In the excavation carried out by Prof. Yossi Garfinkel and his team from the Institute of Archeology at the Hebrew University in the Canaanite temple in Tel Lakish, an object of enormous religious importance was found, which was held in the hand of the statue of God that stood in the Holy of Holies in the temple. The archaeological research led to a scientific publication in the journal 'Antiquity'

The existence of life-sized statues of gods are well documented in historical and religious sources, and in artistic representations, but almost no statues have survived perfectly in the Levant, even though more than a hundred temples have been excavated throughout the region. Even if we examine all the temples that have been excavated throughout the entire Ancient East (including Iran, Mesopotamia and Anatolia), in sites dating from the fourth millennium BC to the middle of the first millennium BC, only a statue from the Temple of Ishtar from the city of Mari in ancient Syria is considered a life-sized statue of a divine being found whole. There could be several reasons for this. First, the sculptures were made of wood and other perishable materials, and therefore could decay over time. Second, they were covered with gold, precious stones, and precious cloth, and thus were the first to be plundered when a city was conquered or destroyed. Third, the early archaeological work was conducted with hundreds of workers and very little attention paid to the exact location of each object, which was often broken during excavations.
And so, for over 130 years of excavation in the Middle East region, almost no statues and/or divine objects were uncovered in their natural size and integrity. Now, thanks to meticulous research at an archaeological site and a contextual and iconographic analysis, the head of the Department and Institute of Archeology at the Hebrew University, Prof. Yossi Garfinkel, has succeeded in locating a complete sacred object in the Canaanite temple at Tel Lachish which he recently researched - a temple that operated around 1,150 BC (about 3200 years ago) year).
In a scientific study conducted under the leadership of Prof. Garfinkel and published last week In the archaeological journal 'Antiquity', an intriguing discovery was revealed from the Holy of Holies in the temple - a divine object made of bronze and plated with silver was found intact and in its original form. The size of the item is 112 mm x 42 mm. The base of the object is narrow and its body is wide. Two statuettes (small statues) of a warrior Canaanite god, probably the god Baal, were also found near it. Anyone who looks at the object before it was cleaned and preserved by Miriam Lavi in the conservation laboratory of the Institute of Archeology at the Hebrew University, may think that it is a worthless find, but due to the presence of the object in the Holy of Holies of the Canaanite temple at Tel Lachish and next to it are the two statuettes of the gods, the researchers concluded that it is an object A ritual of great religious importance. It should be noted that the object is stamped with various decorations - 64 dots spread over four different areas, a large circle and straight lines that surround some of the dots.

A breakthrough in understanding the object from Lachish was made possible by comparing it to a figurine from that period, known from the excavations of the Canaanite city at Tel Megiddo. In this statuette, made of bronze and plated with gold, a seated god is seen holding in his hand a miniature object that has survived intact - which was identical in shape to the large object discovered in Lachish. This figurine is now in the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago, which was excavated in Megiddo during the British Mandate. The item in the figurine's hand did not arouse special interest among the researchers, but now it was photographed especially for the purpose of comparison with the new discovery in Lachish, and to our surprise it was found that a decoration of dots, a large circle and straight lines appeared on it, just like in the item from Lachish. A similar object from the same period was also discovered in Hazor, in a ritual context, but its decoration was different, and probably included a number of snakes and a human face.
The figurine from Megiddo indicates that the find from Lachish is part of a life-sized statue of a god, with this statue holding the object in question. In the biblical tradition such an object is called "the staff of God". The great importance of the staff can be learned from the fact that it is coated with silver in Lachish, and coated with gold in Megiddo.
The decorations on the two objects from Lachish and Megiddo are not clear enough to Prof. Garfinkel and are a puzzle to him. "The meaning of this complex pattern is not yet clear to me," Prof. Garfinkel wrote in his article. "Sometimes it seems to me that the treading in Lachish resembles a human figure with a large head, two diagonal arms and a schematic lower body with two legs. However, this interpretation is not entirely convincing, and it is possible that this pattern has no figurative meaning at all, but represents some kind of astronomical or magical symbol. Also the decoration in Megido is not clear, and supports the conclusion that this decoration is not figurative."
In general, Prof. Garfinkel did not spare words to describe his excitement at the discovery in Lachish: "This is what the biblical tradition refers to when it describes Moses performing miracles. Moses was able to perform miracles, a unique divine ability, when he took the staff of God in his hand (Exodus 4:20) Without the staff he would not be able to perform these miracles, but the staff gives him divine abilities A spell like a spell or body movements, but from the very act of holding the god's scepter in his hand."
According to Prof. Garfinkel, the statuettes and the staff found in Lachish join similar finds found in archaeological sites such as Megiddo and Hazor, which together depict, in a relatively good way, the figures of the Canaanite gods that prevailed in the land before the appearance of the Israelites. It is possible that the Israelites received ritual concepts from the Canaanites, and believed that the divine leader must use a sacred staff to perform miracles.
