WOMEN IN UGARIT AND ISRAEL

OUDTESTAMENTISCHE
STUDIEN
OLD TESTAMENT STUDIES
published on behalf of
the Societies for O l d Testament Studies in
T h e Netherlands, Belgium, and South Africa
by

J O H A N N E S C. DE M O O R
KAMPEN
ADVISORY BOARD

H A R R Y VAN R O O Y

MARC VERVENNE

POTCHEFSTROOM

LEUVEN

VOLUME XLIX

WOMEN IN UGARIT
AND ISRAEL
THEIR SOCIAL AND RELIGIOUS POSITION
IN T H E C O N T E X T O F T H E A N C I E N T N E A R E A S T

BY

HENNIEJ. MARSMAN

6 8

BRILL
LEIDEN BOSTON
2003

This book is printed on acid-free paper.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in Publication data

LC Control Number: 2003051999

ISSN 0169-7226
ISBN 90 04 11732 6
Copyright 2003 by Koninklijke Brill nv, Leiden, The Netherlands
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, translated, stored in
a retrieval system, or transmitted in anyform or by any means, electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written
permission of the publisher.
Authorization to photocopy itemsfor internal or personal
use is granted by Brill provided that
the appropriatefees are paid directly to The Copyright
Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Suite 910
DanversMA 09123, USA.
Fees are subject to change.
PRINTED IN THE NETHERLANDS

To Derk Jan Marsman

and Dina Marsman-Hasewinkel

Contents
Preface

ix

Introduction

1.1

Early Feminism and the Bible

1.2

The Synchronic Approach

12

1.3

The Diachronic Approach

22

1.4

Methodological Considerations

31

The Social Position of Women

43

2.1
2.1.1
2.1.1.1
2.1.1.2
2.1.1.3
2.1.1.3.1
2.1.1.3.2
2.1.1.4
2.1.1.4.1
2.1.1.4.2
2.1.1.5
2.1.2
2.1.3
2.1.4
2.1.5
2.1.6

Women in the Family

Wife
The Choice of a Partner
Courtship
Marriage
The Legal Basis of Marriage
Was Marriage a Religious Institution?
Married Life
Husband and Wife
A Wife's Own World
The Dissolution of Marriage
Mother
Sister
Daughter
Widow
Orphan

47
49
49
73
84
84
107
122
122
153
168
191
243
252
291
321

2.2
2.2.1
2.2.1.1
2.2.1.2
2.2.1.3
2.2.1.4
2.2.2
2.2.2.1
2.2.2.2
2.2.2.3
2.2.2.4

Women in Society
Women of the Court
Queen
Queen Mother
Royal Wives and Concubines
Princess
Non-royal Women
Legal Ownership of Immovable Property
Business
Professions and Domestic Activities
Slavery

324
325
325
345
370
381
389
389
400
404
437

2.3

General Conclusions

454

The Religious Position of Women

473

3.1

Women as Religious Specialists

486

3.2

Women as Worshippers

572

3.3

General Conclusions

613

A Check on Reliability

627

4.1
4.1.1
4.1.2
4.1.3

Letters
The Letters from Ugarit
The Letters from Israel
The Letters from Elephantine

628
628
639
642

4.2
4.2.1
4.2.2
4.2.3

Seals
Seals
Seals
Seals

and Bullae
from Ugarit
and Bullae from Israel
and Bullae from Elephantine

643
643
643
659

4.3
4.3.1
4.3.2
4.3.3

Legal
Legal
Legal
Legal

Texts
Texts from Ugarit
Texts from Israel
Texts from Elephantine

659
659
676
676

4.4
4.4.1
4.4.2
4.4.3

Administrative
Administrative
Administrative
Administrative

4.5

Conclusions

690

Summary and Conclusions

701

5.1

The Social Position of Women

701

5.2

The Religious Position of Women

727

5.3

Epilogue

737

Indices

739

Abbreviations
Index of Authors
Index of Subjects
Index of Textual References

741
745
756
764

Texts
Texts from Ugarit
Texts from Israel
Texts from Elephantine

679
679
688
689

Preface
Theology is a caleidoscopic field of study. There are so many interesting angles one might explore that it is almost a pity to make the
inevitable choice for any particular specialism. Yet at an early stage
of my study of theology at the Kampen Theological University I became intrigued by the Hebrew Bible, or the Old Testament, as it
is commonly called in the christian tradition. The stories fascinated
me, their strangeness as well as their down-to-earth soberness. In the
course of my studies I became aware of questions regarding women in
the Bible, and those regarding feminist exegesis. I also became aware
of an often unvoiced presupposition: that the position of women worshipping the God of Israel was worse than that of women worshipping
Ishtar, Asherah, or any other goddess. According to this presupposition, women would have been better off worshipping a goddess.
This was the starting point of my dissertation which induced me
to study a wide variety of subjects, for studying the position of biblical women is as broad as studying the Bible as a whole. Many people
offered their guidance, critique, support and friendship. I am greatly
indebted to Prof. J.C. de Moor for his inspiring and professional supervision. I also thank Prof. C. Houtman for his co-supervision and
helpful comments and Prof. K.M.L.L. De Troyer of Claremont School
of Theology (USA) for her stimulating and critical remarks.
I wish to thank the Theologische Universiteit Kampen for creating favourable conditions, including financial ones, for writing this
dissertation. I am indebted to the personnel of the Kampen theological libraries of Oudestraat and Broederweg for their kind assistance.
I am grateful to the Stichting Pieter Haverkorn van Rijsewijk (Amsterdam) for their financial support in publishing this dissertation.
Thanks are due to Carolina Koops and Jolanda Paans-Spoelstra
for their assistance in some of the bibliographical research. I am thankful to Dr Denise Dijk and Dr Dorothea Erbele-Kuester for discussing
a previous draft of chapter 1 with me. To Jeanet Aartsen and Yvonne
van den Brake, who critically read the text with a feminist eye, I wish
to express my warmhearted gratitude. I also thank Dr Leslie McFall
(Cambridge) for correcting my English. For any errors that remain I
bear full responsibility.
During the years in which I wrote this dissertation I had the privilege to work in the team of the Sectie Semitica of the Theologische
Universiteit Kampen. I thank my colleagues for their friendship and
encouragement. I am indebted to Frans de Boer-Knegt, David Kroeze,

Jaap Overeem and, especially, to Dr Eveline van Staalduine-Sulman,

for their assistance in making the indixes.
I thank my family and friends for offering their interest in my
research. The continuous support of my parents during the years of
my study and writing were extremely important to me and I therefore
wish to dedicate this book to my mother, Dina Marsman-Hasewinkel
and the blessed memory of my father, Derk Jan Marsman. Finally,
deep feelings of love and gratitude concern my husband, Aart ten
Have, who encouraged me and supported me in innumerable ways.
Kampen, March 2003

Hennie J. Marsman

Chapter 1

Introduction
Biblical arguments have played a major role in the discussion regarding the social and religious position of women. During the first feminist wave1 women who demanded their rights were confronted with
biblical arguments in order to keep them in a subordinate position.
They in turn used biblical arguments to plead for matters such as
education for women and suffrage. In the first section I will give a
brief overview of the early feminist biblical interpretation.
The hermeneutical arguments used by biblical exegetes in the first
feminist wave were used again in the second wave. There was, however,
an important difference, namely, a critique of ideology, which was of
major importance in the second feminist wave. Both in synchronic
and diachronic analysis this critique was used. In the second section
five hermeneutical approaches will be discussed that combine biblical
criticism with the experience of women from a synchronic point of
view. In the third section I will discuss the diachronic analysis with
special attention to the earlier work of Rosemary Radford Ruether, in
which she points to male monotheism as the major cause for the social
repression of women. This will lead us to the main question of this
study: whether the social and religious position of Israelite women was
worse, equal or better than those living in neighbouring polytheistic
cultures. In the fourth section I will deal with the methodological
considerations required to answer this question.

1.1 Early Feminism and the Bible

In the years of the first wave of feminism,2 three different approaches
1

Feminism is often divided into two 'waves', the first starting at the end of
the nineteenth century and the second in the sixties of the twentieth century. O.
Banks, Faces of Feminism: A Study of Feminism as a Social Movement, Oxford
1981, discerns three intellectual traditions in feminism: that of evangelical Christianity, of Enlightenment philosophers, and of communitarian socialism. See also
J.J. Dijk, Een beeld van een liturgie: Verkenningen in vrouwenstudies liturgiek,
met bijzondere aandacht voor het werk van Marjorie Procter-Smith, Gorinchem
1999, 26-30.
2
In this section we will focus on the first feminist wave. In the United States
1848 is generally regarded as the beginning of the first wave. In that year the first
Women's Rights Convention was held at Seneca Falls. Feminist women in Europe
started to organize themselves some twenty years later. The publication of John
Stuart Mill's Subjection of Woman in 1869 is often taken as the starting point
in Britain. F. Dres, 'Vrouwen gepromoveerd in de theologie in Nederland', in:

to counter interpretations defending the subordination of women were

used. 3 The first approach was the use of opposing proof texts, a
method by which women countered certain biblical passages with others that were thought to be supportive of their case. The second approach was the study of female biblical characters. In this case women
were identified with either their moments of glory or their suffering.
The third approach was the most radical in that it advocated cutting
loose from everything that was considered patriarchal 4 in the Bible.
The subordination of women, and its defence using biblical arguments, has a long history. Although arguments against the subordination of women in some degree or other have been expressed over
just as long a period, their history is less well-known. Medieval female
theologians sometimes raised modest protests to the then prevailing
male-dominated interpretation of Scripture. 5 Prom the period just before the Enlightenment, Anna Maria van Schurman, a well-educated
Dutch woman, may be mentioned as an example. In 1641 she published a dissertatio on the right of women to engage in science.6 Her
J. Bekkenkamp et al. (eds), Proeven van vrouuienstudies theologie, dl. 1 (IIMO
Research Publication, 25), Leiden 1989, refers to 1870 as the beginning of the
first feminist wave in the Netherlands. In that year the pamphlet Gelijk recht voor
alien. Geschreven door Eene vrouw [pseud, of G. Feddes] was published. Dres
regards 1919, the year in which women obtained suffrage in the Netherlands, as
the end of the first wave. Around the 1920s women had acquired the right to vote
in most Western countries and this signaled the end of the first wave. Even today
there are still a few countries in the world where women are denied suffrage.
According to some writers the designations 'first' and 'second' wave are inappropriate. At the end of the eighteenth century several female writers formulated
their criticism on the social position of women in pamphlets and novels. Mary
Wollstonecraft's A Vindication of the Rights of Women, published in 1792, is
among the most well known. Most of these female writers did not operate within
an organization, but acted individually. Also the fact that some of these women
played a major role during the French Revolution has lead historians, such as Annie Romein-Verschoor, to the conclusion that it would be better to speak of three
feminist waves, the first starting around 1780. Cf. A. Romein-Verschoor, Vrouwenwijsheid: Een bundel kritieken en essays over de vrouw (Synopsis), Amsterdam
1981, 271-2.
3
Cf. A.Yarbro Collins, 'Introduction', in: Idem (ed.), Feminist Perspectives on
Biblical Scholarship (SBL Centennial Publications) (Biblical Scholarship in North
America, 10), Chico CA 1985, 4-5.
4
For a discussion on the definition of patriarchy, see section 1.3.
5
Cf. . Gssmann, 'History of Biblical Interpretation by European Women',
in: E. Schssler Fiorenza (ed.), Searching the Scriptures, vol. 1: A Feminist Introduction, London 1994, 27-40; G. Lerner, The Creation of Feminist Consciousness:
From the Middle Ages to Eighteen-seventy (Women and History, 2), New York &
Oxford 1993, esp. ch. 7, O n e Thousand Yeaxs of Feminist Bible Criticism'.
6
Nobiliss(imae) Virginis Annae Mariae A Schurman Dissertatio, de Ingenii

study was written in response to those who argued against women participating in science. According to her opponents God made females
submissive to the will of males because of woman's sin in eating from
the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Gen. 3:6). Combining this
argument with that of the duty of women to be silent and to be subordinate (1 Cor. 14:34-35; 1 Tim. 2:11-14) they were of the opinion
that women did not need to study the sciences in order to do their
task, viz. housekeeping.7 Van Schurman opposed this by means of a
scholarly rebuttal in which she stressed the equality of all souls before
God.
During the seventeenth and eighteenth century the discussion on
the status of women, including the question whether women should
be allowed to study, received some attention in Western Europe and
America. The majority of the scholars who showed an interest, however, stressed the nature of women - bearing and caring - which kept
most women from engaging in studies. Only a few women in privileged positions were able to learn Latin, Greek and Hebrew, to discuss
theological and philosophical matters, and to give a feminist reading
of biblical texts.
A more radical protest against men who justified their own privileged position by invoking biblical arguments had to wait until the
struggle for women's political rights began. In 1790 Judith Sargent
Murray wrote an essay entitled O n the Equality of the Sexes', in
which she made a plea for more educational opportunities for American women. She appended a letter to the essay which she had written a decade earlier to a male friend, responding to his claim for
male superiority. Since he based his claim on scriptural evidence, Sargent Murray, who 'had believed that "arguments from nature, reason
Muliebris ad Doctrinam, & Meliores Litteras Aptitudine. A pirate edition with
the slightly different title Arnica Dissertatio inter Annam Mariam Schurmanniam
et Andr. Rivetum de Capacitate Ingenii Muliebris ad Scientias appeared in 1638
in Paris. Since women were not allowed access to university in the Low Countries,
she could not officially defend her thesis in academia. An English translation of
the Dissertatio appeared in 1659 entitled The Learned Maid. Cf. C. van Eck, 'Het
eerste Nederlandse feministische traktaat? Anna Maria van Schurmans verhandeling over de geschiktheid van vrouwen voor de wetenschapsbeoefening', in: M.
de Baar et al. (eds), Anna Maria van Schurman (1607-1678): Een uitzonderlijk
geleerde vrouw, Zutphen 1992, 49-60 [Engl, transi.: C. van Eck, 'The First Dutch
Feminist Tract? Anna Maria van Schurman's Discussion of Women's Aptitude for
the Study of Arts and Sciences', in: M. de Baar et al. (eds), Choosing the Better Part: Anna Maria van Schurman (1607-1678) (AIHI, 146), Dordrecht 1996,
43-53].
7
Cf. A.M.H. Douma, Anna Maria van Schurman en de Studie der vrouw, Amsterdam 1924, esp. 42-60.

and experience" were sufficient to make her point', came to recognize

the necessity for adducing scriptural arguments in favour of women's
equal position. 8
Sargent Murray treated the scriptural accounts as metaphorical.
Hence, when her opponent invoked the traditional argument of Eve's
disobedience in the Garden of Eden as the cause of the Fall, with
the consequent subordination of females to males, she replied with
her own interpretation. She valued Eve's deed more positively, since
it was motivated by eagerness to gain knowledge. In Sargent Murray's view the biblical accounts were capable not only of conveying
different levels of meaning but also of bearing more than one possible
interpretation. For her opponent, and to a large extent most of American society, the Scriptures contained only one meaning, in the case of
Gen. 3:16 one that justified woman's subordination to man. However,
Sargent Murray's male friend, and other traditional scholars, not only
felt offended by her metaphorical interpretation, but also by the fact
that she, being female, criticized the conventional interpretation of
the Scriptures which had been a male preserve up until that time.
The male clergy considered her contribution to be inappropriate. 9
In the early years of the nineteenth century American women continued the struggle for equal schooling rights. 10 When the goals set
out by Sargent Murray began to be implemented and girls were allowed to participate in education, it became clear that women were
still supposed to respect the 'proper' spheres for males and females.
As the profession of school teacher opened up for women, their role
as a moral arbiter was stressed. The responsibility of women for children's moral upbringing was extended from the private home to the
school and the Sunday school.11 When Angelina and Sarah Grimk, 12
8

Cf. C. De Swarte Gifford, 'American Women and the Bible: The Nature of
Woman as a Hermeneutical Issue', in: Yarbro Collins (ed.), Feminist Perspectives
on Biblical Scholarship, 12.
9
De Swarte Gifford, 'American Women', 13.
10
On the European continent a similar struggle was going on, though results
came to fruition a few decades later in some countries. In the Netherlands, for
example, girls were excluded from secondary education. Inspired by what she had
seen in the United States, Anna Maria Storm-Van der Chijs argued in favour of
vocational training and secondary schooling for girls. During 1865-1870 she gave
several lectures on the topic. Her words struck a sympathetic note in many quarters, although there was still much opposition. But during the sixties and seventies
of the nineteenth century schooling opportunities for females in the Netherlands
gradually improved. Cf. W.H. Posthumus-van der Goot, A. de Waal (eds), Van
moeder op dochter: De maatschappelijke positie van de vrouw in Nederland vanaf
de Franse tijd, Nijmegen 31968, 41-56.
11
Although the argument of woman as moral arbiter was used by those who

Quaker women speaking against slavery, began to extend their role

as moral arbiters beyond their prescribed sphere, the tension between
that role and the ideal of woman's domestic sphere became visible
in the clash that the Grimk sisters had around 1837 with the Massachusetts clergy. The crucial issue in the conflict between the Grimk
sisters and the Massachusetts clergy was the allocation of the public
realm to men and the private realm to women. The content of the
matter for which the Grimk sisters fought - abolition - was of no
interest in the argument. The fact that the sisters had overstepped
the boundary of the private sphere to which God had confined women
was of prime importance to the clergy and they condemned it as unnatural. 13
Throughout the nineteenth century women who did not keep within
the boundaries of the private sphere were charged with unnaturalness.
New Testament passages such as 1 Cor. 11:3-12; 14:34-35; Eph. 5:2224; 1 Tim. 2:9-15 and 1 Pet. 3:1-7 were cited as proof texts for the subordination of women and the circumscription of their proper sphere.
The Grimk sisters and their fellow combatants countered these texts
with passages such as Acts 2:17-18 and Gal. 3:28. In addition, they
pointed to biblical women like Miriam, Deborah, Jael, Huldah, Elizabeth, Anna, the Samaritan woman and Mary the Mother of Jesus
as models for their own public activity. 14 Attacking each other with
opposing proof texts seems to have been the main issue of the conflict on the position of women in the light of the Bible. However,
many participants in these discussions realized that different criteria
for interpreting the Scriptures were underlying the choice of proof
texts. The position of the Massachusetts clergy, for instance, is, as
wanted to confine women to the (extended) private sphere, the same argument
was also used by some Christian women to build their case in favour of schooling.
In the 1860s Elise van Calcar-Schiotling, for example, stressed the need for girls to
become educated in the 'science of motherhood' in order to become good mothers
and good teachers as well. Cf. J.H. Sikemeier, Elise van Calcar-Schiotling: haar
leven en omgeving, haar arbeid, haar geestesrichting, Haarlem 1921, 381-2, 41011. This illustrates the fact that various persuasions existed within the feminist
movement.
12
On the Grimk sisters, cf. Lerner, The Creation of Feminist Conciousness,
160-3. Lerner notes that Sarah Grimk was a member of various denominations
during her lifetime, the Quakers being one of them.
13
Cf. De Swarte Gifford, 'American Women', 14-5. For some black women becoming aware of the questionable use of the Scriptures in their repression, see
K. Baker-Fletcher, 'Anna Julia Cooper and Sojourner Truth: Two NineteenthCentury Black Feminist Interpreters of Scripture', in: Schssler Fiorenza (ed.),
Searching the Scriptures, vol. 1, 41-51.
14
Cf. De Swarte Gifford, 'American Women', 17.

Carolyn De Swarte Gifford observes, 'an example of an interpretation

of scripture that took as a guiding principle or criterion the notion
that God from creation intended that females be subordinate to males
and that they inhabit different spheres'. 15 The biblical interpretation
of feminists such as the Grimk sisters and, half a century later, the
temperance advocate Frances Willard, 16 contrasted sharply with this.
To them the central message of the Scriptures was one of liberation
from oppression.
According to both Sarah Grimk and Frances Willard, the concept
of subordination of women was based on a false interpretation of the
Bible, a fundamental and wilful misunderstanding of male translators
and interpreters. 17 Therefore, incorrect translations and biased traditional interpretations needed to be replaced with what these feminists
held to be the original biblical message of freedom and equality. Hence,
women needed to study Hebrew and Greek in order to translate the
Bible themselves. 18 During the nineteenth century most women involved in the struggle for equal rights, like Grimk and Willard, believed that if the Bible were interpreted correctly, it would reveal
God's intention that women be equal to men.
In this respect the impact of higher criticism of the Bible seemed
very promising. By the end of the nineteenth century this method
had become an accepted approach, both in Europe and the. United
States, even though a fundamentalist use of the Bible was never fully
replaced by it. 19 Biblical criticism, with its presuppositions, brought
into question the plenary inspiration of the Bible. The notion that
the Bible, although containing the Word of God, is in its entirety
15

Cf. De Swarte Gifford, 'American Women', 17.

Willard was president of the Women's Christian Temperance Union (WTCU)
in America from 1879 till her death in 1898. In 1883 she founded the worldwide
WTCU and was its first president. Besides temperance she also was an advocate
of woman suffrage and improvement of working conditions regarding safety for
women. Cf. NEBrit.Mic, vol. 12, 664. On Willard and other nineteenth-century
Evangelical feminists, cf. .A. Hardesty, Women Called to Witness: Evangelical
Feminism in the 19th Century, Nashville 1984.
17
An example of this is the translation of Gen. 3:16. De Swarte Gifford, 'American Women', 20, mentions that 'Sarah Grimk and others . . . had pointed out that
with an alternative translation of verb forms - from 'shall' to 'will' - the passage
could be read as God's prediction of women's lot in a fallen creation rather than
God's timeless commandment for women'.
18
Cf. De Swarte Gifford, 'American Women', 19-26; D.C. Bass, 'Women's Studies and Biblical Studies: An Historical Perspective', JSOT 22 (1982), 7.
19
See e.g., J.W. Rogerson, 'Bibelwissenschaft', in: TRE, Bd. 6, 351-2, 356-7; H.J. Kraus, Geschichte der historisch-kritischen Erforschung des Alten Testaments,
Neukirchen 31982, 242-94.
16

not the Word of God, but articulated in historically limited and culturally conditioned human language, was an assumption shared by
biblical critics and feminists. 20 Feminists could refer to a growing
number of publications on new approaches to the Bible that could
also be used in support of their case. However, as Dorothy Bass puts
it, 'the sociology of scholarship precluded an alliance1 between biblical
scholars trained in higher criticism and the advocates of a feminist
hermeneutic. 21 Although the latter were disposed towards adopting
the tools of higher criticism, these tools were under the guardianship
of traditional biblical scholars, among whom were very few women. 22
Marie-Theres Wacker suggests that those few women who were active
in what she calls 'Mnnerexegese', i.e. traditional exegesis, did not
have the same goal as those striving for women's rights. The latter,
she argues, aimed ultimately at undermining the divine authority of
the Bible, whereas the former might have had no further goal than to
educate women according to scientific standards at the newly established women's colleges.23 Whether or not this analysis is correct is
difficult to establish.
Of interest in this respect is the dissertation of Constance Gerlings, the first Dutch woman to obtain a doctorate in theology.24 The
20

Cf. De Swarte Gifford, 'American Women', 21; E. Schssler Fiorenza, In Memory of Her: A Feminist Theological Reconstruction of Christian Origins, London
1983, 13.
21
Bass, 'Women's Studies', 7.
22
Writing on women's history in the Society of Biblical Literature, Bass reports
that the first female member of the SBL was admitted in 1894. The few women
who were SBL-members were mostly teachers at women's colleges. This career pattern, according to Bass, continued into the 1940s. Women were generally excluded
from teaching at theological and university faculties. Bass, 'Women's Studies', 10,
states: 'Women SBL members have been active for women's causes, but as far
as I can tell they did not combine this commitment with scholarly activity to
produce a unified, feminist reading of the Bible. Until the 1970s, it was necessary
to seek feminist hermeneutics outside the SBL'. On the history of female biblical
scholars see further C. Halkes, 'Towards a History of Feminist Theology in Europe', in: A. Esser, L. Schottroff (eds), Feministische Theologie im europischen
Kontext (Yearbook of the European Society of Women in Theological Research,
1), Kampen & Mainz 1993, 11-37; D.J.A. Clines, 'From Salamanca to Cracow:
What Has (And Has Not) Happened at SBL International Meetings', in: Idem,
On the Way to the Postmodern: Old Testament Essays, 1967-1998 (JSOT.S, 292),
vol. 1, Sheffield 1998, 158-93; Idem, 'From Copenhagen to Oslo: What Has (And
Has Not) Happened at Congresses of the IOSOT', in: Idem, On the Way to the
Postmodern, vol. 1, 194-221.
23

M.-Th. Wacker, 'Geschichtliche, hermeneutische und methodologische Grundlagen', in: L. Schottroff et al. (eds), Feministische Exegese: Forschungsertrge zur
Bibel aus der Perspektive von Frauen, Darmstadt 1995, 5.
24
A.C.E. Gerlings, De vrouw in het oud-christelijke gemeenteleven, Amsterdam

theme of her thesis, woman in the early Christian communities, was

strongly connected with her own personal struggle to get admitted to
the ministry. 25 In a research article on Gerlings, Freda Dres points
to the fact that in her dissertation she did not use any literature published in feminist circles. Feminist authors like Barbara Kellison and
Lydia Stcker who, like Gerlings, drew on the status of women in
the Early Church to make their case, and others like Matilda Joslyn
Gage and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, who accused Christianity of contributing decisively to the subjection of women, were not mentioned
by Gerlings. Dres assumes this can be partly explained by the fact
that these women did not have an academic education. 26
1913.
25
In her dissertation Gerlings first gives an overview of the position of women
in the Greek, Roman and Israelite world, and opposes this with Jesus1 universal message of the Kingdom of God. According to her, Jesus broke with Jewish
tradition by treating women and men equally (73). - On the dangers of such a
dualistic approach, see the criticism on revisionists below. - In the Early Church
women had a position equal to men, though sometimes their participation was restricted by social and cultural circumstances. Both women and men administered
the sacraments of baptism and communion in the first Christian congregations
(194-214). With the development of the Catholic church, however, woman's role
became restricted. 'When the Lord's Supper degenerated into Mass, and hereby
the sacrificial service actually was introduced anew in the Christian church, one
took the Old Testament position again, and exclusion of woman was a direct
consequence' (214, transi, HJM).
26
The only woman Gerlings did refer to was Anne Dacier (1647-1720), who
published a number of source editions of Greek philosophers that are of scientific
value even today. Cf. F. Dres, 'Dr. Constance Gerlings: De ontwikkeling van
een gengageerd theologe', in: F. Dres et al. (eds), Proeven van vrouwenstudies
theologie, dl. 3, (IIMO Research Publication, 36), Leiden 1993, 97-166, esp. 131-7.
Gerlings dissertation was influential in her struggle to get admitted to the ministry.
Beginning in 1905 she wrote several requests to the Nederlandse Hervormde Kerk
(Dutch Reformed Church) concerning this matter. But time and again she was
turned down, partly on dogmatic-biblical, and partly on practical grounds. Then
in May 1913, shortly before taking her doctoral degree, she again put in a request,
together with four other female students of theology. This was discussed in some
detail in the meeting of the synod in July 1913. By then she was already a Doctor
of Divinity and this was of some influence in support of her request, as was the
content of her dissertation. Although her request was again turned down, only
one member of the synod had objections on theological grounds. The others put
forward objections on practical grounds only. Cf. Dres, 'Dr. Constance Gerlings',
110-2, 119-23,127, 154-6.
It was only in 1967 that women were admitted to the ministry in the Nederlandse Hervormde Kerk and two years later, in 1969, the synod of the Gereformeerde Kerken in Nederland (Reformed Churches in the Netherlands) opened
the ministry to women. Some of the smaller Dutch denominations were much
earlier, the Doopsgezinde Sociteit (Mennonites) already admitted women to the
ministry in 1905. Yet some of the Reformed sister churches over the world still

Many feminists of the nineteenth century were convinced that

somehow the Bible would prove to contain expressions of a nonpatriarchal faith. If only educated women applied the tools of higher
criticism to the Scriptures, they would be able to prove that such a
non-patriarchal faith had been normative in true biblical religion.27
In this way they were able to combine their traditional Christian belief with their feminist views. However, not all feminists held this in hindsight somewhat naive - conviction. For a few leaders of the
women's rights movement, notably Elizabeth Cady Stanton, the patriarchal faith of the Bible and feminism were ultimately irreconcilable.
Elizabeth Cady Stanton is probably one of the foremost representatives of feminist biblical scholarship in the nineteenth century. 28 Already in 1848, at the first Woman's Rights Convention in Seneca Falls
(NY) she protested against male claims that the Scriptures contained
a divine mandate for restricting women's activities. 29 Moreover, she
dedicated most of her lifetime to the struggle for equality for women
and the abolition of slavery. When she was well into her seventies she
wrote the work by which she is now most widely remembered. Together with the 'Revising Committee' 30 she published The Woman's
Bible in 1895 and 1898. Her reaction was prompted by the preparation
of the Revised Standard Version of the Bible by an all-male committee
between 1881 and 1885.31 Cady Stanton stated she would have preferred cooperation of 'Hebrew and Greek scholars, versed in Biblical
exclude women from the clergy; cf. M. Bakema, L. Sluis-Sluis, Een ander ambt:
Vijfentwintig jaar vrouwen in het ambt in de Gereformeerde Kerken in Nederland,
Kampen 1994, 75-91; L.A. Werkman, O p eigen wijze?: De geschiedenis van de
vrouw in het ambt 1 , in: D.Th. Kuiper et al. (eds), Predikant in Nederland (1800
tot heden) (Jaarboek voor de geschiedenis van het Nederlands Protestantisme na
1800, 5), Kampen 1997, 254-73. Antoinette Louisa Brown is usually considered to
be the first woman minister in the United States. She was ordained in 1853.
27
Cf. De Swarte Gifford, 'American Women', 27, 30.
28
But cf. . Schssler Fiorenza, "Transforming the Legacy of The Woman's
Bible', in: Idem (ed.), Searching the Scriptures, vol. 1, 12, who notes the risk
of singling out The Woman's Bible as 'the milestone in the history of women's
biblical interpretation'. This risk also holds for the main author of the Woman's
Bible, Cady Stanton.
29
Cf. . Cady Stanton and the Revising Committee, The Woman's Bible, part
1-2, repr., Seattle 1974, vi (first impr. 1895-8; also reprinted: Salem NH 1986).
30
The Committee consisted of twenty woman suffragettes, among whom three
Universalist ministers and several prominent free-thinkers; cf. Bass, 'Women's
Studies', 10.
31
C. De Swarte Gifford, 'Politicizing the Sacred Texts: E. Cady Stanton and
The Woman's Bible', in: Schssler Fiorenza (ed.), Searching the Scriptures, vol.
1, 52-63 (56).

criticism', but that these distinguished women had declined because

'they were afraid that their high reputation and scholarly attainments
might be compromised by taking part in an enterprise that for a time
may prove very unpopular'. 32 And unpopular it proved to be indeed.
Cady Stanton received much criticism on The Woman's Bible, both
from the clergy and from the women's emancipation movement. 33
Realising how profound the political influence of the Bible was for it was being used as a weapon against women's struggle for liberation - Cady Stanton proposed a revision of the Scriptures. 34 Treating
the Bible as a literary work and repudiating its divine authority, the
authors of The Woman's Bible commented on those passages in both
Testaments that referred directly to women and on those in which
women were 'made prominent by exclusion'.35 Against the doctrine
of verbal inspiration Cady Stanton emphazised that the Bible was
written by men and was the expression of a patriarchal culture. 36 As
32

Cady Stanton, The Woman's Bible, 9. This seems to illustrate Bass's statement that the sociology of scholarship precluded an alliance. Yarbro Collins
supposes that the female biblical scholars invited by Cady Stanton 'may have
declined because they had been socialized to value objectivity more than commitment', commitment versus objectivity being the most striking difference between nineteenth-century feminist interpretation of the Bible and historicalcritical scholarship. Cf. Yarbro Collins, 'Introduction', in: Idem (ed.), Feminist
Perspectives on Biblical Scholarship, 3. In agreement with this see also Wacker,
'Grundlagen', 5.
33
Many women's rights leaders repudiated the book for the alleged harm it did
to the women's cause; cf. Cady Stanton, The Woman's Bible, 215-7; De Swarte
Gifford, 'American Women', 30; Idem, 'Politicizing the Sacred Texts', 57-59. Neither were the clergy particularly happy about it, to say the least. According to one
clergyman the book was 'the work of women and the devil'. To this Cady Stanton
commented that 'his "Satanic Majesty" was not invited to join the Revising Committee which consists of women alone'; cf. Cady Stanton, The Woman's Bible, ix.
On reactions from the side of conservative evangelicals and premillennialists, cf.
.. DeBerg, Ungodly Women: Gender and the First Wave of American Fundamentalism, Minneapolis 1990, 1. After publication The Woman's Bible only had a
short period of effectiveness; cf. Wacker, 'Grundlagen', 6. It was only about three
quarters of a century later that it received renewed attention, when, s a consequence of the 'second feminist wave' it was reprinted in 1974. In the 1990s the
centennial of The Woman's Bible was celebrated by means of publication of two
worthy 'daughters': C.A. Newsom, S.H. Ringe (eds), The Women's Bible Commentary, London & Louisville Y 1992 and . Schssler Fiorenza (ed.), Searching
the Scriptures, 2 vols., New York 1993-4.
34
Cf. Schssler Fiorenza, In Memory of Her, 7.
35
Cady Stanton, The Woman's Bible, 5, 12. Wacker points to the fact that
relatively much attention is given to texts that were used by opponents in the
USA to legitimize legal inequality of women, in particular Pentateuchal texts; cf.
Wacker, 'Grundlagen', 5-6.
36
According to Cady Stanton, The Woman's Bible, 13, the Scriptures 'bear the

the work progressed, Cady Stanton became convinced that patriarchy

was the foundation of Christianity as it had evolved over time. No
pointing to false translations, interpretations and symbolic meanings
could change the fact that the Bible was a patriarchal book which
did not contain a message of equality from God to the women of the
nineteenth century. Further, if the results of biblical criticism would
be applied to the biblical position of women, this would shake the
theological basis of orthodox theology. As Cady Stanton concludes in
the second part of The Woman's Bible:
T h e real difficulty in woman's case is t h a t the whole foundation of the
Christian religion rests on her temptation and man's fall, hence the
necessity of a Redeemer and a plan of salvation. As the chief cause of
this dire calamity, woman's degradation and subordination were made
a necessity. If, however, we accept the Darwinian theory, t h a t the race
has been a gradual growth from the lower to a higher form of life,
and t h a t the story of the fall is a myth, we can exonerate the snake,
emancipate the woman, and reconstruct a more rational religion for the
nineteenth century, and thus escape all the perplexities of the Jewish
mythology as of no more importance t h a n those of the Greek, Persian
and Egyptian. 3 7

In Cady Stanton's view, women needed a different belief system. According to her, the Judeo-Christian belief system was based fundamentally on the oppression of women. As a daughter of Enlightenment
liberalism, she thought this to be an inadequate expression of the
ideals of liberty, justice and equality. Many women, however, stepped
back from Cady Stanton's far-reaching conclusions.38 Still, Cady Stanton did not totally reject the Bible, for she thought it contained valuable teachings, but she advocated its expurgation. 39 In 1902, just
months before her death, she envisioned a Bible from which all passages detrimental to women would have been removed.40
Cady Stanton 'recognized the interdependence of social structure
and ideology as well as the role of the Bible in the construction of that
ideology'.41 Although women had gained more opportunities in eduimpress of fallible man, and not of our ideal great first cause, "the Spirit of all
Good" '.
37
Cady Stanton, The Woman's Bible, 214.
38
Cf. De Swarte Gifford, 'American Women', 30; Schssler Fiorenza, In Memory
of Her, 12.
39
Cady Stanton, The Woman's Bible, xii-xiii, 13.
40
De Swarte Gifford, 'Politicizing the Sacred Texts', 59-60.
41
E.M. Wainwright, Towards a Feminist Critical Reading of the Gospel according to Matthew (BZNW, 60), Berlin 1991, 12.

cation and the right to vote, the fabric of society did not change. Feminist criticism in the nineteenth and early twentieth century mostly
concerned equal rights for women. It was only with the 'second wave'42
of feminism that a critique of ideology became a basic feature.
To conclude, three approaches were used in the early years of
feminist biblical interpretation. First, by opposing proof texts women
countered certain biblical passages with others that supported their
cause. Secondly, by studying female biblical characters, women could
identify themselves with either the moments of glory or the suffering
of these biblical women. Thirdly, and most radically, by advocating
to cut loose from everything that was patriarchal in the Bible, women
tried to free themselves from male subordination. All three methods
continued to be employed in the twentieth century.

1.2 The Synchronic Approach43

The different approaches to biblical hermeneutics that were employed
during the first feminist wave were also employed in the twentieth century. In the first decades emphasis was put mainly on understanding
the transmitted text. From the nineteen sixties onwards not only was
the Bible considered a source for doing theology, but also the experience of women, although scholars differed in their view on the hierarchy of these sources. These different views can be outlined in five
approaches: the loyalist, rejectionist, revisionist, sublimationist and
liberationist approach. All of them are mainly synchronic in method.
Applying the tools of higher criticism and marking passages as
42

The 'second feminist wave' started in the 1960s. During that decade several
protest movements manifested themselves and several women who were active in
these movements became feminists. Books by Simone de Beauvoir, La deuxime
sexe, 2 vols., Paris 1949, and Betty Friedan, The Feminine Mystique, New York
1963, were of great influence to the feminist movement. 1967 is generally regarded
as the beginning of the second feminist wave in the Netherlands. In that year Joke
Kool-Smit published an article that was to have a great impact, 'Het onbehagen
bij de vrouw', De Gids 130 (1967), 267-81.
43
For the outline of feminist hermeneutical alternatives in this chapter I am
highly indebted to C. Osiek, 'The Feminist and the Bible: Hermeneutical Alternatives', in: Yarbro Collins (ed.), Feminist Perspectives on Biblical Scholarship,
93-105, and M.-Th. Wacker, 'Geschichtliche, hermeneutische und methodologische Grundlagen', in: L. Schottroff et al., Feministische Exegese: Forschungsertrge
zur Bibel aus der Perspektive von Frauen, Darmstadt 1995, 34-46. I am aware of
the fact that a classification like this does not do credit to the individuality of
authors. Some feminist biblical scholars might apply one method in connection
with another, or they might work according to different modes of interpretation
during various periods. However, the use of categories is necessary to clarify the
differences of emphasis and basic assumptions.

secondary on historical-critical ground gradually became an accepted

approach in most academic circles of the nineteenth century. However,
to consider passages to be secondary with respect to content, because
certain texts were not regarded as belonging to the genuine biblical
message, as some feminist critics stated, was not deemed acceptable
to the main stream of biblical scholars. The price for such radicalism
was scholarly and ecclesiastical isolation.
By the turn of the century some male scholars showed an interest
in the position of women in Israelite religion. Thus, e.g. 'Women in the
Ancient Hebrew Cult' was published by Ismar Peritz in 189844 and a
similar study by Max Lohr appeared in 1908 45 Soon it was realised
that also the social position of women had to be taken into account,
as was done in studies by Georg Beer46 and Willem Dirk van Wijngaarden. 47 It seems warranted to assume this interest was influenced
by the first feminist wave, especially since attention for the position of
women in ancient Israel decreased after the 1920s. In an article that
focuses on a bibliographical introduction of the theme, Phyllis Bird
states that scholarly interest in the position of Israelite women was
sporadic between ca. 1920 and 1970.48 Nevertheless, it would be incorrect to assume hardly any publications appeared, though perhaps
not all of them were qualified for the criterion 'scholarly'. 49
Most female writers on the subject of the position of women in the
Bible continued to concentrate on a better understanding of the transmitted text by taking into account the experience of women, without
questioning the authority of the Bible.50 This approach was dominant
44

I. Peritz, 'Women in the Ancient Hebrew Cult', JBL 17 (1898), 111-48

M. Lohr, Die Stellung des Weibes zur Jahwe-Religion und -Kult, Leipzig 1908.
46
G. Beer, Die soziale und religise Stellung der Frau im israelitischen Altertum,
Tbingen 1919.
47
W.D. van Wijngaarden, De sociale positie van de vrouw bij Israel in de vooren na-exilischen tijd, Leiden 1919.
48
P.A. Bird, 'Women in the Ancient Mediterranean World: Ancient Israel', in:
Biblical Research 39 (1994), 37.
49
Cf. M.I. Gruber, Women in the Biblical World: A Study Guide, vol. 1: Women
in the World of Hebrew Scripture, (ATLA Bibliography Series, 38), Lanham MD
1995, 19-155. The topic 'social and religious position' indeed did not get much
attention during the above-mentioned period. More interest was shown in 'women
of the bible' and family matters like marriage. In the discussion on the ordination of women to the ministry, a much debated topic during the 1950s in the
Netherlands, the main focus was not on the Hebrew Bible but on the New Testament. An exception to this was C.M. van Asch van Wijck, Tweezaam is de mens,
Amsterdam 21961 [first impr. 1949],
50
One of the Dutch examples of such an approach was A.M. de Moor-Ringnalda,
Vrouwen als u en ik, Utrecht 1959. Also a dissertation defended in 1968 at the
Free University of Amsterdam by C.J. Vos - a male author - may be characterized
45

in the period that preceded the second feminist wave. When a critique
of ideology became a basic feature of feminist biblical scholarship, this
method continued to be used, mainly in orthodox and evangelical circles.51 One might call the approach loyalist. The foundational premise
of this method is 'the essential validity and goodness of the biblical
tradition as Word of God, which cannot be dismissed under any circumstance'. 52 Hence, to loyalists, the Bible is a prescriptive expression
of divine authority; being the Word of God, it cannot be oppressive.
Therefore the interpretation may be at fault, but not the text itself.
Scholars who work according to the loyalist approach treat passages
that are problematic to women today in two ways. First, by showing
through critical exegesis that texts which seem to oppose women's
rights in fact do not contradict each other, and the explanation for
this is found in the principle of hierarchy of truth. 53 The second way
consists in pointing out the limited validity of ancient Israelite civil
and ceremonial law over Christians liberated by Christ. 54
With regard to the subordination of women, the loyalist approach
means that the traditional argumention, stressing the necessity of order through hierarchy, is accepted in a restricted sense. Subordination,
loyalists argue, needs to be understood as 'necessary leadership of one
and followership of the other as the only and divinely intended way
to unity and harmony in society'. 55 This hierarchical order is misunderstood if it is seen as a relation of dominance and submission.56
It is understandable that in opposition to this rather ambiguous
approach, others picked up Cady Stanton's radicalism again, but went
in this way, cf. C.J. Vos, Woman in Old Testament Worship, Delft 1968.
51
Cf. e.g., L. Dawson Scanzoni, N.A. Hardesty, All We're Meant to Be: A Biblical Approach to Women's Liberation, Waco TX 1974; V.R. Mollenkott, Women,
Men and the Bible, Nashville 1977; M. Suurmond-Vonkeman, 'Een evangelische
waaxdering van en kritiek op de feministische theologie', Soteria 4 (1987), 16-24;
M.E. Suurmond-Vonkeman, J.-J. Suurmond, 'Een tandemrelatie van Woord en
Geest', Mara 2/2 (1989), 56-62.
52
Cf. Osiek, 'The Feminist and the Bible', 99.
53
Cf. . Schssler Fiorenza, 'Feminist Hermeneutics', in: A BD vol. 2, 789.
54
On the debate of anti-Judaism in women's studies, see further below (criticism
of the revisionst strategy).
55
Cf. Osiek, 'The Feminist and the Bible', 100. A somewhat different interprets
tion is that which, while holding on to the authority of the Bible, stresses mutual
submission before God. Thus e.g. Mollenkott, Women, Men and the Bible.
56
According to Wacker, 'Grundlagen', 36, the weakness of the loyalist viewpoint
is that it lacks possibilities of feminist analysis of patriarchalism. 'Frauendiskriminierung kann in diesem Rahmen nur entweder wegerklrt oder als akzidentelle
Abweichung von einer guten und zeitlos gltigen Ordnung verstanden werden'. For
this reason she denies the designation 'feminist' to this method. On her definition
of feminism, see Wacker,'Grundlagen', 34.

a step further in totally rejecting the Bible's authority as it is imbued

with patriarchalism. This approach may be called rejectionist. One
of its most eloquent advocates is Mary Daly.57 She rejects a distinction between the essence of the biblical message and the accidents
of its expression in culturally and sociologically determined language.
According to Daly, the androcentric language of the Bible is not accidental, but essential to it; the medium is the message.58 Her attempt
to formulate a post-Christian faith that would go beyond patriarchal
religion and transcend into a sisterhood as cosmic covenant met some
harsh criticism, even from feminist writers. 59 However, there are also
feminists who, following Daly's lead, have developed a religious belief
system based solely on the experiences of women. In their thealogies
they offer theories of the Goddess. 60
In between the two extremes, loyalism and rejectionism, at least
three other hermeneutical options may be discerned. One is the revisionist strategy of interpretation. 61 According to revisionists, the
57
M. Daly, Beyond God the Father: Toward a Philosophy of Women's Liberation,
Boston 1973; Idem, Gyn/Ecology: The Metaethics of Radical Feminism, Boston
1979.
58
In her 'Feminist Postchristian Introduction' to the second edition of The
Church and the Second Sex, Daly II (postchristian) imagines a conversation with
Daly I (Catholic Feminist): ' "Professor Daly," I would say, "don't you realize
that where myths are concerned the medium is the message? Don't you see that
the efforts of biblical scholars to reinterpret texts, even though they may be correct within a certain restricted perspective, cannot change the overwhelmingly
patriarchal character of the biblical tradition?" ' Cf. M. Daly, The Church and
the Second Sex, with a new feminist postchristian introduction by the author,
New York 21975, 21. The first edition was published in 1968. Cf. further Schssler
Fiorenza, In Memory of Her, 22-3.
59
Radford Ruether, for example, criticises Daly's work as neo-Gnosticism, 'built
on the dualism of a transcendent spirit world of femaleness over against the deceitful anticosmos of masculinity'; cf. R. Radford Ruether, Sexism and God-Talk:
Towards a Feminist Theology, London 1983, 230. Cf. also Osiek, 'The Feminist
and the Bible', 98-9; Wacker, 'Grundlagen', 37.
60
E.g. the thealogian Carol P. Christ, Diving Deep and Surfacing: Women Writers on Spiritual Quest, Boston 1980; Idem, Laughter of Aphrodite: Reflections on
a Journey to the Goddess, San Francisco 1987. On Goddess worship and thealogy
cf. further E. Erwin Culpepper, 'Contemporary Goddess Thealogy: A Sympathetic Critique', in: C.W. Atkinson et al. (eds), Shaping New Vision: Gender and
Values in American Culture (Studies in Religion, 5), Ann Arbor MI 1987, 51-71;
N.R. Goldenberg, 'The Return of the Goddess: Psychoanalytic reflections on the
shift from theology to thealogy', SR 16 (1987), 37-52. It should be noted that
not all thealogians reject the Bible, some endorse the viewpoints of the sublimist
approach (see further below).
61
Cf. Osiek, 'The Feminist and the Bible', 100-1; E. Schssler Fiorenza, But She
Said: Feminist Practices of Biblical Interpretation, Boston 1992, 21-4; Wacker,
'Grundlagen', 38-41.

patriarchalism that shaped the biblical tradition is a historical, not a

theological determinant. The patriarchal characteristics are not intrinsic to the tradition; their human form needs to be distinguished from
the biblical revelation, the core of which would be non-patriarchal.
Thus, the patriarchal accidents can be separated from the non-patriarchal essence.62 To demonstrate the legitimacy of this distinction,
revisionists show by various methods that the biblical world is not
completely patriarchal. 63
Among revisionists the arrangement of biblical texts into positive
and negative categories is common. Sometimes a third category of
ambivalent texts is added. The texts labeled negative are considered to
be historically conditioned and their authority restricted to their own
time, whereas texts labeled positive are considered to have enduring
authority. 64
The danger of such a dualistic approach within a Christian context is demonstrated by Bernadette Brooten. 65 Using Leonard Swid1er's Biblical Affirmations of Woman66 as an example, she reveals the
anti-Judaism in his presentation. 67 Variants to this Christian-positive
62
Cf. Wacker's description of the revisionist strategy in 'Grundlagen', 38: 'Die
'revisionistische' Hermeneutik nimmt, da sie historisch-kritisch arbeitet, durchweg deutlicher als die 'loyalistische' die geschichtlich bedingten Brechungen des
Gotteswortes in Menschenwort auch fr das Neue Testament wahr, unterscheidet die faktisch patriarchale Prgung der Bibel jedoch gleichsam als 'Schale'
(Menschenwort) von einem nicht-patriarchalen 'Kern' (Gotteswort) der biblischen
Offenbarung'. Schssler Fiorenza's description of the revisionist strategy in But
She Said, 23, is slightly different from Wacker's. She states that according to revisionists only the interpreters of the Bible are to blame for patriarchalizing texts,
the biblical texts themselves are not misogynist. Although this is true for some
feminists writing from an evangelical perspective, not all revisionist authors agree
on this. Cf. for instance P. Trible in 'Depatriarchalizing in Biblical Interpretation',
JAAR 41 (1973), 48: 'For our day we need to perceive the depatriarchalizing principle, to recover it in those texts and themes where it is present, and to accent
it in our translations' [emphasis HJM). Hence, according to Trible, the depatriarchalizing principle is not present in all the parts of the Bible.
63
Cf. Wacker, 'Grundlagen', 38.
64
Cf. Schssler Fiorenza, 'Feminist Hermeneutics', 789.
65
Cf. B.J. Brooten, 'Early Christian Women and Their Cultural Context: Issues of Method in Historical Reconstruction', in: Yarbro Collins (ed.), Feminist
Perspectives on Biblical Scholarship, 65-91. See also J. Plaskow, 'Anti-Judaism
in Feminist Christian Interpretation', in: Schssler Fiorenza (ed.), Searching the
Scriptures, vol. 1, 117-129.
66
L. Swidler, Biblical Affirmations of Woman, Philadelphia 1979.
67
Brooten, 'Early Christian Women', 76: 'Especially striking about Swidler's
outline is that, whereas passages from the Hebrew Bible and extracanonical Jewish
writings do fall under the category "negative," on the Christian side, all of the
New Testament falls into "positive" or "ambivalent," and it is only the Christian

versus Jewish-negative reading are those in which the influence of the

Greek-Roman or of the Canaanite culture are held responsible for the
negative traditions. Another danger of the revisionist approach is its
subjective procedure of distinguishing between essence and accidents.
With regard to the Hebrew Bible the work of Phyllis Trible is probably the most widely known revisionist example. 68 Using rhetorical
criticism, her hermeneutic is twofold. She discusses texts that show
a depatriarchalizing principle and, separately from this, tells tales
of terror with women as victims. It should be noted that although
revisionists distinguish between an outdated historical skin of patriarchalism and a universal essential core in the Bible they seldom pay
attention to the historical reality of Israelite society or the historical
process of shaping the Bible. Trible, for example, recognizes the essential nature of the diachronic dimension of the text, but immediately
assigns it a secondary importance,
Such considerations as historical background, sociological setting, compositional history, authorial intention, and linguistic and archaeological
d a t a are essential in the total exegetical enterprise, but in literary analysis they are supporting rather t h a n primary concerns. T h e emphasis
here is artful composition. 6 9

Such a statement by no means disqualifies the 'total exegetical enterprise', but it definitely tends to restrict the importance of historical research to the role of handmaid of literary analysis. Elisabeth Schssler
Fiorenza is doubtlessly right when she sees it as a weakness in Trible's
approach that the text is abstracted from its cultural-historical context. The latter is considered extrinsic to interpretation. 70 Therefore
it may be said that also the revisionist approach, at least as voiced
by Trible, is basically synchronic.
In some penetrating studies Esther Fuchs has demonstrated that
revisionists tend to idealize passages in which women seem to be
honoured for their courage, independence or perseverance in seeking
motherhood. In her opinion the patriarchal ideology pervades even
fathers who are placed in the negative category. The New Testament canon, with
the exception of the "(and Some Negative)," is thus kept within the boundaries
of the positive and the ambivalent1.
68
Cf. her God and the Rhetoric of Sexuality (OBT, 2), Philadelphia 1978, and
Texts of Terror: Literary-Feminist Readings of Biblical Narratives (OBT, 13),
Philadelphia 1984.
69
Trible, Texts of Terror, 6, n. 11.
70
Cf. . Schssler Fiorenza, In Memory of Her: A Feminist Theological Reconstruction of Christian Origins, London 1983, 20.

the most scenic biblical dramatizations of women's virtues. 71 Yet she,

too, refers rather loosely to the inferior social status of women, without ever attempting to establish whether this was true in actual fact
or not.
Whereas revisionist authors hold that a non-patriarchal revelation
of divine reality is still recognizable in the Scriptures, despite all androcentrism, sublimationist authors argue for a different conception
of the divine reality. Marie-Theres Wacker describes their position as
follows:
Nur wenn auch die Bibel auf ein Gttliches verweise, das wesentlich in
Symbolen des Groen Weiblichen zu fassen ist, nur wenn die menschheitsgeschichtlich wie individualpsychisch als ursprnglich postulierte
Groen Gttin, die allein den Grund einer den gegenwrtigen Herausforderungen entsprechenden Thea-logie und Spiritualitt zu bilden vermge, auch die Gott-Rede der Bibel bestimme, knne dieses Dokument
heute weiterhin Geltung beanspruchen. 7 2

Hence, sublimationist authors relate the validity of the Bible to the

fact that it contains expressions of the Divine as the Eternal Feminine.
Some even go a step further, arguing that biblical sources, when read
closely, reveal that Israel originally had a matriarchal societal structure. Gerda Weiler, for example, develops a gynocentric world view
in which (mother)goddess, creation and cosmos coalesce. According
to her, every woman embodies the cosmic and creating power of the
Goddess. 73
In the sublimist approach the (human) feminine is considered to
operate by its own principles and rules, differing from the masculine.74
The otherness of the feminine is stressed and cherished. According to
sublimationists, social roles of woman and man are fixed. With regard to biblical studies sublimist scholars glorify the eternal feminine
in biblical symbolism. 75 They stress the femininity of divine Wisdom,
71

E. Fuchs, 'The Literary Characterization of Mothers and Sexual Politics in the

Hebrew Bible', in: Yarbro Collins (ed.), Feminist Perspectives on Biblical Scholarship, 117-36; Idem, 'Who Is Hiding the Truth? Deceptive Women and Biblical
Androcentrism', ibid., 137-144; Idem, Sexual Politics in the Biblical Narrative:
Reading the Hebrew Bible as a Woman (JSOT.S, 310), Sheffield 2000.
72
Wacker, 'Grundlagen', 41.
73
Cf. G. Weiler, Das Matriarchat im Alten Israel, Stuttgart 1989, 70. Since
Weiler's book is a mixture of diachronic and synchronic approaches, I mention
her here. See section 1.3.
74
Cf. Osiek, 'The Feminist and the Bible', 101.
75
Osiek, 'The Feminist and the Bible', 102.

for instance, and the feminine character of the Holy Spirit. 76 Although
this approach may give women posibilities to understand themselves,
it inclines towards separatism and exclusivism on the social and political level.77
Finally, in liberationist hermeneutics liberation theology is connected with feminist exegesis.78 The basic assumption of feminist exegesis from the viewpoint of liberation theology is that women must become the central subject of biblical revelation. Feminist scholars working with liberationist hermeneutics regard the interpretative community of contemporary women as the centre of their hermeneutics. 79 In
contrast to revisionists, whose main interest is preservation of biblical
traditions, be it texts that reflect the experience of women or texts
that are misogynist, the main interest of liberationist hermeneutics
is connecting exegesis with the practice of women's liberation. They,
too, tend to neglect the historical dimension of the Bible as irrelevant
to their struggle.
An example of a liberationist approach is the work of Fokkelien
van Dijk-Hemmes. Founded on the theory of Patricinio Schweickart
that some texts deserve a double hermeneutic - a negative as well as
a positive - because of the Utopian moment they hold, and making
use of Mieke Bal's theory of focalisation, Van Dijk-Hemmes reveals
a double voice in the texts she analyses. 80 In a way the work of Van
Dijk-Hemmes shows the inadequacy of a schematic description of the
broad field of feminist hermeneutics. Van Dijk-Hemmes is critical both
toward reading feminist ideas into the Bible and toward writing off the
76

M. Monheim Geifert, 'Abschied vom himmlischen Vater?' in: Chr. Schaumberger, M. Maasser (eds), Handbuch feministische Theologie, Mnster 1986, 169.
77
Osiek, 'The Feminist and the Bible', 102, mentions identification with 'much
of the mystical tradition of Judaism and Christianity' and with aspects of Mariology as well as association 'with one type of Jungianism' as positive aspects, but
concludes by criticizing: 'Its response to the problems of patriarchy and androcentrism is not to join battle but by a kind of philosophical idealism to transcend
the conflict by ascribing greater importance to the world of symbols, and to assert
that the way to true freedom will be found only by following their lead'. Cf. also
Wacker, 'Grundlagen', 42.
78
Cf. Wacker, 'Grundlagen', 42-46.
79
Cf. Wacker, 'Grundlagen', 43.
80
F. van Dijk-Hemmes, Sporen van vrouwenteksten in de Hebreeuwse bijbel
(UTR, 16), Utrecht 1992 [Eng.: 'Traces of Women's Texts in the Hebrew Bible', in:
A. Brenner, F. van Dijk-Hemmes, On Gendering Texts: Female and Male Voices
in the Hebrew Bible (BIntS, 1), Leiden 1993, 17-109]; Idem, De dubbele stem van
haar verlangen: Teksten van Fokkelien van Dijk-Hemmes, verz. en ingel. door J.
Bekkenkamp en F. Dres, Zoetermeer 1995. The double hermeneutic of Van DijkHemmes consists of an exposing mode of reading ('ontmaskerende leeswijze') next
to a liberating mode ('bevrijdende leeswijze').

