Philistine Pottery. These pottery pieces from Ashkelon bear early Philistine decorations. Photo: © The Leon Levy Expedition to Ashkelon.

The Philistines are best known from the Bible as the Israelites’ enemies, but they were much more than that. Recent archaeological discoveries help inform our understanding of their culture, economy, and even origins. In the Spring 2022 issue of Biblical Archaeology Review, Daniel M. Master of Wheaton College looks at the biblical and archaeological evidence for the Philistines’ roots in “Piece by Piece: Exploring the Origins of the Philistines.”

Who Were the Philistines?

In the Bible, the Philistines are remembered as an uncircumcised people with advanced technology and a formidable military (Judges 14:3; 1 Samuel 13:19–20; Exodus 13:17). The Philistines frequently encroached on Israelite territory, which led to some battles, including the famous clash between David, the Israelite, and Goliath, the Philistine (1 Samuel 17). They were condemned for being idol worshipers (1 Samuel 5:1–5) and soothsayers (Isaiah 2:6). In short, the Philistines are portrayed quite negatively in the Bible.

They lived in the cities of Ashdod, Ashkelon, Ekron, Gath, and Gaza—the heartland of ancient Philistia on the Mediterranean Sea’s southeastern shore. Ashdod, Ashkelon, Ekron, and Gath have been excavated in recent decades. The findings from these cities show that the Philistines had distinct pottery, weapons, tools, and houses. They also ate pork and had vast trade networks.

Philistine culture flourished during the Iron Age (12th through sixth centuries B.C.E.). Similar to the kingdoms of Israel and Judah, the Philistines lost their autonomy toward the end of the Iron Age. They became subservient and paid tribute to the Assyrians, Egyptians, and then Babylonians, the great superpowers of the region who severely punished rebellion. For example, the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar destroyed disloyal Ashkelon and Ekron and carried off many Philistines into exile.

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Where Did the Philistines Come From?

In his article, Daniel Master looks at archaeological and biblical evidence for the Philistines’ origins. He considers the accounts at Ramesses III’s mortuary temple at Medinet Habu. In the 12th century B.C.E., during the reign of Ramesses III, a confederation of tribes from the “islands” of the “northern countries” attacked Egypt—several times, both on sea and land. The Peleset, whom scholars connect with the Philistines, was named as one of these tribes.

Battle Ships. This drawing of a relief at Medinet Habu shows a sea battle between the Egyptians and people from the “islands,” who had invaded Egypt in the 12th century B.C.E. Photo: Public Domain.

On the way to Egypt, the confederation had traveled through the eastern Mediterranean and destroyed numerous cities, including Ugarit on the Syrian coast. Ammurapi, the last king of Ugarit, had written to surrounding kingdoms for help, when the “seven ships of the enemy” had arrived to ransack his kingdom. By the time help had come, though, it was too late: Ugarit lay in ruins.

Egypt defeated the confederation, as recorded on one of the temple walls at Medinet Habu. A relief from that temple also depicts a sea battle between the island tribes and the Egyptians. In it, the islanders wear distinct headdresses, which clearly set them apart from the Egyptians. After being defeated, some of these tribes settled on the southern coast of Canaan—in what would become the land of the Philistines. Egyptian sources, thus, seem to record a migration of people from the “islands” to Philistia.

Philistine Portrait? A confederation of island tribes, including the Peleset (Philistines), attacked Egypt in the 12th century B.C.E. This relief from Medinet Habu records a sea battle between the two forces. Photo: Olaf Tausch, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Master also examines the evidence for Philistine origins in the Bible. The biblical authors remembered the Philistines as coming from a foreign land, from “Caphtor” (Genesis 10:14; Deuteronomy 2:23; 1 Chronicles 1:12; Amos 9:7; Jeremiah 47:4). Scholars have long drawn a connection between Caphtor and Crete. This is largely based on Egyptian inscriptions and paintings of “Keftiu” from the 15th and 14th centuries B.C.E., wherein the Keftiu are linked to the Minoan civilization, which was centered on Crete.

Migration Map. Who were the Philistines, and where did they come from? New archaeological evidence suggests that many of the Philistines originally came from Crete, called “Caphtor” in the Bible. Map: © Biblical Archaeology Society.

Excavations have shown that the Philistines had a distinct assemblage of artifacts. Master notes parallels between some early Philistine objects, especially from the 12th and 11th centuries B.C.E., and Aegean and Cypriot artifacts. Elements of Philistine material culture, then, also hint at an Aegean or Mediterranean origin for the Philistines.

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New evidence from Ashkelon further supports this connection. The Leon Levy Expedition excavated at Ashkelon from 1985–2016 under the direction of the late Lawrence Stager at Harvard University; for the last decade, Daniel Master co-directed excavations. They found some infant burials from the 12th century B.C.E., as well as a Philistine cemetery with burials from the 11th through eighth centuries B.C.E. Teaming up with scientists at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, they were able to analyze DNA from seven of these individuals. When they looked at the 12th-century infants’ DNA, they discovered that the infants had some European ancestry. Crete proved to be one of the best matches for the infants’ heritage—when considering all of their genetic material. Yet other places in the western Mediterranean, such as Iberia, also provided a good match.

Interestingly, in the later individuals from Ashkelon’s cemetery, this European ancestry had been so diluted to barely register. Master explains that, by the tenth century B.C.E., enough intermarriage had taken place between the Philistines and the local Levantine population that the Philistines looked a lot like their neighbors:

While there was some evidence of the same Western European Hunter-Gatherer genetic input, for all statistical purposes, it could not be identified for certain. The best models showed that these people [the tenth- and ninth-century individuals buried in Ashkelon’s cemetery] were descendants of both the 12th-century inhabitants and the earlier Bronze Age inhabitants. It appears from these results that so much intermarriage had taken place between the original immigrants and the people around them that the genetic makeup of Ashkelon’s inhabitants had lost its immigrant distinctiveness.

Yet Master clarifies that, at this point in history, the Philistines still thought of themselves as distinct, as evident in a seventh-century inscription from the Philistine city of Ekron. The inscription names Ekron’s king as Ikausu, which means “Achaean” or “Greek.” The name Ikausu (or Achish) also appears in 1 Samuel 21:10 as Gath’s king.

