The emergence of more complex social configurations during the late prehistoric periods in the southern Levant has elicited debate over how to interpret these new patterns. This research focuses on a range of stone bowls, particularly those made of basalt, to provide new data wi…
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The ancient Egyptian terms [special characters omitted] and nt-` commonly are understood as being technical terms pertaining to the performance of cultic rituals. In using these terms to study ritual in ancient Egypt, a problem arises in that these terms are not always translate…
The serpent has been the subject of a number of studies, both generic and culture specific. This study investigates the Semitic root nhš , which signifies both the serpent and the practice of magic or divination. It is demonstrated that nhš has a connotation of libation offering…
High infant mortality and short female life span threatened Israelite women, who were respected as household administrators and educators. The concept of a personal god first observed in second millennium BCE Mesopotamian texts and house shrines involved apotropaic measures agai…
The olive was one of the most important plants of the ancient Near East, and olive oil was the petroleum of antiquity. Olive oil was highly valued for a wide variety of purposes: food, illumination, religious ceremonies, crafts and industry, and especially as a major component o…
Most inclusively translated as “fate” or “destiny,” the Akkadian word shimtu, occurring widely throughout ancient Mesopotamian literature, discloses a world view wherein one's fate was regarded as having been predetermined in the impersonal primordial cosmos. The tuppi shimti, m…
While there have been a large number of studies of ancient armies and fleets, there has been little scholarship on joint operations between land and naval forces in the ancient world, otherwise known as amphibious operations. This dissertation examines the initial development of…
The last two decades have witnessed an increasing interest in the study of women in the Ancient Near East. Several academic institutions have integrated the subject into their curriculum, and one can even consult related Internet sites such as DIOTIMA: Materials for the Study of…
In the first part, I analyze three typologically uncommon sound changes from Anatolian languages: Eichner's lenition, Čop's Law, and Melchert's limited Proto-Anatolian Čop's Law. Eichner proposed the lenition of obstruents between two unaccented vowels as well as after an accent…
The Hebrew words LYl and LYL, which are especially common in the prose narratives of the Hebrew Bible, are translated by a wide range of English words, which fail to accurately capture the common social location which individuals called by these terms all occupy. Using sociologi…
The specific nature of the title šm`yt or “chantress”, which occurred from the Middle Kingdom onward, is investigated through the use of a database cataloging 861 women who held the title. Sorting the data based on a variety of details has yielded patterns regarding their chrono…
The present work investigates the lion imagery and metaphor of the Hebrew Bible in the light of its ancient Near Eastern context. Chapter 1 begins with recent discussions concerning language for God and argues that the non-anthropocentric metaphors for God found in Scripture are…
The dissertation argues that the Jerusalem temple functioned in ancient Israel/Judah as an economic institution in ways similar to Mesopotamian temples of the seventh to fifth centuries B.C.E. The study analyzes the administrative and economic information from temple archives in…
“Mass-production” of vessels and by extension the emergence of pottery specialists is a function of the economics of monumental constructions in Old Kingdom Egypt (ca 2700–2200 BC, historically). Evidence for pottery specialization comes in two forms; widespread similarity in ve…
In biblical studies, the concept of charisma has been applied in many different contexts with many different meanings. There has been much diversity in how scholars have defined charisma and in how they have applied the concept. A single, well-defined, and comprehensive theory t…
An explanatory Theory must answer an explanation-seeking “why” question concerning a “what”; e.g. why did a State develop in the Nile valley? Acceptable theories covering Egypt or anthropological theories applicable to the area do not exist. A theory consists of a general regula…
The official cult of the Jerusalem monarchy was one of the governing tools. The principal structures of the official cult of the Jerusalem's monarchy were shaped in conjunction with the royal political agenda. They were in turn heavily conditioned by the contemporary historical …
The historical narratives regarding the ancient Maya have been extremely inconsistent since colonial days. The early twentieth-century historians’ enthusiastic praise for the genius of the ancient Maya ended with a pendulum swing of reverse sentiment in later writings. The diffe…
This dissertation investigates literary tropes and metaphors that indicate pleasing scents and spices and explores their transformation in ancient Jewish literature. The project is divided into two parts: Hebrew Bible and rabbinic exegesis (primarily on Song of Songs in Song of …