Gods, Goddesses, and the Women Who Serve Them - EXCERPT by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.

II.Priests

Contents Listof I.PrefaceAbbreviationsGoddesses1.“AndtheWomen

9.At

KneadDough”:TheWorshipoftheQueenofHeavenin Sixth-CenturyJudah Asherah,theWestSemiticGoddessofSpinningandWeaving? TheWomenoftheBibleandofAncientNearEasternMyth:TheCaseofthe Levite’s pîlegeš andProphets WhyIsMiriamAlsoamongtheProphets? IsZipporahamongthe Priests?) TheMotherofEshmunazor,PriestofAstarte:AStudyofHerCulticRole Priestesses,Purity,andParturition QueenMothers TheQueenMotherandtheCultin Israel TheQueenMotherandtheCultintheAncientNearEast andWorship HomewiththeGoddess

Ancient

(And

IV.Women

III.

IndexIndexIndexBibliographyofAuthorsofSubjectsofScripture Ancient

10.WomenandtheWorshipofYahwehinAncientIsrael

andOther

Sources

ABD AnchorBibleDictionary. EditedbyDavidNoelFreedman.6vols. NewYork:Doubleday,1992.

ANET AncientNearEasternTextsRelatingtotheOldTestament. Edited byJamesB.Pritchard.3rded.withsupplement.Princeton: PrincetonUniversityPress,1969.

AOAT AlterOrientundAltesTestament ARM ArchivesroyalesdeMari AYB AnchorYaleBible

Abbreviations

AHw AkkadischesHandwörterbuch

ANEP TheAncientNearEastinPicturesRelatingtotheOldTestament. EditedbyJamesB.Pritchard.Princeton:PrincetonUniversity Press,1954.

.WolframvonSoden.3vols. Wiesbaden:Harrassowitz,1965–81.

BASOR BulletinoftheAmericanSchoolsofOrientalResearch

BDB Brown,Francis,S.R.Driver,andCharlesA.Briggs. AHebrew andEnglishLexiconoftheOldTestament. Oxford:Clarendon, 1907. Bib Biblica BJS BrownJudaicStudies BN BiblischeNotizen BRev BibleReview BZAW BeiheftezurZeitschriftfürdiealttestamentlicheWissenschaft

AYBRL AnchorYaleBibleReferenceLibrary BA BiblicalArchaeologist BAR BiblicalArchaeologyReview

CBC CambridgeBibleCommentary CBQ CatholicBiblicalQuarterly CBQMS CatholicBiblicalQuarterlyMonographSeries CIS Corpusinscriptionumsemiticarum

JAOS JournaloftheAmericanOrientalSociety

JEA JournalofEgyptianArchaeology

.EditedbyWilliamW.HalloandK. LawsonYounger,Jr.3vols.Leiden:Brill,2003.

COS TheContextofScripture

GKC Gesenius’HebrewGrammar. EditedbyE.Kautzsch.Translated byA.E.Cowley.2nded.Oxford:Clarendon,1910.

HUCA HebrewUnionCollegeAnnual ICC InternationalCriticalCommentary IEJ IsraelExplorationJournal

CANE CivilizationsoftheAncientNearEast. EditedbyJackM.Sasson.4 vols.NewYork:Scribner,1995.

ErIsr Eretz-Israel ExpTim ExpositoryTimes FCB FeministCompaniontotheBible

EditedbyIgnaceJ.Gelbetal.21vols.Chicago:The OrientalInstitute,1956–2010.

JNES JournalofNearEasternStudies

HAR HebrewAnnualReview HSM HarvardSemiticMonographs HTR HarvardTheologicalReview

HALOT Koehler,Ludwig,WalterBaumgartner,andJohannJakobStamm. TheHebrewandAramaicLexiconoftheOldTestament

. TranslatedandeditedunderthesupervisionofMervynE.J. Richardson.4vols.Leiden:Brill,1994–1999.

JBL JournalofBiblicalLiterature

CAD TheAssyrianDictionaryoftheOrientalInstituteoftheUniversityofChicago.

JESHO JournaloftheEconomicandSocialHistoryoftheOrient

JSOT JournalfortheStudyoftheOldTestament

SBLDS SocietyofBiblicalLiteratureDissertationSeries

HerbertDonnerand WolfgangRöllig.3vols.2nded.Wiesbaden:Harrassowitz,1966–1969.

KAR KeilschrifttexteausAssurreligiösenInhalts

EditedbyManfriedDietrich,OswaldLoretz,and JoaquínSanmartín.3rded.Münster:Ugarit-Verlag,2013.

LXX Septuagint MT MasoreticText NEA NearEasternArchaeology

JSOTSup JournalfortheStudyoftheOldTestament:SupplementSeries KAI KanaanäischeundaramäischeInschriften.

OBO Orbisbiblicusetorientalis OLP OrientaliaLovaniensiaPeriodica

Or Orientalia OTL OldTestamentLibrary PRU Lepalaisroyald’Ugarit.

RS RasShamra

JeanNougayrolandCharlesVirolleaud. EditedbyClaudeF.A.Schaeffer.6vols.MissiondeRasShamra. Paris:Imprimerienationale,1955–1970. Qad Qadmoniot RA Revued’assyriologieetd’archéologieorientale RB Revuebiblique RES Répertoired’épigraphiesémitique

SBLWAW SocietyofBiblicalLiteratureWritingsfromtheAncientWorld

.ErichEbeling.2vols. Leipzig:J.C.Hinrichs,1919–1922.

SBLRBS SocietyofBiblicalLiteratureResourcesforBiblicalStudies

KTU DiekeilalphabetischenTexteausUgarit,RasIbnHaniundanderenOrten.

SBLMS SocietyofBiblicalLiteratureMonographSeries

KBL Koehler,Ludwig,andWalterBaumgartner. LexiconinVeteris Testamentilibros.2nded.Leiden:Brill,1958.

WomeninScripture:ADictionaryofNamedandUnnamedWomenintheHebrewBible,theApocryphal/DeuterocanonicalBooks,andtheNewTestament.

EditedbyCarolMeyers,withToni CravenandRossS.Kraemer.Boston:HoughtonMifflin,2000.

TA TelAviv UF Ugarit-Forschungen VT VetusTestamentum VTSup SupplementstoVetusTestamentum WdO DieWeltdesOrients WIS

ZAW

ZeitschriftfürdiealttestamentlicheWissenschaft

Twiceinmydissertation,Ialsotouchedonissuesofwomen’sreligiouspractice:first, indiscussingtheprophetJeremiah’scensureofthoseIsraelites,includingwomen,who, inthelateseventhandearlysixthcenturiesBCEworshippedagoddesscalledtheQueen ofHeaven(Jer7:16–20;44:15–19,25);then,indiscussingtheprophetEzekiel’s indictmentofwomenwhosatinthenorthgateofYahweh’stempleprecinctinJerusalem “mourning”overTammuz,aMesopotamiangodoffertility(Ezek8:14).Issuesregarding womenandgenderhadbecome,moreover,anincreasinglyimportanttopicwithin colleges,universities,andotherinstitutionsofhigherlearningatthattime.Indeed,I earnedtheequivalentofaminorinwomen’sstudiesasanundergraduate,andafterI

Preface

In1980,whenIstartedgraduateschoolandbeganseriouslytostudytheHebrew Bible,Ididsowithtwomaininterestsinmind:aloveofancienthistory(aniconic momentofmychildhoodwasafamilytriptoStonehenge)andmyundergraduatemajor, religion.WhatappealedtomemostabouttheBible,itfollows,wasthewayitcould serveasawindowintoancientIsrael’spast(asopposed,say,tothewaytheBiblemight speaktomoderntheologicalconcerns),andespeciallythewayinwhichtheBiblecould helpilluminatetheworldofancient Israelitereligion(asopposed,say,tothewayit mightilluminateancientIsrael’spolitical,social,oreconomichistory).ButIalsobrought acertainfeistystreakto mystudyoftheBible(andtoalmosteverythingelse,butthat’sa differentstory!),andIthinkitisbecauseofthisfeistinessthatmyworkinbiblicalstudies cametofocusontheoutliersandeventherenegadesofancientIsraelitereligion:those ancientIsraeliteswhosereligiousbeliefsandpracticesthebiblicalwriterseitherignored (atbest)or,moreoftenthannot,denigrated.Inmydoctoraldissertation,forexample,I examined,amongotherthings,biblicaldenunciationsofchildsacrificeandcertain practicesconcerningdeceasedspirits,suchasnecromancy,andconsideredwhysome ancientIsraelitesmightseethese ritualactsaslegitimatereligiousundertakings,evenas thebiblicalwritersdisapproved.

Whathasbroughtmethegreatestpleasure,however,inrevisingtheseessaysfor republicationistopresentthemintheformofanarrativethatchartsthedifferentyet interrelateddirectionsmyanalyseshavetakenovertheyears.Inpart,thisnarrativeisput forwardintheshortintroductionsthatIhaveprovidedatthebeginningofalmostevery chapter,andsoIneednotreiteratethoseideashere.ButitisappropriatethatIcomment atthispointonthewaysthenarrativethatshapesthisvolumeisembeddedinthefourpartorganizationalstrategyIhavedeployed.

Part1ofthisvolumebeginsinthesameplaceIbeganallthoseyearsago,duringmy doctoralwork,withachapterabouttheQueenofHeaven,thegoddesswhoseworshipby women(amongotherIsraelites)resultsinJeremiah’scensureinJer7:16–20and44:15–19,25.Therethenfollowchaptersthatconcerntwoothergoddesses:Asherah,thegreat mothergoddessoftheCanaaniteworld,andTiamat,theprimordialseagoddessof

completedmydoctoratein1987andbeganmyacademiccareer,Ifoundmyselfmoreand moreengagedinconversationsaboutwomenandthereligionofancientIsrael.Iwas oftenaskedtospeakorwriteaboutissuesrelatedtoIsraelitewomen’sreligiouslivesand experiences,forexample,andIalsooftenfoundmyselfworkingonissuesregarding women’sreligiousculturewithoutbeingasked.

Theresultsofthisworkendedupinmanydisparateplaces,someeasilyobtained (suchasmy1998monograph, Warrior,Dancer,Seductress,Queen:WomeninJudges andBiblicalIsrael),somenotasreadilyaccessed.Itisthusapleasuretohavethe opportunitytorepublishsomeofmylessaccessibleessayshere,inordertomakethem moreavailable.Evenmoreso,itisapleasuretoofferupdatedversionsofcertainaspects ofthesepreviouslypublishedworks.Insomecases,thishasmeantdeletingmaterials aboutwhichInolongerfeelasconfidentorwithwhichInolongeragree;inothercases, ithasmeantupdatingsomekeyargumentsinthetextandsomekeyitemsinthe bibliography.Inoneinstance,moreover,Ihaveaddeda“2022Postscript,”respondingto a2020challengetomyoriginalarticle’sthesis;inanother,Ihaverewrittenamajor sectionofmyoriginalessaytoreflectmyupdatedthinking.Ihave alsotriedtopolishmy originalprose,andIhave,inaddition,modifiedsystemsofcitationandotherstylistic featuresusedintheoriginalpublicationstomaketheessaysaspresentedinthisvolume harmoniousintermsofformat.

Finally,inthetwochaptersinpart4ofthisvolume,Iseektobringtogethermanyof theideasthatIintroduceinthechaptersinparts1,2,and3,firstbylookingintandemat severaloftheinstancesofwomen’sgoddessworshipthatIdocumentinearlierchapters, andsecondbyaskingwhattherelationshipisbetweenthesevariousinstancesof women’sgoddessworshipthatIhavedocumentedandwomen’sengagementinthecult ofIsrael’snationalgod,Yahweh.Indeed,thisvolume’sfinalchapter,whichconsidersthe cultofYahweh,goddessworship,andwomen’sparticipationinbothYahwisticand goddesstraditions,aimstobringtogetherthethreeaspectsofIsraelitereligionthat comprisethisbook’stitle, Gods,Goddesses,andtheWomenWhoServeThem.Assuch, thechapterseemsafittingconclusiontothisvolumeand,Ihope,afittingsummaryofthe thirtyyearsofmyscholarlyworkpresentedinthesepages.

Mesopotamianmythology.Ineachofthesechapters,Iconsiderhowthesegoddess figuresmightbeassociated(explicitlyorimplicitly)withportrayalsofwomencharacters foundinthebiblicaltext.

Next,inpart2,Ipresent threechaptersregardingthetwomajortypesofreligious functionariesattestedinthebiblicalrecord,priestsandprophets,exploringfirstthe storiesofthefewwomenintheBiblewhoaredesignatedasprophets(nĕbî’â)inorderto askwhythesedesignationsaresorare,especiallywhencomparedtoallthemenwhom theBibleidentifiesasprophets.Evenmoreurgently,Iaskinallthreechapters,and especiallyinthethird,why,whencomparedtootherculturesoftheancientNearEast, thereisnoancientIsraelitetraditionofwomenpriests.Idomaintain,however,thatin Israel’sSouthernKingdomofJudah,thequeenmother(thatis,themotherofthereigning kingor,asin1Kgs15:9–10,amotherfigurewho fulfilledthisrole)playedanimportant roleasareligiousfunctionarywithintheroyalcourt.Thetwochaptersinpart3ofthis volumearedevotedtothattopic,describing,first,theevidencethatIsuggestsupportsmy contentionthatthequeenmotherservedasanofficialreligiousfunctionarywithinthe royalcourtinJerusalemandexploring,second,evidenceregardingthequeenmother’s religiousroleelsewhereinbiblicaltraditionandintheancientNearEast.

PartI Goddesses

Chapter1

“AndtheWomenKneadDough”1

IalsoretainmyinterestinthequestionthatIhopedidentifyingtheQueenofHeaven mighthelpanswer:WhywastheworshipofthisgoddessespeciallyappealingtoJudean women?Tobesure,itwasnotonlywomenwhoparticipatedinthecultoftheQueenof Heaven;rather,accordingtoJer7:18,entirefamilies(men,women,andchildren) contributedtoahouseholdritualofbakingbreadcakesthatwereofferedtothegoddess, andaccordingtoJer44:17–18,husbandsandwivesaffirmedtogethertheirintenttoburn incenseandpouroutlibationstotheQueenofHeaven,despiteJeremiah’scondemnation.

ThischapterisbasedonthefirstarticleIeverpublished,in1989.Atthattime,very littlescholarshiphadbeengeneratedabouttheQueenofHeaven,thegoddesswho appearsintheBibleinJer7:16–20and44:15–19,25andwhoissaidbytheprophet Jeremiahtohavebeenworshippedbysomeoftheinhabitantsofsixth-centuryBCE Judah,especiallywomen.Indeed,althoughshortdiscussionsabouttheQueenofHeaven hadappearedinvariouscommentariesonthebookofJeremiahandinstandardBible dictionaries,encyclopedias,andkindredreferenceworks,thegoddesshadbeenthe subjectofonlyfivestand-alonestudies(asixthappearedjustasmyessaywasgoingto press).MyresearchthusfocusedonwhatItooktobeafundamentalissueforfurthering thenascentscholarlydeliberations:Whowasthegoddessreferredtoonlybytheepithet “QueenofHeaven”?Severalotherscholarshavesincetakenupthisquestion,andwhile theanswerstheyhaveproposedhavebeendiverse,Istillstandbymyoriginal conclusion:thattheQueenofHeavenisagoddesswhocombinescharacteristicsofthe EastSemiticgoddessIshtarandtheWestSemiticgoddessAstarte.

TheWorshipoftheQueenofHeaveninSixth-CenturyJudah

Jeremiah44:17alsoidentifiesJudah’s“kings”and“princes”asbeingamongthosewho hadatsomepointmadeofferingstothegoddess.Still,itiswomenalonewhospeakof

Anearlierversionof thischapterappearedinPeggyL.Day,ed., Gender and Difference in Ancient Israel (Minneapolis:Fortress,1989),109–24.UsedherebypermissionofFortressPress.

Inshort,althoughthischapterfirstappearedinprintalittleoverthreedecadesago, thequestionsitraiseshavecontinuedtooccupymy(andotherscholars’)attention,andit isthusapleasuretore-presentmyanalysishere.Ihaveusedthisopportunitytopolish myoriginallanguagealittle,toaugmentandrefinesomeofmyarguments,andtoupdate key(butbynomeansall!)bibliographicreferences.Butmycontinuedcommitmenttomy priorconvictionsmeansthatinmostrespects,thischapterstandsasitwaspreviously published. ThetypicalhistorianofancientIsraelitereligion,especiallythehistorianofIsraelite religionoftheso-calledpreexilicperiod(ca.1200–586BCE),reliesheavily,ifnot exclusively,ontheBible.Thisisunavoidable,sincetheBibleisinessencetheonly writtensource(andindeedtheonlysignificantsourceofanykind)thatdescribesthe religionofpreexilic IsraelandJudah.Yetithasbecomeincreasinglyobviousto

pouringoutlibations,burningincense,andbakingbreadcakesfortheQueenofHeaven inJer44:19.AndwhiletheHebrewtextofJer44:25isgrammaticallyconfused,the ancientGreektranslationoftheBible(theLXX)makesclearthatinthisverse,Jeremiah specificallydenounceswomenwhohave“spoken”and“vowed”tomakeincenseand libationofferingstotheQueenofHeaven.Inaddition,inJer7:18,theprophet specificallyidentifieswomenaskneadingthedoughusedforthebreadcakesthatareto beofferedtotheQueenofHeaven,and,presumably,thesewomenbakedthecakesas well—actsthatweresurelymoreintegraltoafamily’sfulfillingitsritualcommitmentsto thegoddessthanwerethecontributionsofthechildrenandfathers(gatheringwoodand kindlingfiressothecakescanbebaked).

Intheconcludingparagraphsofmy1989article,Iofferedsomethoughtsaboutwhy theworshipoftheQueenofHeavenmighthavespecialappealforwomen,andIhave returnedtothattopicwithmorefullyfleshed-outideaselsewhere:forexample,inmy 2006essay“WomenandtheWorshipofYahwehinAncientIsrael,”whichisincludedin thisvolumeaschapter10.Overtheyears,Ihavealsobecomeincreasinglyinterestedin anothermatterthatIraisedonlybrieflyinmyoriginal1989article:not who theQueenof Heavenwasand why heradherentswereattractedtohercultbutrather where this goddesswasworshipped.Again,someofmymoredevelopedthoughtsonthissubjectare addressedinthisvolume’schapter9,“AtHomewiththeGoddess,”whichwasoriginally publishedin2003.

