Justice at the House of <i>Yhw(h)</i>: An Early Yahwistic <i>Defixio in Furem</i>
What was the nature of ritual in ancient Yahwism? Although biblical sources provide some information about various types of cultic activity, we have thus far lacked any extra-biblical ritual texts from Yahwistic circles prior to Greco–Roman times. This article presents such a text—one that has been...
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| Format: | Article |
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MDPI AG
2023-10-01
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| Series: | Religions |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/14/10/1324 |
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| author | Gad Barnea |
| author_facet | Gad Barnea |
| author_sort | Gad Barnea |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | What was the nature of ritual in ancient Yahwism? Although biblical sources provide some information about various types of cultic activity, we have thus far lacked any extra-biblical ritual texts from Yahwistic circles prior to Greco–Roman times. This article presents such a text—one that has been hiding in plain sight for almost a century on a small ostracon found on the island of Elephantine. It has variously been interpreted as dealing with instructions regarding a tunic left at the “house of <i>Yhw</i>”—the temple to <i>Yhw(h)</i> that flourished on the island from the middle of the sixth to the end of the fourth century BCE. While there is little debate regarding the epigraphic reading of this text, it has hitherto failed to be correctly interpreted. I present an entirely new reading of this important document, revealing it to be written in poetic form and to match the characteristics of a “prayer for justice” curse ritual. It is, in fact, the oldest known example of this genre; its only known specimen in Aramaic, its unique witness in a Yahwistic context, and the sole record of any ritual performance at a temple to <i>Yhw(h)</i>. Significantly, it is administered by a priestess. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T20:55:58Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-b6feee250dcf496ca1712ae52bd51131 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2077-1444 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T20:55:58Z |
| publishDate | 2023-10-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Religions |
| spelling | doaj.art-b6feee250dcf496ca1712ae52bd511312023-11-19T17:57:46ZengMDPI AGReligions2077-14442023-10-011410132410.3390/rel14101324Justice at the House of <i>Yhw(h)</i>: An Early Yahwistic <i>Defixio in Furem</i>Gad Barnea0Department of Jewish History and Bible, University of Haifa, Haifa 349883, IsraelWhat was the nature of ritual in ancient Yahwism? Although biblical sources provide some information about various types of cultic activity, we have thus far lacked any extra-biblical ritual texts from Yahwistic circles prior to Greco–Roman times. This article presents such a text—one that has been hiding in plain sight for almost a century on a small ostracon found on the island of Elephantine. It has variously been interpreted as dealing with instructions regarding a tunic left at the “house of <i>Yhw</i>”—the temple to <i>Yhw(h)</i> that flourished on the island from the middle of the sixth to the end of the fourth century BCE. While there is little debate regarding the epigraphic reading of this text, it has hitherto failed to be correctly interpreted. I present an entirely new reading of this important document, revealing it to be written in poetic form and to match the characteristics of a “prayer for justice” curse ritual. It is, in fact, the oldest known example of this genre; its only known specimen in Aramaic, its unique witness in a Yahwistic context, and the sole record of any ritual performance at a temple to <i>Yhw(h)</i>. Significantly, it is administered by a priestess.https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/14/10/1324Yahwismancient Judaismancient magiccurse textswomen in religionelephantine |
| spellingShingle | Gad Barnea Justice at the House of <i>Yhw(h)</i>: An Early Yahwistic <i>Defixio in Furem</i> Religions Yahwism ancient Judaism ancient magic curse texts women in religion elephantine |
| title | Justice at the House of <i>Yhw(h)</i>: An Early Yahwistic <i>Defixio in Furem</i> |
| title_full | Justice at the House of <i>Yhw(h)</i>: An Early Yahwistic <i>Defixio in Furem</i> |
| title_fullStr | Justice at the House of <i>Yhw(h)</i>: An Early Yahwistic <i>Defixio in Furem</i> |
| title_full_unstemmed | Justice at the House of <i>Yhw(h)</i>: An Early Yahwistic <i>Defixio in Furem</i> |
| title_short | Justice at the House of <i>Yhw(h)</i>: An Early Yahwistic <i>Defixio in Furem</i> |
| title_sort | justice at the house of i yhw h i an early yahwistic i defixio in furem i |
| topic | Yahwism ancient Judaism ancient magic curse texts women in religion elephantine |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/14/10/1324 |
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