Altars Literary and Archaeology Evidence

84 Pages·2004·3.96 MB·English

‘SACRIFICE. IN
THE OLD TESTAMENT
"Tes Theory and Practice

ay

GEORGE BUCHANAN GRAY, D.Lirz.
Pafacr of Het an OM Pada Ese oe Mold
igen Gig Eater on the Seagal Ske
Let, Oafrd: Haw. DD Abert

PROLEGOMENON BY
BARUCH A. LEVINE

KTAV PUBLISHING HOUSE, Ine.
NEW YORK
. 1971
VII

ALTARS: LITERARY AND ARCHABOLOGICAL
EVIDENCE,

fs previous lectures I have dealt amainly with che amaterals
and occasions of sacrifice, the difference of cxscom whieh they
vunderwent, aod the relation of custom and modification of
custom ea belief or theory. There still remain for consideration
the alar and the ministrints of sacrifice and more immediately
the alae” Like the material and oaasiony of sacrifice, the altar
Undertent modifications ; but variety ia the alae, and miodica.
on oF practice in respect tn it, belong mare largely 1a ibe
sadlier péliods, and astracied lesa interest apd provoked less
Geory ar a liter period For example, Phifo, wha coneibutes
many observations and Josephus. few, la regard wo the meaning.
‘of che material and oczasion of sacrifice, have but litde to sy
fon the meaning of special features of the altar. Our present
inquiry, therefore, takes us more Largely into the origins aad
early history of Jewish, or rather Hebrew, sacriGvial ewtiom
and belie

“The tee ‘alae! would ar Gest appat tobe sufcfenly precise;
yevasa water of fact oo Tinle discussion affecting some landa-
mena questions of saciicial curiam and ica meaning has sven
a5 to the scope of the term, as ta whac is and that is oot an
altar; to fake a single instance, dae queition has aren whether
the auazeetad, the pillar’ of ELY., was originally itll an alan,
tot, aa it appears ia Hebrew literature, simply am appertenance
cof an altar, Tee fviless in auch a caxe staring out with a
definition, but it i important « define aut juatiy the range,
bf inquiry, Tn one seapect she teem ‘altar in relation co Koglish
description of Hebted? mage, is much less contiging than the
term ‘sacrifice the term ‘eueifige'in ¥.V. encrespbnds to several
Hebrew terms, anl i the consist rendering of one; an the
bother hand, ara’ always corespondste se, Aram. Row except
LUERARY

in Bx, sf (ANG Ry iemalian, 2 Ch. gol Glee (RY,
Myr.“ vessls'} of incense = miasyon) and Ts. 65%, where it corre.
sponds to anthing in MT and & omitted in SAV, and thrice in
Buel, 432"; in these three casa ‘afc’ (A.V), and the com-
frund expression ‘upper alr’, or ‘alr hearth (RV) render
the Hebrew Wine, aed in NT. taltar* regularly renders duore:
‘enfpusy, once only (Acts 17") corresponding to Bayér. Tf then
We could define the Hebresr term Tare to our sarstaction, we
sigoll also be defining the term ‘alter as weed in almost every
josianee in the IY. of the O.T, ° Exymologieally the Hebrew
term is pevfecty clear, buc ite very ckarness, unless we are on
four gwar, may become misleading? the term means ‘the place
Of slaughter’, but, even though we lint thls aa the place of
Slaughter of sacrificial victims, the exymological meaning. is 00
rarraw to cover the wie oF the tara; in urage the altar became
the place here ected victims were durné rather thaw where
they were alain, and even the place where inanimate offerings,
that never could Bave been slai, were buret, No doubt the
ceymological meaning casts an important light on 28 origin of
Susiice; but regard for this fact muse oot limit aur inquiry
fn auch a way as to excise from consideration other factors
intimately and essencally eoncected, thac may cas Tight on
ftder origins of racrifice and persaung cloments inthe Hebrew
Tinual of excrifce ant sxcred gilts. In addition 10 aod in con
rexion with what the Hebrews called ‘ehe alta’ (mao), it will
‘be necessary #0 consider the piece of sacred furnivare termed,
by them the ible’, with oF sethout some closer definition. On
certain conerpiinné of eaeeiice this tale may, indeed, he in
fo sense an altar; bit this really caries us back to 4 question
‘Of erin whch aa core befare us previously, viz. 2a va whether
‘imal vitims wore, if not the exclusive, yet in all cases the
fron and proper macetial of sacrifice, Yer at a criain period
fr at certain periods with the Hebrews atleast, the teresa altar*
tnd ‘table’ become insimately associated if not in some degree
Inverchangeable; the term *ahar’, as already remarked, is n0t
Tied to what wae used fog animal vieums) and itis by come
supposed thac even the alyje used for animal vies was is
‘certain commexions termed ‘Table’. Even though the last point
is far trom certain, sll remaing cecessary to consider sated
8 1