Indeed,althoughtheprophetJeremiahmakesthewomenofJudahandJerusalemthe 2PhyllisBird’sprogrammaticarticle, “PlaceofWomen,” 397–419,offersagoodintroductiontothis subject.

historiansofIsraelitereligionthattheBible’sdescriptionsofthepreexiliccultarehighly selective.Forexample,thebiblicalmaterials,whichcomepredominantlyfromthehands ofpriestsandprophets,presentpriestlyandpropheticreligionasnormativeandorthodox inancientIsrael,whilenonpriestlyandnonpropheticreligiousbeliefsandpracticesare condemnedasheterodoxanddeviant.Amorenuancedreconstructionofthereligionof ancientIsraelsuggests,however,thatdespitethebiblicalwitness,neitherthepriestlynor propheticcultwasnormativeinthereligionofthepreexilicperiod.Rather,adiversityof beliefsandpracticesthrivedandwereacceptedbytheancientIsraelitesaslegitimate formsofreligiousexpression. UncoveringthisdiversecharacterofancientIsraelitereligionrequiresspecial methodologies.First,wemusttrainourselvestosupplementcontinuallythebiblical pictureofIsraelitereligionbyreferringtoothersources.Archaeologicalremainsfrom Israelarecrucial,asarecomparativedatafromtheancientNearEastandfromelsewhere intheMediterraneanworld.Yetthisevidenceisoftensparseandnoteasily interpreted.It isthusequallyimportantthatwelearntotreatourmajorsource,theBible,differently.

Wemustexaminethebiblicalpresentationsoftheorthodoxwithaneyetotheheterodox, seeking,forexample,tolookwithoutprejudiceatthoseculticpracticesthatthebiblical writerssoharshlycondemn.Onlywhenweacknowledgethepolemicalnatureofmany biblicaltextscanwesee, underlyingtheirwords,evidenceofthemultifacetednatureof ancientIsraelitereligion. Thissecondmethodologicalpointespeciallyhelpsilluminateanoftenoverlooked aspectofancientIsraelitereligion:women’sreligion.Theall-malebiblicalwriterstreat thisissuewith,atbest,silenceand,atworst,hostility;still,acarefulreadingofthe biblicaltextsuggeststhatthewomenofJudahandIsraelhadarichreligioustradition.2 Someofthewomenofearlysixth-centuryBCEJudah,forexample,devotedthemselves totheworshipofagoddesscalledtheQueenofHeaven(Jer7:16–20;44:15–19,25).

3Thegrammarofthisverseisconfused.Theverbswith whichJeremiah,speakingforGod,condemns hisaudiencerefertothosewhohave“spoken”and“vowed”tomakeofferingsandpouroutlibationstothe QueenofHeavenusing feminine pluralforms,suggestingthatJeremiah’ssubjectistheassembly’swomen. Butwhenitcomesto nouns,the“mouths”withwhichtheassemblyhasarticulateditsintentions,the “vows”regardingtheofferingsandlibationsto whichithascommitted,andthe“hands”withwhichthese commitmentshavebeenfulfilledcarry masculine suffixes.ThishasdriventheHebrewtextasithascome downtoustodirectthewordsofopprobriuminv.25toboth“you”(masculineplural;presumablythe assembly’shusbands)and“yourwives,”evenastheLXXgivesprioritytothefeminineverbformsandso renderstheverseasaddressedtotheassembly’swomenalone.

objectsofhisspecialscornduetotheirdevotiontotheQueenofHeaven(Jer44:25),3 the womenaresteadfastintheirworshipofthegoddess:bakingbreadcakes“inherimage” asofferings(Jer7:18;44:19)andpouringoutlibationsandburningincensetoher(Jer 44:15,19).4 Thisdevotioninthefaceofpersecutionindicatesthattheworshipofthe QueenofHeavenwasanimportantpartofatleastsomewomen’sreligiousexpressionin thesixthcenturyBCE.Here,byestablishingtheidentityofthegoddesswhomtheBible callstheQueenofHeaven,5 IproposetoexplorewhythewomenofJudahfoundthis goddess’scultsoappealing.

TheconsonantalHebrewtext,indescribingthedeitytowhomvenerationwasoffered,reads lmlkt, “fortheQueenof [Heaven]”(Jer7:18;44:17,18,19,25),buttheMTvocalizes limleket,asif theword were lml’kt,“fortheworkof[heaven],”meaning,presumably,“theheavenlyhost”thatisreferredtoinJer 8:2.ManyHebrewmanuscriptsinfactread lml’kt in7:18and44:17,18,19,25,whichissupportedbythe TargumandPeshittaandbytheLXXinJer7:18(tē stratia tou ouranou,“thearmyoftheheavens”). Butas iscommonlyrecognized(seeR.P.Gordon,“AlephApologeticum,” 112),theMasoreticpointingisan attempttoremoveanyhintthatthepeopleofJudahworshippedtheQueenofHeaven.Thecorrectreading, lĕmalkat,“fortheQueenof[Heaven],”issupportedbytheGreektranslationsofAquila,Symmachus,and Theodotion;bytherenderingof44:17,18,19,and25intheLXX;andbytheLatinVulgate.

4ThegrammarinJer44:19is,asin44:25(above,n.[[2]]),confused,astheMTdoesnotexplicitly identifythosewhospeakofmakinglibation,incense,andbreadcakeofferingsfortheQueenofHeaven, althoughtheseworshippersusemasculinepluralverbstorefertothemselves.However,theversionofthe LXXrepresentedintheLucianicminuscules(thoughttodatebacktothethirdcenturyCEandtobebased onoldertraditionsstill)reads kai hai gynaikes eipon,“andthewomensaid,”inidentifying theverse’s speakers,andthereferencelaterintheversetothespeakers’“husbands”makesclearthattheGreek readingisnecessaryforthesense.

9ForŠapšu,seeDahood,“LaReginadelCielo,”166–68.Otherscholarlysuggestionsinclude identifyingtheQueenofHeavenwiththeEgyptiangoddessHathor(Avaliani,“EgyptianandCanaanite ReligiousConvergence,”47–51;Avaliani,“WhichGoddessCouldBeHiddenBehindtheTitle‘Queenof Heaven?’,”239–48)andidentifyingtheQueenof Heavenas“‘partof’thecategoryofYhwh,”sothat, whiletheQueenofHeavenis“notidenticaltoYhwh,worshippingheris...anaspectofworshipping Yhwh”(Ellis,“Jeremiah44,”482,486).

6See,e.g.,Bright, Jeremiah,56;Held,“StudiesinBiblicalLexicography,”76–77;Pope, Song,149(but cf.[[n. 6]]below);Rast, “Cakesfor theQueenofHeaven,”167–80;Rudolph, Jeremia,55;Weinfeld, “WorshipofMolechandtheQueenofHeaven,”148–54;andWeiser, Buch des Propheten Jeremia, 70.See alsotheextensivebibliographycompiledbyHadley,“QueenofHeaven,”46–47n88.

Scholars,unfortunately,havereachednoconsensusontheidentityoftheQueenof Heaven.ThegreatEastSemiticgoddessIshtar,6 Ishtar’sWestSemiticcounterpart, Astarte,7 theWestSemiticgoddessesAnatandAsherah,8 andeventheCanaanitegoddess Šapšuhavebeensuggested.9 Otherscholarsmaintainthatitisimpossible,giventhe availabledata,todeterminetowhichgoddessoftheSemiticworldtheQueenofHeaven corresponds.10 Finally,therearesomewhobelievethattheQueenofHeavenisnotone

8ForAnat,see,e.g.,Albright, Yahweh and the Gods of Canaan,130;Cogan, Imperialism and Religion, 85;Kapelrud, The Violent Goddess,13,16;McKay, Religion in Judah under the Assyrians,110–11n19; Porten, Archives from Elephantine,165,177;andvanderToorn,“GoddessesinEarlyIsraelite Religion,”83–88.ForAsherah,see,preeminently,Koch,“AscheraalsHimmelskönigin,”97–120;seealso, for otherreferences,Fidler,“WritingandRewriting,”155n61;Hadley,“QueenofHeaven,”45n80.

7See,e.g.,BrescianiandKamil, Le lettre aramaiche di Hermopoli,400;Culican,“VotiveModelfrom theSea,”121–22;Fitzmyer,“PhoenicianInscriptionfromPyrgi,”287–88;Herrmann,“Aštart,”29n67; Holladay, Jeremiah,1:254–55; MesnilduBuisson,Étudessurlesdieuxphéniciens,126–27;Olyan, “SomeObservationsConcerningtheIdentityoftheQueenofHeaven,”161–74;Pope, “‘Attart, ‘Aštart,Astarte,”251(butcf.above,[[n.5]]);andSilverman,ReligiousValuesintheJewishProper NamesatElephantine,225n6.Seealso theextensivebibliographycompiledbyHadley,“Queenof Heaven,”48–49n97.

10E.g.,Gray, “Queen of Heaven,” 975. A somewhat similar position is put forward by Hadley, “QueenofHeaven,”50–51,whosuggeststhetextofJeremiahdeliberatelyobscurestheQueenofHeaven’s identityinorderthatdifferentgoddessesmightbeidentifiedwiththeQueenofHeavenindifferentplaces and/oratdifferenttimes;seelikewiseFidler,“WritingandRewriting,”156,discussingtheviewsof Houtman,“QueenofHeaven,”678,andofLeuchter,“CultofPersonality,”95–115,esp.106–7.

Myownsympathiesliewiththislatterposition,whichseesintheQueenofHeaven characteristicsofbothWestSemiticAstarteandEastSemiticIshtar.TheQueenof HeavenasdescribedintheBiblecertainlyshareswithAstartemanyfeatures:first,the titleof“Queen”orsomerelatedepithet.Forexample,intextsfromtheEgyptianNew Kingdom(ca.1539–1075BCE),Astarteiscalled“LadyofHeaven.”12 Morenotably,in thefirstmillenniumBCE,Astartebearsthetitle“Queen.”Ontheobversefaceofthe fifth-centuryBCEKitiontariffinscription,whichliststhemonthlyexpendituresforthe PhoeniciantempleofAstarteatKition,Cyprus,Astarteisreferredtoas“theholyQueen” and“theQueen.”13 Inhis PhoenicianHistory,PhiloofByblos,citingthehierophant

13See CIS 86 A/KAI 37 A, mlkt qdšt (line 7) and mlkt (line 10),following the line numbers of KAI; see further Peckham,“Notesona Fifth-CenturyPhoenicianInscriptionfromKition,” 304n2. Although Astarteisnotmentionedbynameinlines7and10,thetitle“Queen”inaninscriptionconcernedwith the cultandtempleofAstartecanrefertonoother.This isacknowledgedbyalmostallcommentators:seeas representativeGibson, Textbook of Syrian Semitic Inscriptions,3:128; Healey,“KitionTariffs,”55; Masson andSznycer, Recherches sur les phéniciens, 44;andPeckham,“Notesona Fifth-Century PhoenicianInscriptionfromKition,”312–13.The suggestion ofDonnerandRöllig (KAI 2:55)that mlkt is amistakefor ml’kt,“service,” inline7 (theydonotcommentonline10)issurelynotcorrect,asthescribe demonstratesinline13thatheknowstheproperspellingof ml’kt,withan ’alep (seeMassonandSznycer, Recherches sur les phéniciens,44).

12Egyptian nbt pt. Redford,“NewLightontheAsiaticCampaigningofHoremheb,”37,findsthis epithetonastonebowloftheEighteenthDynasty(ca.1539–1292 BCE); thebowlisalso discussedby Delcor,“Lacultedela ‘ReineduCiel,’”114. ForinscriptionsfromtheNineteenth Dynasty(ca.1292–1190BCE)withtheepithet“LadyofHeaven,”seeMaspero,“Notesde Voyage,”131–32,andPetrie, Memphis 1,19;also Delcor,“Lacultedela ‘ReineduCiel,’”114;Helck, Die Beziehungen Ägyptiens zu Vorderasien,457–58;Leclant,“Astartéàcheval,” 10–13and fig. 1; and Stadelmann, SyrischPalästinensische Göttheitin in Ägypten,104,106.

deitybutratheragoddesswhocombinesthecharacteristicsofEastSemiticIshtarand WestSemiticAstarte.11

NotethecommentsofFitzmyer,“PhoenicianInscriptionfromPyrgi,”287,andRast,“Cakesfor theQueenof Heaven,”170;seealsoBright,Jeremiah,56.MarvinH.Popemayalsoindirectlyindicate hissupportforsuchathesis,sinceheidentifiestheQueenofHeavenasAstartein “‘Attart,‘Aštart, Astarte,”251,butasIshtarinSong,149(above,[[nn.5–6]]).OtherscholarswhoevokebothIshtarand AstartewhenproposinganidentificationfortheQueenofHeavenarecitedin Hadley,“Queenof Heaven,”46–47n88,48–49n97.

17KAI 54.Phoenician‘bd‘štrt ’sqlny;Greek Aphrodisiou Askalōnitēs.

Sakkunyaton,alsoatteststoAstarte’squeenlyrole infirst-millenniumBCEPhoeniciaby describingAstarteastheco-regentofKingZeus Demarous(CanaaniteBaalHaddu)and remarkingthatshewearsonherheadabull’sheadasanemblemof“kingship” (basileias).

16PhiloofByblos, Phoenician History,asquotedinEusebius, Praeparatio evangelica 1.10.32, trans. AttridgeandOden,Philo of Byblos,55.

ThebiblicalQueenofHeaveninadditionshareswithAstarteanassociationwiththe heavens.Astarte’sastralfeatures,alreadyindicatedinthesecondmillenniumBCEbythe Egyptiantitle“LadyofHeaven,”areabundantlyattestedwithinfirst-millenniumBCE sources.InboththeEshmunazorandtheBodashtartinscriptionsfromPhoenicia, Astarte’ssacredprecinctinSidoniscalled“thehighestheavens.”15 Elsewhereinthe Mediterraneanworld,Astarte’sassociationswiththeheavensaresuggestedbyher identificationwithGreekAphrodite,thegoddessofVenus,theMorningandEvening Star:asPhiloofBybloswrites,“thePhoenicianssaythatAstarteisAphrodite.”16 This identificationisalsomadeclearalsobyafourth-centuryBCEGreek/Phoenicianbilingual inscriptionfromAthensthattranslatesthePhoenicianname“‘Abd‘aštart[‘Servantof Astarte’]theAshkelonite”as“Aphrodisios[‘DedicatedtoAphrodite’]the Ashkelonite.”17 Notably,moreover,theAstarteorAphroditeworshippedby ‘Abd‘aštart/AphrodisiosandotherAshkelonitesisexplicitlyknownasAphroditeofthe Heavens (Aphroditēourania),asismadeclearbybothHerodotus(1.105)andPausanias 14PhiloofByblos, Phoenician History,asquotedinEusebius, Praeparatio evangelica 1.10.31.In addition,inconnectionwithAstarte’s royalroleaccordingtoPhoeniciantradition,seetheTyrian“Throne ofAstarte”(KAI 17) andtheinscribed“thrones” likeit,asdiscussedinMilik,“Lespapyrus araméens d’Hermoupolis,”572,withreferences;also,theinscribedthronededicatedtoAstarteḤordescribedby AbousamraandLemairein“AstarteinTyre,”155–56.

15šmm ’drm in KAI 14 (Eshmunazor),lines16 and17; šmm rmm in KAI 15(Bodashtart).Onthese inscriptions,seefurtherGibson,Textbook of Syrian Semitic Inscriptions,3:112,and Milik,“Lespapyrus araméensd’Hermoupolis,”561,561n2;also597–98.On KAI 14,seealsoTeixidor, ThePagan God, 39;on KAI 15, seealsoCross, Canaanite Myth and Hebrew Epic,142,and, especially,Eissfeldt, “Schamemrumim ‘Hoher Himmel,’”62–67(no. 14).

AnotherdatumshowingAstarte’sassociationwiththeheavenscomesfromPyrgi,a siteonthewestcoastofItalyaboutfiftykmwest-northwestofRome.Thebilingual inscriptionfoundthere,fromca.500BCE,isdedicatedinitsPhoenicianversionto AstarteandinitsEtruscanformtothegoddessUni.JosephA.Fitzmyernotesthat EtruscanUniisRomanJuno,and,significantly,thatUniis“closelyassociated”with “JunooftheHeavens”(Junocaelestis)inRomanAfrica.20 PhiloofByblos,too,remarks onAstarte’sheavenlyassociations:“Whentravelingaroundtheworld,she [Astarte] discoveredastarwhichhadfallenfromthesky.ShetookitandconsecrateditinTyre, theholyisland.”21 Stillmoreevidencecomesfrom Herodian,who,inhissecond-century CE HistoryoftheRomanEmpire (5.6.4),reportsthatthePhoeniciansreferredto AphroditeoftheHeavens(=Astarte)as“QueenofStars”(astroarchē).22 Alsointhe secondcenturyCE,Apuleius,inhis Metamorphoses (11.2),callsCaelestisVenusofthe CypriotcityofPaphos“QueenofHeaven”(reginacaeli).23 Latin CaelestisVenus isa simpletranslationofGreek Aphroditēourania,AphroditeoftheHeavens,whomIhave identifiedwithPalestinianAstarte. 18NotealsoinHerodotus1.131;3.8.

19Astartēpalaistinē, Aphroditē ourania.SeeRousselandLauney,Inscriptions de Délos,no.2305. Also see inscription no.1719andthediscussionsof Delcor, “Lacultedela‘ReineduCiel,’”117;Macalister, ThePhilistines,94;andMcKay,Religion inJudah,51. 20Fitzmyer,“PhoenicianInscriptionfromPyrgi,”288.TheidentificationofAstartewithJuno,rather thanwithEtruscan Turan,RomanVenus,theusualequivalentofGreekAphrodite,neednotgivepause, giventhegeneralfluidityofthegreatCanaanitegoddessesinthefirstmillenniumBCE 21PhiloofByblos, Phoenician History,asquotedinEusebius, Praeparatio evangelica 1.10.31, trans. AttridgeandOden, Philo of Byblos,55 22Pointed outby Delcor,“Lacultedela‘ReineduCiel,’”115. 23PointedoutbyTeixidor, The Pagan God,36. RES 921,which reads[‘š]trt pp[s],confirmsthatthe cultofPalestinian AstartewasknownatPaphos.SeeDupont-Sommer, “LesPhéniciensàChypre,”93–94.

(1.14.7),whoremarkonthecultofAphroditeoftheHeavensinAshkelon.18 This correspondenceofAstartewithGreekAphroditeoftheHeavensisfurtherconfirmedbya second-centuryBCEinscriptionfromDelosdedicatedto“PalestinianAstarte,thatis, AphroditeoftheHeavens.”19

AthirdcharacteristicAstarteshareswiththebiblicalQueenofHeavenisherclose associationswithfertilityandwithwar.ThefertilityaspectsoftheQueenofHeavenare madeclearinJer44:17,wherethepeopleofJudahclaimthatwhentheyworshippedthe QueenofHeaven,“wehadplentyoffood,andweprospered.”Conversely,“sincewe stoppedworshippingtheQueenofHeavenandstoppedpouringoutlibationstoher,we havelackedeverythingandbeenconsumed...byfamine”(44:18).Atthesametime,the QueenofHeavenseemstohaveanassociationwithwar:accordingtoherfollowersas quotedinJeremiah,herproperworshipguaranteedthatthepeople“sawnoevil”(44:17), butwhenhercultwasabandoned,“wewereconsumedbythesword” (44:18).

