Divine images and aniconism in ancient Israel. (book review)

From: The Journal of the American Oriental Society | Date: January 1, 1998| Author: Lewis, Theodore J. | Copyright information

This article evaluates T. N. D. Mettinger's recent in-depth analysis of the aniconic tradition in ancient Israel as it is understood against its ancient Near Eastern backdrop. Mettinger's comparative analysis of the ancient Near Eastern material is very helpful, yet at times is uneven and its relevance for understanding the aniconism of Iron Age Israel overstated. Mettinger's treatment of the West Semitic cult of standing stones (masseboth) is thorough with respect to the archaeological recor...

Read all of this article with a FREE trial to HighBeam Research

Related newspaper, magazine, and journal articles from HighBeam Research

The City in Ancient Israel
The Catholic Biblical Quarterly ; VOLKMAR FRITZ, The City in Ancient Israel (Biblical Seminar 29; Sheffield: JSOT Press, 1995). Pp. 197. Paper 15.50, $29. This work brings together the archaeological and textual data available for the study of urbanism in ancient Israel. The heart of the book, and its greatest strength, is the
Divine images and aniconism in ancient Israel. (book review)
The Journal of the American Oriental Society ; One again Tryggve N. D. Mettinger, professor of Old Testament studies at Lund University, has produced a thorough analysis on a neglected topic crucial to the reconstruction of ancient Israelite religion. Since the 1970s, Mettinger has written provocative articles on the aniconic tradition and
THE FOUR ROOM HOUSE: Embodying Iron Age Israelite Society
Near Eastern Archaeology ; The so-called four-room house was the typical dwelling in the southern Levant during the Iron Age. Hundreds of four-room houses are known today from Iron Age sites mainly concentrated in the Highlands, i.e., the Galilee, the Central hill-country and the Transjordanian Plateau. In most of these
Symbiosis, Symbolism, and the Power of the Past: Canaan, Ancient Israel, and Their Neighbors from the Late Bronze Age through Roman Palaestina. Proceedings of the Centennial Symposium, W. F. Albright Institute of Archaeological Research and American Schools of Oriental Research, Jerusalem, May 29-31, 2000
The Catholic Biblical Quarterly ; WILLIAM G. DEVER and SEYMOUR GITIN (eds Symbiosis, Symbolism, and the Power of the Past: Canaan, Ancient Israel, and Their Neighbors from the Late Bronze Age through Roman Palaestina. Proceedings of the Centennial Symposium, W. F. Albright Institute of Archaeological Research and American Schools
The Cult of Asherah in Ancient Israel and Judah: Evidence for Hebrew Goddess
Near Eastern Archaeology ; The Cult of Asherah in Ancient Israel and Judah: Evidence for a Hebrew Goddess By Judith M. Hadley. University of Cambridge Oriental Publications, 57. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000. Pp. xv + 262. 0-521-66235-4. $65.00. This volume represents a great contribution to the study of the
The Religions of Ancient Israel: A Synthesis of Parallactic Approaches. (Book Reviews).(Book Review)
Shofar ; The Religions of Ancient Israel: A Synthesis of Parallactic Approaches, by Ziony Zevit. London and New York: Continuum, 2001. 821 pp. $150.00. The Religions of Ancient Israel is an attempt to use a philosophical paradigm to understand the nature of the religions practiced in Israel in antiquity. In
Iron Age inhumation burials at Yarnton, Oxfordshire.
Antiquity ; Introduction Formal burials dated to the Iron Age are not common in the British archaeological record, although they become more usual from the 1st century BC onwards (Whimster 1981; Cunliffe 1991: 505). Iron Age inhumation cemeteries are found in East Yorkshire, with its groups of barrows and
The Religion of Ancient Israel
The Catholic Biblical Quarterly ; PATRICK D. MILLER, The Religion of Ancient Israel (Library of Ancient Israel; Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2000). Pp. xx + 335. $44.95. In this work, which represents a lifetime of study, Miller develops a "construct" of Israelite religion arranged topically rather than historically, a
What Did the Biblical Writers Know and When Did They Know It? What Archaeology Can Tell Us about the Reality of Ancient Israel
The Catholic Biblical Quarterly ; WILLIAM G. DEVER, What Did the Biblical Writers Know and When Did They Know It?: What Archaeology Can Tell Us about the Reality of Ancient Israel (Grand Rapids/ Cambridge: Eerdmans, 2001). Pp. xiii + 313. $25. William Dever has been the most vocal critic of the group of OT scholars popularly known
Education in Ancient Israel: Across the Deadening Silence / Scribes and Schools: The Canonization of the Hebrew Scriptures
Interpretation ; Education in Ancient Israel: Across the Deadening Silence, by James L. Crenshaw. Anchor Bible Reference Library. Doubleday, New York, 1998. 320 pp. $34.95 (cloth). ISBN 0-385-46891-1. Scribes and Schools: The Canonization of the Hebrew Scriptures, by Philip R. Davies. Library of Ancient Israel.