ALTAR

table snd altar-together in rebion 10 sacrioe, Anu it aay
bbe convenient st once t0 examine the use of the ter abe

‘Much the most Frejscot use of the teem “table” for a sacred
ject isin reference (9 Doe table of the Showbread, or rather
the table of Fresena (bona jrhr), on which che sacred loaves,
renawed weekly, were arranged. The table prepared for Gad,
relerred to in 35.650, may hare beea an abject more or lst
salary used in che out of a foreign dey, OF whles used for
‘shored food nothing further need be sail at present, eneapt to
refer to the mile OF referents to the wble of Shewbread in
Baek, 4286; if tha Hebrew ioe fop, KAY) wore correct ether
the table of Shewbread is referred wo a¢ “the ala’, or the aliar
ff barnefering a cenmed "Uh rable that is before Yahweh and
Ineihas ease we should have.anidentikeation of te corm ‘table?
and ‘alta’, and of the iaverehangeablity, in Erekiels thought
at lest, of the ideas covered by the erm, Bat from what it
probably the true cext (LX) not 20 much followa: this eaads,
And befure the eyo was an appearance like the appearance
of an dar of wood", ean atardnde piece of Suraicnee this
refers to the table of Shewbread sanding before the Holy {of
Hootie}, bue i is not, i this wet i eight, actually sald to be
an alia, Lt t0 have looked lite an alee in ether words, there
fa with Tzokiel an aseocation but oot an identfention of the
Ideas of sacred cable and alae, On the other hand, the Alentif-
ation exists in x Ki. 6°, where, in spite of much textual
‘corruption, ram seems clearly uoed of the table of Shewbread
(or = golden alar.of incense 1" corrupt.

Tris commonly said, however, that the altar of burntofiering
fs termed ‘the table of Yahweh": the passages dived in proof,
apan fom the page jue dixumed, which, as jost stated,
probally does 220" vefer 10 the alaw of burat-oifering, are
Ezek, 448, Mai, 7", OF these, PreK, 440 has been difereatly
imerprted ; Davidson 0, g. says ofthe table, ‘tha altar of burnt
fffeding #8 no doubt «cane, and Dever io his nose on Ml. 3
thes this a5 one of the passages in which the alkar of burat-
offering ie called a falfle; but on the other hay, Berltole
understands the table'of Ezek. 44°10 be that of sh Shewbecad,

“1 Wp in spite of Ur. om Mak Hit Seuen,p. 2, 4,
LITERARY AN

ARCHAKOLORICAL EXIDENCE 9

vo seem se mors ptale, Cerin wie ig oh
fmsige ar ont hat Facil eon all he sar of hs
Meng a wie hs worth seen sua fq le Day Ds
fre mt ater ur row We wun eof tat pasege
i ee tr have et wa at he ne aes
cries ube Stor Grion se teen bck ay
trot nay ugh pakops ct woes see ©
Ice sgl te cont thar Frei ope cle
the sar ale The suger "Batt poe te
sos esse acl ta kee hrs oy ny
‘tun be cide of Tal wet sr fo sale
Tear orme to mie tmesani hey sal aad ire to
thes uno tant bd crc Lond Go ty
Sia ener a my smetnry Coad hy tall ces ese
_Jomy til mii nn atte ta fay Charge
Maa Sha Sane to hee wen hey ser fa he
feof the iar cous ey sale lated wah en
Forest Se? "The qusion ss Hatid here Seung to
Faget or msl, nce aes, age pile of th te
clare fo te Lee? "Bose mo te ss
Sal (Sede ae Uoel oe ce ale af nn og
Covldh an) shal approche hia of Steven nl
ihe hay Ungar docs he ely an tha cy Call
Ipprech the a: one the omple bt within the sored
\ Zale anton rte and Sed the bt? “An mar
fe he asply Leven the sii or hear
Qh ativan esc sc 8 tay beat the,
Sarat tho atur heh tay ove amen ike toe
(reas oft n ow tte ft ey seer Peed
opis meen to appraeh te eof Seca,
Bae rpaen vin fatal dnl soma Othe
the Lovie in in toon that area bnoy sae
te hom iy" dows nar em pales aed en tough
toad rove fle enone te kl sre lat
the ginr ef beets ert wooo ss tprcale
Rac eaang cote
Tre conring tho twalasege in Mal tw be
comer to ook same pomge Esl wie he my
Shs iecas to eused fe dograhe sone of a eon
tot ve AL

