Thursday, April 16, 2009

Regional differences

"...regional differences should be investigated. For example, the square structure of the Amman Airport temple and the Umm ad-Dananir temple may be an indication of a distinct local Transjordanian cult variation, which in turn challenges the simplistic dichotomy of 'Canaanite Religion' versus 'Israelite religion.' the tribal character of Israel during the settlement period actually suggests strong regional variations, as well as the fact that the Hebrew Bible itself refers to the inhabitants of Canaan not as a cohesive ethnc group but as the conglomerate of different, often squabbling but definitely not interconnected or organized groups."—Gerald Klingbeil in Critical Issues in Early Israelite History, page 143

<idle musing>
Hmmm...he is probably correct, although I had always just thought of it as Canaanite religion. That's probably because I was working in Ugaritic, which is well attested and the rest of the Canaanite stuff isn't—at least not until much later. Ah, the paradigms that accidental discoveries engender. Quick, somebody, uncover another Ugarit with a tablet cache! Destroy our current paradigms! :)
</idle musing>

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