To what extent did foreign aspects influence the religion of the Judahites? Sanctuaries, altars and terracotta figurines

Abstract

The aim of this article is to understand the foreign influence on Iron Age Judahite sacred architecture, offering and incense altars and clay figurines in the context of the latest archaeological finds from Israel. The important discoveries from the recent years are the Judahite temple at Tel Moẓa, the two-horned Philistine altar from Gath and a “horse and rider” figurine from Moẓa. Searching and analyzing parallels to the archaeological evidence from other sites is key to interpreting them from a different perspective. The architecture of the sanctuary at Moẓa reflects in antis (North Syrian) style that is also known from the Biblical description of the Solomonic temple. Nonetheless, the Arad sanctuary is a mixture of Early Bronze and Iron Age elements. The horned altars from Beer-sheba and Dan or Megiddo in northern Israel are related to the Philistine type which originated in the Aegean region and in Egypt. The motive of horns can be observed across these cultures, but their interpretation could be different for each culture. Relatively small objects, the Judean Pillar figurines, replace older nude terracotta plaques from the Late Bronze Age known from Egypt, Mesopotamia and a variety of places in the Middle East. The fundamental feature shared by all of them was basically connected to fertility. The other type of figurines, such as the “horse and rider figurines”, were symbols of the elite and not images of the male deity, as was presented in the past. The horse with the remains of the rider’s feet was found at Moẓa in a clear cultic context, where it was used and smashed during a ritual. Why this happened is still unanswered. The Judahite cult was, thanks to its position among hegemons and due to nearby trade roads, influenced by Egypt, Aegean region, Syria and Mesopotamia. However, the meaning of objects or “symbols” differed from site to site.

Keywords

• archaeology
• ancient
• history
• religion
• judah
• canaan
• philistia
• cult