Carlson, James M..   “A Great High Priest Who has Passed through the Heavens: In Quest of the Apocalyptic Roots of the Epistle to the Hebrews.”  PhD diss., Marquette University, 2008. [Israel/Christian/New Temple/Heavenly Ascent/Heavenly Temple/Priesthood]

Abstract:  The nature of the problem addressed is the lack of a thorough discussion of the relationship of the exaltation of Christ in Hebrews to the assortment of ideas and images present in Jewish apocalyptic literature which the epistle seems to echo. This study begins with a historical survey of the way in which the epistle was interpreted and used from the patristic period through to the Renaissance and Reformation. The purpose of this chapter is to set the question of Hebrews’ apocalyptic roots in relief from the kinds of questions historically asked of the epistle. Historically the epistle has been interpreted in a manner less interested in its contextual meaning and more interested in its usefulness in supporting an assortment of theological and ecclesiastical propositions throughout various periods. Continue reading →

Adams, Kerry Lyn.  “Textual and Archaeological Evidence for Pilgrimage in the Central Hill Country of the Southern Levant During the Late Bronze Age–Iron Age I Transition Period, ca. 1300-1000 BCE.”  PhD diss., University of Arizona, 2010. [Israel/Ritual/Liturgy/Worship/Pilgrimage]

Abstract:  This research evaluates the textual and archaeological evidence for pilgrimage in the Iron I central hill country of the southern Levant during the Late Bronze Age-Iron I transition period (ca. 1300-1000 BCE). The central hill country comprises the Judean and Samarian hills that are located west of the Jordan River and rise near Hebron to the south and end in the north near Dothan. This location and time period reflect the nascent stages of Israelite identity. Pilgrimage provides new perspectives through which to evaluate a specific aspect of early Israelite religion and culture. This research demonstrates that pilgrimage to ceremonial sites, where processions and ritual performances were held, provided avenues for families and clans to come together for a collective purpose and to fulfill collective needs. Pilgrimage has many facets that transect social, economic, and political agendas. By looking at the entire network of sites availed in the archaeological and textual record that apply to the Iron I central hills, from household shrines to shrines of regional and cross-clan appeal, this research suggests that there were several scales of pilgrimage evident in the central highlands. Each scale of pilgrimage had different sociological implications, but primarily pilgrimage provided avenues for people to exchange goods and services without losing honor, negotiate status, and bond over a collective awareness of kinship and community that provided avenues for disparate tribes to coalesce into a coherent political body.

McKeever, Michael Colin.  “Sacred Space and Discursive Field: The Narrative Function of the Temple in Luke-Acts.”  PhD diss., Graduate Theological Union, 1999. [Israel/Herod/Sacred Space/Christian]

Abstract:  This dissertation examines the narrative function of the temple in Luke-Acts in dialogue with a socio-cultural understanding of sacred space . Although the temple in Luke-Acts has received some attention from both sociological and literary perspectives, these studies have yielded remarkably ambiguous results and there has been little methodological synthesis in this area. Luke-Acts evinces a complex yet notable critique of temple ideology concerning social barriers and marginalization on the basis of gender, ethnicity, purity and status. By utilizing a socio-rhetorical framework developed from Robert Wuthnow’s Communities of Discourse , this study illustrates how Luke engages concepts of sacred space to legitimate an inclusive mission while simultaneously undermining the role of the temple as a culture center in Luke-Acts. Continue reading →

Shedletsky, Lauren.  “Josiah’s Reform and the Dynamics of Defilement: A Phenomenological Approach to II Kings 23.”  PhD diss., New York University, 2004. [Israel/Solomon]