Petrie, Memphis 1,8,andpl.15 no.37. See also Leclant,“Astarteàcheval,”10–13,andfig.1. 26Leclant, “Astarteàcheval,”1–67.Seealsotheso-calledLadyGodivaplaquefoundatLachish (Ussishkin,“ExcavationsatTelLachish—1973–1977,”21,andpl.8),whichshowsagoddess(Astarte,I wouldargue)standingastrideahorse.

27Carter andNewberry, Tomb ofThoutmosis IV,27,andpl.10;alsoJ.A. Wilson,“Egyptiansandthe GodsofAsia,”250,250n16.

Astarte,too,hasfertilityattributesinadditiontoassociationswithwar.Themost strikingevidenceforAstarte’sroleasaguarantoroffertilityisfoundintheHebrew Bible,wherethenoun ‘aštārôt,whichJudithM.Hadleyhasdescribedasa“dedeification”ofthedivinenameAstarte(‘aštart),means“increase,progeny”(Deut7:13; 28:4;28:18,51).24 AsforAstarte’sassociationswithwar:anEgyptianNewKingdom steleofPharaohMerenptah(r.1213–1204BCE)depictsthegoddesswithshieldand spear,25 andotherEgyptianrepresentationsofAstarteshowheronhorsebackcarrying weaponsofwar.26 Inaddition,PharaohThutmoseIV(r.1400–1390BCE)isdescribedas beingmightyinthechariotlikeAstarte,27 andalongwithAnat,Astarteiscalledapartof athirteenth-centuryBCEking’swarchariot.28 Sheisalso,togetherwithAnat,calleda shieldtoPharaohRamesesIII(r.1187–1156BCE).29 Furthermore,duringtheNew 24Hadley,“De-deificationofDeitiesinDeuteronomy,”157–74;Hadley,“FertilityoftheFlock?,”115–33.

DawsonandPeet,“So-CalledPoemontheKing’sChariot,”169(verso,lines12–14);alsoJ.A. Wilson,“EgyptiansandtheGodsofAsia,” 250,250n17. 29Edgerton andJ.A.Wilson, Historical Records of Ramses III,75;alsoJ.A.Wilson,“Egyptiansand theGodsofAsia,”250,250n18.

Kingdom(ca.1539–1075BCE),shecarriestheepithet“LadyofCombat.”30 A millenniumlater,anEgyptiantextfromthePtolemaicperiod(305–30BCE)likewise describesheras“Astarte,MistressofHorses,LadyoftheChariot.”31 IntheCanaanite realm,AstarteactsasawargoddessinconcertwithHoroninUgariticmythology,32 and inlaterPhoeniciantradition,KingEsarhaddonofAssyriadecreesinatreatytextfrom 670BCEthatAstarteshould“breakthebow”ofKingBaalofTyre“inthethickof battle”andcauseKingBaalto“crouchatthefeet ofyourenemy”shouldheviolatethe treaty’sterms.33 Moreover,intheBible,accordingto1Sam31:10,thearmorofthedead SaulistakenbythePhilistinestothetempleofAstarte,whichmayalsoindicateAstarte’s associationswithwar.

36Culican,“VotiveModelfromtheSea,”119–23.

30Leclant, “Astarte àcheval,” 25. 31Leclant, “Astarte àcheval,”54–58,esp.57,andpl.4(oppositep.49);alsoJ.A.Wilson,“Egyptians andtheGodsofAsia,”250n16. 32KTU 2.1.7–8;16.6.54–57.Herrmann,“Aštart,”7–16,haspointedoutthattheobverseof PRU 5.1 (19.39)alsodescribesUgariticAstarteasawargoddess;inaddition,Schmitt, “Astarte,Mistressof Horses,”215–16,andSmith, Poetic Heroes,195–208,discusswarrioraspectsofUgariticAstarte.

33Bloch-Smith,“ArchaeologicalandInscriptionalEvidenceforPhoenicianAstarte,”192.

AfourthreasonforidentifyingAstartewiththebiblicalQueenofHeavenisthatthe cultofAstartehasasacrucialelementtheofferingofbreadcakes,aritualthatalsoplays animportantroleintheworshipoftheQueenofHeaven(Jer7:18;44:19).TheKition Tariffinscriptioncitedaboveisagainnoteworthy,forline10ofthatinscriptionmentions “thetwobakerswhobakedthebasketofcakesfortheQueen”;34 theQueen,Ihave argued,mustbeAstarte.35Inaddition,WilliamCulicanhasdrawnattentiontoa HellenisticvotivemodelfoundoffthePhoeniciancoast.36 Themodelshowssixfigures

34Forthereading l’pm // ’š’p’yt ṭn ’ ḥlt andthetranslation adoptedhere,seePeckham,“Notesona Fifth-CenturyPhoenicianInscriptionfromKition,”305–6.PeckhamisfollowedbyGibson,Textbook of Syrian Semitic Inscriptions, 3:124–25,andbyMassonandSznycer, Recherches sur les phéniciens,26–27, 28–29.Healey(“KitionTariffs,”54)offersanalternativereconstruction,l’pm // ’š’p mntsp’ ḥlt lmlkt, “Forthetwobakers, whobakedchoicefood,loavesfor theQueen.”

35Those whoassociate thereference inthe Kition inscription withtheworship of theQueen of Heaven include Culican,“VotiveModelfromtheSea,”122;Delcor,“Lacultedela‘ReineduCiel,’”110–12; andPeckham, “Notesona Fifth-CenturyPhoenicianInscriptionfromKition,” 314–15, 315n2.

AfifthandfinalfactorthatsuggeststhebiblicalQueenofHeavenisAstarteisthe popularityofthegoddessAstarteintheWestSemiticrealmduringthefirstmillennium BCE.HundredsofPhoenicianandPunicpersonalnamesincorporatethedivineelement ‘štrt,Astarte.Thegoddess’snamealsoappearsin manyPhoenicianandPunic inscriptions,bothfromthePhoenicianmainlandandfromtheMediterraneanworldand NorthAfrica;likewise,accordingtoPhiloofByblos,AstarteisanimportantPhoenician goddess,wifeofKronos,and,asnotedabove,aco-regentwithZeusDemarous/Baal Haddu.37 Thesecond-orfirst-centuryBCEinscriptionofPaalaštartfromMemphis(KAI 48),inadditiontootherfirst-millenniumBCEEgyptianmaterialcitedabove,atteststo thepopularityofAstarteinEgypt.AndinIsrael,theDeuteronomisticHistoriansaccuse thepeopleofworshippingAstarteinJudg2:13;10:6;1Sam7:3–4;12:10;1Kgs11:5, 33;and2Kgs23:13.38

AstarteisthusaworthycandidatefortheQueenofHeaven.Yetcertainelementsof theworshipoftheQueenofHeavenremainunexplainedifweinterpretthecultofthe QueenofHeavenonlyasacultofWestSemiticAstarte.Forexample,thewordusedin Jer7:18and44:19forthecakesbakedfortheQueen, kawwānîm,isusednowhereinthe extrabiblicalmaterialsthatpertaintoAstarte.Similarly,thebiblicalreferencetobaking cakes“inherimage”(Jer 44:19)cannotbeunderstoodbyreferencetotheworshipof WestSemiticAstarte.Third,WestSemiticevidenceatteststonospecialroleforwomen

37PhiloofByblos, Phoenician History,asquotedinEusebius, Praeparatio evangelica 1.10.22,24,31. 38The LXX, in addition, reads Astartē for MT ’ăšērâ in 2 Chr 15:16 and Astartais forMT ’ăšērîm in2Chr24:18.

positionedaroundadomedobject.Culicanidentifiesfouridenticalseatedfemalesas votaresses.Anotherfemalefigurestandsandispregnant;Culicanbelieveshertobe Astarte.Thisidentificationcannotbecertain,butAstarte’swell-attestedpopularityinthe PhoenicianandPunicrealminthelatefirstmillenniumBCE(seebelow)makes Culican’shypothesisattractive.Culicanidentifiesthesixthfigureonthemodel,amale, asapriestofthegoddess.Thedomedobjectaroundwhichthesixfiguresclusteris interpretedasabeehiveoven.Culicanproposesthesceneisacake-bakingritualinhonor ofAstarte.Thisisaspeculativesuggestion,butinlightoftheKitionTariffinscription andJer7:18and44:19,itisappealing.

Indeed,theancientSumeriannameofIshtar,Inanna,wasthoughtbythesubsequent inhabitantsofMesopotamia,theAkkadians,tomean“QueenofHeaven”(reading [N]IN.AN.NA[K]),andthusthenameInannaisroutinelyrenderedinAkkadiantextsas “QueenofHeaven”(šarratšamê)or“LadyofHeaven”(bēletšamê).39 Ishtarisalso calledbyrelatedepithets:“QueenofHeavenandtheStars,”“QueenofHeavenand Earth,”“LadyofHeavenandEarth,”“SovereignofHeavenandEarth,”and“Rulerof HeavenandEarth.”40 Inthewest,too,Ishtarisknownas“LadyofHeaven.” Inan EgyptianNewKingdom inscriptionfromMemphis,IshtarofNineveh(whomtheancient scribecallsHurrianAstarte)isgiventhistitle.41 Ishtarhasotherastralfeaturesinaddition toherepithets.42 InMesopotamia,forexample,IshtarisequatedwithSumerian DIL.BAT, theSumeriannameoftheplanetVenus. Also,Ishtarisafertilitygoddess,astheMesopotamianstoriesofDumuzi/Tammuz andInanna/Ishtarshow.Thesestoriestelloftheyoungfertilitygod,Tammuz,asymbol ofprosperityandyield,andhiscourtingandwooingofthemaidenIshtar,whorepresents 39Edzard,“Inanna,Ištar,”81;Falkenstein, Inschriften Gudeas von Lagaš 1: Einleitung,78–79;Helck, Betrachtungen zur grossen Göttin,73;Held,“StudiesinBiblicalLexicography,”80n24;Kramer, The Sumerians,153. 40šarrat šamê u kakkabāni, šarrat šamê u erṣeti, bēlet šamê (u) erṣeti, etellet šamê (u) erṣetim, malkat šamāmī u qaqqari. SeeTallqvist, Akkadische Götterepitheta,39,64,129,239–40;cf.333–34.

Ishtarisagoddesswhoappropriatelybearsthetitle“QueenofHeaven.”

inthecultofAstarte.However,aswewillsee,theseelementsintheworshipofthe QueenofHeavencanbeexplainedifweexaminethecultoftheEastSemiticgoddess, Ishtar.Certainly

OnthetitleHurrianAstarte,seeAlbright, Yahweh and the Gods of Canaan,143n88;Cross, “Old PhoenicianInscriptionfromSpainDedicatedtoHurrianAstarte,”192;Helck, Die Beziehungen Ägyptiens zu Vorderasien,459–60;Helck, Betrachtungen zur grossen Göttin,213–16;andStadelmann, SyrischPalästinensische Göttheitin in Ägypten,107.For theMemphisinscription,seevonBergmann, “InschriftlicheDenkmäler,”196;alsoseethecommentsofCulican,“VotiveModelfromtheSea,”122; Ranke,“IštaralsHeilgöttin,”412–18;Stadelmann, Syrisch-Palästinensische Göttheitin in Ägypten,107; andJ.A.Wilson,“EgyptiansandtheGodsofAsia,”250n19.Note,too,asecondMemphisinscriptionin whichHurrianAstarte(=IshtarofNineveh)iscalledLadyofHeaven.SeeMadsen,“ZweiInschriftenin Kopenhagen,”114,andthecommentsof Culican,“VotiveModelfromtheSea,”122.

42SeeEdzard, “Inanna,Ištar,” 85–86.

Lexicographersgenerallyagreethat kawwānîm,thewordusedforthecakesbakedfor theQueenofHeaveninJer7:18and44:19,isaloanwordfromAkkadian kamānu, “cake.”45 InAkkadiantexts, kamānu cakesareoftenassociatedwiththecult ofIshtar.A hymntoIshtarreadsasfollows: OIshtarmercifulgoddess,Ihavecometovisityou, Ihavepreparedforyouanoffering,puremilk,apurecakebakedinashes (kamān tumri), Istoodup for youavesselforlibations,hearmeandactfavorablytowardme!46

46ThetextcanbefoundinCraig, Assyrian and Babylonian Religious Texts,1:15–16,lines20–22.For transcription,translation,andnotes,seeEbeling, Quellen zur Kenntnis,2:4(lines20–22),12.

45Seeasrepresentative AHw 1:430,s.v. kamānu; HALOT 2:466,s.v. kawwān;andKBL,428,s.v. kawwān.SeealsoHeld,“StudiesinBiblicalLexicography,”76–77;Jeremias, Das Alte Testament im Lichte des Alten Orients,611–12;andZimmern, Akkadische Fremdwörter,38.

Ishtaralsohasassociationswithwar.Intheepiloguetotheeighteenth-centuryBCE CodeofHammurapi,HammurapicallsIshtar“theladyofthebattleandofthefight”(col. 50[rs.27],92–93).Herpowersonthebattlefieldareclearlyindicatedbythecursesheis toinflictonHammurapi’senemy(col.51[rs.28],2–23): Maysheshatterhisweaponatthebattlesite.Maysheestablishforhimconfusion(and) rioting.Mayshecausehiswarriorstofail.Mayshegivetheearththeir bloodtodrink. Mayshepile upeverywhereontheplainheapsofcorpsesfromhisarmy.Mayshenot takepity.Asforhim,mayshegivehimintothehandsofhisenemies.Maysheleadhim, bound,tothelandofhisenemies!

ThemythofInannaandEbeh,inwhichInanna/IshtarassaultsthemountainEbeh,also atteststoIshtar’swarringnature.44

thecommunalstorehouseinwhichharvestedfoodstuffswerekept.Tammuzissuccessful inhiscourtship,andtheyoungfertilitygodandgoddessmarry.Withtheir sexualunion, theyguaranteefruitfulnessinthelandandbountyinthestorehouse.Thisissymbolizedin themythbythefactthatTammuz,ashisweddinggifttoIshtar,bringstoIshtarproduce tobeplacedinherstorehouse.43 TheidentificationofIshtarwiththegrainstorehousein thesemythsandelsewheredemonstratesherroleinguaranteeingcontinualprosperityand preventingfamine,anattributeassociatedwiththeQueenofHeaveninJer44:17–18.

44SeeKramer, Sumerian Mythology,83.

43SeeJacobsen, Treasures of Darkness,23–73.

AnothertextdescribesahealingritualassociatedwiththeIshtarcult,inwhichacake bakedinashes(kamāntumri)ispreparedinhonorofthegoddess.47 Finally,inthe Gilgameshepic(tabletVI,lines58–60),GilgameshdescribeshowTammuzbroughtash cakes(tumru)tohisloverIshtar.Althoughtheterm kamānu isnotusedinthispassage, mostcommentatorsassumethatthereferenceto tumru isashorthandexpressionfor kamāntumri,“cakebakedinashes,”thecakeassociatedwiththeIshtarcultinourfirst twoexamples.48 ScholarswhohavecommentedonthebiblicalcultoftheQueenofHeavenare generallypuzzledbythephrase“cakesinherimage”(kawwānîmlěha‘ǎṣībāh;Jer 44:19).49 ThoseholdingthattheQueenofHeavenisIshtarsometimesexplainwhat“in herimage”meansbypointingtoseveralclaymoldsfoundatMari,asiteinnorthwest Mesopotamia.Thesemoldsportrayanudefemalefigurewhoholdsherhandscupped underherbreasts.Herhipsarelargeandprominent.50 Ithasbeensuggestedthatthe moldsrepresentIshtarandthattheywereusedtoshapecakesbakedintheimageofthe goddess.Thesecakeswerethenofferedto Ishtaraspartofhersacrificialcult.51 Although thereareproblemswiththissuggestion,52 theproposaltorelatetheMarimoldstothe Bible’s kawwānîmlěha‘ǎṣībāh isstillworthnoting.

Finally,weobservethatwomenseemtohave aspecialplaceintheIshtarcult.In Mesopotamianmythology,asnotedabove,thelargestcomplexofstoriesaboutIshtar dealswithhercourtshipandmarriagetotheyoungfertilitygodTammuz.Inthemyths, 47Thetextcanbefoundin KAR 42,line25.Fortranscription,translation,andsomenotes,see Ebeling, Quellen zur Kenntnis,2:22(line25),27. 48

So,forexample, AHw 3:1370,s.v. tumru(m);Oppenheim,“MesopotamianMythologyII,”36n6; Saggs, Greatness That Was Babylon,395;SchottandvonSoden, Das Gilgamesch-Epos,52;andSpeiser, “EpicofGilgamesh,”84. 49Readinglěha‘ǎṣībāhforMTlěha‘ǎṣībâ Onsuffixal hē without mappiq,see GKC56g; cf.91e 50ThemoldswerefirstpublishedbyParrot, Mission archéologique de Mari 2: Le palais-documents et monuments,37–38,andpl.19.Forareadilyaccessiblephotographofthelargestandbest-preservedmold, seeMalamat,“Mari,”fig.9(p.21);Pope, Song,pl.1(oppositep.360).

51ThisisproposedbyPope, Song,379,andbyRast,“CakesfortheQueenofHeaven,”171–74.See alsoHolladay, Jeremiah,1:254. 52Vriezen,“CakesandFigurines,”262.

56See CAD 8:111,s.v.kamānu:“Bakedinashes,the k.-cakeseemstohavebeenadishofthe shepherd”;alsonotethereferenceslistedthere.

54See,forexample,thelamentscollectedinJacobsen, Treasures of Darkness,49–50,53–54.

55Althoughfacileequationsofmythandritualmustbeavoided(see,e.g.,Hendel, Epic of the Patriarch, 69–71;in additiontoHendel’sreferences,noteBurkert, Homo Necans,29–34),itisacknowledgedby all commentatorsthattheMesopotamianmythof Tammuzistosomedegreereflectiveofandatthesametime reflectedinMesopotamianritualandcult.

