Confronting the Past William G. Dever Confronting the Past Archaeological and Historical Essays on Ancient Israel in Honor of William G. Dever Edited by Seymour Gitin, J. Edward Wright, and J. P. Dessel Winona Lake, Indiana Eisenbrauns 2006 ç Copyright 2006 by Eisenbrauns. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. www.eisenbrauns.com Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Confronting the past : archaeological and historical essays on ancient Israel in honor of William G. Dever / edited by Seymour Gitin, J. Edward Wright, and J. P. Dessel. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references. ISBN-13: 978-1-57506-117-7 (hardback : alk. paper) 1. Palestine—Antiquities. 2. Israel—Antiquities. 3. Middle East— Antiquities. 4. Palestine—History—To 70 a.d. 5. Middle East—History—To 622. 6. Bronze age—Palestine. 7. Iron age—Palestine. 8. Bible. O.T.— Antiquities. 9. Bible. O.T.—Criticism, interpretation, etc. 10. Excavations— Archaeology—Middle East. I. Dever, William G. II. Gitin, Seymour. III. Wright, J. Edward. IV. Dessel, J. P. DS111.C66 2006 933—dc22 2006026894 The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of the American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1984. †‘ Contents Acknowledgments . viii Preface . ix William G. Dever: Bibliography . xiii Prepared by Wade Kotter Part 1 Archaeology The Sad Fate of Statues and the Mutilated Statues of Hazor . 3 Amnon Ben-Tor An Archaeologist on Mars . 17 Giorgio Buccellati Of Pots and Paradigms: Interpreting the Intermediate Bronze Age in Israel/Palestine . 23 Shlomo Bunimovitz and Raphael Greenberg A Decorated Ivory Lid from Tel Miqne–Ekron . 33 Trude Dothan Har Resisim 126: An Ephemeral Early Bronze Age Site . 41 Barry M. Gittlen Gezer Rectified: The Dating of the South Gate Complex . 51 James W. Hardin and Joe D. Seger An Early Iron Age I House with a Cultic Corner at Tall al-ºUmayri, Jordan . 61 Larry G. Herr Aphrodite/Astarte on Horseback . 75 Vassos Karageorghis Planning a Paleolithic Picnic . 81 Albert Leonard, Jr. The Archaic Palace at Ebla: A Royal Building between Early Bronze Age IVB and Middle Bronze Age I . 85 Paolo Matthiae Tel Beth-Shean and the Fate of Mounds in the Intermediate Bronze Age . 105 Amihai Mazar Early Bronze Age IV Transitions: An Archaeometallurgical Study . 119 Suzanne Richard The Chipped Stone Assemblage from Beªer Resisim in the Negev Highlands: A Preliminary Study . 133 Steven A. Rosen, Sorin Hermon, Jacob Vardi, and Yael Abadi Podium Structures with Lateral Access: Authority Ploys in Royal Architecture in the Iron Age Levant . 145 Ilan Sharon and Anabel Zarzecki-Peleg Chariot Fittings from Philistine Ashkelon . 169 Lawrence E. Stager vi Contents Goddesses and Cults at Tel Dor . 177 Ephraim Stern Cypriot Anthropomorphic Figurines of a Certain Type . 181 Stuart Swiny Part 2 Bible and Ancient Israel Women and the Worship of Yahweh in Ancient Israel . 189 Susan Ackerman Purity Strategies and Political Interests in the Policy of Nehemiah . 199 Rainer Albertz Proto-Globalization and Proto-Secularization in Ancient Israel . 207 Norman K. Gottwald The Miraculous Wine of Cana in Its Galilean Ceramic Context . 215 Baruch Halpern The Archaeology of Memory: King Solomon, Chronology, and Biblical Representation . 219 Ronald Hendel Khirbet el-Qôm and Hebrew and Aramaic Epigraphy . 231 André Lemaire The Ecological Consequences of a Siege: A Marginal Note on Deuteronomy 20:19–20 . 239 Aren M. Maier, Oren Ackermann, and Hendrik J. Bruins Hierarchy or Heterarchy? Archaeology and the Theorizing of Israelite Society . 245 Carol Meyers Israel and Its Neighbors Then and Now: Revisionist History and the Quest for History in the Middle East Today . 255 Eric M. Meyers Ostracon No. 7 from Arad Reconsidered . 265 Nadav Naªaman Looking for Bethel: An Exercise in Historical Geography . 269 Anson F. Rainey In Solomon’s Temple (1 Kings 6–7): Between Text and Archaeology . 275 Mark S. Smith Part 3 Ancient Near East The Predecessors of the Hyksos . 285 Manfred Bietak “His Seed Is Not”: 13th-Century bce Israel . 295 David Noel Freedman and David Miano Solomon and Gezer . 303 Volkmar Fritz Hezekiah’s Tribute, Long-Distance Trade, and the Wealth of Nations ca. 1,000–600 bc: A New Perspective . 309 John S. Holladay, Jr. Gezer and Circumcision . 333 Philip J. King Contents vii Covenant and Blood Rituals: Understanding Exodus 24:3–8 in Its Ancient Near Eastern Context . 341 Theodore J. Lewis Trade Relations between Mari and Hazor (State of Research, 2002) . 351 Abraham Malamat Implicit Population Figures and Historical Sense: What Happened to 200,150 Judahites in 701 bce? . 357 Ziony Zevit Indexes Index of Authors . 367 Index of Scripture . 372 Index of Other Ancient Sources . 