!["The dedicatory inscription on the Lachish ewer [shows] the word Elat positioned immediately over the tree, indicating the... tree as a representation of the goddess Elat." hkd mlkySH - TSyvr hhqdSHh lAlt.jpg](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cf/%D7%94%D7%9B%D7%93_%D7%9E%D7%9C%D7%9B%D7%99%D7%A9_-_%D7%A6%D7%99%D7%95%D7%A8_%D7%94%D7%94%D7%A7%D7%93%D7%A9%D7%94_%D7%9C%D7%90%D7%9C%D7%AA.jpg/220px-%D7%94%D7%9B%D7%93_%D7%9E%D7%9C%D7%9B%D7%99%D7%A9_-_%D7%A6%D7%99%D7%95%D7%A8_%D7%94%D7%94%D7%A7%D7%93%D7%A9%D7%94_%D7%9C%D7%90%D7%9C%D7%AA.jpg)
The Lachish ewer is a Late Bronze Age Canaanite jug discovered at archaeological excavations at Tell el-Duweir, identified as the site of the important ancient city of Lachish, dating from the late 13th century BC. [2] It was discovered by the British Starkey-Tuffnell expedition, which led the first excavation of the Lachish site between 1932 and 1939. [3]
The ewer was discovered in 1933 [4] or 1934 [2] in the Fosse Temple III at Level VII, [5] [6] the earliest archaeological layer at the site corresponding to the Late Bronze Age in the region. Its discovery was documented by James Leslie Starkey, the expedition leader, who recorded it being found in a mound near the eastern wall, with a fragment of its shoulder blackened by fire found on the plastered floor in a collection of sherds, suggesting the ewer had been in use at the time of the temple's destruction. [2]
The Lachish ewer is an example of Late Bronze Age Levantine pottery, featuring a row of depicted animals and trees and an accompanying inscription by the same hand, which Starkey suggested was likely the work of a local potter. On the right main part of the ewer, the best-preserved section, the most complete tree, depicted schematically with three curved lines forming its branches, is flanked by rearing goats or ibexes with bodies formed of adjoining triangles, identified as Nubian ibexes by Hestrin. Proceeding left from this, clockwise around the ewer, is an animal tentatively identified as a bird, a pair of deer, female and male, leaping (identified by Hestrin as Persian fallow deer), and a lion with an unusual feathery tail. A piece of the ewer is missing at this point and much of the remaining depictions are obliterated, but a small section is preserved near the handle showing portions of another tree flanked by ibexes. [2]
Above and between the images on the ewer is a damaged alphabetic inscription in Proto-Canaanite script, reconstructed by Frank M. Cross [2] [4] as:
| Transcription | mtn⋮ šy ˹l˺[rb]ty ˀlt |
| Square Script | מתן⋮ שי ˺ל˹[רב]תי אלת |
| Translation | Mattan. An offering to my Lady ˀElat. |
| Alternate Translation | A gift: a lamb for my Lady ˀElat. |
The inscription identifies the ewer as a votive offering to Asherah, whose titles included both ˀlt "Elat", the feminine equivalent of El, and rbt "lady". [1] [7] The conflicting translations provided by Cross variably interpret mtn as either the supplicant's given name Mattan or as a common noun meaning "gift", and šy as either "offering" or "sheep, goat"; later scholarship, including Cross himself, favoured the former translation in both cases. [4] The three vertical dots (⋮) are present in the inscription, and are identified as a word divider used occasionally in Greek and Semitic inscriptions, but all other words preserved on the ewer are separated instead by the depicted images. [8] The word Elat is arranged directly above the best-preserved tree figure on the ewer, implicitly identifying the tree as a representation of the goddess herself. [1]
Upon its discovery, Starkey described the decoration as "not usual" in its free treatment of a register of animals, [2] a simple style bearing vivid depictions of rearing ibexes and deer mid-leap. The symbolism of goats or ibexes flanking a tree has been identified as a common "age-old motif" in ancient Near Eastern iconography, [9] appearing in the Levant from the early 2nd millennium BC onwards and prominently in pottery from other sites such as Ta'anakh and Megiddo during the Near Eastern Late Bronze Age II A and II B (1400-1200 BC). [10] During this item's era they symbolize the goddess Asherah, [11] [12] [ page needed ] who is associated most commonly with trees in general. [13] The ewer has been compared with a counterpart, a goblet also found in the Fosse Temple excavations at Lachish, displaying a similar motif with a pubic triangle replacing the tree between ibexes, supporting the notion that both were interchangeable in representing Asherah's aspect as a fertility goddess. [10] [14]
Another notable aspect of the ewer, particularly of interest to the development of ancient Israelite culture, is its notably menorah-like tree as the object of focus and a manifestation of the goddess. [15] The use of artificial, geometric or stylised sacred trees is a common motif in its own right, attested in Assyrian art and Mitanni seals from the beginning of the 2nd millennium BC onwards, [10] and non-lifelike trees are associated with Asherah specifically [16] [ page needed ] through examples such as the Asherah pole.