Tammuzsymbolizesthespringseasonofprosperityandyield,aseasonwhendatesand grainwereharvested,calvesandlambswereborn,andmilkran.Butwhenthespring harvestseasonended,themythologyperceivedthatthegodTammuzhaddied.53 The deathofTammuzwasanoccasionofsorrowforhisyoungbride,Ishtar,andAkkadian mythologypreservesmanyofherlamentsoverherdeadlover.54 Andasawoman(Ishtar) lamentsthedeathofherloverinmyth,itiswomen(devoteesof Ishtar)wholament Tammuz’spassingintheritualsoftheMesopotamianTammuzcult.55 Indeed,women’s roleintheselamentationritualsisvividlyillustratedintheBibleinEzek8:14,whereitis womenwhoarespecificallyidentifiedasthosewhositatthegateoftheJerusalem temple’sinnercourt“mourningoverTammuz.”Isuggestthatitisthisspecialplaceof womeninthecultofTammuzthatisreflectedinthebiblicalmaterialsabouttheQueen ofHeaven.Atfirstglance,itmayseemalongjumpfromtheroleofwomen“mourningover Tammuz”totheroleofwomeninbakingcakesfortheQueenofHeaven.But,infact,the twoarecloselyrelated.The kamānu cakesassociatedwiththeIshtarcult(kawwānîm bakedasofferingstotheQueenofHeaven)werea staplefoodofMesopotamian shepherds,56 andTammuzwastheprototypicalandpatronshepherdofMesopotamia.

Moreover,asInotedabove,intheGilgameshepic (tabletVI,lines58–60),Gilgamesh describesTammuzastheonewhoheapsupashcakesforhislover,Ishtar.Thecultof TammuztheshepherdisthuscloselytiedtotheIshtarcultthatinvolvesthebakingof offeringcakes,andtheculticparticipantswhomournedthedeathofTammuzarethusthe worshipperswhobakedcakesforIshtar,theQueenofHeaven.Andaswomenplayeda 53AlthoughseasonalinterpretationsofancientNearEasternmythsareoftenunwarranted,themythsof Tammuzdoseembestunderstoodashavingagriculturalconcernsastheir main(butnotexclusive)focus.

IsubmitthattheQueenofHeavenisadeitywhosecharacterincorporatesaspectsof WestSemiticAstarteandEastSemiticIshtar.Thissynthesisprobablyoccurredearlyin Canaanitereligioushistory,wellbeforethesixthcenturyBCE.Certainlythepeopleof Judah,inJer44:17,andJeremiahhimself,inJer44:21,describethecultasonepracticed bypastgenerations.Moreover,weknowthatthecultofIshtarofNinevehisattestedin EgyptduringtheNewKingdomandasfarwestasSpainbytheeighthcenturyBCE.57 ThiswouldsuggestthatthecultsofAstarte andIshtarwereexposedtoeachotherand beganinterminglingsometimeduringthelastcenturiesofthesecondmillenniumBCE. ThisinterminglingthencontinuedthroughoutthefirstmillenniumBCE.Indeed,thecult oftheQueenofHeavenprosperedinthefirsthalfofthefirstmillenniumBCE,in particularattractingthewomenofsixth-centuryBCEJudahandJerusalem. Butsurprisingly,thiswomen’scultdidnotprosperonlyinthosesphereswherewe mightexpecttofindwomen’sreligiouspractice,suchasthehomeandthefamily.Tobe sure,thereisastrongdomesticcomponenttothecult,seenespeciallyinJer7:18,where “thesonsgatherwood,thefatherskindlefire, andthewomenkneaddoughtomakebread cakesfortheQueenofHeaven.”58 ButifJer44:17istobetakenatallseriously,thenthe “kingsandprinces”ofJudahare alsoamongthose whoworshippedtheQueen.Andifthe worshipoftheQueenofHeavenwasapartofthereligionofthemonarchy,theQueen’s cultmayalsohavebeenathomeinwhatwasessentiallythemonarch’sprivatechapel, thetemple.ThisiscertainlysuggestedbyEzek8:14,wherethewomenwhoparticipatein therelatedcultofwailingovertheQueen’sdeceasedlover,Tammuz,sitatthenorth

57FortheEgyptianmaterials,seethereferencescitedin[[n.40]]above;alsoHelck, Die Beziehungen Ägyptiens zu Vorderasien,458–60;Helck, Betrachtungen zur grossen Göttin,213–16.ForIshtarof NinevehinSpain,seeCross,“OldPhoenicianInscriptionfromSpainDedicatedtoHurrianAstarte,” 189–95.

58Jeremiah7:18isusuallytranslated“thechildrengather wood,”renderingtheHebrew bānîm (the pluralof bēn,“son”)asagenericratherthanasgenderspecific.ButacomparisonwithLam5:13,a compositioncloselyrelatedtothebookofJeremiahthatdescribesyoung boys (nĕ‘ārîm)carryingloadsof wood,suggeststhatwood-gatheringwasataskmoretypicallyassignedtomales.

crucialroleintheritualmourningoverTammuz,theyalsoplayedanimportantroleinthe cultinvolvingthebakingof kamānu cakes.

Sinceitiswinnerswhowritehistory,theimportanceofthiswomen’scultinthe historyofthereligionofIsraelhasbeenobscuredbyoursources.Theultimate“winners” inthereligionofearlysixth-centuryBCEJudahweremen:theDeuteronomistic Historians,thepriest-prophetEzekiel,andtheprophetJeremiah.Thebiblicaltextsthese menwrotemalignnon-Deuteronomistic,nonpriestly,andnonpropheticreligion,andin thecaseofthecultoftheQueenofHeaven,theymalignthereligionofwomen.But fortunatelyforus,thesourceshavenotcompletelyignoredsomewomen’scults.The losershavenotbeentotallylost.IfhistoriansofIsraelitereligioncontinuetopushbeyond biblicalpolemic,weshouldhearmoreandmorethevoicesofthewomenofIsrael witnessingtotheirreligiousconvictions.

JoAnnHacketthasarguedthatwomeninancientIsraelitesocietyhadahigherstatus andmoreopportunitiestoholdpublicandpowerfulpositionsintimesofsocial dysfunction.59 Certainly,thecalamitousyearsofthelateseventhandearlysixthcenturies BCE,whichwitnessedthesenselessdeathofKingJosiah,theDavid revividus,in609 BCE,theBabylonianexilesof597BCEand586BCE,thefinaldestructionofthetemple bytheBabyloniansin586BCE,andthesimultaneousendofJudahitepolitical independence,qualifyasaperiodofseveredysfunction.Thereis,admittedly,little evidencefromthisperiodforwomenwieldingpoliticalpower.Butthebiblicaldataabout theQueenofHeavendosuggestthatthewomenoflateseventh-andearlysixth-century BCEJudahandJerusalemexercisedreligiouspower.60 Theyworshippedagoddess whoseculttheyfoundparticularlyappealingandwentsofarastointroducethecult’s ritualsthatrelatedtoTammuzlamentationintothetemplecompounditself.

gatesofthetemple’sinnercourt.ThepresenceofatemplededicatedtotheQueenof Heaveninfifth-centuryBCEEgypt,acenturyafterJeremiahberatestheJudahiteswho havefledtoEgyptfortheirworshipoftheQueenofHeaven(Jer44),isalsosuggestive.

59Hackett, “IntheDaysofJael,”15–38.

60ItisperhapsnotcoincidentalthatHulda,thefirstwomanprophetreportedbythebiblicalwriters sincethepremonarchicperiod,isactiveatapproximatelythesametime,thelastquarteroftheseventh centuryBCE(2Kgs22:14–20).

Asherah,theWestSemiticGoddessofSpinningandWeaving?1

ThischapterhaditsoriginsinmyinterestinoneverseoftheBible,2Kgs23:7,and itsdescriptionofwomenwhowerehousedinthetemplecompoundinJerusaleminKing Josiah’sday(ca.640–609BCE)“weavingforAsherah.”WhenIstartedworkingonthis text,myconcernwasitshumansubjects.Whatdidthewomen’staskofweavingfor Asherah,thegreatmothergoddessoftheCanaanitepantheon,entail?Whatdiditmean forthesewomenandfortheirweavingenterprisewhenJosiah,aspartofhissweeping programofreligiousreformation,toredownthehousesintheJerusalemtemple compoundwherethewomendidtheirwork?Howdidlosingtheirtempleworkshop affectthesewomen’sroleasreligiousfunctionarieswhowoveclothforculticpurposes?I detailedsomemyanswerstothesequestionsinmy2006article“Womenandthe WorshipofYahwehinAncientIsrael,”whichappearsinthisvolumeaschapter10. Butmyinquiriesregardingthefateofthewomenweaversof2Kgs23:7alsoledme toquestionsaboutAsherah,thegoddessforwhomthewomenwove.Morespecifically, inthechapterthatfollows,IhypothesizethatAsherahmightplayaroleintheWest Semiticpantheonasthepatrondeityofspinningandweaving.Paradoxically,though,2 Kgs23:7—eventhoughitinspiredmyquestionsregardingAsherah’srelationshipto textileproduction—doesnotultimatelyprovideevidenceinsupportofmythesis.Instead, Iconcludethatthewomen’sweavingdescribedin2Kgs23:7wascharacteristicofthe kindsoftextile-makingactivitiesthatcouldbefoundinthecultsandculticvenuesof manyancientNearEasterngods,notAsherahinparticular.Nevertheless,Isuggestthat textsfromthebookofProverbs,aswellasmythsfromLateBronzeAgeUgaritandthe HittiteworldandcertainarchaeologicaldatafromIronAgeIsrael,dopointtoAsherah’s roleasthepatrongoddessofspinningandweavingintheWestSemiticworld. Still,whenIoriginallypublished“Asherah,theWestSemiticGoddessofSpinning andWeaving?”in2008,Iconcludedbycommentingonthequestionmarkinmytitle, notingthatIhaddeemedthispunctuationappropriatebecausenoneoftheevidenceIhad

Anearlierversionof thischapterappearedin JNES 67 (2008):1–29.Usedherebypermission.

Chapter2

assembledinsupportofmythesiswasironclad.Thus,Ifeltitnecessarytosignalthatmy conclusionsweretentative.However,ittookoveradecadeforanyonetopushback againstthem:TheodoreJ.Lewisinhis2020book, The Origin and Character of God: Ancient Israelite Religion through the Lens of Divinity,andina2020article,“Ugaritic AthtartuŠadi,FoodProduction,andTextiles:MoreDataforReassessingtheBiblical PortrayalofAštartinContext.”AsthetitleofLewis’sarticlesuggests,hisaimisto highlightUgaritictextsthatsuggestanassociationbetweentheUgariticgoddess Athtartu/Athtart(biblicalAštart/Astarte)andtextileproduction.Below,inapostscript appendedtothischapter,IconsiderLewis’sarguments,whichIproposemightaugment, yetneednotnecessarilycontradict,mypreviouslypublishedhypothesisconcerning Asherah.Accordingly,thetextofmy2008articleisre-presentedherewithoutany significantrevisionsexceptforthe2022additionthatIjustnoted.

I.GoddessesofSpinningandWeavingintheAncientMediterraneanWorld In Oikonomikos,hisfourth-centuryBCEtreatiseonestatemanagement,theGreek authorXenophondescribeshowthefourteen-year-oldbrideofawealthyfriendknew nothingoftheworldotherthanhowtoworkwoolherself—andhowtoallotwoolworkto themaidservants.2 ScholarsoftheancientNearEastmightwellberemindedofthe SumerianmythologicalpoemthatThorkildJacobsencalls“TheBridalSheetsofInanna,” eventhoughthistextisalmosttwomillenniaolderthanXenophon’swork.Init,the youngbride-to-beandgoddessInannateasesbackandforthwithherbrotherUtu,thesun god,abouttheprocessof makinglinensforhermarriagebed.Utubeginsbysuggesting thathebringInannaflaxtorenderintocloth,butwithouttellingherexplicitlythatshe willbeproducingthebedsheetsthatwillbeusedonherweddingnight.She,however, seemstosensethepurposeforwhichtheclothistobemadeyetcoylyworkstoprolong theprocessofrevelationbyaskingUturepeatedlybywhomthevariousstagesof 2Xenophon, Oikonomikos 7.ThisreferencewasbroughttomyattentionbyBarber,“Peplosof Athena,”104–5.

Still,itshouldcomeasnosurprisethatthesetwootherwisedisparatetextssharethe perceptionthatyoungwomenwereresponsibleforproducing,oratleastoverseeingthe productionof,textilesinthehome,fordomesticfabric-makingwasaprimarytaskof womeninallpartsoftheancientworld.E.J.W.BarberhaswrittenofGreekwomen,for example,that“spinningandweavingoccupiedmostofwomen’stimeinClassical Greece....ProperlymarriedAthenianwomen...spenttheirlivessequesteredathome spinningandweavingforthefamily’sneeds.”5 TikvaFrymer-Kenskyhassimilarlynoted that“producingcloth”wasthemost“basiceconomictask”ofMesopotamianwivesand 3Inthetranslationofthispoemfoundin Inanna, Queen of Heaven and Earth,30–31,DianeWolkstein andSamuelNoahKramerofferaslightlydifferentlistofthestagesofclothproduction:combing,spinning, braidingthethread,settingthewarp,weaving,andbleaching.Here,Ihavegenerally followedJacobsen, Treasures of Darkness,30–31.YetIcannotagreewithJacobsenthatthepurposeofInanna’srepeated questioningofherbrotherisherbeing“onguard”and“attemptingtopush”thewhole matterofthe bedsheetsaside,leerythatthegroomthathasbeenchosenforherwillnotbethesuitorsheprefers.Nordo IagreewithTikvaFrymer-KenskythatInanna“declinesto ret,spin,dye,weave,orbleach”therawflax becausethisheadstrongandindependentlymindedgoddessrejectswomen’sroleinfabricproduction(In the Wake of the Goddesses,26–27).Rather,asmyremarksheresuggest,IfindInanna’s“spinningout”of theexchangewithherbrotherUtutobebothamarkerof heraristocraticstatus—spinningandweavingis worksheexpectsmaidservantstodo—andcoquettishincharacter,acoydialogueleadinguptothe pronouncementthatsheeagerlyawaits:thatsheistobethebrideofherbelovedDumuzi.Iwouldalsotake thelinesfromadifferenttextthatFrymer-KenskyquotesasevidenceofInanna’s“gender-bending” rejectionofawoman’stypicaltasksofspinningandweaving—linesinwhichherhusbandDumuzitellsher sheshallnotweaveorspin—asindicatinginsteadInanna’saristocraticstatusasawomanwhosespinning andweavingwillbedoneby others.

4TranslationbyJacobsen, Treasures of Darkness,31.

5Barber,“PeplosofAthena,”104.

preparingthefabric—theretting,thespinning,thedoublingupofthethreads,the weaving,andthebleaching—willbeperformed.3 Forexample: Brother,whenyouhavebroughtmetheflax, whowillretforme,whowillretforme, whowillretitsfibersforme?4

Here,onethinksofthemaidservantstowhomwoolworkingwastobeassignedbythe youngbrideofXenophon’stext,andthisdespitethemillenniaandmilesthatseparated ancientSumerandclassicalGreece.

their“mostimportantandcharacteristicnonprocreativefunction.”6 Indeed,intheGreek world,atuftofwoolwascustomarilyplacedonthedoorofahouseuponthebirthofa babygirlinordertosymbolizethecriticalrolethatspinningandweavingwouldplayin thischild’slaterlife.Likewise,intheancientNearEast,thespindleordistaffservedas thecharacteristicemblemoffemininity.7 Becauseoftheimportanceofspinningandweavingintheseancientcultures,it reasonablyfollowsthatthevariouspantheonsoftheNearEastandeasternMediterranean wouldincludeadeitywhowaspatronoftheartsofspinningandweaving,anditalso followsreasonably enoughthatbecauseofthealmoststereotypicalassociationofwomen withthedomesticartsofspinningandweaving,8 thispatrondeityofspinningand weavingwouldbefemale.Tobesure,genderrolesinNearEasternandeastern Mediterraneanpantheonsdonotinvariablyfollowthegenderrolesassumedwithinthe humancommunitiesoftheNearEastand easternMediterranean.9 Inthesecommunities, 6Frymer-Kensky, In the Wake of the Goddesses,23.

8Whiledomesticweavingwasalmostentirely,ifnotexclusively,theprovinceofwomen,weavingthat wasdoneoutsidethehomewasoftentheworkofmen.See,e.g.,fortheGreekworld,thedatacollectedby Thompson,“Weaving:AMan’sWork,”217–22,andalsoScheidandSvenbro,“FromtheSixteenWomen totheWeaverKing,”23,181n75.InEgypt,thefamousMiddleKingdomtext“TheSatireoftheTrades” presentstheprofessionalweaverasmale—indeed,amalesomiserableinhisworkthatheis“worseoff thanawoman”(translationbyLichtheim, Ancient Egyptian Literature,1:188).Isaiah19:9–10alsouses masculinegrammaticalformsinthreeofitsfourreferencestoEgyptiantextileworkers,indicating,ata minimum,thatsomeof thelaborerstowhomthistextrefersweremen(although,accordingtotherulesof Hebrewgrammar,womencouldbeincludedinthecollectivesdescribedbythispassage’smasculineplural forms).Exodus35:35;36:14,35,37;38:22–23;39:27–29;2Chr2:12–13(inmostEnglishtranslations, 2:13–14);Isa38:12;andJob16:15similarlyrefertomaletextileworkerswithintheIsraelitesphere. Moreover,thenameofoneofthesonsofIssachar,Tola(tôlā‘,“[dyedwith]scarletstuff”),canbetakento indicatethatthismanwastheheadofaclanof professionaldyers(aspointedoutbySheffer,“Needlework andSewinginIsrael,”544n13).OnmaleprofessionalweaversinNewTestamenttimes,seeBird, “SpinningandWeaving,”988.

OnGreektradition,seeNeils,“ChildrenandGreekReligion,”143;ontheancientNearEast,see Hoffner,“SymbolsforMasculinityandFemininity,”329;alsoBird,“Women(OT),”954(thisreference wasbroughttomyattentionbyYoder, Wisdom as a Woman of Substance,81n43);Holloway,“Distaff, CrutchorChainGang,”370–71.

9See,e.g.,thediscussionofLambert,“GoddessesinthePantheon,”127.

10Onthetwoversionsofthismyth,andtheir differentversionsofUttu’sgenealogy,seeJacobsen, Treasures of Darkness,112–13.

12Frymer-Kensky, In the Wake of the Goddesses,23.

Frymer-Kensky, In the Wake of the Goddesses,23;seesimilarly Kramer, Sumerians,174,and KramerandMaier, Myths of Enki,53.

