Of wood and stone : : the significance of Israelite cultic items in the Bible and its early interpreters / / Elizabeth C. LaRocca-Pitts.

• Superior document: Harvard Semitic Museum publications
• Author: LaRocca-Pitts, Elizabeth C., 1959-
• Place / Publishing House: Winona Lake, Ind. : : Eisenbrauns,, 2001.
• Year of Publication: 2001
• Language: English
• Series: Harvard Semitic Monographs 61.
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (xiii, 385 pages).

The Hebrew Bible contains varying opinions concerning which cultic items or objects used in worship were appropriate for use within YHWHism and which were not. By analyzing every passage which mentions \'high places\' (bamot), sacred trees or poles (asherim), standing stones, altars, and cultic statuary, this study reveals that a remarkable diversity of cultic practices fell within the bounds of acceptability in ancient Israel. Also included are three chapters exploring the particular understandings of these items in the LXX, Vulgate, Targumim, and other early Jewish sources. Opposing the long-held generalization that use of these items was unanimously viewed by biblical authors as syncretistic, this study shows that, with the exception of cultic statuary, all of these items were, at one time or another, legitimate components of Israelite worship. Thus they provide witness to a diversity of theologies and ritual practices within YHWHism previously unappreciated.

Table of Contents

Preliminary Material -- Introduction and Review of Scholarship -- Source-critical Analysis of Texts Related to Cultic Items -- The Tetrateuchal Sources -- Deuteronomy and the Deuteronomistic Historian -- The Chronicler: Chronicles, Ezra, and Nehemiah -- The Prophets and Remaining Writings -- Synthesis of Biblical Data on Individual Items -- Synthesis of the Data Regarding bāmôt -- Synthesis of the Data Regarding bāmôt -- Synthesis of the Data Regarding maṣṣēbôt -- Synthesis of the Data Regarding mizbəḥôt -- Analysis of Material from the Ancient Translations -- The LXX and Other Greek Witnesses -- The Vulgate and Other Latin Witnesses -- The Targumim and Other Early Jewish Interpretation -- Conclusion -- Bibliography -- Index of Ancient Sources -- Subject Index -- Index of Scholars.