The jug is considered as important as pithos A from Kuntillet Ajrud and the Ta'anakh cult stand. [17] It is one of the most common points of reference to discuss the typical characteristics of art of its type and era. An excellent parallel[ according to whom? ] called the Burna krater was publicized in 2022. [18] [ page needed ]
Qetesh was a goddess who was incorporated into the ancient Egyptian religion in the late Bronze Age. Her name was likely developed by the Egyptians based on the Semitic root Q-D-Š meaning 'holy' or 'blessed,' attested as a title of El and possibly Athirat and a further independent deity in texts from Ugarit.
Lachish was an ancient Canaanite and later Israelite city in the Shephelah region of Canaan on the south bank of the Lakhish River mentioned several times in the Hebrew Bible. The current tell by that name, known as Tel Lachish or Tell el-Duweir, has been identified with Lachish. Today, it is an Israeli national park operated and maintained by the Israel Nature and Parks Authority. It lies near the present-day moshav of Lakhish, which was named in honor of the ancient city.
Asherah was a goddess in ancient Semitic religions. She also appears in Hittite writings as Ašerdu(s) or Ašertu(s), and as Athirat in Ugarit. Some scholars hold that Yahweh and Asherah were a consort pair in ancient Israel and Judah, while others disagree.
Elath, or Eloth, was an ancient city mentioned in several places in the Hebrew Bible on the northern tip of the Gulf of Aqaba. It was in the same vicinity as Ezion-Geber.
Jehoash, whose name means "Yahweh has given," was the twelfth king of the ancient northern Kingdom of Israel (Samaria) and the son of Jehoahaz. He was the 12th king of Israel and reigned for 16 years. William F. Albright has dated his reign to 801–786 BC, while E. R. Thiele offers the dates 798–782 BC. When he ascended the throne, the Kingdom of Israel was suffering from the predations of the Arameans, whose king Hazael was conquering land controlled by Israel.
Gezer, or Tel Gezer, in Arabic: تل الجزر – Tell Jezar or Tell el-Jezari is an archaeological site in the foothills of the Judaean Mountains at the border of the Shfela region roughly midway between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. It is now an Israeli national park. In the Hebrew Bible, Gezer is associated with Joshua and Solomon.
Proto-Canaanite is the name given to the
An Asherah pole is a sacred tree or pole that stood near Canaanite religious locations to honor the goddess Asherah. The relation of the literary references to an asherah and archaeological finds of Judaean pillar-figurines has engendered a literature of debate.
William Gwinn Dever is an American archaeologist, Biblical scholar, historian, semiticist, and theologian. He is an active scholar of the Old Testament, and historian, specialized in the history of the Ancient Near East and the ancient kingdoms of Israel and Judah in biblical times. He was Professor of Near Eastern Archaeology and Anthropology at the University of Arizona in Tucson from 1975 to 2002. He is a Distinguished Professor of Near Eastern Archaeology at Lycoming College in Pennsylvania.
The Deir 'Alla inscription or Balaam inscription, known as KAI 312, is a famous inscription discovered during a 1967 excavation in Deir 'Alla, Jordan. It is currently at the Jordan Archaeological Museum. It is written in a peculiar Northwest Semitic dialect, and has provoked much debate among scholars and had a strong impact on the study of Canaanite and Aramaic inscriptions.
Tel Burna is an archaeological site located in the Shephelah, along the banks of Nahal Guvrin, not far from modern-day Qiryat Gat. Tel Burna is located near Beit Guvrin/Maresha, Tel Goded, Lachish, Tell es-Safi/Gath and Tel Zayit. The site is thought to have been one of a series of sites along the border between Judah and Philistia.
Kuntillet ʿAjrud or Horvat Teman is a late 9th/early 8th centuries BCE site in the northeast part of the Sinai Peninsula. It is frequently described as a shrine, though this is not certain. The Kuntillet Ajrud inscriptions discovered in the excavations are significant in biblical archaeology.
Khirbet el-Qom is an archaeological site in the village of al-Kum, West Bank, in the territory of the biblical Kingdom of Judah, between Lachish and Hebron, 14 km (8.7 mi) to the west of the latter.
A ceremonial pole is a stake or post utilised or venerated as part of a ceremony or religious ritual. Ceremonial poles may symbolize a variety of concepts in different ceremonies and rituals practiced by a variety of cultures around the world.
Khirbet er-Ra'i, also Khirbet al-Ra'i, is an archaeological site in the Shephelah region of Israel. It is located 4 km west of Lachish.
The Kuntillet Ajrud inscriptions refers to a set of jar and plaster inscriptions, stone incisions, and art discovered at the site of Kuntillet Ajrud. They were found at a unique Judean crossroads location that was among an unusual number and variety of vessels and other inscriptions. They date to the late 9th century BC in the Sinai Peninsula.
The Revadim Asherah is an artifact from Revadim representing a genre of Asherah figurines. Like the inscriptions found at Khirbet el-Qom and Kuntillet Ajrud, these findings revealed Asherah's prominence in Canaanite and Hebrew religion.
The Ta'anakh cult stand was found in the ancient city of Ta'anakh, near Megiddo, in Israel. It dates back to the 10th century BCE and has various images that are related to the religious practices of the Israelites. Some think that the "elaborate" 53cm stand was used for offering incense to the gods, while others suggest that it was a miniature representation of a temple or a shrine. The stand has four tiers.
Judean pillar figures or figurines were ubiquitous household items in the Iron Age representing the Canaanite great goddess Asherah.
Media related to Elat jug of Lachish at Wikimedia Commons