Description | Dr. Dylan Johnson University of Zürich Ancient Israelite religion, as it is preserved and presented in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament, was not a homogenous monolith, but rather an assemblage of diverse beliefs, attitudes, and practices. We know a great deal about the official state religion overseen by kings, the roles and responsibilities of the priesthood, and the frequent critique of moralizing prophets, but what did the religious life of ordinary people look like? The biblical sources are heavily biased towards elite perspectives, but rather than discuss the goings-on in the temple or palace of Jerusalem, this lecture is dedicated to religion at the smallest social level: the individual, the family/household, and the town. What becomes quickly apparent is that Israelite family religion looked much like that of its surrounding Near Eastern neighbors. This type of religion was focused on lineages, on ancestors, and on personal relationships between the gods and people. |
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