Inanna/Ishtar,CanaaniteAnat,andGreekAthena—arewell attested.Still,inthecaseofspinningandweaving,acorrelationbetweenwomenspinners andweaversonearthandafemalepatronofspinningandweavingintheheavensdoes seemtohold,asissuggestedbyevidencefromthreeNearEasternandeastern Mediterraneansocieties.InMesopotamia,thepatrondeityofspinningandweaving,at leastintheSumerianperiod,wasthegoddessUttu.InEgypt,thedivinepatronof spinningandweavingwasthegoddessTait,orTayet.InGreece,thedeityofspinning andweaving,andindeedofallhandicrafts,wasthegoddessAthena.

forexample,theartsofwararemosttypicallyassociatedwithmen,yetwarrior

13BlackandGreen, Gods, Demons, and Symbols,182.

goddesses—Mesopotamian

Uttu.Accordingtothemyth“EnkiandNinhursag,”MesopotamianUttucomesfrom adistinguishedlineage,assheisthegreat-granddaughter(orperhapsthegreat-greatgranddaughter)oftheSumerianmothergoddess Ninhursag.10 Moreimportantforour purposes,though,isamythcommonlycalled“EnkiandtheWorldOrder,”which describeshowthegodEnki,inassigningtothevariousgodsofthepantheonoversightof themainfeaturesofbothcosmosandcivilization(e.g.,theregulatingofthewaterflowof theTigrisandEuphrates,theeconomiesofagricultureandherding,andthetechnologies ofthepick-axeandbrick-mold),decreesthatUttu willbeinchargeof“everything pertainingtowomen,”andspecificallytheweavingoftextiles.11 Frymer-Kenskyin additiondescribeshowUttuisrecognizedasthepatrongoddessofweavinginthe philosophicaldisputation“LaharandAšnan”(“EweandGrain”),assheisalsoina bilingualSumerianandAkkadianbookofincantations.12 Inlogographicwriting, moreover,thesamesignthatisusedforUttu’snameissometimesusedtowritetheword “spider,”probablybecauseoftheexpertiseinweavingthatUttuandthespidershared.13

Tait/Tayet.EgyptianTait,orTayet,isbestknownasthegoddesswhoprovidesthe linensusedinritualsofembalmingandmummification.IntheOldKingdomPyramid

Texts,forexample,sheissaidtobethemotherwhoclothesthedeadkingandliftshimto thesky.14

Similarly,intheMiddleKingdom“StoryofSinuhe,”thecourtierSinuhe,years afterhehadleftEgyptforanextendedexileintheLevant,isurgedbythePharaohSenUserttoreturntohishomeland,inparticularsothatproperburialritescanbeobservedat thetimeofSinuhe’sdeath.Theseinclude,amongotherobservances,afuneral procession,coffininginamummycasemadeofgold,and“anight...madeforyouwith ointmentsandwrappingsfromthehandofTait.”

15 TheEgyptiangoddessNeith,too,can beassociatedwiththeointmentsandwrappingsofmummificationandso,consequently, withweaving:16 aninscriptionfromthePtolemaictempleatEsna,forexample,speaksof Neithas“Mistressoftheoilofunctionaswellasthepiecesofcloth.”17 Thereisalsoa minorEgyptiangod,Hedjhotep,associatedwithfabricsandweaving:thusheisdescribed inaNewKingdompapyrusascreatingthecordthatisattachedtoanamuletofhealing.18

BythetimeoftheNewKingdom’sNineteenthDynasty,moreover,Hedjhotepis identifiedastheconsortofTait,althoughinsomematerialsfromtheLate Periodof Egyptianhistory,Hedjhotepappearsasa goddess inthecompanyofTait.19 Still, throughoutmostofEgyptianhistory,Tait’splaceasthepatrongoddessofweavingseems primary.ItisthusTaitwhoissaidtoweavethecurtainthathangsinthetentof purificationwheretheembalmingritualstakeplace;20 anEgyptianmagicalspellfurther describeslinenbandagesthatareusedtopreventhemorrhageasthe“landofTait”;21 and numerousfirst-millenniumBCEimagesofthegoddessshowherholdingtwopiecesof cloth.22 14Wilkinson, Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt,168,citingPyramidText741. 15TranslationbyLichtheim, Ancient Egyptian Literature,1:229. 16Bleeker,“TheGoddessNeith,”42,54;el-Saady,“ReflectionsontheGoddessTayet,”216. 17QuotedinHollis,“QueensandGoddessesinAncientEgypt,”212. 18Zecchi,“TheGodHedjhotep,”5,7. 19Zecchi,“TheGodHedjhotep,”8–9. 20Hart, Routledge Dictionary of Egyptian Gods and Goddesses,156;Wilkinson, Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt,168. 21Hart, Routledge Dictionary of Egyptian Gods and Goddesses,156. 22El-Saady,“ReflectionsontheGoddessTayet,”214.

25TranslationbySargent, Homeric Hymns,46;thisreferencewasbroughttomyattentionbyMilanezi, “HeadachesandGnawed Peplos,”323n63.

26Hesiod, Works and Days 60–65;Hesiod, Theogony 573–75;bothasquotedinBarber,“Peplosof Athena,”105.

24TranslationsbyLattimore, Odyssey,114,300.Thesereferenceswerebroughttomyattentionby Milanezi,“HeadachesandGnawed Peplos,”323n63.

InHomer’s Odyssey 7.110–11,itissaidthatthePhaiakianwomen“areskilledin weaving,”havingbeen“doweredwithwisdombestowedbyAthene,tobeexpertin beautifulwork”;laterintheepic,Athenaisdescribedastheonewhoinstructedthe daughtersofPandareos“inglorioushandiwork”(20.72).24 Thissamesentimentis expressedelsewhereinHomerictraditionintheHomericHymntoAphrodite,lines10–11,14–15,inwhichwereadthat“pleasure”forAthenalies“infosteringglorious handicrafts,”sothatshe“taughtsmooth-skinnedpalacemaidensatworkintheirquarters toweavewithbrightstrands.”25 Athenaisalsoidentifiedin Iliad 14.178–79ashaving madeanelaboratelydecoratedrobeforthegoddessHera,andin Iliad 5.735,sheis similarlydescribedashavingmadeherownelaboratedress.According,moreover,to Hesiod’sstoryofthecreationofPandorafoundinhis WorksandDays,Athenais chargedwithteachingPandora“toweaveacomplexwarp”;Athenainaddition, accordingtoasecondversionofthePandorastoryfoundinHesiod’s Theogony,made Pandora’sgirdle,robe,andveil.26 WecannoteaswellthestorytoldinOvid’s Metamorphoses—butknowntobecenturiesolderthanOvid—ofthemaidenArachne’s challengingAthenatoaweavingcontest,anactofsuchutterhubrisonArachne’spart, 23OnAthenaasadivinepatronofpotters,seeNeils,“Panathenaia,”21;onAthenaasapatronof goldsmiths,see Odyssey 6.233,aspointedoutbyRoseandRobertson,“Athena,”138.

Athena.AlthoughwemaymorereadilythinkofAthenaastheGreekgoddessof wisdomaswellasofwar,theevidencedemonstratingherroleinGreekcultureasthe goddessofspinningandweavingissubstantial.Atseveralpoints,sheisidentifiedin GreektraditionasAthenaErgane,orAthenathe“WorkerGoddess,”thegoddessof handicrafts(technai),andthusthedivinepatron,forexample,ofpotters(seefig.2.1),of goldsmiths,andpreeminentlyofweaversandothersinvolvedintheproductionof textiles.23 Athena’sroleaspatronofweaversisfurtherillustratedinseveralliterarytexts.

{{INSERTfig.2.1AthenaErganeVaseFront.Caption:Red-figurecalyx-krater showingAthenaErganeinapotteryshop,ca.450BCE.Inv.no.1120,fromthe collectionoftheRegionalMuseumofCeramicsofCaltagirone,Sicily.Reproducedwith theauthorizationoftheRegionalMuseumofCeramicsofCaltagirone;further reproductionand/orduplicationbyanymeansisprohibited.}}

givenAthena’sexpertiseintextileproduction,thatitresultsinArachne’stransformation intoaspider,doomedtoweaveforever.27

{{INSERTfig.2.2Athena&ArachneCorinthArbyllos.Caption:Detailofan aryballospaintingfromca.600BCEshowingtheweavingcontestbetweenAthenaand Arachne.FromGladysDavidsonWeinbergandSaulS.Weinberg,“ArachneofLydiaat Corinth,”in TheAegeanandtheNearEast:StudiesPresentedtoHettyGoldmanonthe OccasionofHerSeventy-FifthBirthday,ed.SaulS.Weinberg(LocustValley,NY:J.J. Augustin,1956),263.UsedbypermissionoftheAmericanSchoolofClassicalStudies Athens-CorinthExcavations.}}

{{INSERTfig.2.3BrynMawrLoomWeightFrom2008.Caption:Loomweightwith Athena’scharacteristicbird,theowl,spinning.BrynMawrCollegeLibrarySpecial Collections,BrynMawrCollege.GiftofCorneliusC.Vermule.Accessionno.T.182.}}

ScholarsknowthatOvid’sstoryoftheweavingcontestofArachneand Athenais hundredsofyearsolderthanOvid’sfirst-centuryBCE/first-centuryCEtextbecauseitis foundrepresentedonasmallCorinthianjugdatingfromca.600BCE(fig.2.2).Other iconographicmaterialsthatdemonstrateAthena’sassociationwithweaving includethe severalloomweightsthatshowAthena’scharacteristicbird,theowl,spinningwoolfrom abasketthatsitsinfrontofher(fig.2.3)andthenumerousfragmentsofterra-cotta plaquesfoundontheAthenianAcropolisthatdepictweavingscenes.28 Scholarshavein additionsuggestedthatatleastthreesixth-andfifth-centuryBCEimagesdepictAthena herselfasaspinner:afragmentaryfifth-centuryBCEterra-cottarelieffromSicily(fig. 2.4),asixth-centuryBCEstatuefromtheAcropolis(fig.2.5),andalatefifth-orearlyfourthcenturyBCEterra-cottareliefplaquethatalsocomesfromtheAcropolisandthat, 27Ovid, Metamorphoses 6.5ff.ThisreferencewasbroughttomyattentionbyBarber,“Peplosof Athena,”105–6. 28Barber,“PeplosofAthena,”106.

Finally,wemustciteinthiscatalogofAthena’sassociationswithtextileproduction thefactthatthecentraleventinthecentralfestivalofAthena,thePanathenaia,isthe offeringofanewlywovenpeplos,arobeelaboratelydecoratedwithimagesofthe cosmogonicbattlebetweenthegodsandthegiganticTitansthatisdrapedoverAthena’s cultstatue(figs.2.8and2.9).Indeed,socloselyistheweavingofAthena’sPanathenaic peplosassociatedwithherroleasthegoddessoftextileproductionthattheactualmaking ofthepeplosisinauguratedinOctober–November,ninemonthspriortothecelebration ofthePanathenaia,atafestivalknownastheChalkeia,whichwasheldinhonorof AthenainherguiseasAthenaErgane,Athenathe“WorkerGoddess,”patronof handicrafts.30 29Ridgway,“ImagesofAthena,”138–39. 30Neils,“Panathenaia,”17;forthedatesoftheChalkeiaandPanathenaia,seeScheidandSvenbro, “FromtheSixteenWomentotheWeaverKing,”18–19.

{{INSERTfig.2.5StatueofAthena.Caption:Asixth-centuryBCEstatueofAthena (spinning?),attributedtothesculptorEndoios.Acr.625©AcropolisMuseum,2018. PhotobyYiannisKoulelis.}}

{{INSERTfig.2.4DrawingofAthenaSpinning#2.Caption:DrawingoffifthcenturyBCErelieffromScornavacche,Sicily,showingAthenaErgane(?)withdistaffin herlefthand.FromAntonioDiVita,“AtenaErganeinunaterracottadallaSiciliaedil cultodelladeainAtene,” AnnuariodellaScuolaArcheologicadiAteneedelleMissioni ItalianeinOriente 30–32(1952–54):143.}}

whilefragmentary,seemstoshowAthenainthesameposeasassumedina contemporaneousreliefbyamortalwomanwhoisspinning(figs.2.6and2.7).29

{{INSERTfig.2.6ReliefPlaqueWomanSpinning.Caption:Alatefifth-orearlyfourthcenturyBCEterra-cottareliefplaqueofamortalwomanspinning.Acr.13055© AcropolisMuseum,2011.PhotobyVangelisTsiamis.}}

{{INSERTfig.2.7ReliefPlaqueAthena(spinning?).Caption:Alatefifth-orearlyfourthcenturyBCEterra-cottareliefplaqueofAthena,perhapsinthesame“spinning” poseasassumedbythemortalwomanoffig.2.6.Acr.13057©AcropolisMuseum, 2011.PhotobyVangelisTsiamis.}}

UgariticandHittiteMythologicalTexts

{{INSERTfig.2.9AthenaStatueDrapedinPeplos.Caption:Asmallfifth-century BCEterra-cottastatueofAthena(?),showingwhathercultstatuewiththepeplosdraped overitmayhavelookedlike.Height:18.7cm.TheMuseumofFineArts,Houston.Gift ofMissAnnetteFinnigan,37.16.}}

Thepresenceofthesegoddessesofspinningandweavinginthepantheonsof Mesopotamia,Egypt,andGreecesuggeststhatwemightwellexpecttofindagoddess patronofspinningandweavingalsointhepantheonsoftheWestSemiticworld.Below, IproposethatthisisaresponsibilityassumedbytheCanaanitemothergoddessAsherah. Threebodiesofevidencelendsupporttothisconclusion.Theyare(1)LateBronzeAge UgariticandHittitemythologicaltexts;(2)first-millenniumBCEbiblicaltextsfromthe bookofProverbsandalso,perhaps,2Kgs23:7;and(3)IronAgearchaeologicaldata fromthesitesofTa‘anach,TelMiqne-Ekron,andKuntillet‘Ajrûd.

II.Asherah,theWestSemiticGoddessofSpinningandWeaving?

.Inascenefoundintablet4oftheUgaritic Baalcycle,thegodsBaalandAnatcometothemotherofthegods,Asherah,inorderto secureherhelpastheyseekpermissionfromthehighgodofthepantheon,El,tohavea palacebuiltforBaal.BaalandAnatfindAsherahundertakingdomesticchores:settinga potuponafire;carryingherrobesintotheriver(presumablytowashthem);andholding aspindle(plk)inherhand(KTU 1.4.2.3–9).AccordingtosometranslationsoftheHittite mythofElkunirsa,Asherah(Ashertu)alsocarriesaspindle,withwhichsheattemptsto stabBaalafterherefusestosleepwithher.31 Tobesure,asnotedabove,thespindleisa typicalsymboloffemininityintheancientNearEast,andsothefactthatAsherahis depictedasholdingoneintheseUgariticandHittitemythsmaybeamarkeronlyofher gender.Inaddition,asIhavejustmentioned,only some translationsoftheHittitemythof 31ThistextwasbroughttomyattentionbyWillett,“WomenandHouseholdShrines,”104,whocites Goetze’stranslationin ANET,519,andHoffner’stranslationin“TheElkunirsaMythReconsidered,”6–8.

{{INSERTfig.2.8PresentationofPeplos.Caption:Thepresentationofthepeplosto AthenaasrepresentedontheParthenonfrieze.Image©TrusteesoftheBritish Museum.}}

.Muchmoresuggestive,however,thantheHittiteand Ugariticmaterialsistheportraitofthe ’ēšet-ḥayil,the“womanofvalor”or“capable wife,”thatisfoundinthebiblicaltraditioninProv31:10–31,especiallywhenthistextis consideredinconjunctionwiththetextsdescribingWomanWisdomthatarefound interspersedinProv1–9(Prov1:20–33;3:13–18;4:1–9;7:4–5;8:1–36;9:1–6).Tobegin withthelatter:severalscholarshavesuggestedthattheWisdomfigureofProv1–9takes over—“inratherunabashedfashion,”touseClaudiaCamp’swords—imageryassociated witholderancientNearEasterngoddesses.33 Andalthoughmanygoddesseshavebeen nominatedasWisdom’sprimaryantecedent(EgyptianMa‘at,MesopotamianIshtar, CanaaniteAstarte,CanaaniteAnat),34 themostcompellingarguments,inmyopinion,see WomanWisdomasareflexofCanaaniteAsherah.35 Especiallynotableinthisregardis theProv8descriptionofWomanWisdomaspresentwithandthepartneroftheIsraelite godYahwehincreation,atraditionthatparallelscloselybothUgariticmaterialsthat describeAsherahas“creatress”(qnyt),theconsortofthecreatorgod(qny)El,36 andthe biblicalandextrabiblicalmaterialsthatsuggestanancientIsraelitebeliefthatAsherah

32Inhis1965article“TheElkunirsaMythReconsidered,”Hoffnerwritesthatalthoughthereading “spindle”isrestored,“thereisnoreasontodoubt”it(7n10).Inhis1998translationofthemyth,however, Hoffnermarkseachofthethreepossibleoccurrencesoftheterm“spindle”withemptybrackets:see Hoffner,“CanaaniteMyth,”90–91.

34SeeCamp,“WomanWisdomasRootMetaphor,”61;Coogan,“GoddessWisdom,”203–4;FrymerKensky, In the Wake of the Goddesses,179;Hadley,“WisdomandtheGoddess,”235;and(withextensive references)Yoder, Wisdom as a Woman of Substance,4.

35Coogan,“CanaaniteOriginsandLineage,”119–20;Smith,“MythandMythmakinginCanaanand Israel,”2039;cf.also Hadley,“WisdomandtheGoddess,”234–43.

TextsfromtheHebrewBible

36ForAsherahas qnyt,see,e.g., KTU 1.4.1.23;1.4.3.26,30,35;and1.4.4.32.For Elas qny,see KTU 1.10.3.6,areadingbasedonthereconstructionproposedbyGinsberg,“Ba‘land‘Anat,”9.

ElkunirsadescribeAsherahgraspingaspindle—thisbecauseoflacunaein thecrucial passage.

33Camp,“WomanWisdomasRootMetaphor,”61.

