Full Description
In Dinner at Dan, Jonathan S. Greer provides biblical and archaeological evidence for sacred feasting at the Levantine site of Tel Dan from the late 10th century - mid-8th century BCE. Biblical texts are argued to reflect a Yahwistic and traditional religious context for these feasts and a fresh analysis of previously unpublished animal bone, ceramic, and material remains from the temple complex at Tel Dan sheds light on sacrificial prescriptions, cultic realia, and movements within this sacred space. Greer concludes that feasts at Dan were utilized by the kings of Northern Israel initially to unify tribal factions and later to reinforce distinct social structures as a society strove to incorporate its tribal past within a monarchic framework.
Contents
Chapter 1. Introduction: Unanswered Questions and the Power of a Feast
Chapter 2. Biblical Perspectives on the Northern Cult in the Monarchic Period
Chapter 3. Archaeological Evidence of Sacred Feasts at Tel Dan
Chapter 4. A Synthetic Analysis of Sacred Feasts at Israelite Dan
Chapter 5. Conclusions: Kingdom, Past, and Realpolitik at Monarchic Dan
Appendix: Cooking Pot Rim Profiles by Deposit
Bibliography
