"Each Man Cried Out to His God": The Specialized Religion of Canaanite and Phoenician Seafarers

188 Pages·1999·17.289 MB·English

by  Aaron Jed Brody

"EACH MAN CRIED OUT TO HIS GOD"
The Specialized Religion
of Canaanite and Phoenician Seafarers
HAR,VAR,D SEMITIC MUSEUM
PUBLICATIONS
Lawrence E. Stager, General Editor
Michael D. Coogan, Director of Publications
HAR,VAR,D SEMITIC MONOGRAPHS
edited by
Peter Machinist
Number58
"EACH MAN CRIED OUT TO HIS GOD"
The Specialized Religion
of Canaanite and Phoenician Seafarers
by
Aaron Jed Brody
Aaron Jed Brody
"EACH MAN CRIED OUT TO HIS GOD"
The Specialized Religion
of Canaanite and Phoenician Seafarers
Scholars Press
Atlanta, Georgia
"EACH MAN CRIED OUT TO HIS GOD"
The Specialized Religion
of Canaanite and Phoenician Seafarers
by
Aaron Jed Brody
Copyright © 1998 by The President and Fellows of Harvard College
All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in
any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and
recording, or by means of any information storage or retrieval system, except as
may be expressly permitted by the 1976 Copyright Act or in writing from the
publisher. Requests for permission should be addressed in writing to the Rights
and Permissions Office, Scholars Press, P.O. Box 15399, Atlanta, GA 30333-
0399, USA.
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Brody, Aaron Jed.
"Each man cried out to his God" ; the specialized religion of
Canaanite and Phoenician seafarers / Aaron Jed Brody.
p. cm. - (Harvard Semitic museum publications) (Harvard
Semitic monographs ; no. 58)
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 0-7885-0466-5 (hardcover : alk. paper)
1. Sailors-Religious life-Phoenicia. 2. Sailors-Religious
life-Palestine. 3. Seafaring life-Religious aspects. 4. Gods,
Phoenician-Cult-Lebanon. 5. Gods, Canaanite-Cult-Palestine.
6. Excavation (Archaeology)-Mediterranean Region. 7. Mediterranean
Region-Antiquities. 8. Lebanon-Religion. 9. Palestine-Religion.
10. Mediterranean Region-Religion. I. Title. II. Series.
III. Series: Harvard Semitic monographs ; no. 58.
BL1665.S24B76 1998
299'.26-dc21 98-18411
CIP
Printed in the United States of America
on acid-free paper
DEDICATION
I would like to dedicate this work to my family and friends, whose
support, encouragement, patience, and love has seen me through the
project from its inception to completion: Richard, Marjorie, Gordon,
Deborah, David, and Bill; John and Gail, Ron, Malcolm, Ezra, Jack,
Anna, Judy, John and Ute, Michael, Benjamin, Peter, Jeff, Haddon,
Glenda, Liz, Ann, Eric, and especially Chrissy. Thanks goes out to all of
you.

CONTENTS
Acknowledgements ....................................................................... viii
Abbreviations ................................................................................. .ix
lntroduction ..................................................................................... 1
CHAPTER 1 The Patron Deities of Canaanite and
Phoenician Seafarers .................................................. 9
CHAPTER 2 Seaside Temples and Shrines .................................... 39
CHAPTER 3 Sacred Space Aboard Ship ........................................ 63
CHAPTER 4 Religious Ceremonies Performed by
Levantine Sailors ..................................................... 73
CHAPTER 5 Maritime Mortuary Ritual and
Burial Practices ......................................................... 87
Conclusions .................................................................................... 95
Bibliography ................................................................................. 105
List of Figures ............................................................................... 125
Figures ......................................................................................... 129
Index ............................................................................................ 173
viii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
My academic interest in sea trade and interconnections between
ancient societies began my first year at Berkeley, during a lecture by
William Collins on early links between Southeast Asia and the Middle
East. This interest was further developed under the guidance and
friendship of Ezra Marcus and Michal Artzy in Haifa, who introduced
me to Near Eastern and maritime archaeology, the pleasures of
fieldwork on land and underwater, and planted the seeds which
eventually lead me to my present research. It is Mark Mancall whom I
blame for getting me over to Israel in the first place, and inspiring me to
learn languages, both living and dead.
As this work is a revision of my doctoral dissertation, I would like
to thank the members of my thesis committee, Lawrence Stager, Frank
Moore Cross, Irene Winter, and Jo Ann Hackett, whose careful
attention to both detail and structure can be seen throughout the work.
My advisor Lawrence Stager's influences permeate my research
whether in method or theory, taking archaeology not just as a study of
material culture but as an approach to understanding ancient societies.
Thanks also to the editors of the monograph series, Michael Coogan,
Peter Machinist, and Lawrence Stager, for their thoughtful comments
and corrections.
I must also thank Dr. Stager for making me part of the excavation
team at Tel Ashkelon. My fieldwork at Ashkelon benefitted under the
tutelage of Liz Bloch-Smith and Egon Lass, and from interactions with
my fellow supervisors and volunteers, who I learn from every season.
The staff and fellows at the Albright Institute, especially Sy Gitin
and Edna Sachar, must also be acknowledged for their continuing
intellectual and moral support. I would like to thank the American
Schools of Oriental Research, the Dorot Foundation, the United States
Information Agency, and the Brody family whose financial support has
made this research possible.
While back in California I learned a whole new set of
archaeological issues working with the Muwekma-Ohlone nation.
Thanks go out to Laura Jones, Alan Leventhal, Rosemary Cambra,
Norma Sanchez, and to the Muwekma, Esselen, and Amah-Mudson
people for introducing me to the past in my own backyard and teaching
me the possibilities of bridging the gap between native peoples,
archaeology, and archaeologists.
ix
ABBREVIATIONS
AJA American Journal of Archaeology
Akk. Akkadian
ANEP J. B. Pritchard, ed., The Ancient Near East in
Pictures Relating to the Old Testament
ANET J. B. Pritchard, ed., Ancient Near Eastern Texts
Relating to the Old Testament
Arab. Arabic
BA Biblical Archaeologist
BASOR Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental
Research
BCH Bulletin du Correspondance Hellenique
BDB F. Brown, S. R. Driver, and C. A. Briggs, A
Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old
Testament
CIS Corpus Inscriptionum Semiticarum
CTA A. Herdner, Corpus des tablettes en cuneiformes
alphabetiques
Eg. Egyptian
EI Eretz-Israel
Eth. Ethiopic
GGM C. Muller, Geographici Graeci Minores
Gk. Greek
Heb. Hebrew
ID F. Durrbach, Inscriptions de Delos
IEJ Israel Exploration Journal
JAOS Journal of the American Oriental Society
JNES Journal of Near Eastern Studies
KAI H. Donner and W. Rollig, Kanaaniiische und
Aramiiische Inschriften
KTU M. Dietrich, 0. Loretz, and J. Sanmartin, Die
keilalphabetischen Texte aus Ugarit
KUB Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Vorderasiatische
Abteilung. Keilschrifturkunden aus Boghazkoi.
Berlin: 1921-.
MUSJ Melanges de l'Universite Saint-Joseph
PEQ Palestine Exploration Quarterly
Phoen. Phoenician
Praep. Evang. Eusebius, Praeparatio Evangelica