Bible because of its sexism. In her work she pleads for a coordination
of feminism and theology.81 Nevertheless I regard the character of
her work to be more liberationist than revisionist, since a criticism of
ideology that aims at liberation impregnates her writings.
In dialogue with Van Dijk-Hemmes since 1985, the work of Athalyah Brenner may also be classified liberationist. A product of their
collaboration is On Gendering Texts, in which they uncover the gender
positions inherent in texts. 82 Although Brenner shares the perspective
of Van Dijk-Hemmes, she stresses the exposing mode of reading over
the liberating mode. Brenner usually does not express the liberation
she aims at. Yet in her work, too, the exposing mode eventually serves
liberation, even though she interprets liberation differently from Van
Dijk-Hemmes. This is illustrated by her article O n "Jeremiah" and
the Poetics of (Prophetic?) Pornography', in which she concludes:
. . . I wish to point out t h a t whoever composed those passages perceived
women and men - not to mention God - and gender relations in a
certain way. T h a t vision . . . is pornographic. As a reader, I can resist
this fantasy by criticism and reflection. But I do so against odds, for I
myself was raised and educated to comply with that fantasy and adopt
it as my very own. Like other F readers 8 3 , I deconstruct myself by
having to fight a wish to reciprocate or even appropriate M fantasy.
For awareness is partial defense only. 84

Thus we may conclude that for Brenner liberation is interpreted as deconstruction. In contrast with her work The Israelite Woman (1985),
which she designated as 're-writing history', her later work is mainly
81

'Wanneer je op deze manier bijbelverhalen leest, niet krampachtig feministisch, wel met 00g voor de patriarchale elementen erin, doe je mijns inziens recht
aan de tekst en aar! jezelf. Je voorkomt daarmee ook het de-bijbel-heeft-tochgelijk-syndroom, met alle intolerante consequenties van dien. . . . Ik ben geen feminist omdat het in de bijbel staat, maar omdat ik dat een goede zaak vind.
Vanuit die opvatting ontdek ik dat veel bijbelverhalen ook nu nog erg inspirerend
en bevrijdend kunnen zijn, maar zeker niet alle verhalen hebben die eigenschap'.
F. van Dijk-Hemmes, 'Want eerst is Adam geformeerd en daarna Eva . . . , , in:
Idem, De dubbele stem, 40.
82
A. Brenner, F. van Dijk-Hemmes, On Gendering Texts: Female and Male
Voices in the Hebrew Bible (BIntS, 1), Leiden 1993.
83
In their On Gendering Texts, Brenner and Van Dijk-Hemmes discern female
and male voices in texts, which they symbolize as F (feminine/female) and M
(masculine/male) voices. Consequently, a text can be read from an F or M perspective, i.e. as an F or M reader. Cf. A. Brenner, 'Introduction', in: Brenner, Van
Dijk-Hemmes, On Gendering Texts , 6-13.
84
A. Brenner, 'On "Jeremiah" and the Poetics of (Prophetic?) Pornography',
in: Brenner, Van Dijk-Hemmes, On Gendering Texts , 193.

synchronic in character and the historical dimension has disappeared

into the background. 85
The liberationist mode of hermeneutics offers the possibility to
relate criticism on the subjection of women to a critical review of
social and political structures. Problematic, however, is its theology
of revelation. That which restricts or denies full humanity to women
cannot have authority - cannot reflect the divine. Thus, the danger
of creating a canon within the canon is present. What is left, then, is
a small selection of texts. 86
Looking back, it may be said that all hermeneutical approaches reviewed thus far are basically synchronic. The loyalist approach ends
up harmonizing the Bible or in simply ignoring the tensions within
the Bible which can only be explained plausibly with the help of a
diachronic hermeneutical model. If patriarchalism is rejected as a relic
of a different era and culture, as the rejectionist movement advocates,
this point of view is rarely reinforced with actual historical arguments.
Were women repressed in ancient Israel 87 ? And if so, were they repressed more than women in other ancient Near Eastern civilizations?
The discrimination between 'acceptable' texts and patriarchal redundant baggage by revisionists is an a-historical and highly subjective
procedure. The dangers of approaches that hold early Israel ultimately
responsible for the discrimination of women in Judaism and Christianity were realized too late when this deplorable form of anti-Judaism
had already cropped up in feminist writings. Emphasizing the sublime femininity of God fails to convince other scholars because such
theories are not based on solid exegetical and historical research. Using the loyalist approach makes it possible to criticize the subjection
of women, yet it contains the danger of creating a canon within the
canon.
Despite these necessary critical remarks it must be granted that
the synchronic feminist approaches were - and are - necessary. For
it is the Bible in its canonical form that was - and still is - used to
legitimize male supremacy in synagogues and churches, the tacit assumption being that this inequality commanded by God corresponded
85

A. Brenner, The Israelite Woman: Social Role and Literary Type in Biblical
Narrative (BiSe, 2), Sheffield 1985, 135-6.
86
Cf. Osiek, 'The Feminist and the Bible', 102-4.
87
With the term 'Israel' I mean both the Northern and the Southern Kingdoms.
Cf. R. Albertz, 'Biblische oder Nicht-Biblische Religionsgeschichte Israels?' in: M.
Dietrich, I. Kottsieper (eds), 'Und Mose schrieb dieses Lied auf': Studien zum
Alten Testament und zum Alten Orient, Fs. O. Loretz, (AOAT, 250), Mnster
1998, 28-30.

to historical reality throughout ancient Israel's history. Understandably a radical exposure and, where possible, rebuttal of this kind of
biblical patriarchal ideology was the first priority of the feminist exegetes. 88

1.3 The Diachronic Approach

As we have seen, the early feminist interpreters of the Bible yearned
for an alliance with literary and historical criticism of the Bible in
the hope that this would prove patriarchalism to be a non-essential
element which had developed only later on, presumably based on an
egalitarian motive. However, mainly for sociological reasons, no such
alliance was formed.
In the second wave of feminist studies of the Bible there was a
growing awareness that a historical-critical approach need not necessarily lead to the radicalism of Cady Stanton. Thus, more and more
women raised the inevitable questions concerning the historical roots
of biblical androcentrism. Next to the synchronic approach feminist
scholars stressed the importance of a diachronic analysis and the need
for historical research that incorporated extra-biblical evidence.
It was recognized that quick and easy simplifications had to be
avoided. For example, what do we mean when we describe Israelite
society as 'patriarchal'? Marie-Theres Wacker defines patriarchy as,
die konkrete Herrschaft des pater familias ber sein Hauswesen, d.h.
nicht nur seine leibliche Familie (Ehefrau und Kinder), sondern auch
die Lohnarbeiterinnen und Sklavinnen. 8 9

However, as Sylvia Schroer points out, not all women took part in
this system in the same way. The historical reality was much more
complex than Wacker's definition indicates, since some men, and even
some women belonging to certain classes or groups, exercised power
over other men, women and children, regardless of the fact whether
or not they were family.90
88

Cf. e.g., M.A. Tolbert, 'Defining the Problem: the Bible and Feminist
Hermeneutics', Semeia 28 (1983), 113-26, who points to the fact that reconstructions of history cannot replace the canon and formulates the basic problem of
feminist hermeneutics as follows: 'we are faced with the issue of how a pervasively
patriarchal document can continue to communicate anything of value to those
who reject all such oppression' (125).
89
M.-Th. Wacker, 'Geschichtliche, hermeneutische und methodologische Grundlagen', in: L. Schottroff et ai, Feministische Exegese: Forschungsertrge zur Bibel
aus der Perspektive von Frauen, Darmstadt 1995, 47.
90
Cf. S. Schroer, 'Auf dem Weg zu einer feministischen Rekonstruktion der

With regard to the description of the social position of women,

this means that not only do we need to keep in mind the position of
women vis--vis the position of men, but also the social class to which
persons belong. Those belonging to the upper social classes will have
had more opportunities to exercise power than those of lower social
classes, i.e. women belonging to the upper classes of Israelite society,
such as queens and princesses, will have been more powerful than
women and men belonging to lower classes.
Moreover, it is questionable whether the whole issue of dating texts
can be omitted from the discussion. One of the first feminist scholars who resolutely adopted a diachronical approach was Rosemary
Radford Ruether. Radford Ruether recognized the possibility of canonization as a process which may have been aimed at marginalizing
and suppressing certain branches of the community,
At a certain point a group consisting of teacher and leaders emerges
t h a t seeks to channel and control the process, to weed out what it
regards as deviant communities and interpretations, and to impose a
series of criteria to determine the correct interpretive line. T h e group
can do this by defining an authoritative body of writings t h a t is then
canonized as the correct interpretation of the original divine revelation
and distinguished from other writings, which are regarded either as
heretical or of secondary authority. In the process the controlling group
marginalizes and suppresses other branches of the community, with
their own texts and lines of interpretation. The winning group declares
itself the privileged line of true (orthodox) interpretation. 9 1

Her solution is to examine other traditions for usable principles which

criticize the Biblical tradition. 'Heretical' traditions, such as Gnosticism, or ancient Near Eastern myths, like those from Ugarit, function as resources for doing feminist theology alongside the Hebrew
Bible.92 Yet even those resources 'need to be "corrected" by the femiGeschichte Israels', in: Schottroff et al., Feministische Exegese, 88. Schroer warns
against a too hasty comparison of ancient Israelite patriarchy with male dominance in the European industrialized contemporary society (88-9). The danger of
enforcing views and values of our own time on Israelite society should be realized, especially where it concerns a 'hot item' like this. See also, in more general
terms, T. Ishida, 'Adoniah the Son of Haggith and his Supporters: An Inquiry
Into Problems About History and Historiography', in: R.E. Friedman, H.G.M.
Williamson (eds), The Future of Biblical Studies: The Hebrew Scriptures (SBL
Semeia Studies), Atlanta GA 1987, 165-87.
91
R. Radford Ruether, Sexism and God-Talk: Towards a Feminist Theology,
London 1983 [31989], 14.
92
Radford Ruether, Sexism and God-Talk, 21-2, 47-52, 56, 76, 140.

nist critical principle'. 93 In her Womanguides Radford Ruether wants

to broaden the basis for feminist theology by adding other sources
of historical tradition to the canon. 'Feminist theology must create a
new textual base, a new canon'. 94 Yet she notes that her selection of
texts is not a new canon, but only 'a working handbook from which
such a new canon might emerge'. 95 In her later work she modifies this
intention of broadening the canon. Other traditions may be used to
criticize the Bible, yet they only have the character of revelation insofar as they promote the full humanity of women. She characterizes
her position as particularistic yet rejecting exclusivism.96
Radford Ruether combines her critical principle of feminist theology, i.e., the promotion of the full humanity of women, with the
prophetic principle of the Bible. Everything in the Bible that is patriarchal must be denounced in accordance with the prophetic-liberating
tradition. 97 Although this approach clearly helps to put the social position of Israelite women in a clearer perspective, it proceeds on the
tacit assumption that women may have fared better in non-biblical
texts whereas the consequences of an opposite finding, namely more
evidence of the same repressive tendencies, are hardly reflected on. 98
Moreover, the choice of theologically acceptable prophetical traditions
certainly helps to focus on the essentials, but is bound to be subjective, since - as Radford Ruether acknowledges - the male prophets
were also far removed from rejecting male sexual discrimination. 99
The solution to broaden the basis for doing feminist theology by adding other
sources can also be elaborated differently, that is, instead of adding 'non-orthodox'
texts from the period in which the canonization process took place, one chooses
texts that are contemporary to the theologian. In her dissertation Canon en keuze
Jonneke Bekkenkamp argues for the formation of female canons alongside the
Bible as sources for doing theology. Examining the posibilities of reading 'as a
woman' and 'as a theologian' she presents a reading model by which she analyses
Song of Songs together with the Twenty-One Love Poems of Adrienne Rich. Cf. J.
Bekkenkamp, Canon en keuze: Het bijbelse Hooglied en de Twenty-one love poems
van Adrienne Rich als bronnen van theologie, Kampen 1993.
93
Radford Ruether, Sexism and God-Talk, 22.
94
R. Radford Ruether, Womanguides: Readings Toward a Feminist Theology,
Boston 1985, ix.
95
Radford Ruether, Womanguides, ix.
96
Radford Ruether, Sexism and G od-Talk, 21. This is the standpoint she also
takes in Gaia & God: An Ecofeminist Theology of Earth Healing, London 1993,
(205-6), and in Women and Redemption: A Theological History, London 1998.
97
Radford Ruether, Sexism and God-Talk, 22-33, see also 62.
98
For some criticism in this direction see Korpel, RiC, 30-1.
99
Radford Ruether, Sexism and God-Talk, 29, 63. Cf. Tolbert, 'Defining the
Problem', 123; T.D. Setel, 'Feminist Insights and the Question of Method', in: A.
Yarbro Collins (ed.), Feminist Perspectives on Biblical Scholarship (SBL Centen-

Radford Ruether sees male monotheism as a major cause of the

social repression of women,
God is modeled after the patriarchal ruling class and is seen as addressing this class of males directly, adopting them as his "sons." They are
his representatives, the responsible partners of the covenant with him.
Women as wives now become symbolically repressed as the dependent
servant class. Wives, along with children and servants, represent those
ruled over and owned by the patriarchal class. They relate to m a n as
he relates to God. A symbolic hierarchy is set up: God-male-female.
Women no longer stand in direct relation to God; they are connected
to God secondarily, through the male. 1 0 0

Whether or not this picture corresponds to historical reality remains

unclear. The least one can say is that Radford Ruether seems to simplify the issue here in skipping the many biblical examples of women
directly relating to God, either in prayer (Hannah for example) or
protest (Naomi). Although some elements of her book, such as her
hypothesis about the origin of monotheism in nomadic herding societies which were hostile to sedentary life with its female gardening
role, are outdated, 101 her main argument about the gender-related
niai Publications) (Biblical Scholarship in North America, 10), Chico CA 1985,
41; Brenner, Van Dijk-Hemmes, On Gendering Texts, 167-193.
100
Radford Ruether, Sexism and God-Talk, 53, and on 54, 'Thus the hierarchy
of God-male-female does not merely make woman secondary in relation to God,
it also gives her a negative identity in relation to the divine. Whereas the male is
seen essentially as the image of the male transcendent ego or God, woman is seen
as the image of the lower, material nature'. Radford Ruether had elaborated this
theory even earlier in her book New Woman New Earth, New York 1975, 1-35. Cf.
also Mary Daly's famous statement 'if God is male, then the male is God', Beyond
God the Father, 19. Others, such as Judith Ochshorn and Esther Fuchs elaborate
this view of sexual hierarchy of access to the divine; cf. J. Ochshorn, The Female
Experience and the Nature of the Divine, Bloomington 1981, 194-5; E. Fuchs, 'The
Literary Characterization of Mothers and Sexual Politics in the Hebrew Bible',
in: A. Yarbro Collins (ed.), Feminist Perspectives on Biblical Scholarship (SBL
Centennial Publications) (Biblical Scholarship in North America, 10), Chico CA
1985, 119. But see the criticism of Amico, SWU, 437.
101
Radford Ruether, Sexism and God-Talk, 53-4, 62. Cf. e.g., M.B. Rowton, 'The
Physical Environment and the Problem of the Nomads", in: J.-R. Kupper (ed.),
La Civilisation de Mari (RAI, 15), Paris 1967, 109-21; H. Klengel, Zwischen Zelt
und Palast: Die Begegnung von Nomaden und Sesshaften im alten Vorderasien,
Wien 1972; Y. Yadin, 'The Transition from a Semi-Nomadic to a Sedentary Society in the Twelfth Century B.C.', in: F.M. Cross (ed.), Symposia Celebrating
the Seventy-Fifth Anniversary of the Founding of the American Schools of Oriental Research (1900-1975), Cambridge MA 1979, 57-68; I. Finkelstein, The Archaeology of the Israelite Settlement, Jerusalem 1988; O.S. LaBianca, Hesban I:
Sedentarization and Nomadization, Berrien Springs 1990; T. Staubli, Das Image

symbolic hierarchy in monotheism is still shared by many. Yet, if

it could be proved that Israel's polytheistic neighbours were just as
rigidly patriarchal, Radford Ruether's argument collapses.
In the Hebrew Bible the marriage metaphor is often used as a description of the relation between Y H W H and his people.102 Radford
Ruether asserts that this would be a reversal of the ancient sacred
marriage rite in which not the God, but the Goddess would have been
the dominant partner. 103 She correctly points out that many people
continued to worship Asherah and/or 'Anat alongside Y H W H . 1 0 4 However, is it true that in the sacred marriage rite the goddess was more
important than the god? And, if so many people in ancient Israel still
worshipped a goddess, would we not- inverting Radford Ruether's
hypothesis of a gender-related symbolic hierarchy in monotheism expect priestesses next to priests in documents from the pre-exilic
period?
A somewhat similar approach is found in a controversial book by
Gerda Weiler. She asserted that in ancient Ugarit, a country culturally and linguistically quite close to Israel 105 , not a patriarchy but a
matriarchy was the rule and certain ancient cultic texts from Israel
would prove that originally the same was true in ancient Israel.106 In
her opinion Christian and Islamic monotheism have obscured the origder Nomaden im alten Israel und in der Ikonographie seiner sesshaften Nachbarn,
Freiburg 1991; I. Finkelstein, N. Na'aman (eds), From Nomadism to Monarchy,
Jerusalem 1994.
102
See e.g., F. van Dijk-Hemmes, 'The Imagination of Power and the Power of
Imagination: An Intertextual Analysis of Two Biblical Love Songs: The Song of
Songs and Hosea 2,' JSOT 44 (1989), 75-88; Korpel, RiC, 213-232; Brenner, Van
Dijk-Hemmes, On Gendering Texts, 167-193.
103
Radford Ruether, Sexism and God-Talk, 54-5.
104
Radford Ruether, Sexism and God-Talk, 55-6. Radford Ruether wrote these
lines before the inscriptions from Kuntillet 'Ajrud had been published.
105
See e.g., P.C. Craigie, Ugarit and the Old Testament, Grand Rapids MI 1983;
O. Loretz, Ugarit und die Bibel: Kanaanische Gtter und Religion im Alten Testament, Darmstadt 1990; D. Pardee, P. Bordreuil, 'Ugarit: Texts and Literature',
in: ABD, vol. 6, 706-21; M. Yon, 'Ugarit: History and Archaeology', in: ibid.,
695-706; G.J. Brooke et al. (eds), Ugarit and the Bible: Proceedings of the International Symposium on Ugarit and the Bible, Manchester, September 1992 (UBL,
11), Mnster 1994; M. Dietrich, . Loretz (eds), Ugarit: Ein ostmediterranes Kulturzentrum im Alten Orient: Ergebnisse und Perspektiven der Forschung, Bd. 1:
Ugarit und seine altorientalische Umwelt (ALASP, 7), Mnster 1995; W.G.E.
Watson, . Wyatt (eds), Handbook of Ugaritic Studies (HO, 1. Abt., 39), Leiden
1999 (henceforth HUS).
106
G. Weiler, Das Matriarchat im Alten Israel, Stuttgart 1989, a revised edition
of her earlier book, Ich verwerfe im Lande die Kriege: Das verborgene Matriarchat
im Alten Testament, Mnchen 1984. It is somewhat confusing that occasionally
she also discerns patriarchal elements in the religion of Ugarit (30-56).

inal matriarchal essence of YHWH.107 Although in this edition of her

book she does make an exception for Judaism, she, too, came under
the suspicion of anti-Judaism. 108 Because the philological and historical basis for her claim of an original matriarchy was rather shaky,
few were convinced by her argument. 109 And, as in the case of Radford Ruether, the big question remains at what point in the history of
Israel may we reckon with the origin of the concept of 'monotheism'.
In her well-known book In Memory of Her,110 Elisabeth Schssler
Fiorenza argued strongly in favour of a feminist-critical approach
which takes historical-critical research fully into account,
The explorations of this book begin therefore with the hope of moving
away from the pervasive apologetic t h a t characterizes most treatments
of women in the Bible, to a historical-critical reconstruction of women's
history and women's contributions to early Christian beginnings. 1 1 1

Emphasizing that all historiography 112 is a selective view of the past

107

Weiler, Das Matriarchat, 48, cf. 16ff.

Weiler, Das Matriarchat, 328-45. Cf. Brooten's criticism of the revisionist
stategy.
109
For some reviews of Weiler's Das Matriarchat cf. J.W. Rogerson, B0L (1990),
116; R. Laut, 'Interpretation und Willkr in feministisch-theologischer Literatur',
ZRGG 43 (1991), 360-4; J. Siebert-Hommes, BiOr 49 (1992), 826-8. On Ich verwerfe im Lande die Kriege cf. M.-Th. Wacker, 'Die Gttin kehrt zurck', in: Idem
(ed.), Der Gott der Mnner und die Frauen (TzZ, 2), Dsseldorf 1987, 11-37; I.
Mller, 'Ziele und Anliegen der feministischen Theologie: Eine kritische Darstellung unter besonderer Bercksichtigung feministischer Interpretation des Alten
Testaments', in: L. Hagemann, E. Pulsfort (eds), Ihr alle aber seid Brder, FS
A.Th. Khoury, Wrzburg 1990, 475-507.
With regard to theories on matriarchy cf. J. Bamberger, 'The Myth of Matriarchy: Why Men Rule in Primitive Society', in: M. Zimbalist Rosaldo, L.
Lamphere (eds), Woman, Culture, and Society, Stanford CA 1974, 263-280;
U. Wesel, Der Mythos vom Matriarchat: Uber Bachofens Mutterrecht und die
Stellung von Frauen in frhen Gesellschaften vor der Entstehung staatlicher
Herrschaft (Suhrkamp Taschenbuch Wissenchaft, 333), Frankfurt am Main 1980;
J.A. Hackett, 'Women's Studies and the Hebrew Bible', in: R.E. Friedman, H.G.M.
Williamson (eds), The Future of Biblical Studies: The Hebrew Scriptures (SBL Semeia Studies), Atlanta GA 1987,147; B. Wagner-Hasel (ed.), Matriarchatstheorien
der Altertumswissenschaft (WdF, 651), Darmstadt 1992; S. Schroer, 'Feministische Bibelforschung: Anliegen, Methoden und Inhalte', in: L. Blattmann et al.
(eds), Feministische Perspektiven in der Wissenschaft (Zrcher Hochschulforum,
21), Zrich 1993, 46; B. Rder, et al., Gttinnendmmerung: Das Matriarchat aus
archologischer Sicht, Mnchen 1996.
110
E. Schssler Fiorenza, In Memory of Her: A Feminist Theological Reconstruction of Christian Origins, London 1983.
111
Schssler Fiorenza, In Memory of Her, xvi.
112
Much has been written lately on the problem of biblical historiography and the
108

she claims a feminist's right to critically evaluate the historical evidence. Failure to do so would imply that women give up their own
history and lose their own identity in the process. 'Feminists cannot
afford such an ahistorical or antihistorical stance because it is precisely
the power of oppression that deprives people of their history'. 113
Although Schssler Fiorenza applied her new hermeneutics 114 to
the field of New Testament studies, her approach also won the acclaim
possibility of writing a history of Israel. For an overview which is as well-informed
as it is critical of the modish historical scepticism see E. Yamauchi, 'The Current
State of Old Testament Historiography1, in: A.R. Millard et al. (eds), Faith, Tradition, and History: Old Testament Historiography in its Near Eastern Context,
Winona Lake IN 1994, 1-36. For a noteworthy turn towards moderation in the
current debate see S. Ahituv, E.D. Oren (eds), The Origin of Early Israel - Current Debate: Biblical, Historical and Archaeological Perspectives (Beer-Sheva, 12),
Beer-Sheva 1998 and, to some extent, M.Z. Brettler, The Creation of History in
Ancient Israel, London 1995. Two recent volumes that bring together a number
of articles on Israelite historiography are L.L. Grabbe (ed.), Can a 'History of
Israel' Be Written? (JSOT.S, 245) (European Seminar in Historical Methodology, 1), Sheffield 1997 (esp. the articles of H.M. Barstad and B. Becking) and
V.Ph. Long (ed.), Israel's Past in Present Research: Essays on Ancient Israelite
Historiography (SBTS, 7), Winona Lake 1999.
It is remarkable that those writing on biblical historiography generally give
little attention to the theoretical requirements of writing women's history. See e.g.,
B.A. Carroll (ed.), Liberating Women's History: Theoretical and Critical Essays,
Urbana 1976; J. Kelly, Women, History & Theory: The Essays of Joan Kelly
(Women in Culture and Society), Chicago 1984; M. de Baar et al. (eds), In de
ban van het verhaal (Jaarboek voor vrouwengeschiedenis, 11), Nijmegen 1990
(several articles on The Future of Women's History); R. Buikema, A. Smelik (eds),
Vrouwenstudies in de cultuurwetenschappen, Muiderberg 1993, 31-44; J. Wallach
Scott (ed.), Feminism and History (Oxford Readings in Feminism), Oxford 1996.
Scholars who manage to combine the issues of biblical historiography and
women's history are Phyllis Bird, Tikva Frymer-Kensky, Jo Ann Hackett, Carol
Meyers and Sylvia Schroer, to name but a few.
113
Schssler Fiorenza, In Memory of Her, xix. See also M. Fander, 'HistoricalCritical Methods', in: Schssler Fiorenza (ed.), Searching the Scriptures, vol. 1,
205-224, esp. 213: Only a historical understanding of the origins and transmission
of biblical texts can prevent a biblicistic, fundamentalist misunderstanding'. Fander rightly stresses the importance of non-literary sources, like letters, contracts,
archaeological data, to reconstruct ancient women's reality (220). Cf. also Setel,
'Feminist Insights and the Question of Method', 39: O n a historical level, feminist
biblical scholarship affirms the significance of female experience throughout human history. Dismissal of all biblical texts as completely devoid of that experience
is an implicit acceptance of women's historical nonexistence'.
114
The interpretive process of feminist hermeneutics as outlined by Schssler
Fiorenza has four key moments: a hermeneutics of suspicion, a hermeneutics of
historical interpretation and reconstruction, a hermeneutics of ethical and theological evaluation and a hermeneutics of creative imagination and ritualization;
cf. . Schssler Fiorenza, s.v. 'Feminist Hermeneutics', in: ABD, vol. 2, 790.

of women working in Old Testament scholarship. 115

Bernadette Brooten also calls for thorough historical research by
feminist scholars. Like others, she draws attention to the fact that
ancient sources in androcentric cultures tend to obscure women's history.
Therefore it is absolutely necessary t h a t we cast the net as widely as
possible drawing upon hitherto overlooked sources, such as nonliterary
documents (inscriptions, papyri), monumental remains, art, funerary
remains, the few literary fragments and works composed by women, as
well as women's oral tradition quoted in literary sources. 1 1 6

However, she immediately goes on to warn against 'objectifying language' and argues in favour of 'historical imagination' to counterbalance the lack of evidence on the history of women which she ascribes
to the male prejudice of androcentric historiography. 117 She further
objects against any historical research which involves comparisons
between the status and role of Christian (or Jewish) women and the
status and role of women in their surroundings, because the very terminology of 'status' and 'role' is an implicit recognition of the male
world view.118 Rather unexpectedly, however, she reaffirms emphatically that extra-biblical evidence should be taken into account because
the historical study of women cannot limit itself to a canon raised to
the level of normativity by men. 119 It is difficult to see how such a procedure could take place without comparison and without discussing
the social position of women in various societies.
Phyllis Bird agrees with Brooten on the fact that the history of
women in the ancient Mediterranean world is to a large extent obscured because data on women are mostly mediated through male
authors and redactors. She describes three new types of studies that
employ new methods and constructs:
(1) anthropological studies of gender based on cross-cultural analysis of
gender patterns correlated with social and economic organization; (2)
ethnographic studies of women in particular societies, which provide
descriptive material for imaginative reconstruction of women's lives in
ancient Israel; and (3) comparative studies of women in ancient Near
115

E.g. Schroer, 'Feministische Bibelforschung', 41-52.

B.J. Brooten, 'Early Christian Women and Their Cultural Context: Issues of
Method in Historical Reconstruction', in: Yarbro Collins (ed.), Feminist Perspectives on Biblical Scholarship, 67; see also 87-91.
117
Brooten, 'Early Christian Women', 67-8.
118
Brooten, 'Early Christian Women', 82-3.
119
Brooten, 'Early Christian Women', 84-5.
116

Eastern societies based on epigraphic and iconographie data. 1 2 0

With regard to the status of women in Israelite religion, Bird advocates a study that starts with the question of women's religion. By
making use of data on cross-cultural expressions of women's religious
actions she finds that religious practices of women may differ from
those of men. 121 Also women might have rituals of their own. Traces
of women's cults can be discerned in the Hebrew Bible.
In a fine essay, Schroer has sketched the outlines of a feminist reconstruction of the history of Israelite women.122 Following Schssler
Fiorenza, she wants to apply a hermeneutic of remembrance to the
history of Israelite women.
Although Schroer also endorses the assumption that Israelite women had their own cultic activities separate from the male realm, she
does not want to focus solely on this. In the introduction to her reconstruction she stresses the dangers of a model in which state religion
is considered to be opposed to popular religion,
Die spezielle Gefahr dieser Begrifflichkeit fr eine feministische Perspektive ist, da Frauen dann sehr rasch auf die Seite der Volksfrmmigkeit, Privatfrmmigkeit und des Hauskultes geraten, whrend die staatliehe JWHW-Religion zur reinen Mnnerdomne wird. Wir wissen aber,
da auch auf hchster politischer Ebene Frauen versuchten, Einflu
auf die Landesreligion zu nehmen, und da andererseits an all den
kultischen Praktiken, die als Volks- oder Privatfrmmigkeit definiert
werden, auch Mnner, manchmal sogar die Landesherren beteiligt waren. 1 2 3

She therefore wants to investigate Israelite history along two lines:

on the one hand identification of women with Yahwism and its liberating elements and on the other hand alienating women from elements within Yahwism due to unfulfilled needs of women as well as
exclusion from the cult. 124 Although Schroer does not explicitly refer
120

P.A. Bird, 'Women in the Ancient Mediterranean World: Ancient Israel', in:
Biblical Research 39 (1994), 33.
121
Bird, 'Women in the Ancient Mediterranean World', 44: 'Women's religious
practices may take different forms than those of men, even when they occur at
the same time and in the same place; and participation in the "same" activity,
such as a communal feast, may have different meaning for women than for men'.
122
S. Schroer, 'Auf dem Weg zu einer feministischen Rekonstruktion der
Geschichte Israels', in: L. Schottroff et al. (eds), Feministische Exegese:
Forschungsertrge zur Bibel aus der Perspektive von FYauen, Darmstadt 1995,
83-172.
123
Schroer, 'Auf dem Weg . . . ', 100-1.
124
Schroer, 'Auf dem Weg . . . ' , 101. I translate Schoer's designation 'JHWH-

to it, her twofold approach coincides with Van Dijk-Hemmes' double

hermeneutic of exposing and liberating ways of reading texts. Schroer
also points to the tension between a 'hermeneutics of scepsis' and a
'hermeneutics of credit'; according to her this can only be dissolved
by means of a historical analysis. 125 Schroer thus gives a reconstruction of the history of female YHWH-devotees in different periods and
deliberately intends to avoid either a model of Heilsgeschichte or of
Unheilsgeschichte.126
To conclude, several feminist scholars emphasized the demand for
a diachronic analysis alongside a synchronic one. Radford Ruether
contended that male monotheism was to blame for the social repression of women in Israel. To some scholars this has become a tacit
assumption. Others, however, stress the need for a historical reconstruction of the history of Israelite women, while emphasizing various
aspects. Brooten, among others, pleads for historical research that ineludes extra-biblical sources. Bird points to the possibility of comparative study of women in ancient Near Eastern cultures. Schroer gives
an outline of a history of female YHWH-devotees that is intended to
overcome the antithesis of Heilsgeschichte and Unheilsgeschichte.

1.4 Methodological Considerations

Feminist studies into the biblical roots of the subordination of
women in synagogue, church, and hence in many parts of the modern
world, have brought us extremely important insights. All these studies, despite differences in approach, stress that it is no longer possible
to accept a fundamentalistic use of the Bible to keep women in a
subordinate position. Even the 'loyalists', though wanting to respect
the authority of the Bible, sought to demonstrate that the Bible does
not provide men with an excuse for oppressing women. But in order
to achieve this goal, they had to resort to harmonizing and fanciful
interpretations. The distinction the revisionists made between a paReligion1 with Yahwism.
125
Schroer, 'Auf dem Weg . . .
.84
,
126
Schroer, 'Auf dem Weg . . . , , 101-2: 'Eine Rekonstruktion der Geschichte der
JHWH-Anhngerin sollte nicht einem heils- oder unheilsgeschichtlichen Entwicklungsmodell folgen. Weder beginnt diese Geschichte mit einem goldenen Zeitalter
des Matriarchats, noch stehen am Anfang der Geschichte Israels mit JHWH frauenbefreiende Impulse, die dann kontinuierlich durch Patriarchalisierung verdrngt
wurden. Umgekehrt ist es auch nicht so, da die Israelitinnen mit den Jahrhunderten aufgrund der JHWH-Religion zu grerer Freiheit und Macht als Frauen
gelangten. Kein Aufstieg also und kein Verfall, sondern ein wechselvolles Auf und
Ab und Nebeneinander von Befreiung und Unterdrkkung [sie], Macht und Ohnmacht1.

triarchal exterior and a non-patriarchal core in the Bible proved to

be the first step in the direction of rejecting the relevance of parts of
the Bible or, even more radically, to deny the Bible all authority in
the realm of society. But even if patriarchalism was seen as the historically conditioned exterior, it was rarely attempted to prove this
by means of historical research.
Gradually, however, the necessity to delve into the historical facts
dawned upon feminist exegetes. They realized that a purely synchronic approach like literary analysis might obscure certain historical developments 127 . Was the canon of the Hebrew Bible a deliberate
patriarchalistic selection from an originally much more diverse collection of religious writings in which goddesses and matriarchy were
still deemed acceptable? Is such a limited corpus of literary works
sufficient to describe the social and religious position of women in
ancient Israel? Was patriarchal dominion the only factor determining
the relation between men and women in ancient Israel or should one
also take other factors, such as social class, into account?
Even more important, is the monotheistic faith itself to blame for
the exalted position of Israelite men, as Radford Ruether and others
have stated? If it is true, as many scholars state, that before the Exile Israel was a polytheistic nation, one would expect to find proof
in extra-biblical documents that in the pre-exilic period the role of
Israelite women in religion and society - for these domains were not
clearly separated - did not differ significantly from the role of women
in neighbouring countries. If, however, de facto monotheism started
much earlier, as other scholars hold, one would expect to find factual
evidence for the detrimental influence this had on the social and religious position of Israelite women when compared to the position of
women in neighbouring polytheistic cultures.
In this study I want to seek answers to some of the historical questions
raised above. More specifically, I want to know whether extra-biblical
evidence, in particular epigraphical material, indicates whether the
social and religious position of Israelite women was worse, equal or
better than that of other women in the ancient Near East. Furthermore, since monotheism proved to be so important in previous diseussions, I will briefly review the modern discussion on the rise of this
form of religion in which there was no longer a legitimate place for
127

Cf. Bird, 'Women in the Ancient Mediterranean World: Ancient Israel1, 33:
'Although the insightful and provocative readings of Phyllis Trible, Cheryl Exum,
Mieke Bal, Danna Fewell, and others often contribute to new assessments of
women's lives in ancient Israel, their primary interest is contemporary reception
rather than historical reconstruction'.

goddesses. Finally, I want to evaluate the relevance of the results of

my comparative study for feminist theological research.
While comparing biblical data with extra-biblical data I want to give
special attention to the texts from Ugarit. This kingdom, situated on
the coast of Syria at the latitude of Cyprus, flourished in the Bronze
Age, especially between ca. 1400-1185 BCE. The clay tablets found
since 1929 at the tell of Ras Shamra reveal much information on the
culture and religion of the ancient Ugaritians. Ever since the decipherment of the alphabetic cuneiform script, scholars have stressed
the parallels between Ugarit and Israel on lexicographical, literary
and thematic-institutional levels.128 Several writers have called for
caution, however, since there is (a) a geographical distance of approximately 450 km as the crow flies between Ugarit and Jerusalem and
(b) a temporal distance of at least two or three centuries between the
Ugaritic texts and the oldest parts of the Hebrew Bible, and a distance
of 500-1000 years with regard to younger parts of the Bible.129 This
warning is appropriate, but only to some extent. While comparing
cultures one needs to bear in mind the uniqueness of each separate
culture. Yet the individual cultures of the ancient Near East were not
solitary functioning systems, like islands, but subject to mutual influence. In this connection some speak of a cultural continuum. 130 Moreover, it is clear that there is a large degree of correspondence between
the cultures of Ugarit and (proto-)Israel and that they both spring
out of Canaanite culture. 131 As studies by Johannes de Moor and
128

G. del Olmo Lete, 'Approaching a Description of the Canaanite Religion of

Ancient Israel: Methodological Issues,' in: Brooke, Ugarit and the Bible, 259-63.
For a selection of literature see R. de Hoop, Genesis 49 in its Literary and Historical Context (OTS, 39), Leiden 1999, 20-2.
129
Cf. e.g., R. Albertz, 'Biblische oder Nicht-Biblische Religionsgeschichte Israels?' in: M. Dietrich, I. Kottsieper (eds), 'Und Mose schrieb dieses Lied auf':
Studien zum Alten Testament und zum Alten Orient, Fs. O. Loretz, (AOAT, 250),
Mnster 1998, 32-3.
130
G. del Olmo Lete, El continuum cultural cananeo: Pervivencias cananeas en
el mundo fenicio-pnico (AuOr.S, 14), Barcelona 1996; . van der Toorn, Family
Religion in Babylonia, Syria and Israel: Continuity and Change in the Forms of
Religious Life (SHCANE, 7), Leiden 1996, 4.
131
With regard to both Ugaritic and Israelite culture it has been stated that they
should not be equated with Canaanite culture. Na'aman and Rainey, for instance,
have pointed to the fact that from a geographical point of view Ugarit was not
regarded as part of Canaan; cf. . Na'aman, 'The Canaanites and Their Land: A
Rejoinder', UF 26 (1994), 403-4; A.F. Rainey, 'Who is a Canaanite? A Review of
the Textual Evidence', BASOR 304 (1996), 4-6. They both react to the extreme
position of N.P. Lemche, The Canaanites and their Land: The Tradition of the
Canaanites (JSOT.S, 110), Sheffield 1991, who assumes that 'Canaanite' was used

Marjo Korpel have shown, Yahwism emerged from a schism within

Canaanite religion.132 The considerable degree of similarity between
the two religions can no longer be denied 133 , and obviously this has
consequences for the feminist debates I described in the preceding
sections. While it seems that in the ancient Near East in general the
number of deities gradually decreased and that pantheons of Israel's
surrounding countries became smaller in the first millennium BCE, 1 3 4
in Israel the concentration went even further, resulting in monolatry and eventually in monotheism. It, therefore, seems appropriate to
compare Ugaritic textual material with the Hebrew Bible and extrabiblical sources, for in this comparison we encounter two cultures that
shared a Canaanite background but each went its separate way, one
continuing along the line of polytheism and the other moving toward
monolatry. Because the Ugaritic literary texts are limited in number
and, although to a lesser extent, this also holds true for the Hebrew
Bible, I will also include data from Mesopotamia, Egypt and Hatti
in my analysis. The primary focus of comparison, however, is with
Ugarit.
Some scholars have postulated that the position of women at
Ugarit was better than elsewhere. Claude Schaeffer, for example,
states 'la position sociale de la femme Ugarit a d tre assez enas an imprecise designation for a person from a country other than one's own.
Others, however, refer to the common heritage of literature and religion; cf. e.g.,
Loretz, Ugarit und die Bibel, 14-6; Korpel, RiC, 78, 621-35; M.S. Smith, The Early
History of God: Yahweh and the Other Deities in Ancient Israel, San Fransisco
1990, 1-7; J. Day, 'Ugarit and the Bible: Do They Presuppose the Same Canaanite
Mythology and Religion?' in: Brooke, Ugarit and the Bible, 35-52; M.S. Smith,
'Mythology and Myth-making in Ugaritic and Israelite Literatures', in: Brooke,
Ugarit and the Bible, 300-2; J.C. de Moor, 'Ugarit and Israelite Origins', in: J.A.
Emerton (ed.), Congress Volume: Paris 1992 (VT.S, 61), Leiden 1995, 205-38;
Idem, R0Y, 42, n. 5 bis.
Since the designation 'Syro-Palestinian' emphasizes geography and 'North-West
Semitic' mainly refers to shared linguistic features, I prefer to continue the accepted use of the term 'Canaanite'. It stresses the notion of linguistics, religion
and geography, although one needs to keep in mind that during the second millennium BCE geographical 'Canaan' was a relatively small region that excluded
Ugarit.
132
Korpel, RiC; De Moor, RoY.
133
E.L. Greenstein, 'The God of Israel and the Gods of Canaan: How Different
Were They?' in: PWCJS, Division A: The Bible and Its World, 12 (1999), 47*-58*.
134
S.N. Kramer, 'Poets and Psalmists: Goddesses and Theologians: Literary,
Religious, and Anthropological Aspects of the Legacy of Sumer', in: D. SchmandtBesserat (ed.), The Legacy of Sumer: Invited Lectures on the Middle East at the
University of Texas at Austin (Bibliotheca Mesopotamica, 4), Malibu 1976, 12-7;
W.G. Lambert, 'Goddesses in the Pantheon: A Reflection of Women in Society?'
in: Durand, FPOA, 125-30; Smith, The Early History of God, 24-6.

viable, surtout si l'on se souvient qu'il s'agissait d'un milieu o prdominait l'lment smitique'. 135 And according to Jean Nougayrol,
Ugaritic women had 'un status juridique enviable'. 136 If this is true,
it gives support to the idea that the monotheistic faith of Israel is
to blame for the centuries long subordinate position of women in the
three major monotheistic world religions. Eleanor Amico is one of
the few persons who have directed their attention to the question
whether the above cited assumption of the two French scholars can
be verified.137 In her unpublished dissertation The Status of Women
at Ugarit she investigates the status and roles of women at Ugarit,
and compares them with data from other ancient Near Eastern cultures including Israel. The picture that emerges from her analysis of
mythological and legendary texts, letters, contracts and administrtive texts is a fairly positive one. At the end of her work on women in
ancient Ugarit she concludes,
Ugarit, centered in a milieu of patriarchal cultures, was also patriarchal. Men were heads of families, the ruler was male, businesses were
in the names of males, and most people identified themselves by their
father's names. However, within that framework, women had a surprising amount of autonomy and freedom. T h e society was patriarchal
but not restrictive or oppressive of women. Furthermore, no evidence
of repressive ideology exists. T h a t is, there is nothing t h a t leads us to
believe t h a t women needed to be especially controlled or restrained.
There is nothing whatever of misogyny in the culture. If the queen and
the goddesses were models, women's opinions were respected, and they
were expected to take part fully in Ugaritic life. 138

She thus seems to agree with Schaeffer and Nougayrol in her evaluation of the position of women at Ugarit. If Amico is right, it is a
legitimate question whether this picture deviates significantly from
the one we find in ancient Israel and, if it does, what the reason for
the difference might be.
135

C.F.-A. Schaeffer, 'Expos prliminaire', in: PRU III, xxvi.

J. Nougayrol, 'Textes conomiques', in: PRU III, 179.
137
E.B. Amico, The Status of Women at Ugarit, Univ. of Wisconsin 1989 [Ann
Arbor MI]. Of somewhat older date is J. Klima, 'Die Stellung der ugaritischen
Frau: (Auf Grund der akkadischen Texte von Ras Shamra)', ArOr 25 (1957),
313-33. For a selection of literature on women and womanhood at Ugarit, cf.
M.I. Gruber, Women in the Biblical World: A Study Guide, vol. 1: Women in the
World of Hebrew Scripture, (ATLA Bibliography Series, 38), Lanham MD 1995,
216-23.
138
Amico, SWU, 549. In line with Amico, see J.-P. Vita, 'The Society of Ugarit',
in: HUS, 481.
136

However, Amico's last quoted sentence shows that some prudence

is called for. Was her fairly positive conclusion perhaps based too
much on the position of the well-to-do? Moreover, it should be taken
into account that part of her arguments was derived from the work of
only one writer, the chief priest Ilimilku. Marjo Korpel has pointed out
that Ilimilku attributes considerable power to women and goddesses
but that this may well represent a change of attitude on his part
caused by certain political developments in the final days of Ugarit. 139
If this is true, it would be wrong to generalize Ilimilku's view as the
prevailing attitude in Ugarit. In any case it is necessary to evaluate
the evidence drawn from his work cautiously.
Another important issue is the question whether mythological
texts may be studied to gain information on social reality. May we
assume a relationship between the position of goddesses in a pantheon
and the status of women in a society that venerates those goddesses?
According to some, there is no direct relationship. 140 Although certain myths and legends may be an ideological representation of the
position of the women in power, such as the queen-mother and the
queen, their information on 'ordinary' women is scant and might well
be prejudiced by the upper-class perspective of their authors. Yet it
would seem that especially with regard to their family roles the functions of goddesses in myths might well correspond to those of women
in society.141
Before embarking upon the investigation, however, a number of methodological issues must be raised and a plan for the work has to be
formulated. An initial and very general methodological principle is
that where possible I shall confine myself to reviewing the most im139

M.C.A Korpel, 'Exegesis in the Work of Ilimilku of Ugarit', in: J.C. de Moor
(ed.), Intertextuality in Ugarit and Israel: Papers ...Oxford, 1997 (OTS, 40),
Leiden 1998, 86-111, esp. 106-8. Differently, N. Wyatt, 'Ilimilku's Ideological Programme: Ugaritic Royal Propaganda, and a Biblical Postscript', UF 29 (1997),
775-96.
140
P.R. Sanday, 'Female Status in the Public Domain,' in: M. Zimbalist Rosaldo,
L. Lamphere (eds), Woman, Culture, and Society, Stanford CA 1974, 189-206; J.J.
Preston, 'Goddess Worship: Theoretical Perspectives', in: EncRel ('), 56.
141
Cf. . Watterson, Women in Ancient Egypt, Stroud 1991, 16-7: 'If in secular
tales women play only secondary roles - either as devoted mothers and faithful
wives, or conversely as perfidious wives and wicked temptresses - in religious
mythology these stereotyped images of women are somewhat less rigid. In certain
respects, however, the roles played by Egyptian goddesses do correspond quite
closely with the function of women in society. Women were wives and mothers,
concerned with the well-being of their families; goddesses were consorts of gods
and protectresses of mankind'. Cf. further Lambert, 'Goddesses in the Pantheon',
125-30.

portant previous studies on the subject. The vast scope of what I want
to do precludes a complete treatment of all themes. Many hundreds
of studies on women in the ancient Near East and the Bible have been
published in the past few years. 142 As indicated by the title of this
book, it is appropriate to compare the position of women in the two
societies from the separate viewpoints of social and religious status.
If we treat the status of women in the family separately from that
of women in economic and public life, as was done by Amico, we are
using modern categories to describe ancient cultures and run the risk
of unconsciously adopting some kind of bias, for example, that it was
more important to do business than raising children. If, however, we
recognize that family relations, class distinctions, doing business or
formulating policy, ruling a country and being ruled, are all aspects
of the overarching concept of society, it is easier to accept that to
some extent there may be an overlapping of categories and room for
different ideas of what was important to women's status. Therefore
I want to devote a large section of the work to a comparison of the
social position of women in Ugarit and Israel.
Although the social and religious spheres of life were not clearly
demarcated in the ancient Near East, yet it is necessary for the purpose of this work to separate the religious from the social position. Of
course it cannot be denied that social status could be derived from
certain religious functions. However, it is easy to demonstrate that
in the ancient Near East there was a feeling that the performing of
religious functions often fell outside the framework of society. Performing a religious function was not necessarily determined by family
or class, but by what one might call 'vocation' or divine 'election'.
One of the easiest examples is the Mari prophets. Alongside professional diviner-prophets, there were lay prophets at Mari, men and
women who stepped up to confront the king and queen and transmit
a prophetic report. Some of these lay persons were of high social rank
while others were from the lower strata of society.143 Likewise, the
142

Even the Chicago bibliography of nearly 500 titles is a selection of titles

only. See the Internet site http://www-oi.uchicago.edu/OI/DEPT/RA/WOMEN.
HTML; cf. further Gruber's bibliography Women in the Biblical World: A Study
Guide, vol. 1, 1995.
143
The texts refer to 'a man', 'a woman', 'a man's wife', but also to one of the
daughters of king Zimri-Lim. Cf. . Noort, Untersuchungen zum Gottesbescheid
in Man: Die 'Mariprophetie' in der alttestamentlichen Forschung (AOAT, 202),
Kevelaer & Neukirchen-Vluyn 1977, 69-75; A. Malamat, Forerunner of Biblical
Prophecy: The Mari Documents,' in: P.D. Miller et al. (eds), Ancient Israelite
Religion, Philadelphia 1987, 33-52 (esp. 43-4); Idem, Mari and the Early Israelite
Experience, Oxford 1989, 79-96; Idem, Mari and the Bible (SHCANE, 12), Leiden

biblical prophet Amos was a herdsman who was taken from his flock
by Y H W H to prophesy to his people (Amos 7 : 1 4 - 1 5 ) .
Moreover, women's religious practices may have differed from those
of men, and both may have had rituals of their own.144 To a considerable extent religion escaped the laws of normal society and so it
is warranted to treat the religious position of women as a separate
entity.
What is more, since it is a - often unexpressed - presupposition
that monotheistic patriarchal religion may have had a negative influence on the position of women generally and that it would be
especially in the area of social life that Israelite women were most
repressed, a distinction between the religous and social life in this
analysis is justified.
In a detailed comparison of the textual 145 data with regard to
the social and religious position of women in Ugarit and Israel it is
necessary to make a clear distinction between literary texts which
may at least in part rest on fiction and other texts testifying to the
actual situation in Ugarit and Israel. Moreover, while literary texts
may bear an ideological imprint with regard to patriarchal views, nonliterary texts such as letters and administrative texts may render an
historically more accurate view of the position of women. All sections
of chapters 2 and 3 will therefore contain at least four subsections,
A.
B.
C.
D.

