Die Religionen Israels/Palästinas in der Eisenzeit

By Rüdiger Schmitt

Book Description

This scholarly exploration delves into the rich tapestry of religious traditions that flourished in ancient Israel and Palestine during the Iron Age. Rüdiger Schmitt presents a comprehensive examination of the diverse spiritual systems that coexisted in this historically significant region, offering readers insight into how different communities understood the divine and organized their religious lives.

The work systematically explores the late Canaanite traditions alongside the Israelite-Judean religious practices, while also examining the spiritual beliefs of the Philistines, Aramaic-speaking communities, Ammonites, Moabites, and Edomites. Through careful analysis, Schmitt reveals how these seemingly distinct religious systems actually shared remarkable structural similarities and interconnected pantheons beneath their surface differences.

Readers will discover how patriarchal social structures and agricultural-pastoral lifestyles shaped these ancient spiritual worldviews, particularly through the prominence of male deities and national gods in family religious practices. The author demonstrates that despite local variations and national characteristics, these religious traditions formed what can be understood as a unified spiritual landscape with shared symbolic systems.

For those interested in understanding how ancient communities navigated questions of meaning, identity, and transcendence, this study illuminates the complex religious dynamics that influenced one of history's most spiritually significant regions. The work reveals how diverse peoples found common ground in their search for divine connection while maintaining their distinct cultural identities.