AR

feytetate, The page 12°29 fierce ab estatae
logiealy God desines the hosts of Gog 10 become the irae
and to be eaten al a great sande Cat; and 10 chose
‘summoned 10 ths feast God saya: 'Ye stall cat ft ll ye be
fall, and drink ond ll yr te crunken.., . Yen, obo 9 ye
stall have your fil, ic” Should “e by be vondored YB. Toy)+
‘at my tible' as though che meaning were “siting at or round
ay table"? In that cave his oald be (another) coe of the
alkat of bornofering Icing teeme table’. Rot acotter view
ofthe idiom is poste ana ote bran adogned (e.g BL,
e.5y,c6}; om ths view he preposiion tae the see foree
as ia *Man stall sos ive by (Se) beead alone’ (Dt. 8, and
"table" che same ncaning a8 pnega in x Cor 7: *Ye cannot
rink she cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot
partake of the table of the Locd, and of the cable of devils”
‘The ablé of Yahweh ia ths ease is not the stat nor exactly
the Arsh placed on the altar af hurasosfering, but the odd
soutfied by Me burnings of other paris of the wietin on the
ater, Te ifthe fae set by Yahorelt for his goes

"The sonond mcaning je proposed for Kak. 4 tally seems
west obvious in Malt’, though "ble is commonly said 0
toean there the akar isc. The passoge reads: *And ye say
(viz to Yahweh, Wherein bare We Heated chy came with
contempt (22) (In thatp ye olf upon my alte polluted fond
(erh): And ye say, Wherein Rave sce pollsted thee {of LX
inj? Sa that ye uy, Yahweh's ble % contemptible. “And it
it rota bad thing: when ye offer (vi, xo Yabweh) blind anima
for sierice? And eit nt a Tudela ken yer fea we
animal or one tha is sickly? ‘ry raking 4 presont of ie (iz
uch aaa} wo the governor fof} hy (provines)? Ts be eoiag
to be pleased with face oF take thy pare (oe sueh x mera
pressolashati"" Here the contemptible: tile oF Vabureb seems
fo comeepond more cleus to the phrave "polled rea "th
to Yahweh's alka ie ste flesh act hefore Yalneeh oe ec or
Iho hy Bs pets nater ean cle altar on which the flesh was st.
Bion nw" of the sume caper the palate table eqresponds
Amithetially rater a the pe offering of han eofthe al.

Testes Rome wisest then, not to press any of thexd parses

“shay
LITERARY ASD ARCHAHOLOGICAL EVIDENCE 101

as diet poo itches of hunting ws actly terme
"tke abl ot Yah they ary even So aking oot of
the love azodaton of the ete of Saar, he ues 3 OF
fn which ofrings mace to Yebwch ere ‘hin aa im whole
OF part burt ant ofthe bi an mak aed for Tae,
ilelin the onnd of Haske and Malsei the pies, 0 food
lidlowed by. Yahweh for the use of bis woshippery, wat
ame There no lub ieee as welt say
OF en once sine? ad define ejector Bone
oteing amt eof Shred -
Sr ut th crm eve from Jewish prance were rseted
to Chiaay prac some diene of mins ies oF Diary
Serched oe Encaratacocdng that on which eee
rere arranged war lle nS ws prota fe
Tet ce earn ar aan tac are aguney ee
ntti rirne near alta nor table canbe eon
laced in sation,