Ancient Near East

Ugaritic Literary Texts
Hebrew Bible
Conclusions

Subsection A rests on a perusal of a considerable number of studies

by others and cannot claim comprehensiveness. The intention is to
confine myself to the influential civilizations of Egypt, Mesopotamia
and Hatti. I do not wish to deny distinctive differences between these
cultures, nor other differences when we look at the evidence from a
diachronic point of view.
In this subsection I merely want to establish, if possible, whether
the lack of a certain phenomenon in either Ugarit or Israel may be
1998, 59-156.
144
Bird, 'Women in the Ancient Mediterranean World: Ancient Israel', 33, 44.
Obviously, this includes religious practices which were condemned by (later?)
all-male religious leadership, e.g. the medium of Endor (1 Sam. 28) and the soulcatching prophetesses of Ezek. 13.
145
Of course it would have been possible to include iconographie evidence but
since this tacit evidence often allows for many different interpretations, I decided
to leave it aside in this work.

accidental, or whether a certain custom or view may perhaps be attributed to the common cultural continuum of ancient oriental cultures. 146 Therefore I will sometimes include short references to nonliterary material, such as marriage contracts, in the course of the
discussion.
In subsection I will discuss the Ugaritic material. The use of
clay tablets makes Ugarit the best known Canaanite kingdom thus
far. Because there existed close ties between Ugarit and the protoIsraelites this is the most important material for comparison that we
have. The literary texts, of which the Myth of Ba'lu and the Legends
of Aqhatu and Dani , ilu are the most informative with regard to my
topic, will be discussed in relation to ritual texts and texts in which
myth and ritual are combined. Since these texts might all be ideologically imbued they will be treated on an equal basis as literary texts
in comparison with the Hebrew Bible.
In subsection C I plan to review the previous studies on women in
the Hebrew Bible. Dating, and possible Sitz im Leben of important
texts will be included in the discussion, because it is clearly inappropriate to generalize about the position of women throughout Israel's
history. 147
In subsection D I will analyse the information and draw conclusions.
The social position of women will be discussed in C h a p t e r 2. As
stated above, every division of the available material is artificial and
therefore overlapping categories will be cross-referenced quite often.
The chapter comprises two subdivisions: Women in the Family (2.1)
and Women in Society (2.2). In the section Women in the Family, after
a general introduction, the various social roles of women, those of wife,
mother, sister, daughter, widow and orphan will be discussed. In the
section Women in Society I will consider the positions of Women of
the Court (2.2.1), i.e., those of the queen, the queen-mother, the royal
concubine, and the princess. In addition I will devote a subsection on
Non-Royal Women (2.2.2) in which I will deal with issues such as
legal ownership, women in business, professions of women and female
slaves. General conclusions will close the chapter.
146

Cf. Bird, 'Women in the Ancient Mediterranean World: Ancient Israel', 34.
Cf. S. Schroer, 'Feministische Bibelforschung: Anliegen, Methoden und Inhalte', in: L. Blattmann et al. (eds), Feministische Perspektiven in der Wissenschaft (Zrcher Hochschulforum, 21), Zrich 1993, 47. A fine example which
will convince even the staunchest advocates of a synchronic reading of the Hebrew Bible is the different treatment of Moabite women in the books of Ruth and
Ezra/Nehemiah respectively.
147

C h a p t e r 3 will deal with the religious position of women in Ugarit

and Israel. Instead of the commonly used distinction between official
religion and family religion, I will distinguish between women as religious specialists and women as worshippers while analysing the roles
women could fulfill in religion. Chapter three will end with general
conclusions.
By asking questions about the various aspects of women's lives in
Ugarit and Israel I intend to draw a picture of their status. Scholars
have pointed to the fact that ' "status" is used as if it were a perfectly
self-evident concept', which is an oversimplification of the complex
situation of women. In order to draw a picture of the status of women
it is necessary to outline as many aspects of women's lives as possible,
resulting in a status pattern. 148 A status pattern gleaned from the
various roles women performed in Ugaritic and Israelite society is
necessarily incomplete, since we are dealing with androcentric sources
and a historical gap in the literary sources. Moreover, the discovery
of new sources can lead to a readjustment of the picture. We have
already alluded to the fact that the status of Israelite women was
not necessarily the same throughout the biblical period (ca. 1200-300
BCE). Carol Meyers assumes the status of women deteriorated in the
monarchic period. 149 I will, therefore, take into account the question
of dating whenever this seems appropriate.
C h a p t e r 4 will be entitled: Check on Reliability'. In chapters two and three much of the evidence will have been derived from
indirect sources - statements about deities and legendary figures in
literary religious texts. In this chapter I want to check whether nonliterary texts such as administrative texts and epigraphic evidence of
letters and bullae confirms or contradicts my earlier findings about
the position of women in the two cultures.
In C h a p t e r 5 conclusions based on my findings will be formulated. The hypothesis will be tested whether or not concentration on
one God has indeed had a negative influence on the social and religious
position of women. At least seven possibilities present themselves:
148

S. Ryan Johansson, 1 "Herstory" as History: A New Field or Another Fad?'

in: B.A. Carroll (ed.), Liberating Women's History: Theoretical and Critical Essays, Urbana 1976, 405-10 (405). See also M.K. Whyte, The Status of Women in
Preindustral Societies, Princeton NJ 1978; J.A. Hackett, 'Women's Studies and
the Hebrew Bible', in: R.E. Friedman, H.G.M. Williamson (eds), The Future of
Biblical Studies: The Hebrew Scriptures (SBL Semeia Studies), Atlanta GA 1987,
152-4; Amico, SWU, 7-45.
149
C. Meyers, 'Procreation, Production, and Protection: Male-Female Balance
in Early Israel', JAAR 51 (1983), 569-93.

1. The position of women in Ugarit was better than of those in

Israel.
2. The position of women in Ugarit was worse than of those in
Israel.
3. The position of women in Ugarit was equal to those in Israel.
4. The position of Israelite women was better, both according to
the Bible and to extra-biblical evidence.
5. The position of Israelite women was worse, both according to
the Bible and to extra-biblical evidence.
6. The position of Israelite women was better according to the
Bible, but not according to extra-biblical evidence.
7. The position of Israelite women was worse according to the
Bible, but not according to extra-biblical evidence.
These findings I will relate to their relevance for feminist theology.

Chapter 2

The Social Position of Women

In this chapter I will discuss the social position of women by analyzing
textual data from Ugarit and Israel.1 Since certain phenomena may
be lacking in the textual sources of either culture, I will also discuss
data from the ancient Near East in general, viz. Mesopotamia, Egypt
and Hatti. By including data from the surrounding cultures of Ugarit
and Israel it also becomes clear whether a custom or view is specific
for a certain society or is part of the common cultural continuum of
the ancient Near East.
The main sources used for analyzing the social position of women
are literary texts. Myths, rituals, legends, legal codes and wisdom
texts all render information on the position of women, albeit in a subjective manner, and bearing their own ideological imprint. After a lot
of in-depth research2 it has become generally accepted that all ancient
Near Eastern cultures were male-dominated and that their extant literature reveals androcentrism. Furthermore, the view on women and
their position as expressed in the literary texts mainly reveals information on women in the highest strata of society.3 Far too often it has
been taken for granted that data derived from literary sources apply
to all social strata. However, a bias on the part of the scribes working for the social strata employing them is by no means excluded.
Unfortunately, we have very few sources on the position of women
in the lower strata of society. Those that we have generally are of a
non-literary nature and will be dealt with in chapter 4.
Literary texts express the world view of peoples. They inform us
on the views humans entertain of the organization of society. Cultural
messages on the relation between the sexes are also latent in literary texts. Myths, 4 for instance, render information on the position
of goddesses in relation to gods. The world of the deities is in many
1

As a source edition for the Ugaritic texts I use M. Dietrich et ai, The
Cuneiform Alphabetic Texts from Ugarit, Ras Ibn Hani and Other Places ( ALASP,
8), Mnster 1995, also known as KTU2. I use the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia
as source edition for the Hebrew Bible.
2
See chapter 1, esp. n. 142.
3
Cf., e.g., G. Robins, Women in Ancient Egypt, London 1993, 17.
4
It should be noted that I do not want to engage upon a discussion of the
concepts 'myth', 'epic', 'legend', etc. in this study. I am using such terms merely
in accordance with common scholarly usage and confine myself to the distinction
between literary and non-literary texts as a means of useful classification.

respects a magnified reflection of the human world.5 The polytheistic

family of gods, for instance, reveals traits of the family structure of
human families, especially the royal family. While the king is head of
the nation, the main deity is head of the pantheon. Both are male
characters, assisted by their (female) spouse. In this respect myths
can be compared to biblical history, since both narrate events from
an androcentric point of view, while the scope is mainly on those in
power.6
However, the relation between the position of goddesses in a pantheon and that of women in its society is not a straightforward one.
Gary Beckman, among others, has stressed 'that the position of female deities within a religious system is hardly a direct reflection of
the power or influence enjoyed by human females within that society'. 7 Thus, it would be simplistic to assume that in a society where
goddesses had an important position, this reflected the actual position of women in that society. One needs to ask which goddesses had
such a position of importance and what kind of function they had.
On the other hand, scholars do assume some relationship existed.
Tikva Frymer-Kensky, for instance, has noted that the role of goddesses in the Mesopotamian pantheon became marginalized in the
course of the third and second millennium BCE. 8 In this regard she
points to a correlation between the divine world and the ancient Sumerian state. Both in the divine and the human world, power became
a male monopoly.9 Females (both divine and human) were not supposed to exercise power, but to perform roles related to sexuality and
reproduction. 10
5

T. Frymer-Kensky, In the Wake of the Goddesses: Women, Culture, and the

Biblical Transformation of Pagan Myth, New York 1992, 78-9; I. Furlong, 'The
Mythology of the Ancient Near East', in: C. Larrington (ed.), The Feminist Companion to Mythology, London 1992, 4; M.S. Smith, 'Ugaritic Studies and the Hebrew Bible, 1968-1998 (with an Excursus on Judean Monotheism and the Ugaritic
Texts)', in: A. Lemaire, M. Saeb0, Congress Volume: Oslo 1998 (VT.S, 80), Leiden
2000, 344-5.
6
On the relation of myth and history, cf. P. Ricoeur, 'Myth and History', in:
EncRel(E), vol. 10, 273-82. On the debate whether or not myth may also be
assumed to be a literary genre in the Hebrew Bible, cf. J.W. Rogerson, Myth in
Old Testament Interpretation (BZAW, 134), Berlin 1974.
7
G. Beckman, 'Inheritance and Royal Succession Among the Hittites', in: H.A.
Hoffner, G.M. Beckman (eds), Kaniuwar: A tribute to Hans G. Gterbock on
his seventy-fifth birthday May 27, 1983 (AS, 23), Chicago IL 1986, 14.
8
Frymer-Kensky, In the Wake of the Goddesses, 70-80.
9
On the power shift, see also M.K. Wakeman, 'Ancient Sumer and the Women's
Movement: The Process of Reaching Behind, Encompassing and Going Beyond',
JSFR 1/2 (1985), 7-27.
10
See section 2.1.2.

A similar process may have occurred in Egypt. Studies on female

administrative titles in the various periods of Egyptian history reveal that the number and the status of these titles declined between
the Old and the Middle Kingdom. A caveat is called for, however.
According to William Ward, 'one should be cautious about asserting the obvious conclusion that women were given more authority in
the third millennium than in the second'. 11 The feudal atmosphere
of the Middle Kingdom might be a reason for the decline. Furthermore, Betsy Brian points to the differences in sources as a partial
explanation. 12 Yet, from the Middle Kingdom on, authority seems to
have been a male prerogative in Egypt, too. Moreover, Egypt's main
female deities appear to have been connected with motherhood and
sexuality. 13
Although not a direct reflection, the position and function of goddesses in a pantheon are correlated to those of its female worshippers.
Gay Robins observes:
As a construct of the human mind, the divine world is bound in some
way to reflect the workings of the h u m a n world. However, the interaction between divine and human spheres was always extremely complex,
for while the human originated the divine, the h u m a n world in t u r n
modelled itself on its own construct, so t h a t the two worlds came to
reflect and interact with each other. 1 4

The view on the position of goddesses in the pantheon, as expressed

in mythological texts, is correlated to the view on the position of
women in society. In this respect myths, as well as other literary
texts, generally reflect the ruling ideology.
Legal codes, too, reflect the ruling ideology, prescribing the situation as it is desired to be by those in power. However, legal codes sometimes contradict information in other literary texts. In Lev. 18:18, for
instance, it is forbidden to a man to be married to two sisters at the
same time, whereas in the narrative of Gen. 29 Jacob marries the two
sisters Leah and Rachel. 15 Both genres offer a different view on social
reality here. Yet it would be too simple to explain it as a distinction
11

W.A. Ward, 'Non-Royal Women and their Occupations in the Middle Kingdorn', in: WER, 37.
12
.M. Bryan, 'In Women Good and Bad Fortune are on Earth: Status and
Roles of Women in Egyptian culture', in: A.K. Capel, G.E. Markoe (eds), Mistress
of the House, Mistress of Heaven: Women in Ancient Egypt, New York 1996, 39.
13
Robins, Women in Ancient Egypt, 17-8.
14
Robins, Women in Ancient Egypt, 17.
15
See section 2.1.1.4.1.

between prescriptive and descriptive literature, since many narratives

offer a combination of ideal and practice. As Carolyn Pressler notes,
'[t]he relationship of Pentateuchal law to the lived experience of ancient Israelite women is highly problematic'. 16
The various genres of literary texts can thus contradict one another with regard to the historical reality of women. Furthermore,
literary texts may reflect a construct of reality that is the desideratum of an author with an androcentric range of thoughts, rather
than reality as it is lived by historical women. On the other hand,
literary texts to a large extent reflect historical reality. Advocates of
the new literary criticism stress the distance between the world as
created in the narrative and historical reality. 17 However, although
some aspects of literary texts may be ideological constructs, it is not
likely that data with regard to customs and social relations are made
up by the biblical writers. 18 I assume that the information which the
literary texts of Ugarit and Israel reveal on social life and the social
position of women generally can be regarded as reflecting historical
reality, be it sometimes somewhat distorted or magnified. 19 But since
on the other hand I cannot rule out the possibility of literary texts refleeting ideological constructs rather than women's historical reality,
16

C. Pressler, 'Wives and Daughters, Bond and Free: Views of Women in the
Slave Laws of Exodus 21.2-11', in: V.H. Matthews et al. (eds), Gender and Law
in the Hebrew Bible and the Ancient Near East (JSOT.S, 262), Sheffield 1998,
148.
17
E.g. D.M. Gunn, D.N. Fewell, Narrative in the Hebrew Bible (Oxford Bible
Series), Oxford 1993.
18
Cf. . Schssler Fiorenza, 'Remembering the Past in Creating the Future:
Historical-Critical Scholarship and Feminist Biblical Interpretation', in: A. Yarbro
Collins (ed.), Feminist Perspectives on Biblical Scholarship (SBL Centennial Publications) (Biblical Scholarship in North America, 10), Chico CA 1985, 43-63; .
Halpern, 'Biblical or Israelite History?' in: R.E. Friedman, H.G.M. Williamson
(eds), The Future of Biblical Studies: The Hebrew Scriptures (SBL Semeia Studies), Atlanta GA 1987, 103-39 (122); H.M. Barstad, 'History and the Hebrew
Bible', in: L.L. Grabbe (ed.), Can a ,History of Israel' Be Written? (JSOT.S,
245) (European Seminar in Historical Methodology, 1), Sheffield 1997, 37-64 (623); and the many relevant articles in: J.C. de Moor, H.F. van Rooy (eds), Past,
Present, Future: The Deuteronomistic History and the Prophets (OTS, 44), Leiden 2000.
19
Since social customs tend to be conservative, the question whether the historical reality is the reality of the narrator or of the narrated world is not relevant.
Cf. R. Harris, 'Independent Women in Ancient Mesopotamia?' in: WER, 145, on
women's lives in ancient Mesopotamia: 'My guess is that there was far more continuity and uniformity than the extant documentation suggests and that although
Mesopotamian history was characterized by periodic political upheavals, the lives
of ordinary people may have changed less drastically than one might think'.

I will compare my data with non-literary texts of Ugarit and Israel 20

as a check on reliability. To this end the non-literary texts will be
discussed separately in chapter 4.
I will describe the social position of women by analyzing the various roles women could perform. Several aspects of their roles within
the family and in social life outside the family will be discussed, forming a status pattern. 21 Inevitably, such a status pattern will be incomplete. With regard to the data from section A (Ancient Near East),
the pattern is built on a small number of texts coming from various periods and places. Regrettably, generalization cannot always be
avoided. As Rivka Harris notes:
Unfortunately, we [Harris refers to Assyriologists studying women's
lives in ancient Mesopotamia, HJM] are always at the mercy of fragmentary, accidental materials, visual and written, which with few exceptions are male-authored, male-produced, and male oriented. All too
often these "scatter-grams" skew the data and can easily mislead us
into drawing fallacious conclusions about the quality and content of
women's lives down the centuries.22
In describing the position of women in Ugarit and Israel we have to
make do with the pieces of the puzzle (i.e., the texts) that are there,
reconstructing the image by comparing it with fragmentary data from
the ancient Near East in general. Of course there is always the risk
of having to readjust the picture when new texts are found, as is the
risk of every scholar who tries to interpret data from antiquity.

2.1 Women in the Family

In the first part of chapter 2 I will discuss the roles of women within
the family. Towards their family members, women fulfilled several
roles. The most important one is that of being a wife. Most women
in the ancient Near East were wives for the most part of their life.
To them, marriage was a central institution. In order to become a
wife, one had to find a marriage partner. Questions regarding the
choice of a partner will be investigated. I will look into the matters
that influenced the choice of a partner and give special attention to
20

With regard to the ancient Near East in general I will sometimes draw upon
non-literary texts to complete the picture.
21
On the status pattern, see section 1.4.
22
Harris, 'Independent Women in Ancient Mesopotamia?' 145. For similar remarks with regard to the study of women in Egypt, cf. Bryan, 'In Women Good
and Bad Fortune are on Earth', 25.

exogamy/endogamy. Although marriage was an arrangement made

between two families, love between the marriage partners sometimes
played a role. I will look at the literary texts concerning courtship,
i.e., love poetry. Marriage arrangements such as payment of a marriage deposit, writing a marriage contract and giving a dowry can
also inform us on a wife's social position. Beside the legal aspects of
marriage I will also discuss its religious aspects, while giving special
attention to the marriage metaphor as it is used in the Hebrew Bible.
Furthermore, attention will be given to various aspects of married life. A marriage could be monogamous, but often a wife had to
share her husband with other women. The nature of the relationship
between husband and wife as well as the attitude towards wives in
literary texts will be investigated. Within married life, a wife had her
'own world': certain areas for which she was responsible and which
she could manage according to her own insights. Of course the tasks
of a wife who was part of a nuclear family would differ from one who
was part of an extended family. Beside the work in the home, a wife
could have moments of relaxation with song and dance, alone or with
other women. I will look into the question whether a wife also had
her own world in a spatial sense, that is, live in so-called women's
quarters.
Although people entered matrimony with the intention to make
it last, sometimes it ended in divorce. Adultery probably was the
main reason for divorce. In the section on the dissolution of marriage,
questions regarding the definition of adultery and its punishment will
be discussed, as well as those regarding other reasons for divorce and
the wife's right to dissolve her marriage.
Once married, it was very important for a woman to become a
mother. A childless marriage was considered to be 'unsuccessful'. In
various texts a person's desire for children is an important theme. I
will investigate which deities a childless person turned to and whether
this should be related to the concept of 'fertility religion'. The question to whom a couple's infertility was attributed will be examined,
as well as what were believed to be reasons for infertility. I will also
look at views on, and customs regarding, conception, pregnancy and
childbirth, with special attention to the issue of post-parturition impurity in relation to the sex of the child. Of special interest are also
the preference for sons over daughters and the authority and influence
of a mother on her children.
Next to the roles of wife and mother, women could also fulfill
other roles as members of a family. Female children fulfilled the role
of sister towards their siblings and the role of daughter towards their

parents. I will note the relationship between a sister and her brothers.
Issues of interest are the authority of a brother over his sister and the
view on sexual relations between a brother and sister. In the section
on daughters I will take a somewhat closer look into the preference
of parents for sons over daughters. As we will see, the preference for
sons was related to the patrilineal structure of society. With regard to
a daughter's role within the family it is relevant to know how she was
treated and what her tasks and responsibilities were. Furthermore,
to parents a daughter's chastity was very important. Issues regarding
the protection and violation of a daughter's virginity will be discussed,
with special attention to father-daughter incest. Of importance with
regard to status is also the question of a daughter's inheritance rights.
Inheritance rights will also be discussed in the section on the
widow. I will look into the question whether a widow could be an
heir to her husband's property, or had any other rights in this regard.
I will also consider further questions regarding a widow's jural and
economic independence. Attention will be given to the remarriage of
widows, in particular to levirate marriage.
Finally, the role of the orphan will be discussed. We will see
that orphans were among the most vulnerable of society, particularly
among those who were in need of protection.

2.1.1 Wife
As a wife, the most important relationship a woman had was with
her husband. In the following sections I will discuss various aspects
of wifehood and marriage. In section 2.1.1.1 questions regarding the
choice of a marriage partner will be investigated. Section 2.1.1.2 will
deal with the role that love could play between partners. We will
look at love poetry as an expression of courtship. In section 2.1.1.3
marriage as an institution will be discussed. I will give attention to
both the legal (2.1.1.3.1) and the religious (2.1.1.3.2) aspects of marriage. Aspects of married life will be considered in section 2.1.1.4. I
will investigate the nature of the relationship between husband and
wife (2.1.1.4.1) as well as the areas which can be regarded as her
'own world' (2.1.1.4.2). Finally, the dissolution of a marriage will be
discussed in section 2.1.1.5.
2.1.1.1

The Choice of a Partner

In this section we will focus on women's voice in the choice of a

marriage partner. Being married was the normal status for an adult
woman. But in order to get married, one had to have a marriage

partner. Who chose this partner? Did young people only need parental
permission after having made a choice by themselves? Or was the
decision made by the persons who bore patriarchal authority? If so,
was it only the father who chose a girl's future husband, or was a
mother also involved in this decision? Did brides-to-be have any say
in the choice of a marriage partner? And what about grooms-to-be,
did they have any influence in this matter? And could love between
the partners have any influence on the choice?
Next to the question of who had a voice in the choosing, we
will also deal with matters such as age and social class, which may
have influenced the choice. Of special interest is the view on exogamy/endogamy. In the post-exilic books of the Bible intermarriage is strongly opposed and connected with the literary type of the
Strange or Foreign Woman. We will look at the reasons for rejection
of intermarriage in biblical Israel and its neighbouring countries.
A . ANCIENT NEAR EAST

An Assyrian proverb states: house without an owner (is like) a

woman without a husband'. 1 This proverb illustrates the fact that
being married was the normal state of affairs for a woman. Not being
married was considered an abnormality.
Throughout the ancient Near East, marriage was not so much an
arrangement between two persons as between two families. In patriarchal societies the official authority lay with the head of the household,
usually the father of the family.2 Generally the heads of two families
arranged a marriage between members of their households. 3
1

W.G. Lambert, Babylonian Wisdom Literature, Oxford 1960, 232. In four

letters of the Amarna period written by king Rib-Hadda of Byblos, he combines
this proverb with the metaphor of the woman as a field: 'For lack of a cultivator,
my field is like a woman without a husband' (EA 74:17-19; 75:15-17; 81:37-38;
90:42-44). Cf. W.L. Moran, The Amarna Letters, Baltimore 1992, 143, 145, 151,
163 and 144, n. 6.
2
The person who exercised the paternal authority within an ancient Near Eastern family was not necessarily the father. A man could invest his wife, his daughter
or his son with the guardianship over the family upon his death, cf. sections 2.1.4
and 2.1.5.
3
Cf., e.g., G.R. Driver, J.C. Miles, The Babylonian Laws, repr., vol. 1, Oxford
1956, 249; J. Paradise, 'Marriage Contracts of Free Persons at Nuzi', JCS 39
(1987), 1-36.
Sometimes, however, neither the girl herself nor the respective families were free
to arrange a marriage in a normal way. This was the case when a girl was abducted
or was deported as spoil of war. In that case the families obviously had no say
in the matter. The girl became a slave and was at the mercy of her captor who
could, however, decide to marry such a slave-girl. Cf. M.A. Dandamaev, Slavery
in Babylonia, rev. ed., DeKalb IL 1984, 411-4. See section 2.2.2.4.

The fact that marriage was considered to be an agreement between

two households is illustrated by the occurrence of exchange marriages,
in which females of both families were given in marriage to a male of
the other family.4 It is further underscored by the marriage deposit
that the groom's family paid as a symbolic sum representing a caution
or deposit binding the groom to his commitment (usually referred to
as 'bride price', see section 2.1.1.3.1). Furthermore, marriage arrangements could contain provisions which called for the groom to remarry
someone of his wife's family, should she die. 5
Although the real decision was made by the persons who bore
the patriarchal authority - usually the fathers - mothers could be
involved in this and have a certain influence. It seems that, although
formally it was a matter between fathers, a mother's opinion often
counted too. 6
The fathers of both sides had to give their permission for the
marriage to go through. The groom's choice might be overruled by
his father. 7 Only if the groom's father died could he himself arrange
4

E.g. in Emar, cf. G. Beckman, 'Family Values on the Middle Euphrates in

the Thirteenth Century B.C.E.', in: M.W. Chavalas (ed.), Emar: The History,
Religion and Culture of a Syrian Town in the Late Bronze Age, Bethesda MD
1996, 68. For the Neo-Sumerian period, cf. . Falkenstein, Die neusumerischen
Gerichtsurkunden, Tl. 2 (ABAW.PH, 40), Mnchen 1956, 21-3 (no. 14). C. Zaccagnini, 'On Late Bronze Age Marriages1, in: S.F. Bondi, Studi in onore di Edda
Bresciani, Pisa 1985, 593, assumes with regard to the Late Bronze Age that
especially international marriages were exchange marriages.
5
Cf., e.g., Beckman, 'Family Values on the Middle Euphrates in the Thirteenth
Century B.C.E.', 68-9. MAL A30-31 state that, in case ceremonial marriage gifts
(biblu, zubull) were already given but the marriage could not be consummated
because the groom's father gave the wife of another, recently deceased, son to the
son that was to be married, the father of the groom had the right to give the
bride to another of his sons, or to take back the non-edible parts of the biblu, such
as lead, silver and gold. The edible parts he should not claim; cf. G.R. Driver,
J.C. Miles, The Assyrian Laws, repr. of the ed. Oxford 1935 with suppl. add. and
corr. by G.R. Driver, Aalen 1975, 174-6. We learn from this that a father of an
Assyrian household decided on the choice of a marriage partner for his son and
could exchange one bride for another.
6
Cf. CE 27-28; Sefati, in: CoS, vol. 1, 541-2; Myth of Martu, cf. S. Greengus, 'The Old Babylonian Marriage Contract', JAOS 89 (1969), 527; J. Bottro,
S.N. Kramer, Lorsque les dieux faisaient l'homme: Mythologie msopotamienne,
Paris 1989, 430-7. For Egypt, cf. A. Depla, 'Women in Ancient Egyptian Wisdom
Literature', in: L.J. Archer et al. (eds), Women in Ancient Societies: An Illusion
of the Night, Basingstoke, Hampshire 1994, 30; E. Feucht, Das Kind im Alten
gypten, Frankfurt 1995, 35.
7
For the Old Babylonian period, cf. Greengus, 'The Old Babylonian Marriage
Contract', 520-2, 524-7; C. Wilcke, 'Familiengrndung im alten Babylonien', in:
E.W. Mller (ed.), Geschlechtsreife und Legitimation zur Zeugung (Historische

the marriage. 8 A groom could try to force his choice upon his parents
and his future in-laws by having forcible sexual intercourse with a girl.
When a virgin had become the victim of forcible sexual intercourse,
the man was obliged to marry her, unless the father of the girl decided
he did not wish to give her in marriage to the violator. 9
Since a woman in the ancient Near East generally did not arrange
her own marriage, she probably had less freedom of choice than a
man. However, there are indications that, to some extent, girls were
free to choose their partner. In the text The Wiles of Women, the
goddess Inanna makes her own choice of a lover, i.e., Dumuzi and she
persuades him to go to her mother Ningal to ask for her hand. Yet in
another Mesopotamian text, The Bridal Sheets of Inanna, Inanna acts
in a more conventional way and 'leaves the choice, as custom dictates,
to her older brother, the sun god Utu'. 10 Her brother Utu makes the
arrangements regarding Inanna's marriage and until he tells her of the
outcome she is unaware of his choice in partner. Further, a Sumerian
proverb states: 'Girl! Your brother does not choose for you, whom
do you choose?' 11 And in the Poem of the Faithful Lover it is the
woman who takes the initiative to win the man's love.12 The Laws
of Eshnunna (ca. 1770 BCE) indicate that a girl could marry without
the consent of her parents, but that she was not considered a legal
wife if the conditions of a nuptial feast and a marriage contract were
Anthropologie, 3) (Kindheit, Jugend, Familie, 1), Mnchen 1985, 229-30. For
the Neo-Babylonian period, cf. M.T. Roth, 'Marriage and Matrimonial Prestations in First Millennium B.C. Babylonia', in: WER, 249. With regard to these
love-marriages A. Kuhrt, 'Non-Royal Women in the Late Babylonian Period: A
Survey', in: WER, 227, wonders 'whether there were not some instances where
these attempts [i.e., to try to force the parents to consent, HJM] were successful naturally they would not appear in the written record'.
8
Cf., e.g., K.R. Veenhof, 'Brieven van Assyrische vrouwen: uit de correspondentie der oudassyrische handelaars in Anatoli (19e eeuw v. Chr.)', in: K.R.
Veenhof (ed.), Schrijvend verleden: documenten uit het oude Nabije Oosten vertaald en toegelicht (MEOL), Leiden 1983, 92, a letter from the Assyrian colony at
the Anatolian city of Kanish dating from the 19th century BCE, in which PuzurAshshur writes his bride Nukhshatum that he has arranged the marriage with her
father.
9
Cf. MAL A55. See also section 2.1.4.
10
T. Jacobsen, The Treasures of Darkness: A History of Mesopotamian Religion,
New Haven 1976, 28-31 (30).
11
B. Alster, Proverbs of Ancient Sumer, vol. 1, Bethesda MD 1997, 30. A rich
girl could marry the slave she fancied, cf. A. van Praag, Droit matrimonial assyrobabylonien, Amsterdam 1945, 61-2; I. Mendelsohn, Slavery in the Ancient Near
East, New York 1949, 55-7, 122.
12
Cf. B.R. Foster, Before the Muses: An Anthology of Akkadian Literature, vol.
1, Bethesda MD 21996, 95-8.

not fulfilled. 13 As for a young man, he could have a say in the matter
too: 'Marry a wife according to your choice!'.14
In Nuzi, a woman did not arrange her own marriage. She was
dependent on a family member (either biological or adoptant) to negotiate her marriage, since she could not do so herself. 15 This might
have limited her say in the choice. In Nuzi marriage contracts drawn
up between the father of the bride and the groom or his father, no
mention is made of the bride's consent. When a brother is giving his
sister in marriage, on the other hand, the contract does contain such
a phrase. 16 The Nuzi documents thus seem to suggest that for women
marriage was more a matter of consent than of choice.
Almost a millennium later, in fifth century Elephantine, women
generally could not arrange their own marriage either. 17 In most of
the Elephantine papyri, a bride is given in marriage by someone in
charge of the bride. The Egyptian documents are an exception to this
rule. Here the groom addresses his bride directly. 18
Regarding a woman's participation in the choice of a wedding
partner there probably was a difference between a first and second
marriage. According to Neo-Babylonian law (ca. 700 BCE), a widow
was free to choose a marriage partner whosoever she pleased. She
13

CE 27; cf. Roth, LCMAM, 63.

Alster, Proverbs of Ancient Sumer, vol. 1, 245. Although he forfeited the marriage deposit, a groom could decide at the very last moment to waive a marriage
that had already been arranged in order to marry the girl he loved (CH 159; HL
30.
15
Cf. . Grosz, 'On Some Aspects of the Adoption of Women at Nuzi1, in: D.I.
Owen, M.A. Morrison (eds), Studies on the Civilization and Culture of Nuzi and
the Hurrians, vol. 2, Winona Lake IN 1987, 140. For Emar, cf. Beckman, 'Family
Values on the Middle Euphrates in the Thirteenth Century B.C.E.', 70.
16
Cf. . Grosz, 'Bridewealth and Dowry in Nuzi1, in: A. Cameron, A. Kuhrt
(eds), Images of Women in Antiquity, Detroit 1983, 199-200. Grosz, 'On Some
Aspects of the Adoption of Women at Nuzi1, 150, assumes that the necessity of
a sister's consent in case her brother arranged her marriage might be dependent
on her age. However, S. Greengus, 'Sisterhood Adoption at Nuzi and the "WifeSister" in Genesis', HUCA 46 (1975), 25-6, points to the fact that a woman's
consent is often mentioned in transactions in which she is yielding her privileges.
17
On the Jewish women, see section 4.3.3.
18
Cf. EPE C27 (5th cent, BCE), C33 (2nd cent. BCE).
The Egyptian papyri from Elephantine may reflect a more general pattern.
Possibly an Egyptian woman or man had greater freedom of choice regarding
their marriage partner than couples in other ancient Near Eastern countries. Yet
they also needed to obtain the permission of their parents. Cf. R. Tanner, 'Untersuchungen zur ehe- und erbrechtlichen Stellung der Frau im pharaonischen
gypten', Klio 49 (1967), 11; C. Desroches Noblecourt, La femme au temps des
pharaons, Paris 1986, 274; Feucht, Das Kind im Alten gypten, 33-5.
14

might take her dowry 19 and anything her first husband had given her
into the second marriage. 20 Yet, reality may have dictated otherwise.
There probably was strong family pressure to keep the property together as much as possible. This is illustrated by a series of marriages
between two Neo-Babylonian families, where the second marriages
were endogamous. 21
Often the marriage partners were still children when the marriage
was negotiated. Law texts from Babylonia and contracts from Nuzi
refer to these practices in which neither the girl nor the boy played
an active part. The marriage would not be consummated until they
both had come of age. 22
Girls in general entered marriage at an early age.23 Since a husband ought to be able to take care of his wife and children, he usually
would be somewhat older than his wife. Girls generally would not
get married before sexual maturity, but as a rule entered matrimony
soon after their menarche. In this way the dangers of sexual encounters before marriage would be minimized and the girl's fertility could
be employed to the maximum. 24
That a husband often was older than a wife is illustrated by the
many provisions for surviving wives made in testaments. Beside the
fact that in a patriarchal culture it would have been necessary to make
these provisions, it also suggests that the male marriage partner often
was much older. 25
19

On the dowry, see section 2.1.1.3.1.

LNB 13, cf. G.R. Driver, J.C. Miles, The Babylonian Laws, repr., vol. 2,
Oxford 1955, 344-5; Roth, LCMAM, 147-8.
21
Kuhrt, 'Non-Royal Women in the Late Babylonian Period1, 226-7. On the aim
to keep land property within the family, cf. also F.R. Kraus, 'Von altmesopotamischem Erbrecht: Ein Vortrag', in: J. Brugman et al, Essays on Oriental Laws
of Succession (SDIO, 9), Leiden 1969, 14-5. See further section 2.1.5.
22
On Babylonia, cf. R. West brook, Old Babylonian Marriage Law (AfO.B, 23),
Horn 1988, 36-9. On Nuzi, cf. E. Cassin, 'Pouvoirs de la femme et structures
familiales', RA 63 (1969), 128; J. Paradise, 'Marriage Contracts of Free Persons
at Nuzi', 6, n. 14. On the position of a kallatu see section 2.1.4.
23
In Egypt a girl could marry from the age of 12-14 years, a boy from the age
of 16-17; cf. C. Desroches Noblecourt, La femme au temps des pharaons, Paris
1986, 273. Neo-Assyrian and Neo-Babylonian data reveal that women entered
their first marriage between the ages of fourteen and twenty and men between the
ages of twenty-six and thirty-two; cf. M.T. Roth, 'The Neo-Babylonian Widow',
J CS 43-45 (1991-93), 4.
24
Cf. R. Tanner, 'Untersuchungen zur ehe- und erbrechtlichen Stellung der Frau
im pharaonischen gypten', 10-1; Feucht, Das Kind im Alten gypten, 31-3.
25
For Emar, cf. Beckman, 'Family Values on the Middle Euphrates in the Thirteenth Century B.C.E.', 68. For the Neo-Babylonian period, cf. Roth, 'Marriage
and Matrimonial Prestations', 248-9; Idem, 'Gender and Law: A Case Study from
20

Usually women married a husband from the same social class.

Slaves could be released when marrying a free person. 26 Yet women
might also better their position by marrying someone from a higher
social class. Adoption could be a means to do so. At Nuzi, girls could
be adopted by someone familiar to the family, often of somewhat
higher status. The adoptant could act as a 'godparent' and use his or
her influence to help the girl make a good match. 27
It was considered important that a marriage produce children, to
whom the possessions of their parents would transfer in due time. If
a family had accumulated any wealth they usually preferred to keep
it within its lineage. Naturally this fundamental principle involved a
certain reluctance to marry a foreigner, but in higher circles, such as
the upper classes of the Egyptian New Kingdom, marriages between
Egyptians, even pharaohs, and Semites or Nubians were by no means
rare. 28
In royal circles exogamous marriages often occurred. To create political alliances, kings married royal women from neighbouring countries. 29 Also in mythology deities of different cities married one another. In the Sumerian myth The Marriage of Martu, the protagonist, Martu, from the city of Ninab marries the unnamed daughter
of Numushda of Kazallu. 30 Through the centuries marriage was an
important means to cement political bonds. 31
Ancient Mesopotamia', in: V.H. Matthews et al. (eds), Gender and Law in the
Hebrew Bible and the Ancient Near East (JSOT.S, 262), Sheffield 1998, 182.
26
S. Allam, 'Zur Stellung der Frau im alten gypten', BiOr 26 (1969), 155,
refers to two Egyptian texts of the New Kingdom in which this is the case. In
the first, a freed slave marries the cousin of his former owner, in the second, a
free male marries the female slave of his sister, who thereupon has to release
her. For Babylonia, see Mendelsohn, Slavery in the Ancient Near East, 55-7, 122;
Dandamaev, Slavery in Babylonia, 411-4.
27
Grosz, 'On Some Aspects of the Adoption of Women at Nuzi', 131-52.
28
A. Loprieno, Topos und Mimesis: Zum Auslnder in der gyptischen Literatur (A, 48), Wiesbaden 1988; with the critical review by H. Buchberger, 'Zum
Auslnder in der altgyptischen Literatur - Eine Kritik', WO 20/21 (1989/90),
5-34.
29
See section 2.2.1.1.
30
In the myth Martu refuses silver and lapis lazuli as a reward for some heroic
deed. Instead he claims the hand of Numushda's daughter as a reward. To this
the father consents, but mention is also made of the daughter's consent. Cf. S.N.
Kramer, Sumerian Mythology: A study of spiritual and literary achievement in
the third millennium B.C. (Memoirs of The American Philosophical Society, 210),
Philadelphia 1944, 98-101; Bottro, Kramer, Lorsque les dieux faisaient l'homme:
Mythologie msopotamienne, 430-7.
31
A.E. Schulman, 'Diplomatic Marriage in the Egyptian New Kingdom', JNES
38 (1979), 177-93; P. Artzi, 'The Influence of Political Marriages on the Interna-

Yet intermarriage was frowned upon in some classes of ancient

Near Eastern societies. Common people could regard intermarriage
as a threat to the fabric of society. Annette Depla describes such a
view as held in ancient Egyptian villages:
Ancient Egyptian villages were insular, xenophobic communities. It
appears that few travelled beyond the confines of their natal locality.
Within the close confines of village society, a complex interaction of
family relationships were established. Strangers, male or female, threatened this framework. This is tacitly acknowledged in Ankhsheshonq
where a father is advised, 'Do not let your son marry a woman from
another town, lest he be taken from you'.32
In wisdom texts young men are often warned by their teachers about
'strange' women. As in the Hebrew Bible, wisdom literature used the
literary type of the Strange Woman to point out the dangers such
women could pose. Scholars usually refer to the Instruction of Any,
dating from the Eighteenth Dynasty (1550-1292 BCE), which says,
'Beware of a woman who is a stranger, One not known in her town;
Don't stare at her when she goes by, Do not know her carnally'. 33
Wisdom texts warn against strange women, but they also inform
us about a preferential wife. A man ought to choose for a bride a
wife he knows from his home town. Endogamy was preferred, since
it strengthened the social structure of the village or town. Inheritance rights with regard to property were of influence, too. 34 Family
archives from Ptolemaic Egypt record marriages between uncle and
niece and between cousins. These can be related to economic and
agricultural reasons. Due to the growth of the population the shares
became too small for many land owners to provide a living. To keep
family property together, one had to marry within the family.35
The tendency to retain endogamy inevitably led to the necessity to
strictly define which relationships were permitted and which were not.
tional Relations of the Amarna-Age', in: FPOA, 23-6. See also section 2.2.1.4.
32
Depla, 'Women in Ancient Egyptian Wisdom Literature', 45. On intermarriage in Deir el Medina, cf. J.K. Toivari, Women at Deir el-Medina: A Study of the
Status and Roles of the Female Inhabitants in the Workmen's Community during
the Ramesside Period, Leiden 2000, 53-7.
33
M. Lichtheim, Ancient Egyptian Literature: A Book of Readings, vol. 2, Berkeley 1976, 137.
34
Depla, 'Women in Ancient Egyptian Wisdom Literature', 45-6.
35
Cf. Feucht, Das Kind im Alten gypten, 39. However, R.M. Janssen, J.J.
Janssen, Getting Old in Ancient Egypt, London 1996, 36, note with regard to the
choice of a marriage partner: 'It has been suggested that there was a preference
for a paternal cross-cousin, but the proof for this is very weak'.

The view that incest between close relatives could not be tolerated
was common to the civilizations of the ancient Near East. 36
Contrary to biblical Israel, where kinship structure influenced the
choice of a marriage partner, in Egypt the obligation to marry a
relative did not exist as a general rule. This was due to the fact
that ancient Egyptian society was a bureaucratic state and powerful
kinship loyalties would be against its interests. This also holds for
Mesopotamia, where society was not organized according to a tribal
pattern either, but state structure prevailed over family. On the other
hand, West Semitic cultures such as Mari and Israel had a tribal organization. 37 In these latter cultures lineage was of importance with
regard to the choice of a partner.
B . UGARITIC LITERARY TEXTS

Being married was also the normal state of affairs according to the
literary texts of Ugarit. In the Legend of Kirtu the king went to great
lengths to obtain his wife Hariya after he had lost no less than seven
wives who had all left him childless.38 Kirtu's father-in-law, Pubala
king of Udumu, was a married man, too. 39 The legendary Dani'ilu
was married to Danatiya. 40 The deity Ilu was married to Athiratu
and possibly to a number of other goddesses as well,41 Ba'lu was
married to 'Anatu 42 as well as to 'Athtartu, and he might have had
36

See, e.g., Driver, Miles, The Babylonian Laws, vol. 1, 318-22; H.A. Hoffner,
The Laws of the Hittites: A Critical Edition (DMOA, 23), Leiden 1997, 189,
195; R. Tanner, 'Untersuchungen zur ehe- und erbrechtlichen Stellung der Frau
im pharaonischen gypten', 24-6; L. Manniche, Sexual Life in Ancient Egypt,
London 1987, 29. On incest see also sections 2.1.3 and 2.1.4.
37
Cf. E.A. Speiser, ' "People" and "Nation" of Israel', JBL 79 (1960), 161;
A. Malamat, 'Mari and the Bible: Some Patterns of Tribal Organization and
Institutions', JAOS 82 (1962), 150. S.J. Osgood, 'Women and the Inheritance
of Land in Early Israel', in: G.J. Brooke (ed.), Women in the Biblical Tradition
(Studies in Women and Religion, 31), Lewiston-Lampeter 1992, 33, notes that,
influenced by sociological approaches, 'in place of the notoriously ambiguous term
"tribal society", it is now recognized that early Israel is best described as being
a segmentary lineage system, i.e. a society that uses genealogical reckoning and
descent as the basis of organisation'.
38
The interpretation of KTU 1.14:1 is somewhat controversial, but this does not
affect Kirtu's married state. Cf. Wyatt, RTU, 180, n. 9.
39
KTU 1.14:V.15. The restoration of the name of the wife of king Pubala is a
matter of dispute. Both CTA and KTU2 propose to read [ln]'m[t], Greenstein, in:
Smith, UNP, 21, on the other hand renders [l(?)'(?)]m[y(?)], whereas De Moor,
ARTU, 201, reads 'Nu'mayu'.
40
KTU 1.17:V.13-16.
41
See especially KTU 1.23:46 where two 'wives' ( 'attm) called Ilu mt 'my husband', and subsequently bore him sons.
42
Daughter of Ilu. The circumstance that 'Anatu was sometimes called Ba'lu's

other wives.43
It was considered odd if a god did not have a spouse. When Ilu
wanted to make the god Yammu king, Athtar objected to this and
seems to have linked his doubts regarding Yammu's ability to rule to
the fact that the latter had no wife.44 Human kings apparently also
needed to be married. Kirtu's anxiety about the loss of his wives is
related to the destruction of his clan and the lack of sons to succeed
the throne. No wife and no offspring meant a serious threat to the
throne and Kirtu's authority over it. 45 Marriage was also the norm
for common Ugaritians. A man living alone (yhd) was classified with
pitiable persons like widows, sick and blind. 46
KTU 1.24 consists of a myth on the betrothal of the moon god
Yarikhu and his beloved Nikkalu-and-Ibbu 47 and a hymn to the Kotharatu, the goddesses of pregnancy and childbirth. Scholars assume
the text was recited in connection with wedding celebrations. 48 In this
text Yarikhu informed Nikkalu-and-Ibbu's father, Khirikhbi 49 , that
he wanted to marry his daughter. Khirikhbi, the divine matchmaker,
proposed some other possible candidates but Yarikhu only wanted
Nikkalu. It is noteworthy that both Nikkalu and her father were apparently foreigners. This would seem to indicate that, at least at the
level of the gods, exogamy was deemed acceptable. In this and many
other respects this Ugaritic text resembles the Sumerian Marriage of
1

sister' should be explained as a term of endearment, see section 2.1.1.4.1.

43
See KTU 1.3:IV.40, where Ba'lu dismissed other women before 'Anatu entered. She was called n'mt bn 'aht b'l 'the most lovely among Ba'lu's sisters [=
wives]' in KTU 1.10:11.16, implying that she was his favourite wife.
44
KTU 1.2:111.14, 22. Cf. Amico, SWU, 343.
45
KTU 1.14:1.
46
KTU 1.14:11.43-47 par.
47
In Mesopotamia, Nikkal (written dnin.gal) was the spouse of the moon god
Sin. Nikkalu-and-Ibbu was the West-Semitic version of the deity. Cf. G. del Olmo
Lete, 'Yarhu y Nikkalu: La mitologia lunar sumeria en Ugarit', AuOr 9 (1991),
67-75; M. Stol, , Sin X>, \in: DDD, 782-3.
48
Cf. De Moor, ARTU, 141; Amico, SWU, 68; Marcus, in: Smith, UNP, 215;
Wyatt, RTU, 336; M. Dietrich, O. Loretz, Studien zu den ugaritischen Texten:
I. Mythos und Ritual in KTU 1.12, 1.24, 1-96, 1.100 und 1.114 (AOAT, 269/1),
Mnster 2000, 145. A reference to KTU 1.24 is found in the cultic text KTU
1.111:17-21.
49
Khirikhbi's epithets mlk qz and mlk 'agzt (1.24:2-3) usually are translated
'king of summer' and 'king of marriage'; cf., e.g., Marcus, in: Smith, UNP, 215;
Wyatt, RTU, 336; Dietrich, Loretz, Studien zu den ugaritischen Texten, 167-8.
They are differently translated by J.C. de Moor, 'Ugaritic Lexicography', in: P.
Fronzaroli (ed.), Studies on Semitic Lexicography (QS, 2), Firenze 1973, 92, . 1;
Idem, ARTU, 142, who renders 'the counsellor for exchange-marriages' and 'the
counsellor for protection-marriages', indicating complicated types of marriage.

Martu (see above). Royal marriages could also be exogamous. Kirtu

married a princess from a different country, although, since her father
Pubala worshipped the same god Ilu as Kirtu, Hariya probably would
be considered to share her husband's religion.
It is likely that in a metropolis like Ugarit intermarriage between
people of different origin occurred fairly often. 50 It seems therefore
reasonable to assume that the acceptance of exogamy on a mythological level reflects the view of Ugaritic society in general.
If KTU 1.24 reflects Ugaritic life, this would mean that a man had
some freedom in choosing his marriage partner, even a foreigner, and
that love for a woman could guide him in this. It is remarkable that
nothing is told about Nikkalu-and-Ibbu being asked by Khirikhbi either in his capacity of matchmaker or as father of the bride - about
either her opinion on Yarikhu or her consent in marriage. Apparently
at Ugarit, too, the arranging of a marriage was a matter between
men, although it is noteworthy that according to Khirikhbi's counteroffer Ba'lu would have to ask for the formal approval (gtr) of his wife
'Athtartu if he wanted to marry off Pidrayu (11. 26-28). Finally, it may
be observed that according to the myth related in KTU 1.23:40-49
two women had the choice between being regarded as wives of Ilu by
crying out O h my husband! My husband!' or as daughters by crying
out O h my dad! My dad!'. Only when they chose the former option
did Ilu have intercourse with them, but it is questionable whether
they had any other real choice. Nevertheless the data found would
seem to imply that women, including prospective brides, did have a
say in marriage affairs, although it was not the decisive voice.
According to some, the goddess 'Anatu may have proposed marriage to Aqhatu as an ultimate bid for his miraculous bow: 'at 'ah
w'an 'a[htk] 'You be my brother, and I will be your sister!' (KTU
1.18:1.23-24), just as the Babylonian goddess Ishtar proposed to Gilgamesh in Tablet VI of the Epic, and the Babylonian queen of the
Nether World Ereshkigal to Nergal. 51 However, the interpretation of
50

Cf., e.g., KTU 1.141 which might presuppose a marriage between a Hurrian man and an Alashian woman. Cf. furthermore D. Arnaud, 'Les ports de la
'Phnicie' la fin de l'ge du Bronze Rcent (XIV-XIII sicles) d'aprs les textes
cuniformes de Syrie', Studi Micenei ed Egeo-Anatolici 30 (1992), 182-4; W.G.E.
Watson, 'Non-Semitic Words in the Ugaritic Lexicon', UF 27 (1995), 533-58;
Idem, 'Non-Semitic Words in the Ugaritic Lexicon (2)', UF 28 (1996), 701-19.
51
On Ishtar proposing to Gilgamesh, cf. S. Dalley, Myths from Mesopotamia:
Creation, the Flood, Gilgamesh and Others, Oxford 1989, 77; on Ereshkigal seducing Nergal, cf. J.C. de Moor, 'Lovable Death in the Ancient Near East', UF
22 (1990), 237-8.

this Ugaritic passage is rather uncertain, 52 and in any case the situation appears to have been exceptional since 'Anatu pretended to have
fled her father's house (KTU 1.18:1.26).
This brings us to a caveat with regard to drawing conclusions
on the relations between women and men based on myths in which
goddesses propose marriage to humans. Richard Clifford has shown
that these mythic themes should be considered as type-scenes, which
were meant to instruct young men on the dangers of getting involved
with female strangers. 53 Yet it may be assumed that, as in the Song
of Songs, girls could, under some circumstances, also take the initiative to contact boys. The wailing of Kirtu's daughter, Thatmanatu,
is compared to that of nkyt tgr 'women pounding the gate' (KTU
1.16:11.27). This can hardly mean anything else than that the girls
had arrived after dark, returning to the city when the gate was already closed.
Until she was married a daughter remained with her father, generally living in his house. The dew-goddesses, daughters of Ba'lu, were
called kit 'marriageable girls, brides'. They lived with Ba'lu in the
house of his father-in-law, Ilu, until he had his own palace. 54 Later
on Ba'lu refused to have a window put into his new house (KTU
1.4:VI.7-11),
7

w'n. 'ai'i[yn.] b '1

'al. ,.'u[rb] t.bbhtm
9
hln.bq[rb.h]klm
10
'aZ.d[d.pdr]y.& 'ar
11
fit[r.t1]y.&.r6

52

But Ba'lu the Almighty answered:

'Do not put a window in the mansion,
(not) a lattice in the middle of the palace,
lest Pidrayu, the girl of the honey-dew, flies off, 55
lest Tallayu, the girl of the mist, be taken away!'56

Pro, e.g., De Moor, ARTU, 242, nn. 128-9; contra, e.g., Wyatt, RTU, 279-80,
nn. 131-3.
H.H.P. Dressier, 'The Metamorphosis of a Lacuna: Is at.ah.wan . . . a Proposal
of Marriage?' UF 11 (1979), 211-217, stresses that 'your sister' is a conjecture for
a lacuna and rightly points to the fact that the 'a of 'a[htk] as it was read by
Herdner, CTA, 85, and followed by many (including KTU2) can, in fact, not be
read. What can be seen is a word divider and marks of a vertical wedge, perhaps
of a lamed, cf. Wyatt, RTU, 279, n. 132. Although the context is fragmentary, it
appears to allude to 'Anatu seducing Aqhatu and proposing marriage to him (1.
25; cf. De Moor, ARTU, 242, n. 129). Tentatively, I therefore propose the reading
'at. 'ah.w'an [ly 'aht]; cf. Hos. 1:9; 5:12; Song 2:16; 6:3; 7:11.
53
R.J. Clifford, 'Woman Wisdom in the Book of Proverbs', in: G. Braulik et al.
(eds), Biblische Theologie und gesellschaftlicher Wandel: Fr Norbert Lohfink SJ,
Freiburg 1993, 61-72.
54
KTU 1.3:IV.47-53 par. More on kit in section 2.1.4.
55
Cf. Isa. 16:2.
56
Reconstruction of the text is based on De Moor, Spronk, CARTU, 25. Yet I
regard their proposed reading of t'itdy to be problematic. De Moor and Spronk

This passage shows that a father kept a very close watch over his
marriageable daughters and that the latter were prone to escape for
a little tryst now and then - or perhaps more than just that.
C . HEBREW BIBLE

In biblical Israel, too, the rule was that one had to be married. It
was considered a disgrace for a woman to remain unmarried (Isa. 4:1;
Prov. 30:23). As the Song of Songs gives us reason to surmise, the first
contacts between girls and boys may have been more or less secretive
meetings, for which both sides could take the initiative. Since the
social pressure on girls to get married probably was great, this may
have inspired rather daring conduct at times (Song 1:5-6, 7-8; 3:1-4;
5:2-7). Indeed, a boy might try to persuade his girl to climb through
the window to join him, as in Ugarit (Song 2:9-10). But such contacts
were the preliminaries only and in many cases these had to be skipped
because the matter had already been decided by the parents.
The regulations regarding marriage were part of family law. According to the laws of Leviticus 18 and 20 a man should not have
sexual intercourse with a close female relative. Scholars assume that
these laws were usually observed and that marriages within the circle of the , the extended family, were forbidden, whereas they
were considered desirable within the somewhat wider circle of the
clan ( 57 .( According to Numbers 36, marriage within the clan
was obligatory for daughters who had no brothers to inherit their father's land. Inheritance of land played a major role in the preference
for endogamous marriages. 58 This was due to the close ties between
assume an stem of hdy 'to be seen' and consider the /'if to be a mater lectionis.
This, however, is unlikely, since the use of matres lectionis is rare in Ugaritic
literary texts, cf. Sivan, GUL, 13; Tropper, UG, 50-6 . 1 therefore propose to read
t'itfr], N-stem of 'tr, cf. Akk. etru 'to take away', Erra IV, 53: di-tar mu-ta
i-te-ru-i-na-ti-ma.
57
Cf. C.H.J, de Geus, The Tribes of Israel: An investigation into some of the
presuppositions of Martin Noth's amphictyony hypothesis (SSN, 18), Assen 1976,
135-7; . van der Toorn, Family Religion in Babylonia, Syria and Israel: Continuity and Change in the Forms of Religious Life (SHCANE, 7), Leiden 1996,
199-201; S. Bendor, The Social Structure of Ancient Israel: the Institution of
the Family (beit 'ab) from the Settlement to the End of the Monarchy (JBS, 7),
Jerusalem 1996, 45-86. For an outline of permitted and prohibited marital relationships, cf. S. Rattray, cited in: J.E. Hartley, Leviticus (WBC, 4), Dallas TX
1992, 288.
58
De Geus notes that clans were voluntarily endogamous. Although not compulsory, endogamy was the rule; cf. De Geus, The Tribes of Israel, 137. Further, Van
der Toorn, Family Religion in Babylonia, Syria and Israel, 200, states: 'Though
both biblical and comparative evidence shows that intermarriage did occur between leading families of different clans, clan exogamy remained an exception'.

