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JournalISSN: 1569-2116

Journal of Ancient Near Eastern Religions 

Brill
About: Journal of Ancient Near Eastern Religions is an academic journal published by Brill. The journal publishes majorly in the area(s): Biblical studies & Hittite language. It has an ISSN identifier of 1569-2116. Over the lifetime, 154 publications have been published receiving 837 citations.


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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In many regions of the ancient Near East, not least in Upper Mesopotamia, Syria and Anatolia where agriculture relied mainly on rainfall, storm-gods ranked among the most prominent gods in the local panthea or were even regarded as divine kings as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: In many regions of the ancient Near East, not least in Upper Mesopotamia, Syria and Anatolia where agriculture relied mainly on rainfall, storm-gods ranked among the most prominent gods in the local panthea or were even regarded as divine kings, ruling over the gods and bestowing kingship on the human ruler. While the Babylonian and Assyrian storm-god never held the highest position among the gods, he too belongs to the group of 'great gods' through most periods of Mesopotamian history. Given the many cultural contacts and the longevity of traditions in the ancient Near East only a study that takes into account all relevant periods, regions and text-groups can further our understanding of the different ancient Near Eastern storm-gods. The study Wettergottgestalten Mesopotamiens und Nordsyriens by the present author (2001) tried to tackle the problems involved, basing itself primarily on the textual record and excluding the genuinely Anatolian storm-gods from the study. Given the lack of handbooks, concordances and thesauri in our field, the book is necessarily heavily burdened with materials collected for the first time. Despite comprehensive indices, the long lists and footnotes as well as the lack of an overall synthesis make the study not easily accessible, especially outside the German-speaking community. In 2003 Alberto Green published a comprehensive monograph entitled The Storm-God in the Ancient Near East whose aims are more ambitious than those of Wettergottgestalten: All regions of the ancient Near East—including a chapter on Yahwe as a storm-god—are taken into account, and both textual and iconographic sources are given equal space. Unfortunately this book, which was apparently finished and submitted to the publisher before Wettergottgestalten came to its author's attention, suffers from some serious flaws with regard to methodology, philology and the interpretation of texts and images. In presenting the following succinct overview I take the opportunity to make up for the missing synthesis in Wettergottgestalten and to provide some additions and corrections where necessary. It is hoped that this synthesis can also serve as a response to the history of ancient Near Eastern storm-gods as outlined by A. Green.

55 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The Uruk List of Kings and Sages as discussed by the authors is the most explicit scholarly genealogy written in the Hellenistic period and who is the last named person in the text.
Abstract: The Uruk List of Kings and Sages is best known for its genealogy connecting human scholars to antediluvian sages. Since its publication in 1962, however, questions pertaining to the text's specific purpose within the context of Hellenistic Uruk have been neglected. This study seeks to understand two such questions: why is the most explicit scholarly genealogy written in the Hellenistic period?; and who is the last named person in the text? Seeking answers to these questions sheds new light on the text's purpose: it is an attempt by scholars to gain support for themselves and their novel cultic agenda. La reputation de la liste des Uruk de les rois et les sages est due a sa genealogie, qui cree un lien entre les savants humains et les sages antediluviens. Par contre, depuis sa publication en 1962 on a neglige les questions qui ont affaire au but specifique du texte dans le contexte de l'Uruk hellenistique. Cette etude cherche a comprendre deux questions dans ce domaine: pourquoi la genealogie la plus explicitement savante est-elle ecrite pendant l'epoque hellenistique?; et qui est la derniere personne nommee dans le texte? Chercher des reponses a ces questions illumine d'une nouvelle facon le but du texte; c'est une tentative par des savants de gagner du soutien pour leur programme original de culte ainsi que pour eux-memes.

28 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, it was argued that Apollo is a Pre-Greek-Anatolian name and the expected proto-form of this name is found in the name Appaliunas, a god of Wilusa/Ilios mentioned in a Hittite letter.
Abstract: We shall argue that Burkert's etymology deriving the name Apollo from a Dorian word for 'assembly', απeλλα, is linguistically and historically impossible. This means that the possibility of Anatolian origin is open again. It is argued that Apollo is a Pre-Greek-Anatolian name. The expected proto-form of this name is found in the name Appaliunas , a god of Wilusa/Ilios mentioned in a Hittite letter. This strongly suggests Anatolian origin of the name. This is confirmed by the Homeric epithet αυκηγeνηζ, which has long been recognised as an archaic formation meaning 'born in Lycia'. This fits well with the strong Anatolian connections of Apollo as well as his mother Leto and his sister Artemis. L'etymologie proposee par Burkert du mot Apollon comme derive du mot apella, 'assemblee', est impossible, pour des raisons linguistiques et historiques. Il est donc possible que le mot, et le dieu, est d'origine anatolienne. Le nom est pre-grecanatolien. La proto-forme expectee est trouvee dans le nom Appaliunas , dieu de Wilusa / Ilios mentionne dans une lettre hittite, ce qui est une belle confirmation d'une origine anatolienne. Ceci est confirme par l'epithete homerique Lukegenes, 'ne en Lycie'. Une origine anatolienne est en accord avec les liens d'Apollon lui meme, sa mere Leto et sa soeur Artemis avec l'Anatolie.

26 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors draw attention to specific local manifestations of Yahweh at Kuntillet Ajrud and their respective archaeological contexts, locating those expressions within the larger regional and pan-Israelite religious system.
Abstract: The Shema (Deut 6:4) has long posed a crux interpretum in studies of early Israelite religion. Although the verse is often understood as a rejection of “foreign” deities in favor of Israel’s God Yahweh, some have understood the verse as a textual consolidation of Yahweh’s multiple identities. The present study draws attention to the specific local manifestations of Yahweh at Kuntillet Ajrud and their respective archaeological contexts, locating those expressions within the larger regional and pan-Israelite religious system. Attentiveness to the archaeological provenance of each pertinent inscription suggests that distinctions obtained between the devotional expressions towards each local manifestation of Yahweh. Insofar as it is possible to draw conclusions from the extant epigraphic and iconographic data, the expressions of devotion towards Yahweh of Teman was officially sanctioned; no such official recognition of Yahweh of Samaria existed. When no sanctioned space existed for such recognition, personal expressions of piety were expressed interstitially.

25 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The consumption of pork in Hittite Anatolia is unlikely to have been a simple matter of geography or ethnicity, but was governed by a complex set of principles involving determiners like status, gender, and the level of cultic influence from religious sanctuaries.
Abstract: The consumption of pork in Hittite Anatolia is unlikely to have been a simple matter of geography or ethnicity, but was governed by a complex set of principles involving determiners like status, gender, and the level of cultic influence from religious sanctuaries. On the few occasions that the Hittite texts refer directly to eating pork, the context is highly ritualized, suggesting that special religious significance was sometimes attached to the eating of pig's flesh. Further, drawing on evidence from the societies surrounding the Mediterranean basin, a case can be made for the private nature of pig sacrifice in Hittite Anatolia. They were killed to ensure the wellbeing of the community and the fertility of humans and crops. A festival performed in Istanuwa to reaffirm the human-divine relationship may parallel the practice of sacrificing a pig at the ratification of treaties in the classical world. Finally, this animal's unique place among the domesticates extends to its role as a substitute for humans, a ritual motif that can be found throughout the Mediterranean in antiquity.

24 citations

Performance
Metrics
No. of papers from the Journal in previous years
YearPapers
20236
20214
20202
20197
20185
20176