The staff was exposed inside the temple, in the middle of the northern wall of the building. Over the years, the temple suffered from a landslide that severely damaged the eastern side and the northern side, but thanks to a symmetrical plan it was possible to restore it in its entirety and its area was about 300 square meters. Large quantities of beads, weapons and various gold objects were also found in the temple. Parts of the statue of the great god, which crumbled or was looted.
More of the topic in Hayadan:
- A child discovered on a trip a rare 3500-year-old tablet with the figure of a captor and captive engraved on it
- Researchers from the Hebrew University, the Antiquities Authority and Macquarie University in Sydney: "We have found the biblical Tzkelg"
- An observation tower from the days of King Hezekiah was uncovered in archaeological excavations by the soldiers of the paratrooper base in the south of Israel
14 תגובות
I thought Gorfinkel has been claiming for years that Moses did not exist.
It turns out that when it was convenient for him, Moses was there.
The time has come for Tel Aviv University, who claim that the Bible did not exist, to adopt Bar Ilan's approach, because it did exist.
I agree with the commenter Herzl's opinion and adds that perhaps we have here perhaps a type of ancient Braille writing that the priest who was also a type of shaman/ pagan healer gave the blind an object that they could touch and see the image of a god..
Fascinating.. I would recommend that only those with a doctorate degree or higher be allowed comments, then the comments will be relevant and respectful.
@Shobb I broadcasted
Drink a glass of water, relax.
It is not clear what the talkbackists are talking about here regarding claims that the Jews were first. Who claims such a stupid thing? Not even the Torah. Before Abram, the first Jew, there were many others. There is no claim anywhere that we are first.
There is a claim, no less stupid, that the land was promised and given to the Jews by Yahweh. But this was long, long after there were already many other regional peoples here - among them the Canaanites
To Naor the academic Iksa the confused Alex. Is Hebrew a difficult language or have you assimilated it? The plastinated and invasive inventors in whose veins the blood of the Arab tribes flows, they are also the speakers of their language, the celebrants of their tradition and heritage and their customs, which testify echoes and multitudes of their origins, their connection and link to the Arab Punicila abroad. The ancient Philistines who preceded the common Plastites, did not originate from Arab countries. In their veins flowed Mesopotamian blood from the shores of the Aegean Sea. Their idols, their custom, their tradition and the procedure of their army is a copy from ancient Rome. There is no confusion between the ancient Philistines and other peoples who flourished in Canaan until a people with Hebrew blood in their veins came to the possession of the Land of Israel and the people were called Jews after Judah. From the people of Jacob, whose name was called Israel, a Hebrew from the time when we were Hebrews, a Jew by the name of Judah. I'll add a little hint: Y _ Hoda. Thanks to whom? Israel - straight _ to. And Ishr (E) to where, in Jacob or in his possession Israel or both? Hebrews – עבר/י _ ים – for ים ים עבר (ל) יים. Yerushalayim - Yar (a) of Yaim. "M" is not a house or a dwelling? They will look _ complete…
Archeology proves every day anew that the land belongs to the Canaanites. They were here thousands of years before the Jews conquered the land... and where are the Canaanites today? They were and still are in Israel and are called Palestinians.
In Tel Harsim, an unknown site located near Highway 383, a sacred site was found in the excavations of Shmuel Givon years ago, the remains of Mycenaean and Ptolemaic Canaanite pottery buildings of the "Baal" Cespar Oonat, an excavation uncovered an ancient Parzot site. His form is that of a figurine, they say only that he is not sitting but standing. Any find that indicates the settlement of a material culture cult is very exciting! Thanks to the revealers!!!
You're all wrong, it's actually a selfie stick and there's an iPhone at the end. This is a statuette that depicts the creatures that descended to earth from the sky and gave man the first screen of contact
not'
Only a blind person sees a twist of an omelette, when it is clear that it is a twist of a hamburger!
I immediately identified by the 64 points spread into four different areas,
A large circle and straight lines that surround some of the points
It's a tarvad with which you make an omelette
Which idol and which shoes looks like an average rascal with a ridiculous hat, start beating yourself up and if you suspect it's a statue of an idol, my personal suggestion to you is to burn it
It's a tarvad with which you make an omelette
What kind of idol and what kind of shoes does he look like an idiot with a ridiculous hat, start beating yourself up and if you suspect that this is a statue of an idol, my personal suggestion to you is to burn it
It seems to me that there is another possibility: that the staff was intended to be held by a person, that is, the priest of the temple, as opposed to being held by a statue. And actually also a third possibility: the staff was held in the hand of a statue every day, and the priest took it when he had to perform a miracle.
The Zionists would prefer to bury this statuette back in the ground. This conflicts with the theory that the Jews were the first to be here