The Philistines remembered their foreign origins

Master concludes that the new DNA evidence, coupled with the biblical and archaeological testimonies, suggests that the Philistines originated in Crete. That is not to say that the Philistines were a homogenous group, all coming from the Aegean world, but it seems that many Philistines did indeed migrate from there, bringing with them vestiges of Minoan culture. Learn more about this ancient people in Daniel M. Master’s article “Piece by Piece: Exploring the Origins of the Philistines,” published in the Spring 2022 issue of Biblical Archaeology Review.

Subscribers: Read the full article “Piece by Piece: Exploring the Origins of the Philistines” by Daniel M. Master in the Spring 2022 issue of Biblical Archaeology Review.

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This article first appeared in Bible History Daily on March 23, 2022.

Related reading in Bible History Daily

Illuminating the Philistines’ Origins

Who Were the Philistines?

The Philistines Are Coming!

The “Philistines” to the North

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The Philistines

Piece by Piece: Exploring the Origins of the Philistines

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Exploring Philistine Origins on the Island of Cyprus

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Stacked bowls inside of the remains of a Cypriot pithos at Tel Burna. Courtesy Susnow et al.

While Cypriot pithoi were commonly used in maritime shipping during the Late Bronze Age (c. 1550–1200 BCE), few have ever been found in the southern Levant. After all, their large size made them prohibitively difficult to carry over land for any great distance. So, what are four Cypriot pithoi doing at the site of Tel Burna in central Israel, over 20 miles from the nearest port, and why did the city’s Bronze Age potters suddenly begin making their own? Publishing in the Cambridge Archaeological Journal, a team of archaeologists set out to find the answers.

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A Maritime Vessel and a Land-Locked City

Located in the Shephelah region of central Israel, Tel Burna was a rather unassuming Canaanite town of the Late Bronze Age, though one with an interesting feature that set it apart from its larger neighbors: a large quantity of imported Cypriot ceramics, including four large Cypriot pithoi. Bronze Age shipwrecks and ancient reliefs have shown that pithoi were the primary shipping container used in maritime trade, with ships containing hundreds of vessels filled with liquid commodities or even smaller ceramics. Once they reached their destination, however, these vessels would stay onboard, being far too large to ship over land.

One of the Local Tel Burna pithoi. Courtesy Susnow et al.

While Tel Burna seems to have had an unusually strong trade connection with Cyprus for an inland settlement, the presence of four Cypriot pithoi is still quite surprising. More surprising still is the presence of eight other locally made pithoi. While they clearly mimic the Cypriot pithoi in size and shape, they maintained many traits of local ceramics and appear to have been crafted using the same techniques as smaller local vessels.

Although large pithoi were still produced in Cyprus during the Late Bronze Age, such vessels had fallen out of use in the land of Canaan, being replaced by smaller amphorae. Thus, the presence of the Cypriot pithoi at Tel Burna must have influenced local potters to create their own versions, likely due to the challenges faced in procuring the vessels directly from Cyprus.

The Cypriot pithoi, which date to the 13th century BCE, are among the only ones ever discovered in the Levant and were excavated in an open-air courtyard that may have served as a cultic area. At least two of the pithoi, and possibly one of the local imitations, were prominently positioned within the courtyard, being placed in a fissure in the bedrock and towering over their surroundings due to their large size. They likely served some cultic function, and numerous other special objects were located in their immediate vicinity, including decorated goblets, a decorated krater, ceramic masks, zoomorphic figurines, and many Cypriot imports. The local pithoi, however, were clustered together at the other end of the courtyard, surrounded by more mundane vessels, such as cooking pots and bowls.

Map of Tel Burna. Susnow et al.

Although it is not possible to know the exact purpose these pithoi served (laboratory testing produced no conclusive evidence for the organic residues left behind by oils or wines), two of the Cypriot pithoi appear to have been used as receptacles for other high-value ceramics. One held imported bowls, while another contained a tankard and juglet. While the people of Tel Burna had repurposed these pithoi into a cultic setting, the pithoi themselves still held fast to their original purpose. “These pithoi were in a secondary or tertiary context,” Chris McKinny, one of the study’s authors told Bible History Daily, “but were still being utilized in a way that was consistent with their primary shipping function—storing Cypriot fine wares.”

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This article was first published in Bible History Daily on July 1, 2024.

Related reading in Bible History Daily

Oldest Deep-Sea Shipwreck Found Near Israel

Tel Burna: An Introduction to the Biblical Town

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Exploring Philistine Origins on the Island of Cyprus

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That Ol’ Time Religion

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A restored lmlk storage jar from the Kingdom of Judah. Impressed with the phrase lmlk—meaning “belonging to the king”—such royally administered storage jars were used to distribute military rations, collect taxes, or support the kingdom in times of war.
Credit: Chamberi, CC BY-SA 3.0 , via Wikimedia Commons.

Sustainability is something we hear about a lot these days. New items are developed every day to help reduce waste in our daily lives. One area that has long been sustainable is food storage. Earl Tupper created his first storage container in 1942; a few years later, Tupperware became a household name. Mr. Tupper’s idea, however, wasn’t entirely new.

Across the millennia, people and cultures from all over the world, including in ancient Israel and Judah, have been using reusable containers—mostly pottery—to store and keep food. As Tim Frank explains in “Storage and Staples in Biblical Israel” in the Spring 2022 issue of Biblical Archaeology Review, archaeologists can study Israelite pottery and other material evidence to learn how the average person managed issues of food preparation and storage.

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At the site of Tel Halif in southern Israel (possibly biblical Rimmon: Joshua 15:32; 19:7), Frank carefully studied ancient Israelite pottery related to food processing and storage. The site was suddenly and violently destroyed by the Assyrians in 701 B.C.E. In the face of the city’s imminent demise, many of the inhabitants fled, abandoning their houses and, for archaeologists, leaving behind a snapshot of daily household use and organization. This included food containers, which were left in their “normal” positions, allowing Frank to effectively study an ancient pantry. According to Frank, “Storage jars were found beside other artifacts, such as an oven and a grinding installation, but also put together in little groups. The location of storage jars and other items was not random; there was purpose in how the household was organized.”

This digital reconstruction shows a typical Iron Age dwelling at Tel Halif; the letters indicate different areas of domestic activity, like food preparation, cooking, and storage.
Credit: Courtesy of Tim Frank.

