Pre-Israelite Religion and The Goddess – Project topics materials

Get Complete Project Material File(s) Now! »

The Great Goddess

“The cult of the Mother transcended the artificial borders of nation and empire and lived perpetually in the minds and hearts of the common people, from prehistoric times” (Robertson 2001:237).
In the Ancient Near East, the great goddess, had various, not dissimilar names inter alia Ishtar, Astarte, Athirat, Ate and Ashtoreth. They shared similar identifying attributes. Each of them wore a crown of horns which is usually thought to represent the crescent moon. In their iconography, lions, serpents and doves are consistently featured (Robertson 2001:116).
Rites that pertained to each of these goddesses also appear to be similar. Cakes made in the shape of the moon were customarily dedicated to each of them in observance of their festivals. They were all called ‘Queen of Heaven’ or ‘Lady of Heaven’. The epithet of simply ‘Queen’ or ‘Lady’ occurs frequently.
Each of them was associated or equated with the planet Venus as the morning and evening star. As such they were considered as possessing a dual nature, having both male and female characteristics (Robertson 2001:117). Watson (1993:432) has researched the etymology of the Amorite word Ašratum – the earliest form of the name Asherah: he prefers to translate rbt ‘atrt ym as ‘She who determines the Day’.
In contrast to the great male gods – who represented military and governing dominance of one city over another, constantly creating rivalry and conflict – the worship of the goddess was something the cities had in common– so it was a source of mutual community and peace between the cities.

Tree of Lights and Life

After the exile there is no further mention of the asherah. However there are over 40 biblical references to the Menorah, usually translated as candlestick or lamp stand (Robertson 2001:258). Similarity of form across culture and through time does not necessarily mean similarity of function. The conception of the tree or Tree of Life as a mother and the personification of the female principle is very old. Early Judaism radically eliminated the tree sprouting from the earth from its religious system.
It is difficult to avoid the conclusion that the Asherah represented the Tree of Life which in turn was a symbol for the Great Mother consistent with vegetation and lunar cults throughout the Ancient Near East.
“It has long been recognized that because of the language employed to describe the menorah and because of its assumed appearance as a thickened stem or shaft from which branches project, that the whole shape strongly resembles that of a stylized tree. It is hardly an exaggeration to indicate that the sacredness of vegetation and trees has been a recurrent and integral theme in a wide range of cultures spanning most areas of the globe and most epochs of human history. Indeed, no symbol enjoys such a widespread and influential position as the sacred tree. The sacred tree thus stands at the centre as indication of the hieros topos… The widespread association of vegetal life with the generative power of the divinity has resulted in the common phenomenon of the manifestation of deity within or at certain trees… Furthermore, the divinity revealed in the tree is also the source of the hoped-for life without death, to whom humankind turns to in search of their own immortality. This theophany motif of the sacred tree becomes blended inextricably with the concept of life eternal. The Tree of Life in the sense of immortal life becomes an inseparable aspect of the regenerative principle contained within plant life… The nature of its appearance in certain cultic and mythological contexts indicates that the essence of the divinity itself could be conveyed by this motif” (Meyers 1976: 84, 95-96,170).

The Rod of Moses

In Ancient Near Eastern thought the rod was a symbol of divine authority and the ability to work wonders. There are many different mythical narratives about the rod and numerous theological ideas about its relationship regarding revelation and tradition which also includes a Messianic dimension.
“The rod appeared as a symbol that radically transformed the significance of biblical time and place” (Poorthuis 1998:264). According to the Rabbis in the twilight of the last day of creation before the Sabbath some ten attributes that were to play a significant role in the history of Israel were created. The bewildering variety of these attributes is concrete expression of God’s care and providence and they were therefore not made by human hands. They remain hidden until the moment when they are required to play their decisive role. (Included in the list is the ‘bizarre presence’ of a pair of tongs: in order to make a tong one needs a tong, how could the first tong be made without a tong?) (Poorthuis 1998:231).
Most of the lists include the rod of Moses: “take this staff in your hand; with this you will perform the signs” (NJB Ex 4:17).
There is also a tradition that the rod was a branch from the Tree in Paradise. Thus according to the Malef (48-49 cf Poorthuis 1998:233), Adam had this wooden rod in his possession when he was driven from Eden.

