JEZEBEL: THE MIDDLE ROAD LESS TAKEN Kendall Reilly Submitted in total fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Arts (Research) May 18 2015 Word Count 46,463 School of Historical and Philosophical Studies Faculty of Arts The University of Melbourne Produced on Archival Quality Paper Abstract The Biblical Jezebel has been 'reclaimed' by feminists and 'denounced' by fundamentalists (at Jezebel's time known as 'passionate' Yahweh adherents) for nearly three millennia. These contrasting extremes often lack a judicious assessment of the evidence. By utilising texts and archaeology, this thesis takes a ‘middle road’ by looking at powerful women (mortal or semi-divine) and goddesses contemporary to Jezebel. This approach assists our understanding of Israelite laws, which were often restrictive and xenophobic (especially towards women, adornment and polytheism). That our view of Jezebel is so negative largely derives from the way these laws portrayed Jezebel and other feisty and flamboyant women like her. ii Declaration This is to certify that: i. The thesis comprises only my original work towards the Masters except where indicated in the preface, ii. Due acknowledgement has been made in the text to all other materials used, iii. The thesis is less than 50,000 words in length, exclusive of tables, maps, bibliographies and appendices as approved by the Research Higher Degrees Committee. Signed: Date: iii Figure 1: Map of the Ancient Near East (from Bible History Online 2013). iv Figure 2: Approximate chronology of the reign of the House of Omri (from the California Institute for Ancient Studies 2013). v Preface As an undergraduate I loved archaeology and history, in particular the cultural development of ancient Israel. I was not brought up in a religious household, being educated only in the basics of the New Testament and Genesis in the Old Testament; I had no knowledge of the rest of the Bible. It was only then that I was introduced to Jezebel, a most interesting woman, whom many declare a 'villain' of the Bible. She absolutely fascinated me. Here, within the pages of the Bible itself was a woman (if she did truly exist), a foreigner and a polytheist, accused by the Deuteronomistic authors of turning not only her husband, but an entire country to idolatry! It made me consider that this Phoenician queen must have wielded a substantial amount of power, thus creating a perceptible threat to Yahwism and consequently to the writers of the Bible. Yet, she was also a murderer and broke several of the Ten Commandments—a most interesting woman. Many of the commentaries that involved Jezebel accused her of being a whore; in this context, not idolater but adulterer—a seductress prowling after a man called Jehu, her husband's murderer. This accusation against Jezebel was based on one simple line: "When Jehu came to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it, and she painted her eyes, and adorned her head and looked out the window" (2 Kings 9:30). The negative emphasis placed on this single passage—Jezebel is charged with adorning herself to seduce her husband's enemy, which greatly contrasts with other passages in which she demonstrates the love of her husband by murder—suggested to me that some research needed to take place into the significance of adornment within the pages of the Bible. It was rather surprising to find that no 'middle road' of the study of Jezebel has ever been taken: it is always feminists versus biblical fundamentalists, firing their beliefs at one another, and often in a less than professional way.1 I never agreed entirely with either faction. Further enquiry led me to the knowledge that there were indeed other powerful women, roughly contemporary with Jezebel, recorded in history and myth. Moreover, depending on the law codes of each of these women's countries, and whether or not they were wielding their power for the good of their husband and country, they would be either admired or condemned throughout history. Thus, with all these various subjects, ideas and negative and positive associations in mind, I began my research for this thesis. 1 Feminists often admire her as hero, a powerful woman, and a role model, very often 'forgetting' she murdered in cold blood; whereas the fundamentalists place her in a category with Eve, Delilah, Herodias, etc., as causing the downfall of the Israelites, accusing her of being a whore and an idolatress. Specific examples will be throughout the thesis. vi Acknowledgements There are so many people that I would like to thank for their help, for putting up with my 'vague' moments and patiently steering me back on topic. Firstly, my principal supervisor Professor Tony Sagona; I don't know how to thank you, you have been so patient and helpful with my work, and you kept me motivated. You also gave me enough confidence to tutor—something that I still love to do. My secondary supervisor Professor Louise Hitchcock; you too helped me so much through the pitfalls of thesis writing and made me really think about the essence