Through digital modeling, Frank and the Halif team were able to show how and where food was stored in ancient Judah, as revealed by recent excavations. The image above shows a typical Iron Age dwelling at Tel Halif; the letters indicate different areas of domestic activity. Food preparation—grinding grain, cooking, chopping, etc.—was conducted in Areas H, I, J, and K. Domestic work, such as weaving, would have been done in Areas D and E. Areas B and C served as a living space. Area M would have been used for agricultural production, while the cobbled floor in Area G likely served as a stable.

In addition to archaeology, ethnography—the study of living peoples and their cultures—also plays a major role in the study of ancient household organization. By comparing the lives and practices of living or historically documented peoples with the archaeological remains of ancient societies who lived in comparable settings, archaeologists can gain insight into how households were organized or how certain objects were used. For example, how pre-industrial farmers organized and stored their food can give valuable insights into how a household in ancient Judah may have functioned or how Israelite pottery was used. Of course, ethnographic comparisons can only explain so much, as societies and their historical contexts are constantly changing. But ethnographic studies, when combined with archaeology and textual studies, can help form a picture of ancient daily life.

To learn more about food storage in ancient Israel and Judah, read “Storage and Staples in Biblical Israel” by Tim Frank, published in the Spring 2022 issue of Biblical Archaeology Review.

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Read more in Bible History Daily:

Was Biblical Israel an Egalitarian Society?

Archaeological Forensics

Archaeological Views: Pottery in the Computer Age

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What’s For Dinner? The Answer Is In the Pot

Pottery Talks

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Gold ring and gem bearing a depiction of the Good Shepherd Credit: Dafna Gazit, Israel Antiquities Authority

The Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) recently announced an incredible find—the discovery of not one but two ancient shipwrecks off the coast of the ancient port city of Caesarea. The earlier shipwreck dates to the Roman period (c. 300 C.E.), while the other was a vessel from the Mamluk period (c. 1400 C.E.). The ships had sunk at the same place in Caesarea’s harbor more than a millennium apart. Within the wrecks, the IAA discovered a treasure trove of ancient artifacts, including coins, statues, pottery, and jewelry. Most remarkable of all, however, was an octagonal gold ring set with a green gemstone carved with an image of the Good Shepherd, one of the earliest known Christian symbols for Jesus.

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Both ships were discovered in shallow water near the ancient harbor. The archaeologists suggest the ships “may have been anchored offshore after getting into difficulty or fearing stormy weather.” Amongst the hoard of finds from the Roman ship were hundreds of bronze and silver coins, a small bronze Roman eagle, an intricately carved red gemstone, and the golden ring of the Good Shepherd. The green gem of the latter was masterfully worked with an image of a young shepherd wearing a tunic and holding a lamb on his shoulder. The image is one of the earliest known Christian symbols associated with Jesus. This unique ring gives a hint as to its original owner, who was likely a wealthy Christian living in Caesarea, the same city where the Apostle Peter baptized the first gentile (Acts 10:10) and where Paul was put on trial (Acts 23–24). The red gemstone, which would also have originally been set in a ring, bore a carving of a lyre known in both Roman and Jewish traditions. From the Mamluk ship, the IAA uncovered nearly 600 coins and, between the two wrecks, archaeologists also found dozens of bronze bells, pottery vessels, nails, lead pipes, and a large iron anchor.

Hoard of Roman coins discovered off the coast of Caesarea Credit: Dafna Gazit, Israel Antiquities Authority

Over the years, the coastline of Israel and especially the area around Caesarea has revealed many incredible finds, such as gold coins,  Roman statues, Crusader swords, and even Phoenician statues associated with the practice of child sacrifice. According to IAA Director-General Eli Eskozido, “Israel’s coasts are rich in sites and finds that are immensely important national and international cultural heritage assets. They are extremely vulnerable, which is why the Israel Antiquities Authority conducts underwater surveys to locate, monitor and salvage any antiquities.”

Read more in Bible History Daily:

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Thonis—A Major Egyptian Port Swallowed by the Sea

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Large vessel with war chariots from Greece (c. 1350 B.C.E).
Credit: Peter Fischer, Teresa Bürge

Our modern world is defined by global trade and commerce, but such globalized economies were known in antiquity as well. New finds by the University of Gothenburg in Sweden have shown that Cyprus was an international trade hub for the ancient world. Recently excavated tombs in southwest Cyprus revealed more than 500 incredibly ornate grave goods which originated from across the ancient world. The tombs, which were made during the Late Bronze Age (c. 1550–1200 B.C.E.) and found near the site of Dromolaxia Vizatzia, are thought to have belonged to the site’s wealthy elites. Examination of the grave goods has revealed that the site must have had trade connections across the ancient world, with items that originated from Egypt, Greece, Mesopotamia, India, and even the Baltic Sea.

Egyptian lotus jewelry of the same style worn by Nefertiti (c. 1350 B.C.E.).
Credit: Peter Fischer, Teresa Bürge

Although most of the grave goods were local in origin, many hint at the extensive trade network that passed through Cyprus. Among the finds were several Egyptian scarabs and pieces of jewelry of the same style worn by the famous Egyptian queen Nefertiti. The team also found a cylinder seal bearing an Akkadian inscription, which must have originated in Mesopotamia. The inscription includes the name of a Mesopotamian god along with the names of two kings, father and son, who are known to have ruled in Mesopotamia during the 18th century B.C.E. Archaeologists are still trying to determine how the seal ended up more than 600 miles away from its origin.

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Beyond these royal items, the team also found pottery imported from Greece and Crete, carnelian gemstones from India, lapis lazuli from Afghanistan, and even amber from the Baltic Sea. Some of these objects would have traveled almost 3,000 miles before they were buried in Cyprus with their owners.

Gold tiara belonging to the skeleton of a five-year-old Credit: Peter Fischer, Teresa Bürge

In addition to being a gravesite, the tombs also likely served as a cultic space in which ritualized feasting took place to commemorate the dead. The tombs were first discovered in 2018 by the Swedish expedition, which uncovered the grave goods alongside the skeletal remains of 155 individuals. One individual, no more than five years old, was lavishly adorned in gold jewelry, including a necklace, earrings, and tiara. According to excavation director Peter Fischer, “The finds indicate that these are family tombs for the ruling elite in the city… This was probably a child of a powerful and wealthy family.” The next step will be DNA analysis of the human remains to determine if the deceased were related and if they were local or, like so many of the wonderful finds that were discovered with them, came to Cyprus from elsewhere.

