The Iron Age I Structure on Mt. Ebal: Excavation and Interpretation

288 Pages·2012·5.48 MB·English

by  Ralph K. Hawkins

The Iron Age I
Structure on Mt. Ebal
Bulletin for Biblical Research Supplements
Editor
Richard S. Hess, Denver Seminary
Associate Editor
Craig L. Blomberg, Denver Seminary
Advisory Board
Leslie C. Allen I. Howard Marshall
Fuller Theological Seminary University of Aberdeen
Donald A. Carson Elmer A. Martens
Trinity Evangelical Divinity Mennonite Brethren Biblical
School Seminary
Donald A. Hagner Bruce K. Waltke
Fuller Theological Seminary Knox Theological Seminary
Karen H. Jobes Edwin M. Yamauchi
Wheaton College Miami University
1. Bridging the Gap: Ritual and Ritual Texts in the Bible, by Gerald A. Klingbeil
2. War in the Bible and Terrorism in the Twenty-First Century, edited by
Richard S. Hess and Elmer A. Martens
3. Critical Issues in Early Israelite History, edited by Richard S. Hess, Gerald A.
Klingbeil, and Paul J. Ray Jr.
4. Poetic Imagination in Proverbs: Variant Repetitions and the Nature of Poetry,
by Knut Martin Heim
5. Divine Sabbath Work, by Michael H. Burer
6. The Iron Age I Structure on Mt. Ebal: Excavation and Interpretation,
by Ralph K. Hawkins
The Iron Age I
Structure on Mt. Ebal
Excavation and Interpretation
Ralph K. Hawkins
Winona Lake, Indiana
Eisenbrauns
2012
© Copyright 2012 Eisenbrauns
All rights reserved.
Printed in the United States of America.
www.eisenbrauns.com
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Hawkins, Ralph K.
The Iron Age I structure on Mt. Ebal : excavation and interpretation /
by Ralph K. Hawkins.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-57506-243-3 (hardback : alk. paper)
1. Ebal, Mount (West Bank)—Antiquities. 2. Excavations
(Archaeology)—West Bank—Ebal, Mount. 3. Iron age—Israel.
4. West Bank—Antiquities. 5. Bible. O.T.—Antiquities. 6. Bible.
O.T. Joshua—Criticism, interpretation, etc. I. Title.
DS110.E23H39 2012
933′.53—dc23
2012018594
The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of the
American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for
Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1984. ♾™
Contents
Preface and Acknowledgments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii
Abbreviations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix
Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1. Discovery and Excavation of the Ebal Structure. . . . . . . . . 4
Overview of the Survey of Manassesh 4
Overview of the Discovery and Excavation of the
Mt. Ebal Complex 7
Overview of Zertal’s Conclusions Regarding
the Ebal Site 11
Methodology and Criteria for the Identification
of the Site 15
2. Analysis of the Ebal Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Location and Layout of the Site 30
Stratum II 32
Stratum IB 39
Stratum IA 53
Pottery 54
Stone and Metal Artifacts 60
Faunal Remains 63
The Faunal Assemblage 63
Two Egyptianized Scarabs from Mt. Ebal 66
Conclusion 72
3. Physical Parallels to el-Burnat: Domestic and Military. . . . . 73
Village 73
Farmstead 78
House or Other Domestic Space 81
The Central Structure at Mt. Ebal and the
Four-Room House 87
Watchtower 88
The Biblical Term Migdāl and Ancient Watchtowers 89
Towers in the Late Bronze Age 90
Towers in Iron Age I 92
v
vi Contents
The Tower of Shechem 97
Conclusion 117
4. Physical Parallels to El-Burnat: Religious Structures . . . . . 118
Gilgalim 118
Altars 123
Early to Middle Bronze Age 124
Late Bronze Age 129
Iron Age 135
Discussion 146
Conclusion 150
5. Literary Parallels. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
Location of the Site 151
Stratum II 153
Stratum IB 155
The Faunal Assemblage from Mt. Ebal 179
Conclusion 182
6. The Ebal Structure in Context: The Ebal Installation,
the Survey of Manasseh, and the Emergence of Israel . . . . 184
Historical and Sociological Considerations
of the Mt. Ebal Site 184
The Amphictyony Hypothesis 185
The Mt. Ebal Site and Biblical Tradition 193
Scholarly Response 198
An Overview of Regional Surveys in Israel 200
Objections 212
The Survey of Manasseh Compared with Joshua,
Judges, and the Question of Israelite Origins 216
Conclusion 219
Summary and Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221
Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229
Indexes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277
Index of Authors 277
Index of Scripture 282
Index of Sites and Geographical Names 285
Preface and
Acknowledgments
This book is a substantially revised version of the Ph.D. dissertation
that I submitted to Andrews University in 2007. I would like to express my
thanks to Randall W. Younker, my faculty adviser, and Drs. Merling, La-
Bianca, and Davidson, all of whom served on my dissertation committee.
Dr. Richard Hess, my external examiner, made a number of helpful criti-
cisms that went a long way toward improving the content of my disserta-
tion and, ultimately, transforming it into a book. Since I defended the dis-