Im sepa ote alia a co other fenton ene esc
casos te ee good reanoa for expecting two net ee
of ievcse, wii we may fer) extra Cansanie or Ste
Canaanite acordng a they deve frm the custom of the
dhsert and the sep, the tome ofthe Ilsbrows blo thei
Inconion Sno Cane oF foot cane of the ara
ts of Cannan, Oa the erga ofthe air an the ble there
ites ccueliag to , ao sch double snences bath ae were
tir rel of ct vine strain ena Say ot orem
ih mone htt sere woul he aor forthe dale
inonc este tn fe stoner isory of the aes ad
Cit of omen ioe teen gemly raognied, een toagh
Sich"an sar ae B demsibas wan, fw every pevid, alone
fevkinate, in shy aneal wage of the comanoniy thee wat
sai. In ape both to. nuabers and. ates there are
Torn iis sages We fame period ef any aly =
fuse of on sora bartotng ard aes 4.0.72 ped
EFop shary slay a porn) of sacs contoase of one
ro cathy» pesod of bene fand dali enya
‘srwoniaiyy peved of et imeatat alae te fa the
{Recuve ofa material alr the aur ia is projected ao the
Spinto real under he gue a heavenly se
at THE ALTAR

all dhe ayes just refered 40 ts abate a steastuce; buat
there are narratives in the Ov. iuelt which tave been onder.
stood as refering to what may be termed natural slears—rocke
surface artificially mouited packapsy ine not strstees

‘So far a brief viturné of the Witcary evknce, but some
steucteres sil more rock-susfoces endures and explorers and
ccxcavator hive reasonably enowz’ sought for altars, To whae
tert has their earch been sveneafal? ve the obits whl,
Bey have iensiied an alas clearly and recoxzably such?
nd consequenly how far does acckacology in this mater xe
itorcetverary evidencs 28 to custom and betes?

We have on iNe oge fal in che O:T: various terms for of
used of rockssorfane or sacred store objers; and an the ther
hand various clases of oto stractutes, preserved intact, i
brokeo dpwn of fextured, not destroyed beyond recogmiion
oftheir Ganction, and broayht to lich by exploratioa or excava
tian. Hove elo these stand related ta ore anocher’ To what
sextont lo tps tom reir to attra To what extent do xecient
lta eesnizaly survive?

“The Hebrew terme in uration, tome vf ebem techticah, some
of thet wide terns Use aly in vertala conDesions of sated
foske or stone, are no, 1. pillar; note, akary ve, wk
Sh RV. heap; Sih, in RLV always treated ana proper same,
Gligal, with neglect of the atticle which ia invariably used
except in the narrmive of the maming of the place in Jon 5°
(iw MT, fa Jon. 12 alka 2shbj; thru fan. The anaeslogieal
types ate ia the tecminology sow widely wed of stone maa:
tems fa other countzey a ell as Palestine: (1) Menhies, single
tipeighe scones: (a) Dolmens, which ia their simplest form
umsst of two uprights supporting third placed root wees
{5} Cromlechs, circles or other groups of stones forming. an
cudonure; (4) Alignments, groups of stones in Une; (6) Rock
surfaces nacurally or ariially remarkable mere especialy
towing to the presence of cuprmrks, These cp-nals ary
times aagociaisd with monpt of the fir four groups, which,
ene ie nna, nga wo
he presence of auch mars