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This figurine comes from Khirbet Qeiyafa. Measuring about 2 inches (5 cm) tall, it depicts a male figure with prominent eyes, ears, and a nose, as well as a flat top ringed by holes. Yet it has no chin or beard. Photo: Clara Amit, Israel Antiquities Authority.

Unfortunately, his argument is riddled with inaccuracies, and his methodology disregards available evidence on ancient coroplastic (terracotta) art and the study of religion in ancient Israel. We reject Garfinkel’s presentation of the figurative clay artifacts, his interpretative framework, and the alleged metaphor of Yhwh as a seated horseman.

Presentation of Figurines

Garfinkel’s iconographic and typological discussion is based on the grouping of seven clay artifacts: an anthropomorphic head from Khirbet Qeiyafa, two anthropomorphic heads and two horse figurines from Tel Moẓa, and two unprovenanced vessels from the Dayan Collection which originated in the antiquities market—a Philistine-type strainer jug, and a rider-and-horse-shaped vessel. He asserts that the four items from Moẓa represent only two artifacts, arguing that each of the two separate heads should be paired with a horse. Yet Garfinkel overlooks their obvious typological, stylistic, and technological differences, all of which negate such a grouping. Further, the rudimentary, schematic representation of the horse-and-rider pottery vessel, which was fashioned as a single, inseparable dispenser of liquids, is markedly different than the detailed facial features of the Moẓa and Qeiyafa anthropomorphic heads and elaborate trappings and harness of the Moẓa horse figurines.

These two heads come from Tel Moẓa. While Yosef Garfinkel argues that these heads and the Qeiyafa head are uncommonly large and constitute a unique typology dating to the tenth century B.C.E., the authors of this article highlight the average scale of the Moẓa heads and the similarities between the three heads and other anthropomorphic figures in the region, in regard to production techniques and features (i.e., puncturing, round headdress, prominent pellet eyes, ears, and nose). The Moẓa heads, each measuring about 1 inch (2.8 and 3.4 cm) tall, have pronounced chins (one punctured to simulate a beard), eyes, ears, and noses, and wear round headdresses above styled hair locks. Photos: Clara Amit, Israel Antiquities Authority.

The figurines from Moẓa form the backbone of Garfinkel’s identification of the items as depictions of a deity. Since the Moẓa objects were found in a clear cultic context, their intrinsic religious nature and significance are unquestionable. But in the absence of any divine markers and given their similarity to clay figures throughout the region, they cannot be assumed to depict gods.

The four Moẓa figurines were hand modeled out of local Moẓa marl clay. One human head is about 1.1 inches high and 1 inch wide, while the other is about 1.3 inches high and 1.1 inches wide. They are fashioned “in the round” out of a solid piece of clay. Clay appliqués were attached to form the hair, a round headdress with raised edges, and prominent facial features, including a nose with punctured nostrils, ears, pellet eyes punctured in the center to simulate the pupil, and a pointed chin. One of the heads has puncturing on the chin that simulates a beard and indicates its male gender; the other does not. Close inspection of their backs indicates that the heads were free-standing figures and probably originally belonged to figurines. Perhaps one was even the rider mounted on the larger horse figurine. However, they may as well have been attached to a vessel or another object, such as a clay stand or shrine model (e.g., see the shrine model from Tel Rehov).

This figurine represents a horse. It comes from the courtyard of the Moẓa temple and dates to the late tenth or early ninth century B.C.E. It measures about 6 inches (15 cm) in length. It was harnessed: It has the feet and left leg of the rider still attached. While its body is hollow, its head and limbs are solid. Photo: Clara Amit, Israel Antiquities Authority.

The Moẓa zoomorphic figurines depict harnessed horses with similar incised mouths and punctured pellet eyes and nostrils, but the two differ in size, detail, and production. The large figurine (about 5 in high and 6 in long) is meticulously fashioned, and its somewhat realistic details include trappings and the feet and left leg of a rider, whose body is not preserved; the rider may be represented by one of the anthropomorphic heads, but this cannot be proved. While the horse’s body is hollow, its head and limbs are solid. The smaller figurine (about 1.4 in high and 3 in long) is completely solid and crafted in a more schematic and rudimentary form, depicting remains of a pack or rider on the back of the horse and blinders flanking the eyes

Garfinkel disregards typological, technological, iconographic, and contextual discussion of the figurines from Moẓa and their interregional context.² He also ignores other early Iron Age artifacts that share stylistic characteristics with the Moẓa and Qeiyafa artifacts. Anthropomorphic figurines, for example, are known from Ashdod along the coast and Tel Kinrot on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, while horse heads discovered at Tell el-Far‘ah North (biblical Tirzah) in the central highlands and at Tel Rehov in the Jordan Valley exhibit the same puncturing technique, facial features, headdress (for the anthropomorphic figures) and trappings (for the horses). These provide significantly better parallels for both the Moẓa and Qeiyafa figurines than the unprovenanced vessels.³

Hence, the similarities in the headdress, eyes, and puncturing technique, exhibited in the human heads from Moẓa and Qeiyafa do not distinguish them as members of a special group. In fact, the opposite is true—the large size and atypical facial proportions of the Qeiyafa head distinguish it from the other figurines of the period, including from the Moẓa heads.

This anthropomorphic figurine head from Ashdod in ancient Philistia dates to the mid-11th–mid-10th centuries B.C.E. With puncturing on the chin (to simulate a beard), it serves as a good parallel for the figurine heads from Tel Moẓa and Qeiyafa. Photo: Meidad Suchowolski, Courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority.

