Granted but what is surprising is the matter-of-fact way they printed that the supposedly monotheistic jews worshiped fertility goddesses in the so-called "First Temple" period. The find backs up the evidence laid out by William G. Dever in "Did God Have A Wife."
Dever portrays the inhabitants of Judah before the Babylonian attack as garden-variety Canaanite polytheists on their way to henotheism with yahweh as the duly appointed boss hooter.
BTW, Shemesh as in Beth Shemesh, was a Canaanite goddess which also seems a little odd for these "jews" to have retained the name.
Dever portrays the inhabitants of Judah before the Babylonian attack as garden-variety Canaanite polytheists on their way to henotheism with yahweh as the duly appointed boss hooter.
BTW, Shemesh as in Beth Shemesh, was a Canaanite goddess which also seems a little odd for these "jews" to have retained the name.