375 Acknowledgments The publication of this volume was made possible by the generous support of Richard Scheuer, Shirley D. Curson, and Joan Kaye Cauthorn. The Editors thank Edna Sachar for her skillful preparation of the manuscript in Jerusalem and Jim Eisenbraun and Beverly McCoy for their guidance through the entire publication process. Preface The title of this volume honoring W. G. Dever, Con- chaeology in 1972), and was also supported by the Semitic fronting the Past: Archaeological and Historical Essays Museum of Harvard University. Bill remained with Wright on Ancient Israel, reflects the broad scope of Bill’s schol- in Jerusalem as the Archaeological Fellow at HUCBASJ arship. Dealing with a wide range of subjects relating to from 1964 to 1965, and returned to Harvard in 1966 to fin- the Bronze and Iron Ages, Bill confronts the historical ish writing his dissertation. From 1966 to 1971, he served implications of archaeology—as he has so often remarked, as the Director of the Gezer excavations, with H. Darrell “If archaeology is not history, it is nothing.” The essays Lance as Associate Director. In 1967, Bill was appointed presented herein also include those dealing with data from Assistant Professor of Archaeology at HUCBASJ, and earlier and later periods originating within the geographi- from 1968 to 1971, he served as its permanent Archaeolog- cal area of ancient Israel, considered part of the wider ical Director. While at HUCBASJ, he also directed the ex- biblical world as understood by Bill’s mentor, G. Ernest cavations at Khirbet el-Qôm and Jebel Qaºaqir (1969– Wright, and his teacher, W. F. Albright. In addition to cele- 1971). In 1971, Bill became the fourth long-term Director brating Bill’s contribution to the world of scholarship, this of the W. F. Albright Institute of Archaeological Research volume demonstrates the deep appreciation, respect, and in Jerusalem (AIAR), formerly the American School of affection in which he is held by the community of archae- Oriental Research, and in 1973, he was also appointed ologists and other scholars in the wider field of ancient AIAR Professor of Near Eastern History and Archaeology. Near Eastern studies. This is our tribute to our teacher, In 1972 and 1973, he conducted salvage excavations at colleague, and friend, and to his scholarship and unswerv- Shechem. In 1969, while Bill and Norma were living in Je- ing dedication to excellence. rusalem, their son, Sean William, was born. William G. Dever was born on November 27, 1933, in In 1975, Bill and his family returned to the United Louisville, Kentucky, USA. Because he was the son of a States, where he was instrumental in creating a graduate Christian Church minister, it was only natural that early on program in Syro-Palestinian Archaeology at the Univer- he showed an interest in biblical studies, which he was to sity of Arizona in Tucson. He held appointments as Profes- pursue throughout his academic career. In 1955, Bill earned sor of Near Eastern Archaeology in the departments of a B.A. in Religious Studies at Milligan College, Tennessee, Oriental Studies (now Near Eastern Studies) and Anthro- where he had met Norma Elizabeth Spangler; Bill and pology and he led the Near Eastern Studies Department Norma were married in 1953. Continuing his studies, he during two terms as Department Head, and also became received both a B.D. in Hebrew and Greek from Christian the first faculty member of the Committee on Judaic Stud- Theological Seminary and an M.A. in Semitics from Butler ies. During his 28 years at the University of Arizona, Bill College in Indianapolis, Indiana, in 1959. Subsequently, he served as the major adviser to 24 doctoral students in entered the doctoral program in Biblical Theology at Har- archaeology. He also co-directed the Central Negev High- vard University under the supervision of G. Ernest Wright. lands Project with Rudolph Cohen of the Israel Depart- At Wright’s suggestion, he changed his major to archae- ment of Antiquities (now the Israel Antiquities Authority), ology, and in 1962 and 1964, he participated in Wright’s which involved three seasons of excavation at Beªer excavations at Shechem. Under Wright’s and Frank Moore Resisim from 1978 to 1980. Bill also served as the Princi- Cross’s tutelage, Bill earned his Ph.D. from Harvard Uni- pal Investigator for two excavations led by his students, versity’s Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civi- one directed by Steven Falconer and Bonnie Magness- lizations in 1966, with his dissertation on The EB IV–MB I Gardiner at Tell el-Hayyat in Jordan from 1981 to 1985 Period in Syria–Palestine, ca. 2150–1850. and the other directed by J. P. Dessel, Beth Alpert Nakhai, In 1964, Bill joined the staff of the long-term excava- and Bonnie Wisthoff at Tell el-Wawiyat in Israel from tions at Tell Gezer initiated by Wright and Nelson Glueck. 1986 to 1987. He returned to Gezer for two seasons of The project was sponsored by the Hebrew Union College excavation in 1984 and 1990.