As for the significance of horses and riders, horses are the most common type of animal represented in coroplastic art during the Iron Age (c. 1200–586 B.C.E.), and horse figurines appear in increasing numbers, along with horse-shaped vessels, throughout the tenth–ninth centuries B.C.E., primarily in the Kingdom of Israel. Their appearance has been linked to the emerging importance of cavalry and horse-driven chariots across the ancient Near East.⁴ Horse figurines, schematically rendered and at times mounted by a rider, become ubiquitous in the southern Levant from the eighth century B.C.E., and in Judah they appear in masses.⁵

In his presentation and interpretation of the finds from Qeiyafa, Moẓa and the antiquities market, Garfinkel makes several false arguments:

(1) He claims that the horses from Moẓa are hollow, akin to pottery vessels, and, along with the human heads from Moẓa and Qeiyafa, are typologically, stylistically, and technologically similar to the two vessels from the antiquities market.

However, apart from the body of the larger figurine, the horse figurines from Moẓa are not hollow, and they are not vessels. The disproportionate ratio of the small horse figurine compared to the human heads precludes the possibility that one of the human heads could have been its rider. These four figurine fragments from Moẓa, therefore, do not represent two horse-and-rider figurines.

This anthropomorphic figurine head from Tel Kinrot in the Galilee dates to the mid-11th–mid-10th centuries B.C.E. With puncturing on the hairline (or headdress), it also serves as a good parallel for the figurine heads from Tel Moẓa and Qeiyafa. Photo: Lukas Butscher, Courtesy of Kinneret Regional Project.

(2) He argues that the head from Qeiyafa, the figurines from Moẓa, and the two vessels from the antiquities market form a new type of male figurine, with three representing a rider on a horse.

Garfinkel’s grouping ignores the typological, stylistic, and technological dissimilarity among the artifacts and simultaneously overlooks all of the contemporary parallels that do exhibit common traits. Additionally, the Qeiyafa head does not have a beard or any other clear gender marker, and its widening neck has led even Garfinkel to note that it may not have been a figurine, and could just as well have been attached to a pottery vessel. This would, of course, render the identification of the head as a rider on a horse impossible.

(3) Finally, Garfinkel argues that the Qeiyafa and Moẓa heads are remarkable in their large size—compared to anthropomorphic figurines dated from prehistoric times to the Iron Age—and in their emphasized and well-modeled facial elements (eyes, ears, nose, mouth, and beard), and that the same iconographic approach is seen in the two vessels from the Dayan Collection. He connects these attributes to the biblical expression “before the Lord,” reading it as “face of Yhwh,” which he believes might relate to a pilgrimage experience of seeing an actual statue or figure at a cult center.

This argument rests on a mistake in Garfinkel’s drawing of the Moẓa anthropomorphic heads.⁶ He based his drawings on the published photographs of the items, and, apart from the inherent inaccuracies stemming from drawing artifacts from a photo alone, they depict an erroneous scale for the anthropomorphic heads from Moẓa. In other words, while the Qeiyafa head is larger than average, the Moẓa heads are not, and their facial features are not unique and appear on figures throughout the region. These facial features do not, however, appear on the rider and horse of the vessel from the antiquities market, and yet Garfinkel still includes the vessel in support of his argument.

In short, there is no reason—based on similarity, date, or findspot—to single out the anthropomorphic figures from Moẓa, Qeiyafa, and the antiquities market as unique or as belonging to a single, special class.

Interpretative Framework

Anthropomorphic and zoomorphic clay figures of the tenth–ninth centuries B.C.E. exhibit distinctive features that disappear in the mass-produced assemblages of the eighth–sixth centuries B.C.E., and they deserve special and detailed consideration. The main methodological transgression in Garfinkel’s article is the nearly complete disregard of current scholarship on clay figurines and coroplastic art from the ancient Levant and beyond. Although past mainstream interpretation considered anthropomorphic clay figurines as representations of deities, recent scholarship shows that while some clay figurines could represent deities, most served other purposes, such as votive offerings placed by worshippers or charms utilized in rituals.⁷ Recent research has amassed considerable evidence to prove, for example, that not every naked female figure is a fertility goddess (let alone God’s wife),⁸ and that while some zoomorphic figures might depict divine attributes, others were most probably used for mundane purposes.

Garfinkel ignores these developments and interprets the objects relying on outdated scholarship and an unsupported assertion. To support the novelty of his claim, he notes a biblical tradition in which Yhwh is portrayed as riding on a horse. Yet there are several issues regarding his interpretative framework of linking uninscribed clay artifacts with written sources.

If the mere association of an anthropomorphic figure with a horse is enough to identify it as divine, then several questions arise:

(1) Since the large horse figurine from Moẓa clearly had a rider that was perhaps represented by one of the human heads, what purpose does the unprovenanced horse-and-rider vessel presented by Garfinkel serve in this discussion?

(2) If the anthropomorphic figures on the unprovenanced strainer jar and the unprovenanced horse-and-rider vessel represent the same type of “new male figurine” as the items from Qeiyafa and Moẓa, why are they not all identified as gods? After all, the horse-and-rider vessel actually depicts a rider, while the Qeiyafa head does not. By Garfinkel’s logic, the unprovenanced objects should depict Yhwh as well.

(3) Furthermore, since the anthropomorphic figure on the unprovenanced strainer jar is part of Garfinkel’s new unique group, despite being neither a figurine nor a rider or even clearly male, should all depictions of anthropomorphic figures with prominent ears, nose, and punctured eyes be identified as gods?

According to Garfinkel’s methodology, shouldn’t all Iron Age horse riders be identified as divine representations, and perhaps depictions of Yhwh, whether figurines or vessels and regardless of their divergent iconography and lack of divine symbols? In fact, by association, shouldn’t all male anthropomorphic heads, even without any associated horse, such as the head from Qeiyafa, be identified as divine representations?

Garfinkel further claims that the physical depiction of Yhwh ceased in the eighth century B.C.E., “because these figurines, resembling the literature of ancient Canaan and Israel, have been discovered in contexts dating to the tenth and ninth centuries B.C.E., but not in the eighth century.” This statement is patently incorrect, since the eighth century is precisely the period in which horse-and-rider figurines become ubiquitous in Judah and throughout the ancient Near East and eastern Aegean.⁹ If we were to extrapolate from Garfinkel’s suggested new typology, which includes the schematic horse-and-rider vessel from the antiquities market, then there are dozens of horse-and-rider figurines that could be identified as Yhwh from the eighth–sixth centuries B.C.E.¹⁰ This is highly unlikely.