READ A reflection on shifts in Klein’s development of her paradigm

Chapter 1 Pre-Israelite Religion and The Goddess
1.1 Neolithic Age (ca 8500 – 7500 BCE)
1.2 Canaanite Religion and the Ugaritic Texts
1.2.1 Ugarit
1.2.2 Similarities Between the Ugaritic Texts and the Biblical Texts
1.2.3 Contextualising Ugaritic Ideas
1.3 El
1.3.1 The Names of El
1.3.2 El and the Pantheon
1.3.3 El and the Goddesses
1.3.4 Asherah of the Ugaritic Theology
1.3.5 El and His Home
1.4 El and Yahweh
1.5 The Nature of Yahweh
1.6 The Babylonian Epic – Enuma Elish
1.7 The Great Goddess
1.8 Asherah of the Biblical Texts
1.9 Wisdom
1.10 Tree of Lights and Life
1.11 The Rod of Moses
1.12 Summary of Chapter
Chapter 2 Religion in Israelite Society
2.1 The Context of Religion in Israel
2.3 Polytheism – a Reality in Ancient Israel
2.4 Prophetic Literature
2.5 Creation Theology
2.6 Summary of Chapter 2
Chapter 3 Visual Art in the Ancient World
3.1 Context of Figuring in Ancient Israel
3.2 Cult Images
3.3 Teleology of the Image
3.4 Cherubim
3.5 Clay Figurines
3.5.1 Description of the Figurines
3.5.2 Context and Interpretation of the Figurines
3.6 Aniconism
3.6.1 Empty Space Aniconism
3.7 Bamôt
3.8 Massebôt
3.8.1 Description and Form of Massebôt
3.8.2 Archaeological Evidence – Massebôt in Jerusalem
3.8.3 Massebôt in Iron Age Palestine
3.8.4 Arad
3.8.5 Lachish
3.8.6 Megiddo
3.8.7 Beer-Sheba
3.9 Kuntillet ‛Ajrûd – Archaeological Evidence Linking Yahweh with a/Asherah
3.9.1 Kuntillet ‛Ajrûd Inscriptions
3.9.2 Interpretation of the Texts
3.9.3 Yahweh and his a/Asherah and Shiva and his Shakti
3.10 Kuntillet Ajrûd Sketches
3.11 Khirbet El-Qôm – Archaeological Evidence
3.12 Summary of Chapter 3
Chapter 4 Jerusalem, The Temple of Solomon and Other Ancient Temples
4.1 Mount Zion in Jewish Tradition
4.2 Religious and Political Orientation of Jerusalem in 10th Century BCE
4.3 Religious Architecture
4.3.1 Architectural Styles
4.4 Location of Solomon’s Temple
4.4.1 The Architecture of Solomon’s’ Temple
4.4.2 Interior of Solomon’s Temple
4.4.3 The Parochial of Solomon’ Temple
4.4.4 The Pillars of Hiram
4.4.5 Jachin and Boaz
4.4.6 The Temple at Tell Tainat
4.4.7 The Temple at Ain Dara
4.4.8 The Temple at Arad
4.5 Proto-Aeolic Capitals and the Palm Tree Motif
4.5.1 Archaeological Evidence
4.5.2 The Jerusalem Capital
4.5.3 Archaeological Evidence for Solomon’s Building Program
4.6 Zerubbabel’s Temple
4.7 Summary of Chapter 4
Chapter 5 Israelite Religion during and after the Time of the Exile
5.1 The Exilic Period 586 – 539 BCE
5.2 The Persian Period 538 – 332 BCE
5.2.1 Temple Architecture in the Persian Period
5.2.2 Terracotta Figurines of the Persian Period
5.3 Post-Biblical Israel and Early Judaism
5.3.1 Shekinah
5.4 The Roman Period – 1st Century BCE
5.4.1 Herod’s Temple
5.5 Summary of Chapter 5
Chapter 6 Jerusalem
Chapter 7 Mary and Christianity
Chapter 8 The Crusades 11th – 13th Century CE
Chapter 9 Summary of Israelite Religion and History
Chapter 10 Rosslyn Chapel
Chapter 11 Rosslyn Chapel and its Founding Fathers
Chapter 12 Esotericism within Rosslyn Chapel
Chapter 13 Pillars in Rosslyn Chapel
Chapter 14 Concluding Remarks
Chapter 15 Bibliography