Religions of Ancient Israel: A Synthesis of Parallactic Approaches, The

Ziony Zevit, The Religions of Ancient Israel: A Synthesis of Parallactic Approaches. London and Now York: Continuum, 2001, xx + 821 pp., $59.95.

Not since Albright's magisterial work on Israelite religion has anyone attempted to coalesce the archaeological and textual data. This recent work by Zevit has now become more accessible to students and scholars of ancient Israelite history. Zevit's tome brings the material and textual study of OT religious belief and praxis into a single work. Zevit speaks authoritatively and with a command of both the textual and archaeological data. He is a professor of biblical literature and languages at the University of Judaism, Los Angeles, has participated on archaeological excavations, and has spent years of research in Jerusalem.

The title is evidence of the paradigm shifts on the study of the history of the religion of Ancient Israel. While the previous Albrightian paradigm viewed Israelite religion as an evolution from polytheism to monotheism, Zevit presents a more accurate view as the multi-faceted religious beliefs and practices that competed for Israelite minds and hearts. The paradigm shift is evident in the synthesis of data. While the previous generation focused on supplementing the textual data with the archaeological data, Zevit starts with the material culture record and then illustrates or interprets the data incorporating the textual evidence. This is due to the realization that cultic activity during the Iron Age was larger than the remnant found in the biblical text. The biblical writers (Zevit refers to the Deuteronomist) were not concerned with documenting the variations in religious praxis. In addition to a paradigm shift, Zevit provides a simple typological framework to incorporate all the data.

Chapter 1 sets out the paths and pitfalls of Israelite religion. The author presents the various approaches to the material data, biases, and working definitions. At the risk of oversimplifying the author's treatment of methodological and theoretical issues, chapter 1 defines what is Israelite religion while chapter 2 defines what is "Israelite." In chapters 2-4, the author examines the archaeological evidence for cult places and the material culture associated with cultic practice. Zevit proposes that the Israelites are a new social phenomenon in the Iron Age I and do not originate from Late Bronze Age Canaanite culture.

Chapter 5 summarizes the epigraphic evidence and chapter 6 discusses the biblical text. Zevit's epigraphic discussion is one of the strengths of this volume. He provides a thorough discussion of several inscriptions (e.g. Khirbet el-Qom and Kuntillet cAjrud) in their complete archaeological context. Chapters 7 and 8 focus on the role of the prophet. Zevit discusses Israelite mantic practices. He concludes there is no distinction between the 'ecstatic' and the 'rhapsodic' prophets as religious types. Chapter 9 focuses on the names of Israelite gods in theophoric personal names and toponyms in the biblical text and the epigraphic and archeological data. Chapter 10 is the concluding chapter and the most extensive. In this chapter Zevit presents his paradigm and model of Israelite religion.

The value of this book is that it views Israelite religious practice as a system and any changes and variations as internal and not necessarily outside the system. Israelite religion was complex in the way it was produced. Most would disagree with some of Zevit's radical conclusions, but Zevit does a service by refining Israelite religion and viewing religious praxis and normalcy within its socially constructed form. Zevit's approach to Israelite religion is valuable particularly for those who study the religion of ancient Israel or biblical theology.

This book will be the standard for the next paradigm in the study of ancient Israelite religion. Zevit has a strong reliance on the Deuteronomist and current assumptions and conclusions are based on this interpretative paradigm. Zevit's conclusions are original and challenging, but he is self-critical and differentiates between the data and his interpretations. Although some of Zevit's conclusions are provocative, he is evenhanded with the data. While Zevit's conclusions will be debated and questioned, this is the most comprehensive synthesis to date of the archaeological and textual data.

Unlike other recent treatments on Israelite religion, the author does not place Israelite religion within the larger cultural context of the Ancient Near East. The volume is well illustrated, with extensive footnotes, references, and bibliography. He provides both the Hebrew and the English text, which is an excellent feature for students of the Hebrew Bible. The Religions of Ancient Israel will be the reference book for the next decade in biblical studies and will provide dialogue and theory building for the next generation. With the publication of the paperback edition, this volume now will make an excellent textbook for courses dealing with the religion of ancient Israel.