Abstract:  2 Kings 22 and 23 narrate a story of the discovery, during the reign of the Judean king Josiah, of a lost law book in the Jerusalem temple and Josiah’s consequent ordering of the destruction of Israelite cult places, installations and personnel in and around Jerusalem and Bethel in an effort to purify and presumably to centralize Israelite worship at the one temple in Jerusalem. These chapters represent one of the clearest expressions in narrative terms of the idea found in Deuteronomy of the worship of one God in one place. The focus of this dissertation is on the specific acts of defilement attributed to Josiah in the Kings account and their resonance within the larger framework of Israelite ritual. Primarily through philological analysis I have identified two types of ritual that provide a context for understanding Josiah’s actions: apotropaic rites of riddance; and herem, a form of consecration to a patron deity. Each of these represents a particular model for conceptualizing ritualized destruction, the former more strongly reflected in pentateuchal priestly texts, and the latter more consistent with Deuteronom(ist)ic ideology. By separating out these two types of ritual language, a priestly core emerges in II Kings 23. Evidence of strong priestly interests in a text that could be described as the foundation myth of the Deuteronomistic movement is somewhat unexpected. Identifying this aspect of the text may illuminate the compositional history of these chapters and shape our understanding of the relationship between the proponents of Deuteronomism, and the circle of the late 7th century Jerusalem temple priesthood.

Cranz, Isabel.  “Impurity and Ritual in the Priestly Source and Assyro-Babylonian Incantations.”  Phd diss., The Johns Hopkins University, 2012. [Mesopotamia/Priesthood/Ritual/Liturgy/Worship]

Abstract:  The circumstantial similarities of Surpu Lipsur and Leviticus 5 present a unique opportunity for comparing and contrasting the effects of moral impurity in Assyro-Babylonian and Priestly sources respectively. Although the catalogue of sins featured in Leviticus 5:1-4, 15-17 has previously been compared to the transgressions listed in Surpu and Lipsur, the ensuing ritual activities have never been the subject of a thorough examination. In the past this omission was explained by the complexity of the subsequent rites. Nonetheless, recent progress in biblical studies and assyriology allows for a renewed evaluation of the activities carried out for both Priestly and Assyro-Babylonian rituals as well as their implications concerning the nature of impurity. Continue reading →

Fowlkes, Isabel Blair.   “The Cults of Syrian-Phonecian Gods in Rome: Archaeology, Topography, and Connections to the Roman East.”   diss., New York University, 2012. [Near East/Rome]

Abstract:  This dissertation provides an in-depth analysis of the evidence for the cults of Syrian-Phoenician gods in Rome, and contributes to an understanding of their significance as “alternative” religions within the urban culture of the city during the imperial period. The introduction includes descriptions of the gods and a review of the historical-religious issues and previous scholarship as part of an intellectual history sparked initially by Franz Cumont’s category “Oriental religions.” Jupiter Dolichenus’ role as an “elective” cult that appealed to diverse civilians as well as members of the military contrasts with the “diaspora” cult sites of other gods that reflect the importance of ancestral gods among communities linked to their cities/region of origin. Continue reading →

Greer, Jonathan Samuel.  “Dinner at Dan: A Biblical and Archaeological Exploration of Sacred Feasting at Iron Age II Tel Dan.”  PhD diss., Pennsylvania State University, 2011. [Israel/Canaan/Dan/Ritual/Liturgy/Worship/Sacrifice/Festivals]

Abstract:  This study provides a biblical and archaeological investigation of sacred feasting at the Iron Age II site of Tel Dan and seeks to evaluate the historicity, nature, and significance of these events from the late 10th century – mid-8th century BCE. Biblical texts concerning the establishment of a cult at Dan are examined and seen to be reflective of a Yahwistic and traditional religious context in which these feasts may have been acted out. The contents of seven distinct deposits of animal bone, ceramic, and material remains from a temple complex at Tel Dan are analyzed and argued to be the remains of sacred feasts. From this analysis, contrast is noted between two spheres of activity and change in practice over time is suggested. A synthesis of the biblical and archaeological data highlights the correlation of these archaeological remains to biblical texts concerning sacrificial prescriptions, realia , and movements within sacred space, refining the reconstruction of the activities within the precinct. The study concludes by affirming that sacred feasts were indeed carried out at Iron Age II Tel Dan and by suggesting that they were likely Yahwistic and traditional in nature. It further places these events in their socio-political and religious contexts and suggests that these sacred feasts at Dan may have been utilized by the Northern monarchs of ancient Israel for kingdom building, initially to unify tribal factions and later to reinforce distinct social structures, as a society strove to incorporate its tribal past within a monarchic framework.