a and its , the part of land that a family owned and where
its ancestors were buried. 59 Inheritance, therefore, was an important
issue to a family, for
The land was more than an economic asset; it represented the family,
joining the ancestors with their progeny and objectifying the irreducible
bonds of kinship and descent upon which the early Israelite society was
founded.60
Carol Meyers points to the threat foreign women could pose to the
stability of a kinship-based society, for worshipping foreign gods ineluded an introduction of different cultural values. Along with the acceptance of exogamy (Judg. 3:5-6) there also was rejection of it (Exod.
34:11-16).61 At least in the view of the Deuteronomist, Solomon's and
Achab's marriages to foreign women were objectionable from a religious point of view.62
Next to economic and religious reasons there were other considerations in favour of endogamy. Karel van der Toorn mentions a social and a geographical motive - the future wife should preferably
come from the same class and the same town or neighbourhood as
the husband-to-be. 63 The situation which Van der Toorn describes,
however, is that of pre-monarchic Israelite society, in which a town
or village usually was coextensive with a clan. It has been argued
that during the monarchy the kinship structure of and
was destroyed. 64 Shunya Bendor disagrees with this theory, in which
Cf. also N. Steinberg, Kinship and Marriage in Genesis: A Household Economics
Perspective, Minneapolis 1993, 11-2, 24-30.
On biblical examples of endogamous marriages cf. Gen. 11:29 (Milcah is a niece
of Nahor); Gen. 20:12 (Sarai is a half-sister of Abram); Gen. 24:15 (Rebekah and
Isaac are cousins); Gen. 28:9 (Mahalath is a cousin of Esau); Gen. 29:12 (Leah
and Rachel are Jacob's cousins). Note that they are all from the pre-monarchic
period. Yet there are also numerous examples of exogamous marriages in the premonarchic period, cf. Gen. 26:34; 38:2; 41:45; Exod. 2:21; Num. 12:1; Judg. 14;
etc.
59
Cf. L.E. Stager, 'The Archaeology of the Family in Ancient Israel', AS OR
260 (1985), 22-3.
60
Van der Toorn, Family Religion in Babylonia, Syria and Israel, 199.
61
C. Meyers, Discovering Eve: Ancient Israelite Women in Context, New York
1988, 183-5.
62
On the problems involved with the dating of the Deuteronomist and the
Deuteronomistic Redaction, cf. S.L. McKenzie, 'Deuteronomistic History', in:
ABD, vol. 2, 160-8; J.M. Hadley, The Cult of Asherah in Ancient Israel and
Judah: Evidence for a Hebrew Goddess (UCOP, 57), Cambridge 2000, 56-7.
63
Van der Toorn, Family Religion in Babylonia, Syria and Israel, 201.
64
Bendor, The Social Structure of Ancient Israel, 207-8, summarizes these views
as follows: 'the batei 'ab broke down and disappeared (entirely or almost entirely),

the monarchy is regarded as being responsible for disrupting the kinship structure. 65 According to him, the kinship structure persisted
throughout the monarchy. However, Bendor seems to be mainly in
discussion with those scholars who assume the kinship structure of
Israelite society was linked to its nomadic way of life, and who contrast the centralistic government of the monarchy with the egalitarian
structure of the pre-monarchic nomadic 66. Yet the majority of
scholars no longer accepts this view on nomadic life of the early Israelites as valid.67 I agree with Bendor on his contention that
and remained in existence during the monarchy, but with
Rainer Albertz I suppose their influence diminished due to socioeconomic and political reasons. The economy of Israel and Judah
was mainly based on agriculture. In the course of the monarchic period, many farmers probably were incapable of handling the financial
demands which resulted in poverty, debt slavery and a breakdown of
68
the solidarity within the
.
With regard to the issue of choice of marriage partners, it would
seem reasonable to assume that during the monarchic period fathers
who owned land preferred endogamous marriages for their daughters,
just as they did in the pre-monarchic period. Perhaps endogamous
marriages were less important for those who did not own any land.
However, because clans still largely coincided with their villages and
towns, the importance of the geographic motive should not be ruled
out. 69
and with them the mipah0t. The dominant social unit was the small family, also
termed "nuclear family" '.
65
Bendor, The Social Structure of Ancient Israel, 223-4: 'In the concept accepted by many historians of ancient Israelite society, the socio-economic stratification was a clear-cut result of a process the decisive causes of which were the
monarchy and urbanization
According to the concept we have proposed here,
while these factors did have their effect, they did so against an existing background
of internal processes taking place in batei 'ab and mipah0t in their struggle for
existence in given geographical, agricultural and demographic conditions. In the
course of these processes, differences came into being among the kinship groups
and within them, and these differences determined the status of the various units
in the society, that is, the socio-economic stratification in question'.
66
Cf. Bendor, The Social Structure of Ancient Israel, 207-15.
67
Cf., e.g., R. Albertz, Religionsgeschichte Israels in alttestamentlicher Zeit Tl.
1 (GAT, 8/1), Gttingen 1992, 109-10.
68
Albertz, Religionsgeschichte Israels in alttestamentlicher Zeit Tl. 1, 248-52.
Cf. also Stager, 'The Archaeology of the Family in Ancient Israel', 24-5.
69
Differently, A. Brenner, The Israelite Woman: Social Role and Literary Type
in Biblical Narrative (BiSe, 2), Sheffield 1985, 116-7, points to social and political
acceptance as the benefits of exogamous marriage. 'From the beginning of the
monarchy the number of intermarriages increases, and exogamy is socially toler-

In the post-exilic period the kinship structure was of renewed importance, especially with regard to the issue of mixed marriages. According to Ezra 10:16, the priest Ezra selected heads of the families
( )] of the tribes Judah and Benjamin who had gathered in
Jerusalem, to examine this matter. 70 In post-exilic Judah, society was
organized according to kinship, that is, according to71.
Were only marriages between former exiles approved of by Ezra's
group? 72 The majority of scholars nowadays assumes this to have been
the case, but some think that marriages between a person belonging
to the tribe of Judah (and Benjamin) regardless of their being in exile
or not, and a person belonging to another (Israelite) tribe were not
approved of. 73
Several explanations have been proposed for the mixed marriages
and its opposition in the post-exilic period. The most obvious reason
would seem to be that there simply were not enough women among
ated to the point where it inspires indifference rather than anxiety. This attitude
prevails until well into the First Temple era. It is usually assumed that a foreign
wife will join her husband's family and adapt to its cultural and religious customs.
From the time of Hosea, however (second half of the eighth century BC), the tide
turns once more'.
70
Bendor, The Social Structure of Ancient Israel, 112, translates 'heads of fathers' houses' and remarks on them: 'This [the community of which the returned
exiles were part, HJM] was no longer the organic society of the period of the monarchy. These were the parts of batei 'ab who had gathered in Judah and Jerusalem
(Ezra 7:14) and who had structured their community around the temple'.
71
Scholars such as Weinberg have stressed the fictional character of these kinship
ties. H.C. Washington, 'The Strange Woman (/ ) of Proverbs 1-9 and
Post-Exilic Judaean Society', in: T.C. Eskenazi, K.H. Richards (eds), Second Tempie Studies: 2. Temple Community in the Persian Period (JSOT.S, 175), Sheffield
1994, 231: 'J. Weinberg has advanced the thesis that the Restoration community
was organized as a Brger-Tempel-Gemeinde (civic-temple community), a religiopolitical unit fictively constituted as an agnatic lineage of property-holding men
and their families'. Cf. further D.L. Smith, The Religion of the Landless: The
Social Context of the Babylonian Exile, Bloomington IN 1989, 93-126.
72
Thus, e.g., D.L. Smith-Christopher, 'The Mixed Marriage Crisis in Ezra 9-10
and Nehemiah 13: A Study of the Sociology of the Post-Exilic Judaean Community', in: Eskenazi, Richards (eds), Second Temple Studies: 2, 247; T.C. Eskenazi,
E.P. Judd, 'Marriage to a Stranger in Ezra 9-10', in: Eskenazi, Richards (eds), Second Temple Studies: 2, 285; C. Maier, ' "Begehre nicht ihre Schnheit in deinem
Herzen" (Prov 6,25): Eine Aktualisierung des Ehebruchsverbot aus Persischer
Zeit', BInt 5 (1997), 48.
73
Thus, e.g., Albertz, Religionsgeschichte Israels in alttestamentlicher Zeit Tl.
2, 585-6. To B. Becking, 'Continuity and Community: The Belief System of the
Book of Ezra', in: B. Becking, M.C.A. Korpel (eds), The Crisis of Israelite Religion: Transformation of Religious Tradition in Exilic and Post-Exilic Times
(OTS, 42), Leiden 1999, 274-5, the identity of those designated as not belonging to the 'true Israel' is not clear.

the returned exiles. A surplus of eligible males would have lead to

mixed marriages. 74 But the matter is more complex than that. Sociologists usually refer to Robert Merton's definition of mixed marriages
as 'marriage of persons deriving from those different in-groups and
out-groups other than the family which are culturally conceived as
relevant to the choice of a spouse'. 75 'Relevance' is the issue at stake
here. It is quite possible that the marriages were regarded as 'mixed'
by Ezra and his followers but not by the persons concerned, because
they held different views on what sort of marriage was endogamous.
Thus, returned exiles might have considered their marriages to be
endogamous without giving it further thought until the moment of
Ezra's actions (or, until the period of the editor of the book of Ezra).
The opposition against mixed marriages in the book of Ezra is
based on ethnic and religious reasons. It is reported to Ezra that
'[t]he people of Israel, the priests, and the Levites have not separated
themselves from the peoples of the lands with their abominations,
from the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the
Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians and the Ammorites. For
they have taken some of their daughters as wives for themselves and
for their sons. Thus the holy seed has mixed itself with the peoples of
the lands, and in this faithlessness the officials and leaders have led
the way' (Ezra 9:1-2). However, since some of these peoples, such as
the Hittites and Jebusites, had not lived in Judah for centuries, the
matter did not revolve around the aforementioned peoples, but rather
around 'all local non-nbu populations'. 76 From a sociological point of
view Ezra's actions can be regarded as group boundary maintenance.
Out of concern for the preservation of group identity and cultural
survival, boundaries were established to consolidate the group. 77 The
plea to guard the boundaries of ethnicity was motivated religiously.
Mixing the holy seed was regarded as an act of faithlessness, and on a
par with forsaking the commandments of YHWH.78 Bob Becking notes
that the idea of a 'holy seed' is more important to Ezra than the moral
code of care for the needy, i.e. for the women and children who would
74

Thus, e.g., L.W. Batten, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Books
of Ezra and Nehemiah (ICC), Edinburgh 1913, 331.
75
R.K. Merton, 'Intermarriage and the Social Structure: Fact and Theory' Psychiatry 9 (1941), 362.
76
Washington, 'The Strange Woman (/ ) of Proverbs 1-9 and PostExilic Judaean Society', 238.
77
Cf. D.L. Smith-Christopher, 'The Mixed Marriage Crisis in Ezra 9-10 and
Nehemiah 13', 252.
78
On Ezra's citation of the law cf. Washington, 'The Strange Woman (/
)of Proverbs 1-9 and Post-Exilic Judaean Society', 238.

be sent away.79 He furthermore stresses that whereas in Deut. 7:3 the

intermarriage prohibition regards both sexes, in Ezra and Nehemiah
the prohibition focuses on men marrying foreign women.80 However,
Becking seems to overemphasize the difference, since in giving the
reason for the prohibition against intermarriage Deut. 7:4 mentions
only the threat that foreign women pose to the belief of Israelite men.
As was the case in the pre-exilic period, land inheritance, although
not used as a motive by Ezra, is assumed to have been an important
factor in the question of the mixed marriages. Scholars such as Tamara
Eskenazi point to the threat which 'foreign' women ( ) posed.
Based on data from Elephantine and on the Priestly law regarding
the daughters of Zelophehad (Num. 27:1-11; 36:1-9) she assumes that
women could inherit land and thus cause loss of property to the community of the in case they were 'foreign'. 81 Yet, some remarks
need to be made here. First, the assumption that women had the
right to inherit is incorrect. Only if special provisions were made a
woman could have continued possession of the property of her father
or her husband after his death. 82 Secondly, the group that went into
exile formed about 10 % of the Judahite population. The 90 % that
stayed behind probably made claims to the properties of the deportees in the years after 586 BCE, which resulted in conflicts on the
return of the exiles.83 Thirdly, it is often assumed that the returned
exiles were in an advantageous position. From a sociological point of
view, however, it is likely that the exile group was in a disadvantaged
position vis--vis the present inhabitants of Judah ('the peoples of
the land'). Marriage of a male member of the community with
a 'foreign' female would then mean marrying 'up' in status for the
male. 84
Political factors were also influential. With regard to the missions
of Ezra and Nehemiah, Kenneth Hoglund has pointed to the fact that
79

Becking, 'Continuity and Community', 271.

Becking, 'Continuity and Community', 272: 'By implication, marrying foreign
males does not seem to fall under the post-exilic prohibition. One can only speculate on the religious, social and demographic presuppositions and implications of
this partial discontinuity of the tradition code'.
81
Cf. T.C. Eskenazi, 'Out from the Shadows: Biblical Women in the Postexilic
Era', JSOT 54 (1992), 27-36; Washington, 'The Strange Woman (/)
of Proverbs 1-9 and Post-Exilic Judaean Society', 235.
82
See section 2.1.4, 2.1.5, and 4.3.3
83
Washington, 'The Strange Woman (/ ) of Proverbs 1-9 and PostExilic Judaean Society', 232.
84
Smith-Christopher, 'The Mixed Marriage Crisis in Ezra 9-10 and Nehemiah
13', 243-65, (260-1).
80

... their missions were an effort on the part of the Achaemenid empire
to create a web of economic and social relationships that would tie the
community more completely into the imperial system. Part of this process involved the clarification of the population under imperial control
by legislating some means of defining that community.85
Thus, not only with regard to the controllability of allocating territories for land tenure was it desirable for the Persian authorities to
guard ethnic identity, but also from the viewpoint of tightening its
political grip on the Yehud province. 86 On the other hand, Persian
authorities seem to have approved of marriages between members of
the local government and members of the Jewish aristocracy. Yet the
approval might have been limited to the upper classes.87
Thus, in the post-exilic period there was a tendency to propagate
marriages within the group, which was ethnically and religiously
motivated. 88 Furthermore, land inheritance probably remained an important factor in the choice of marriage partner.
Attitudes towards mixed marriages were not always negative, however. Several well-known biblical figures had foreign mothers. 89 Foreign women such as Ruth, who adopted Y H W H as their God, are
looked upon positively in the Bible. Athalya Brenner summarizes this
positive view as follows: 'when a foreign woman chooses to adopt Israelite (Judahite) society and religion, and her behaviour indicates
that she is seriously committed to her new community, then her acceptance is guaranteed'. 90
85

K.G. Hoglund, Achaemenid Imperial Administration in Syria-Palestine and

the Missions of Ezra and Nehemiah (SBL.DS, 125), Atlanta GA 1992, 244.
86
Washington, 'The Strange Woman (/ ) of Proverbs 1-9 and PostExilic Judaean Society1, 237-8; Smith-Christopher, 'The Mixed Marriage Crisis in
Ezra 9-10 and Nehemiah 13', 245.
87
Smith-Christopher, 'The Mixed Marriage Crisis in Ezra 9-10 and Nehemiah
13', 261-4.
88
Washington, 'The Strange Woman (/ ) of Proverbs 1-9 and PostExilic Judaean Society', 234, mentions a gruadual change of meaning for the
word , 'from a term proper to those who underwent exile or their immediate
descendants (e.g. Ezra 1.11; 2.1), to a designation for all recognized members of
the community (Ezra 6.19-21)'.
89
The fact that the Bible informs us mainly on Israelite men marrying foreign
women is of course due to the structure of society, which was arranged around
and . Women, whether they married an Israelite or a foreign man, left
their paternal to join the household of their husband. The focus generally
was androcentric.
90
Brenner, The Israelite Woman, 119.

The Samson stories show how young Samson was fatally attracted
to Philistine women. According to Judg. 14 he would have asked both
his parents to consent to his marriage with the girl from Timnah. They
objected, but to no avail. Apparently a son could push through his
choice if he wanted. However, the thrust of these stories clearly is to
discourage exogamy with Philistine women. 91 The story of Potiphar's
wife trying to seduce Joseph (Gen. 37) is another warning against the
presumed lewdness of foreign women. Warnings against exogamous
marriages were also addresses to girls. The story about Shechem's
premarital and, therefore, improper intercourse with Dinah (Gen. 34)
also has the objective never to marry a Canaanite. 92
Nevertheless, for kings intermarriage was an important political
tool to cement friendly relationships with neighbouring countries. 93
Yet in the Bible, especially in the Deuteronomistic History, these marriages with women from other countries who worshipped other gods
were frowned upon. Claudia Camp has outlined a gradual change
in the perception of the foreign or strange woman. The notion of
strangeness was perceived as linked with foreign cults and uncontrolled female sexuality. In the post-exilic period the Strange Woman
became a literary type which embodied a threat to the community. 94
To conclude, the appreciation of foreign women in the Hebrew
Bible is generally related to whether or not they were a threat to
Yahwism. If they accepted YHWH as their personal God, they were
valued positively. If not, then the Bible regards them as a threat to
Israelite religion.
Girls usually married at an early age. Often they were under sixteen when entering matrimony. 95 The prophet Joel (1:8) refers to a
91

Cf. J. Kim, The Structure of the Samson Cycle, Kampen 1993, 230-4.
Cf. I. Kottsieper, 'We Have a Little Sister: Aspects of Brother-SisterRelationship in Ancient Israel', in: J.W. van Henten, A. Brenner (eds), Families
and, Family Relations: As Represented in Early Judaisms and Early Christiani
ties: Texts and Fiction (STAR, 2), Leiden 2000, 67. On Gen. 34 see further n. 108
in this section and sections 2.1.3 and 2.1.4.
93
See further section 2.2.1.4.
94
Cf. C.V. Camp, Wisdom and the Feminine in the Book of Proverbs (BiLiSe,
11), Sheffield 1985, 265-71; Idem, 'What's So Strange About the Strange Woman?'
in: D. Jobling et al. (eds), The Bible and the Politics of Exegesis, Cleveland
OH 1991, 23-6. Cf. also Washington, 'The Strange Woman (/ ) of
Proverbs 1-9 and Post-Exilic Judaean Society', 217-30; Maier, ' "Begehre nicht
ihre Schnheit in deinem Herzen" (Prov 6,25)', 46-63.
95
Cf. Van der Toorn, Cradle, 59. Marriage at a relatively young age might
also have applied to boys. Although the Hebrew Bible renders little information,
scholars assume that boys usually entered matrimony soon after puberty; cf., e.g.,
E. Neufeld, Ancient Hebrew Marriage Laws, London 1944, 139.
92

'virgin' ( )lamenting the husband of her youth. Probably a wife

usually was some years younger than her husband. Sarah, for instance,
was ten years younger than Abraham (Gen. 17:17).
It has sometimes been stated that Israelite fathers had absolute
power over their children (patria potestas). Legally, a man's children
were considered to be his property. Thus, a father could sell his children when his family lived in extreme poverty. For a girl sold into
slavery, this could result in becoming a slave concubine of her new
master. 96 Obviously, she would have no choice in the matter whatsoever. Further, in case of loss of prenatal life the father was entitled to
receive compensation (Exod. 21:22).
It has been argued that daughters in particular represented an
economic value, since the head of the household was to be paid a
marriage deposit ( )as a compensation gift when a bride married.
Hence, when an unbetrothed daughter was violated and the father
refused to give her in marriage to the violator, the latter had to pay
her father for the presumed loss of the marriage deposit (Exod. 22:1516).97 However, this payment needs to be regarded from the viewpoint
of family law, not of property law. This is illustrated by the difference
in penalty for the wrongful defloration of a female slave and that of
a free maiden. 98
According to Anthony Phillips, the father, being the head of the
household, had the ultimate say in the question as to whom he would
marry his daughter. 99 This is illustrated by the stories of Caleb who
gave his daughter Achsah as wife to whoever would take the town
of Kiriath-sepher (Josh. 15:16-17 || Judg. 1:12-13) and of Tamar who
pleaded with her brother Amnon to ask their father David that he
might give her in marriage to him (2 Sam. 13:13). To some fathers
who gave their daughters in marriage, one daughter was exchangeable
for another and considered merely a pawn in their use of power. Thus
Saul promised his elder daughter Merab to David, but subsequently
gave her to Adriel the Meholathite as a wife and her sister Michal to
96

See further section 2.2.2.4.

Cf. C.J.H. Wright, 'Family', in: A BD, vol. 2, 767.
98
Cf. R. Westbrook, 'The Female Slave', in: V.H. Matthews et al. (eds), Gender
and Law in the Hebrew Bible and the Ancient Near East (JSOT.S, 262), Sheffield
1998, 223.
99
A. Phillips, 'Some Aspects of Family Law in Pre-Exilic Israel', VT 23 (1973),
351.
Except of course in cases in which girls were abducted or were deported as spoils
of war; see, e.g., Deut. 21:10-14; Judg. 21. Cf. A. Tosato, II matrimonio israelitico
(AnBib, 100), Rome 1982, 23-42; C. Pressler, The View of Women Found in the
Deuteronomic Family Laws (BZAW, 216), Berlin 1993, 9-15.
97

David (1 Sam. 18:17-27).100 The exchangeability of Leah and Rachel

from the viewpoint of Laban seems to be another example of the use
of marriageable women for the benefit of their father (Gen. 29:21-30).
In both instances the texts do not report on the consultation of the
daughters, and their choice of husband is subordinate to their fathers'
purposes. However, in both instances the custom of the elder daughter
having to be married before the younger also seems to have played
a role. 101 Yet the father's ultimate authority did not necessarily rule
out the influence of the mother, nor the possibility that a father could
inquire about his daughter's opinion regarding her future husband.
To somewhat modify the extent of a father's authority scholars
have pointed to the case of Rebekah's marriage. 102 According to some,
the girl is asked for her consent in marriage (Gen. 24:57-58).103 Others
100

In this connection the inconsistencies with regard to the name of the man
are irrelevant. Cf. A. Caquot, Ph. de Robert, Les livres de Samuel (CAT, 6),
Genve 1994, 223-4. A. van der Lingen, Vrouwen rond de koningen van oud-Israel,
Zoetermeer 1997, 30, n. 28, assumes (with reference to Gr0nbaek) that Michal had
been promised to David, but that David fled in the night of the wedding, after
which event Michal would have been married to Paltiel/Adriel.
101
K. Engelken, Frauen im Alten Israel: Eine begriffsgeschichtliche und sozialrechtliche Studie zur Stellung der Frau im Alten Testament (BWANT, 130),
Stuttgart 1990, 115, n. 81, notes that this practice also occurs elsewhere.
102
However, it seems as if the girl was under the authority of her mother and
her brother. It has been argued that her father Bethuel was dead and that his
name is added in vs. 50; cf. C. Westermann, Genesis (BKAT, 1/2), NeukirchenVluyn 1981, 476. The fact that Abraham's servant offered gifts to Rebekah, her
brother and her mother, while no mention is made of her father in vs. 53 seems to
confirm this. Cf. R. de Vaux, Les institutions de l'Ancien Testament, vol. 1, Paris
1958, 53. Differently, Kottsieper, 'We Have a Little Sister' , 70-2. Some scholars
suggest that Rebekah's family may have been matrilineal, although this would
be exceptional; cf. . Jay, 'Sacrifice, Descent and the Patriarchs', VT 38 (1988),
52-70; V.P. Hamilton, The Book of Genesis: Chapters 18-50 (NICOT), Grand
Rapids 1995, 157.
103
Jay, 'Sacrifice, Descent and the Patriarchs', 62; Meyers, Discovering Eve, 1867; I. Fischer, Die Erzeltern Israels: Feministisch-theologische Studien zu Genesis
12-36 (BZAW, 222), Berlin 1994, 83; L. Teugels, ' "A Strong Woman, Who Can
Find?": A Study of Characterization in Genesis 24, With Some Perspectives on
the General Presentation of Isaac and Rebekah in the Genesis Narratives', JSOT
63 (1994), 98. Based on cross-cultural studies, N. Steinberg, Kinship and Marriage
in Genesis: A Household Economics Perspective, Minneapolis 1993, 96, nuances:
'Although Rebekah is asked directly whether she is willing to be given in marriage,
the implication is, based on the gifts given to her household, that her brother
(and father?) wanted and expected her to accede to the agreement in order that
they might benefit materially from the arrangement. Thus, in theory, Rebekah
had the freedom to refuse the marriage offer, but in practice there would have
been economic pressures for her not to do so'. It should be noted, however, that
Abraham and his emissary reckoned with a refusal on the part of the girl from

have argued that Rebekah is only asked about her agreement on the
time of departure. 104 But it seems most likely that both her consent,
and the time of departure she preferred, were asked for. 105
If a father was absent, a marriage still could be arranged parentally,
i.e., by the mother. After they had been sent away by Abraham, Hagar selected an Egyptian wife for her son Ishmael (Gen. 21:21). And
while a father was present, a mother could also influence the choice
of partner for her child. Thus Rebekah expressed her displeasure with
Esau's choice of partners and spoke to Isaac about her concern that
Jacob, too, might marry a Hittite woman (Gen. 26:34; 27:46-28:2). 106
In the case of Rebekah and Isaac, a marriage was made in which
the partners did not know each other. Yet love could bloom even in
these instances (Gen. 24:67). Still, it seems that at least some marriages were made in which a girl knew and loved her future husband
(1 Sam. 18:20-21).107 And a future groom could take some initiative
in choosing a marriage partner. Thus Shechem, son of Hamor, spoke
to his father about winning Dinah as his bride (Gen. 34:4). 108 Samson
the very beginning (Gen. 24:5,8) which contradicts the idea that it would have
been a mere formality.
104
W.H. Gispen, Genesis: II, Genesis 11:27-25:11 (COT), Kampen 1979, 28990; G.I. Emmerson, 'Women in Ancient Israel', in: R.E. Clements (ed.), The World
of Ancient Israel: Sociological, Anthropological and Political Perspectives, Cambridge 1989, 384; G. Wenham, Genesis 16-50 (WBC,2), Dallas TX 1994, 150.
105
Hamilton, The Book of Genesis: Chapters 18-50, 158.
106
See further C. Meyers, ' "To Her Mother's House": Considering a Counterpart
to the Israelite Bt 'b', in: D. Jobling et al. (eds), The Bible and the Politics of
Exegesis, Cleveland, Ohio 1991, 50, and section 2.1.1.4.2.
107
Although no instances are recorded of biblical women who themselves selected
a marriage partner. The initiatives of Tamar and Ruth should be considered within
the context of levirate marriage.
108
Since Shechem had 'defiled' Dinah, custom required that he asked the father
of the bride for his daughter. According to Exod. 22:16 a father could refuse to
give his daughter in marriage to the seducer (see also Deut. 22:28-29). However,
Jacob and his sons agreed to give Dinah in marriage, probably because of the
political gain they could get out of it. We do not learn about Dinah's (lack of)
choice. Hamilton, The Book of Genesis: Chapters 18-50, 352, n. 5, argues that
the terminology used in Gen. 34:2 does not necessarily imply Shechem raped
her, but rather that he humbled her by having premarital intercourse with her.
C. Pressler, 'Sexual Violence and Deuteronomic Law', in: A. Brenner (ed.), A
Feminist Companion to Exodus to Deuteronomy (FCB, 6), Sheffield 1994, 111,
notes that 'the offense in the story is not that Shechem had sexual intercourse
with Dinah without her consent. It is that Shechem had sexual intercourse with
Dinah without her father's or brothers' consent. They control her sexuality. Their
rights are violated'. See also L.M. Bechtel, 'What if Dinah is not Raped? (Genesis
34)', JSOT 62 (1994), 19-36; T. Frymer-Kensky, 'Virginity in the Bible', in: V.H.
Matthews et al. (eds), Gender and Law in the Hebrew Bible and the Ancient Near

consulted his parents with regard to a Philistine woman he had seen

at Timnah who pleased him (Judg. 14:2-3). And Jacob himself, who
had fled his paternal family, made arrangements with Laban regarding the woman he loved: Rachel (Gen. 29:18,20). 109 Finally David
directly approached Abigail for marriage and she immediately agreed
to marry him (1 Sam. 25:39-42). As a widow she apparently needed
nobody's consent.
D . CONCLUSIONS

In the ancient Near East, marriage was in the first place an arrangement between families. Personal choice and love of the marriage partners were of secondary importance. The heads of families, usually
the fathers, would discuss the marriage agreements. In the Sumerian
myth of the Marriage of Martu and the Ugaritic myth of Yarikhu and
Nikkalu-and-Ibbu, the personal choice of the groom-to-be does play
a role. Only in the former, however, do we learn about the choice
of the bride-to-be, but perhaps we may assume that in Ugarit she
had an unofficial say in the matter. In any case the social pressure to
get married may sometimes have induced girls to take the initiative
in contacting a possible partner. Also in biblical literature personal
choice and love sometimes played a role in marriage arrangements.
Here, too, however, the focus seems to have been mainly on the male's
choice (Jacob, Shechem, Samson). However, Rebekah was asked for
her consent in marriage. Furthermore, we learn of the love of Michal
for David (1 Sam. 18:20). Yet in general, biblical daughters were dependent on their fathers with regard to their marriage and the choice
of partner (Leah, Rachel, Merab, Achsah). In all cultures of the ancient Near East, however, the mothers also seem to have had a say in
the choice of a partner. Whether or not their opinion was decisive is
unknown.
The fact that girls were married at a young age contributed to the
lack of influence they had on the choice of a partner. Girls generally
were married soon after menarche, to exploit to the full their possibilities to bear offspring. It was considered of vital importance that
a marriage produce children, who inherited the possessions of their
parents. If the family had accumulated any wealth it should be kept
East (JSOT.S, 262), Sheffield 1998, 89.
109
I disagree with Fischer, Die Erzeltern Israels, 83, who states that their marriage is based on free choice. It is indeed the free choice of Jacob, but we do not
learn of any choice made by Rachel. Since Jacob is by then already married to
Leah (of whose consent we are ignorant), Rachel's position within this marriage
is that of a co-wife, which probably diminished her status with regard to Jacob's
first intent.

within its lineage, which generally resulted in a preference for endogamous marriages. In general, people would marry within their social
circle, i.e. within their class or within their village. Inheritance seems
to have been one of the most important reasons to prefer endogamy.
Although the evidence from Ugarit is scarce, it may be that exogamy
was less frowned upon than it was in some of the other countries
of the ancient Near East. According to the Hebrew Bible, endogamy
was preferred. The protection of the religious identity seems to have
played a major role in this, possibly already in pre-exilic times, but it
certainly was of importance after the exile. This seems to be the only
significant distinction between Israel and its neighbours with regard
to the institution of marriage. But even this is not entirely certain. 110
2.1.1.2

Courtship

Affection between women and men has always found ways to express
itself, whatever the prevailing opinion of their surroundings. But, were
they equal partners in love? Were they both equally subject to the
will of their respective families' patriarchal social code? What were
the limits of their freedom to court? And what about premarital sex?
We know that it did occur in the ancient Near East, but was it seen
as admissible?
In this section we will look at literary texts concerning courtship,
viz. love poetry. The question concerning an alleged relationship with
the sacred marriage rite will be dealt with. It has been proposed that
some of the love songs reflect a female point of view and may have
been part of a female sub-culture. Yet others assert that they express
male wishful thinking.
With regard to biblical love poetry, Song of Songs is our most important text. Its interpretation, religious or secular, and its supposed
location as part of a female subculture and/or a wedding song will be
discussed.
A . ANCIENT NEAR EAST

In Sumerian and Babylonian love poetry lovers freely express their

love, the woman often taking the lead. The lovers praise each other's
beauty, embrace, kiss and fondle each others genitals, and describe
their sexual pleasure in exquisite detail, though mostly in suggestive
metaphors. Lively dialogues, usually unintroduced, characterize the
110

In the Marriage of Martu, 11. 129-139, the prospective groom is seen as religiously unacceptable. In Ugarit the cultic text KTU 1.40 par. characterizes many
neighbouring peoples as sinners. Cf. J.C. de Moor, P. Sanders, 'An Ugaritic Expiation Ritual and its Old Testament Parallels', UF 23 (1991), 283-300 (296-7).

genre. 1
With regard to the relevance of the Mesopotamian material for
this study it might be objected that the majority of these songs concern the goddess of love Inanna/Ishtar and her lovers, especially Dumuzi/Tammuz, and pertain to the sacred marriage rite. 2 So it is questionable whether they are relevant to human love. However, it is clear
that these songs reflect a positive view of sexuality which will have
corresponded to the way it was experienced between humans. Actually some of them are regarded as secular. 3 Not only in the world of
the deities but also among mortals it was often the female partner
who took the initiative, as in the Poem of the Faithful Lover.4 Girls
probably were free to some extent to choose their partner. 5
Also in Egyptian love poetry 6 lovers openly express their love for
each other by praising the beloved and his or her body and by uttering
the desire to be in each other's presence.7 In the love poems the
man and woman mutually show their affection and speak unabashedly
about their desire. Michael Fox notes that, although the Egyptian
love songs do not show a strict stereotyping of sex roles, they reveal a
distinction: 'In many songs . . . the girls are the more intent on love and
the more sexually assertive, and on balance this seems characteristic of
the genre'. 8 In poems that compare falling in love to being trapped, it
is always the girl who traps the boy. The poet asserts the girl's power
in love, but does not picture her as a femme fatale.
1

Passages in the third person do occur however.

For a more elaborate treatment of the sacred marriage rite, see section 3.1.
3
B. Alster, 'Sumerian Love Songs', RA 79 (1985), 127-59; M.V. Fox, The Song
of Songs and Ancient Egyptian Love Songs, Madison 1985, 247-8, n. 23. See further
Y. Sefati, Love Songs in Sumerian Literature (Bar Ilan Studies in Near Eastern
Languages and Culture), Ramat Gan 1998, with earlier literature.
4
See B.R. Foster, Before the Muses: An Anthology of Akkadian Literature, vol.
1, Bethesda MD 21996, 95-8.
5
Note the Sumerian proverbs that encourage both females and males to marry
according to their choice; cf. . Alster, Proverbs of Ancient Sumer, vol. 1,
Bethesda MD 1997, 29-30, 145. See section 2.1.1.1.
6
The manuscripts of the Egyptian love songs date from the 13th-12th century
BCE (19th and 20th dynasties). They may have been composed somewhat earlier,
though probably not much. The collections are: P. Harris 500, Cairo Love Songs
of Ostracon 25218, P. Turin 1966, P. Chester Beatty I, and some miscellaneous
texts from the Ramesside period; cf. J.B. White, A Study of the Language of
Love in the Song of Songs and Ancient Egyptian Poetry (SBL.DS, 38), Missoula
MT 1978, 69-71; Fox, The Song of Songs and Ancient Egyptian Love Songs, 181;
B. Mathieu, La posie amoureuse de l'Egypte ancienne: Recherches sur un genre
littraire au Nouvel Empire (Bibliothque d'tude, 115), Le Caire 1996, 19-23.
7
White, A Study of the Language of Love, 96.
8
Fox, The Song of Songs and Ancient Egyptian Love Songs, 305-7 (305).
2

Girls further appear as more intent because they speak either in

second person to, or in third person about, their lover, whereas boys
only do the latter and thus seem more remote. The love songs hint
at the girl's social situation, in that they reveal restrictions on her
freedom and mobility. 'Yet even within a society in which females
are expected to exhibit greater passivity and tolerate greater limits
on their freedom, they may act with equal freedom and even greater
assertiveness within the one-to-one love relationship'. 9
Although the background of the Egyptian love poetry reflects an
upperclass style of life,10 the genre was not confined to that sphere.
The scribes of the workers at Deir el-Medina possessed and probably
appreciated the songs. So we may assume that love poems were enjoyed in all strata of Egyptian society.11 The setting of the songs was
secular, their purpose was entertainment at banquets and festivals. 12
Yet it seems that these songs borrowed themes from the religious literature of Egypt, a circumstance proving once again that in the ancient
world there did not exist a sharp distinction between a religious and
secular sphere of life.13 Actually in Egypt, too, the sacred marriage
rite may have functioned as a model for this kind of poetry. 14
What is of interest to us, is the question whether this freely expressed yearning for love and sexual intercourse reflected the actual
social situation of Egypt and Mesopotamia. It seems doubtful that
sexual libertinism conformed to the social mores. 15 It is quite possible, therefore, that the love poetry of the ancient Near East reflected
the wishful dreaming of male authors lusting after sexually assertive
women 16 , while in reality a girl had to protect her virginity until she
met the man she would marry. In principle, a man who took a girl's
virginity had to marry her. Although none of the languages of the an9

Fox, The Song of Songs and Ancient Egyptian Love Songs, 307.
Mathieu, La posie amoureuse de l'Egypte ancienne, 245.
11
White, A Study of the Language of Love, 81-2.
12
Fox, The Song of Songs and Ancient Egyptian Love Songs, 244-7; Mathieu,
La posie amoureuse de l'Egypte ancienne, 243.
13
Mathieu, La posie amoureuse de l'Egypte ancienne, 217-41 (esp. 151).
14
J. Assmann, 'Die Zeugung des Sohnes: Bild, Spiel, Erzhlung und das Problem
des gyptischen Mythos', in: J. Assmann et al. (eds), Funktionen und Leistungen
des Mythos: Drei altonentalische Beispiele (OBO, 48), Freiburg, Schweiz 1982,
13-61.
15
G. Robins, Women in Ancient Egypt, London 1993, 178-80; G. Leick, Sex
and Eroticism in Mesopotamian Literature, London 1994, 67-8; Van der Toorn,
Cradle, 58.
16
Mathieu, La posie amoureuse de l'Egypte ancienne, 245, rightly points out
that several of these poems reflect a typical masculine point of view which renders
the hypothesis of female authorship less likely.
10

cient Near East has a word for 'chastity', too flirtatious or even whorish behaviour on the part of women met with massive disapproval. As
a Babylonian wisdom text says, 'Do not marry a prostitute, whose
husbands are legion, / A temple harlot who is dedicated to a god, / A
courtesan whose favours are many . . . She will disrupt the house she
enters, and her partner will not assert himself'. 17
B . UGARITIC LITERARY TEXTS

So far, no collections of love poems have been found in Ugarit. We

know for certain, however, that such collections must have existed
because the opening lines of two love songs are quoted in the marriage
ritual KTU 1.100:7072.18 Texts like KTU 1.10, 1.11, 1.23 and 1.24
warrant the assumption that the Ugaritic love songs were just as
daringly erotic as their Mesopotamian and Egyptian counterparts.
Very informative with regard to Ugaritic 19 marriage customs is
KTU 1.24, a text that may have played a role in actual wedding
ceremonies. 20
At first sight the linear description of the development of the romance between Nikkalu and Yarikhu, as described in KTU 1.24, would
seem to favour a translation of KTU 1.24:3-13 in the past tense which
is what Nicholas Wyatt prefers. 21 On this basis he regards this episode
as a premarital affair ending in a happy marriage. 22 However, this resuits in a highly unlikely translation because the invocations of the
Katharatu (11. 5-6, 11) become totally isolated from their context. I
therefore propose the following translation of KTU 1.24:3-13,
3

bsrr.p
4
yrh ytkh.
ybbq.d5tld

17

&n! Z[h]

When Shapshu 23 has flown away,

Yarikhu will strip, 24
he will embrace her who will bear a son 25 to him.

W.G. Lambert, Babylonian Wisdom Literature, Oxford 1960, 102-3.

Cf. De Moor, ARTU, 154-5; Idem, 'East of Eden', ZAW 100 (1988), 105-11.
19
Even though the names of Khirikhbi and Prbht point to Hurrian influence,
the Semitic names of Yarikhu, Shapshu, Katharatu, etc., prove that the text was
fully integrated into the religion of the Semites of Ugarit.
20
See section 2.1.1.1.
21
Wyatt, RTU, 336-8.
22
Wyatt, RTU, 336-7, n. 5.
23
Sun-goddess.
24
Cf. J.C. de Moor, 'Ugaritic tkh and South Arabian mtkh', VT 14 (1964), 3712; Idem, 'Contributions to the Ugaritic Lexicon', UF 11 (1979), 641, n. 13; Idem,
ARTU, 142, n. 9.
25
CT A, 102, reads tld &t.[-]t; KTU2, 69, reads tld btXrt. See, however, 1. 7.
Virolleaud's copy allows the reading adopted here.
18

ih [llh. Ik]6 irt.

bnt.h11.[snnt]
hl glmt.d bn [lh]
s
'nhn\.lydh zd[n]

Make her conjvulse, 26 Ka]tharatu 27 !

swallows, daughters of Hilalu!28
Look! Let the lass bear a son to him! 29
Let her 'well' 30 boil for his 'hand', 31

[fpt lbsrh.
dm 'ab[h.y]h 10 wyn.
kmrA.b[hk1]A
11
m' ,ilht.ktT[t.}
[y1k.]mm 1 2 <'>nh.
lydh. tzdn
[
] 13 /adn[h].

her 'lips' 32 for his 'flesh'! 33

For [her] fa[ther will] let her live,
as a betrothed woman [in] his [palace]!
Listen, goddesses, Katharatu!
[Let] the waters of her 'well' [flow],34
let them boil for his 'hand'!
1 for her lord.

Despite the erotic imagery it seems clear to me that this passage must
be proleptic. It describes in the form of a love song, with interspersed
prayers to the goddesses overseeing intercourse and pregnancy, the
first night the bride and groom are together. The presupposition is
that beforehand Nikkalu will become Yarikhu's legal wife (mtrht).
Also the portrayal of lady Hariya, the bride-to-be of Kirtu (KTU
1.14:111.38-45 et passim), may serve as comparative material for the
period of courtship. Kirtu besieged Udumu and he rejected the peacegifts of king Pubala. He did not want silver and gold, but a graceful
wife:
38

pd. 'in.bbty.ttn
39
tn.ly.mit.hry
40
n'mt.sph.bhrk
26

But give me what I do not have in my house,

give me the lady Hariya
the most gracious of the family of your first-born,35

Cf. KTU 1.10:11.29; 1.12:1.25; Job 26:5. In Ugaritic the verb hyl also denotes
female sexual pleasure as a prelude to future birth-pangs. Compare the use of hbl
in Song of Songs 8:5.
27
On the ktrt 'the (female) skillfull ones', cf. D. Pardee, 'Kosharoth ', in:
DDD, 491-2. For the vocalisation 'Katharatu', cf. D. Arnaud, Recherches au pays
d'AStata (Emar, 6/3), Paris 1986, 372-3 (no. 378:18).
28
Pace Pardee, 'Kosharoth
915-7,'.Hilalu is the god of the new moon; cf.
KTU 1.24:41-42, where the Katharatu are called bnt hll b'l gml 'the daughters of
Hilalu, the lord of the sickle'. W.G.E. Watson, 'Ugaritic and Mesopotamian Literary Texts', UF 9 (1977), 282, points to a Sumerian connection between swallows
and the moon god.
29
Cf. Isa. 7:14; Mt. 1:21, 23; Lk. 1:31; 2:7; Rev. 12:5.
30
Euphemism for the vulva. Cf. De Moor, ARTU, 140, n. 35; 143, n. 14.
31
Euphemism for the penis. Cf. De Moor, ARTU, 114, n. 33.
32
Another euphemism for the vulva, see CAD () 1, 486.
33
Another euphemism for the penis, as in Lev. 6:3; 15:2-3,7; Ezek. 16:26; 23:20.
Cf. Wyatt, RTU, 337, n. 11.
34
This imagery occurs more often in Ugaritic as well as in Akkadian. Cf. De
Moor, ARTU, 113, n. 25.
35
Alternatively, Wyatt, RTU, 196: 'the most gracious one of your family, your

41

dk.n'm. 'nt.n'mh
42

whose grace is like the grace of 'Anatu,

km.tsm. 'itrt.tsmh
43
d'qh. 'ib. 'iqn'i.
'p'ph 44sp.trml

whose loveliness is like the loveliness of 'Athtartu,

whose eye-shadow 36 is the purest lapis-lazuli,
whose eyelashes 37 form a bowl of frothing milk,

thgrn.bm
45
'alw. bsp. 'nh

she (who) girds me by them 3 8 ,

(whom) I circle because of the clarity of her eyes.

Kirtu's description of his beloved seems to be a variant of an Egyptian

and Hebrew love poetry theme in which the boy feels trapped or ensnared by his beloved.39 When his girl sets eyes on him, he is a prisoner
of love. Here it is at the same time the explanation of Udumu's siege:
Hariya who 'girded' Kirtu, is now encircled by Kirtu. The expression
of reciprocity as an element of love poetry - anticipating future love
- is used as an explanation for Kirtu's siege.
Contrary to the Egyptian love poetry and, as we will see, Song of
Songs, in this legendary text the female character does not express
her feelings of love, but remains silent, as is logical because Kirtu asks
her father for her hand, in accordance with the formal custom of the
time.
C . HEBREW BIBLE

When one thinks of biblical texts in which lovers express their feelings
of affection, the first that comes to mind is the Song of Songs.40 In the
past several scholars have pointed to parallels between Mesopotamian
literature dealing with the Inanna-Dumuzi (Ishtar-Tammuz) cult and
the Song of Songs, interpreting the latter as a reworked sacred marriage liturgy. 41
first-born'.
36
Alternatively, G. del Olmo Lete, Mitos y leyendas de Canaan: segun la tradidon de Ugant (FCiBi, 1), Madrid 1981, 604; Pardee, in: C0S, vol. 1, 335; Wyatt,
RTU, 196: 'pupils'. Wyatt also mentions 'eyebrows' as a possible translation.
37
The meaning of 'p'p is disputed; see J.C. de Moor, K. Spronk, 'Problematical
Passages in the Legend of Kirtu (I)', UF 14 (1982), 168-9; Wyatt, RTU, 197, n.
100. In Prov. 6:25 the same attraction is attributed to a woman's 'p'pym.
38
Following the proposed reading of De Moor, Spronk, CARTU, 82; differently,
KTU2 reads [t]dm.
39
S. Schott, Altgyptische Liebeslieder: Mit Mrchen und Liebesgeschichten
(BAW.AO), Zrich 2 1950, 63; Fox, The Song of Songs and Ancient Egyptian
Love Songs, 289-90, 306; Song 4:9; 6:5, and above all Prov. 6:25.
40
On the difficulty of dating the Song of Songs, cf. .. Pope, Song of Songs:
A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary (AncB, 7C), Garden City
NY 1977, 22-33; Fox, The Song of Songs and Ancient Egyptian Love Songs, 18690.
41
E.g. Th.J. Meek, 'Canticles and the Tammuz Cult', AJSL 39 (1922), 1-14;
Idem, 'Babylonian Parallels to the Song of Songs', JBL 43 (1924), 245-52; Idem,
'The Song of Songs and the Fertility Cult', in: W.H. Schoff (ed.), The Song of

Nowadays most scholars reject such an interpretation of the Song

of Songs and have embraced an entirely naturalistic, secular exegesis.42 But as we have seen, the Mesopotamian, Egyptian and Ugaritic
love poems all have certain links with the divine marriage between
a goddess and a god. In these cases human beings, usually the king
and the queen (or their representatives), symbolically re-enacted the
consummation of matrimony in the ritual. The erotic songs sung on
such occasions probably were dear to everybody witnessing the rite
and will have had a kind of exemplary function. In the Ugaritic ritual KTU 1.23:55-57 the verses describing how the god Ilu kisses the
sweet lips of the two partners with whom he has intercourse had to
be repeated five times and the congregation had to sing a responsion. The circumstance that this singing was done standing before
the images of the deities proves that we should not imagine a too
naturalistic performance of the words that were sung. Marjo Korpel
assumes that in KTU 1.23 Ilu transforms himself temporarily into a
bull who mounts two cows in heat. 43 This might imply that during
the ceremony Ilu and his two partners (Athiratu and Rhmyl) were
represented as a bull with two cows eager to be mounted. 44 Johannes
de Moor proposes that the cow with whom El engenders Joseph, according to Gen. 49:22, was Asherah. 45 If he is right, it means that at
Songs: A Symposium, Philadelphia 1924, 48-79; G. Widengren, Sakrales Knigtum im Alten Testament und im Judentum: Pranz Delitzsch-Vorlesung en 1952,
Stuttgart 1955, 78-9; H. Schmkel, Heilige Hochzeit und Hoheslied (AKM, 32/1),
Wiesbaden 1956; S.N. Kramer, The Sacred Marriage Rite: Aspects of Faith,
Myth, and Ritual in Ancient Sumer, Bloomington IN 1969, 85-106; O. Loretz,
Das althebrische Liebeslied: Untersuchungen zur Stichometrie und Redaktionsgeschichte des Hohenliedes und des 45. Psalms (Studien zur althebrischen Poesie,
1) (AOAT, 14/1), Kevelaer & Neukirchen-Vluyn 1971; Pope, Song of Songs. Cf.
also the biblical references of Sefati, in: C0S, vol. 1, 540-1.
42
Cf. for an overview Pope, Song of Songs, 192-9. See also A. Brenner, 'On
Feminist Criticism of the Song of Songs', in: Idem, A Feminist Companion to The
Song of Songs (FCB, 1), Sheffield 1993, 28.
43
Korpel, RiC, 525-6. See further J. Tropper, Nekromantie: Totenbefragung im
Alten Orient und im Alten Testament (AOAT, 223), Kevelaer & NeukirchenVluyn 1989, 156-9; Wyatt, RTU, 330
44
Some scholars have rejected the identification of rhmy with 'Anatu (KTU
1.23:13, 16, 28) and object that, since 'Anatu is referred to as Ilu's daughter
(KTU 1.18:1.16-17), it would make their relationship incestuous. N. Wyatt, Myths
of Power: A Study of Royal Myth and Ideology in Ugaritic and Biblical Tradition
(UBL, 13), Mnster 1996 , 227, however, points to other myths in which a creatorgod takes a daughter as wife.
45
J.C. de Moor, 'Genesis 49 and the Early History of Israel', in: J.C. de Moor,
H.F. van Rooy (eds), Past, Present, Future: The Deuteronomistic History and the
Prophets (OTS, 44), Leiden 2000, 191-2; see further R. de Hoop, Genesis 49 in
its Literary and Historical Context (OTS, 39), Leiden 1999, 354, 530.

a very early stage of Israel's religion the divine marriage between El

and Asherah was still enacted.
When the religion of Israel developed in the direction of monolatry, or the more intolerant monotheism, there was no room anymore
for Asherah and 'Anatu. As the original text of Hos. 14:9 [8] states
polemically,' Ephraim, what have
I to do with idols? I am his 'Anat and his Asherah!' 46 The prophet
Hosea was the first to transfer the role of Asherah to Israel, using
quite frank sexual imagery (Hos. 1-2). 47 In my opinion it cannot be
excluded that with that transfer the love songs were also transferred
from the love between El and Asherah to the love between Y H W H
and his people. 48 The allegorical rabbinic exegesis has always maintained that the real protagonists of the Song of Songs are not Solomon
and his wives, but God, as the groom, and Israel as the bride. 49 The
Targum to the Song of Songs exemplifies this type of exegesis most
exuberantly. 50 It is doubtful whether the Song would ever have been
included in the canon were it not for this allegorical interpretation. 51
If so, the Song should not be treated as a purely secular work. Of
course the Song reflected the joys of human love, but to the Ancients
it must have been the other way round: the most sublime human
love reflected the divine love. In this sense the Song set forth the
ancient Oriental tradition of love poetry describing the courting and
coupling of the deities. 52 In as far as human love approached the state
of ultimate happiness, it reflected divine love.
46

The conjecture was originally proposed by J. Wellhausen, Skizzen und Vorarbeiten. H. 5 Die kleinen Propheten bersetzt, mit Noten, Berlin 1892, 21, 131.
See further Korpel, RiC, 593-4; M. Dietrich, O. Loretz, 'Jahwe und seine Aschera': Anthropomorphes Kultbild in Mesopotamien, Ugarit und Israel. Das biblische Bilderverbot (UBL, 9), Mnster 1992, 173-81; J.M. Hadley, The Cult of
Asherah in Ancient Israel and Judah: Evidence for a Hebrew Goddess (UCOP,
57), Cambridge 2000, 75-7.
47
Cf. Korpel, RiC, 213-32.
48
Cf. H. Ringgren, 'The Marriage Motif in Israelite Religion', in: P.D. Miller et
al. (eds), Ancient Israelite Religion: Essays ... F.M. Cross, Philadelphia 1987,
421-28, esp. 424.
49
See bSanh. 101a; tSanh. XII. 10.
50
See M.J. Mulder, De targum op het Hooglied, Amsterdam 1975. Although
the final redaction of the Targum is late, essential parts must antedate rabbinic
teaching, cf. P.S. Alexander, 'Tradition and Originality in the Targum of the Song
of Songs', in: D.R.G. Beattie, M.J. McNamara (eds), The Aramaic Bible: Targums
in their Historical Context (JSOT.S, 166), Sheffield 1994, 318-39.
51
See the protracted discussion in mYad. III.5.
52
Yet in the Sumerian, Egyptian and Ugaritic love poetry imagery is very bold
and eroticism most explicit, whereas descriptions are more implicit in the Song of
Songs.

