The Sanctuary of Bethel and the Configuration of Israelite Identity / / Jules Francis Gomes.

• Superior document: Title is part of eBook package: De Gruyter DGBA Backlist Complete English Language 2000-2014 PART1
• VerfasserIn: Gomes, Jules Francis,
• Place / Publishing House: Berlin ;, Boston : : De Gruyter, , [2012]; ©2006
• Year of Publication: 2012
• Language: English
• Series: Beihefte zur Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft , 368
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (303 p.)

After Jerusalem, Bethel is the most frequently cited sanctuary in the Hebrew Bible. The book offers a detailed analysis of Bethel and its sanctuary from archaeological and biblical evidence. It reconstructs the history of Bethel and by analysing the presence of pro- and anti-Bethel propaganda, it argues that the latter, with its own pro-Jerusalem/Judah bias, has resulted in an unfair denigration of Bethel as an idolatrous place of worship. The study suggests that Bethel was a legitimate Yahwistic shrine and continued to be so even after the fall of the Northern Kingdom of Israel to the Assyrians. Hence, Bethel in a real sense was the principal means of configuring Israelite identity.

Table of Contents

i-vi -- Acknowledgements -- Table of Contents -- Abbreviations -- Chapter One. Introduction -- Chapter Two. Bethel in the Books of Kings: From Restoration to Destruction -- Chapter Three. Bethel in the Book of Genesis: Sanctuary of the Patriarchs -- Chapter Four. Bethel in the Books of Joshua, Judges and 1 Samuel: Territorial Conquest and Tribal Claims -- Chapter Five. Bethel in the Books of Amos, Hosea and in Particular Psalms: House of God or House of Sin? -- Chapter Six. Bethel in Post-Exilic Biblical Writings: The Revival of a Central Sanctuary -- Chapter Seven. Conclusion -- Bibliography -- Index of Biblical References