Did God have a wife? : archaeology and folk religion in ancient Israel / William G. Dever. [print]

Defining and Contextualizing Religion -- The Phenomenon of Religion -- Religion as "Ultimate Concern" -- The "Care and Feeding of the Gods" -- On "Folk Religion" -- "Folk Religion": Toward a Methodology -- "Phenomenology of Religion" -- The "Context" of Folk Religion -- Religion and the "Good Life" -- The History of the History: In Search of Ancient Israel's Religions -- The "History of Religions" School -- The "Myth and Ritual" School -- Old Testament Theology -- Sociological Approaches -- A Revival of Interest in Israelite Religion -- An Overall Critique of Previous Scholarship -- Sources and Methods for the Study of Ancient Israel's Religions -- The Biblical Texts and Their Limitations -- Non-biblical Texts -- Archaeology as a "Primary Source" for History and Religion -- Depreciating Archaeology: Who and Why -- Setting the (Archaeological) Record Straight -- What Archaeology Can and Cannot Do -- Why Another History? -- The Hebrew Bible: Religious Reality or Theological Ideal? -- Cultic Terminology in the Hebrew Bible -- Bamot, or "High Places" -- Family and Household Shrines -- Temples -- Cult Paraphernalia in the Hebrew Bible -- Cultic Activities in the Hebrew Bible -- The Sacrificial System -- Some Caveats Regarding Sacrifice -- Prayers and Vows -- Festivals -- Archaeological Evidence for Folk Religions in Ancient Israel -- Local Shrines and Family Religion -- An Excursus on "Magic" -- Public Open-Air Sanctuaries -- Monumental Temples -- The Goddess Asherah and Her Cult -- The Figurines: Who Is She?

"Did God Have a Wife? shines new light on the presence and influence of women's cults in early Israel and their implications for our understanding of Israel's official "Book religion." Dever pays particular attention to the goddess Asherah, reviled by the authors of the Hebrew Bible as a foreign deity but, in the view of many modern scholars, popularly envisioned in early Israel as the consort of biblical Yahweh. His work also gives new prominence to women as the custodians of Israel's folk religion." "The first book by an archaeologist on ancient Israelite religion, this study critically reviews virtually all of the archaeological literature of the past generation, while also bringing fresh evidence to the table."--Jacket.

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