The human love that the Song of Songs sings about is characterized by gender mutuality. Whereas in other biblical texts males often
dominate, here females play a part equal to males. 53 Carol Meyers
considers the genre of love poetry to transcend social class as well as
male domination. According to her, it is part of the female sub-culture
which can be located in the domestic realm of agrarian societies:
The Song of Songs, set apart from the stratifying consequences of institutional and public life, reveals a balance between male and female.
The domestic setting allows for the mutual intimacy of male and female relationships to be expressed. The Song has a preponderance of
females, but that situation does not obtain at the cost of a sustained
sense of gender mutuality. Neither male nor female is set in an advantageous position with respect to the other. Some images may be limited
to one gender; but there is also a long list of images or phases that are
used interchangeably and that create the mood of shared love. In the
erotic world of human emotion, there is no subordination of female to
male.54
Although one might perhaps question the location of the Song in
the domestic realm 55 , its egalitarian view of love is beyond doubt. In
stead of a stereotyped portrayal of the lovers the text displays gender
balance in the descriptions of the female and the male. 56 Still, both
sexes are not equally free in their movement within society. Whereas
the boy comes and goes at will, the girl has to deal with the restrictions her brothers 57 impose on her. The equality in the lovers'
relationship is thus not reflected in the demands society made on the
sexes.58 Like the Egyptian love poetry, the Song of Songs also renders
an asymmetry in the depiction of the female and the male character,
exploring the female personality more than that of the male. Accord53

Pope, Song of Songs, 209; P. Trible, 'Love,s Lyrics Redeemed', in: Brenner,
A Feminist Companion to The Song of Songs, 119.
54
C. Meyers, 'Gender Imagery in the Song of Songs', in: Brenner, A Feminist
Companion to The Song of Songs, 211.
55
Fox, The Song of Songs and Ancient Egyptian Love Songs, 248-9, for instance,
opts for a public setting. I for my part would not exclude a setting in family
religion, see below.
56
Contrary to the Egyptian love poems, but in accordance with Sumerian and
Ugaritic love poetry, Song of Songs makes the lovers interact in speach. Cf. Fox,
The Song of Songs and Ancient Egyptian Love Songs, 306-7, 315.
57
Her brothers probably acted on behalf of the pater familias; cf. the important
role of the brothers of Dinah in Gen. 34.
58
Fox, The Song of Songs and Ancient Egyptian Love Songs, 309.

ing to some, this should be regarded as a literary choice.59 Others,

however, have studied the possibility of these texts being expressions
of a women's culture. 60 Although this is possible, in view of what is
mentioned above on the Egyptian parallels the texts may also have
been the reflections of male authors expressing wishful thinking on
sexually assertive women.
Another point of discussion is the question whether the context
of Song of Songs is solely that of (human) marriage, in other words,
that it is a wedding song. 61
Scholars such as Otto Eissfeldt and Wilhelm Rudolph have noted
that some of the songs may have been composed for wedding festivities, but that certainly not all of them refer to marriage. 62 This seems
to be the general opinion nowadays. 63 Most of the songs create the
impression that others are present, even when intimate moments are
described. 64 This would seem to point to a setting of these songs in the
family cult, 65 at festive occasions like marriages, 66 but possibly also
agrarian festivals. According to Karel van der Toorn, village festivities
such as harvest feasts gave a girl the opportunity to meet boys and to
get acquainted with a man of her choice. Incidentally, she might have
made use of the festive atmosphere with its exuberant flow of food
59

Fox, The Song of Songs and Ancient Egyptian Love Songs, 307, 309.
F. van Dijk-Hemmes, "Traces of Women's Texts in the Hebrew Bible', in: A.
Brenner, F. van Dijk-Hemmes, On Gendering Texts: Female and Male Voices in
the Hebrew Bible (BIntS, 1), Leiden 1993, 25-32, 71-81; Meyers, 'Gender Imagery
in the Song of Songs', 211; Leick, Sex and Eroticism in Mesopotamian Literature,
60

68.
61

Thus, e.g., E. Wrthwein, 'Das Hohelied', in: E. Wrthwein et al., Die

fnf Megilloth (HAT, 18), Tbingen 1969, 33. G. Gerleman, Ruth. Das Hohelied
(BKAT, 18), Neukirchen-Vluyn 1965, 155 et passim, on the other hand, denies
that Song of Songs could be a wedding song.
Cf. for an overview of the 'Wedding week theory', Pope, Song of Songs, 141-5.
62
W. Rudolph, Das Buch Ruth. Das Hohe Lied. Die Klagelieder (, 17/13), Gtersloh 1962, 103, 105; . Eissfeldt, Einleitung in das Alte Testament:
unter Einschlu der Apokryphen und Pseudepigraphen sowie der apokryphen- und
pseudepigraphenartigen Qumrn-Schriften (NTG), Tbingen 31964, 660.
63
Cf., e.g., .. Beek, Prediker. Hooglied (PrOT), Nijkerk 1984, 146; Fox, The
Song of Songs and Ancient Egyptian Love Songs, 230-2, 244-50, 313-5.
64
Maidens in Song 1:3, 5; 2:2, 7; 3:5, 10, 11; 5:8, 9, 16; 6:1, 8, 9; 8:4; young men
(brothers, friends) in 1:6; 3:5, 7; 5:1; 7:1; 8:8, 13; children in 2:15.
65
Note the references to mothers in Song 1:6; 3:4, 11; 6:9; 8:1, 2, 5.
66
There are some allusions to marriage. The woman is called 'my sister, my
bride' (Song 4:9-10, 12; 5:1). Song 3:6-11 speaks about Solomon's wedding day
and 8:8-9 about the future betrothal of the girl. It is significant that exactly in
Song 4:1-5:1, the passage which is closest to KTU 1.24:3-13, the Ugaritic passage
quoted above, not only the imagery of the well flowing with abundant water (Song
4:15) occurs, but also the word for 'bride' ( )is used.

and wine to engage in sexual contact with her lover, thus overruling
her parents' plans. 67 But most scholars do not assume this kind of
sexual freedom for girls, neither at festivals, nor in everyday life. The
risks were too high, especially since a girl who had lost her virginity
was regarded as an unacceptable party (Lev. 21:9; Deut. 22:20-21,
23-24; 2 Sam. 13:20).68 Of course this does not mean that premarital
intercourse did not occur, but it will have been illicit.
Scholars generally call for a caveat with regard to relating ancient
Near Eastern love poetry to the sexual freedom existing in the societies it springs from. 69 Also it is necessary to stress the literary nature
of these love songs. What could be imagined in poetry, especially in
myths and epics, was not necessarily tolerated in normal life.70 In
Song of Songs pre-marital sex is certainly not condemned. However,
if a bride was supposed to be a virgin upon marriage, one wonders
whether most pre-marital sex would not have occurred secretly. Perhaps Song of Songs reveals more of a lover's fantasy than of a bride's
reality. 71
D . CONCLUSIONS

In Sumerian, Egyptian, Ugaritic and biblical love poetry female and

male lovers mutually express their affection for each other. Since in
these love songs the focus is for the greater part on women, some
scholars have defended the thesis that they are part of a women's
(sub-)culture. Others, however, suspect male sexual fantasy at work.
Although the love songs speak freely about love, social mores for
women in actual life probably were different. Virginity upon marriage
is highly valued and adultery by women strictly condemned. 72 We may
assume sex before marriage did occur in all societies of the ancient
Near East, but only in secret.
On the whole, there is little difference between the ways parties
tried to court each other. Their ultimate aim was usually marriage. It
is remarkable that love was an area where both sexes were apparently
67
Van der Toorn, Cradle, 56-8. Of course there were other occasions for boys
and girls to meet, especially at dusk when the girls went out to draw water, cf.
Gen. 24; KTU 1.16:11.27. See section 2.1.1.1.
68
Although it seems incorrect to assume that a woman who had lost her virginity
was ineligible for marriage; see section 2.1.4.
69
For Israel, cf. C.V. Camp, Wisdom and the Feminine in the Book of Proverbs
(BiLiSe, 11), Sheffield 1985, 98. For Egypt, cf. Fox, The Song of Songs and Andent Egyptian Love Songs, 297-8. For Sumer, cf. Leick, Sex and Eroticism in
Mesopotamian Literature, 66-68.
70
Cf. Korpel, RiC, 217.
71
Cf. Fox, The Song of Songs and Ancient Egyptian Love Songs, 297, 314-5.
72
See sections 2.1.4 and 2.1.1.5 respectively.

considered equal and where also the girl could take the initiative. If
the Jewish allegorical interpretation of the Song of Songs has ancient
roots, this may be a spiritualization of songs that could have been
derived from songs sung in connection with the sacred and the divine
marriage rite.
2.1.1.3

Marriage

In this section I will discuss the institution of marriage from two

perspectives. First, issues regarding marriage as a legal institution
will be dealt with, and secondly, we will look into the religious aspects
of marriage.
2.1.1.3.1 The Legal Basis of Marriage
From a legal point of view, a woman's wedding was the most important event in her life. When a woman entered matrimony, the authority over her shifted from the head of her paternal household, usually
her father, to her husband. In the past, scholars have proposed theories on matrilineal and matriarchal types of marriage apart from the
patriarchal type in which a woman left her paternal home to live in
her husband's house. The theories on erbu and tsadiqah marriages
will be discussed.
Before a woman married, marriage arrangements were made which
were binding. The groom's family paid a marriage deposit to the family of the bride. In this section we will look into the various suggestions on the function of the marriage deposit. Another arrangement
required writing a marriage contract - a document which regulated
matters of matrimonial property, especially the dowry, and set out
the status of the wife and children within the marriage.
Thus, the status of wife gave a woman certain rights which were
enshrined in a marriage contract. But next to rights there were also
rules and prohibitions. Babylonian and Assyrian law formulated certain rules regarding marriage and remarriage which we will look into.
A . ANCIENT NEAR EAST

When a woman married, she normally left her paternal home to go

and live with her husband's family. However, law texts that speak of
a married woman living in her father's house (together with certain
contracts) have inspired some scholars to assume that next to the
patriarchal type of marriage another type existed, that of the erbu
marriage. 1 This distinction was first proposed by Paul Koschaker who
1

The term derives from MAL A27, in which the frequentative form of the Akk.

believed that some of the MAL texts treated cases in which a wife
lived in her father's house and these cases reflected this second type
of marriage. He characterized this type as 'Ehe ohne Hausgemeinschaff, a marriage in which a wife did not share the home with her
husband but was visited by him frequently. 2 Under the influence of
finds from Nuzi, this notion was later expanded to include adoption.
Thus, Ephraim Neufeld stated that '[t]he main characteristic of an
Errbu marriage was that a father who had no son but only a daughter or daughters selected a husband for his daughter upon the basis
that his son-in-law should enter his house and continue his family as
a true son'. 3
With regard to the Middle Assyrian Laws, Godfrey Driver and
John Miles have argued convincingly that these laws deal with cases
in which the stay of a wife in her father's house was either exceptional
or temporary. They conclude 'that it is safer to seek the explanation of
this variety of residence in the special circumstances of each individual
case than to try to elevate a few sporadic occurences into a special
Semitic custom'. 4
With regard to the ancient Near Eastern adoption contracts, scholars have compared the cases in which a man is adopted as a son and is
given his adoptive sister as a wife to the marriages of Jacob, Moses and
Samson in the Hebrew Bible, and they have assumed these marriages
to be erbu marriages. 5 Yet these are different cases. In the adoption
contracts, the son-in-law is given the status of son. This assures, first,
that the children of the daughter will continue the line of the father,
that is, the father of the bride and the adoptive father of the groom,
verb erbu 'to enter' is used. C.H. Gordon, 1 Erbu Marriage', in: M.A. Morrison,
D.I. Owen, Studies on the Civilization and Culture of Nuzi and the Hurrians:
In Honor of Ernest R. Lacheman on his Seventy-Fifth Birthday April 29, 1981,
Winona Lake 1981, 155, points out that the use of the verb 'is illogical because
in normal marital arrangements, where the wife enters the husband's house, the
same verb (erbu) is employed'.
2
P. Koschaker, 'Quellenkritische Untersuchungen zu den "altassyrischen Gesetzen" ', MVG 26/3 (1921), 60-5.
3
E. Neufeld, Ancient Hebrew Marriage Laws, London 1944, 56.
4
G.R. Driver, J.C. Miles, The Assyrian Laws, repr. of the ed. Oxford 1935
with suppl. add. and corr. by G.R. Driver, Aalen 1975, 134-42 (142). Cf. further
I. Mendelsohn, 'The Family in the Ancient Near East', BA 11 (1948), 25.
5
For Nuzi, cf. Gordon, 'Erbu Marriage', 155-60. For Emar, cf. G. Beckman,
'Family Values on the Middle Euphrates in the Thirteenth Century B.C.E.' in:
M.W. Chavalas (ed.), Emar: The History, Religion and Culture of a Syrian Town
in the Late Bronze Age, Bethesda MD 1996, 63-5. For Hatti, cf. G. Beckman,
'Inheritance and Royal Succession Among the Hittites', in: H.A. Hoffner, G.M.
Beckman (eds), Kaniuwar: A tribute to Hans G. Gterbock on his seventy-fifth
birthday May 2, 1983 (AS, 23), Chicago IL 1986, 16-7.

and secondly, that the son-in-law (as adoptive son) will inherit from
his father-in-law. Neither Jacob, nor Moses, nor Samson are adopted
by their father-in-law. 6 Although both Jacob and Moses temporarily
are part of the household of their father-in-law due to special circumstances, their intention does not seem to have been continuation of the
line of their father-in-law, but rather of their own paternal family.7
The use of the term erbu for maxriages in which a husband resides
temporarily in the house of his father-in-law, as is the case with Jacob
and Moses, has a cloaking effect, for it suggests that it concerns a
special type of marriage. But since in these biblical cases - on which
the hypothesis is built - the residence in the house of the husband's
father-in-law is not permanent and the marriage does not end when
the husband takes his wives or wife with him when leaving the house
of his father-in-law (Gen. 31:1-21; Exod. 4:18-20), there does not seem
to exist this special type of marriage in Israelite culture. 8 Marriages
generally were patrilocal in the ancient Near East. 9 It seems, however,
that it was not unusual for a girl to remain living in the home of her
father for a period of about four months after the wedding. During
that period the husband visited her frequently to share the bed with
her. 10
When parents had made arrangements for their children to get
married, these arrangements were considered to be binding. 11 As soon
as the marriage deposit (terhatu) was received by the family of the
6

Cf. J. Van Seters, 'Jacob's Marriages and Ancient Near East Customs: A
Reexamination', HThR 62 (1969), 377-95.
7
With regard to Samsom, see below.
8
Cf. J. Paradise, 'Marriage Contracts of Free Persons at Nuzi', JCS 39 (1987),
25 n. 70: 'We note that the concept of an errebu marriage has no validity for Nuzi'.
Van Seters, 'Jacob's Marriages and Ancient Near East Customs', 388: ' . . . t h e
whole notion of an errebu marriage as a special kind of marriage practised in
Ancient Mesopotamia, Egypt, or elsewhere in the Near East of the form outlined
by Neufeld is an academic fiction'.
9
Cf. Beckman, 'Inheritance and Royal Succession Among the Hittites', 16;
Paradise, 'Marriage Contracts of Free Persons at Nuzi', 6; G. Leick, Sex and
Eroticism in Mesopotamian Literature, London 1994, 67, 229. Also in Egypt it
was custom for a bride to leave her parents and live in her husband's house. In
exceptional cases a groom came to live in the house of his parents-in-law; cf. S.
Allam, 'Ehe', in: LA, Bd. 1, 1167-8; C. Desroches Noblecourt, La femme au temps
des pharaons, Paris 1986, 296.
10
Van der Toorn, Cradle, 66-7, 71, 73-4.
11
This rule is constant during Mesopotamian history. For the Neo-Sumerian
period, cf. CU 15; H. Neumann, 'Bemerkungen zu Ehe, Konkubinat und Bigamie
in neusumerischer Zeit', in: FPOA, Paris 1987, 132-3. For the Old Babylonian
period, cf. CH 159-161; R. Westbrook, Old Babylonian Marriage Law (AfO.B,
23), Horn 1988, 41-7. For the Neo-Babylonian period, cf. LNB 8-9.

bride, the young couple were inchoately married. 12

This first legally binding step was customary throughout the ancient Near East. 13 With regard to the function of the marriage deposit
scholars have made various suggestions. According to some, it represented the bridal price, implying a marriage by purchase. 14 Others
assume it was a symbolic gesture of earlier times when a marriage
was considered lawful only after the terhatu was paid. Lately, based
on social anthropological studies, it is regarded as a compensation gift
from the groom's family to the bride's family.15
Still, caution is called for when applying social anthropological
models to cuneiform sources. Katarzyna Grosz's view on the meaning
of the marriage deposit (bride wealth) illustrates this. In her 1983
article 'Bridewealth and Dowry in Nuzi', she states that the system
12

The term 'inchoate marriage' is used to describe the first phase of marriage.
The bride is considered legally married but is not yet passed over into the hands
of the bridegroom and consummation of the marriage has not yet taken place; cf.
M.I. Gruber, 'Matrilineal Determination of Jewishness: Biblical and Near Eastern
Roots', in: D.P. Wright et al (eds), Pomegranates and Golden Bells: Studies in
Biblical, Jewish, and Near Eastern Ritual, Law, and Literature in Honor of Jacob
Milgrom, Winona Lake IN 1995, 439, n. 10. For Mesopotamia, cf. G.R. Driver,
J.C. Miles, The Babylonian Laws, repr., vol. 1, Oxford 1956, 249.
13
Cf., e.g., Mendelsohn, 'The Family in the Ancient Near East', 26-8; Idem,
'On Marriage in Alalakh', in: J.L. Blau et al. (eds), Essays on Jewish Life and
Thought: Presented in Honor of Salo Wittmayer Baron, New York 1959, 352-3;
L.M. Muntingh, 'Amorite Married and Family Life According to the Mari Texts',
JNSL 3 (1974), 51; F. Abdallah, 'La femme dans le royaume d'Alep au xviii sicle
av. J.-C.' in: FPOA, 14; Westbrook, Old Babylonian Marriage Law, 29-38; Amico,
SWU, 70-81. For Egypt, cf. P.W. Pestman, Marriage and Matrimonial Property in
Ancient Egypt: A Contribution to Establishing the Legal Position of the Woman
(PLB, 9), Leiden 1961, 13-20; J.K. Toivari, Women at Deir el-Medina: A Study
of the Status and Roles of the Female Inhabitants in the Workmen's Community
during the Ramesside Period, Leiden 2000, 59-64.
Referring to the CH 139, Mendelsohn, 'The Family in the Ancient Near East',
26, points to the fact that a marriage could be consummated without payment of
a marriage deposit, although this probably was not the custom.
14
So, e.g., P. Koschaker, Rechtsvergleichende Studien zur Gesetzgebung Hammurapis Knigs von Babylon, Leipzig 1917, 130-49.
15
Cf., e.g., R. Patai, Sex and Family in the Bible and the Middle East (Dolphin
Books, C40), Garden City NY 1959, 55; K. Grosz, 'Bridewealth and Dowry in
Nuzi', in: A. Cameron, A. Kuhrt (eds), Images of Women in Antiquity, Detroit
1983, 197-8. Grosz writes on this subject: 'One may say that the bridewealth is
a compensation for the loss of a female worker and the money used to acquire
another one. . . . It seems . . . that the primary goal of a bridewealth transaction
is to establish certain social links rather than economic gain' (198). M.T. Roth,
in: 'Responses to Prof. Roth's Paper', in: WER, 259, supposes the bride wealth
(i.e., marriage deposit) maintained the equal status between the families of bride
and groom.

of bride wealth and dowry in Nuzi resembles that found in India today, where the bride wealth is practised by the poor and the dowry is
given to a daughter of rich people, thus linking the practise to social
stratification. 16 In 1987, however, she nuances this view. Although
no mention is made of a marriage deposit in the very few marriage
contracts concerning women from the highest social strata of Nuzi,
dowry and marriage deposit both occur in international royal marriage contracts of the Amarna age. 'This is a significant indication
that attributing different marriage payments to different strata of the
society may be an oversimplification in the case of the ancient Near
East'. 17 Nowadays most scholars agree that the terhatu is not a bride
price and thus dismiss the notion of marriage by purchase. 18
Raymond Westbrook has called attention to the analogy between
the institutions of adoption and marriage. In both cases there is a
transaction involving three parties: 'a protagonist (adoptor/groom),
a person as object of the contract (adoptee/bride) and the parents
of that person'. 19 The relationship between the person who is object
and his or her parents is dissolved and a new relationship with the
16

Grosz, 'Bridewealth and Dowry in Nuzi1, 205.

K. Grosz, 'Some Aspects of the Position of Women in Nuzi1, in: WER, 170.
Cf. also C. Zaccagnini, 'On Late Bronze Age Marriages', in: S.F. Bondi, Studi in
onore di Edda Bresciani, Pisa 1985, 602; 'Responses to Prof. Roth's Paper', 259.
This sort of 'oversimplification' also happens with regard to the interpretation of
biblical data. Cf., e.g., I. Fischer, Die Erzeltern Israels: Feministisch-theologische
Studien zu Genesis 12-36 (BZAW, 222), Berlin 1994, 81, who argues that the
value of a woman - and with it her social position - is higher in places where one
has to present gifts to obtain a bride. She continues by stating: 'Die gegenteilige
Praxis der Mitgift, bei der die Familie der Frau dafr bezahlen mu, da sie
berhaupt zur Ehe genommen wird, lt meist auf noch geringeren Sozialstatus
des weiblichen Geschlechts schlieen'. Fischer, too, draws conclusions by analogy
with the situation of twentieth-century India. Some reservations are in order,
though. The function of a dowry in the ancient Near East may have differed from
that in India. If it was regarded as a share of the inheritance, which a female
received upon leaving her paternal family (thus, e.g., A. Skaist, 'Inheritance Laws
and their Social Background', JAOS 95 (1975), 243-4), this seems to indicate a
higher status for those who did receive a dowry in comparison to those who did
not. If it was regarded as a payment necessary to give a female in marriage, then it
implies a low status in comparison to those for whom a father did not have to pay. I
concur with Raymond Westbrook's definition of the dowry as 'property assigned
to a bride and brought with her into her husband's house upon marriage'; see
R. Westbrook, Property and the Family in Biblical Law (JSOT.S, 113), Sheffield
1991, 142-3.
18
For Babylonia, cf. Driver, Miles, The Babylonian Laws, vol. 1, 249-65; Westbrook, Old Babylonian Marriage Law, 48-60. For Israel, cf. O.J. Baab, 'Marriage',
in: IDB, vol. 3, New York 1962, 283-4.
19
Westbrook, Old Babylonian Marriage Law, 58.
17

protagonist (either adoptor or groom) is realized. There is a feature

of the marriage contract which does not occur in an adoption contract, viz. the terhatu. The groom could derive certain rights from the
payment of the terhatu, as could the bride's parents. 20 According to
Westbrook, the terhatu 'was a real price for a right over the bride,
but one less than ownership', namely the right to do the ahzu, the
right to control over the bride. 21
Yet this theory fails to explain why a bride's father would often
give the terhatu to his daughter at the wedding. 22 Also it does not
account for the fact that according to CH 163-164 the terhatu ought
to be returned to the groom upon the death of his childless wife. It
would thus seem that from the point of view of the groom the terhatu
functioned as a deposit for a future wife over whom he would have
authority and who would bear him children. 23 From the point of view
of the bride it functioned as a deposit that a future husband would
take over the authority of, and care provided by, her parents. In case
they would not beget any children and her husband would divorce her
for that reason, he had to restore both her dowry and the terhatu to
her. If no terhatu was paid, he would have to give her a certain sum as
divorce settlement. 24 Thus, in case of a divorce due to childlessness,
she would at least have the terhatu (and the dowry) to live on. 25
The amount of a terhatu was dependent on the social status of
bride and groom. The Nuzi texts record an average of 40 shekels of
silver.26 This happens to correspond with the price for a female slave.
Katarzyna Grosz explains this low sum to be either a fixed, symbolic
amount for a bride, or a result of the fact that the brides all belonged
20

CH 159-161.
Westbrook, Old Babylonian Marriage Law, 60: 'It is important to stress that
it is not the control itself which the terhatum acquires. This is achieved by the
legally indpendant act of ahzum. The nature of that control will in turn depend
on the causa of the ahzum, which, as we have seen, may be wifeship, daughterin-law-ship, or daughter-and-daughter-in-lawship. What the terhatum buys is essentially the relinquishing by the bride's parents of their right of control in favour
of another'. See further C. Wilcke, 'Familiengrndung im alten Babylonien', in:
E.W. Mller (ed.), Geschlechtsreife und Legitimation zur Zeugung (Historische
Anthropologie, 3) (Kindheit, Jugend, Familie, 1), Mnchen 1985, 228-30.
22
Cf. A. van Praag, Droit matrimonial assyro-babylonien (Archaeologischhistorische bijdragen, 12), Amsterdam 1945, 133, 137.
23
Cf. Driver, Miles, The Babylonian Laws, vol. 1, 253.
24
CH 138-140.
25
In this sense the terhatu serves as a deposit for divorce settlement money.
26
By way of comparison: the amount of marriage deposit money attested at
Emar varies from 30 to 100 shekels of silver.
21

to the same social class. 27 It cannot be established whether Nuzi marriages were always accompanied by payment of a terhatu. Jonathan
Paradise assumes it is likely that Nuzi marriages were occasionally
contracted without payment of a marriage deposit. 28 Yet, since contracts were drawn up to record the unusual, e.g. transfer of land, it
may have been that no contract was made when the terhatu consisted
of movables only and was paid fully at once.29
The terminology in connection with matrimonial gifts in the ancient Near East is often confusing. In Mesopotamia for example,
the terms used for 'marriage deposit', 'dowry', extra 'presents' and
'widow's settlement' may vary in different periods and places, which
complicates matters considerably.30 It cannot be attempted to give
a complete picture of the available evidence here. A few main lines
must suffice.
As argued above, the marriage deposit 31 functioned as a surety
between the two parties that the wedding would take place. If the
groom subsequently decided not to take the woman as his bride, the
marriage deposit would accrue to the father of the bride. If, however,
the father of the bride decided not to give his daughter in marriage to
the man who had already presented the marriage deposit, the former
would have to reimburse the latter the double amount. The fact that
Babylonian law provides regulations for these matters indicates that
it sometimes occured that a father of a bride changed his mind about
his daughter's marriage. We can only guess at the influence a daughter
could have in this change of mind. 32 Shortly before the wedding the
groom brought additional gifts (Bab. biblu, Ass. zubullu) to the home
of the bride, usually consisting of his contributions to the feast as well
as presents for his in-laws.
Further, in 8-9 of the Neo-Babylonian Laws (ca. 700 BCE) it is
stated that once both parties, i.e. the groom's father and the bride's
father, had come to an agreement and had written it on tablets, they
should not alter the terms of the dowry (nudunn) and the property
27

Grosz, 'Bridewealth and Dowry in Nuzi', 200.

Paradise, 'Marriage Contracts of Free Persons at Nuzi', 22.
29
Grosz, 'Bridewealth and Dowry in Nuzi', 200.
30
Cf. Driver, Miles, The Assyrian Laws, 189-90; Wilcke, 'Familiengrndung im
alten Babylonien', 252-67; Westbrook, Old Babylonian Marriage Law, 24-8; M.T.
Roth, 'Marriage and Matrimonial Prestations in First Millennium B.C. Babylonia', in: WER, 246-8; 'Responses to Prof. Roth's Paper', 256-7.
31
Such a deposit was only paid for women of the class of free civilians. For a
slave-girl one did not need to pay a terhatu. See, e.g., J.-R. Kpper, Lettres royales
du temps de Zimri-Lim (ARM, 28), Paris 1998, 45 (no. 36:8-10).
32
CH 159-161. Cf. Driver, Miles, The Babylonian Laws, vol. 1, 249.
28

that was to be given to the groom by his father. If the economic

situation of the groom's father would change, he was not allowed
to backtrack on the agreement. On the other hand, if the economic
situation of the bride's father should diminish, her dowry, being her
share of the inheritance, would also decrease, yet the groom and his
father were not allowed to lessen their contribution. 33
Such written documents as mentioned above are often designated
as 'marriage contracts'. But nowhere in the ancient Near East is such
a document anything like a marriage certificate. Rather it is a contract stipulating the rights and duties of the two parties going to be
married. In Babylonia and Assyria the marriage contract was of importance with regard to the rights of a wife.34 Several Mesopotamian
laws stress that a marriage contract is necessary for the recognition
of a marriage. 35 It would appear that many couples in Babylonia and
Assyria did not posses a written contract. Obviously such a written
record was of prime importance to those who were in a legally vulnerable position and to those who possessed property. 36 If a Babylonian
man and woman lived together without a written contract, this did
not give the woman the legal status of a wife.37 The Middle Assyrian
Laws also refer to a contract (riksu) as a basis for legal marriage.
It was only under special circumstances that a woman without such
a contract could be regarded as a legal wife. For example, a widow
who cohabited with a man for two years but did not have a marriage
contract is granted the legal right of wife (MAL A34). 38
Rules regarding marriage and remarriage, as written down in the
Babylonian and Assyrian Laws, were quite strict. A wife whose husband had disappeared or had deserted her did not automatically have
33

Driver, Miles, The Babylonian Laws, repr., vol. 2, Oxford 1955, 340-3. Cf.
further A. Kuhrt, 'Non-Royal Women in the Late Babylonian Period: A Survey',
in: WER, 225.
34
Cf. Driver, Miles, The Assyrian Laws, 218-20.
35
CU 11; CH 128; CE 27-28. Cf. Roth, LCMAM, 18, 63, 105.
36
Cf. S. Greengus, 'The Old Babylonian Marriage Contract', JAOS 89 (1969),
505-32 (512): 'If we examine the background situations of the Old Babylonian
marriage documents, we find that many of these records depict abnormal family
situations. . . . It would appear that the writing down of these marriage documents
was occasioned not by marriage, but by the need to support the rights and statuses
of adopted, manumitted, or other legally vulnerable persons.... In our judgement,
therefore, the primary purpose of the so-called marriage documents was not to
record marriage but to record important transactions which could affect the status
and rights of husbands or wives'. Cf. further Neumann, 'Bemerkungen zu Ehe,
Konkubinat und Bigamie in neusumerischer Zeit', 134.
37
Cf. Driver, Miles, The Babylonian Laws, vol. 1, 245-6.
38
Cf. Driver, Miles, The Assyrian Laws, 217-8.

the right to remarry. She sometimes had to wait for a certain period
before being permitted to remarry, yet she was not allowed by law to
remarry in case there was a presumption her husband might return. 39
MAL A36, for instance, states that a woman whose husband had
travelled abroad and who could not support herself, might go and live
with another man, but she had to wait at least five years before doing
so. If her husband should come back after this period and was able to
prove that his delay was beyond his power, she would have to return
to her first husband and he would give another wife to the second
husband. 40 The wife was not allowed to go and live with another man
if she had (adult) sons; in that case the sons should be hired out to
support their mother. If the wife did not wait for five years but was
married to another man sooner, she would have to go back to her first
husband upon his return. Both the wife and the children of the second
marriage would then be regarded as belonging to the first husband,
'because she did not wait in accordance with the agreement (nksu)' 41
Marriage contracts were also drawn up at Nuzi. The Nuzi documents that deal with marriages between free persons are designed to
protect the rights of the bride, the groom and their future children
and they are concerned with the disposition of property. Jonathan
Paradise assumes that a written document was not necessary to legalize a marriage. 42 Also, without a written contract a woman might
have had the status of wife, yet in cases where her status might be
disputed, it would be important for her to possess such a document.
Her status could further be protected by a clause in a marriage contract prohibiting the groom from marrying a second wife, unless the
bride proved to be barren. 43
In Egypt, too, a marriage contract or settlement was not so much
a deed testifying that two people were wedded as a document that
recorded how the possessions should be divided upon either divorce
or death of the husband. Such a settlement could be drawn up at the
time of marriage but also later, after the couple had got children. 44
39

Cf. Driver, Miles, The Assyrian Laws, 212-6.

' . . . he shall give a woman comparable to his wife...( transi. Roth, L CMA M,
166.). Driver, Miles, The Assyrian Laws, 253, . 2, observe: 'This cynical provision
throws light on the position of women in Assyria, as it seems that any woman of
the same age and station will suffice'.
41
Cf. Driver, Miles, The Assyrian Laws, 250-6; Roth, LCMAM, 165-6.
42
Paradise, 'Marriage Contracts of Free Persons at Nuzi', 3-4, n. 12.
43
Paradise, 'Marriage Contracts of Free Persons at Nuzi', 11.
44
Desroches Noblecourt, La femme au temps des pharaons, 276-80; . Feucht,
Das Kind im Alten gypten, Frankfurt 1995, 33.
Some scholars therefore assume that a written record concerning matrimonial
40

There were several ways to regulate matters of matrimonial property. An Egyptian husband could make a settlement pledging either
his whole property, acquired before and during the marriage, or only
that which he acquired during the marriage, as a security for honouring the marital obligations he had taken upon himself. 45 If in
due course he wanted to dispose of some of this secured property,
he needed his wife's consent in a written statement. Thus, a pledge
of security gave a wife a firm, proprietary position. 46
A husband could also promise his wife part of the property in case
of dissolution of the marriage. He could either promise his wife part of
his entire property or part of what he would acquire together with his
wife in marriage. Usually the part would be one third, but sometimes
it was one half. 47 Contrary to a pledge in security, a wife did not
have the right to prevent disposal of her husband's property in this
case. 'The right of the wife to her one third part is no more than a
right to her share in the common property at the time the marriage
is dissolved'. 48
In exceptional cases stipulations were very stringent on the husband. Thus, on an ostracon from Deir el-Medina it is stated that a
male named Nekhemmut swears not to desert the daughter of a certain Telmont, or else he will loose all that he has acquired together
with her. 49
It is worth noting that an Egyptian father could make provisions
protecting his daughter's interests even after her marriage. When a
marriage contract was drawn up either he, a third person or the temple
property cannot be regarded as a marriage contract. In connection with this they
refer to the assumption that marriage would have been a social and not a legal
institution in ancient Egypt. Thus, e.g., S. Allam, 'Zur Stellung der Frau im
alten gypten1 , BiOr 26 (1969), 155; R.M. Janssen, J.J. Janssen, Growing up in
Ancient Egypt, London 1990, 111. Yet there appears to exist some confusion over
the application of the terms 'social1 and 'legal1 in this regard; cf. E.S. Meitzer,
'Queens, Goddesses and Other Women of Ancient Egypt 1 , JAOS 110 (1990), 505.
It seems questionable if such a modern distinction was operative in ancient Egypt.
45
Pestman, Marriage and Matrimonial Property in Ancient Egypt, 115-7.
46
Pestman, Marriage and Matrimonial Property in Ancient Egypt, 133-6.
47
Pestman, Marriage and Matrimonial Property in Ancient Egypt, 124-8. From
the time of the New Kingdom onwards many cases are known of wives acquiring
one third share in case of dissolution of the marriage.
48
Pestman, Marriage and Matrimonial Property in Ancient Egypt, 139.
These documents which regulate conjugal property have not survived from the
period before the New Kingdom. There are, however, indications that such written
documents were used prior to the New Kingdom, perhaps alongside oral agreements. Cf. . Lddeckens, 'Eheurkunden 1 , in: L, Bd. 1, 1181; R.M. Janssen, J.J.
Janssen, Growing up in Ancient Egypt, 111.
49
R.M. Janssen, J.J. Janssen, Growing up in Ancient Egypt, 111-2.

would safekeep the document. 50

Also from Israel's Edomite neighbours a marriage contract, albeit
a rather late one, has been preserved. 51 To conclude, marriage contracts seem to have been fairly common throughout the ancient Near
East.
One of the things that could be mentioned in a marriage contract
were valubale dower goods. However, the dowry items could also be
written down in a separate dowry list. When a daughter married and
left her paternal home, she would bring into her husband's house a
certain amount of property assigned to her, i.e., her dowry.52 The
terminology regarding dowry is rather confusing, but it seems that
certain terms were used over a longer period of time. Thus, the general term for dowry both in Old Babylonian and Neo-Babylonian was
nudunn.53 CH distinguishes between nudunn and seriktu in view of
the devolution of marital property. 54 In this law text seriktu is used
as a technical term for 'that part of the marital property in which
ownership did not vest in the husband'. 55 In the first millennium a
different word is used for this sub-category of dowry, viz. mulgu in
stead of enktu.5e
Often the dowry included the terhatu which the husband had paid
but which at the time of the marriage had lost its function of a surety.
The father of the bride bound the silver of the terhatu in her girdle
on her wedding day, which did not mean, however, that she herself
could freely spend this money: either her husband or her father-in-law
managed the sum until her sons could inherit it. 57
In this way the terhatu became (part of) her dowry. Social anthropologists refer to this type of dowry as 'indirect dowry'. At Emar, this
50

Pestman, Marriage and Matrimonial Property in Ancient Egypt, 176; Allam,

'Ehe', 1170.
51
. Eschel, . Kloner, 'An Aramaic Ostracon of an Edomite Marriage Contract
from Maresha, Dated 176 B.C.E.' IEJ 46 (1996), 1-22.
52
Westbrook, Property and the Family in Biblical Law, 142-3.
53
Westbrook, Old Babylonian Marriage Law, 24; Roth, 'Marriage and Matrimoniai Prestations in First Millennium B.C. Babylonia', 248-9, Idem, 'The Material
Composition of the Neo-Babylonian Dowry', AfO 36/37 (1989/90), 1.
54
Westbrook, Old Babylonian Marriage Law, 25.
55
Westbrook, Old Babylonian Marriage Law, 26.
56
'Responses to Prof. Roth's Paper', 256-7; Roth, 'The Material Composition of
the Neo-Babylonian Dowry', 15-7; Westbrook, Property and the Family in Biblical
Law, 144. On Bab. iriktu cf. CAD () 3, 103-4, on Bab. mulgu cf. CAD (M) 2,
193.
57
See Driver, Miles, The Babylonian Laws, vol. 1, 254-6. This custom of restoring
the marriage deposit is also attested in Alalakh, Elephantine, Talmudic Law and
even among present-day Arabs in Syria and Palestine.

practice probably explains the lack of terminological distinction between marriage deposit and dowry.58
Not every father was that generous to his daughter, but it was
customary for a daughter to receive a dowry. Contrary to the marriage
deposit (terhatu), which was a transaction between two families, the
dowry was a transaction within one family. It usually is regarded as
an advanced form of inheritance. 59 In general, sons would have to
wait until their father's death before they received their part of the
patrimony. Their shaxe usually was larger than that of their sisters.
Daughters would receive their share when they married. The dowry
was considered a wife's property, destined for the children of that
marriage. Its purpose was to provide some financial security in case
a woman became widowed or was divorced without grounds. 60
Yet there is a difference between a female dowry and a male share
of the inheritance. Raymond Westbrook points to the fact that although they both might function as inheritance, they differ from a
legal point of view. The dowry is a voluntary gift on which a woman
can make no legal claim, whereas a man 'has a vested interest in a
proportionate share of the paternal estate. He can only be deprived
of that share for cause by a court order, and retains his rights under certain circumstances even when the property has passed into the
hands of strangers'. 61
A dowry generally would consist of moveables such as clothes,
jewellery, kitchen utensils and furniture. A wealthy father could also
give his daughter slaves, cattle and in rare instances land or a house.
Especially when valuable items were involved it was necessary to draw
58

G. Beckman, 'Family Values on the Middle Euphrates in the Thirteenth Century B.C.E.' in: M.W. Chavalas (ed.), Emar: The History, Religion and Culture
of a Syrian Town in the Late Bronze Age, Bethesda MD 1996, 69; cf. further
Zaccagnini, 'On Late Bronze Age Marriages', 593-605.
59
Cf., e.g., Skaist, 'Inheritance Laws and Their Social Background', 243-4;
Grosz, 'Some Aspects of the Position of Women in Nuzi', 171. See further below sections 2.1.4 and 2.1.5 on women as heirs.
60
For Babylonia and Assyria, cf. Mendelsohn, 'The Family in the Ancient Near
East', 28; F.R. Kraus, 'Von altmesopotamischem Erbrecht: Ein Vortrag', in: J.
Brugman et ai, Essays on Oriental Laws of Succession (SDIO, 9), Leiden 1969,
13-4, 17. For Nuzi, cf. . Grosz, 'Dowry and Brideprice in Nuzi', in: M.A. Morrison, D.I. Owen (eds), Studies on the Civilization and Culture of Nuzi and the
Hurrians, Fs. E.R. Lacheman, Winona Lake IN 1981, 161-82; Idem, 'Bridewealth
and Dowry in Nuzi', 198-9. For Emar, cf. Beckman, 'Family Values on the Middle
Euphrates in the Thirteenth Century B.C.E.' 69-70, 73. For the Late Babylonian
period, cf. Kuhrt, 'Non-Royal Women in the Late Babylonian Period', 224.
61
Westbrook, Property and the Family in Biblical Law, 157.

up a dowry list. 62
Princesses who entered diplomatic marriages with foreign kings
could bring in impressive dowries. The first Hittite princess that married Ramesses II, for instance, had a huge dowry consisting of male
and female slaves, horses, cattle, sheep and goats. 63
Although the dowry capital usually was placed under the control
of the pater familias - either the bride's husband or a male family
member - it continued to have a special status and was neither to
be merged with his own property nor to be sold without her consent.
Moreover, as Martha Roth has pointed out for the Neo-Babylonian
period, the men did not occupy themselves with such components of
the dowry as textiles, pots, pans and furniture - their interest was
confined to the more valuable items of the dowry.64 So a married
woman could not dispose freely of all of her dowry. It was meant
for her to use supporting herself in case she became a widow or was
divorced. Ultimately her children, if she had any, would inherit what
remained of it. 65
62

Cf. Grosz, 'Some Aspects of the Position of Women in Nuzi', 172; Roth,
'Marriage and Matrimonial Prestations in First Millennium B.C. Babylonia', 250;
Idem, 'The Material Composition of the Neo-Babylonian Dowry', 1-55; J.G. Westenholz, 'Towards a New Conceptualization of the Female Role in Mesopotamian
Society', JAOS 110 (1990), 519; Westbrook, Property and the Family in Biblical
Law, 143.
Roth, 'Marriage and Matrimonial Prestations', 254-5; Idem, 'The Material
Composition of the Neo-Babylonian Dowry', 36, points to the fact that female
family members of the bride sometimes donated female slaves in addition to the
dowry. They also might have donated items of little economic value with no worth
to record in documents. Cf. also Kuhrt, 'Non-Royal Women in the Late Babylonian Period', 229.
63
K.A. Kitchen, Ramesside Inscriptions: Translated & Annotated. Notes and
Comments (Series B: Annotations. Vol. 2: Ramesses II, Royal Inscriptions), Oxford 1999, 154, notes that 'Such dowries could be worth over 150,000/$200,000'.
64
Roth, 'The Material Composition of the Neo-Babylonian Dowry', 34-6.
65
Cf. Grosz, 'Bridewealth and Dowry in Nuzi', 198-9; Roth, 'Marriage and Matrimonial Prestations in First Millennium B.C. Babylonia', 250-1; Beckman, 'Family Values on the Middle Euphrates in the Thirteenth Century B.C.E.' 69-70.
Grosz, 'Bridewealth and Dowry in Nuzi', 203, assumes the dowry stayed a separate unit within the family property until children were born to the couple. 'Up
to then the wife would take her dowry with her in case of divorce. When the children were born the dowry was assimilated to the rest of the property, although
it is possible that the wife still retained some nominal authority over it'. Cf. also
J. Paradise, Daughter and her Father's Property at Nuzi', JCS 32 (1980),
204-5. Another option, occurring in the Neo-Babylonian period, was to transfer
the dowry only partially, until children were born to the couple. There seems to
have been a tendency to delay payment until the wife proved to be able to bear
children; cf. Roth, 'Marriage and Matrimonial Prestations', 250.

According to Roth, a slight change of dowry management may

have occurred during the first millennium BCE. Whereas a dowry was
given to the bride herself in the second millennium, this is not the
case in the Neo-Babylonian period. In the latter period, the dowry
(nudunnu) is given to the groom or his father. It is under his control
and part of it is meant to help establish the new household. 66 It
would thus seem that, contrary to earlier times in which a woman
had nominal control over her dowry, this was no longer the case. But
on the other hand, there seem to have been restrictions on the use of
the dowry by the husband. A wife or her family could challenge her
husband if she disagreed on the use of the dowry.67 So if there was
indeed a change in the management of the dowry, it was only a slight
one.
The goods that an Egyptian woman brought into her marriage
are designated nkt.w s.hm.t 'goods of a woman'. These could be
listed in a marriage settlement. Sometimes a marriage contract refers
to money that a woman brought into the marriage: hd ir hm.t
'money of becoming a wife' or s'nh 'money with regard to maintenance'. 68 Although an Egyptian woman could have property before
being married, often the father of the bride 'gave presents in view of
the marriage to one of the two spouses. The possibility exists that
the nkt.w s.hm.t, the hd ir hm.t and the s'nh in particular often came from the property of the wife's father'. 69 When married,
she would put her possessions in the hands of her husband, but as a
rule she would remain the owner of what she brought in (separatio
bonorum).70
. UGARITIC LITERARY T E X T S

According to KTU 1.24, the text describing the wedding of the goddess Nikkalu with the moon-god Yarikhu, 71 the groom himself approaches his future father-in-law, Khirikhbi, who is described as a
66

Cf. Roth, 'Marriage and Matrimonial Prestations', 249-50.

Roth, 'Marriage and Matrimonial Prestations', 250-1, 254.
68
Cf. P.W. Pestman, Marriage and Matrimonial Property in Ancient Egypt: A
Contribution to Establishing the Legal Position of the Woman (PLB, 9), Leiden
1961, 32-50; . Lddeckens, 'Mitgift', in: L, Bd. 4, 152-5. Note that the earliest
evidence is from 517 BCE.
69
Pestman, Marriage and Matrimonial Property in Ancient Egypt, 143. See also
J.K. Toivari, Women at Deir el-Medina: A Study of the Status and Roles of the
Female Inhabitants in the Workmen's Community during the Ramesside Period,
Leiden 2000, 64-7.
70
Allam, 'Zur Stellung der Frau im alten gypten', 156.
71
See on this text sections 2.1.1.1 and 2.1.1.2, with further literature. Here I
will deal with the legal aspects.
67

shrewd matchmaker ( K T U 1.24:16-39),

16

yI'ak yrh nyr mm.

' 17 hr[h]6 mlk qz.

Yarikhu, the Illuminator of heaven, sent (a message)

to Khirikhbi, the counsellor for exchangemarriages: 72
'Give me Nikkalu!
Yarikhu wants to marry Ibbu,
let her enter into his mansion!
And I will give as her marriage deposit 73 to her father
a thousand (shekels) of silver,
and ten thousand (shekels) of gold,
I will send the purest lapis!

tn nkl
y18rh.ytrh. 'ib
t'rbm bbh1gth.
w'atn mhrh l'a20bh.
'alp ksp.
wrbt.h21rs.
'ilh.zhrm
V 2n'im.
I will make her field into a vineyard, 74
'a tn dh kr mm
23
the field of her love into a flower-garden!175
d ddh.hrnqm.
But Khirikhbi, the counsellor for exchange-marriages,
uP^y'n hrhb.mlk qz.
answered:
\25 n'mn.'ilm
' 0 most graceful among the gods,
lhtn26m.b'l
son-in-law of Ba'lu! 76
trh pdry bt ['ar]
Marry Pidrayu, the girl [of the honey-dew] !
27
'aqrbk 'abh 61
I will bring you in contact with her father Ba'lu,
28
ygtr.'ttr{.}t
he will ask 'Athtartu's 7 7 permission.
29
t rh Ik ybrdmy.
Marry Ybrdmy78 if you want,
bt ['a]30 bh Zb'u y'rr.
the Lion 79 will arouse the house of her father!'
72

The interpretation of mlk qz is disputed. See section 2.1.1.1.

Certainly not 'dowry', as Wyatt, RTU, 338, n. 15, proposes, because the
dowry was not a gift of the groom.
74
Everywhere in the ancient Near East 'field' and 'vineyard' are metaphorical
designations of women and their pudenda, cf. W.G. Lambert, 'Devotion: The
Languages of Religion and Love', in: M. Mindlin et al. (eds), Figurative Language
in the Ancient Near East, London 1987, 27-33.
75
Cf. W. Herrmann, Yarih und Nikkal und der Preis der
Kutarat-Gttinnen
(BZAW, 106), Berlin 1968, 14; M.C. Astour, 'Ancient North Syrian Toponyms
Derived from Plant Names', in: G. Rendsburg et al. (eds), The Bible World. Essays
in Honor of Cyrus H. Gordon, New York 1980, 2-3. M. Dietrich, . Loretz, Studien
zu den ugaritischen Texten: I. Mythos und Ritual in KTU 1.12, 1.24, 1-96, 1.100
und 1.114 (AOAT, 269/1), Mnster 2000, 184-5, propose 'Obstgarten'.
76
Pace Wyatt, RTU, 338. Cf. Trapper, UG, 826.
77
Dietrich, Loretz, Studien zu den ugaritischen Texten I, 186, read ygtr.'ttr.
and translate " A t t a r wird bitten!' According to them, '[d]er Redner gibt seiner
Uberzeugung Ausdruck, da auch der Gott 'Attar fr den Brautwerber bei Baal
eintreten wird' (187). Yet since he is no family member, why would the god of
irrigation do that? And why would Khirikhbi need the deity's help? It seems more
obvious that Ba'lu would ask his wife 'Athtartu for her permission in the marriage
of their daughter (see section 2.1.1.1 on a mother's role in marriage arrangements).
I therefore propose to delete the word-divider.
78
An otherwise unknown minor goddess.
79
A designation of the groom, cf. S.N. Kramer, The Sacred Marriage Rite:
73

wy'n 31 yrh nyr s771771.

wrn
32
'mn nkl htny.
'ahr 33nkl.yrh ytrh.
'adnh 34yt.msb.mznm.
'umh 3 5 kp mznm.
'ihh yt'r 36mrrm.
'ahth.l 'a37 bn mznm.
nkl w'ib 38d'ar.
'ar yrh.
w^rh.y'ark

But Yarikhu, the Illuminator of heaven, answered,

yes, he answered:
'Only to Nikkalu do I want to be betrothed,
Yarikhu aspires after Nikkalu to marry her!1
Her father placed the standard of the balance,
her mother the scales80 of the balance.
Her brothers arranged the counter-weights,
her sisters the stone-weights of the balance.
Nikkalu-and-Ibbu of whom I sing,
shine upon Yarikhu,
and may Yarikhu shine upon you!81

The rather direct way of asking for the hand of the bride ('give me!')
has a parallel in the Legend of Kirtu: tn.ly.mtt.hry 'Give me the lady
Hariya!' (KTU 1.14:111.39 par.). The Ugaritic verb trh is apparently
derived from a noun related to the Akkadian terhatu 'marriage deposit' which I discussed above. An overly literal rendering would be
'to pay the marriage deposit for a girl'. 82 In 1. 19 the marriage deposit
is called mhr and this term recurs in KTU 1.100:74 where it is used
in parallel with 'itnn 'gift (in exchange for sexual intercourse)'. 83 The
enormous sum Yarikhu offers for his bride is of mythical proportions
of course. 84 His promise to make Nikkalu a blooming garden shows
that fertility was a major objective of matrimony. Yet the granting of
offspring is seen as the prerogative of the highest god Ilu, because in
the second song the Katharatu are described as 'those of the human
creatures with the Benevolent, Ilu the good-natured' (KTU 1.24:4445). 85
Khirikhbi's counter-offer is only a token gesture offering us a
glimpse of how such negotions may have gone in the Orient. By
proposing other candidates of much higher pedigree than his own the
father flatters his daughter's suitor and at the same time increases her
value. Apparently the whole family participated in the acceptance of
Aspects of Faith, Myth, and Ritual in Ancient Sumer, Bloomington 1969, 92, 99.
As the following lines show, the whole family (bt 'ab) of the bride was very much
interested in the proceedings.
80
Lit. 'palms'. The family of the bride makes preparations for weighing
Yarikhu's marriage deposit.
81
For this rendering, see De Moor, ARTU, 145, n. 32.
82
Cf. A. van Selms, Marriage and Family Life in Ugaritic Literature (POS,
1), London 1954, 28; Dietrich, Loretz, Studien zu den ugaritischen Texten I, 181,
213-5. The verb also occurs in KTU 1.14:1.13-14.
83
The word obviously is the Ugaritic equivalent of Heb.
)!
84
Cf. Korpel, RiC, 463-74, for this kind of exaggeration.
85
See on this passage section 2.1.2.

the prospective in-law. It probably was normal for a pater familias to

ask his wife whether she approved of the candidate (1. 28).
The names of two of the Katharatu (tlhh wmlg hy, 1. 47) suggest
that, as in other parts of the ancient Near East, the father of the
bride gave her certain presents comparable to the Bab. iriktu and
mulgu (see above) as part of her dowry at the wedding.86 If this
interpretation is correct, it would mean that sub-categories of the
dowry are mentioned, but as a matter of fact the text stops at the
moment that the marriage deposit is weighed, whereas the giving of
(sub-categories of) the dowry would normally follow later on.
Unfortunately the Legend of Kirtu is broken at the point where
the giving of a marriage deposit as well as the dowry might have been
mentioned (between KTU 1.15:1 and 1.15:11). But this text provides
further information on the proceedings in connection with a wedding.
In this case, too, the father of the maiden prolonged the preliminary
negotiations, at the same time stressing her noble qualities - her care
for the hungry and the thirsty (KTU 1.15:1.1-2). The wedding proper
was celebrated with a banquet at Kirtu's palace to which also the
deities were invited (KTU 1.15:11). Also the Legend of Aqhatu may
contain evidence for a wedding meal with a goddess as the bride
(KTU 1.18:IV).87 The groom was assisted by seven trusted friends
in organizing the banquet (KTU 1.18:1.24-25; IV.14-15, 18-19).88 The
emphasis on the bride's fertility is illustrated by Kirtu's wife who
would bear her husband eight children within a span of only six years
(KTU 1.15:11.23-25).89
It seems that, as in the surrounding countries, it was customary
in Ugarit for a bride to leave her paternal home and enter the house
of her husband. According to the Ugaritic literary texts, the groom
'takes' (Iqh) his wife into his house, or 'makes her enter' ( 'rb ) his
house. 90 The young bride might be called 'att 'wife', but also glmt
86

Presumably the tlhm are the Ugaritic equivalent of the Hebrew ( see
below). This word cannot be derived from the root because this root is lh in
Ugaritic. Perhaps it was a Hurrian loanword, like mulgu, according to W.G.E.
Watson, 'Non-Semitic Words in the Ugaritic Lexicon', UF 27 (1995), 538. It is
unclear whether the translations 'parting gift' or 'dowry' specify this technical
term sufficiently. See further Dietrich, Loretz, Studien zu den ugaritischen Texten
I, 199- 204, 213-5. Their interpretation with regard to the Katharatu is somewhat
different.
87
On both passages see further section 2.1.1.3.2.
88
On this custom see De Moor, ARTU, 242, n. 129.
89
See section 2.1.2.
90
Cf. KTU 1.14:1V.39-41; 1.15:11.21-23; 1.24:18-19.

'lass' 91 or even btlt 'virgin, young woman'. 92 The circumstance that

in KTU 1.3:1.14-15 'att is balanced by 'atrt would seem to indicate
that the former specifically denotes a married woman.
It was considered a great shame if a husband did not have a house
of his own and had to share quarters with his father-in-law, like Ba'lu
before he was able to build his own palace (KTU 1.1-4). Apparently
he needed the permission of his father-in-law Ilu for the building,
probably because the latter was supposed to foot the bill. 93
The goddesses of the Ugaritic pantheon did not always live with
their husbands. Both Athiratu and 'Anatu have to travel long distances to meet their respective husbands. Apparently they were supposed to have their own palaces with their own personnel.
C . HEBREW BIBLE

Influenced by theories on matriarchy and the development of marriage, scholars at the end of the nineteenth and the beginning of the
twentieth century have proposed that a matriarchal type of marriage
existed before the patriarchal type, traces of which could be detected
in the ancient Near Eastern texts. This matriarchal type of marriage
was referred to as tsadiqah marriage and it was said to have appeared
in ancient Israel in two forms. In a beena marriage the husband would
come to live in the wife's home more or less permanently. Children
from this marriage were under maternal control. 94 In a mot'a marriage the husband would come to visit on a periodic basis. 95 Yet these
scholars' references to vestiges of matriarchy are unconvincing. 96 Although in some instances a groom joined the family of the bride, be
it temporarily or permanently, this is hardly proof for matrilineality, let alone matriarchy. 97 Jacob and Moses, for instance, lived with
91

KTU 1.14:IV.41; 1.15:11; 1.24:7.