32 Still,theUgariticreferencetoAsherahwithaspindleinherhandsissecure; moreover,Asherahisthe only goddessinourratherrichUgariticmythologicalcorpus whoappearswithaspindle.ThisperhapsindicatesthatAsherahhasaspecialassociation inLateBronzeAgemythologicaltraditionwithspinningandweaving.

wastheconsortofYahweh.37 InProv3:18,moreover,WomanWisdomisdescribedasa “treeoflife”(‘ēṣ-ḥayyîm),languagethatrecallsnotonlythetreeoflife(‘ēṣ-haḥayyîm)in Gen3:22andtheassociated“treeoftheknowledgeofgoodandevil”(Gen2:9,17)that soobviouslydrawsonwisdommotifs,butalsothestylizedpoleortreethatisfrequently associatedwiththegoddessAsherahinbiblicalliteratureandarguablyinWestSemitic iconographictradition.38 That“happiness”accruestothosewhoholdfasttoWoman Wisdomin3:18furtheralludestoheridentityasAsherah,astheHebrewwordfor “happy”(’šr)isapunonthegoddess’sname.39 Scholarshaveinadditionarguedthatthe ’ēšet-ḥayil ofProv31:10–31isareflexor personificationofWomanWisdomasdepictedin Prov1–9.ThomasMcCreeshhas pointedout,forexample,thatthe ’ēšet-ḥayil isdescribedinProv31:10asmoreprecious that pĕnînîm,“variouslytranslatedas‘pearls,’‘corals,’orsimply‘jewels,’”adescription thatisalsoofferedofWomanWisdominProv3:15,whichstates,“She[Wisdom]is morepreciousthanjewels”(yĕqārâhî’mippĕnînîm,readingwiththe qere forthe ketiv mippĕniyyîm).Moreover,intherelatedProv8:11,itissaidthat“Wisdomisbetterthan jewels”(ṭôbâḥokmâmippĕnînîm).McCreeshfurthernotesthatthehusbandofthe ’ēšetḥayil issaidtotrustinher(Prov31:11),asthestudentofWisdomisexhortedto“love,” “prize”and“embrace”herinProv4:6,8–9,ratherthan“trustinhisownmind”inProv 37

Thebibliographyisvast.Ihavedescribedmyownposition,andlistedreferencesinsupport,in Ackerman,“WomenandtheWorshipofYahwehinAncientIsrael,”189–90,reprintedinthisvolumeat [[XXX–XXX]];alsoinAckerman,“AtHomewiththeGoddess,”455–59,reprintedinthisvolumeat [[XXX–XXX.]] 38Smith,“MythandMythmakinginCanaanandIsrael,”2039.OntheevidenceforassociatingAsherah withastylizedpoleortreeinbiblicalliterature,seeespeciallyDeut16:21,whichspeaksof “planting” (nāṭa‘)atreetoserveasan ’ăšērâ,whichI,alongwithmostcommentators,presumereferstothecult objectthatrepresentedthegoddessAsherahandthatiscalledbyhername.ElsewhereintheBible(e.g.,1 Kgs14:15,23;16:33;2Kgs17:10,16;21:3;2Chr33:3),the ’ăšērâ cultobjectisdescribedasbeing “made”(‘āśâ),“built”(bānâ),“stoodup”(‘āmad),or“erected”(hiṣṣîb),alltermsthatwelldescribea stylizedpoleortree,asdothetermsthatdescribewhathappensto the ’ăšērâ ifitisdestroyed:itis “burned”(bī‘ēr or śārap),“cutdown”(kārat),“hewndown”(gāda‘),“uprooted”(nātaš),or“broken” (šibbēr).FortheevidencethatlikewiseassociatesAsherahwithsacredtreesinWestSemiticiconographic representations,seeHestrin,“CultStandfromTa‘anach,”61–77;Hestrin,“Lachish Ewer,”212–23.

39Smith,“MythandMythmakinginCanaanandIsrael,”2039.

28:26.

40 ChristineRoyYoderaddsthatthenoun saḥar,whichshetranslatesas“merchant profit”(moretypicallyitisrendered“income”or“revenue”),occursinProverbsonlyin Prov31:18,wherethe ’ēšet-ḥayil perceivesthathermerchandiseisprofitable,andin Prov3:14,whereWomanWisdom’sincomeissaidtobebetterthansilver.Boththe ’ēšet-ḥayil andWomanWisdom,Yoderalsopointsout,aredifficultto“find”(māṣā’, Prov1:28;8:17;31:10).Yoderobserves,too,thateachhasahouse(bayit,9:1;31:15,21, and27)andastaffofyoungwomen(na‘ărōt,9:3;31:15),andeachprovidesfood (leḥem)forhercompanions(9:5;31:14)andoffersalifeofsecurity(bāṭaḥ,1:33;31:11). What’smore,accordingtoYoder,bothareknownatthecitygates(šĕ‘ārîm,1:21;8:3; 31:31),andbothstretchouttheirhand(yād)totheneedy(1:24;31:20).41 MaryPetrina Boydinadditionnotesthat“asWisdomrejoiced(mĕśaḥeqet)beforeGodatalltimes” accordingtoProv8:30,the ’ēšet-ḥayil in31:25delights(wattiśḥaq)ineachcoming day.42 AlWoltershassomewhatsimilarlyarguedthattherareparticipialformoftheverb ṣāpâ,“towatchover,”usedtodescribethe ’ēšet-ḥayil atthebeginningofProv31:27 (ṣôpiyyâ,insteadofthemoretypicalfeminineparticipialform ṣôpâ,andalsoinlieuof theperfectorimperfectverbformsusedeverywhereelseinthepoemtodescribethe deedsofthe ’ēšet-ḥayil),wasdeliberatelychosenbythepoem’sauthorsasaHebrewpun ontheGreekword sophia,“wisdom.”43 Thisevidence,Walterswrites,lendssupportto theconclusionthatthe ’ēšet-ḥayil isthe“personificationofwisdom....TheValiant Woman[the ’ēšet-ḥayil]representswisdominactionand...herdeedsarethepractical andconcreteincarnationofwhatitmeanstobewise....Shepersonifieswisdominboth wordanddeed.”44 McCreeshlikewiseconcludes,“Theremarkablesimilaritiesbetween theportraitofthewifeandvariousdescriptionsofWisdom...indicatethatthepoemin 40McCreesh,“WisdomasWife,”41–42.

43Wolters,“Ṣôpiyyâ (Prov31:27),”577–87;seealsoRendsburg,“BilingualWordplayintheBible,” 354–55.

41Yoder, Wisdom as a Woman of Substance,91–92.

42Boyd,“HouseThatWisdomWove,”9n46.

44Wolters,“Ṣôpiyyâ (Prov31:27),”580–82.

IfMcCreesh,Yoder,Wolters,andtheseveralotherscholarswhohaveurgedthis correlationbetweenthe ’ēšet-ḥayil andWomanWisdomarecorrect,47 andif,moreover,it iscorrecttoseeWomanWisdominProv1–9asareflexofthegoddessAsherah,thenit becomessignificantforourpurposestonotethedegreetowhichtheactivitiesassociated withtextileproductiondominateintheProv31descriptionofthe ’ēšet-ḥayil.Ofthe versesinthepoemthatspeakspecificallytotasksundertakenbythe ’ēšet-ḥayil,the largestnumber—fullyfiveandperhapsuptoseven—speaktothiswoman’sworkinthe makingofbothwoolenandlinencloth.Sheprocuresthenecessaryrawmaterials(wool andflax)accordingtov.13;usesaspindleandarelatedimplement(the kîšôr, traditionallytranslatedas“distaff”)tospinthesefibersintothreadaccordingtov.19;48

Theword kîšôr isa hapax legomenon inHebrew.Ithastraditionallybeenrenderedas“distaff,”as translatorshaveassumedthat“distaff”isthelogicalparallelofthe pelek,“spindle,”mentionedinthe secondcolonofProv31:19.Woltershasargued,however,thatthenoneoftheseveralspinning technologiesoftheancientNearEastusedadistaff,atleastuntiltheHellenisticperiod;Woltersfurther suggeststhatthegrammarofProv31:19a,whichhasthe ’ēšet-ḥayil puttingher“hands”(aHebrewdual form)tothe kîšôr militatesagainstthemeaning“distaff,”asadistaffisnotnormallygraspedinthisway butisheldinonehandor stuckintoabeltorintoaspecialbackstrap(seeBarber, Prehistoric Textiles,69).

Likewise,Wolterssuggests,thetranslationof“spindlewhorl”for kîšôr thatissometimesproposedis disallowed,asthetechnologyofspinningdoesnotinvolvegraspingthespindlewhorlatall,witheitherone handortwo.Woltersthusproposesatranslationof“graspedspindle,”alargetypeofspindleknownto havebeenusedintheancientNearEast,especiallyforrespinningordoublinginordertomaketwo-plyor three-plyyarnoutofpreviouslyspunthread.(AlthoughnotcitedbyWolters,theillustrationsfound in Barber, Prehistoric Textiles,57–58,ofaspindleheldintwohandsareparticularlyinstructive;seefigs.2.18 and2.21.)Forfurtherdiscussion,seeWolters,“Meaningof Kîšôr (Prov31:19),”91–104;alsoRendsburg, “Double PolysemyinProverbs31:19,”267–74,who,althoughfordifferentreasonsthanWolters,similarly advocatesfortranslating kîšôr as“spindle.”Oneshouldbeaware,however,regardingWolters’sarguments,

47Forolderexegetes(includingthosedatingbacktothepatristicperiod)whoholdthisview,seethe catalogassembledbyWolters,“Ṣôpiyyâ (Prov31:27),”581;formorerecentinterpretations,seeYoder, Wisdom as a Woman of Substance,91–93,and thereferenceslistedinnn.78–83.

45McCreesh,“WisdomasWife,”46. 46Yoder, Wisdom as a Woman of Substance,93.

chapter31isthebook’sfinal,masterfulportraitofWisdom.”45 Yoderconcurs:“The specificnatureandextentof[the]parallelssuggestthat...theWomanofSubstance (31:10–31)andWomanWisdom(1–9)...essentiallycoalesceasonefigure.”46

WhilethereisindeednoevidenceoftheuseofdistaffsinEgypt(Barber, Prehistoric Textiles,50),distaffs mayhavebeenusedinMesopotamiaforspinningasearlyasthefourthmillenniumBCE(Barber, Prehistoric Textiles,56–57;Barber,“TextilesoftheNeolithicthroughIronAges,”192).Also,aLate BronzeAgedistaffwaspossiblyfoundatEnkomi,onCyprus(Barber, Prehistoric Textiles,63).

49Seeabove,[[n.43]].

Thesescholarsnote,forexample,thatveryterm ḥayil usedtodescribethepoem’ssubject (v.10)impliesstrengthandvirility;indeed,Woltersproposesthatthe ’ēšet-ḥayil should “probablybeunderstoodasthefemalecounterpartofthe gibbôrḥayil,thetitleofthe thattheevidenceregardingtheancientNearEasternuseofthe“distaff”isnotasconclusiveasheclaims.

andmakesclothingforherselfand,itseems,forherhouseholdaswell,accordingtovv. 21–22.Also,accordingtov.24,shemakesadditionaltextiles—linengarmentsand wovensashes—tosell.Verse18,whichdescribeshermerchandiseasprofitable,may likewiserefertothesetextilessheproducesforcommercialpurposes,andthereisanother allusiontoherowngarments,thisonemetaphorical,inv.25:“Strengthanddignityare herclothing.”Moreover,asbefitsawomanwhosedescriptionisderivedfromtheProv 1–9portrayalofWomanWisdom,thefabricsthe ’ēšet-ḥayil producesseemtobeofthe highestquality:theclothesshemakesforherhouseholdarearichlydyedcrimson(v. 21),andsomeofherownclothingisalsocoloredwitharichpurpledye(v.22).Otherof hergarmentsarefinelinenratherthanbeingtheeasier-to-produceandlessluxurious garmentsmadeofwool(v.22). Theassociationofthe ’ēšet-ḥayil withsomuchimageryconcerningluxurytextile production,whencoupledwiththe ’ēšet-ḥayil’sassociationswiththefigureofWoman Wisdom-cum-Asherah,speaksclearlytothehypothesisIhavebeenexploringhere:the possibilitythatAsherahwastheWestSemiticgoddessofspinningandweaving.Itisalso ofinterestformythesisthat,likeAsherahasrepresentedintheHittitemythofElkunirsa, whocanbetaken(dependingonhowonetranslates)touseherspindletoattackBaal,49 the ’ēšet-ḥayil isdescribedinProv31:10–31notjustinconjunctionwithtextile productionbutalsousingmilitaristicimagery.Woltershascataloguedmultipleinstances ofmilitaristiclanguageinthepoem,andBoydandBruceK.Waltkehaveaddedmore.50

50Boyd,“HouseThatWisdomWove,”180–234;Waltke,“Roleofthe‘ValiantWife,’”23–34;and Wolters,“ProverbsXXXI10–31asHeroicHymn,”446–57.

51Wolters,“ProverbsXXXI10–31asHeroicHymn,”453.For gibbôr ḥayil,seeJudg6:12;11:1;1Sam 9:1;16:18;1Kgs11:28;2Kgs5:1;Ruth2:1;1Chr12:29(28);28:1;2Chr13:3;17:16,17;25:6;32:21; andmultipleothercitationsintheplural.

53RepointinginJudg5:26toreadMT tišlaḥnâ as tišlaḥannâ,athird-personfemininesingularform withenergic nûn,asfirstproposedbyBurney, Book of Judges,153,andfollowedinturnbyCrossand Freedman, Studies in Ancient Yahwistic Poetry,19n(r),andbyCoogan,“StructuralandLiteraryAnalysis oftheSongofDeborah,”150–51n52.

Anumberofothertermsinthepoemcanalsobeseenashavingmilitary connotations.Woltersnotesinthisregard(1) ‘ālâ‘al inv.29,typicallytranslatedinthe Prov31contextas“tosurpass”butused“elsewhereinthesenseofgoingouttodobattle againstanenemy”;(2) šālaḥyādbĕ,“toreachout thehand,”inv.19,which“alwayshas anaggressiveconnotationelsewhere”(mostnotablyforourpurposesinJudg5:26,where itisused[albeitwiththepreposition lĕ insteadof bĕ]todescribeJael’sgraspingofthe weapon[tent-peg,paralleltolaborers’hammer]withwhichshekillstheCanaanitewar leaderSisera);53 (3) tānâ,“tocelebrateinsong,”usedinv.31tocommandthepoem’s audiencetoextolthe ’ēšet-ḥayil,butusedelsewhereinthecontextofheroicpoetryto describesongssungincelebrationofmilitarytriumphs(again,notably,intheJudg5 “SongofDeborah”;seeJudg5:11);and(4) šālāl and ṭerep invv.11and15,typically translated“profit”and“food”inthecontextofProv31,butelsewhereusedas“warlike words”meaning“plunder”and“prey.”54 Waltkenotesinadditionthat(1)“‘laughs[in victory]’isawar-liketerm”(v.25),and(2)“‘watchingover’(v.27)glossesthenormal Hebrewtermfor‘toreconnoiter’and‘tospy.’”55 BothWoltersandWaltke,among others,furtherpointoutthatthe“strength”(Hebrew ‘ôz)withwhichthewoman

‘mightymenofvalour’whichareoftennamedinDavid’sage.”

51 InherPhDdissertation onProv31:10–31,Boydsomewhatsimilarlyobservesthatwhen ḥayil occurswiththe masculine ’îš intheHebrewBible,ittypicallydescribesa “warrior”or“mightyman,” whichsuggeststheconjunctionof ḥayil withthefeminine ’iššâ shouldbeanalogously understood.52

52Boyd,“HouseThatWisdomWove,”4n8,182–85.For ’îš ḥayil asa“warrior”or“mightyman,”see Judg3:29;1Sam31:12;2Sam24:9;1Chr10:12;11:22;cf.,however,1Kgs1:42and1Chr26:8.

55Waltke,“Roleofthe‘ValiantWife,’”25.

54Wolters,“ProverbsXXXI10–31asHeroicHymn,”453–54.

ThereisanothertextintheHebrewBiblethatexplicitlyassociatesAsherahwith traditionsofweaving:thisis2Kgs23:7,whichalludestoagroupofwomenweavers whowerehousedinthetemplecompoundinJerusaleminKingJosiah’sday(ca.640–609BCE).Themosttypicaltranslationofthisverse,andtheonethatIwouldinfact advocate,60 understandsthesewomenweaverstobe engagedintheprocessofweaving garmentsthatweredrapedovertheculticimageofAsherah(the ’ăšērâ)thatstood somewherewithinthetempleprecinctbeforeitwasremovedanddestroyedasapartof 56Wolters,“ProverbsXXXI10–31asHeroicHymn,”453;Waltke,“Roleofthe‘ValiantWife,’”24–25;Szlos,“Portraitof Power,”102;theSzlosreferencewasbroughttomyattentionbyBoyd,“HouseThat WisdomWove,”6n24.

57Boyd,“HouseThatWisdomWove,”6n25. 58Seeabove,[[n.33]]. 59Asherahmightalsobetakento havean associationwithmilitaristicimageryatUgarit,ifweareto translateherstandardepithetintheUgariticmythologicalcorpus, rbt ’trt ym,as“theLadywhotreadson theSea(-dragon)”(asproposed,forexample,byCross, Canaanite Myth and Hebrew Epic,33)andsee reflectedinthattitleanowotherwiselosttraditionthatdescribedAsherahasplayingaroleinthe cosmogonicbattleagainsttheseagodYamm.

metaphoricallyclothesherselfinv.25carriesmilitaristicconnotations,asdoesthephrase “shegirdsherloinswithstrength”(again ‘ôz)inv.17a.56 YetBoydhasvery provocativelysuggestedthatthementionofthewoman’sstrongarmsinv.17balludes moretothewoman’sworkasweaver,as,“thetaskofweaving,asshebeatstheweftinto thewarp,requiresstrongarms.”57 IfBoydiscorrect,thenencapsulatedinthedescription ofthe ’ēšet-ḥayil inv.17a–bisthesamemotifofweaver/warriorthatmaybe encapsulated(dependingonhowonetranslates)intheHittiteAsherah’suseofher spindleasaweapon.58 ThisfurthersupportstheseriesofcorrespondencesIhavebeen arguingforhere:thatthe ’ēšet-ḥayil ofProv31istobeequatedwithWomanWisdomcum-AsherahinProv1–9andsomanifests,asIproposedoesAsherah,anassociation withtheartsoftextileproductionandalso,asperhapsdoesAsherahinHittitetradition, anassociationwithmilitaristicimagery.59

60Ackerman,“TheQueenMotherandtheCultintheAncientNearEast,”193,reprintedinthisvolume at[[XXX]];alsoAckerman,“WomenandtheWorshipofYahwehinAncientIsrael,”189,reprintedinthis volumeat[[XXX]];Ackerman,“DiggingUpDeborah.”180,182,182n11.

Gressman,“JosiaunddasDeuteronomium,”325–26and326n2(pointedoutbyCoganandTadmor, II Kings,286);toGressman’sreferencesfromtheEpistleofJeremiah,addEpJer6:20,33. 64SuggestedtomebyPeterMachinist,personalcommunication. 65Gray, I & II Kings,664n(b). 66AccordingtoDever,“SilenceoftheText,”150,thisemendationformsthebasisofthetranslation foundintheRevisedStandardVersion(RSV),“vestments.”ButDevergivesnoreferencesinsupportof

Josiah’sreligiousreforms.61 TheJerusalemBibleperhapsmakesthismostexplicitwhen ittranslates,“He[Josiah]pulleddownthehouse...whichwasintheTempleofYahweh andwherethewomenwoveclothesforAsherah.”Iwouldfurthersuggest,asdomultiple commentators,thattheclothingofAsherah’scultimageinthisverseistobeunderstood ascorrelatewiththetraditionofclothingcultstatuesthatiswellknownelsewhereinthe ancientNearEastandtheeasternMediterraneanworld62—attestedintheBible,for example,inJer10:9andEzek16:18andinextrabiblicaltextsinEpJer6:9,11–13,20, 33,72.63 Accordingtothisinterpretation,thereisnothingexceptionalaboutthefactthat thewomenresidentinJerusalem’stemplecompoundwereweavinggarmentsforthecult imageof Asherah,asopposedtothecultimageofanyotherdeity,andthusthereisno indicationofanyspecialassociationofAsherahwiththeartsoftextileproduction. Itispossible,however,totranslate2Kgs23:7toread:“He[Josiah]destroyedthe houses(bāttîm)...wherethewomenwove,[namely]thehouses(bāttîm)for[i.e., “dedicatedto”]Asherah.”64 Thistranslationhastheadvantageofreadingthetwo occurrencesof bāttîm in2Kgs23:7ashavingthesamemeaning,asopposedtothe translationIhavepreviouslypresented,whichemendsthesecond bāttîm toahypothetical form kuttǒnîm (forthemoreusual kuttŏnôt),meaning“robes”or“tunics”;65 orto baddîm, “whitelinengarments”;66 orto battîm,ahypotheticalcognateofArabic batt,meaning 61So,e.g.,theJerusalemBible;theNewAmericanBible;theNewAmericanBible,RevisedEdition; theNewEnglish Bible;theNewJerusalemBible;theNewJewishPublicationSociety Tanakh;andthe RevisedEnglishBibletranslations.Amongcommentators,seeCoganandTadmor, II Kings,286;Gray, I & II Kings,664;Montgomery, Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Books of Kings,531;and Robinson, Second Book of Kings,220. 62

See,e.g.,forMesopotamia,Matsushima,“DivineStatuesinAncientMesopotamia,”209–19; Oppenheim,“GoldenGarmentsoftheGods,”172–93(pointedoutbyCoganandTadmor, II Kings,286); for Egypt,David, Religious Ritual at Abydos,89;andforGreece,Mansfield,“RobeofAthena,”438,442–43,445.

