The Settlers in the Central Hill Country of Palestine
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THE SETTLERS IN THE CENTRAL HILL COUNTRY OF PALESTINE DURING IRON AGE I (ca 1200-1000 BCE): WHERE DID THEY COME FROM AND WHY DID THEY MOVE? by IRINA RUSSELL submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS in the subject BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGY at the UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH AFRICA SUPERVISOR: PROF MAGDEL LE ROUX NOVEMBER 2009 CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS SUMMARY CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 BACKGROUND...................................................................................…… 1 1.1.1 Religion in the ancient Near East............................................................... 1 1.1.2 The effect of climate fluctuations on human history................................ 2 1.2 DEFINITIONS, NOMENCLATURE AND ABBREVIATIONS................. 6 1.2.1 The term ‘Palestine’..................................................................................... 6 1.2.2 ‘Israelites’ or ‘settlers’?............................................................................... 6 1.2.3 Religion.....................................................................................................… 7 1.2.4 ‘Tribes’ (shevet/matteh) or ‘clans’ (mishpahot)?....................................... 8 1.2.5 ‘BCE’/‘bce’/‘CE’/‘ce’ and ‘m bmsl’....................................................…... 10 1.3 HYPOTHESIS........................................................................................…... 11 1.4 METHODOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS............................................... 11 1.4.1 The structure of the dissertation................................................................ 13 1.4.2 Sources....................................................................................................….. 15 CHAPTER 2 FROM THE ‘EXODUS’ TO THE ‘PERIOD OF THE JUDGES:’ POLITICAL AND ETHNIC BACKGROUND 2.1 THE INTERNATIONAL AND POLITICAL SITUATION AT THE TIME......................................................................................................….... 17 2.2 THE ‘EXODUS - SINAI TRADITION’ AND THE ‘CONQUEST’ OF TRANSJORDAN.................................................................................…..... 18 2.2.1 Background.....................................................................................…........ 18 2.2.2 The ‘Exodus’.................................................................................….......... 19 2.2.3 ‘Wandering in the wilderness’..............................................................…. 21 i 2.2.4 The ‘conquest’ of the Negev and Transjordan......................................... 22 2.2.5 The biblical account: history or myth?...............................................…... 23 2.3 MODELS FOR THE SETTLEMENT OF EARLY ISRAEL..........…......... 27 2.3.1 The ‘conquest’ model.........................................................................….... 28 2.3.2 The ‘peaceful infiltration’ model.....................................................…...... 30 2.3.3 The ‘peasant revolt’ model...............................................................…...... 31 2.3.4 More recent models.........................................................................…....... 32 2.3.4.1 The ‘symbiosis’ model.....................................................................….….... 33 2.3.4.2 The ‘sedentarized nomads’ model........................................................….... 34 2.3.4.3 The ‘agrarian frontier reform’ model.................................................…...... 35 2.3.5 Conclusion...........................................................................................….... 37 2.4 ETHNICITY AND EARLY ISRAEL...................................................…..... 39 2.4.1 The Merneptah Stele...........................................................................….... 39 2.4.2 The ‘apiru and the shasu........................................................................…. 42 2.4.2.1 The ‘apiru............................................................................................…...... 42 2.4.2.2 The shasu..............................................................................................…..... 43 2.4.3 Ethnicity and its cultural characteristics..........................................…..... 45 2.4.3.1 Terracing and the hewing of water cisterns............................................….. 45 2.4.3.2 Religion and cult..................................................................................…...... 46 2.4.3.3 Pottery and architecture.....................................................................…....... 47 2.4.3.4 Dietary choices.....................................................................................…..... 49 2.4.3.5 Conclusion..............................................................................................…... 51 CHAPTER 3 THE CANAANITES 3.1 THE LAND OF CANAAN............................................................................ 54 3.2 CULTURE AND SOCIETY.......................................................................... 56 3.3 CANAANITE RELIGION.....................................................................….... 57 3.3.1 The Canaanite Bronze Age pantheon........................................................ 58 3.3.1.1 El, the head of the pantheon..............................................................…........ 59 ii 3.3.1.2 Athirat, El’s consort....................................................................................... 60 3.3.1.3 Ba‘al............................................................................................................... 62 3.3.1.4 ‘Anat............................................................................................................... 62 3.3.1.5 Astarte............................................................................................................ 63 3.3.1.6 Other figures in the pantheon........................................................................ 64 3.3.2 The Canaanite pantheon and the Hebrew Bible....................................... 64 3.3.2.1 El, Ba‘al and Yahweh.................................................................................... 65 3.3.2.2 ‘Anat............................................................................................................... 66 3.3.2.3 Asherah.......................................................................................................... 67 3.3.2 4 Ashtaroth, Dagan and Horan........................................................................ 69 3.3.2.5 Local manifestations of the gods.............................................................….. 69 3.3.3 Ritual and cult at Ugarit............................................................................. 70 3.3.4 Ritual and cult in the Ugaritic texts and the Hebrew Bible: similarities and differences.................................................................................…....... 72 3.3.4.1 Similarities........................................................................................….….... 72 3.3.4.2 Differences............................................................................................…..... 73 3.3.5 The Ugaritic Ba‘al Epic, the fertility of the land and climate fluctuations..........................................................................................….... 74 3.3.6 The persistence of Canaanite religion........................................................ 76 3.3.6.1 Early developments in Canaanite religion..............................................….. 76 3.3.6.2 Canaanite religion in the Common Era................................................…..... 79 3.3.7 Death and the afterlife in Canaanite thought............................................ 80 3.3.7.1 Textual evidence....................................................................................…..... 81 3.3.7.2 Archaeological evidence.........................................................................…... 83 3.4 ARCHAEOLOGICAL EVIDENCE FOR RELIGION AND CULT IN SYRIA-PALESTINE DURING THE LATE BRONZE AGE (ca 1500-1200 BCE)..............................................................................….... 84 3.4.1 ‘High places’.......................................................................................…...... 84 3.4.1.1 General remarks.....................................................................................…... 84 3.4.1.2 Nahariyah...............................................................................................…... 85 3.4.2 Temples....................................................................................................…. 87 iii 3.4.3 Temple paraphernalia...........................................................................….. 88 3.4.4 Other cultic objects.............................................................................…..... 89 3.4.5 Tombs, mortuary installations, and burial deposits..........................…... 90 3.4.6 Interpreting the finds............................................................................….. 92 3.4.6.1 Food and drink offerings........................................................................…... 92 3.4.6.2 Cult/temple rituals..................................................................................…... 93 3.4.6.3 Deities worshipped..................................................................................….. 94 3.5 CONCLUSION.....................................................................................…... 96 CHAPTER 4 CULTIC ARTIFACTS, CULTIC