A standard epithet of 'Anatu, cf. De Moor, ARTU, 7, nn. 33-34. On the
meaning of btlt see further sections 2.1.4 and 4.3.1.
93
This would seem to be the implication of KTU 1.1:IV.21 where Ilu gave his
son Yammu a house to be built 'of my own silver' which, however, Yammu first
had to take from Ba'lu, and of 1.4:V. 12-19 where Athiratu passed on Ilu's order
to Ba'lu.
94
Cf., e.g., J. Morgenstern, 'Beena Marriage (Matriarchat) in Ancient Israel
and its Historical Implications', ZAW 47 (1929), 91-110; Idem, 'Additional Notes
on "Beena Marriage (Matriarchat) in Ancient Israel" ', ZAW 49 (1931), 46-58.
95
This type of marriage is sometimes referred to as tsadiqah marriage, cf. R. de
Vaux, Les institutions de l'Ancien Testament, vol. 1, Paris 1958, 52.
96
Cf. O.J. Baab, 'Marriage', in: IDB, vol. 3, New York 1962, 279.
97
It is incorrect to regard Gen. 2:24 as a remnant of matrilineality, let alone
matriarchy; cf. F. Crsemann, ' "... er aber soll dein Herr sein" (Genesis 3,16):
Die Frau in der patriarchalischen Welt des Alten Testaments', in: F. Crsemann,
H. Thyen, Als Mann und Frau geschaffen: Exegetische Studien zur Rolle der Frau
92

their wives' families for a certain period. This was due to the fact
that they were fugitives. When they regarded it safe to go home, they
joined their own (patriarchal) family line. Also the marriage of Samson to the Timnite woman (Judg. 14) is frequently but incorrectly
called a tsadiqah marriage. I prefer to see a parallel here with the
Mesopotamian cases of an inchoate marriage that had been called
off.98
To conclude, theories regarding a matriarchal type of marriage as
described above should be rejected. Marriages in biblical Israel were
generally patrilineal and patrilocal. In those cases in which a bridegroom resided with the bride's family, the offspring of their marriage
usually was reckoned through the paternal line. In the rare cases that
it was reckoned through the maternal line, this only meant for one
generation since in these instances the line of the bride's father was
to continue, not that of the bride's mother and strictly speaking, it
therefore cannot be called matrilineal.
There are a few cases in the Hebrew Bible of a man continuing
the line of his father-in-law. Jarha, slave of Sheshan was married to a
daughter of Sheshan (1 Chron. 2:34) and Barzillai 'who had married
one of the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite, and was called by
their name' (Ezra 2:61; Neh. 7:63). It is unclear whether the latter
was adopted by his father-in-law. As a slave, Jarha's children would
be regarded as belonging to his master.
A biblical young man who wished to marry could approach his
prospective father-in-law with the - in our eyes - rather brusque request 'Give me your daughter (as a wife)!' (Gen. 34:12; 2 Sam. 3:14;
2 Kgs 14:9). Sometimes he would leave it to his father (and mother)
to open negotiations (Gen. 34:8; Judg. 14:2) or his father would leave
it to a trusted person to select a suitable bride for his son (Gen. 24).
As in the surrounding countries, it was common practice in biblical
Israel for a groom and his family to pay the bride's family a marriage
deposit (, the same word as in Ugaritic). 99 Once this was paid,
(Kennzeichen, 2), Gelnhausen 1978, 26.
98
Cf. G.R. Driver, J.C. Miles, The Assyrian Laws, repr. of the ed. Oxford 1935
with suppl. add. and corr. by G.R. Driver, Aalen 1975, 241. J.C. Exum, Pragmented Women. Feminist (Sub)versions of Biblical Narratives (JSOT.S, 163),
Sheffield 1993, 75, n. 30: 'Samson . . . has left the wedding feast in a fury; the
woman's father understands his action as signaling that Samson has renounced
his claim to her . . . ; and the woman is married off to another. It is hard to see
how she can be understood as still maxried to Samson. Samson returns later with
a gift, but since he is denied access to the woman, it is impossible to know what
kind of marriage agreement, if any, the narrator wished to suggest'.
99
The term occurs three times in the Hebrew Bible: Gen. 34:12; Exod.

the couple were inchoately married. Discussions on the extent of the

marriage deposit would take place between the heads of the families,
usually the fathers. 100 Usually the marriage deposit would consist of
silver or valuables. In this context Deut. 22:29 mentions the price of
fifty shekels of silver.101 In exceptional cases heroic deeds would suffice
(Josh. 15:16-17 II Judg. 1:12-13; 1 Sam. 18:25). If the groom-to-be
was a fugitive or could not for one reason or other claim rights to the
paternal property, he could give his father-in-law the equivalent of the
marriage deposit in labour, as did Jacob (Gen. 29), Moses (Exod. 2:21;
3:1), and perhaps, as a youngest son, David (1 Sam. 18:17-28). It is
likely that the father of the bride often restored (part of the) groom's
marriage deposit to his daughter as indirect dowry on the day of the
wedding. 102 This remained her personal property and functioned as a
kind of insurance against future mishaps.
Next to the marriage deposit a bridegroom or his father sometimes
gave gifts too. Abraham's servant who was sent to get a bride for his
master's son Isaac, gave costly gifts to Rebekah and to her mother and
brother (Gen. 24:53).103 And Shechem, who wanted to marry Dinah,
said to her father and brothers: 'Put the marriage present [ ]and
gifts [ ]as high as you like, and I will give whatever you ask me;
only give me the girl to be my wife' (Gen. 34:12).104
The Hebrew Bible does not mention written marriage contracts.
It may thus be that a written contract was not necessary to legitimize
an Israelite marriage. 105 However, since several texts mention a
1;2 :16Sam. 18:25.
In the post-exilic period, the became part of the . It is uncertain
when this transition started, but scholars agree that it was a long process. On the
, cf. L.M. Epstein, The Jewish Marriage Contract: A Study in the Status of
the Woman in Jewish Law, repr., New York 1973 (1927), 53-77 (58).
100
Cf. Gen. 34:6.
101
By way of comparison: Exod. 21:32 claims thirty shekels in recompense for a
male or female slave. C. Pressler, The View of Women Found in the Deuteronomic
Family Laws (BZAW, 216), Berlin 1993, 28, 39, regards fifty shekels as a fixed,
customary sum and notes that 'in at least some regions and periods [of the ancient
Near East, HJM], including some periods in ancient Israel, the bridewealth was a
real and not merely a symbolic payment' (28, n. 19).
102
Gen. 31:14-15 seems to indicate this.
103
The gifts might have had the function of a , cf. G. Wenham, Genesis 16-50
(WBC,2), Dallas TX 1994, 149-50.
104
Thus, the marriage deposit ( )was differentiated from the additional gifts
( ;)cf. Ug. 'itnn II mhr, see above. In Biblical Hebrew and acquired
the specific meaning of a prostitute's pay.
105
On the legal symbolic act of covering a woman with the mantle (Ruth 3:9;
Ezek. 16:8), see . Viberg, Symbols of Law: A Contextual Analysis of Legal Symbolic Acts in the Old Testament (CB.OT, 34), Stockholm 1992, 136-44.

, a written certificate of divorce,106 a written marriage contract

may have been quite normal, as in the other cultures of the ancient
Near East, 107 be it that an oral agreement before witnesses may often
have sufficed (Ruth 4). Also the term 5' covenant' which is used
in Ezek. 16:8,59-60, Mai. 2:14 and Prov. 2:17 might presuppose a
written document stipulating the terms of the marriage agreement,
just as the terms of the ?between YHWH and his 'wife' Israel were
laid down in the written108.
At a wedding, a father could give his daughter a certain gift called
109
. In 1 Kgs 9:16 it is reported that the king of Egypt gave
the city of Gezer, as such a gift, to his daughter, who was married
to Solomon. 110 The prophet Micah also refers to it in his prophecy
announcing the fall of Judah, where the Daughter of Zion is incited
to give to Moresheth-gath (Mic. 1:14).111
According to Charles Taber, a dowry was rarely bestowed in biblical times. 112 Yet there are indications that contradict this assumption.
In any case the dowry (, compare Bab. nudunnu) existed in early
Judaism, where it was distinguished from the which denoted a
wife's personal property as a sub-category of the dowry (compare Bab.
mulgu, Ug. mlg).n3
Moreover, the Bible itself contains clear indications of a wife's per106

Deut. 24:1,3; Isa. 50:1; Jer. 3:8. Cf. R. Abma, Bonds of Love: Methodic Studies
of Prophetic Texts with Marriage Imagery (Isaiah 50:1-3 and 54:1-10, Hosea 1-3,
Jeremiah 2-3 (SSN, 40), Assen 1999, 70-1.
107
I. Mendelsohn, 'The Family in the Ancient Near East', BA 11 (1948), 26.
108
Cf. Exod. 24:7; Deut. 29:20; 2 Kgs 23:2,21.
109
Although is translated 'dowry' by some scholars (e.g. R. Westbrook,
Property and the Family in Biblical Law (JSOT.S, 113), Sheffield 1991, 142), the
Ugaritic parallelism of mlg and tlh argues against this rendering. I assume the
to be a sub-category of the dowry.
110
See chapter 4 for the possible Ugaritic parallel RS 16.276 (PRU III, 69-70).
111
Several scholars have pointed to a possible allusion to ' betrothed' in
' Moresheth-gath'; cf. H. Donner, Israel unter den Vlkern (VT.S, 11), Leiden 1964, 95; L.C. Allen, The Books of Joel, Obadiah, Jonah and Micah (NICOT),
Grand Rapids MI 1976, 281-2; R. Kessler, Micha (HThKAT), Freiburg 1999, 1089.
112
C.R. Taber, 'Marriage', in: IDB.S, 575. Cited with approval by C. Meyers,
'The Roots of Restriction: Women in Early Israel', BiAr 41 (1978), 98. Westbrook,
Property and the Family in Biblical Law, 142, on the other hand, explains the
shortage of references by way of centrality of the institution: 'for the biblical
authors the dowry was a common, everyday thing; it needed mention only in
circumstances that made it unusual'.
113
Cf. Epstein, The Jewish Marriage Contract, 89-120; R. Westbrook, Old BabyIonian Marriage Law (AfO.B, 23), Horn 1988, 27-8; Idem, Property and the Family
in Biblical Law, 144.

sonal property. First, let us look at the complaint of Rachel and Leah
against their father (Gen. 31:14-15). Martha Morrison has compared
this story with ancient Near Eastern sources, specifically from Nuzi.
She explains that Laban had not completed the marriage agreement,
of which the herding contract (labour as payment for the marriage
deposit) was the first part, and the passing over of the bride and her
dowry into the hands of the groom was the second part. The second part of the agreement was not completed and therefore Laban's
daughters complained that they had not been treated as they should
have been, for they had not received any inheritance or dowry.114
The Egyptian maidservant, Hagar, probably was part of Sarai's
dowry (Gen. 16:2-3) and Rebekah's nurse and the maids who accompanied her when she left her father's house, presumably were part
of Rebekah's dowry (Gen. 24:59, 61). 115 The widow Abigail also may
have had a dowry of slave women, for she took with her five maids
when she remarried (1 Sam. 25:42).116 Further, Achsah, daughter of
Caleb, who was given in marriage to Othniel, asked her father for a
blessing ( )and received a field with springs (Josh. 15:16-19; Judg.
1:13-15). What she asked for is usually considered to be a gift with
associated blessing, but it might as well be her dowry, i.e. her share
of the inheritance. Finally, the clothes and jewelry with which Y H W H
dresses his 'bride' Jerusalem (Ezek. 16:10-13) may also be regarded
as a dowry that the 'husband' gave to the orphaned 'bride' (v. 5). 117
D . CONCLUSIONS

Although several theories on matrilineal and matriarchal forms of

marriage (erbu, tsadiqah, beena, mot'a) have been proposed for the
ancient Near East in general and Israel in particular, these should all
be rejected. Marriages generally were patrilocal and patrilineal. Residence of a married couple in the household of the wife was uncommon, except for the first four months of the marriage and in special
114

M.A. Morrison, 'The Jacob and Laban Narrative in Light of Near Eastern
Sources', BA 46 (1983), 160-1. N. Steinberg, Kinship and Marriage in Genesis:
A Household Economics Perspective, Minneapolis 1993, 106, assumes that apart
from the maidservants, Bilhah and Zilpah, the daughters of Laban had not received any dowry after their marriage because they stayed in their father's household. Cf. further Westbrook, Property and the Family in Biblical Law, 145, 157-8;
M. Heltzer, 'New Light from Emar on Genesis 31: The Theft of the Teraphim',
in: M. Dietrich, I. Kottsieper (eds); u. Mitw. v. H. Schaudig, 'Und Mose schrieb
dieses Lied auf': Studien zum Alten Testament und zum Alten Orient, Fs. O.
Loretz, (AOAT, 250), Mnster 1998, 357-62.
115
Westbrook, Property and the Family in Biblical Law, 145.
116
Cf. Mendelsohn, 'The Family in the Ancient Near East', 29.
117
Westbrook, Property and the Family in Biblical Law, 149.

circumstances, for example when the couple did not yet have a house
of their own. Moreover, only in exceptional cases could descent be
traced though the maternal line, and that for just one generation.
A marriage arrangement made between two families was considered to be binding. Part of the arrangement was the setting of a price
for the marriage deposit. Nowadays the view that a bride is purchased
by this payment is abandoned. The marriage deposit is considered to
be a caution, binding the groom('s family) to his commitment. In this,
biblical Israel does not seem to have differed from its neighbours. Once
marriage deposit and gifts were exchanged, the young couple were inchoately married. Still, a marriage could be dissolved at this stage,
but that would have its financial consequences.
The Hebrew Bible does not mention written marriage contracts
and neither do the literary texts from Ugarit. What is known from
marriage contracts in the ancient Near East is mostly derived not
from literary texts, but from the documents themselves, although
Mesopotamian legal texts do mention them. Because the use was
widespread in the ancient Near East it is likely that marriage contracts were known in Ugarit and Israel as well. The fact that several
texts mention a certificate of divorce supports this assumption.
If a woman were to live with a man without a written marriage
contract, she did not have a legal basis to claim any rights. According
to Middle Assyrian Law, even if her husband had disappeared and
she subsequently lived with another man, the contract she had made
with her first husband was still binding in case he returned.
But not only the husband, the wife, too, could derive rights from
the marriage contract, which arranged matters regarding inheritance
and property. When a woman left her paternal home to reside with
her husband, she would take certain goods with her. If she was from
a wealthy family she might have been given landed property or other
valuable possessions. It was also possible for a woman to receive slaves
as (part of) a dowry. The dower goods would be written down, either
in a separate dowry list or in the marriage contract. A woman's dowry
remained her property for her personal use in case she became a
widow or was unjustly divorced. Before that stage, the dowry property
was generally managed by her husband or the head of her husband's
family. It was not to be merged with other possessions and not to be
sold without her consent. It would seem that a wife could not dispose
freely of her dower property, yet this may have varied in different
contexts and may have been dependent on her social status.

Was Marriage a Religious Institution?

The question whether marriage was a religious institution is still an
object of discussion. It is a relevant question in so far as it determines
whether marriage was seen as the will of the deity (or deities). First of
all it has to be established that in the ancient world the civil and religious spheres of life were not clearly separated, as they are nowadays
in most modern Western civilizations. For that reason the question
heading this section is to some extent an academic one. Nevertheless
it is useful to collect some data here on the religious aspects of marriages, especially in view of the use of the marriage metaphor in the
Hebrew Bible.
In biblical Israel, marriage was regarded as a a covenant between
bride and groom, a covenant that reflected the asymmetry of authority
within marriage. 118 In the marriage metaphor, the position of wife to
husband was used in analogy to that of Israel to YHWH. We will deal
briefly with feminist criticism on the use of the marriage metaphor
in the Bible, especially as it was voiced by the prophets. We will
further question ourselves whether the marriage metaphor served as a
paradigm for human marriage in biblical Israel, while giving attention
to theories on metaphor.
2.1.1.3.2

A . ANCIENT N E A R EAST

Although scholars generally contend the civil basis of marriage, one

may question whether it is correct to deny any religious connotation
to this institution. 119 It would seem that in Mesopotamian texts several religious connotations can be determined. First, marriage was
legitimated religiously. This is, for instance, reflected in the Atramhasis Epic, which offers an aetiology of marriage in which Ishtar is
invoked as the goddess who has to protect the newly wed. 120 Also
the love of Dumuzi and Inanna as it is sung of in the love poems
has a setting that alludes to the institution of marriage. 121 Further,
a Sumerian composition describing the marriage between Enlil and
118

Although covenants were usually between unequal partners, this was not necessarily so; cf. G.. Mendenhall, G.. Herion, 'Covenant', in: ADD, vol. 1, 11791202.
119

Cf., e.g., I. Mendelsohn, 'The Family in the Ancient Near East', BA 11 (1948),
25: 'Marriage in the Ancient Near East was a civil affair and no religious sanction
was necessary'.
120
1.299-304. Cf. W.G. Lambert, A.R. Millard, Atra-hass: The Babylonian Story
of the Flood, with The Sumerian Flood Story by M. Civil, Oxford 1969, 64-5.
121
Cf. T. Jacobsen, The Harps That Once ... : Sumerian Poetry in Translation,
New Haven & London 1987, 13-23; Y. Sefati, Love Songs in Sumerian Literature:
Critical Edition of the Dumuzi-Inanna Songs (Bar-Ilan Studies in Near Eastern
Languages and Culture), Ramat Gan 1998, 120-7, 132-50, 286-300.

Sud/Ninlil contains a passage where the supreme god blesses his bride
at the moment when the marriage is concluded. 122 Assuming that humans imitated the gods when they were united in matrimony, similar
blessings may have been invoked during the ceremonies on earth.
But also when a marriage was endangered, the gods who were
believed to protect it, were called upon. The Code of Hammurapi
mentions two means to involve the gods in case a wife was assumed
to have committed adultery. Either she was made to swear an oath
( 131), implying that she would bring the wrath of the gods down on
her own head if she swore falsely, or she was submitted to the River
Ordeal ( 132), meaning that she had to dive into a river and try to
keep her head above water long enough to be proven innocent. 123
A second religious aspect of marriage was related to the veneration of the family gods. The bride had to part from her family gods,
that is, the gods of her paternal family, and accept the gods of her
husband's family as her new family gods. 124 The gods of both families are involved in the wedding. During the marriage festivities at
the house of the bride's family, the bride's paternal gods share in the
food that the groom and the guests have brought. And when she has
entered her husband's household the bride is presented to her new
gods. 125
A third religious aspect of marriage was the fact that people married in order to beget children. They therefore called upon the gods to
grant them progeny. In the Atram-hasis epic (1:299-304), for instance,
the bride and groom rejoice in each other on their marriage bed and
call Ishtar by her name Ishkhara, to bless them with fertility. 126
Furthermore, anointment of the bride could be part of the marriage ceremony. Since it is generally assumed that anointment was
a religious rite of purification 127 , it would seem that at least part of
the marriage ceremony (for part of society?) was of a religious nature.
122

The text has a long history of survival, for it is found even in Neo-Assyrian
libraries. Cf. M. Civil, 'Enlil and Ninlil: The Marriage of Sud', JAOS 103 (1983),
43-66, esp. 11. 150-176 (57-61); J. Bottro, S.N. Kramer, Lorsque les dieux faisaient
l'homme: Mythologie msopotamienne, Paris 1989, 115-28, (121-2).
123
Cf. Van der Toorn, Cradle, 62-3. But note D. Snell's review of . van der
Toorn, Van haar wieg tot haar graf, in: BiOr 46 (1989), 125, in which he points
to the fact that at Old Babylonian Maxi land disputes were sometimes resolved
by ordeals, which does not necessarily make land transactions religious.
124
Cf. Kh. Nashef, 'Zur Frage des Schutzgottes der Frau', WZKM 67 (1975), 30;
Van der Toorn, Cradle, 61-3.
125
Cf. Dumuzi's Wedding, col. iii; Jacobsen, The Harps That Once . . . , 22; Sefati,
Love Songs in Sumerian Literature, 288-9, 292, 294.
126
Cf. . Becking, 'Ishhara', in DDD, 450.
127
Cf., e.g., Driver, Miles, The Assyrian Laws, 180.

Anointment in connection with marriage is mentioned in several texts.

MAL A42-43 deal with the authority over an anointed bride, which
is with the father-in-law. Three letters from the Amarna period dating
from the 14th cent. B C E 1 2 8 and two letters from the correspondence
between the Egyptian pharaoh Ramesses II and the Hittite queen
Puduhepa (13th cent, BCE)129 mention the anointment of a princess
who will partake in an international marriage. Also in the Sumerian
Myth of Enlil and Ninlil (1. 147), the goddess Sud is anointed with
perfume as part of the marriage ritual. 130 Apparently a marriage in
the ancient Near East generally 131 consisted of two stages. During the
first stage, the bride was anointed and ceremonial gifts (usually along
with the terhatu) were donated. During the second stage, the bride
moved into the household of the groom or his father and the marriage
was consummated. When a bride was anointed she was considered to
be a wife, i.e. married. The first stage usually is referred to as inchoate
marriage. MAL A30-31 also deal with questions regarding inchoate
marriage. Yet here no mention is made of anointment, but only of the
ceremonial marriage presents (biblu and zubullu). It might therefore
be that anointment of a bride only occurred in the higher strata of
society.132
When people got married in ancient Egypt, there was no religious
ceremony or any involvement of the authorities. 133 Scholars assume
128

EA 11:16-22 (from Burna-Bariyash of Karaduniyash to Amenophis iv), EA

29:22f. (from Tushratta of Mitanni to Amenophis iv) and EA 31:11-14 (from
Amenophis III to Tarkhundaraba of Arzawa).
129
KUB III 63 Vs. 15 (= HK 51) and KUB III 24 + KUB III 59 Vs. 5' (=
HK 53). See also K.R. Veenhof, review of E. Kutsch, Salbung als Rechtsakt im
Alten Testament und im Alten Orient, in: DiOr 23 (1966), 308-13; D. Pardee,
New Ugaritic Letter', BiOr 34 (1977), 3-20.
130
Civil, 'Enlil and Ninlil', 43-66; C. Wilcke, 'Die Schwester des Ehemannes
(/erib/)', in: FPOA, 180; Bottro, Kramer, Lorsque les dieux faisaient l'homme,
115-28.
131
G.R. Driver, J.C. Miles, The Assyrian Laws, repr. of the ed. Oxford 1935 with
suppl. add. and corr. by G.R. Driver, Aalen 1975, 178, suggest that the first stage
might have been skipped if the bride was no longer a virgin.
132
Cf. Driver, Miles, The Assyrian Laws, 181.
133
Cf. S. Allam, 'Ehe', in: L, Bd. 1, 1163: 'In gleicher Weise fehlt der E[he]
jegliche religise Weihe (so auch im islamischen Bereich); von der Mitwirkung der
Priester als solche finden wir keine Spur. Das skulare Wesen u[nd] die auerrechtliche Herkunft der E[he] erklren es, da die gypter fr die Eheschlieung
trotz ihrer Wichtigkeit keinen Formalakt entwickelt haben. Freilich wird sich fr
diesen Vorgang ein buntes, mit sakralen u[nd] profanen Elementen durchsetztes
Brauchtum gebildet haben; Anspielungen auf eine Hochzeitsfeier finden wir in der
Chaemweseerzhlung (ptol. Zt), vielleicht auch in der Nachricht von der Hochzeit
Ramses' II. mit der hethitischen Prinzessin. Die Einhaltung dieses Brauchtums ist

that marriage was effectuated by cohabitation. 134 No rites of priests

are recorded and there seems to have been no formal act of marriage.
The wedding stela of Ramesses 11, for instance, recounts the alliance
between Egypt and Hatti which is given expression through the marriage of the Egyptian king and the eldest daughter of the Hittite king.
In the account the marriage itself is given little attention and no mention is made of any wedding ceremony.135 Yet Schafik Allam assumes
that for the act of taking in matrimony a colourful custom with sacral
and profane elements would have developed. 136 There are some indications that in Egypt, too, the anointing of the bride was a known
custom. 137 Despite the paucity of data it also seems an indication of
the religious nature of the marital bond that husband and wife often had themselves depicted as a couple in their graves. 138 Because
it is unlikely that they will have died simultaneously, their marriage,
apparently, was thought to extend into the world of the gods in the
hereafter. If so, then at least one cannot deny some religious connotations to Egyptian marriages.
B . UGARITIC LITERARY T E X T S

Marriage was a matter which carried religious connotations at Ugarit.

King Kirtu, saddened by the fact that he had no wife and no progeny,
was taken pity upon by the god Ilu. With the help of the deity he
was able to obtain a bride. After this mission had succeeded, Kirtu
set a dinner party for the gods who all arrived at his palace (KTU
1.15:11.1-11). During the wedding Ilu blessed Kirtu: his wife Hariya
would bear him eight children (KTU 1.15:11.21-111.16). The blessing
of Ilu may be regarded as a marriage blessing.139 Although Hariya
may well have been present at the dinner party, her role was a passive
one. It is noteworthy that Ilu addressed his long blessing to Kirtu,
not to Hariya.
aber kein Gebot, sondern bloes Kennzeichen davon, da ein Ehebund hergestellt
wird'.
134
Cf., e.g., M.V. Fox, The Song of Songs and Ancient Egyptian Love Songs,
Madison 1985, 230; A. Depla, 'Women in Ancient Egyptian Wisdom Literature',
in: L.J. Archer et al. (eds), Women in Ancient Societies: An Illusion of the Night,
Basingstoke, Hampshire, 26.
135
A NET, 256-8.
136
S. Allam, 'Zur Stellung der Frau im alten gypten', BiOr 26 (1969), 155. See
also the quotation from Allam's article above.
137
Cf. S. Schott, Altgyptische Liebeslieder: Mit Mrchen und Liebesgeschichten
(BAW), Zrich 2 1950, 58.
138
Cf., e.g., M. Saleh, H. Sourouzian, Die Hauptwerke im gyptischen Museum
Kairo: Offizieller Katalog, Mainz 1986, Nos. 27, 39, 50, 56, 79, 140, 152, 215.
139
Cf. De Moor, ARTU, 206, n. 50.

Another indication of a religious dimension to a marriage is the

meal that Kirtu offered the gods. It was general custom in the ancient
Near East that a marriage party was celebrated with a dinner. The
legend of Kirtu probably alludes to the offering of a share of the
marriage banquet to the gods. 140
When 'Anatu and Aqhatu celebrated what appears to have been
a wedding they dined in the city of the moon-god Yarikhu (KTU
1.18:1.23-34; IV. 1-42). It seems hardly imaginable that this choice of
location had nothing to do with the cult of the god whose marriage
to Nikkalu may have served as a prototype of human marriages. The
myth of their marriage is found in KTU 1.24.141 Yarikhu asked the
bride's father Khirikhbi, the divine marriage broker, to give Nikkalu to
him as his bride. He offered an astronomical marriage deposit (mhr)
in silver, gold and lapis lazuli. In poetical metaphors he promised to
impregnate her. However, when after some negotiation the deal was
made, the family of the bride did nothing but bring the scales into
readiness to weigh the gifts of the groom. KTU 1.24 does not refer to
any religious ceremony, neither to an anointing taking place. Yet the
text clearly places the couple under the protection of the Katharatu,
the goddesses who oversaw matrimonial happiness and childbirth.
In another myth, which probably describes a divine marriage (KTU
1.23),142 the god Ilu is said to have seduced and married two wives. In
this case, too, there is no mention of a special ceremony, like anointing.
Only the formal consent of the two females was needed.
Thirdly, KTU 1.100 and 1.107 may have played a role in the consecration of a marriage. 143 Johannes de Moor has proposed that these
140

Cf. Mal. 2:12; Van der Toorn, Cradle, 67-8.

For a translation cf. TO, t. 1, 383-97; De Moor, ARTU, 141-5; Marcus, in:
Smith, UNP, 215-8; Wyatt, RTU, 336-41; M. Dietrich, O. Loretz, Studien zu den
ugaritischen Texten: I. Mythos und Ritual in KTU 1.12, 1.24, 1-96, 1.100 und
1.114 (AOAT, 269/1), Mnster 2000, 143-223.
142
For a translation cf. TO, t. 1, 355-79; De Moor, ARTU, 117-28; Lewis, in:
Smith, UNP, 205-14; Pardee, in: C0S, vol. 1, 274-83; Wyatt, RTU, 324-35.
See section 3.1 on divine and sacred marriage.
143
Several authors have noted a relationship between KTU 1.100 and 1.107. Cf.
M.C. Astour, 'Two Ugaritic Serpent Charms', JNES 27 (1968), 13; M. Dietrich, O.
Loretz, 'Die Bannung von Schlangengift: (KTU 1.100 und KTU 1.107: 7b-13a.l9b20)', UF 12 (1980), 169; Idem, Studien zu den ugaritischen Texten I, 392-3; D.
Pardee, Les textes para-mythologiques: de la 24e campagne (1961) (RSO, 4), Paris
1988, 256; TO, t. 2, 95. Yet, according to some, the relationship goes beyond a
thematic affinity. J.C. de Moor, 'East of Eden', ZAW 100 (1988), 109, states: 'It
may even be that the two fragments belonged to the same narrative, with KTU
1.107 preceding 1.100'.
141

texts may have been connected with a variant of the story of Eden 144
and as such were directly connected with the first married couple in
the world. 145 The text ends with a number of questions and answers
which, according to De Moor, would constitute a marriage liturgy
led by an officiant. The groom was asked to give a 'serpent' as his
marriage deposit (mhr).146
In any case there is sufficient reason to suppose that in Ugarit
marriage was considered to be a religious institution, although we
do not know of a single matrimonial ritual which would have been
enacted whenever a wedding was celebrated.
C . HEBREW BIBLE

Scholars have doubted whether Israelite marriage was a religious institution. Roland de Vaux, for instance, held the view that it was 'a
purely civil matter'. 1 4 7 According to others, like Karel van der Toorn,
this is a misconception. Marriage was considered a divine institution,
legitimated and sanctioned by YHWH.148 Although this view on marriage was, for the most part, religious in an implicit way, it became
more explicit when the relationship of a couple was under attack. The
divine ordeal was called upon when the wife was under suspicion of
adultery (Num. 5 : 1 1 - 3 1 ) .
The act of anointment as a religious rite of purification was also
customary in biblical Israel. 149 In Ezek. 16:8-12, Jerusalem, as the
metaphorical wife, is wedded to Y H W H by entering a covenant. The
'bride' Jerusalem apparently is anointed upon entering marriage. 150
Furthermore, it seems that, at least in some cases, an oath in the
name of Y H W H was part of the declaration of a marriage (Ezek. 16:8;
144

Cf. De Moor, 'East of Eden', 105-11.

On the question whether Adam and Eve should be regarded as a married
couple, cf. H. Linder, 'Spricht Gen 2,24 von der Ehe?' Theologische Beitrge 19
(1988), 23-32; G.P. Hugenberger, Marriage as a Covenant: A Study of Biblical
Law and Ethics Governing Marriage Developed Prom the Perspective of Malachi
(SV.S, 52), Leiden 1994, 124-67; Van der Toorn, Cradle, 61.
146
Janny de Moor, a writer of cookery books, has suggested that in reality this
'serpent' may have been a cookie in the shape of a serpent which even today is a
delicacy Arabic lovers offer each other. Cf. J. de Moor, Groot Arabisch kookboek,
Utrecht 1998, 208.
147
R. de Vaux, Les institutions de l'Ancien Testament, vol. 1, Paris 1958, 58: 'Il
est intressant de constater qu'en Isral, comme en Msopotamie, le mariage est
une affaire purement civile et n'est sanctionn par aucun acte religieux'.
148
Van der Toorn, Cradle, 59-64.
149
Veenhof, review, BiOr 23 (1966), 308-13; Pardee, New Ugaritic Letter',
14-8.
150
R. Westbrook, Property and the Family in Biblical Law (JSOT.S, 113),
Sheffield 1991, 149, n. 1.
145

Mai. 2:14; Prov. 2:17; Ruth 3:13). 151

According to the Hebrew Bible, a foreign woman was supposed to
depart from her own god(s) and accept the God of Israel when she
married an Israelite. Although the reason of her theft is not given,
it seems that Rachel did not want to part from the ancestor gods of
her family (Gen. 31). 152 Ruth, on the other hand, willingly accepts
the God of Naomi as her own (Ruth 1:15-16). There are numerous
examples of biblical texts that warn against marriage with a 'strange
woman' who, because of her different religious preferences, will lead
her husband astray. To name but one, the prophet Malachi prophesies
against Judah, who 'has married the daughter of a foreign god' (Mai.
2:11).153

Marriage in biblical Israel was regarded as a covenant between

bridegroom and bride. Yet the alliance was not only considered a personal, but also a communal matter, since both partners represented
their families. 154 The nature of this covenant, however, was not one
of equal partners. According to Tikva Frymer-Kensky, '[m]arriage in
Israel was certainly not "egalitarian" in the modern sense of the world
[sic]. At the same time, it was not the hierarchy of master and servant, but a bond between loving intimates'. 155 Although an Israelite
husband had authority over his wife, this did not have to exclude a
relationship of mutual help, love and trust. 156
As was the case in the surrounding countries, there was thus an
asymmetry of authority within marriage. This expressed itself, for ex151

J. Galambush, Jerusalem in the Book of Ezekiel: The City as Yahweh's Wife

(SBL.DS, 130), Atlanta GA 1992, 33, n. 26.
152
Van der Toorn, Cradle, 69. Differently, M.A. Morrison, 'The Jacob and Laban
Narrative in Light of Near Eastern Sources', A 46 (1983), 162; M. Heltzer, 'New
Light from Emar on Genesis 31: The Theft of the Teraphim', in: M. Dietrich, I.
Kottsieper (eds); u. Mitw. v. H. Schaudig, 'Und Mose schrieb dieses Lied auf':
Studien zum Alten Testament und zum Alten Orient (AOAT, 250), Mnster 1998,
358.
153
B. Glazier-McDonald, 'Intermarriage, Divorce, and the bat-'l nkr: Insights
into Mal 2:10-16', JBL 106 (1987), 603-11; M.A. Shields, 'Syncretism and Divorce
in Malachi 2,10-16', ZAW 111 (1999), 68-86.
154
Cf. O.J. Baab, 'Marriage', in: G.A. Buttrick et al. (eds), The Interpreter's
Dictionary of the Bible, vol. 3, New York 1962, 284.
155
T. Frymer-Kensky, In the Wake of the Goddesses: Women, Culture, and the
Biblical Transformation of Pagan Myth, New York 1992, 147.
156
N. Stienstra, YHWH Is the Husband of His People: Analysis of a biblical
metaphor with special reference to translation, Kampen 1993, 70-95.
On the distinction between authority and power, cf. C. Meyers, 'Procreation,
Production, and Protection: Male-Female Balance in Early Israel', JAAR 51
(1983), 583. Meyers assumes women's authority WEIS limited only from the monarchic period onwards (589).

ample, in the fact that a wife was expected to have a monogamous relationship with her husband, whereas for him this was not the case. A
husband could have sexual relationships with other unmarried women
without legally being an adulterer. 157
Throughout the Hebrew Bible, the relationship between Israel and
its God is also described in terms of a covenant (Exod. 24:7-8; Deut.
29:1; Josh. 24:19-28). The divine covenant is modeled after a political treaty between a suzerain and a vassal. In ancient Near Eastern
treaties, a suzerain demanded the 'love' of a vassal, his obedience and
exclusive loyalty. In return, the suzerain would protect the vassal.
Likewise, according to the covenant between Y H W H and his people,
Israel is to 'love' its God by keeping his laws and worshipping no
other gods, in exchange for Y H W H ' S provision and protection. 158 This
covenant model is taken one step further in the marriage metaphor. 159
The covenantal loyalty and disloyalty is depicted by using the imagery
of sexuality for the relationship between Y H W H and Israel. 160 In doing
so, the existing metaphor of apostasy as sexual infidelity, in which the
verb 161 denotes worship of gods other than YHWH, is connected to
the covenant imagery, thus making the relationship between Y H W H
and Israel into a more intimate one than that of a suzerain and vassal,
namely into that of a husband and wife.162
157

On adultery see further section 2.1.1.5.

Cf. Frymer-Kensky, In the Wake of the Goddesses, 146; Galambush, Jerusalem
in the Book of Ezekiel, 32-3.
159
By this I do not intend to say that the marriage metaphor is a later development. Since the eight-century prophet Hosea already made use of it, it was
probably in existence alongside the imagery of the treaty-covenant. Cf. Fry merKensky, In the Wake of the Goddesses, 146-7.
160
J.J. Schmitt, 'Yahweh's Divorce in Hosea 2 - Who is That Woman?' SJOT 9
(1995), 119, notes: 'Israel in the Bible, in any usage of the term, is never the wife
of Yahweh'. Strictly speaking, either the land (Hos. 1:2) or the cities Jerusalem
and Samaria are spoken of as wives of YHWH. On the personified cities, see further
below.
161
In her study of the metaphorical depiction of Jerusalem as Y H W H ' S wife by
Ezekiel, Julie Galambush describes the literal and the metaphorical meaning of the
root in the following way: in its literal meaning, a is a professional prostitute.
Mostly the verb is used in a metaphorical sense. Galambush distinguishes two
levels. At the first level, the metaphorical use of refers to 'illicit sexual activity
by a woman' (28). At the second level, which seems to be derived from the first,
the verb refers to illicit cultic activity, i.e., worship of other gods by either males
or persons of mixed gender. Cf. Galambush, Jerusalem in the Book of Ezekiel,
27-31.
162
The use of the marriage metaphor to stress the intimate relationship between
a deity and its people is unique for Israel; cf. . Graetz, 'God is to Israel as
Husband is to Wife: The Metaphoric Battering of Hosea's Wife', in: A. Brenner
(ed.), A Feminist Companion to the Latter Prophets (FCB, 8), Sheffield 1995,
158

The position of a wife towards her husband was analogous to the

one Israel held towards YHWH.163 The relationship between Israel and
its God was also one between unequal partners, what is more, 'partners infinetely unequal to each other in power'. 164 Here, too, both
partners had mutual obligations. Like a husband, Y H W H was to protect and take care of his 'wife', whereas Israel was to have an exclusive
and loyal relationship with YHWH (Exod. 20:2-6; Deut. 5:6-10).
Using the experience of every day life, the prophets described the
love of the 'husband' YHWH for his 'wife' Israel (Isa. 54:5-6). Yet 'it
should be borne in mind that the relationship between Y H W H and
His people, which is structured by means of the marriage metaphor,
is basically a broken relationship, although there is usually hope for
the future'. 165 Despite the faithfulness of YHWH, Israel was disloyal
towards its God, a disloyalty that expressed itself in cultic and political sins, i.e. worshipping other gods and making alliances with foreign
peoples (Isa. 1:21; 57:3-13; Jer. 2:33-3:20; Ezek. 16; 23; Hos. 1-3). To
accentuate this sinful behaviour, the prophets made use of the meta-

127, referring to Gershon Cohen.

On the marriage metaphor cf. further G. Hall, Origin of the Marriage Metaphor', HebStud 23 (1982), 169-71; H. Ringgren, 'The Marriage Motif in Israelite
Religion', in: P.D. Miller et al. (eds), Ancient Israelite Religion: Essays ... F.M.
Cross, Philadelphia 1987, 421-28; Korpel, RiC, 213-32; A. Brenner, 'On 'Jeremiah'
and the Poetics of (Prophetic?) Pornography', in: A. Brenner, F. van DijkHemmes, On Gendering Texts: Female and Male Voices in the Hebrew Bible
(BIntS, 1), Leiden 1993, 177-93; F. van Dijk-Hemmes, 'The Metaphorization of
Woman in Prophetic Speech: An Analysis of Ezekiel 23', in: Brenner, Van DijkHemmes, On Gendering Texts, 167-76; Stienstra, YHWH Is the Husband of His
People; A. Weider, Ehemetaphorik in prophetischer Verkndigung: Hos 1-3 und
seine Wirkungsgeschichte im Jeremiabuch (FzB, 71), Wrzburg 1993; Schmitt,
'Yahweh's Divorce in Hosea 2 - Who is That Woman?' 119-32; R.J. Weems,
Battered Love: Marriage, Sex, and Violence in the Hebrew Prophets (OBT), Minneapolis MN 1995; Y. Sherwood, The Prostitute and the Prophet: Hosea's Marriage in Literary-Theoretical Perspective (JSOT.S, 212) (GCT, 2), Sheffield 1996;
R. Abma, Bonds of Love: Methodic Studies of Prophetic Texts with Marriage
Imagery (Isaiah 50:1-3 and 54:1-10, Hosea 1-3, Jeremiah 2-3) (SSN, 40), Assen 1999; A.R.P. Diamond, K.M. O'Connor, 'Unfaithful Passions: Coding Women
Coding Men in Jeremiah 2-3 (4.2)', in: A.R.P. Diamond et al. (eds), Troubling
Jeremiah (JSOT.S, 260), Sheffield 1999, 123-45; G. Baumann, Liebe und Gewalt:
Die Ehe als Metapher fr das Verhltnis JHWH - Israel in den Prophetenbchern
(SBS, 185), Stuttgart 2000.
163
On the change of gender role for the addressed males, cf. J.J. Schmitt, 'The
Gender of Ancient Israel', JSOT 26 (1983), 115-25; Galambush, Jerusalem in the
Book of Ezekiel, 35, n. 31, 42, n. 46.
164
Frymer-Kensky, In the Wake of the Goddesses, 144.
165
Stienstra, YHWH Is the Husband of His People, 70.

phor of the city as wife.166 In the West Semitic cultures of the ancient
Near East, capital cities were personified as the divine wife of the
patron god of that city.167 But whereas a capital city was a goddess
in West Semitic thought, the Israelite prophets turned her image into
that of a sinful mortal woman, an adulteress at that. 168
Describing the differences in use of the marriage metaphor by the
prophets compared to extra-prophetical books, Julie Galambush notes
as one of the features the possibility of punishment of the adulterous
1
wife.
In addition to exploiting the metaphor's ability to express Yahweh's
outrage, the prophets also exploited the Israelite custom of publicly
shaming the unfaithful woman. This shaming of the personified city
would have provided a metaphorical means of transferring the shame
of cuckoldry from the husband/god onto the woman/people. Thus the
prophetic extension of the marriage metaphor to depict the city as
an adulteress simultaneously expresses the horror of the god's loss of
honor and provided the means by which that honor could symbolically
be restored.169
Precisely this is the main point at which certain feminist scholars take
offense. To restore the honour of the 'husband', the 'wife' is pictured
as a whore who is punished in public. Especially the picture that
is painted by Hosea (1-3), Jeremiah (2-3) and Ezekiel (16, 23) is
designated by some as pornographic. 170
166

This is elaborated most extensively by Ezekiel. In Hosea, Jeremiah and

Deutero-Isaiah the 'wife' sometimes is the personified city, but the image can also
refer to the nation. For a detailed analysis of the use of the marriage metaphor
by the prophets, cf. Galambush, Jerusalem in the Book of Ezekiel, 35-88.
167
Cf. A. Fitzgerald, 'The Mythological Background for the Presentation of
Jerusalem as a Queen and False Worship as Adultery in the OT', CBQ 34 (1972),
403-16; Idem, 'btwlt and bt as Titles for Capital Cities', CBQ 37 (1975), 167-83;
Galambush, Jerusalem in the Book of Ezekiel, 20-3; C. Maier, 'Jerusalem als Ehebrecherin in Ezechiel 16: Zur Verwendung und Funktion einer biblischen Metapher', in: H. Jahnow et al., Feministische Hermeneutik und Erstes Testament:
Analysen und Interpretationen, Stuttgart 1994, 87-8; P.T. Willey, 'The Servant of
YHWH and Daughter Zion: Alternating Visions of YHWH's Community', in: E.H.
Lovering (ed.), Society of Biblical Literature 1995 Seminar Papers (SBL.SPS, 34),
Atlanta GA 1995, 279.
168
Galambush, Jerusalem in the Book of Ezekiel, 35.
169
Galambush, Jerusalem in the Book of Ezekiel, 36-7.
170
T.D. Setel, 'Prophets and Pornography: Female Sexual Imagery in Hosea', in:
L.M. Russell (ed.), Feminist Interpretation of the Bible, Oxford & New York 1985,
86-95, 157-9; Van Dijk-Hemmes, 'The Metaphorization of Woman in Prophetic
Speech', 167-76; Brenner, 'On "Jeremiah" and the Poetics of (Prophetic?) Pornography', 177-93; Idem, 'On Prophetic Propaganda and the Politics of "Love":

This criticism of the prophets focuses mainly on the effect the

texts have on modern (resistant) readers. To modern readers, who
generally approve of equality between husband and wife and who
reject wife battering, these texts are offensive and reprehensible. The
fact that within the metaphor violence is excused, even approved of as
a means to bring back the 'wife' to her 'husband' is regarded as one of
its most alarming aspects. 171 Although I consider questions regarding
the effect these texts have on modern readers to be very important
ones, I will not concentrate on them here. Rather, I want to focus on
the question whether the marriage metaphor served as a paradigm for
human marriage in biblical Israel. 172 With Frymer-Kensky I assume
that the marriage metaphor did not serve as such.
Frymer-Kensky mentions three points indicating that the marriage metaphor was not a model for biblical marriage. 173 According
to the Hebrew Bible, a man who suspects his wife of adultery could
either have her undergo the test of bitter water (Num. 5:11-31) or
divorce her. If he had divorced her and she married another man, her
The Case of Jeremiah 1 , in: Brenner (ed.), A Feminist Companion to the Latter
Prophets, 256-74.
But see the reaction of R.P. Carroll, 'Desire under the Terebinths: On Pornographic Representation in the Prophets - A Response', in: Brenner (ed.), A Ferninist Companion to the Latter Prophets, 275-307, who nuances his former view
on religious pornography which both Van Dijk-Hemmes and Brenner had taken
up and protests the inadequacy of the discussion on pornography. Both Carroll and Galambush, Jerusalem in the Book of Ezekiel, 124-5, make a distinction between the original, literal meaning of pornography, i.e., 'writings of/about
prostitutes', and its modern meaning. Galambush cites a definition of Dworkin
and MacKinnon: ' "the graphic sexually explicit subordination of women through
pictures and or words" [sic]' and agrees that 'Ezekiel's depictions could well be
defined as pornographic' (125). Although Carroll opposes against a monolithic
theory of pornography, especially a Dworkian one, and does not want to give
a normative definition himself - sexual fantasies that are regarded offensive by
some but erotic by others, seems to be his definition (291-5) - he does agree with
Van Dijk-Hemmes and Brenner that 'the images in the Bible under discussion are
pornographic' (296).
Though some readers would perhaps object to the label 'pornographic', the
prophetic images of the adulterous 'wife' especially as they are painted in Ezek.
16 and 23 are offensive, to say the least.
171
Cf. Van Dijk-Hemmes, 'The Metaphorization of Woman in Prophetic Speech',
167-76; Graetz, 'God is to Israel as Husband is to Wife', 126-45; Weems, Battered
Love.
172
Cf., e.g., J.C. Exum, Plotted, Shot, and Painted: Cultural Representations of
Biblical Women (JSOT.S, 215) (GCT, 3), Sheffield 1996, 104: 'Given the carefully
circumscribed social position of women in ancient Israel, it is hard to imagine a
real woman getting away with such free and open behavior'.
173
Cf. Frymer-Kensky, In the Wake of the Goddesses, 148-9.

first husband might not take her back (Deut. 24:4; cf. Jer. 3:1). Furthermore, according to biblical law, a man may not marry two sisters
(Lev. 18:18, cf. Jer. 3:6-11; Ezek. 23). 174 A third indication is the different attitude towards punishment of an adulteress. In the metaphor
the husband has the right to punish his adulterous wife by beating
her and exposing her 'nakedness'. Contrary to Middle Assyrian Law
59, which gives a husband the right to beat his wife, the biblical laws
do not mention this right, which might indicate that wife beating was
not condoned. 175 In fact, the punishment of an adulterous wife, together with the man she commited adultery with, is death (Lev. 20;
Deut. 22:13-30). However, one could ask whether a death penalty was
actually carried out in case of adultery. Some scholars assume that
public shaming as it is described in the metaphor reflects Israelite
custom, yet others question whether the exposing of an adulterous
wife's nakedness did occur as a punishment in Israel. 176
A fourth indication is noted by Galambush. 177 The imagery of violence against the metaphorical wife is elaborated most in Ezekiel.
Yet his representations of real women is markedly different from his
depiction of Jerusalem as a woman. In Ezek. 24:15-24 the death of
Ezekiel's own wife is mentioned as a symbol of the destruction of
Jerusalem. Yet the parallel seems to go no further than that, since
no charge of infidelity is made against her. Further, although Ezekiel
condemns the activities of women worshipping Tammuz (8:14-5) and
female false prophets (13:17-23), language of defilement or illicit sexuality is lacking. 178 In chapters 18 and 22 hypothetical women are
mentioned as symbols of defilement, as the occasion of transgression
174

On the bigyny of Jacob cf. section 2.1.1.4.1.

We have to be careful with drawing conclusions, though, since this is an argumentum e silentio. Yet Deut. 21:18-21 does grant parents permission to discipline
their stubborn and rebellious son. Perhaps one might conclude that according to
the Bible the hierarchy in a relationship between parent and son allows physical
punishment in extreme cases, whereas the different character of a relationship
between a husband and wife, though also hierarchical, does not.
176
For the former opinion, see Galambush, Jerusalem in the Book of Ezekiel, 105.
Stienstra, YHWH Is the Husband, of His People, 85-6, 105-6, notes that Israelites
were averse to ritual stripping and argues for caution since all texts referring to
this punishment belong to the realm of the marriage metaphor. Yet the evidence
of aversion to ritual stripping dates from the Roman period. Cf. also Schmitt,
'Yahweh's Divorce in Hosea 2 - Who is That Woman?' 127, n. 29.
177
Galambush, Jerusalem in the Book of Ezekiel, 141-4.
178
Galambush, Jerusalem in the Book of Ezekiel, 143: 'Unlike his condemnations
of Jerusalem, whether in chaps 16 and 23 or elsewhere in chaps 1-24, Ezekiers
accusations against actual women condemn their ritual activity directly, with no
suggestion that as women they are defiled or defiling'.
175

for the evil man (18:6, 11, 15; 22:10-1). Male defilement is described
here in terms of female uncleanness. This seems to be the closest
resemblance to the treatment of Woman Jerusalem, since here, too,
woman in her sexual capacity, or better still, the female body that
pollutes, is threatening to Ezekiel. Yet there is a difference. The sexual
activity of the women in Ezek. 18 and 22 is not considered as their own
activity, but as that of transgressing men. It is therefore the men who
are condemned, not the women. Galambush concludes, 'Ezekiel's foeus on Jerusalem's defilement as specifically "sexual" defilement may
therefore best be understood as stemming from his obsession with
temple pollution, and from his projection of that pollution onto the
figure of the personified city'. 179
Caution is thus called for if we want to deduce information about
the biblical marriage from the marriage metaphor. At this point it
seems necessary to go more deeply into metaphor theory. 180 Metaphors
are usually divided into two parts, the tenor and the vehicle. 'The
tenor is "the underlying idea or principle subject," and the vehicle the
figurative language . . . used to describe the tenor'. 181 In the metaphor
'man is a wolf', 'man' would be the tenor and 'wolf' the vehicle. Max
Black provides an analysis of the dynamics between tenor and vehicle.
According to him, the use of a metaphor has its effect on our perception of both tenor and vehicle. With respect to the aforementioned
metaphor 'man is a wolf', this means that the following interaction
occurs. A system of related meanings is added to 'man', meanings
that are characteristic for 'wolf'. Certain characteristics of 'wolf' that
cannot be associated with 'man' fade into the background. Calling
man a wolf thus sheds a special light on the meaning of 'man'. And,
although to a lesser extent, it also has its effects on 'wolf'. The use of
the metaphor makes the wolf seems more human than he would have
been otherwise.
George Lakoff and Mark Johnson have pointed to the fact that
metaphors are not value-neutral, but have a moral dimension. According to them, every day language is to a great extent based on
unacknowledged metaphors. The metaphor 'argument is war', for example, influences our use of language with regard to arguments, but
also our perception of reality. If we lived in a culture that used the
metaphor 'argument is dance', our perception of 'argument' would
be a different one. Words such as 'attack' and 'win' would not be
179

Galambush, Jerusalem in the Book of Ezekiel, 144.