67 Itfurther,insupportofthethesis Iamexploring here,wouldsuggestaspecialassociationofAsherahwiththeartsofspinningand weaving,asitissheinparticularwhohashousesdedicatedtoherwithinthetemple’s wallsinwhichweavingisundertaken.Still,despitethesupportthistranslationoffersfor mythesis,Icannot,asIhavealreadyindicated,embraceit.Thisisbecause,first,the emendedreading“garments”orthelikethatIadvocatedoesfindasignificantpieceof corroborationintheversions,specificallyintheLucianicrecensionoftheLXX,which reads stolas,“garment,robe.”Itisimportanttonote,moreover,thattheLucianic recensionof2Kingsgenerallyseemstoofferanearlierandmorereliabletextthanthe maintradentoftheLXX,which“apparentlyrepresentsarevisionbasedonaformofthe Hebrewtextcurrentatalatertime.”68 Alsoimportanttothenoteisthefactthatthe Masoreticaccentuationdoesnotsupportatranslationthatreadsthesecond bāttîm of2 Kgs23:7asthefirstwordofaconcludingappositionalclause,andsuchatranslationin additionleavesaveryawkward šām danglingattheendofthemainclause.69 Iconclude thisclaim,andheseemsmistaken,moreover,aboutthespecificsofit,astheRSVinfactreads“hangings.”

“cloak”ormoregenerally“garment.”

67ThisreadingwasoriginallyproposedbyŠanda, Die Bücher der Könige,2:344,andalsobyDriver, “SupposedArabismsintheOldTestament,”107(aspointedoutbyCoganandTadmor, II Kings,286;Day, “AsherahintheHebrewBible,”407;andGray, I & II Kings,664n[b]).

69Acompromisetranslationistheoneadvancedby,forexample,theRSV:“Andhe[Josiah]broke downthehouses...whichwereinthehouseoftheLord,wherethewomenwovehangingsforthe Asherah.”Thistranslationapparentlydoestakethesecond bāttîm of2Kgs23:7tomeans“houses”rather thanrelyingonanemendedtext,although“houses”isratherbroadlyinterpretedtomean“hangings,”a referencepresumablytoatent-likestructuresomewhatanalogoustothetentshrinethathousedthe Yahwisticarkofthecovenantortothe“colorfulshrines”thatJerusalem,envisionedasanapostateharlot, issaidtomakewithhergarmentsinEzek16:16.ThistranslationhastheadvantageofpreservingtheMT asitstands,andinaddition,itdoesnotgoagainsttheMasoreticaccentuationorleaveanawkward dangling šām,asopposedtotheemendation-freetranslationIhavejustpresentedinthemaintext. However,italso,asopposedtotheemendation-freetranslationpresentedinthemaintext,doesnotindicate thatthereisanythingdistinctiveaboutthewomendoingweavingforAsherahwithinthetemplecompound,

OntheRSVtranslation,seefurtherbelow,[[n.65]].

68Allen,“MoreCuckoosintheTextualNest,”70,whocitesinsupportTov,“LucianandProtoLucian,”101–13,esp.106.

IronAgeArchaeologicalData

72Gilmour,“ArchaeologyofCultin theSouthernLevant,”260.SeealsoMazar, Excavations at Tell Qasile, Part 1,80,althoughMazar’smathseemsalittleconfused.Inthechartonp.80,henotesthatthree loomweightswerefoundin Locus168ofBuilding225,thenanotherthreeinLocus171,thenfiveinLocus

71Mazar, Excavations at Tell Qasile, Part 1,42;seealsoMazar, Excavations at Tell Qasile, Part 2,80. TheQasilematerialswerefirstbroughttomyattentionbyShefferandTidhar,“TextilesandBasketryat Kuntillet‘Ajrud,”22n27;subsequentlyShefferand Tidhar,“TextilesandBasketry,”309n26.

70Noteinthisregardthebiblicalevidencesuggestingthattextileswerepartofthecultictreasuryofthe templeofBaalinSamaria(2Kgs10:22).

that,unliketheProverbsmaterialswehaveexamined,2Kgs23:7—despite itstantalizing juxtapositionofAsherahandweaving—doesnotseemtoprovideevidencethatarguesin favorofmythesisthatAsherahisthepatrongoddessoftextileproductionintheWest Semiticworld.

.AsIhavejustintimated,wemightreasonablyexpect textileproductiontobepresentatanyancientNearEasternreligioussitewhereadivine imageordivineimagesstood—thisbecauseofthewell-knownancientNearEastern traditionofclothingcultstatues.Inaddition,wemightjustasreasonablyexpecttextile productiontobepresentatreligioussiteswithoutacultstatue(forexample,Israelite religioussitesthatadheredtothebiblicaldictaforbiddingthemakingofgravenimages), asthecultrequiredfabric formanypurposesotherthanclothingdivineimages:for example,forpriestlyvestments;forcurtainsandothertypesofdraperiesthathunginand aroundcultsanctuaries;andforcoveringsofthingssuchasthetableofthebreadof presenceinYahwistictradition.70 Weshouldthusnotbesurprisedtolearnthatevidence fortextileproductionhasbeenfoundbyarchaeologistsintheexcavationsofseveral Levantinesitesidentifiedascultic.FifteenloomweightswerefoundinRoom204,which theexcavatorsidentifiedasa“kitchen”(perhapsused“forthepreparationofritual meals”)thatwaslocatedjustnorthofTemple131inStratumX(lateeleventh/earlytenth centuryBCE)atthePhilistinesiteofTellQasile,71 andelevenmoreloomweightswere foundscatteredinthevariousroomsofBuilding225,whichwasjustsouthofthe temple.72 Also,twenty-oneloomweightswerefoundinRoom1ofMegaronBuilding asthesortoftent-shrinetowhichitalludesmightalsobemadeforsomeother deity.Thusitdoesnot suggestanyspecialassociationofAsherahwiththeartsoftextileproduction.

76Tufnell, Lachish III,143.

74Gilmour,“ArchaeologyofCultin theSouthernLevant,”260.

DiscussedinZevit, Religions of Ancient Israel,135.

75Gilmour,“ArchaeologyofCultin theSouthernLevant,”260.

77Lappmentionstheseloomweightsin“The1968ExcavationsatTellTa‘annek,”45,butwithno citation.

78Lapp,“The1963ExcavationatTa‘annek,”28,actually identifiedthe140astragaliaspig,butmore recentinvestigatorsidentifythemassheepandgoat:seeZevit, Religions of Ancient Israel,237.

350(aPhilistinetemple)fromStratumV(thefirsthalfoftheeleventhcenturyBCE)at TelMiqne-Ekron,73 andsevenloomweightswerefoundintheeleventh-centuryBCE “Twin”templecomplexatBeth-Shean(fourintheNorthernTemple,oneintheSouthern Temple,andtwointheroomsinbetween).74 AsingleloomweightwasfoundintheIron AgeITempleBuilding30(Phoenician)atTellAbuHawam,75 andoneloomweightwas alsofoundinaroomnorthoftheinnersanctuaryoftheso-calledSolarShrinefoundin postexilicLachish.76 PaulW.Lappinadditionreports(unfortunatelywithnoreference) thatacacheofloomweightswasfoundinaculticcontextatMegiddo.77 Noneofthese sites,however,hasanydemonstrableconnectionwithAsherahworship,sononeoffers anyevidenceinsupportofmythesisthatpositsaspecialassociationbetweenAsherah andtextile Strikingly,production.though,twoofthelargestcollectionsofloomweightsthathave been foundinWestSemiticculticcontexts—indeed,loomweightcollectionssubstantially largerthananyofthosejustdescribed—comefromsitesarguablyassociatedwiththe worshipofAsherah.Webeginwithremainsfrom tenth-centuryBCETellTa‘anach discoveredinthe1963excavationsofLapp.Theseincludeartifactsfromtworoomsofa largebuilding(muchofwhichhadbeendestroyedbythetrenchingofErnstSellin’s earlierexcavations),calledbyLappthe“CulticStructure”becauseofthearguablycultic natureofmanyofthefinds:forexample,140sheepandgoatastragali,mostlikelyused indivinationrites;acompletemoldofthe“figurine-with-a-disk”type;andthreesmall standingstonesor maṣṣēbôt 78 AlloftheseremainswerefoundinRoom1ofLapp’s “CulticStructure,”inwhichtheobjectswere,accordingtohim,sotightlypackedthatit 187,foratotalofeleven;inthetextonthesamepage,however,Mazarwritesofthe“10 weights... scatteredinthevariousrooms”(emphasismine).

81Friend, Tell Taannek 1963–1968 III/2:10.

shouldbeconsideredaroominwhichvariousculticparaphernaliawerestored.79 Alarge assemblageofloomweights(fifty-eightaccordingtoLapp’soriginalpublication;sixtytwoaccordingtoGlendaFriend’s1998studyofTellTa‘anach’sloomweights)wasalso foundaspartofthisapparentcollectionofculticparaphernalia,gatheredinaneighthandledkrater(figs.2.10and2.11).80 FriendinadditionreportsthattheRoom1loom weightswereuniformindimensionandweightandthattheyrepresent68percentofall theIronAgeloomweightsfoundatTa‘anach.Together,thesedata,inadditiontothe presenceinRoom1offivebonespatulasthatFriendproposesweretoolsusedtopickup threadsinordertoweavepatternedtextiles,suggesttoher“large-scale”aswellas “specializedtextileproduction.”81 {{INSERTfig.2.10RemainsfromTaanach.Caption:Remainsfromthestorageroom oftheso-calledCulticStructureatTellTa‘anach,showingeight-handledkraterfilled withfifty-eightloomweights.FromPaulW.Lapp,“The1963ExcavationatTa‘annek,” BASOR 173(1964):28;thecompletearticleisavailableontheonlinejournalplatformof theUniversityofChicagoPress.}} 79Lapp,“The1963ExcavationatTa‘annek,”28. 80Lapp,“The1963ExcavationatTa‘annek,”28(aspointedoutbyShefferandTidhar,“Textilesand BasketryatKuntillet‘Ajrud,”12;subsequently,ShefferandTidhar,“TextilesandBasketry,”307);Friend, Tell Taannek 1963–1968 III/2:10,43.Itshouldbenotedthatinhisreportonthe1963season,Lapp indicatedhehadsomedoubtsaboutidentifyingtheseveraldozendoughnut-shapedclayobjectshefoundin theeight-handledkraterasloomweights;heusedquotationmarksaroundtheterm loom weights when describingthemandfootnotedanarticlebyRodneyYoungraisingdoubtsaboutidentifyingasimilarhoard offivehundredoftheseobjectsatGordionasloomweights(Young,“The1961CampaignatGordion,” 165).Then,inhisreportonthe1968seasons,Lappraisedevenmoreconcerns,arguingthatthe“loom weights”hehadfoundin1963withinthe“CulticStructure”wereunfiredandsoextremelyfragilethatthey couldhavehardlyservedinweaving:seeLapp,“The1968ExcavationsatTellTa‘annek,”47;alsoLapp, “Taanachby theWatersofMegiddo,”25.AvigailSheffer,however,hasdemonstratedthatsuchweights, bakedonlyinthesun,functionperfectly“tokeepthewarpthreadsproperlytautduringtheweaving process”andthattheweightsarequitedurable,sustaining“nodamage...evenwhentheloomhadtobe movedfromplacetoplace.”SeeSheffer,“UseofPerforatedClayBallsontheWarf-WeightedLoom,”82–83;alsoFriend, Tell Taannek 1963–1968 III/2:5,whodiscussesproblemswithLapp’sanalysisofthe doughnut-shapedobjectsasheatabsorbersusedduringsacrificialrituals.

{{INSERTfig.2.11PlanTaanachCulticStructure.Caption:PlanoftheTa‘anach culticstructure. From©ZionyZevit,2001, TheReligionsofAncientIsrael:ASynthesis ofParallacticApproaches,Continuum,animprintofBloomsburyPublishingPlc.,p. 236.UsedbypermissionofContinuum.}}

Then,inhis1968excavations,“withinafewmetersofthe1963culticfinds,”82 Lapp foundthemostfamousofTa‘anach’sthreecultstands,animpressiverectangularshaped objectstandingoverhalfametertallwhoseiconographyhassuggestedtomanythat tenth-centuryBCETa‘anachwasasiteassociatedwiththeworshipofAsherah(fig. 2.12).83 Inparticular,scholarshavesuggestedthatthefirstandthirdregistersofthe stand’sfourregisters(countingfromthebottom)arerepletewithAsherah imagery.Inthe first,anakedwomanwithacrudelymodeledheaddressoftheHathortypestandsfacing frontally,withherarmsextendedtograsptwolions.Alloftheseaspects(thenaked womanfacingfrontally,theHathorheaddress,andlions)arewellknownfromother iconographicrepresentationsofAsherah:forexample,onseveralLateBronzeAgegold andelectrumpendantsthatcomefromUgaritandothersitesinthenorthernLevantand thatarguablydepictAsherah,thegoddessisdepictedstandingatopalion.84 Inthethird register,thelionsreappear,thistimeflankingtwocapridsthatrearuptograzeona stylizedtree.AsIhavementionedalreadyindiscussingProv3:18,thissortof“sacred tree”image,likelionimagery,iswellknownasapartofAsherahiconography,and, indeed,goldandelectrumpendantssimilartothosethatshowAsherahstandingatopa liondepictherwithatreeorbranchetchedinherpubicregion.85 Textualtraditionsin additionassociateAsherahwithlionsandwithsacredtrees:in KTU 1.3.5.37;1.4.1.8; 1.4.2.25–26,forexample,thechildrenofAsherah arecalledher“prideoflions,” ṣbrtary, andDeut16:21forbidstheIsraelitestoplantatreerepresentingAsherahbesideanyaltar ofYahweh.86 82Lapp,“The1968ExcavationsatTellTa‘annek,”42. 83Hestrin,“CultStandfromTa‘anach,”61–77;Taylor,“TwoEarliestKnownRepresentationsof Yahweh,”557–66. 84Hestrin,“CultStandfromTa‘anach,”68. 85Hestrin,“CultStandfromTa‘anach,”71;Hestrin,“LachishEwer,”215–17. 86Seefurther[[n.36]] aboveand mydiscussioninAckerman, Under Every Green Tree,189–91.

ThelikelyconclusiontobedrawnfromtheevidenceofthiscultstandistheoneI havestatedabove:thattenth-centuryBCETa‘anachwasasiteassociatedwiththe worshipofAsherah,probably—whatevertheproscriptionsarticulatedinDeut16:21and relatedtexts—inconjunctionwiththeIsraelitegodYahweh(whoisarguablyrepresented ontheTa‘anachcultstand’ssecondandfourthregisters;thisissuggested,forexample, bythetworepresentationsofcherubim,whicharesooftenassociatedwithYahwehin biblicaltradition,thatflankthesecondregister).Lesscertain,butIbelieveaprobable conclusionbasedontheotherdataIhavepresented,isthattheAsherahworshipat Ta‘anachistobeassociatedwiththeratherextraordinarycollectionofloomweightsand othertoolsoftextileproductionfoundthere.TheTa‘anachdata,inshort,seemtosupport mythesisthatAsherahwasthepatrondeityofspinningandweavingintheWestSemitic world.Indeed,wemightgosofarastosuggestthatitwas because Asherahwasthe patrondeityofspinningandweavingintheWestSemiticworldthatshewasworshipped atTellTa‘anach,herculticpresencethereanappropriateandperhapsevenanecessary partofthelarge-scaleandspecializedtextileindustrytowhichtheTa‘anachartifacts point.ThesecondLevantinesitethathasproducedaratherextraordinaryassemblageof loomweightsisTelMiqne-Ekron,wherealargenumberofloomweightswerefoundin associationwiththeenormousolive-oilproductioncomplexoftheseventhcenturyBCE (StratumICandpossiblyIB).SeymourGitin,oneoftheprimaryexcavatorsatEkron,has theorizedthatthepresenceoftheseloomweightsintermingledwitholive-oilproduction equipmentatEkronisduetothefactthattheolive-oilindustryisseasonal,andsothe installationsforoilproductionwereidlesixtotenmonthsayear;duringthistime,he proposes,Ekron’sso-calledindustrialzonewasreconfiguredasatextile-production workshop.87 Gitinhasfurtherproposed,basedonthediscoveryofninehornedaltarsin 87Gitin,“TelMiqne-Ekron,”50;seealso DothanandGitin,“Miqne,Tel(Ekron),”1058.

{{INSERTfig.2.12TaanachCultStand.Caption:DrawingoftheTa‘anachcult stand.From©ZionyZevit,2001, TheReligionsofAncientIsrael:ASynthesisof ParallacticApproaches,Continuum,animprintofBloomsburyPublishingPlc.,p.319. UsedbypermissionofContinuum.}}

the“industrialzone,”thatthisseeminglysecularmanufacturingareashouldactuallybe understoodas“sacredspace.”88 Butsacredtowhom?ReligionaspracticedinEkronwas acomplexandmulti-facetedphenomenon,buttheseventh-centuryBCEdataindicatethat Asherahwasamongthedeitiesbeingworshippedthere.

91GitinandCogan,“NewTypeofDedicatoryInscriptionfromEkron,”196.

89Gitin,“SeventhCenturyB.C.E.CulticElementsatEkron,”250,andfig.2aonp.251;Gitin, “IsraeliteandPhilistineCult,”280;Gitin,Dothan,andNaveh,“RoyalDedicatoryInscriptionfromEkron,” 13.