of my essay. You also opened my eyes to the joys of fieldwork. Heather Stone, my life saver, you have taught me the foibles of grammar, and gave me sound advice when needed. Abby Robinson; an absolutely fantastic person who offered to edit my essay "thank you so much" Lastly, to my university friends who offered to read my thesis: "Thank you". Members of my family require special thanks: to my Dad, Peter, and sister, Tennille, for enduring me, and to my partner Dan, who has tolerated me, and has not once complained. You have been so supportive and often saved me with your computer expertise. THANK YOU! Finally I would like to thank the most important person of all, my fantastic mother, Hilary, who passed away suddenly in October, 2013. Mum, you saw me through every stage of my university studies, and put up with a lot from me through the years—the moaning, the tears and the frustration, and late hours in the night, so thank you—this one is for you. vii CONTENTS ABSTRACT ii DECLARATION iii MAP OF THE ANCIENT NEAR EAST iv HOUSE OF OMRI TIMELINE v PREFACE vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS vii CONTENTS PAGE viii LIST OF FIGURES AND ILLUSTRATIONS x INTRODUCTION xii 1 JEZEBEL, INANNA AND POWERFUL WOMEN OF THE ANCIENT NEAR EAST AND THEIR CODES OF LAW 1 Evidence of Aha, Jezebel and Jehu 1 Jezebel's Role, Scripture and Religious Dogma Within the Bible 5 Women in Ancient Texts and Their Countries' Law Codes 8 Sumerian, Babylonian and Assyrian Laws 11 Egypt in Regards to Law 17 Phoenician Law 22 Hittite Law 24 Israelite Law 26 2 GODDESSES, MORTAL AND SEMI-MYTHIC WOMEN WITH POWER IN THE ANCIENT NEAR EAST 30 Inanna 32 Anat 36 Nitocris the Egyptian 41 Hatshepsut 42 Deborah and Jael of Israel 48 Queen Twosre 48 Dido of Phoenicia 49 Semiramis 50 Nitocris the Babylonian 53 Queen Rhodogune 54 Queen Vashti and Queen Esther 55 Conclusion 56 3 JEZEBEL: WHAT'S IN A NAME? A NARRATIVE OF JEZEBEL FROM THE BIBLE WITH COMMENTARY, AND HER HISTORICAL TRANSFORMATION TO THE BIBLICAL HARLOT 57 Archaeological Evidence 58 Evidence of Phoenician Trade During Jezebel's Lifetime 60 viii Phoenician Ivories 62 The Political Marriage of Jezebel 65 Israelite Ethnicity 66 The Bible and Jezebel 69 The Biblical Evidence: Mount Carmel 72 The Naboth Episode 76 The Beginning of the End for the Omri Dynasty 81 The Seed of Evil- Resewn 83 4 JEZEBEL'S PHOENICIAN POWER AND PRESTEIGE VERSUS FEAR AND LOATHING IN ISRAEL 85 Jezebel's Life Changes 85 Early Pre-Israelite Religion 90 The Fear of the 'Other' and Intermarriage 91 Abandoning One's God's for Yahweh 93 Jezebel, the Bible and Paganism 94 Religion in Ancient Israel 95 Household Cult in Ancient Israel 97 Archaeological Evidence of Household Cult 98 Prostitutes, Priestesses, and Widows 102 Magic, Sorcery, 'Witches' and the role of the Queen Mother 110 The Position of 'Gebira' and Her Role in State Cult 114 5 THE SEXUALISED ADORNMENT AND DEATH OF JEZEBEL; THE CONTINUED STIGMA AND SUBSEQUENT ENDEAVOUR OF EMANCIPATION 121 Issues with Adornment in the Bible 121 The Sexualisation of 'Jezebels' and Subsequent Gender Panic Within Other Texts 124 The Babylonian Talmud 128 The Middle Ages 130 Jezebel and Queen Mary of England 132 Jezebel in Regards to African American Slaves 133 The Black Athena 133 Jezebel and the Femme Fatale 134 Feminism and the 'Reclaiming' of Jezebel 135 The 'Historical Imagination' 143 Theories on the Death of Jezebel 145 The Seduction of Jehu 151 The Death of Jezebel 153 CONCLUSION 157 BIBLIOGRAPHY 161 SCRIPTURE INDEX 194 APPENDIX A: EARLY WRITERS OF VIRTUOUS WOMEN 197 APPENDIX B: A LAMENT OVER TYRE 199 ix Lists of Figures and Illustrations Figure 1: Map of the Ancient Near East iv Figure 2: Thiele's Conventional Chart from 990 to 780 BCE v Figure 3: A Scene From the Black Obelisk Depicting Jehu 1 Figure 4: Kurkh Monolith (Stela of Shalmaneser III c. 852 BCE 2 Figure 5: Possible Seal of Jezebel? 4 Figure 6: Code of Hammurabi Stele 12 Figure 7: Nen-Kheft-Ka and Wife Nefer-shemes 20 Figure 8: Rehotep and Wife Nofret 20 Figure 9: Painting of Jezebel 57 Figure 10: Ancient Trading Routes of the Phoenicians and Greeks 59 Figure 11: Part of the Balawat Gate, Assyria 61 Figure 12: Cylinder Seal Depicting the Sacred Tree and the Gods 63 Figure 13: Phoenician Ivory Sphinx in the Egyptian Style 64 Figure 14: Phoenician Ivory Depicting Sacred Tree (Egyptian Style) 64 Figure 15: Phoenician Ivory Sphinx in the Egyptian Style 64 Figure 16: Panel with a Male Figure Grasping a Tree; Winged Sun Disc Above 64 Figure 17: Mount Carmel 74 Figure 18: Painting of Elijah's Prophecy of the Omri Dynasty 81 Figure 19: Painting of Child Murderer Athaliah 83 x Figure 20: Map of Samaria 88 Figure 21: Map of Phoenicia and Their Commodities 89 Figure 22–25: Asherah/Astarte Plaques 99 Figure 26: Israelite Cult Stand with Musicians from Ashdod 99 Figure 27: Bronze Bull Statue from Dotham 99 Figure 28: Ta'anach Cult Stand 100 Figure 29: Bottom Register of Ta'anach Cult Stand 100 Figure 30: Grayscale Drawing of Ta'anach Cult Stand 100 Figure 31: Cultic Figures, Talismans etc.