The daily life in ancient Israelites and Judahites is rather vague. Little writings exist that describe everyday people and life. Archaeologists must rely on the archaeological record and ethnographic analogy to understand ancient life for the common Israelite and Judahite. In regard to their religious practices, the Hebrew Bible does not fully agree on what the people worshipped. Small clay figurines, like the Judean pillar figurines, which possibly depicted the goddess Asherah, were located within houses at several sites across the Levant. One site has an unusual centaur figurine, likely supporting a relationship with Cyprus. Protective amulets with either Egyptian influence or invoking YHWH have been found, indicating the people’s belief
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With the destruction of Samaria by the Assyrians under Sennacherib, the emphasis on reproduction in Judah can be seen with these household figures (Byrne 137). During the Iron Age, there was a supposed centralization of a state religion that followed YHWH exclusively, however, the hundreds of pillar figurines in Judean houses portrays a different narrative. The archaeological record provides the evidence for a community that resonated with a divine female in response to the Iron Age because of political and cultural circumstances. Scholars largely agree that the figurines were cultic because of the use of such items in ritual functions tends to be cultic in nature (Byrne 138). It is assumed that the figurines are meant to represent Asherah, while some merely believe that the objects are a different goddess or amalgamation of goddesses, with Dever and Holladay using the term, “mother goddess” to identify the divine female (Byrne 139). However, each figure is slightly different, creating uncertainty in the particular aspect of religious activity they held. This causes scholars to place the figurines inside the domestic religion instead of the uniform state religion, but there are still problems with this idea. The state cult would be centered in Jerusalem, but nearly half of the figurines came directly from Jerusalem (Byrne …show more content…
These amulets have heavy Egyptian influence, and many represent the goddess Isis. However, there are two particular amulets from the Iron Age IIB from Lachish, that have inscriptions with the name of the Egyptian goddess Mut (Hays 304). May amulets from the Iron Age Levant have representations of Mut, heavily suggesting her popularity with the Israelites and Judahites as a source of protection (Hays 312). However, the people of ancient Israel and Judah also looked toward YHWH for protection through amulets. Two silver amulets were found at the site of Ketef Hinnom that contained inscriptions imploring YHWH to guard and protect the wearer. The initial studies believed the amulets to have little to do with protection magic, but recent studies now believe that the Priestly Blessing and petitioning of YHWH was used as protection magic against evil (Smoak 423-424). The evidence for amuletic protection is that the writing is extremely faint, suggesting it was not meant to be read, and also the several references to evil provide the conclusion that the amulets were meant for protection (Smoak
With the destruction of Samaria by the Assyrians under Sennacherib, the emphasis on reproduction in Judah can be seen with these household figures (Byrne 137). During the Iron Age, there was a supposed centralization of a state religion that followed YHWH exclusively, however, the hundreds of pillar figurines in Judean houses portrays a different narrative. The archaeological record provides the evidence for a community that resonated with a divine female in response to the Iron Age because of political and cultural circumstances. Scholars largely agree that the figurines were cultic because of the use of such items in ritual functions tends to be cultic in nature (Byrne 138). It is assumed that the figurines are meant to represent Asherah, while some merely believe that the objects are a different goddess or amalgamation of goddesses, with Dever and Holladay using the term, “mother goddess” to identify the divine female (Byrne 139). However, each figure is slightly different, creating uncertainty in the particular aspect of religious activity they held. This causes scholars to place the figurines inside the domestic religion instead of the uniform state religion, but there are still problems with this idea. The state cult would be centered in Jerusalem, but nearly half of the figurines came directly from Jerusalem (Byrne …show more content…
These amulets have heavy Egyptian influence, and many represent the goddess Isis. However, there are two particular amulets from the Iron Age IIB from Lachish, that have inscriptions with the name of the Egyptian goddess Mut (Hays 304). May amulets from the Iron Age Levant have representations of Mut, heavily suggesting her popularity with the Israelites and Judahites as a source of protection (Hays 312). However, the people of ancient Israel and Judah also looked toward YHWH for protection through amulets. Two silver amulets were found at the site of Ketef Hinnom that contained inscriptions imploring YHWH to guard and protect the wearer. The initial studies believed the amulets to have little to do with protection magic, but recent studies now believe that the Priestly Blessing and petitioning of YHWH was used as protection magic against evil (Smoak 423-424). The evidence for amuletic protection is that the writing is extremely faint, suggesting it was not meant to be read, and also the several references to evil provide the conclusion that the amulets were meant for protection (Smoak