92Halpern’ssuggestionthatAsherahisthedeityparticularlyassociatedwiththeindustrialzonehinges, infact,onhissuppositionthatAsherahisspeciallyassociatedwiththeoilproductionfacilitiesthere—this becauseofAsherah’swell-knownassociationwithtrees(above,[[nn.36,82]]),including,Halpernseems toimply,thesortoftreeiconographyweknowbetterfromEgyptiantradition,whichdepictsanAsherahliketreegoddess/mothergoddessgivingsucktothepharaoh.ThisevidentlysuggeststoHalpern(although hedoesnotsaysoexplicitly)amoregeneralassociationofAsherahwith theproductionofliquidsfrom trees,suchastheoilfromolivetreesproducedinsuchvastquantitiesatTelMiqne-Ekron.SeeHalpern, “TheBaal(andtheAsherah)inSeventh-CenturyJudah,”137.

89 BaruchHalpern,moreover,has arguedthat,oftheEkrondeities,Asherahistobeparticularlyassociatedwiththe “industrialzone,”90 asissuggestedbythefactthatthetwostorejarsfoundatEkronthat wereinscribedwithAsherah’snamewerespecificallyusedforstoringoil.91 Tobesure, thisevidencemightseemmoretopointtoAsherah’sassociationwithoilproductionthan themakingoftextiles,92 butthepresenceoftextileproductionalongwithoilproduction intheEkronindustrialzone’s“sacredspace,”inconjunctionwithsomeoftheother evidenceIhavecited,couldbetakentoindicatethat,inadditiontobeingassociatedwith oilproduction,Asherahwasalsoconsideredtobethepatrondeityofspinningand weavingatEkron.Indeed,asatTa‘anach,wemightsuggestthatitwasduetoAsherah’s roleasthepatrondeityofspinningandweavingintheWestSemiticworldthathercult waspresentintheindustrialzoneatEkron,asthegoddesscouldhavebeenreveredthere becauseofthedivineblessingsshecouldprovidethesite’stextileworkers.

90Halpern,“TheBaal(andtheAsherah)inSeventh-CenturyJudah,”137.

TheevidencefromTa‘anachandEkron,moreover,mightleadustosuggestthattwo otherculticsitesatwhichmajortextile-productioncomplexeswerefoundaretobe 88Gitin,“TheFour-HornedAltarandSacredSpace,”113.

associatedwithAsherahworship:theseareTellel-Ḥammah,locatedatthesouthernend oftheBeth-Sheanvalley,andTel‘Amal,whichliesthreekmwestofBeth-Shean.93 Tell el-Ḥammahwasexcavatedmostrecently(in1985,1987,and1988)byJaneM.Cahill, DavidTarler,andGaryLipton(Lipovich)onbehalfoftheInstituteofArchaeologyatthe HebrewUniversityofJerusalem.Artifactssuggestingaspinningandweavingcenter— includingwoodspindlesandspindlewhorls,remainsofthreadwrappedaroundspindle fragments,stoneandclayloomweights,andtextilescraps—werefoundintwoadjoining roomsthatwerepartofoneofthetwobuildingcomplexesofthetenth-centuryBCE layer.94 Theotherbuildingcomplex,whichlayacrossacourtyardfromthefirst,also consistedofatleasttwoadjoiningrooms,oneroomofwhichcontainedartifactsthat seemedtotheexcavatorsculticincharacter(forexample,akernoswithfiveprojectiles;a zoomorphicvessel;andamulti-handledkraterwithhornedanimalappliqués).95 Also foundinthisroomweretheupperhalfofafemaleplaquefigurine,alargequantityof astragali,andperhapsafaienceamulet.96 Somesimilarobjectswerefoundinthetextileproductioncomplexaswell.97 InhisPhDdissertationonculticsitesfromthesouthern Levant,GarthHughGilmoursuggeststhattheculticactivitiesimpliedbythesefindsmay berelatedtotheTellel-Ḥammah’stextileindustry,98 andIwouldthenask,inthelightof thethesisIhaveadvancedhere,whetherwemightsuggesttheculticactivitieswerethus associatedwiththegoddessAsherahinherroleastheWestSemiticpatrongoddessof spinningandweaving?IwouldalsoaskthesamequestionofTel‘Amal,where 93ThesesitesbroughttomyattentionbyNakhai, Archaeology and the Religions of Canaan and Israel, 180–81.

Cahill,Lipton(Lipovich),andTarler,“Tellel-Ḥammah,1988,”193;Gilmour,“ArchaeologyofCult intheSouthernLevant,”94;Nakhai, Archaeology and the Religions of Canaan and Israel,181. 97Nakhai, Archaeology and the Religions of Canaan and Israel,181. 98Gilmour,“ArchaeologyofCultin theSouthernLevant,”95.

Cahill,Lipton(Lipovich),andTarler,“Tellel-Ḥammah,1988,”193;CahillandTarler,“Ḥammah, Tellel-,”562.Seealso Nakhai, Archaeology and the Religions of Canaan and Israel,181.

Cahill,Lipton(Lipovich),andTarler,“Tellel-Ḥammah,1985–1987,”280–83;Cahill,Tarler,and Lipton(Lipovich),“Tellel-ḤammahintheTenthCenturyB.C.E.,”36;andCahillandTarler,“Ḥammah, Tellel-,”562.Seealso,ontheartifactssuggestingaspinningandweavingcenteratTellel-Ḥammah, Nakhai, Archaeology and the Religions of Canaan and Israel,180–81. 95

Because,however,noneoftheculticremainsfromeitherTellel-ḤammahorTel ‘AmalcanbeconnectedexplicitlywiththeworshipofAsherah,anyconclusions regardingthesesitesremaintenuous;alsotenuous,althoughsomewhatlessso,areany conclusionswemightdrawregardingthefinalsiteIwilldiscusshere,theearlyeighthcenturyBCEsiteofKuntillet‘Ajrûd,inthenorthernSinai.Asiswellknown,both epigraphicevidenceandalso(accordingtosome)iconographicdatafoundatKuntillet ‘AjrûdsuggestthatAsherahwasworshipped—probably,asatTellTa‘anach,in conjunctionwiththeIsraelitegodYahweh—asapartofwhateverculticactivitiestook placeatthesite:100 particularlycriticalaretheinscriptionthatreads,“Iblessyouby YahwehofSamariaandbyhisAsherah/asherah,”andthethreeinscriptionsthatmention “YahwehofTemanandhisAsherah/asherah.”101 Whatissomewhatlesswellknownis thatalargeassemblageoftextilefragments(approximatelyonehundredandtwenty), mostlylinenwithonlyelevenpiecesofwoolenfabric,wasalsofoundatKuntillet‘Ajrûd, alongwithwoodenbeamsthatmayhavebelongedtoaloomandtwogroupsofloom weights.

100

102SeeShefferandTidhar,“TextilesandBasketry,”289,305–7;originallypublishedasShefferand Tidhar,“TextilesandBasketryatKuntillet‘Ajrud,”1,11–12.

99Gilmour,“ArchaeologyofCultin theSouthernLevant,”95;LevyandEdelstein,“Cinqannéesde fouillesàTel‘Amal,”331–44;andNakhai, Archaeology and the Religions of Canaan and Israel,181.

102

excavationsrevealedathree-roombuildingfromtheperiodofthetenthandninth centuriesBCEinwhichbothtextileproductionandcultactivitiestookplace(cultic remainsincludevotivevessels,adecoratedbowl,chalices,afigurineholdingadisk,a fenestratedceramicstand,acup-and-saucerlamp,andstoneculticstands).99

Thebibliographyisvast.Keyreferencesincludethe2012publicationvolume,Meshel, Kuntillet ‘Ajrud;aswellasBecking,ed., Only One God?;Dever,“Asherah,ConsortofYahweh?,”21–37;Dever, Did God Have a Wife?,160–67,197–208;Dever,“RecentArchaeologicalConfirmationoftheCultof Asherah,”37–43;Hadley, Cult of Asherah;Lemaire,“Dateetoriginedesinscriptioneshébraiqueset pheniciennesdeKuntillet‘Ajrud,”131–43;Lemaire,“WhoorWhatWasYahweh’sAsherah?,”42–51;and Olyan, Asherah and the Cult of Yahweh.

101SeeAḥituv,Eshel,andMeshel,“TheInscriptions,”86–91,94–100,105–7.Thetranslationshereare my own.

{{INSERTfig.2.14TextilesAjrudColoredDecorations.Caption:Linenwithcolored wooldecorationfromKuntillet‘Ajrûd.FromAvigailShefferandAmaliaTidhar, “TextilesandBasketry,”in Kuntillet‘Ajrud(ḤorvatTeman):AnIronAgeIIReligious SiteontheJudah-SinaiBorder,byZe’evMeshel,editedbyLioraFreud(Jerusalem: IsraelExplorationSociety,2012),301(fig.9.16).}}

{{INSERTfig.2.13TextilesAjrudRolledHem.Caption:Rolledhemfromtextilesat Kuntillet‘Ajrûd.FromAvigailShefferandAmaliaTidhar,“TextilesandBasketry,”in BorderKuntillet‘Ajrud(ḤorvatTeman):AnIronAgeIIReligiousSiteontheJudah-Sinai ,byZe’evMeshel,editedbyLioraFreud(Jerusalem:IsraelExplorationSociety, 2012),298(fig.9.11).}}

104See,e.g.,inbiblicaltradition,Exod26:1,36;27:9;28:4–5;andfortheEastSemiticworld,the commentsofPotts, Mesopotamia,119.

105Shefferand Tidhar,“TextilesandBasketryatKuntillet‘Ajrud,”3,11,12,14;subsequently,Sheffer andTidhar,“TextilesandBasketry,”290,305,307.Shefferelsewherehasexplainedthatthereasonflaxgrowingiscenteredinthenorth,especiallyintheBeth-SheanregionoftheJordanValley,isbecauseofthe

ThequalityofmanyofthetextilesfoundatKuntillet‘Ajrûd,moreover,isextremely high:fragmentsexhibit,forexample,complicatedandmeticulouslyexecutedsewing techniques(fig.2.13),inadditiontotheuseofsomecoloredthreadsfordecoration(blue and,inoneexample,red;seefig.2.14).Infact,thequalityofthefabricsfoundat Kuntillet‘Ajrûdissohighthatthescholarwhohaswrittenmostextensivelyonthesite’s textiles,AvigailSheffer,hassuggestedthattheirexcellenceshouldberelatedtocultic activitiesatthesite.103 Similarly,ShefferandAmalia Tidharhavearguedthatthe overwhelmingpredominanceof linen textilesatKuntillet‘Ajrûdmayalsobedueto culticactivitiesthatoccurredatthesite,giventhatlinenisthefabricknownfromthe Bible(andfromelsewhereintheancientNearEast)tobepreferredforpriestlyvestments andotherculticcloth;104 notealsothatthepresenceofsomanylinenfragmentsat Kuntillet‘Ajrûdcanotherwisebedifficulttoexplain,asthesite’sproximitytothesheepherdingregionoftheNegev,anditsdistancefromflax-growingregionssuchasthe JezreelandBeth-Sheanvalleys,shouldmeanthatwoolentextileswouldbefarmore prevalent.105 Sheffer andTidharhaveinadditionsuggestedareligiousexplanationforthe 103Sheffer,“NeedleworkandSewinginIsrael,”547–50.

threepiecesoffabricat‘Ajrûdthatmixwoolandlinenfibers,somethingthatisgenerally forbiddentotheancientIsraelitesaccordingtoLev19:19andDeut22:11butis prescribedforpriestlyvestmentsinExod28:4–8and39:2–5,24,27–29.106

IfShefferandTidhararecorrectregardinganyorallofthesevariousassessmentsof theKuntillet‘Ajrûdfabricsascultic,thentheiranalysiscouldbetakentosuggesta relationshipbetweentextileproductionandacult incorporatingtheworshipofAsherah aspracticedatthe‘Ajrûdsite.However,asinourdiscussionofloomweightsabove,we mustrecallthattextileswouldpresumablyhavebeenpresentatanyancientNearEastern culticsite,andsothepresenceofarguably cultictextilefragmentsatKuntillet‘Ajrûd neednotbespecificallyrelatedtothecultofAsherahthatisseeminglyrepresentedthere. Moreover,whilethehighconcentrationofloomweightsfoundinconjunctionwith AsherahworshipatthesitesofTa‘anachandTelMiqne-Ekron did suggestacorrelation betweentextileproductionandthegoddess’scult,thehighconcentrationoftextile fragmentsfoundatKuntillet‘AjrûdinconjunctionwithAsherahworshipcannotas definitelyindicateaspecialassociationbetweenAsherahandtheartsofspinningand weaving—thisbecauseKuntillet‘Ajrûdisadesertsite,andthusthehighconcentrationof textilefragmentsfoundatthislocation,asopposedtootherculticlocales,maybedue onlytoclimatologicalfactors,thearidityoftheeasternSinaiallowingforthe preservationoftextileremainsoverthemillennia.Similarpreservationwouldnothave happenedatother,morehumidreligioussites.

107 Moreover,theoverallcorpusofremains fromKuntillet‘Ajrûd,inadditiontoindicatingculticactivity,demonstratesthatthesite wasacaravanserai,meaningwecannotdismissthepossibilitythatatleastsomeofthe textilefragmentsfoundat‘Ajrûdwereapartofthetradingstockbroughtbymerchants travelingfromthetextile-producingarenasoftheJezreelandBeth-Sheanvalleys(e.g., thesitesofTellel-ḤammahandTel‘Amaldiscussedabove)intotheArabianpeninsula andwere not apartofthesite’sculticparaphernalia. fairly significantamountofwaterrequiredfor growingthiscrop(Sheffer,“UseofPerforatedClayBallson theWarf-WeightedLoom,”82).

106Sheffer,“NeedleworkandSewinginIsrael,”547n16;ShefferandTidhar,“TextilesandBasketryat Kuntillet‘Ajrud,”12;subsequently,ShefferandTidhar,“TextilesandBasketry,”307.

107Sheffer,“NeedleworkandSewinginIsrael,”527,547.

Still,theremainsfromKuntillet‘Ajrûddoinclude,asIhavealreadynoted,loom parts(workedwoodenbeamsandloomweights)andabundleofflaxfibers,spunyarn, andtwistedthread,indicatingthatsometextileproductiondidtakeplaceatthesite, presumablyinordertofabricatematerialsforuseatKuntillet‘Ajrûditselfandnotfor trade.Moreover,atleast someoftheclothbeingproducedatKuntillet‘Ajrûdwaslinen (asevidencedbythepresenceofbundledflaxfibers),eventhoughwoolwastheonlyraw materialforfabricproductionlocallyavailable.Thissuggeststhatatleastsomeofthe fabricsbeingproducedat‘Ajrûdwereforsomesortofspecialuse.Thatthespecialusein questionisreligiousisstronglyindicatedbothbytheculticremainsotherwiseattestedat thesiteandbySheffer’sandTidhar’sreminderthatlinenisthefabricknownfrom throughouttheancientNearEasttobepreferredforculticpurposes.Thatthefabrics producedat‘AjrûdarespecificallytobeassociatedwiththeworshipofAsherahthatis seeminglyattestedthereislesssure,but Ibelievethe‘Ajrûddata,whenconsideredin conjunctionwiththeotherdatasuggestinganassociationbetweenAsherahandtheartsof spinningandweavingIhavepresented,arehighlysuggestive.

III.Conclusions

Ihavetitledthischapter“Asherah,theWestSemiticGoddessofSpinningand Weaving?”withaquestionmarkatitsendbecauseIreadilyadmitthatnoneofthe evidenceIhaveassembledhereissecure.Nevertheless,asInotedabove,thecomparative evidenceavailabletousfromMesopotamia,Egypt,andGreeceseemstoindicatethat,as inthesecultures,thereshouldbeapatrongoddessofspinningandweavinginWest Semiticpantheons.WhilethedatathatAsherahis thispatrongoddessisnotironclad,I believeabettercasecanbemadeforherthanforanyotherWestSemiticgoddess.I thereforetentativelyproposethatAsherah,amonghermanyotherrolesintheWest Semiticpantheon,servedasthegoddessofspinningandweavingintheLateBronzeAge andIronAgeWestSemiticworld. 2022Postscript

109

108Lewis, Origin and Character of God,675–96,esp.690–91;Lewis,“UgariticAthtartuŠadi,”138–59,esp.150–51.

AsInotedabove,inmyintroductorycommentstothischapter,TheodoreJ.Lewis hasrecentlypushedbackagainstmy2008suggestionregardingAsherahastheWest Semiticgoddessofspinningandweaving,bothinhisbook TheOriginandCharacterof God:AncientIsraeliteReligionthroughtheLensofDivinity andinanarticletitled “UgariticAthtartuŠadi,FoodProduction,andTextiles:MoreDataforReassessingthe BiblicalPortrayalofAštartinContext.”108 Morespecifically,andasIalsonotedinmy commentsabove,Lewishassuggested—asthetitleofhisarticleparticularlyindicates— thatUgariticevidencedemonstratesanassociationbetweentheUgariticgoddess Athtartu/Athtart(knownintheBibleasAštart/Astarte)andtextileproduction. Inmakingthisargument,Lewisreliesparticularlyontworitualandeconomictexts fromUgarit,bothofwhichspeakofAthtartu/AthtartasAthtart-Šad,“Athtartofthe Field”or“AthtartoftheSteppeLand.”Lewisnotes,forexample,thatin KTU 4.182,an economictext,Athtart-Šadismentionedtwice,inlinesthatcanbetakentofollowalist ofvarioustextileproducts,suchasboltsoffabric,differenttypesofgarments,andseven hundredandfiftyunitsofwool,includingunitsofwoolthathaveapparentlybeendyed redorblue(literally“lapis”).Thistextalsomentionsa“weaver”(mḫṣ),inline56,in closeconjunctionwiththetworeferencestoAthtart-Šadinlines55and58,althoughthe fragmentarynatureofthispartofthetabletmakesitdifficulttoknowwhethertheselines actuallyassertanassociationofAthtart-Šadwithweaving.Itisalsodifficulttoknow how,precisely,thetworeferencestoAthtart-Šadinlines55and58relatetothelistof textileproductsfoundelsewhereinthetext,inlines2–40,giventhatonlyafewlettersin theinterveninglines,lines41–54,arepreserved.Perhaps,ifwearetofollowDavidM. Clemens,whounderstandsthetextaslistingtextileproductsthataredistributedto multiplegods,wearetotakeAthtart-Šadasamongthedivinerecipientsofthese offerings.

109Clemens, Sources for Ugaritic Ritual and Sacrifice,357–58.Foratranslationof KTU 4.182,see McGeough, Ugaritic Economic Tablets,130–33;forLewis’sdiscussion,seeLewis, Origin and Character of God,682–83,andLewis,“UgariticAthtartu Šadi,”148–49.