For the following I depend on the descriptions of metaphor theory by Korpel,
RiC, 35-87, and Galambush, Jerusalem in the Book of Ezekiel, 4-11.
181
Galambush, Jerusalem in the Book of Ezekiel, 4.
180

part of the conceptual system describing the metaphor of argument,

and argument would be a different phenomenon. 182 Citing Lakoff and
Johnson, Galambush says that
metaphors are "like self-fulfilling prophecies"; they predispose us to
experience reality in certain ways. Metaphors, then, are not valueneutral. Rather, they "sanction actions, justify inferences, and help
us set goals." Not surprisingly, the "people in power get to impose
their metaphors" and, to that extent, define reality. Because "we define our reality on the basis of metaphor, and then proceed to act on
the basis of the metaphor," metaphor has moral, as well as aesthetic
and conceptual significance.183
Following from this, the use of marriage in a metaphorical sense has
its impact on the perception of marriage between humans. The marriage partners ought to be as faithful to each other as Y H W H is to
his people. It would seem that a monogamous marriage is preferred,
since the relationship of the 'husband' Y H W H is for the main part
monogamous. Only in Ezek. 23 is Y H W H depicted as the bigynous
husband of Oholah/Samaria and Oholibah/Jerusalem. Furthermore,
Hosea stresses that the renewed relationship should be one of husband
and wife, not of master and slave (Hos. 2:18[16]).
However, for modern readers the negative value attached to unrestrained female sexuality and the reaction towards this by the deceived
husband is problematic. Although commentators note that both male
and female behaviour are condemned by the prophets 184 , the use of
imagery of female sexual sin (resulting in abuse) to represent male
social and political sins and their consequences has a negative effect
on women. 185 The conceptual system of the marriage metaphor holds
a negative view on women, notably their unrestrained sexuality and
the need for men to control it. The fact that biblical metaphors do
not describe YHWH'S male sexuality and do not depict him in explicit
182

Korpel, RiC, 50, stresses the importance 'to note that there may exist significant differences between one culture and the other', by means of the metaphorical
concept 'a mountain is a person'.
183
Galambush, Jerusalem in the Book of Ezekiel, 8-9.
184
E.g. Carroll, 'Desire under the Terebinths', 278-80. Differently, M.J. Winn
Leith, 'Verse and Reverse: The Transformation of the Woman, Israel, in Hosea
1-3', in: P.L. Day (ed.), Gender and Difference in Ancient Israel, Minneapolis
MN 1989, 97-8, assumes women were not addressed in Hos. 1-3, since they 'were
not full partners in the covenant'.
185
Cf., e.g., Graetz, 'God is to Israel as Husband is to Wife', 126-45; Exum,
Plotted, Shot, and Painted, 119-22.

love scenes 186 , seems to have a worsening effect. Within the metaphor,
the 'wife' only is sexually active with other men, which is condemned
by the 'husband'.
Yet it should be noted that within Israelite society female sexuality
was not regarded as a woman's personal property. The sexuality of an
unmarried woman was owned by her father, that of a married woman
by her husband. 187 An adulterous wife thus injured the rights and,
perhaps more importantly, the honour of her husband. 188 He had the
exclusive rights to his wife's sexuality. The marriage metaphor reflects
this view on female sexuality and legitimizes it.
One may wonder whether the conceptual system of the marriage
metaphor carries any implications on the approval of wife beating as a
means of correcting her behaviour. Since, unlike the Middle Assyrian
Laws, the Hebrew Bible does not mention any legal regulations on wife
beating, it would seem that within its legal system the punishment of
an adulterous wife should not be conducted by the husband.
D . CONCLUSIONS

In the ancient Near East marriage was considered a religious institution. In Mesopotamian literature several aspects allude to this: invoking the gods at the suspicion of adultery, being presented before and
accepting new family gods, calling upon the gods to grant a newly
wedded couple progeny and anointment as part of the marriage ceremony. Although in Egyptian texts no rites are recounted, there are
data that suggest at least some religious connotation to marriage:
references of anointment and images of married couples in a funerary
context suggesting that the marriage bond extends into the afterlife.
At Ugarit marriage also had a religious connotation. Literary texts
refer to blessings by and offering to the gods next to allusions to deities
in texts that deal with aspects of marriage. Still, we cannot point to
a single matrimonial rite.
Biblical marriage was legitimated and sanctioned by YHWH. God
was invoked at the suspicion of adultery and called upon to grant
progeny to those who entered matrimony. Perhaps brides were
anointed. Sometimes a marrying couple took an oath in the name
of YHWH. For foreign women marriage meant accepting a new God.
The marriage metaphor as it is used by the prophets Hosea, Jere186

Cf. Korpel, RiC, 125, 222.

J.R. Wegner, Chattel or Person? The Status of Women in the Mishnah, New
York; Oxford 1988, 19; T. Frymer-Kensky, 'Deuteronomy', in: C.A. Newsom, S.H.
Ringe (eds), The Women's Bible Commentary, London 21998, 61-4. See also section 2.1.1.4.1.
188
Galambush, Jerusalem in the Book of Ezekiel, 102.
187

miah and Ezekiel legitimated the fact that within a marriage female
sexuality was owned by the husband. Yet the ideal relationship is
pictured as monogamous. Fidelity is expected of both partners. Unlike the Ugaritic deity Ilu, who has relationships with several women,
YHWH binds himself to one partner only, who is demythologized from
a goddess into a personified city as representative of the people.
2.1.1.4

Married Life

In this section I will discuss two aspects of married life. First, I will
examine various issues regarding the relationship between husband
and wife. A wife's position in a polygynous marriage, the authority of
a husband over his wife, and other matters will be discussed. In the
second part of this section I will focus on aspects of the private realm
which a wife could manage according to her own insights.
2.1.1.4.1 Husband and Wife
A marriage could be either monogamous, bigynous 1 or polygynous. In
this section we will discuss the position of wives, co-wives, concubines
and slave-wives. We will give attention to the various terms that are
used, such as 'sister', and to epithets such as m b'l. And we will look
into reasons for bigynous and polygynous marriages.
We will further examine the nature of the relationship between
husband and wife. A husband had authority over his wife, yet what
did this mean? Could women have a measure of power or joint power
within marriage?
Further, various texts give an ambiguous picture of the attitude
towards wives. Both positive and negative voices can be heard. Yet
couples appear to have striven after harmonious marriages. We will
discuss some of the tasks and responsibilities of a wife towards her
husband.
This section concludes with an excursus on polyandry, the counterpart of polygyny. Contrary to the assumption of some scholars,
I regard it as unlikely that polyandry occurred in the ancient Near
East.
A . ANCIENT NEAR EAST

When a woman married, she was not always the sole sexual partner
of her husband. An ancient Near Eastern marriage could be monogamous, bigynous or polygynous. 2 Even if a woman had entered a
1

Since a man could be married to two wives but a woman could not be married
to two husbands in the ancient Near East, I prefer the term 'bigyny' over 'bigamy'
in this context.
2
On bigyny and polygyny in Mesopotamia, cf. C. Friedl, Polygynie in

monogamous marriage, her husband could sometimes maintain relations with a concubine or with his slave girl(s).
According to Mesopotamian texts, a woman had the highest marital status when she was a wife (Sum. dam, Akk. aatu). In the Code of
Hammurapi she is sometimes referred to as hrtu 'first-ranking wife',
to distinguish her from the amtu 'handmaid' with whom her husband
could have children too. 3
A concubine (Akk. esirtu) had a lower status than a wife.4 Since
she was not legally married to her husband, her rights were lesser,
too. And the children born out of a concubinage relationship were not
legitimate heirs to their father's property. 5 The wife is distinguished
from the concubine in the Middle Assyrian Laws by means of the
right to wear a veil in public. '[W]hereas the aat awli appeared
in public veiled, an esirtu was forbidden to veil herself except in the
street in the company of the chief wife' (MAL A40). 6 An esirtu could
be elevated in status and become an aatu by being veiled by the
husband in the presence of witnesses (MAL A41).
Of even lower status than a concubine were the serretu 'rival',
the tappatu 'girlfriend' and the qinti 'girl who is the object of a
wife's jealousy'. In a collection of texts that combine love songs and
incantations even Ishtar of Babylon is called by these names. 7 Thus,
Mesopotamien und Israel: Sozialgeschichtliche Analyse polygamer Beziehungen
anhand rechtlicher Texte aus dem 2. und 1. Jahrtausend v.Chr. (AOAT, 277),
Mnster 2000.
3
CH 138, 170-171; cf. G.R. Driver, J.C. Miles, The Babylonian Laws, repr.,
2 vols., Oxford 1955-6, I, 350; II, 220; R. Westbrook, Old Babylonian Marriage
Law (AfO.B, 23), Horn 1988, 19-20; Roth, LCMAM, 107, 113-4; Friedl, Polygynie
in Mesopotamien und Israel, 76-80.
4
On the meaning of the word esirtu, cf. G.R. Driver, J.C. Miles, The Assyrian
Laws, repr. of the ed. Oxford 1935 with suppl. add. and corr. by G.R. Driver,
Aalen 1975, 126-8.
5
. Engelken, Frauen im Alten Israel: Eine begriffsgeschichtliche und sozialrechtliche Studie zur Stellung der Frau im Alten Testament (BWANT, 130),
Stuttgart 1990, 124; R. Westbrook, 'The Female Slave', in: V.H. Matthews et al.
(eds), Gender and Law in the Hebrew Bible and the Ancient Near East (JSOT.S,
262), Sheffield 1998, 222.
6
Driver, Miles, The Assyrian Laws, 187. On the role of the veil, see C. Saporetti,
The Status of Women in the Middle Assyrian Period (MANE, 2/1), Malibu 1979,
10; K. van der Toorn, 'The Significance of the Veil in the Ancient Near East',
in: D.P. Wright et al (eds), Pomegranates and Golden Bells: Studies in Biblical,
Jewish, and Near Eastern Ritual, Law, and Literature in Honor of Jacob Milgrom,
Winona Lake IN 1995, 327-39.
7
W.G. Lambert, 'The Problem of the Love Lyrics', in: H. Goedicke, J.J.M.
Roberts (eds), Unity and Diversity: Essays in the History, Literature, and Religion of the Ancient Near East (The John Hopkins Neax Eastern Studies), Baltimore 1975, 98-135; D.O. Edzard, 'Zur Ritualtafel der sog. "Love Lyrics" ', in: F.

even in the world of goddesses there could be a difference in status.

Naturally, it mattered whose concubine or girlfriend a goddess or
woman was. The concubine or girlfriend of a king fared better socially
than the legal wife of a manual worker.
Compared with the free concubine, the status of a slave concubine
was lower in Mesopotamian society. Being a slave woman (Sum. gem,
Akk. amtu), she was not married to her master, but was the possession
of either her master or her mistress. Unless laid down in a prohibitive
clause of the marriage contract with his first wife, the pater familias
could have a sexual relationship with his slave woman. He should take
care, however, that the woman would not assume the role of mistress
of the house. 8 The sons born from this union could be acknowledged
by the father and become heirs. If the father did not acknowledge
them, they and their mother should be released after his death. 9
A special case is the marriage of Assyrian merchants in Anatolia.
Here an unusual form of bigynous marriages was practised. Some of
these merchants maintained their marriages in Assur, but also married
women in the colony of Anatolia, where they had set up their businesses. In the documents concerning their affairs, the Anatolian wives
are referred to as amtum 'handmaid'. Two marriage documents, however, contradict the impression that the Anatolian wives are merely
slave wives. It can be concluded from the documents that the Anatolian amtum had a definitive legal status and should be paid a settlement in case of divorce. It seems, therefore, that in these documents
a legal fiction is used, probably to prevent hereditary problems or to
circumvent marriage clauses preventing the husband from taking a
second wife. 10
The Egyptians also seem to have distinguished between wife, concubine and slave woman. However, there are some terminological obscurities. The term hemet 'wife' is used in monumental texts from the
Old Kingdom onwards. From the Middle Kingdom onwards the first
wife of wealthier families is called nebet per 'Mistress of the House'. 11
Rochberg-Halton (ed.), Language, Literature, and History: Philological and Historical Studies Presented to Erica Reiner (AOS, 67), New Haven CT 1987, 57-69;
G. Leick, Sex and Eroticism in Mesopotamian Literature, London 1994, 239-46.
See further section 2.1.1.5.
8
W.G. Lambert, Babylonian Wisdom Literature, Oxford 1960, 102-3:66-71. See
also B. Alster, The Instructions of Suruppak: A Sumerian Proverb Collection
(Mes.(C), 2), Copenhagen 1974, 36-7:59-60.
9
CH 170-171. On slave women see further section 2.2.2.4.
10
Cf. Westbrook, 'The Female Slave', 230-2.
11
B.M. Bryan, 'In Women Good and Bad Fortune are on Earth: Status and
Roles of Women in Egyptian culture', in: A.K. Capel, G.E. Markoe (eds), Mistress

Around the middle of the Eighteenth Dynasty it was replaced by senet

'sister' 12 , yet the term hemet continued to be used in hieratic texts. In
these latter records the word hebsut also occurred, although less frequently. It is usually translated 'concubine', but it is unclear whether
there existed any distinction between a hemet and a hebsut.13 There
are examples of women who are called both their husband's hemet
and hebsut.
William Ward has proposed that a hebsut might be a subsequent
wife, i.e., a successive wife who was married to a husband after the
death or divorce of the first wife.14 Yet Gay Robins points to some
problems with this interpretation and suggests that the use of these
terms might be related to the context.
'[B]ecause the term hebsut was rarely used in monumental contexts,
women who in non-monumental contexts might have been called hebsut,
would appear in tombs and on stelae and statues as hemet or, from
the mid-Eighteenth Dynasty onwards, senet. This split between terms
used on monumental and non-monumental material can also be found
in two of the commonest women's titles found in the New Kingdom:
ankhet en niut, usually translated 'citizeness' and nebet per 'mistress
of the house'. The former occurs in hieratic documents but rarely on
monumental material, while the situation is reversed with the latter. 15
The texts from Deir el-Medina dating to the New Kingdom period
further complicate matters. Women who are called hebsut can be
'wife' of someone or be 'living with' a man. The distinction might be
based on expectations with regard to stability and duration of the
relationship or on whether a 'marriage contract' had been made or
not. 16 Apparently both kinds of relationships were socially recognized
of the House, Mistress of Heaven: Women in Ancient Egypt, New York 1996, 36.
See also J.K. Toivari, Women at Deir el-Medina: A Study of the Status and Roles
of the Female Inhabitants in the Workmen's Community during the Ramesside
Period, Leiden 2000, 17-20.
12
P.W. Pestman, Marriage and Matrimonial Property in Ancient Egypt: A Contribution to Establishing the Legal Position of the Woman (PLB, 9), Leiden 1961,
11, n. 3; E. Brunner-Traut, 'Die Stellung der Frau im Alten gypten', Saeculum
38 (1987), 325; Toivari, Women at Deir el-Medina, 30-1.
13
Cf. Pestman, Marriage and Matrimonial Property in Ancient Egypt, 10-11;
R. Tanner, 'Untersuchungen zur ehe- und erbrechtlichen Stellung der Frau im
pharaonischen gypten', Klio 49 (1967), 8-9.
14
W.A. Ward, Essays on Feminine Titles of the Middle Kingdom and Related
Subjects, Beirut 1986, 65-9.
15
G. Robins, Women in Ancient Egypt, London 1993, 62.
16
R.M. Janssen, J.J. Janssen, Growing up in Ancient Egypt, London 1990, 112;
Robins, Women in Ancient Egypt, 62; Toivari, Women at Deir el-Medina, 20-30,

at Deir el-Medina, for they could be brought to court when violated. 17

With regard to the ancient Near East in general, one can say that
the wish to beget (much) progeny or to display one , s wealth probably were the main reasons for a man to marry two or more women.
Kings generally were polygynous 18 and so were upper class males. Especially in wealthy families this could lead to problems regarding the
inheritance of property. 19
Only rich males could engage in polygynous marriages. In general, marriages were monogamous. Sometimes, however, a man would
marry two wives. There could be a number of reasons for a bigynous
marriage, but childlessness probably was the most common one. It
is mentioned quite frequently in various texts. CH 144-145 gives
a husband of a nadtu, a kind of priestess who was not permitted
to bear children, the right to take another wife. Two possibilities are
mentioned. Either the nadtu gives her husband a slave woman to provide him with children, or the husband marries a ugtu, a priestess of
lesser rank. Neither the slave concubine nor the second wife is allowed
to aspire to equal status with the first wife. Another, somewhat later,
example comes from a Late Babylonian marriage document dating to
624 BCE, in which a husband of a childless wife records his wish to
marry a nubile girl. His intent clearly is to beget children by her, for
in the document he makes provisions with regard to the shares of the
inheritance for the children of the younger wife in case his first wife
should after all bear a son. 20
Several Nuzi marriage contracts between free persons hold a clause
determining when a man could have a second wife. It stipulates that
the groom may not take another wife if the bride bears him children. If
she does not bear, he may take another wife. It would seem that if the
latter was the case, the bride could either be divorced or demoted to
33-8. On the marriage contract, see section 2.1.1.3.1.
17
Cf. R.M. Janssen, J.J. Janssen, Growing up in Ancient Egypt, 112-3.
18
Cf. section 2.2.1.3.
19
See for example G. Beckman, 'Family Values on the Middle Euphrates in the
Thirteenth Century B.C.E.' in: M.W. Chavalas (ed.), Emar: The History, Religion
and Culture of a Syrian Town in the Late Bronze Age, Bethesda MD 1996, 74, who
refers to evidence of attempts to settle such matters at Emar. Beckman mentions
two testaments in which a father divides his property, in the one instance equally
between the children of his two wives, in the other uneven, by disinheriting the
children of one wife.
20
Cf. A. Kuhrt, 'Non-Royal Women in the Late Babylonian Period: A Survey',
in: WER, 225. For an example from Achaemenid Uruk cf. M.J. Geller, 'An Eanna
Tablet from Uruk in Cleveland', in: Z. Zevit et al. (eds), Solving Riddles and
Untying Knots: Biblical, Epigraphic, and Semitic Studies in Honor of Jonas C.
Greenfield, Winona Lake IN 1995, 531-42.

the status of concubine. According to Jonathan Paradise, there is no

evidence at Nuzi of a man having two (co-)wives at the same time. 21
However, unless his marriage contract forbade it, a man could have a
wife and a concubine (esirtu) at the same time. If the contract forbade
him to have another wife and he infringed it, he risked forfeiture of
his wife and children and payment of a fine.22
Although childlessness could threaten the stability of a marriage,
it did not necessarily have to do so. Rosalind and Jac Janssen give
the example of a childless Egyptian couple whose marriage, despite
problems with their adopted son, seems to have remained stable. 23
Another reason for a man to engage in bigynous marriage was
illness of the first wife. CH 148-149 protects the rights of a woman
struck with a contageous skin disease. 24 The husband had no right
to divorce her on this ground, he had to support her while she lived
in some quarters he had to construct for her. If she did not wish to
live in his house, a divorce could take place and she could recover her
dowry. According to an earlier version in the Code of Lipit-Ishtar (ca.
1930 BCE) 28, the second wife had to support the first wife. 25
A third reason for bigyny could be the misconduct of the first wife.
If the misconduct did not amount to adultery, CH 141 grants the
husband the choice of divorce or taking a second wife. In the latter
case, the first wife would loose her superior position and take on the
status of a slave woman.
Since illness and misconduct are special circumstances and the
only other discussion of the matter in the Code of Hammurapi is the
question of the bigynous marriage in which the nadtu is the first
wife, it has been suggested that, in Babylonia, bigyny may have been
confined to husbands of certain categories of priestesses. This can
neither be confirmed nor denied by the marriage contracts from this
period. For some of these texts there are indications that priestesses
were involved, but others lack every allusion in this direction. Thus, as
Raymond Westbrook concludes, '[a] condition for polygamy confining
21

J. Paradise, 'Marriage Contracts of Free Persons at Nuzi', JCS 39 (1987), 8,

n. 19, 12.
22
In two Nuzi marriage contracts the groom is explicitly forbidden to take
another wife, even if his bride proves to be barren. Yet in these cases the groom
already had children from an earlier maxriage and the need for progeny was already
fulfilled. According to another contract the bride herself would provide a concubine
if she proved to be barren and she would have the authority over the concubine's
offspring; cf. Paradise, 'Marriage Contracts of Free Persons at Nuzi', 11, 28-9.
23
R.M. Janssen, J.J. Janssen, Getting old in Ancient Egypt, London 1996, 89-90.
24
On the meaning of la'bu, cf. Roth, LCMAM, 141, n. 25.
25
Cf. Westbrook, Old Babylonian Marriage Law, 108; Roth, LCMAM, 31-2.

it to the class of priestesses in OB law . . . remains unproven'. 26

It seems, however, that there was a general condition for a bigynous marriage in Babylonia. Apparently the consent of the first wife
was required if the husband wished to take a second wife. 27 This would
strenghthen the first wife's position and would probably mean that in
some instances she would have a say in whom he could choose. Some
Babylonian marriage contracts also describe various obligations of the
second wife to the first, such as not to approach their husband in the
presence of the first wife. 28
In some private legal documents from the Old Babylonian period regarding bigynous marriages, women are called 'sisters' whereas
in other documents the relationship between two women is that of
mistress and female slave. To complicate matters, sometimes the sisterhood is created artificially, by way of adoption. However, there are
also cases of matrimonial adoption in which the second wife becomes
the slave of the first wife. Westbrook explains the differences between
bigynous marriages in which the wives are sisters and those in which
the wives are mistress and slave in relation to the status of the children produced in these marriages. Children of wives who are sisters,
inherit a share of both wives' dowries. Children of a second wife who
is a slave to the first wife, 'will be deemed exclusively the issue of
the first'. This latter case is most advantageous if the first wife has a
dowry but no children, and the second (slave) wife has children but
no dowry, 'for the children of her [i.e., the second wife's, HJM] body
will succeed only to the dowry of their legal "mother" '. 29
Although some examples of polygyny in Egypt can also be interpreted as serial monogamy 30 , there is evidence that it also existed in
Egypt. One of the archives from Deir el-Medina, the Tomb Robbery
26

Westbrook, Old Babylonian Marriage Law, 109.

Westbrook, Old Babylonian Marriage Law, 109.
28
Cf. Westbrook, Old Babylonian Marriage Law, 110.
29
Westbrook, Old Babylonian Marriage Law, 103-6, esp. 106. Cf. further S.
Greengus, 'Sisterhood Adoption at Nuzi and the "Wife-Sister" in Genesis', HUCA
46 (1975), 5-31, who stresses the fact that sisterhood adoption was a lower class
institution for women without familial protection. On the rights of daughters as
heirs, see section 2.1.4.
30
In the tomb of Mery-aa from el-Hagarseh, dating from the Ninth Dynasty, the
deceased is portrayed with six women, all called 'his wife'. Five of them apparently
bore him children and one did not. Yet, the childless wife, Isi, seems to have been
the most important, probably being the first wife. Cf. R.M. Janssen, J.J. Janssen,
Getting Old in Ancient Egypt, 90-1. C. Desroches Noblecourt, La femme au temps
des pharaons, Paris 1986, 281, assumes this is an extreme case. She proposes it
might be regarded as an example of the high mortality rate of women dying in
childbirth, thus assuming Mery-aa was not married to six women simultaneously.
27

Papyri dating from the Twentieth Dynasty, lists people who were being interrogated. One of them is Herer, wife of a certain guard of
Pharaoh's Treasury. The next line of the text records 'his other wife,
which makes two', suggesting that both were wives of the same husband. 31
Although there is ample evidence of polygynous and bigynous
marriage practices, monogamy was far more common. According to
Hans Neumann, most marriages in the Ur in period (ca. 2050-1950
BCE) were monogamous. 32 The same is held for 13th-century Emar
in Syria. 33 Also in first millennium Mesopotamia monogamy was the
usual marital form. 34 The Egyptians, also, were generally monogamous, although polygyny was accepted. 35
Within a marital relationship, either monogamous, bigynous or
polygynous, a husband was regarded as the lord and owner of his wife
or wives.36 Even if this is not expressed in so many words, the ultimate power of a husband over his wife is the constant presupposition
in Mesopotamia as well as in Ugarit and Israel. Also in Egypt the
husband is juridically the owner of his wife.37 But the authority of a
husband over his wife was not an ownership in the strict sense of the
word.
The fact that a wife was subordinate to her husband did not exelude the possibility of an affectionate and loving relationship between
the spouses. 38 Ideally, the relation between husband and wife was one
31

R.M. Janssen, J.J. Janssen, Getting Old in Ancient Egypt, 91.

Neumann, 'Bemerkungen zu Ehe, Konkubinat und Bigamie in neusumerischer
Zeit', 132. Also in earlier Mesopotamian times monogamy was customary, cf. I.J.
Gelb, 'Household and Family in Early Mesopotamia', in: E. Lipinski (ed.), State
and Temple Economy in the Ancient Near East I (OLA, 5), Leuven 1979, 61, 65.
33
Beckman, 'Family Values on the Middle Euphrates in the Thirteenth Century
B.C.E.' 58.
34
Kuhrt, 'Non-Royal Women in the Late Babylonian Period', 225.
35
R.M. Janssen, J.J. Janssen, Getting old in Ancient Egypt, 91. According to
W.A. Waxd, monogamy was the rule in the Middle Kingdom, cf. 'Responses to
Prof. Ward's Paper', in: WER, 45. S. Allam, 'Ehe', in: L, Bd. 1, 1166-7, notes
that sources from the New Kingdom onwards indicate that economic obligations
prevented men from having more than one wife.
36
In several N.W. Semitic languages this is expressed by the word b'l 'owner,
lord'. Cf. KBL, 137; DISO, 40 sub 2c. Hitherto this usage is not attested in Ugaritic
texts, see chapter 4.
37
Pestman, Marriage and Matrimonial Property in Ancient Egypt, 18.
38
Cf., e.g., S.N. Kramer, 'The Woman in Ancient Sumer: Gleanings from Sumerian Literature', in: FPOA, 110. In Egypt the title 'sister' is used as a general
designation of a wife and also in love poetry to express the affection lovers felt for
each other; cf. J.B. White, A Study of the Language of Love in the Song of Songs
and Ancient Egyptian Poetry (SBL.DS, 38), Missoula MT 1978, 95-6, 130.
32

of tenderness and mutual understanding. A Sumerian text reveals that

at night a wife talked to her husband about love and asked him advice
about the matters of the day.39 In matrimony, the traditional leading
role of the man could give way to a reverse relationship: spouse
is a man's supervisor'. 40 But married life could also be a burden to
a wife: 'Whom you love, you bear (his) yoke'. 41 Or to a husband:
spendthrift woman in the house is worse than all devils'. 42 A BabyIonian wisdom text found at Ugarit states this mixture of trust and
mistrust towards a wife quite clearly,
(Even) to the woman who has your sympathy do not reveal your heart!
(Rather) lock up - be she obstinate, be she affectionate the gift (intended for her) in your treasure chamber!
Your wife should not get to know the contents of your purse!43
In the Late Babylonian Dialogue of Pessimism the master expresses this ambivalence as follows,
"Slave, listen to me." "Here I am, sir, here I am."
"I am going to love a woman." "So love, sir, love.
The man who loves a woman forgets sorrow and fear."
"No slave, I will by no means love a woman."
["Do not] love, sir, do not love.
Woman is a pitfall-a pitfall, a hole, a ditch,
Woman is a sharp iron dagger that cuts a man's throat." 44
Mostly, however, husband and wife strove after a harmonious marriage in which both sides found satisfaction. This expressed itself also
sexually, as many texts, pictures and sculptures from both Egypt and
Babylonia demonstrate. 45 Of course there were occasional quarrels
between husband and wife which might even mount to an outburst of
physical violence, but such clashes will usually have ended with kisses
39

A. Zgoll, Der Rechtsfall der En-hedu-Ana im Lied nin-me-ara (AOAT, 246),

Mnster 1997, 6-7, lines 55-57.
40
. Alster, Proverbs of Ancient Sumer, vol. 1, Bethesda MD 1997, 245.
41
Lambert, Babylonian Wisdom Literature, 230.
42
Lambert, Babylonian Wisdom Literature, 267.
43
Translation M. Dietrich, 'Babylonian Literary Texts from Western Libraries1,
in: J.C. de Moor, W.G.E. Watson (eds), Verse in Ancient Near Eastern Prose
(AOAT, 42), Neukirchen-Vluyn 1993, 59.
44
Translation Lambert, Babylonian Wisdom Literature, 146-7:46-52.
45
See, e.g., L. Manniche, Sexual Life in Ancient Egypt, London 1987; J.M.
Asher-Greve, Frauen in altsumeriseher Zeit (Bibliotheca Mesopotamica, 18), Maiibu CA 1985, 42-3; Leick, Sex and Eroticism in Mesopotamian Literature, PI. 6-10.
It was a lover;s desire never to sleep all night, cf. B.R. Foster, Before the Muses,
vol. 1, Bethesda MD 21996, 102, 144. In the Myth of Nergal and Ereshkigal the
pair make love for six days on end. Cf. Foster, Before the Muses, vol. 1, 423, 428.

and wiping the tears away.46 If there were times of estrangement, the
steadfast love of a wife could win her husband back, as the poem of
The Faithful Lover shows.47 Sometimes, however, a marriage would
end in divorce48 or, more rarely, a wife could try to obtain a legal
decision denying her husband any intimate relations with her. 49
In the Instruction of Ptahhotep, an Egyptian wisdom text of which
the earliest manuscripts date from the Twelfth Dynasty, a man is
advised on how to behave towards his wife,
If you are excellently well off, you should establish your household,
and love your wife with proper ardour:
fill her belly, clothe her back!
Perfume is a restorative for her limbs.
Make her joyful as long as you live!
She is a field, good for her lord.
You should not have her judged.
Remove her from power, suppress her!
When she sees anything her eye is a storm-wind to her.
Restraining her is how to make her remain in your house;
a female who is under her own control is rainwater:
when one enquires after her, she has flown away.50
The sapiential text can be divided into two parts, containing a positive
and a negative attitude towards women. The husband is to love his
wife, to feed and clothe her. Yet she is a potential threat to his authority and she therefore needs to be controlled and kept from exercising
power. According to many wisdom texts, women have a dualistic nature. 51 The 'good' woman is the loyal wife and loving mother. The
'bad' woman is the tempting adultress or whore. The advice in wisdom texts is attuned to this view on women. One (i.e. a man) should
treat honourable women respectfully, but should be aware of the wiles
of others. 52 Despite Amenhotep's explicit advice to keep a woman on a
46

As in the Middle Babylonian version of the Myth of Nergal and Ereshkigal,

75-85. Cf. Foster, Before the Muses, vol. 1, 416.
47
Cf. Foster, Before the Muses, vol. 1, 95-8.
48
See below 2.1.1.5.
49
M. Anbar, 'Textes de l'poque babylonienne ancienne', RA 69 (1975), 120-5.
50
R.B. Parkinson, The Tale of Sinuhe and other Ancient Egyptian Poems 19401640 BC, Oxford 1997, 257.
51
Yet it needs to be emphasized that in Egyptian literature both sexes were
regarded as having dual natures; cf. A. Depla, 'Women in Ancient Egyptian Wisdom Literature', in: L.J. Archer et al. (eds), Women in Ancient Societies: An
Illusion of the Night, Basingstoke, Hampshire 1994, 33.
52
Cf. Brunner-Traut, 'Die Stellung der Frau im Alten gypten', 316; G. Robins,

short rein, the Instruction of Any admonishes the husband to respect

a wife's own territory (see further 2.1.1.4.2).
In a polygynous society a wife always had rivals and so there existed a lively industry and trade to enhance a woman's beauty with
all kinds of cosmetics, clothes, hairstyles and jewellery. This industry goes back to preliterate times and is attested all over the ancient
world. 53 Aphrodisiacs and potency incantations were invoked to overcome problems in connection with sexuality.54
One of the tasks of a wife was to attend to her husband. In a letter
from the Assyrian colony in Anatolia dating from the 19th century
BCE the sender, a merchant, complains to his bride that he has no one
to attend to him and to make his table, so would she please hasten to
him. 55 Many of these merchants left their primary wives in the home
town Assur while they were in Anatolia. The wives were responsible
for managing the household, taking care of food supplies, exercising
control over the personnel and producing textiles. In the absence of
their husbands, they acted as his caretaker. 56
Wives could thus act as representatives of their husband. Kings
could invest their wives with the primary responsibility over palaces,
temples and (city-)states during their absence. 57 Also wives of some'Some Images of Women in New Kingdom Art and Literature', in: WER, 115;
Depla, 'Women in Ancient Egyptian Wisdom Literature', 32-3.
53
See, e.g., the literature cited by Korpel, RiC, 424, n. 435, to which may be
added C. Mller, 'Krperpflege', L, Bd. 3, 668-70; E. Cassin, 'Kosmetik', RLA,
Bd. 6, 214-8.
54
Cf. R.D. Biggs, .ZI.GA: Ancient Mesopotamian Potency Incantations
(TCS, 2), Locust Valley NY 1967; W. Westendorf, 'Aphrodisiakon', L, Bd. 1,
336-7; R.D. Biggs, 'Liebeszauber', RLA, Bd. 7, 17-8; Foster, Before the Muses,
vol. 2, 869-71; .R.M. Groneberg, Lob der Itar: Gebet und Ritual an die altbabyIonische Venusgttin (Cuneiform Monographs, 8), Groningen 1997, 95-120.
55
K.R. Veenhof, 'Brieven van Assyrische vrouwen: uit de correspondentie der
oudassyrische handelaars in Anatoli (19e eeuw . Chr.)', in: K.R. Veenhof (ed.),
Schrijvend verleden: documenten uit het oude Nabije Oosten vertaald en toegelicht
(MEOL), Leiden 1983, 92.
56
K.R. Veenhof, Aspects of Old Assyrian Trade and its Terminology, Leiden
1972, 103-24; Idem, 'Brieven van Assyrische vrouwen', 81-93. However, R. Harris,
'Independent Women in Ancient Mesopotamia?' in: WER, 148, questions the
degree of independency these women had. Did they only work for the profit of
the family business, or did they earn some money for themselves? Could they
make any decisions independently, or did they have to get permission from a male
family member?
57
Cf. P. Artzi, A. Malamat, 'The Correspondence of ibtu, Queen of Mari in
ARM X', in: A. Malamat, Mari and the Bible (SHCANE, 12), Leiden 1998, 187;
B.F. Batto, Studies on Women t Mari, Baltimore; London 1974, 10-3; Harris,
'Independent Women in Ancient Mesopotamia?' 147.

what lower rank could represent their husband. In Egypt, for instance,
the wife of an official was authorized to stand in for him during his
absence. 58
Yet the power these women could exercise was a derived power.
There is little evidence of Egyptian women independently holding
the office of administrator. 59 In general, they would be wives filling
in for their husbands. And the same holds for queens who rule during the absence of their husband (or son). Rarely did a queen rule
autonomously. 60 Still, the influence a wife could have on her husband
should not be underestimated. She could advise him in all sorts of
matters. An Egyptian epitaph praises the counsel of the deceased
wife as in accordance with ma'at.61
B . UGARITIC LITERARY TEXTS

In Ugaritic the term 'att is generally used for 'wife'. 62 In KTU 1.14:1.13
it is paralleled with mtrht 'spouse'. 63 No word for concubine occurs in
the literary texts from Ugarit. 64 A father could be called 'adn 'lord'
(KTU 1.16:1.57; 1.24:33), but so far there is no evidence of a husband
with this title in the literary texts. 65
Also in Ugarit a man could have more than one wife. As we have
seen, polygyny generally was regarded as a sign of wealth and was
limited to the higher social strata. The god Ilu, head of the Ugaritic
pantheon, had several wives. Athiratu was his chief consort, but Ilu
was also married to lesser deities. There are allusions to Ilu having
amorous affairs with two wives in several texts, yet it is not always
58

Cf. S. Allam, 'Zur Stellung der Frau im alten gypten', BiOr 26 (1969), 159;
Brunner-Traut, 'Die Stellung der Frau im Alten gypten', 326.
59
Allam, 'Zur Stellung der Frau im alten gypten', 159.
60
Cf. further section 2.2.1.2 and chapter 4.
61
Brunner-Traut, 'Die Stellung der Frau im Alten gypten', 316-7.
62
KTU 1.2:111.22; 1.3:1.14; IV.40; 1.14:1.12, 14; 11.49 etc. In contrast with what
is often thought there is no unequivocal evidence that 'att had the more general
meaning of 'woman' in Ugarit, pace Amico, SWU, 89, 94; DLU, 63. A. van Selms,
Marriage and Family Life in Ugaritic Literature, London 1954, 38-9, rightly points
out that it was a term describing a married woman or a woman in the process of
being married.
63
Lit. 'one for whom the marriage deposit is paid', cf. . Verreet, 'Der KeretProlog', UF 19 (1987), 323; Wyatt, RTU, 180, n. 12; M. Dietrich, O. Loretz,
'Keret, der leidende "Knig der Gerechtigkeit": Das Wortpaar sdq || yr als
Schlssel zur Dramatik des Keret-Epos (KTU 1.14 I 12-21a)', UF 31 (1999),
152-7, and above, section 2.1.1.3.1.
64
On a possible term for 'first concubine' in an administrative text from Ugarit,
see section 4.4.
65
In KTU 1.6:IV. 10-11 'abk 'your father' is balanced by htkk 'the one who has
authority over you'.

clear who they are. 66

Ba'lu also was a polygynist. His main wives were the goddesses
'Anatu and 'Athtartu. 6 7 Like some of the other Ugaritic deities, they
were sometimes referred to as a pair 68 , but also as separate deities.
Ba'lu also had other women, who were referred to as 'att (KTU
1.3:IV.40). They were presumably secondary wives, since he had the
tactfulness to send them away when 'Anatu came to visit him. 69 Dennis Pardee has suggested that the epithets of Pidrayu (bt 'ar 'daughter/girl of honey-dew') and Tallayu (bt rb 'daughter/girl of mist') refer
to their respective mothers, which would imply that Aru and Rabbu
were wives of Ba'lu too, but in view of KTU 1.24:26-28 this seems
unlikely.70 A further indication of Ba'lu's polygyny is the reference to
'Anatu as 'the most graceful among Ba'lu's sisters' (KTU 1.10:11.16;
III.10). According to the Phoenician text KAI 27:17-18 Ba'al would
have had eight wives.
Some scholars doubt whether 'Anatu should be regarded as the
wife of Ba'lu. Because 'Anatu is not called his 'wife', but his 'sister'
(KTU 1.3:IV.39;1.10:11.16, 20), Neal Walls, for example, has proposed
that the relationship between the deities was a sororal rather than
66

The context of KTU 1.2:1.10 is somewhat disturbed, but the text alludes to
two wives of Ilu ( 'attm). In KTU 1.23:64 Ilu had sex with two wives, possibly
Athiratu and Rhmy. KTU 1.12 seems to refer to a similar event, yet here minor
goddesses were involved. They professed to be sexually aroused and begged Ilu
to have sexual intercourse with them, but the Creator god impregnated them by
his authoritative word only, possibly because they were handmaids of the moon
god Yarikhu and Ilu's own wife Athiratu, which might mean that it would have
been improper for him to do as they wished. For a comparison of 1.12 and 1.23,
cf. . Wyatt, Myths of Power: a study of royal myth and ideology in Ugaritic
and biblical tradition (UBL, 13), Mnster 1996, 229-31; M. Dietrich, . Loretz,
Studien zu den ugaritischen Texten: I. Mythos und Ritual in KTU 1.12, 1.24,
1.96, 1.100 und 1.114 (AOAT, 269/1), Mnster 2000, 129-32.
67
Although there is no direct evidence at Ugarit, both goddesses are commonly
understood to have been Ba'lu's wives; cf. . Wyatt, 'Astarte ', in: ODD,
110.
68
KTU 1.2:1.40; 1.14:111.41-42; VI.26-28; 1.100:20; 1.107:40; 1.114:9, 10-11, 23,
26. Cf. P.D. Miller, 'Aspects of the Religion of Ugarit', in: P.D. Miller et al. (eds),
Ancient Israelite Religion: Essays in Honor of Prank Moore Cross, Philadelphia
1987, 58.
69
See further section 2.2.1.3.
70
Pardee, in: C0S, vol. 1, 250, n. 69. In KTU 1.24:26-28 Khirikhbi proposed
that Yarikhu marry Pidrayu, daughter of Ba'lu. He would bring Yarikhu into contact with Pidrayu's father who in turn would discuss the matter with 'Athtartu.
Provided the emended reading as proposed in 1. 28 is accepted, it seems reasonable
to assume that she was Pidrayu's mother. Furthermore, no other text published
thus far mentions the goddesses Aru and Rabbu.

a matrimonial one. 71 Yet the designation 'sister' and 'brother' were

often used as terms of endearment for husband and wife, in Ugarit
as well as the ancient Near East in general. 72 It is noteworthy that,
contrary to the gods, the Ugaritic goddesses did not have more than
one husband. 73
Although Ugaritic kings had polygynous marriages 74 , the legendary king Kirtu seems to have been married to only one wife at a time.
The tragic king was married to seven women in a row, but none bore
him offspring (KTU 1.14:1.14-21). Finally he obtained a wife who bore
him children, lady Hariya. And it appears that king 75 Dani'ilu, too,
only had one wife, Danatiya (KTU 1.17).
Begetting progeny and raising a family was regarded of prime
importance to a newly-wed couple. Thus, when it is said in KTU
1.14:11.47-50 (II IV.26-28),
47

wys'i.trh, 48hdt
yb'r.ltn 4 9 'atth
lm.nkr.50mddth

And let the newly-wed go out,

let him bring his wife to another man,
his beloved to a stranger,

this indicates that something out of the ordinary was happening. Even
the newly-wed man joined Kirtu's army, whereas he was one of those
who were normally excused from military service. 76 In this specific
instance, the husband was called upon to regard joining Kirtu's army
more important than staying home with his new wife. Although he
might not have been very willing 77 , he was carried off (ybl) in the
massive army. His wife was left behind in the care of another man, a
stranger (nkr), one of the few males who were excluded from the mobilization because they were foreigners in Khuburu. Thus the newly-wed
71

N.H. Walls, The Goddess Anat in Ugaritic Myth (SBL.DS, 135), Atlanta GA
1992, 89-94, 157.
72
KTU 1.6:11.12; 1.96:2; KAI 264; Song 4:9,10,12; 8:1; Tob. 7:12,15 (Codex
Sinaiticus); see further ANET, 467-9; C.H. Gordon, 'Marriage in the Guise of
Siblingship', UF 20 (1988), 53-6.
73
Korpel, RiC, 227. On the special position of 'Anatu as a nubile widow, see
section 2.1.5.
74
Amico, SWU, 341, erroneously notes that 'there is no definitive evidence for
polygamy even in the royal family [of Ugarit]. See chapter 4.
75
Pace H.H.P. Dressier, 'The Identification of the Ugaritic Dnil with the Daniel
of Ezekiel', VT 29 (1979), 152-3; and B. Margalit, The Ugaritic Poem of AQHT:
Text, Translation, Commentary (BZAW, 182), Berlin 1989, 410, who both deny
that Dani'ilu was a king. See J. Day, 'The Daniel of Ugarit and Ezekiel and the
Hero of the Book of Daniel', VT 30 (1980), 176; De Moor, R0Y, 280, n. 35.
76
Cf. Deut. 20:7; 24:5; W.G.E. Watson, 'Ugaritic and Mesopotamian Literary
Texts', UF 9 (1977), 277-9; W.M. de Bruin, 'Die Freistellung vom Militrdienst
in Deut. XX 5-7', VT 49 (1999), 21-33.
77
Cf. Wyatt, RTU, 199, n. 110.

was not given the opportunity to set up a family for himself, at least
not before Kirtu's mission had succeeded and the king had acquired
himself a wife.
As was the case in the surrounding countries, in Ugarit, too, the
fact that a husband had authority over his wife did not rule out mutual love and affection. In the Ba'lu myth 'Anatu's love for Ba'lu
is given much attention. The goddess was prepared to fight any enemy that would rise against Ba'lu (KTU 1.3:III.37-IV.4). And when
such a foe did arise in the person of Motu, she fought him ferociously
(1.6:11.10-37). At other moments the vigorous goddess was singing
love-songs about Ba'lu and his daughters, accompanying herself on
the lyre (KTU 1.3:111.4-8, to be restored after 1.7 and 1.101:16-17).
The two made love passionately (e.g. KTU 1.10; 1.11), as did Yarikhu
and Nikkalu (KTU 1.24:3-12), Ilu with two wives at the same time
(KTU 1.23:48-51,55-56) and Dani'ilu with his wife Danatiya (KTU
1.17:1.38-41). Though all these passages make use of euphemisms to
describe the pudenda, the descriptions are quite explicit and allow the
conclusion that there rested no taboo whatsoever on sexual pleasure
and that women, too, could take the initiative in lovemaking.
In her search for her dead consort Ba'lu, 'Anatu is depicted with
the most passionate qualities. Her epithet rhm 'Womb, Damsel' is
used to underline her compassion, since the womb is considered the
seat of compassion. Further, the image of the mother animal whose
heart goes out to her child (KTU 1.6:11.5-9,26-30) is extended here
to the longing for the beloved.78 Both are illustrations of the intensity
of 'Anatu's love for Ba'lu.
In a polygynous setting women strove for their husband's attention. One way of doing so was by trying to enhance their beauty.
The goddesses washed themselves and their clothes fairly often and
used cosmetics to enhance their attractiveness. When 'Athtartu had
changed into fresh clothing 79 and had put on glittering jewellery, her
78

The epithet 'Womb' characterizes 'Anatu as a goddess of love and fertility,

cf. Judg. 5:30; E. Levine, 'On Exodus 21,10 Onah and Biblical Marriage', A BR
5 (1999), 149.
The image of the mother animal with child is quite common in ancient Near
Eastern iconography, cf. . Keel, Das Bcklein in der Milch seiner Mutter und
Verwandtes: Im Lichte eines altorientalischen Bildmotivs (OBO, 33), Freiburg,
Schweiz 1980, 54-141 (137); U. Winter, Frau und Gttin: Exegetische und ikonographische Studien zum weiblichen Gottesbild im Alten Israel und in dessen
Umwelt (OBO, 53), Freiburg, Schweiz 1983, 404-13; O. Keel, Ch. Uehlinger,
Gttinnen, Gtter und Gottessymbole: Neue Erkenntnisse zur Religionsgeschichte
Kanaans und Israels aufgrund bislang unerschlossener ikonographischer Quellen
(QD, 134), Freiburg 1992, passim.
79
It is unclear whether mhtrt in KTU 1.92:25 is a veil (so J.C. de Moor,

beauty dazzled her husband Ba'lu so that he immediately desired

her (KTU 1.92:25-32). 'Anatu had herself made up with henna, scent
and dye derived from the purple-snail (KTU 1.3:11.1-3 par.) or with
powder and an exotic scent (KTU 1.10:1.1-5). Hariya used blue eyeshadow (KTU 1.14:111.43 par.). 80
In certain respects Kirtu's bride is depicted as the ideal wife. 81 Her
beauty is compared to that of the goddesses 'Anatu and 'Athtartu
(KTU 1.14:111.41-42 par.). She cared for the poor and hungry (KTU
1.15:1.1-2). She was a personal gift of the highest god Ilu to Kirtu
(KTU 1.14:111.46 par.).
As in other patriarchal countries, an Ugaritic wife was not supposed to question her husband's authority. Yet Kirtu's first wife seems
to have done so; she rebelled against him (KTU 1.14:1.14). If the verb
tb't is to be translated 'she departed', as some have proposed 82 , this
would imply that an Ugaritic wife (or at least an Ugaritic queen)
could leave her husband if she chose to do so. 'Anatu and 'Athtartu
restrained Ba'lu when he wanted to slay the messengers of the seagod Yammu and pointed out that he had no right to do such a thing
(KTU 1.2:1.40). They were right, because messengers ought to enjoy
immunity. 83 Yet Ba'lu became very angry. 'Athtartu criticized her
husband when he wanted to kill Yammu (KTU 1.2:IV.28-30). Again
her criticism was justified, since Yammu was their captive and was
not to be killed.84
A wife was expected to take care of her husband, especially when
he had fallen ill. Thus Hariya slaughtered a lamb and prepared it
for her husband Kirtu when he recovered from a grave illness (KTU
1.16:VI.14-21).
In the Ba'lu myth wives play an important role. In his attempt to
obtain a palace for himself, Ba'lu, together with his wife 'Anatu, visited Athiratu. They offered her bribes to mediate Ba'lu's request for
"Athtartu the Huntress', UF 17 (1986), 229) or a chemise (so M. Dijkstra, 'The
Myth of Astarte, the Huntress (KTU 1.92): New Fragments', UF 26 (1994), 120).
80
See for all this Korpel, RiC, 424-7.
81
See also section 2.1.1.2.
82
E.g. Greenstein, in: Smith, UNP, 12; Wyatt, RTU, 181.
83
Although this rule was often violated, it did exist in theory. Cf. S.A. Meier,
The Messenger in the Ancient Semitic World (HSM, 45), Atlanta G A 1988, 76-80.
84
Cf. 2 Kgs 6:22; I.J. Gelb, 'Prisoners of War in Early Mesopotamia', JNES 32
(1973), 70-98; T.R. Hobbs, 2 Kings (WBC, 13), Waco TX 1985, 78; M. Cogan, H.
Tadmor, II Kings: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary (AncB,
11), Garden City NY 1988, 74-5. Differently, Wyatt, RTU, 68, n. 149. See also
M.S. Smith, The Ugaritic Baal Cycle, vol. 1: Introduction with text, translation
and commentary of KTU 1.1-1.2 (VT.S, 55), Leiden 1994, 356-8.

a palace (KTU 1.4). When Athiratu left to intercede between Ilu and
Ba'lu, 'Anatu followed her. 85 Ba'lu, however, went home (1.4:IV.19)
and left matters in the hands of his wife and his mother-in-law. A
deteriorated relationship between Ba'lu and Ilu might be the expianation for this behaviour. 86 'Anatu was present at the meeting with
Ilu but, unlike a previous occasion (1.3:V), she now held her peace
and waited for Athiratu to do the talking. When the meeting proved
to be succesful, 'Anatu brought Ba'lu the good news (1.4:V.25-27).
Athiratu took her go-between task quite seriously. When 'Anatu
and Ba'lu came to ask Athiratu for her intercession, she was washing
her clothes and probably boiling her laundry. 87 Apparently she wanted
to please 88 her husband and appear before him in clean clothing. Yet
the visit of 'Anatu and Ba'lu caused a change of plans. When Athiratu
met Ilu he was very pleased to see her and tried to seduce her (KTU
1.4:1V.38-39):
3s

hm.yd. 'il mlk

'ahbt.tr.frik

39

yhssk. 'If only the love89 of Ilu, the King, could stimulate you,
the affection of the Bull could arouse you!1

Athiratu, however, ignored Ilu's obvious intentions and after what

seems to be a formal blandishment immediately came to the point by
bringing Ba'lu's request to her husband's attention. Business before
pleasure seems to have been Athiratu's motto. Yet in his reaction Ilu
gave Athiratu a dressing down, asking whether he and she should
do the building themselves, like slaves (1.4:IV.59-62). Making bricks
would mean Athiratu would get all dirty again. Still, Ilu complied
with the request after this ironic objection.
Another illustration of the relationship between husband and wife
85

'atr is regarded as a verb by some scholars, see, e.g., De Moor, ARTU, 52,
who apparently takes it as an infinitive which equals a perfect or imperfect. Cf.
Sivan, GUL, 167. Others take it as an adverb, cf. Pardee, in: C0S, vol. 1, 259;
Tropper, UG , 329, 741, who translate 'behind (came) Anatu'.
86
De Moor, ARTU, 44.
87
De Moor, ARTU, 47. The interpretation of 1.4:11.1-11 is disputed. Pardee, in:
C0S, vol. 1, 257, for instance, assumes that Athiratu, expecting a visit from Ilu,
had put the kettle on to make him a warm drink. Smith, in: Idem, UNP, 122,
170, also assumes Athiratu performed domestic chores for Ilu, while Wyatt, RTU,
93-4, proposes her actions were preparations for a visit from Ilu and relates the
text to 1.23.
88
Again, the meanings of the verbs t'pp and tgzy are disputed. Cf. De Moor,
ARTU, 47: 'she wanted to charm . . . , she wanted to please . . . '; M. O'Connor,
'Semitic *mgn and its Supposed Sanskrit Origin1, JAOS 109 (1989), 27: 'she defers
. . . , she humbles herself . . . likewise, Smith, in: Idem, UNP, 122, 170; Wyatt,
RTU, 94: 'she implored . . . , she entreated . . . . See also DLU, 84 ('p): 'trat de
encantar' (to win someone over); 161 (gzy) 'se propici' (to propitiate someone).
89
Ug. yd 'hand' can be used as a euphemism for 'penis' and as a word for 'love',
see Smith, in: Idem, UNP, 171, n. 120.

is the title of the goddess 'Athtartu, who is called m b'l (KTU 1.2:1.8;
1.16:VI.56). This epithet is usually translated 'Name of Ba'lu'. 90 The
meaning of the title has been the subject of much discussion. According to Frank Cross, for instance, it is semantically equivalent to an
epithet of the Punic goddess Tannit, . He takes both epithets to
'belong to a general development of hypostases of deity in Canaanite
religion'. 91 Somewhat differently is Johannes de Moor's interpretation.
He renders 'consort of Ba'lu', assuming that a wife, being the other
half of her husband, could be regarded as his alter ego.92 Although
'Athtartu at times counteracted her husband, this did not contradict
the closeness between her and Ba'lu. As Gregorio del Olmo Lete has
stated, she acted in defense of his prestige, of his good name. 93 The
epithet m b'l thus seems to indicate that certain forces of Ba'lu manifest themselves through his consort 'Athtartu. 9 4 However, this should
not be confused with von Soden's 'Gleichsetzungstheologie', according to which some minor gods become mere hypostases of the greater
gods. 95 Although 'Athtartu can be regarded as some sort of manifestation or hypostazation of her consort Ba'lu, she does not merge with
90

E.g. ANET, 130; Pardee, in: C0S, vol. 1, 343; Smith, in: Idem, UNP, 98.
Some scholars, however, prefer 'Heavens of Ba'lu', cf. Wyatt, 'Astarte
205 ,'.
Although in Akkadian umu can mean 'offspring, namesake, posterity', especially
in PNN, this translation does not apply here, since 'Athtartu is no child of Ba'lu.
Cf. H.B. Huffmon, Amorite Personal Names in the Man Texts: A Structural and
Lexical Study, Baltimore MD 1965, 247-9; CAD () 3, 295-6.
Astarte's designation m b'l was still known in the fifth century BCE, when
it was used in an inscription of Eshmun'azar il, cf. KAI 14:18, J.C.L. Gibson,
Textbook of Syrian Semitic Inscriptions, III, Oxford 1982, 113; E. Lipmski, Dieux
et desses de l'univers phnicien et punique (StPh, 14) (OLA, 64), Leuven 1995,
134-5; G. del Olmo Lete, El continuum cultural cananeo: Pervivencias cananeas
en el mundo fenicio-punico (AuOr.S, 14), Barcelona 1996, 44.
91
F.M. Cross, Canaanite Myth and Hebrew Epic: Essays in the History of the
Religion of Israel, Cambridge MA 1973, 30. See also T.N.D. Mettinger, The Dethronement of Sabaoth: Studies in the Shem and Kabod Theologies (CB.OT, 18),
Lund 1982, 131.
On Tannit's epithet see KAI 78:2; 79:1,10-11; 85:1; 86:1; 87:2; 88:1; 137:1. It is
generally interpreted as some sort of representation of the deity; cf. C.L. Seow,
'Face , in: DDD, 322-3. Tannit often is associated with Astarte, in particular
with regard to the Punic world; cf. Cross, Canaanite Myth and Hebrew Epic, 29;
Lipmski, Dieux et desses de l'univers phnicien et punique, 201-5.
92
De Moor, ARTU, 30, 222; Idem, '', in: ThWAT, Bd. 1, 715. De Moor
compares it to Heb.( Gen. 2:18, 20).
93
Del Olmo Lete, El continuum cultural cananeo, 44-5.
94
Cf. R. Fernhout, Woord en naam in de religies: een vergelijkend onderzoek,
Kampen 1979, 32; DNWSI, 1158 sub 6.
95
A. Falkenstein, W. von Soden, Sumerische und Akkadische Hymnen und Gebete (BAW.AO), Zrich 1953, 50.

him but seems to keep her own separate identity and as such, acts as
his counterpart.
Another example of the relationship between husband and wife is
that of 'Anatu and Ba'lu. Susan Ackerman points to the fact that
'according to Canaanite mythological tradition, the battles of Baal
and Anat are inextricably intertwined'. 96 'Anatu fought Motu, yet
the latter complained to Ba'lu that it was because of him that the
god of death had suffered, suppressing the deeds of 'Anatu (KTU
1.6:V.11-19). On the other hand, whereas it is told that Ba'lu defeated
Yammu (1.2:IV.23-27), later on 'Anatu boasted that she finished him
off (1.3:111.38-40). The victory of one consort could be ascribed to the
other, it seems.
C . HEBREW BIBLE

The Hebrew Bible makes a distinction between the status of a wife

(! )and a concubine (). In general, the social position of a
concubine was lower than that of a wife, but the status of a free
concubine was higher than that of a slave concubine. On a legal level,
a wife also was superior to a concubine. 97 A marriage was established
for reasons of progeny and inheritance, while a relationship with a
concubine would be established for procreation concerns. Thus, such
a relationship would render the concubine less rights than the wife.
Besides this, little is known about the social status of the Israelite
concubine. Karen Engelken remarks:
Ob in Israel das Nebenfrauen-Verhltnis wie in Rom und Griechenland fr sozial niedrig gestellte und/oder arme Frauen eine Mglichkeit
zur Ehe bot, die dann keine Mitgift zu haben brauchten, wird nicht
berliefert. Dasselbe gilt fr die Frage, ob dadurch ein armer Israelit
zu einer Frau kam, deren Vater er kein Brautgeld zu zahlen verpflicht
war. Andererseits mu es Grnde gegeben haben, welche die Frauen
bzw. deren Vter veranlat haben, auf Rechte innerhalb der Ehe zu
verzichten und den Ehemann mit einer anderen (oder mehreren anderen) Frau (Frauen) zu teilen.98
Thus, economic reasons probably were the main cause for a woman
96

S. Ackerman, Warrior, Dancer, Seductress, Queen: Women in Judges and

Biblical Israel (AncBRL), New York 1998, 53-6 (56).
97
Cf. . Engelken, Frauen im Alten Israel: Eine begriffsgeschichtliche und
sozialrechtliche Studie zur Stellung der Frau im Alten Testament (BWANT,
130), Stuttgart 1990, 124; C. Friedl, Polygynie in Mesopotamien und Israel:
Sozialgeschichtliche Analyse polygamer Beziehungen anhand rechtlicher Texte aus
dem 2. und 1. Jahrtausend v.Chr. (AOAT, 277), Mnster 2000, 163-72.
98
Engelken, FYauen im Alten Israel, 125.

to become a concubine. In general, a husband had to be wealthy to

afford more than one wife. The primary reason for a man to take an
additional wife or a concubine would be to acquire (more) children.
The Hebrew Bible does not reject polygyny. Rich persons, kings in
particular, had many wives and concubines, as a symbol of wealth,
prestige and power."
Most men could not afford to keep many women, however. Yet,
bigyny did occur in Israel. Laws such as Exod. 21:10 and Deut. 21:15
indicate that it was not uncommon and biblical narratives and genealogies confirm this. 100 In a bigynous marriage both women could
legally have the same status, that is, they could be co-wives instead
of one being a primary wife and the other a secondary wife. The story
of Leah and Rachel does not indicate a legally inferior status for the
latter, Rachel's status is endangered only by the fact that she is not
able to bear children. The same is true for Hannah and Peninnah. 101
If a husband had two co-wives, this could lead to problems within
the household. A childless wife could be jealous of the other wife who
had children (Gen. 30:1). An unloved or lesser preferred wife could
provoke the preferred one (1 Sam. 1:6). Both women could be rivals
for the husband's love and attention (Gen. 30:14-16).102
When a woman was unable to bear children, her position within
the family could worsen. Yet, the opposite is told in a couple of nar J u d g . 8:30; 2 Sam. 5:13 || 1 Chron. 14:3; 1 Kgs 11:1,3; 2 Chron. 11:21; 13:21.
Cf. W. Plautz, 'Monogamie und Polygynie im Alten Testament', ZAW 34 (1963),
8, 16-7; Engelken, Frauen im Alten Israel, 119-21.
100
Lamech had two wives, Adah and Zillah (Gen. 4:19); Esau married Judith and
Basemath (Gen. 26:34); Jacob married Leah and Rachel (Gen. 29:15-30); Elkanah
had two wives, Hannah and Peninnah (1 Sam. 1:2); before he became king, David
had two wives, Ahinoam and Abigail (2 Sam. 2:2). The prophets refer to the
custom of bigyny in Jer. 3 and Ezek. 23. Cf. Plautz, 'Monogamie und Polygynie
im Alten Testament', 7; Engelken, Frauen im Alten Israel, 104-18; Levine, 'On
Exodus 21,10 Onah and Biblical Marriage', 133-64.
101
Pace A. Brenner, The Israelite Woman: Social Role and Literary Type in
Biblical Narrative (BiSe, 2), Sheffield 1985, 93; Idem, 'Female Social Behaviour:
Two Descriptive Patterns within the 'Birth of the Hero' Paradigm', VT 36 (1986),
262, who states: 'Rachel is doubly inferior socially - she is younger, a second wife'.
Although Rachel might be socially inferior to her sister because she is younger,
her status as a co-wife (not a second(ary) wife!) does not make her inferior to her
sister, neither socially nor legally. Cf. Engelken, Frauen im Alten Israel, 113, .
68, 114, . 73; Steinberg, Kinship and Marriage in Genesis, 15, 104.
102
Cf. R. Patai, Family, Love and the Bible, London 1960, 38-41. For an anthropological view on conflict between co-wives, cf. L. Lamphere, 'Strategies, Cooperation, and Conflict Among Women in Domestic Groups', in: M.Z. Rosaldo, L.
Lamphere (eds), Woman, Culture, and Society Stanford CA 1974, 107-9; Steinberg, Kinship and Marriage in Genesis, 64 and passim.

ratives in the Hebrew Bible: despite the fact that a woman cannot
give him progeny, her husband loves her more than his other wife of
equal rank, who did bear him offspring. In this regard, the theological
theme of Y H W H as the one who opens and closes a woman's womb,
and who grants fertility and offspring, is used in a specific way: to the
woman who is not loved by her husband, Y H W H can give children. 103
The reality of a bigynous marriage in which the husband loves one
of his wives more than the other is reflected in Deut. 21:15-17. Both
wives have borne him children, the son of the wife he dislikes ()
being the firstborn. Yet the father is not permitted to treat the oldest
son of his beloved wife in a privileged way. Whereas legally not much
can be done against preferential treatment of one of the two wives,
the rights of a firstborn son are safeguarded. 104
In the past Ephraim Speiser has explained the three episodes in the
ancestral 105 narratives of wives who pose as sisters of their husbands
(Gen. 12:10-20; 20; 26:1-11), the so-called 'wife/sister motif', in the
light of Nuzi texts. He assumed that women who were adopted by
their husband as sister had a privileged position. The practice would
have been a reflection of the underlying fratriarchal system in which
a brother had greater authority over a woman than a husband, and
violation of sistership ties would have been punished more severly
than those of marital ties. Thus, when Abraham and Isaac informed
the kings they encountered that their wives were sisters, they would
have been boasting about their wives' privileged status. 106 Yet Samuel
Greengus has argued convincingly that at Nuzi sistership adoption did
not coincide with marriage and that sistership adoption was a lower
class institution. 107 It would seem more appropriate to explain the
close kinship ties between Abraham and Sarah and between Isaac and
Rebekah within the context of the concern for patrilineal endogamy
103

Leah: Gen. 29:31; Peninnah: 1 Sam. 1:4-8.