Although we cannot rule out the possibility that the anthropomorphic heads from Moẓa and Qeiyafa depicted gods, methodological considerations have hindered the identification of uninscribed clay figures as divine.¹¹ In the absence of identifying inscriptions on clay figurines, scholars have to rely on attributes and visual codes, such as horns, crescents, and bulls, which might point to the divine character of the depicted. In our case, these are absent.

The only putative divine attribute Garfinkel identifies is horse riding, and this leads him to identify the anthropomorphic figures with Yhwh. Yet when ancient Near Eastern gods were depicted with attribute animals, such as Ba‘al with his bull or Ishtar with her lion, they typically did not sit on them. They usually stood on them like throne pedestals or held the animals with their hands, like the mistress of lions on the Ta‘anach cult stand.

In the ancient Near East, male gods depicted on horses are always standing (e.g., Ba‘al and possibly Reshef, a Canaanite deity of plague and war). The notable exception of a seated deity is the Late Bronze Age depiction of a female goddess on horseback in Egyptian stele, ostraca, and glyptic imagery.¹² At times standing and at times seated on a throne atop a horse, the divine identification of the goddess is based on defining features, such as the Egyptian double or atef crown, horns, armor, and a smiting position, as well as (in some cases) an accompanying inscription that identifies the goddess as Astarte.

Alleged Biblical Metaphor

Furthermore, the biblical texts Garfinkel cites do not support his case. He is correct to say that Yhwh is depicted, like the Canaanite god Ba‘al, as a “cloud rider,” even sharing the same epithet, as many scholars have noted. The entire point of this epithet, for Ba‘al and for Yhwh, is that the cloud (or clouds) is conceived as his chariot. Neither god is ever mounted on his own horse. In fact, storm gods of the ancient Near East were commonly depicted as riding chariots pulled by lion-dragons, bulls, and horses.¹³

Yet not one of his cited biblical texts supports the idea of Yhwh as a mounted horseman, and while citing most of the verses containing the Hebrew verb rākab (רכב), meaning “to ride [a horse],” he conveniently ignores 2 Samuel 22:11 and Psalm 18:11, where it says Yhwh “rode on his cherub and flew.” Recall that cherubim are winged beings (see Exodus 25:20). Meanwhile, Deuteronomy 33:26 speaks of God (El, not Yhwh) “riding the heavens for your help, the clouds in his majesty.” The Hebrew verb rkb implies that the heavens or clouds are El’s chariot, and the psalm depicts the clouds as El’s vehicle; this is important.

Second Kings 2:11–12, the famous narrative of Elijah’s wondrous departure, specifically says Elijah was taken up in a fiery chariot (rekev; Hebrew: רכב) pulled by fiery horses. Yhwh is not seen by Elisha, but the implication is that the chariot and horses are registered in his name. Garfinkel also cites Psalm 45:3–4, but this famously difficult text almost certainly refers to the human king, not God (called Elohim in this psalm), when it says, “Gird your sword … Ride on in the cause of Truth” (NJPS). And even here, the psalm envisions the king “riding” his war chariot (from which he fires arrows at his enemies in v. 6). Isaiah 19:1 specifies that “Yhwh is riding upon a swift cloud,” where the cloud again is the analogue of the royal war chariot. The exact same point is made in Psalm 68:4, where God is called “rider of the clouds.” After citing these texts, Garfinkel writes, “some biblical traditions, then, describe Yhwh as a rider on the sky or clouds.” Actually, they all do.

So, how can Garfinkel accomplish the feat of getting Yhwh out of his chariot—or off his cloud—and mounting him on an actual horse? To move from Yhwh as chariot or cloud rider to Yhwh as mounted horseman, Garfinkel claims that “some texts [plural] present a new development in which he is riding on a horse.” But this is an interpretive sleight of hand. Garfinkel cites exactly one text, Habakkuk 3:8, and claims that it depicts Yhwh himself riding a horse. This is patently incorrect, as the entire history of scholarship on this text makes clear.

In this poem, dated by many scholars to the early monarchy, and so earlier than the eighth century, Yhwh is depicted as a Divine Warrior going into battle, flanked by his allies.¹⁴ In the decisive verse 8, the poet says of Yhwh, “You drove your horses, your chariots, to victory” against the cosmic foes, Sea and River. The Hebrew phrase, tirkab ‘al sûsêkā (תרכב על–סוסיך), does not mean “you rode upon your horses,” but rather “you drove your horses and chariots.”¹⁵ The verb for “driving,” again, is rkb and is used here for driving a chariot and its horses (or a cloud by analogy), possibly at the head of a brigade.

Like the king in Psalm 45, Yhwh also fires his bow from his chariot (Habakkuk 3:11). Since the “Sea” (Yamm), is one of Yhwh’s enemies, the poet declares further, “You make your horses [note the plural] tread the sea” (v. 15). These are, of course, his chariot horses. The same idea and identical phrases also appear in Psalm 77:19 where God, mounted on his celestial chariot (“your thunder rumbled like wheels”), fires his arrows (v. 18) and treads upon the sea.

In Habakkuk, therefore, just as in all the other examples, Yhwh drives (rkb) his war chariot, which is powered by his several war horses. Yhwh never rides atop his own horse. And in case there was any doubt, earlier in Habakkuk, the prophet expressly uses the terminology for a mounted horseman: parash (1:8). It is not used of Yhwh, but of Chaldean cavalrymen.

Garfinkel argues that a shift occurred in the depiction of Yhwh: He moved from his chariot and mounted his steed. This step is critical for Garfinkel to make the case that the horse-and-rider figures depict Yhwh. The interpretation of Habakkuk 3:8, however, is completely erroneous. Neither this text, nor any of the biblical references he cites, sustains his argument.

Closing Thoughts

The finds from Qeiyafa and Moẓa provide a significant contribution to the study of cult and religion in Israel and Judah, especially during their formative period (tenth–ninth centuries B.C.E.), and allow us to reevaluate previous finds and studies and advance our understanding. However, they are not exceptional in their appearance and do not exist in an intellectual or material void.

It is unfortunate that Garfinkel presents an unfounded and speculative identification as factual. The evidence and argumentation offered above should lay this issue to rest.

