in other time periods and regions will become more apparent.