sertation in 2007, he has patiently worked with me in the role of editor as I
have repeatedly added to and revised the work.
My special thanks go to Dr. Adam Zertal, under whom I first worked in
the field as a volunteer in the mid-to-late 1990s. It was the lectures he gave
in the field school at el-Aḥwat that awakened my thoughts to the possibility
of actually pursuing archaeology as a career, and it was while we were sitting
around the fire one night that I asked him whether he thought the Mt. Ebal
structure would make a good dissertation topic for me if I were to pursue
a Ph.D. Although he advised against it, my imagination had already been
taken captive by the subject, and I have spent the better part of the last ten
years absorbed with it, along with the subject of Israelite origins. Dr. Zer-
tal was more than helpful to me in my research. Between the years 2002
and 2006, he corresponded and shared photographs and other unpublished
materials with me and, in 2007, he took a week out of his busy schedule to
host me in Israel as I sought to finalize my research for the dissertation. In
addition to hosting my father and me for a wonderful dinner with him and
his wife, Judith, Dr. Zertal personally showed me the Ebal materials in the
University of Haifa archaeological laboratory and in the museum of Kib-
butz Ein-Shemer, took me through the Jordan Valley on a tour of some of
the work done by the survey, included me in the regular work of the survey
and, finally, arranged a military escort to transport us to Mt. Ebal, where we
were able to take as much time as necessary to examine every facet of the
site. Any errors related to the factual details about the Ebal site and/or the
survey of Manasseh are, of course, my own.
I would like to express my gratitude to the Andrews University Semi-
nary for support through the Doctor of Theology Scholarship from 2002
vii
viii Preface and Acknowledgments
to 2007; the Rock Island Arsenal Historical Society for the Richard C.
Ma guire Scholarship in 2006; the Midwest Society of Biblical Literature
for the Graduate Student Paper Competition Prize in 2005; the Catholic
Biblical Association for the award of the Memorial Stipend from 2003 to
2007; the staff of the Young Library at Kentucky Christian University for
helping me track down numerous materials from 2008 to 2010; and Charles
E. Isom for financial support in 2007. I would like to thank the brothers of
St. Gregory’s Abbey, who graciously hosted me during multiple writing re-
treats each year from 2004 to 2008, often when I had little to contribute to
the monastery. Most of the original dissertation and many of the revisions
were written there in the quiet of the guest house or in the library. I appre-
ciate Abbot Andrew, Father William, and the willingness of all the monks
not only to house me but also to allow me to share worship, the Eucharist,
their daily bread, and conversation. I received additional help with revisions
from my students, including Theresa Preece, Serena Barr, Marion Clifton,
and David Hunter, to each of whom I extend my appreciation.
I would also like to express a special thanks to Chervis Isom Jr., who
often served as a benefactor to me throughout my pursuit of the Ph.D. His
financial support was integral to the original completion of the dissertation,
out of which this volume has developed. My parents, Raymond and Dale
Hawkins, have been a constant source of encouragement. Finally, my wife,
Cathy, and our children, Hannah, Sarah, Mary, and Adam, have all been the
inspiration for my work. My thanks go to them for the sacrifices they have
made to allow me to complete this volume. Soli Deo Gloria.
Abbreviations
General
CP cooking pot
EA El-Amarna
Ha hectares
LXX Septuagint (Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible)
M.R. map registration number
MT Masoretic Text
nrsv New Revised Standard Version
NT New Testament
OT Old Testament
Reference Works
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ABRL Anchor Bible Reference Library
ADAJ Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan
AnBib Analecta Biblica
ANET Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament. Edited by J. B.
Pritchard. 3rd ed. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1969
ARA Annual Review of Anthropology
ASORAR American Schools of Oriental Research Archaeological Reports
AUSS Andrews University Seminary Studies
BA Biblical Archaeologist
BAR Biblical Archaeology Review
BASOR Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research
BASORSup Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research: Supplement
Series
BBRSup Bulletin for Biblical Research: Supplement Series
BHS Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia. Edited by K. Elliger and W. Rudolph.
Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, 1983
Bib Biblica
BJS Brown Judaic Studies
BO Bibliotheca Orientalis
BSac Bibliotheca sacra
BTB Biblical Theology Bulletin
ix