Endnotes
1 Garfinkel published this claim earlier in his excavation report. See Yosef Garfinkel, “The Iron Age Clay Figurine Head,” in Yosef Garfinkel, S. Ganor, and M. G. Hasel, eds., Khirbet Qeiyafa Vol. 4, Excavation Report 2009–2013: Art, Cult and Epigraphy (Jerusalem: Israel Exploration Society, 2018), pp. 143–163.

2 Shua Kisilevitz, “The Iron IIA Judahite Temple at Moẓa,” Tel Aviv 42 (2015), pp. 156–161; Shua Kisilevitz, “Terracotta Figurines from the Iron IIA Temple at Moẓa, Judah,” Les Carnets de l’ACoST 15 (2016). In light of the foregoing, Garfinkel’s declaration that the only source of information for the description of the figurines from Moẓa are photographs of the large horse figurine and the two anthropomorphic heads while the small horse figurine was not illustrated at all (Garfinkel 2018: 147–148), are baffling and misinforming.

3 For Ashdod, see David Ben-Shlomo, “Material Culture,” in Moshe Dothan and David Ben-Shlomo, eds., Ashdod VI: The Excavations of Areas H and K (1968 – 1969), IAA Reports 24 (Jerusalem: Israel Antiquities Authority, 2005), p. 161, fig. 3.62:1. For Kinrot, see Stefan Münger, Jürgen Zangenberg, and Juha Pakkala, “Kinneret—an Urban Center at the Crossroads: Excavations on Iron IB Tel Kinrot at the Lake of Galilee,” Near Eastern Archaeology 74 (2011), p. 85, fig. 23. For Tell el-Far‘ah (N), see Roland De Vaux, “La quatrième campagne de fouilles à Tell el-Far‘ah, près Naplouse,” Reviue Biblique 59 (1952), pp. 551–583, Pl. XV:1; Alain Chambon, Tell el-Far‘ah I: L’ȃge du fer (Paris: Editions Recherche sur les Civilisations, 1984): plate 65:1; Miyoung Im, Horses and Chariots in the Land of Israel during the Iron Age II (1000–586 BCE), Ph.D. Diss. (Bar Ilan University, 2006), p. 90, cat. no. 7. For Tel Rehov, see Katri Saarelainen and Raz A. Kletter, “Iron Age II Clay Figurines and Zoomorphic Vessels,” in Amihai Mazar and Nava Panitz-Cohen, eds., Tel Rehov, A Bronze and Iron Age City in the Beth-Shean Valley, Volume IV, Pottery Studies, Inscriptions and Figurative Art, Qedem 62 (forthcoming): fig. 34.4:28, photo 34.26.

4 For a discussion regarding horse figurines in the southern Levant throughout the Iron Age, see Im, Horses and Chariots, especially pp. 88–93. For horse-and-rider figurines, see Raz Kletter and Katri Saarelainen, “Horses and Riders and Riders and Horses,” in Rainer Albertz et al., eds., Family and Household Religion: Toward a Synthesis of Old Testament Studies, Archaeology, Epigraphy, and Cultural Studies (Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns, 2014), pp. 197–224; Amihai Mazar, “Clay Figurative Art and Cult Objects,” in Nava Panitz-Cohen and Amihai Mazar, eds., Excavations at Tel Beth-Shean 1989-1996, Vol. III (Jerusalem: Israel Exploration Society, 2009), pp. 530–555, especially p. 554 on the association with the popularity of cavalry and horse-driven chariots; Deborah O’Daniel Cantrell, The Horsemen of Israel: Horses and Chariotry in Monarchic Israel. History, Archaeology, and Culture of the Levant 1 (Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 2011) on the appearance and significance of horses and chariotry in the Kingdom of Israel during the ninth–eighth centuries B.C.E.

5 The study of Iron Age figurines in Judah has intensified in the last three decades because of the surge in figurines found in Judah and particularly the astounding amount (more than a thousand fragments) found during Shiloh’s City of David excavations. Horse figurines appear along with the Judean Pillar figurines, depicting females, and various animal figurines and models of beds. See, inter alia, Raz Kletter, “Pots and Polities: Material Remains of Late Iron Age Judah in Relation to Its Political Borders,” BASOR 314 (1999), pp. 19–54; Erin D. Darby, Interpreting Judean Pillar Figurines: Gender and Empire in Judean Apotropaic Ritual (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2014); Erin D. Darby, “Seeing Double, Viewing and Reviewing Judean Pillar Figurines through Modern Eyes,” in Stephanie M. Langin-Hooper, ed., “Figuring Out” the Figurines, Occasional Papers in Coroplastic Studies I (Association for Coroplastic Studies of the Ancient Near East, 2014), pp. 13–24; and David Ben-Shlomo and Erin Darby, “A Study of the Production of Iron Age Clay Figurines from Jerusalem,” Tel Aviv 41 (2014), pp. 180–204 on the production of the figurines; Othmar Keel and Christopher Uehlinger, Gods, Goddesses, and Images of God in Ancient Israel (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1998), pp. 164–166.

6 Garfinkel, “Figurine Head,” pp. 143–163, figs. 9.6–9.8, and particularly 9.12; these drawings ignore the scale accompanying the illustrated anthropomorphic heads from Moẓa (Kisilevitz 2015: Figs. 5–7).

7 P.R.S. Moorey, Idols of the People: Miniature Images of Clay in the Ancient Near East (Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press, 2003); Timothy Insoll, ed., The Oxford Handbook of the Archaeology of Ritual and Religion (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011). Regarding the Iron Age southern Levant, see, inter alia, J. Glen Taylor, Yahweh and the Sun: Biblical and Archaeological Evidence for Sun Worship in Ancient Israel, Old Testament Studies 111 (Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1993), p. 59; Garth H. Gilmour, The Archaeology of Cult in the Southern Levant in the Early Iron Age: An Analytical and Comparative Approach, Ph.D. diss. (University of Oxford, 1995), p. 245; Ziony Zevit, The Religions of Ancient Israel (London and New York: Continuum, 2001), pp. 272–274.