“The comeeponence of Meuhc to Maygebih is obvious and
generally reeized, As aleady remarked, on 2 extn theory
LITERARY AND ARCHAROLOGICAL EVIDENCE. 203
nf saeriice the Massebih has Leen regarded 3s a primive or
Jereinal form of the altar; hat of an alear oa which an aniimal
ita way ether slain nor Lugo, bat ta which onguente oF
Tiquids eoul be appfied as by Jacob to the Macgebah at Bethel?
We nel wot pursue Hiv point further here except to remark
that the Menbits would atait of anvintng but aoe of receiving:
the animal or iis earease far Slaying or burning, To this esse
we are able to idemify the Hehraw feckurcal tara for an
archacological type. For ehe ast archaeological cype mentioned
hore, the rock-curfue distinguished by spacial features, we eam
certainly dicover na technical Tebrew term; bot thers are
passages where the wide cerm "if cock appears to refer to euch
Teck-surfaces aml co their we as lure. To these we shall
return in the next lecture, The stoves of which the Crorlechs
‘or Aligrments consist are of the Messi Slageloh type an
there is merely one point to letain ok for a momene bere, Te i
possible that dhe Hebrese echnical crm for a Comtech or erate
enle aurvives in diene though on atosher theory ® the term
rally reel not the ronad or ciecle sit oF sxcrod stones, but
rollectively the sade (tones), in which cree ic may have eefereed
to grenps or collections of stones withnut reference to the fara
fof the single esimna and Alignments as well 2s to Cromlechs,
‘That one of the places named Gilgal possessed, at all events,
a group of stones. whether arranged in a cirele line, er how,
we are not informel—we leven Irom Jos 4. According t0
this tury cvelve stones stave ia ee Gilad awl they lad bee
crected there ig commemoration vf the paswogs of tha Jordan,
Ewe there can le Gtr question that whae the ateprer actually
contains i wory shat Rad grosta up amooget the Hebrews 10
fexplaia a pecbitoric momoovenr which bad slood and given ian
name? (@ Gill long befor the Hebrews entoeed the country
In the nareative these Sunes are called by the eomeian maene
‘aba, ‘Stones, and it f perhaps implied abat they were oF no

cena,

2 Nandi in 2A, cone! Meine? ia PE a 151

+ Flow eich nae of ace and pein cin gerbe ara see

in Genrabs in oe near the secant toh of Laz ond 9 numeo iobabied
stuncra Datel; people spake of gene Lar or ta he (seus) Bethel
ofthe place? graualy Debetbecate the sown fer ever The
(hum nd deve oot be ld mane. Cp. A, Slee 17
LITERARY AND ARCHAKGLOGICAL EVIOENCE 105

2.8 akoluss, though auch more,rarely, een oF die altar
WGon. se bvum, a4, 20 shut $daa aight possibly mean
fr he Gilgal it doube toes mean, however, in the atea—
‘whether the stone-cirle ac or the twa naried ater it—sehich
Contaiaed the ales just as i 28 common 10 speak of
fing Se (9) auch and such a town, de the movatain (Gen. 3
cf om the tops of the houatais, and even se the So, oF
high places which contained bat wore not theaselwes lars

"There are farther fcts worth considering in relation to the
probability that an altar when ascociued with a group of
ones was iovependeat of the stoaes themselves. The sory
(Osx. 244) that Moves (at Sina built an altar under the: most
and twuive Maschoth, acording t0 the number of the relve
tees of Ieee, poines to flirty widh altars adecent 0 bat
alstince Goma group of Matceboth, Tiweadope Baudissive sug.
seston with regard n the meaning of the retin Gelod, and rake
‘that tera in the sense he suggests i Jon 23°, we have amir
scene depicted "And when they came tothe Gell of the Jordan,

=the children of Reubeo, &e. bile chere an akar, «x And the
children of Israel heard sing, Baio che hitdren of Reuben, Be
Tbave built the akar beside (9) vhe Celt of Jordas.*

‘The sucviving stone monumenes of Patewing, which have by
seme been largely identied with ancient altars, are dolmere
thie thoory of Paletiatan dolmene ie, peshae, losing ground,
‘but cannot be said to he dead. Strongly advocated by Conder
fnearlier publications of the Palestine Exploration Func it bas
ecendy Yeen atticked, not 10 say ridiculed, by Dr. Duncan
Mackearic in his report of an examination, uderaken by him,
fresh from experienes of European dolmens, of eerain megs
Tihio siractores in the neighbourhood of Amaan! But 30
dliinguished and erudite a scholar as Kaudissin acoeprs the
dolmen* as being. at least in certain easee, an alr, aod Spoer
ian ace in Za 77, 1908, ropenes 3 theory of the evolution
ofthe alae of which the starting-point was te ideatication of
altars with dolmens. The question stl requires examination.

No Hebrew term for dolmen, if such ever existed, survives,
and ics very doubtful whether uey of the ngmeroua narratives

* Pa Anan tg,
SPs gg T So asa So Stein, 124,209: Kensedy DB Alt