8 Zainab Bahrani, Women of Babylon: Gender and Representation in Mesopotamia (London and New York: Routledge, 2001); Stephanie L. Budin, Images of Woman and Child from the Bronze Age: Reconsidering Fertility, Maternity, and Gender in the Ancient World (Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press, 2011). Regarding the famous “Judean Pillar Figurines” of the late Iron Age, see Ian D. Wilson, “Judean Pillar Figurines and Ethnic Identity in the Shadow of Assyria,” Journal for the Study of the Old Testament 36.3 (2012), pp. 259–278; Darby, Interpreting Judean Pillar Figurines; Darby, “Seeing Double,” pp. 13–24.

9 Kletter and Saarelainen, “Horses and Riders,” pp. 197–224.

10 Inter alia, harnessed horse and horse-and-rider figurines, along with cultic artifacts, were found from Cave 1 in Jerusalem; Thomas A. Holland, “A Study of Palestinian Iron Age Baked Clay Figurines, with Special Reference to Jerusalem: Cave 1,” Levant 9 (1977), pp. 121–155.

11 Amihai Mazar, “Religious Practices and Cult Objects during the Iron Age IIA at Tel Rehov and their Implications regarding Religion in Northern Israel,” Hebrew Bible and Ancient Israel 4.1 (2015), pp. 25–54, especially pp. 43–45; Tallay Ornan, “Gods and Symbols in the Art of Israel/Palestine c. 1000–600 BCE,” in Menahem Kister, Joseph Geiger, Nadav Naaman, and Shaul Shaked, eds., Ancient Gods: Polytheism in Eretz Israel and Neighboring Countries from the Second Millennium BCE to the Islamic Period (Jerusalem: Ben-Zvi Institute, 2008) (Hebrew); see Ornan’s recent discussions on the iconographic and physical depictions of Yahweh in glyptic art: Tallay Ornan, “The Throne and the Enthroned: On the Conceived Human Image of Yahweh in Iron II Jerusalem,” Tel Aviv 46 (2019), pp. 198–210; Tallay Ornan, Shlomit Weksler-Bdolah, Shua Kisilevitz, and Benjamin Sass, “‘The Lord Will Roar from Zion’ (Amos 1:2): The Lion as a Divine Attribute on a Jerusalem Seal and Other Hebrew Glyptic Finds from the Western Wall Plaza Excavations,” ‘Atiqot 72 (2012), pp. 1*–13*.

12 See Izak Cornelius, The Iconography of the Canaanite Gods Reshef and Baal. Late Bronze and Iron Age I Periods (c 1500–1000 BCE), Orbis Biblicus et Orientalis 140 (Freiburg, Schweiz: Universitätsverlag; Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1994), pp. 209–211; Izak Cornelius, The Many Faces of the Goddess: The Iconography of the Syro-Palestinian Goddesses Anat, Astarte, Qedeshet, and Asherah c. 1500–1000 BCE, Orbis Biblicus et Orientalis 204 (Academic Press Fribourg; Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2008), pp. 40–41, 73, 77–78, 89, plates 4.1–4.20.

13 For ancient Near Eastern storm gods and their chariots, see Moshe Weinfeld, “‘Rider of the Clouds’ and ‘Gatherer of the Clouds’,” JNES 5 (1973), pp. 421–426; Daniel Schwemer, “The Storm-Gods of the Ancient Near East: Summary, Synthesis, Recent Studies: Part I,” Journal of Ancient Near Eastern Religions 7.2 (2007), pp. 121–168; Daniel Schwemer, “The Storm-Gods of the Ancient Near East: Summary, Synthesis, Recent Studies: Part II,” Journal of Ancient Near Eastern Religions 8.1 (2008), pp. 1–44.

14 See William F. Albright, “The Psalm of Habakkuk,” in H. H. Rowley, ed., Studies in Old Testament Prophecy (Edinburgh: T & T Clark, 1950), pp. 1–18; Frank Moore Cross, Canaanite Myth and Hebrew Epic (Cambridge, MA: Harvard, 1973), pp. 70–71; Theodore Hiebert, God of My Victory: The Ancient Hymn in Habakkuk 3, HSM 38 (Decatur, GA: Scholars Press, 1986), pp. 284–289.

15 Mowinckel decisively proved this; see Sigmund Mowinckel, “Drive and/or Ride in the OT,” Vetus Testamentum 12 (1962), p. 285. See also Francis I. Andersen, Habakkuk, Anchor Bible (New York: Doubleday, 2001), pp. 318–319.

Ido Koch is a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Archaeology and Ancient Near Eastern Cultures, Tel Aviv University, and codirector of the Tel Hadid Expedition.

Oded Lipschits is Professor of Jewish History at Tel Aviv University. He is the Director of the Sonia and Marco Nadler Institute of Archaeology, and codirector of the Lautenschläger Azekah Expedition, and the Moẓa Expedition Project.

David S. Vanderhooft is Associate Professor of Theology at Boston College. His research focuses on the Hebrew Scriptures, especially the Prophets.

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Yosef Garfinkel, The Face of Yahweh?, Fall 2020. What does God look like? In the Bible, the Israelites are charged to not create any idol—whether of a deity or living thing. This prohibition, which is clearly articulated in the second of the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:4; Deuteronomy 5:8), also extends to depictions of their God. Yet recent discoveries from the Kingdom of Judah challenge the existence or enforcement of this biblical ban. Yosef Garfinkel, of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, reveals the head of an anthropomorphic male figurine excavated from the site of Khirbet Qeiyafa in the Kingdom of Judah.

Shua Kisilevitz and Oded Lipschits, Another Temple in Judah! The Tale of Tel Moẓa, January/February 2020. A puzzling discovery of an Iron Age II temple at Tel Moẓa, only 4 miles outside of Jerusalem, challenges the biblical claims that King Hezekiah centralized worship at Solomon’s Temple in Jerusalem and eliminated all rival shrines. In reality, the Tel Moẓa temple fits into the greater economic and administrative context of Judah and reflects an advanced level of localized civic administration in the early ninth century B.C.E.

Madeleine Mumcuoglu and Yosef Garfinkel, The Puzzling Doorways of Solomon’s Temple, July/August 2015. Using the rare stone model shrine discovered at Khirbet Qeiyafa to understand the reference to five mezzo on the doorways of Solomon’s Temple. Through analysis of this ancient model, authors Madeleine Mumcuoglu and Yosef Garfinkel surmise what the doorways of Solomon’s Temple might have looked like.

The post Facing the Facts about the “Face of God” appeared first on Biblical Archaeology Society.