Engelken, Frauen im Alten Israel, 117. However, king David's conduct is in
contrast with deuteronomic law, cf. 2 Sam. 3:2-5, 5:13-15; 1 Chron. 3:1-9 and 1
Kgs 1:17, 2:15. It may be disputed whether Abraham's sending away of Ishmael,
Gen. 21:10, is also condemned by law, cf. Gen. 16:2.
105
I prefer the inclusive term 'ancestral narratives' over the androcentric 'patriarchal narratives'.
106
E.A. Speiser, 'The Wife-Sister Motif in the Patriarchal Narratives', in: A. Altmann (ed.), Biblical and Other Studies (STLI, 1), Cambridge MA 1963, 15-28. For
the theory on the institution of fratriarchy Speiser based himself on P. Koschaker,
'Fratriarchat, Hausgemeinschaft und Mutterrecht in Keilschriftrechten', ZA 41
(1933), 1-89.
107
S. Greengus, 'Sisterhood Adoption at Nuzi and the "Wife-Sister" in Genesis',
HUCA 46 (1975), 5-31. See above.
104

in the ancestral narratives. 108

In her Frauen im Alten Israel, Karen Engelken has analyzed the
texts dealing with a and also those in which polygynous marriages are reported. She concludes that kings in particular used their
social position to have many , whereas other men in polygynous
marriages usually had only two women. 109
An Israelite man could also have a sexual relationship with a slave
woman whom he owned. She would then become his slave concubine.
Matters would be complicated if she was already married before she
was enslaved. Lev. 19:20-22 deals with such a case, in which a slave
owner has sexual relations with a slave woman who is married to another (free) man. Although a marriage remained valid when a woman
entered slavery, and her husband's sexual rights over her were not annulled, the couple's rights to appeal to court against such behaviour
were limited, since ownership rights seem to have prevailed over family
rights in such a case. 110
A different matter altogether is the practice of a wife giving her
female slave in marriage to her husband. Since the purpose of such an
act was to beget legitimate heirs, the slave woman needed to achieve
the status of a wife, instead of that of a concubine. 111 This would result
in a legally complicated situation. To her mistress the slave woman
remained a slave, but the relationship with her master changed into
that of wife and husband. Thus, Sarah, Rachel and Leah gave a slave
woman as a wife to their husbands while remaining owners of their
slaves (Gen. 16:3; 30:4,9). Yet they could not assert the rights of a
slave owner against their husbands, since his relationship towards the
slave woman was a different one. To act upon her right as a slave
owner the primary wife had to ask her husband's permission, as is
demonstrated in Sarah's case (Gen. 16:5-6; 21:20). Here the slave wife
108

Steinberg, Kinship and Marriage in Genesis, 14. See also J. and M.-C. Nicole,
Sara, soeur et femme d'Abraham', ZAW 112 (2000), 5-23.
109
Engelken, Frauen im Alten Israel, 123.
110
R. Westbrook, 'The Female Slave', in: V.H. Matthews et al. (eds), Gender
and Law in the Hebrew Bible and the Ancient Near East (JSOT.S, 262), Sheffield
1998, 224; Friedl, Polygynie in Mesopotamien und Israel, 199-200. Of course it
was also possible that a free woman married a male slave. In Babylonia and Nuzi
this seems to have been not uncommon, but in the Bible only one such case is
recorded: the Egyptian slave Jarha who married his master's daughter (1 Chron.
2:34-35). Cf. I. Mendelsohn, Slavery in the Ancient Near East, New York 1949,
57.
111
Westbrook, 'The Female Slave', 228. See further Th.L. Thompson, The Historicity of the Patriarchal Narratives: The Quest for the Historical Abraham
(BZAW, 133), Berlin 1974, 252-69; Steinberg, Kinship and Marriage in Genesis, 61.
1

considered herself to have gained prestige because of bearing children

to her husband and she acted it out on her mistress. 112 Sarah, although
being mistress of Hagar, first had to ask for her husband's consent
before punishing her. Thus, it would seem to be entirely dependent
upon the husband whether a primary wife could keep her privileged
position. For from his point of view, both women were his wives. If he
would choose to deny his first wife her rights to assert her authority
as slave owner, the slave wife could seriously threaten her position
within the marriage.
Lev. 18:18 notes that is it forbidden for a man to be married to
two sisters at the same time. Thus Jacob's marriage was not according
to Israelite law. This is not the only place in the ancestral narratives
where a form of marriage occurs that is forbidden in the legal texts
of the Bible. Besides Jacob's marriage of two sisters, Genesis also
mentions marriage with a half sister (20:12, cf. Lev. 18:9; 20:17). Other
forbidden sexual relationships are that of a father-in-law with his
daughter-in-law (Gen. 38, cf. Lev. 18:15; 20:12) and that of daughters
with their father (Gen. 19:30-38, cf. Lev. 18:6-7)113. Irmtraud Fischer
observes:
So lt sich feststellen, da die EEE [Erzeltern-Erzhlungen, HJM] in
bezug auf Eheregelungen wenig konform gehen mit den entsprechenden
alttestamentlichen Gesetzen. Dies mag auch an der zeitlichen Differenz
der rechtlichen Regelungen zum berlieferten Gut liegen; eine Differenz
zwischen erzhlenden Texten und Rechtstexten ist aber von vornherein
zu erwarten und auch festzustellen.114
The legal and the narrative texts in this regard offer a different view
112

Cf. CH 146-147.
The sexual relationship between a father and a daughter is not mentioned
explicitly in Lev. 18, yet is forbidden. Cf. J.R. Wegner, 'Leviticus', in: C.A. Newsom, S.H. Ringe (eds), The Women's Bible Commentary, London 21998, 45. See
further section 2.1.4.
114
I. Fischer, Die Erzeltern Israels: Feministisch-theologische Studien zu Genesis
12-36 (BZAW, 222), Berlin 1994, 79. In this regard she refers to relationships
in the Deuteronomistic History that are not in accordance with the law: Tamar
assumes she is allowed to marry her half brother (2 Sam 13:13) and David demands
to be given back his wife Michal who is married to Paltiel (2 Sam. 3:13-15 cf. Deut.
24:1-4). Note also that in Jer. 3:6FF. and Ezek. 23 YHWH is pictured as a bigynous
husband of two sisters. See further Friedl, Polygynie in Mesopotamien und Israel,
256-73.
One might also point to the often observed discrepancies between the Code of
Hammurapi and the Old Babylonian law praxis. For a different interpretation, see
C.M. Carmichael, Law, Legend, and Incest in the Bible: Leviticus 18 20, Ithaca
113

NY 1997.

011 social reality. Not only the dating 115 , but also the genre of the
texts explains this distinction.
Still, monogamy was far more common in Israel than polygyny.
According to Phyllis Bird, by the 8th century BCE and probably even
earlier, 'monogamous marriage was clearly the norm and the ideal'
for ordinary people. 116
The importance of begetting children is also stressed in the laws
of Deuteronomy. Also in Israel a betrothed (Deut. 20:7) or newly-wed
(Deut. 24:5) man was excluded from military service. These laws are
based on the thought that a man should not die in war without leaving
behind offspring. 117 Deut. 24:5 not only focuses on the newly wed
husband, but also on the wife. The wording suggest
that the law concerns any new marriage, and that either husband or
wife could, for instance, have been previously widowed. Further, the
husband is granted a one-year exemption to make his wife happy
(), that is, to give his wife sexual pleasure and try to beget a
child. Although one may question whether the law was ever practised
in every day life, it does have an eye for the happiness of both husband
and wife. 118
An Israelite wife was under the authority of her husband. This is
reflected in the terminology used in the Hebrew Bible. A wife is called
' woman, wife', whereas a husband is called ' man, husband',
' lord, owner, husband' or ' lord'. 119 This implies a gender
imbalance. The word denotes lordship over persons and ownership
over affairs. The description of Johannes de Moor in ThWAT reflects
the problem that concerns us here: 'Der Mann ist 'Besitzer' seiner
Frau, weshalb b'l auch 'Gatte' bedeutet
Weiter ist er 'Herr des
Hauses, Familienhaupt' (akk. bei bti\ ugar. b'l bt), so wie der Knig
'Herr' i s t . . . ber Lnder, Stdte und Untertanen . . . '. 120 With regard
115

Scholars usually accept a later date for texts such as Lev. 18:18 than the
ancestral narratives, cf., e.g., B. Maarsingh, Leviticus (PrOT), Nijkerk 1974, 1545; Engelken, Frauen im Alten Israel, 115. The question of redaction is disregarded
here.
116
P. Bird, 'Images of Women in the Old Testament', in: R. Radford Ruether
(ed.), Religion and Sexism: Images of Woman in the Jewish and Christian Traditions, New York 1974, 66. Cf. also Plautz, 'Monogamie und Polygynie im Alten
Testament', 5; C.J.H. Wright, 'Family', in: ABD, vol. 2, 766.
117
Cf., e.g., A.D.H. Mayes, Deuteronomy (NCBC), Grand Rapids MI 1979, 3234.
118
Cf. C.J. Labuschagne, Deuteronomium, dl. 2, (PrOT), Nijkerk 1990, 2423. On sexual pleasures of the newly-wed couple, cf. Watson, 'Ugaritic and
Mesopotamian Literary Texts', 278-9.
119
Cf. Gen. 18:12; Judg. 19:26; Amos 4:1; Ps. 45:12.
120
De Moor, '', ThWAT, Bd. 1, 707.

to ' lord', Otto Eissfeldt writes: 'Was irdische Herren angeht, so

finden sich im AT solche ber Ehefrauen (Gen 18,12), Lnder (Gen
42,30), Huser (Gen 45,8), Gebiete (1 Kn 16,24) und dergleichen
mehr'. 121 Is a husband owner of or lord over his wife? Most scholars
agree that a husband is both, but they emphasize that a wife should
not be regarded as property. 122 Carol Meyers points to the fact that
although denotes subordination on the part of the wife, it does
not indicate absolute sovereignty over her. 123
Some feminist scholars stress the fact that legal codes regard
women as the property of either their father or their husband. 124 Yet
this emphasis, although true, needs to be nuanced. In her study on
the status of women in the Mishnah, Judith Romney Wegner also
focuses on the status of women in the Torah. 125 Some laws in the
Bible treat women as chattel, whereas others threat them as persons.
This is connected with the status of a woman. 126 Whether a woman is
treated in biblical law as a man's chattel or as a person is dependent
on whether any man has a proprietary interest in her sexuality. With
regard to Mishnaic law, this implies that
[w]henever some man has a proprietary interest in the sexual and reproductive function of a specified girl or woman, the Mishnah's framers
treat the woman as that man's chattel in all matters that affect his
ownership of her sexuality; in all other contexts, the dependent woman
121

O. Eissfeldt, ', ThWAT, Bd. 1, 65.

Thus, for instance, A. Tosato, II matrimonii) israelitico: Una teoria generale
(AnBib, 100), Rome 1982, 160-1; P.A. Bird, 'Women (OT)', in: A BD, vol 6, 956.
123
In Prov. 31:10-31, for instance, the husband is referred to as ( vv.
11,23,28), while the wife acts quite independently. C. Meyers, Discovering Eve:
Ancient Israelite Women in Context, New York 1988, 182-3.
124
Cf. . Fuchs, 'The Literary Characterization of Mothers and Sexual Politics
in the Hebrew Bible', in: A. Yarbro Collins (ed.), Feminist Perspectives on Biblical
Scholarship (SBL Centennial Publications) (Biblical Scholarship in North America, 10), Chico CA 1985, 129; T.D. Setel, 'Feminist Insights and the Question of
Method', in: Yarbro Collins, Feminist Perspectives on Biblical Scholarship, 41.
125
J.R. Wegner, Chattel or Person? The Status of Women in the Mishnah, New
York; Oxford 1988.
126
Wegner, Chattel or Person?, 14, offers the following taxomony of free women.
There is a category of dependent women, consisting of '(1) the minor daughter,
controlled by her father; (2) the wife, under her husband's authority; and (3) the
levirate widow, whose husband's death without male issue transfers the widow to
her husband's brother'. Next to this there is a category of autonomous women,
consisting of '(1) the legally emancipated daughter who has outgrown her father's
jurisdiction; (2) the divorce, no longer subject to her husband's authority; and
(3) the normal widow whose husband left an heir and, thus, saved her from the
automatic levirate tie'.
122

is treated as a person. When, by contrast, no man has a legal claim on

a woman's sexuality, the system always treats her as a person, both in
sex-related and other matters. 127
For biblical law, the same holds true. Carol Meyers argues that the
Hebrew Bible does not contain any absolute statements 'of categorical
male supremacy over women'. 128 She interprets Gen. 3:16b - a text
that states a husband will rule over his wife - in the line of Wegner,
limiting the husband's rule to his wife's sexuality. 129
The fact that a husband legally had authority over his wife did
not rule out love. Elkanah's question, 'Am I not more to you than ten
sons?' (1 Sam. 1:8) is generally regarded as an expression of the love
between Elkanah and Hannah. And in the tale of Laban deceiving
Jacob, the latter's love for Rachel is referred to twice (Gen. 29:18,
30).
Like Egyptian wisdom texts, the Book of Proverbs also offers limited and stereotyped images of women. 130 It contrasts the good wife
with the bad wife. The good wife is considered a gift from God (Prov.
18:22; 19:14), her husband benefits from her virtues (Prov. 31:10-31).
Like the good wife, the actions of the bad wife have repercussions on
her husband, for she degrades rather than enhances his reputation
(Prov. 12:4). The main negative trait of the bad wife seems to be
her contentiousness (Prov. 19:13; 27:15). According to Proverbs, the
ideal relationship between a husband and wife is a harmonious marriage. Argument and strife are repudiated (Prov. 15:17; 17:1). The
husband profits from his virtuous wife (Prov. 31:11,23,31), but he
himself is also urged not to dwell in laziness, but to work his fields
(Prov. 6:6; 13:4; 19:15; 20:4; 21:25; 24:27-34; cf. 31:27). Thus, both
partners benefit from each other.
The ancestral mother, Rebekah, also shows traits of the ideal wife.
She was a personal gift of God (Gen. 24), she was of the right (endogamous) descent, she was 'a virgin, whom no man had known' (Gen.
24:16) and she showed the proper conduct when first meeting Isaac:
she descended her camel and veiled herself (vv. 64-65), thus showing
humility towards her husband.
A married Israelite woman was required to wear a veil which cov127

Wegner, Chattel or Person?, 19.

C.L. Meyers, 'Everyday life: Women in the Period of the Hebrew Bible', in:
C.A. Newsom, S.H. Ringe (eds), The Women's Bible Commentary London 21998,
257.
129
Meyers, Discovering Eve, 95-121.
130
According to P. Bird, 'Images of Women in the Old Testament', 57, three major types dominate, that of the mother, the wife and the strange/foreign woman.
128

ered the head, not the face. It was a sign of the wife's subordination
to her husband, a sign of his authority over her. She had to wear it
when she went out in public. 131
Being the counterpart of her husband, a wife could hold a prominent position. Texts such as Gen. 2:18-23 and Prov. 31:10-31 seem to
reflect this awareness. As counterpart of her husband, a wife could act
with a certain autonomy in favour of her spouse. Thus, Abigail, wife
of Nabal, acted in an independent way, only reporting her husband
about her actions afterward (1 Sam. 25:14-38). Also queen Jezebel,
wife of Achab, acted rather autonomously, in order to make her husband obtain the land he had set his mind on (1 Kgs 21:4-16).
Yet, next to this ideal picture, the Bible offers others - of relationships between spouses that axe far less reciprocal. Abraham cared
more about his own life than about his wife's honour (Gen. 12; 20).
The motif is more explicit and gruesome in the story of the Levite
from Ephraim and his concubine (Jugd. 19).132
Apparently a wife should not criticize her husband in public.
Michal went out to meet David after he had brought home the ark
to the city of David in a manner that, according to Michal, was not
befitting a king (2 Sam. 6:11-23). Her words of criticism disgraced her
husband and, though not stated explicitly, it would seem that as a
punishment David did not share Michal's bed anymore. 133
Further, wives sometimes had to resort to deception because of
their submissive position. Esther Fuchs stresses the inferior and subordinate position of Rebekah towards Isaac, which caused her to deceive her husband into blessing Jacob instead of Esau (Gen. 27). 134
A fine example of the authority of husbands and its potential
undermining by wives is Vashti's refusal to come and show her beauty
to the guests of the king (Est. 1:11-12). The reaction of one of the
officials of the king speaks for itself:
Not only has Queen Vashti done wrong to the king, but also to all
the officials and all the peoples who are in all the provinces of King
Ahasuerus. For this deed of the queen will be made known to all women,
131

L.J. Archer, Her Price is Beyond Rubies: The Jewish Woman in GraecoRoman Palestine (JSOT.S, 60), Sheffield 1990, 205, 212-3, 247-8.
132
Cf. Engelken, Frauen im Alten Israel, 93.
133
J.C. Exum, Fragmented Women: Feminist (Sub)versions of Biblical Narratives (JSOT.S, 163), Sheffield 1993, 48, 59.
134
E. Fuchs, 'Who is Hiding the Truth? Deceptive Women and Biblical Androcentrism', in: A. Yarbro Collins (ed.), Feminist Perspectives on Biblical Scholarship (SBL Centennial Publications) (Biblical Scholarship in North America, 10),
Chico CA 1985, 137-8.

causing them to look with contempt on their husbands, since they will
say, 'King Ahasuerus commanded Queen Vashti to be brought before
him, and she did not come'. This very day the noble ladies of Persia
and Media who have heard of the queen's behavior will rebel against
the king's officials, and there will be no end of contempt and wrath. 135
The official Memucan feared that Vashti's refusal would have its effect
on the whole empire. Wives would no longer honour their husbands,
men would no longer be masters in their own houses; apparently a
threatening thought to many men.
Phyllis Bird points to the fact that the preference for endogamous
marriages in Israel is indirect testimony to the power women could
have on their husbands. Though this power was indirect, it is recognized as a real threat. If a foreign woman retained her religion, she
could influence her husband's religious attitude. 136 Other biblical examples of a wife's influence on her husband are Samson's Timnite
wife, who wept and nagged until he gave her the answer to the riddie and eventually caused him the loss of property (Judg. 14); and
Bathsheba, who with the help of Nathan (or as a willing puppet of
the prophet?) influenced the succession to the Israelite throne (1 Kgs
1)

There are numerous examples of a wife advising her husband. 137

The examples range over a long period indicating that the motif of
the advising wife was a stable one in biblical culture. They also refleet the social experience of the role of the wife as a counsellor behind
the scenes. 138 Although the husband was the one with the decisionmaking authority within their relationship, the wife could obtain indirect power by influencing him in her function of counsellor. According
to John Otwell, this function is evaluated twofold in biblical literature. In her positive appearance, the female counsellor is the 'wise
wife' and in her negative appearance, she is the 'cunning wife'. 139
Claudia Camp, however, pleads for a unitary treatment of the female
counsellor, since the Bible gives varied evalutations of counsel in general. Like the advise of a male counsellor, that of a female counsellor
can be good or wrong. She regards it as important to note 'that these
135

Est. l:16b-18.
P.A. Bird, 'Women (OT)\ 952. See also Meyers, Discovering Eve, 181-8.
137
Cf. C.V. Camp, Wisdom and the Feminine in the Book of Proverbs (BiLiSe,
11), Sheffield 1985, 86-7.
138
Cf. J.H. Otwell, And Sarah Laughed: The Status of Woman in the Old Testament, Philadelphia PA 1977, 107; Camp, Wisdom and the Feminine in the Book
of Proverbs, 88.
139
Otwell, And Sarah Laughed, 106-11.
136

wives appear to have had as much authority with their husbands as

a good male counselor had in advising a king. In virtually no case,
whether for better or for worse, do their husbands question their advice'. 140
In Ugaxitic mythology 'Athtartu is called m b'l, which seems to
imply that certain forces of the god Ba'lu could manifest themselves
through his consort. The Phoenician deity Tannit seems to be depicted in a comparable manner. It is remarkable that in both cases
the goddesses are referred to as a hypostases or manifestations of their
male counterpart, which might imply their standing down in favour of
him. Perhaps this points in the direction of a diminishing importance
of goddesses in general. 141 It might further be that the merging of
Israelite Asherah into Y H W H should be regarded in the same light.
Although the development of Israelite religion is by no means clear, it
seems that the goddess Asherah gradually lost her independent status and ended as an aspect of YHWH.142 Yet in no way is Asherah
related to ! in the Hebrew Bible. On the contrary, the Name
of Y H W H is used by the Deuteronomistic theologians to emphasize
the distinction between the transcendence of Y H W H ' S being and the
presence of His Name in the Temple. This concept runs parallel to
the cultic reforms of the Josianic era, which repudiate the worship of
other gods. 143
D . CONCLUSIONS

Although monogamy was the rule in all countries of the ancient Near
East, bigyny and polygyny also occurred. Polygyny was restricted to
the circles of royalty and the very wealthy, while bigyny apparently
occurred on a somewhat broader social scale. Childlessness was the
main reason for a husband to take a second wife, although some chose
to take a concubine or sire children with a slave woman, thus preserving the position of their first wife. Sometimes a first wife would lose
her privileged position because of her alleged barrenness, but docu140

Camp, Wisdom and the Feminine in the Book of Proverbs, 89-90, 307, n. 12.
See chapter 1 for this hypothesis.
142
Cf. M.S. Smith, The Early History of God: Yahweh and the Other Deities
in Ancient Israel, San Fransisco 1990, 88-94; A.A. Keefe, 'The Female Body, the
Body Politic and the Land: a Sociopolitical Reading of Hosea 1-2', in: A. Brenner
(ed.), A Feminist Companion to the Latter Prophets (FCB, 8), Sheffield 1995, 867, n. 2; De Moor, R0Y, 11-2; Idem, 'The Duality in God and Man: Gen. 1:26-27
as P's Interpretation of the Yahwistic Creation Account', in: J.C. de Moor (ed.),
Intertextuality in Ugarit and Israel: Papers ... Oxford, 1997 (OTS, 40), Leiden
1998, 124-5. See also section 2.1.1.2 on Wellhausen's emendation of Hos. 14:9[8].
143
Cf. T.N.D. Mettinger, The Dethronement of Sabaoth: Studies in the Shem
and Kabod Theologies (CB.OT, 18), Lund 1982, 38-79.
141

ments like the Old Babylonian sisterhood adoption contracts and the
Nuzi marriage contracts testify that barren women could also hold
a firm position as first wife within marriage. The situation of the
Ugaritic goddesses corresponds with this privileged position. In this
regard it is worth noting that despite her apparent childlessness, btlt
'Anatu also seems to hold a steady position as first wife. In Israel,
bigynous and polygynous marriages occurred alongside monogamous
marriages. Narratives and laws give evidence to the role desire for
offspring played and the problems polygyny and bigyny could cause.
Yet no allegedly barren wife loses her position in the Hebrew Bible,
whereas Y H W H on the other hand blesses with children those wives
of bigynous husbands who are loved less.
In Mesopotamia, Egypt, Ugarit and Israel a husband legally was
the lord and owner of his wife, but generally this was not taken in a
literal sense. Ideally a relationship between husband and wife was harmonious, based on love and mutuality rather than dominance. Nevertheless dominance of husbands did occur and sometimes deception
was the only means for a wife to have any influence. But wives could
also have an important role as counsellor of their husbands and sometimes even act as representatives. Wisdom texts, in particular, give
evidence to the delicate balance of the blessing a good wife could be
for her husband and the danger a bad wife could be.
In Ugaritic mythology 'Athtartu acts as a counterpart to her husband, Ba'lu. Phoenician Tannit appears to be depicted likewise. It is
noteworthy that in both instances it concerns goddesses who are referred to as hypostases or manifestations of their male counterparts.
This may point to a diminishing importance of goddesses in general.
The development in Israelite religion probably differed due to its tendency toward monotheism. Asherah gradually lost her independent
status and her characteristics merged into those of YHWH. Unlike
the Ugaritic and Phoenician deities, she was not related to .
Eventually she disappeared as an independent goddess. 144
EXCURSUS

Since polygyny occurred in the ancient Near East in general, one may
wonder whether polyandry did also. With regard to this issue scholars
usually refer to the reform text of Uru'inimgina of Lagash (ca. 2350
BCE), in which it is said: , The women of old, each had two men. The
women of today have banned this crime 5 . 145 Opinions differ greatly on
144

See also chapter 3

Thus translated by J.-J. Glassner, 'Women, Hospitality and the Honor of
the Family', in: WER, 80. J.S. Cooper, Presargonic Inscriptions (Sumerian and
Akkadian Royal Inscriptions, 1) (AOS Translation Series, 1), New Haven CT 1986,
145

the interpretation of this line. Jean-Jacques Glassner, for example, assmes it refers to the practice of ius pnmae noctis.146 Jerrold Cooper,
on the other hand, warns against taking the text literally. He takes
it to be hyperbole serving to justify the 'reforms' of Uru'inimgina, by
depicting the days before his usurpation as immoral. 147 Still another
interpretation is given by Wolfram von Soden, according to whom
the reforms of Uru'inimgina also included abrogation of the custom
to pay high divorce taxes. The high costs would have led to situations
in which a woman remarried without being properly divorced from
her first husband. 148
Some scholars assume polyandry occurred in Egypt. Evidence of
this is inconclusive, if not doubtful. 149 The idea of polyandry as a
phase of human marriage between promiscuity and polygyny or monogamy is persistent although without proof. Already in the beginning
of the twentieth century Andreas Eberharter pointed to the fact that
even among the well known evolutionists of those days polyandry
as a general phase in the development of marriage was rejected. 150
Connected with the formulation of this theory was the hypothesis of
matriarchy, which took root under the influence of Bachofen's study
Das Mutterrecht. Scholars have assumed a coherence of matriarchy
and polyandry, but today this is generally rejected. 151
If one accepts the interpretation that 'Anatu celebrates a wedding
77, renders slightly differently: 'Women of former times each married two men,
but women of today have been made to give up that crime'.
146
Glassner, 'Women, Hospitality and the Honor of the Family', 80. But cf.
McNamara's reaction in the 'Responses to Dr. Glassner's Paper', in: WER, 93.
147
'Responses to Dr. Glassner's Paper', 91-2. In his Presargonic Inscriptions,
77-8, n. 8, Cooper mentions an alternative interpretation: 'If za--da (what 'the
woman of today' are giving up) is not 'crime' but 'debt servitude'..., then perhaps
the reference to two men here merely refers to a woman whose husband has put
her in bondage to another man . . . , so that she had, for all practical purposes,
marital obligations to two men'.
148
W. von Soden, 'Sumer, Babylon und Hethiter bis zur Mitte des zweiten
Jahrtausends v. Chr.' in: G. Mann, A. Heu (eds), Propylen Weltgeschichte:
eine Universalgeschichte, vol. 1, Berlin 1961, 546. See also Glassner, 'Women,
Hospitality and the Honor of the Family', 80, n. 35.
149
Cf. C. Desroches Noblecourt, La femme au temps des pharaons, Paris 1986,
281; . Engelken, Frauen im Alten Israel: Eine begriffsgeschichtliche und sozialrechtliche Studie zur Stellung der Frau im Alten Testament (BWANT, 130),
Stuttgart 1990, 103, n. 210.
150
A. Eberharter, Das Ehe- und Familienrecht der Hebrer (ATA, Bd. 5, 1-2),
Mnster 1914, 22-4.
151
See for instance J.S. Cooper's reaction in 'Responses to Dr. Glassner's Paper',
91-2. Still, the range of thoughts is persistent, cf., e.g., E. Ebeling, 'Frau', RLA,
vol. 3, 101. On matriarchy, see further chapter 1.

with Aqhatu (KTU 1.18)152 she had two husbands at that moment.
But since she was planning to have him killed immediately, this cannot
be regarded as a 'real' case of polyandry.
With regard to the Hebrew Bible, Esther Fuchs has pointed to
the double standard that is used in its treatment of polygyny and
polyandry. Potiphar's wife is implicitly condemned for her behaviour
(Gen. 39), the message of which is rejection of polyandry. Polygyny
on the other hand is allowed. 'Had Potiphar himself seduced a maid
servant he would not have been condemned for either betraying or
deceiving his wife, since patriarchal monogamy applies exclusively to
women'. 153
The prophet Ezekiel used the image of polyandry in a metaphorical
way to polemize Israel's close ties with its neighbouring peoples. Ezek.
23:20 is the only place in the Bible where the plural occurs in a
masculine sense, referring to Oholibah's paramours. For the prophet
polyandry was a striking symbol to bear out the abhorrence for the
political situation. 154
It would seem that the societies from which both Uru'inimgina of
Lagash and the Hebrew Bible stem regard polyandry as objectionable
behaviour. The texts are used in a polemic context and employ a
double standard, since polygyny is not rejected in both societies.
2.1.1.4.2 A Wife's Own World
It would seem that in the ancient Near East there existed a dichotomy
between the public sphere, which was a male domain, and the private
sphere, which was a female domain. This did not mean that women
never acted in the public sphere, but they were expected to take care
of their family and home as their first responsibility. 155 The private
sphere involved certain areas for which a wife was responsible and
which she could manage according to her own insights. A wife oversaw
all housekeeping tasks, although a husband could interfere with her
authority whenever he chose to do so, either in the sense that he
himself took over certain menial tasks or that he ordered his wife to
execute such tasks. We will examine the tasks a wife had to perform.
Because housekeeping is an aspect in the economy of the ancient
world which is often difficult to separate from professional activities
152

See above, section 2.1.1.1.

Fuchs, 'The Literary Characterization of Mothers and Sexual Politics in the
Hebrew Bible', 139.
154
Cf. Engelken, Frauen im Alten Israel, 102-3.
155
Cf. R. Harris, 'Women (Mesopotamia)', in: ABD, vol. 6, 949; P.A. Bird,
'Women (OT)', in: ABD, vol. 6, 953. On women's activities in the public sphere,
see section 2.2.2.
153

of women I will discuss this subject more fully in section 2.2.2.3. Next
to household tasks I will also give attention to moments of relaxation.
The matter of housekeeping tasks is related to other issues, such
as the question whether there was any spatial division in the house.
The fact that a wife had her own world can sometimes be taken
very literally. Did women live in separate quarters, so-called 'women's
quarters'? If so, did this mean that their freedom of movement was
restricted and that they could not perform all kinds of tasks?
Further, what was the average size of a household? It would make
a difference for a wife if she oversaw a nuclear family of 4-5 persons
or if she was part of a large household or an extended family.
A . ANCIENT N E A R E A S T

With regard to the ancient Near East in general, seclusion of women

was correlated to social status. Cornells de Geus remarks:
As far as we can tell the system of seclusion is very old and has always
been a matter of social prestige. The higher in the social hierarchy, the
more secluded are the women. It was always more strict in the urban
culture than on the fringes of the desert.156
In Babylonia a woman who had vowed to live in chastity (nadtu)
lived in the gag, a Sumerian loan word meaning 'locked house' which
may be compared to a cloister. 157 Also other women of high birth or
belonging to the ladies of the palace could live a life of seclusion in
the royal women's quarters. 158
For the ladies of the Middle Assyrian court freedom of movement
was restricted. 159 Yet contrary to women living in the palace, the only
restriction for Assyrian wives of the lower classes when leaving the
house appears to have been wearing a veil (MAL A40). In Assyrian
houses the women's quarters were the centre of family life. These
quarters were not accessible to strangers. 160
Studies of the architectural remains of Egyptian houses in Deir el156
C.H.J, de Geus, 'The City of Women: Women's Places in Ancient Israelite
Cities', in: J.A. Emerton (ed.), Congress Volume: Paus 1992 (VT.S, 61), Leiden
1995, 76.
157
The best known is the cloister of the naditu's of Sippar, cf. R. Harris, 'The
Organization and Administration of the Cloister in Ancient Babylonia', JESHO 6
(1963), 121-57; Idem, Ancient Sippar: A Demographic Study of an Old-Babylonian
City (1894-1595 B.C.), Istanbul 1975, 188-199.
158
The Sumerian proverb 'What has been spoken in secret will be revealed in
the women's quarter' gives an impression of women's life and strife; cf. . Alster,
Proverbs of Ancient Sumer, vol. 1, Bethesda MD 1997, 20 ( # 1.82).
159
See further section 2.2.1.3.
160
E. Ebeling, 'Familie', RLA, vol. 3, 12.

Medina and Amarna mention several types of houses with the number
of rooms ranging from three to eighteen. Women of the lowest strata of
Egyptian society would be living in a small house with one large and
a few small rooms. The smaller rooms were used as storage rooms
and bedrooms. Cooking and baking occurred in a communal yard.
Women of the middle classes would have larger homes with more
convenience. The houses were detached, they had their own yards
and their own ovens. The wives of these households had servants to
do some of the household tasks such as drawing water and grinding
grain. The central room had a dais where the master of the household
could retreat. Adjacent rooms were used for storage purposes and as
bedrooms. These side-rooms were considered the domain of women.
People of the highest social strata lived in a large house enclosed by
a high wall. Within this wall there was a yard with several smaller
buildings, such as servant's houses, stables and workshops. It could
also contain a garden. The master of the house often practised his
profession at home. The spatial division probably was most prominent
in these large estates. The bedroom in the western part of the house
and the reception room, where the master of the house entertained
his guests, were the domain of men. The side rooms and rooms in the
eastern part of the back of the house were the domain of women. 161
A Sumerian letter, probably dating from the Ur HI period, sheds
some light on the household tasks of a middle class wife at the end of
the third or the beginning of the second millennium BCE.162 She was
responsible for giving out food supplies, leasing fields and managing
the grain supplies for seed-plowing. Generally, wives of the higher
social strata were also responsible for their personnel. Some of the
Old Assyrian wives of merchants were in charge of textile production
on a large scale base. 163
The Egyptian title nebet per 'mistress of the house', used from
the beginning of the Twelfth Dynasty for elite women, indicates that
the lives of Egyptian women centered around their household. Wives
were in charge of running the household and the Instruction of Any
tells their husbands not to interfere:
161

B. Watterson, Women in Ancient Egypt, New York 1991, 125-7; A.A. Loose,
'Woonhuizen in Amarna en het domein van de vrouwen', Phoenix 38/2 (1992),
16-29.
162
D.I. Owen, Sumerian Letter from an Angry Housewife (?) , , in: G. Rendsburg et al. (eds), The Bible World: Essays in Honor of Cyrus H. Gordon, New
York 1980, 189-202.
163
L. Matous, 'Zur Korrespondenz des Imdi-ilum mit Tarm-Kubi', in: G. van
Driel et al. (eds), Zikir umim: Assyriological Studies Presented to F.R. Kraus on
the Occasion of his Seventieth Birthday (SFSMD, 15), Leiden 1982, 268-70.

Do not control your wife in her house,

When you know she is efficient;
Don't say to her: 'Where is it? Get it!'
When she has put it in the right place.
Let your eye observe in silence,
Then you recognize her skill;
It is joy when your hand is with her,
There are many who don't know this.164
Apparently a gender distinction existed for persons of the higher social strata. Wives of the elite class did not partake in the activities of
their husbands, who held bureaucratic office and administered estates,
but ran the household affairs. 165 This meant they were concerned with
organizing and overseeing the activities of the servants, such as baking bread, brewing beer, cooking, spinning and weaving, animal husbandry and craft production. Wetnurses and nannies would look after
their children. Since the Egyptian woman could act independently as
a legal person, wives of the upper class might also engage in business.
They could control their own property, over which their husband had
no authority, for instance, by releasing a slave.166 Wives of the middle
classes would have less servants and be more involved themselves with
household tasks. On the majority of the Egyptian population, i.e., persons of the lower social strata, we have little information. The wives of
these classes had no servants and were concerned with all the household chores and childrearing tasks themselves. They were not confined
to the home, but went out to draw water and do their laundry. They
also may have worked the fields occassionally.167
However, there were also moments of relaxation in a wife's life. One
area which women enjoyed particularly was entertainment: music,
dancing and acrobatics. Numerous scenes on Egyptian walls depict female dancers, musicians and acrobats. 168 In Mesopotamia, too, music
164

M. Lichtheim, Ancient Egyptian Literature: A Book of Readings, vol. 2, Berkeley 1976, 143.
165
Yet incidentally a wife of the elite class might act as a substitute for her
husband and perform his public tasks; cf. Loose, 'Woonhuizen in Amarna en het
domein van de vrouwen', 28.
166
E. Brunner-Traut, 'Die Stellung der Frau im Alten gypten', Saeculum 38
(1987), 326.
167
G. Robins, Women in Ancient Egypt, London 1993, 92-110.
168
See, e.g., J. Leclant (ed.), Les pharaons: L'empire des conqurants, Paris
1979, t. 2, Pl. 78-80; Watterson, Women in Ancient Egypt, 47-53 and Pl. 8; .
Teeter, 'Female Musicians in Pharaonic Egypt', in: K. Marshall (ed.), Rediscovering the Muses: Women's Musical Traditions, Boston 1993, 68-91; W. Decker, M.
Herb, Bildatlas zum Sport im Alten gypten: Corpus der bildlichen Quellen zu

played an important role in the social life of women. 169 In both societies affluent women regularly met to share meals and drinks, often
while listening to music. 170
The size of a household depended on the social stratum to which
a wife belonged. If she was an elite wife, living on a large estate, she
was in charge of numerous servants and slaves with their families,
along with her own family. There is some discussion on the question
whether a well-to-do family with their personnel should be regarded as
a household. Papers of the landowner Heqanakhte, who lived during
the Twelfth Dynasty inform us about his household which comprised
over 20 persons, some of whom were family and other were personnel.
Yet these persons may not have lived under the same roof nor shared
their food, for they each received their own grain portion. On the
other hand, Heqanakhte was responsible for the sustenance of all of
them. 171 Data from Sargonic archives reveal examples of households
with an even greater number of people. On the estate of a certain
Me-sg in Sumer, a 'household group' of 172 persons existed. More
extensive is the Sargonic domain at Susa, with a 'labour force' of 836
adults and 198 children. 172 The study of Ignace Gelb on households in
early Mesopotamia clarifies the background of such large numbers. 173
He distinguishes between public and private households. The households of a temple, a palace or an official were public, whereas familial
or individual households were private. Private households could either be of a nuclear-family type or of an extended-family type. 174 It
Leibesbungen, Spiel, Jagd, Tanz und verwandten Themen (HdO, 1/14), Leiden
1994, Pl. R 1.1-S 7.1.
169
A.D. Kilmer, 'Musik ., RLA, Bd. 8, 463-82; D. Collon, 'Musik I.B', RLA,
Bd. 8, 488-91.
170
Because music was an indispensable ingredient of religious gatherings and
was often performed by professional musicians and singers, I will return to these
matters in section 3.1.
171
R.M. Janssen, J.J. Janssen, Getting Old in Ancient Egypt, London 1996, 40-1.
172
B.R. Foster, 'Notes on Women in Sargonic Society', in: FPOA, 54-5.
173
I.J. Gelb, 'Household and Family in Early Mesopotamia', in: E. Lipmski (ed.),
State and Temple Economy in the Ancient Near East I (OLA, 5), Leuven 1979,
1-97.
174
Gelb, 'Household and Family in Early Mesopotamia', 58, defines an extended
family as 'a multi-generational unit composed of the pater familias as the head of
the family, his unmarried brothers and sisters, his wife (or wives), their unmarried
children, married children (sons? or daughters? or both?) with their wives and
children, and a few attached relatives, all forming a single household and living
in one large dwelling or a cluster of huts in a well-defined compound'. A nuclear
family 'is a two-generational unit, which consists of man, wife (or wives), and
unmarried children. At times, other relatives, such as unmarried brothers or sisters
of the man or his wife or a surviving grandparent may be attached to the family

appears that in earliest Mesopotamian times up to and including the

Sargonic period, nuclear families existed in the larger framework of
extended families, while from Ur ill onwards they tended to function
more independently. This probably indicates a shift to smaller private
households of the nuclear-family type. Based on administrative texts
from the Pre-Sargonic to the Old Babyloniona period, Gelb notes that
almost all nuclear households consisted of a monogamous couple with
their offspring, the average number of children being 2.2.175
The nuclear family also was the most common type of household
in Egypt. Although archaeology has provided plans for the houses of
the working force in Amarna and Deir el-Medina, it is difficult to relate these data to the people actually living in them. The number of
persons mentioned in a register of Deir el-Medina households ranges
from one to six. 176 A household generally would consist of a couple
with their children and possibly female relatives, either unmarried or
widowed. Adult male relatives, apart from sons, usually would not
be part of a nuclear family; they would establish their own household. 177 This is also clear from Egyptian wisdom literature, where
young men are encouraged to start their own household and not to
live with parents or in-laws. 178 Annette Depla refers to the fact that
the Egyptian divine world reflects the ideal family unit, i.e., the nuclear family. However, the nuclear family could be part of an extended
family system. 179
B . UGARITIC LITERARY T E X T S

The goddess at the head of the Ugaritic pantheon, Athiratu, did not
live with her spouse. She visited Ilu whose dwellings were 'at the
fountain-head of the two Rivers, in the middle of the bedding of the
two Floods'. In contrast with Ilu's reaction to his daughter's approach
household' (56).
175
Gelb, 'Household and Family in Early Mesopotamia', 68-79. Parents of
weal tier families sometimes had more children. Two votive inscriptions of prosperous males indiate they were fathers of eight or more children (65).
176
Robins, Women in Ancient Egypt, 98: 'Of the thirty households that are still
reasonably well-preserved, there is only one couple registered with four children,
five couples have three, there are two fathers who each have three children by
different mothers, six couples with two children, seven with one child, four with
none, and six male householders who are unmarried'.
177
Robins, Women in Ancient Egypt, 99.
178
Lichtheim, Ancient Egyptian Literature, vol. 2, 139 (Instruction of Any 6,Iff.);
H.J. Thissen, Die Lehre des Anchscheschonqi (P. BM 10508) (PTA, 32), Bonn
1984, 22, 35 (Instructions of Ankhsheshonqy 9:12; 23:8).
179
A. Depla, 'Women in Ancient Egyptian Wisdom Literature', in: L.J. Archer
et al. (eds), Women in Ancient Societies: An Illusion of the Night, Basingstoke,
Hampshire 1994, 27.

(KTU 1.3:V.6-7), his response to his wife was a warm welcome, inviting her to eat and drink and hoping to charm her into having sex
with him (1.4:IV.21-22). 'Anatu did not live with her husband either.
Upon her arrival Ba'lu regaled her with an ox and a fatling (KTU
1.3:IV.41), which was considered a festive welcome for guests. 180 Apparently both Athiratu and 'Anatu were supposed to have their own
palaces with their own personnel.
Based on KTU 1.15:111.23-24, Cyrus Gordon assumes king Kirtu
had two parallel households, a male and a female one. The former
consisted of Kirtu and his two sons, while Hariya and her daughters
made up the latter. 181 Although I agree with Gordon that in royal
circles women probably had a separate household, at least a separate women's quarters 182 , I find his picture of a patriarch leading a
male group with a fratriarch as their head and a female group with a
sororach confusing with regard to terminology and unconvincing with
regard to the sororarch as a leader of the female sub-family. Yet in
support of his thesis it can be pointed out that Thatmanatu, daughter
of Kirtu, probably did not live in her father's household and only came
to his living quarters when called upon by Kirtu (1.16:1). Likewise,
Pughatu, daughter of Dani'ilu, apparently came from elsewhere to
meet her father in a situation of drought (1.19:1.25-48).183 The division
of male and female households might reflect the actual situation of
the Ugaritic queen and king who did not share the same palace as
living quarters, but lived in separate dwellings.184
180

Cf. 1.4:V.45-48. Both goddesses had to travel long distances to meet their
husbands.
181
C.H. Gordon, 'Fathers Sons and Mother's Daughters: in Ugaritic, in the
Ancient Near East and in Mandaic Magic Texts', in: M. Dietrich, I. Kottsieper
(eds); u. Mitw. v. H. Schaudig, 'Und, Mose schrieb dieses Lied auf': Studien zum
Alten Testament und zum Alten Orient, Fs. O. Loretz, (AOAT, 250), Mnster
1998, 319-24.
182
In view of the extensiveness of the divine quarters the size of which was a
macrocosmic reproduction of palaces and temples on earth, quarters in the same
complex might be situated at some distance from each other. According to KTU
1.114:17-18 Ilu's own quarters, called bt 'house' || hzr 'residence' were only a part
of his hkl (line 2) which comprised many rooms (KTU 1.3:V.26 par.).
Unfortunately even an in-depth study of the archaeological remains of a large
house in Ugarit was unable to identify the women's quarters, cf. . Callot, Une
maison Ougarit: Etudes d'architecture domestique (RSO, 1), Paris 1983, 73. But
see below on the significance of the staircase which was part of this house.
183
Although the beginning of this section (11. 25-31) is lacunose, it seems reasonable to assume Pughatu noticed the deplorable situation of nature for the first
time and only upon closer approach saw that her father's garments were rent. Cf.
De Moor, ARTU, 249-50.
184
The queen may have had her own palace in Ras Ibn Hani; cf. J. and E. Lagarce,

But this was the situation among the upper classes where wives
had their own personnel who would normally take many chores off
their hands. In Ugaritic literary texts even goddesses and royal ladies
performed menial tasks, despite the fact that they had their own
servants. 185 Athiratu washed her own clothes and probably boiled her
laundry alone (KTU 1.4:11.1-11).186 'Anatu cleaned the house alone.
She wiped the blood from the house, rearranged the furniture and
drew water to wash herself (KTU 1.3:11.30-41).
Young marriageable girls were screened off from the outer world, 187
but hitherto the literary texts do not indicate the existence of a seeluded area for the women's quarters.
In Ugarit, too, women were performers of music and dance. 188 This
they sometimes did while being alone. 'Anatu sang about her love for
her husband Ba'lu and their daughters, even for a daughter of her
sister 'Athtartu who was also married to Ba'lu (KTU 1.3:111.3-8 par.,
cf. 1.24:26-28).189 'Anatu accompanied herself on the lyre which she
held against her breastbone.
C . H E B R E W BIBLE

In Israelite society, restrictions on social mingling of the sexes seems

to have varied with the social position of women. Generally, women
from the lower social strata were not secluded in their homes but had
contact with men during their work. Moreover, a rural or an urban
context affected the number of aspects of life that women could enter,
for instance in performing tasks of animal husbandry and agriculture.
Rachel tended the flock of her father (Gen. 29:7,9), Samson's mother
was out in the field when she encountered the angel of God (Judg.
13:9), Ruth gleaned barley in the field behind the reapers and joined
'Ras Ibn Hani au bronze rcent: Recherches et rflexions en cours', in: M. Yon
et al. (eds), Le pays d'Ougarit autour de 1200 av. J.-C.: Histoire et Archologie
(RSO, 11), Paris 1995, 141-54 (149).
185
On the servants of the Ugaritic deities, see section 2.2.1.1.
186
On the disputed interpretation of this text, see section 2.1.1.4.1.
187
See section 2.1.1.1.
188
Cf. A. Caubet, 'La musique Ougarit: nouveaux tmoignages matriels', in:
N. Wyatt et al. (eds), Ugarit, Religion and Culture (UBL, 12), 9-31. See further
section 2.2.2.3.
189
It is possible that Ba'lu married 'Athtartu because 'Anatu was infertile. In
that case all daughters may have been 'Athtartu's. The love for Balu's daughters
that 'Anatu expressed in her song may indicate that she had adopted them (cf.
section 2.1.1.4.1). It is also possible that the sororal relationship of 'Anatu and
'Astarte was the Ugaritic version of a more widely known theme of the two sisters
who are both married to the same husband while one is infertile and the other is
not. In that case a parallel in the Hebrew Bible would be the sororal relationship
of Rachel and Leah.

them for their meal (Ruth 2), the girl in the Song of Songs had acquired a deep tan by working in the vineyard (Song 1:5-6) and acted
the shepherdess (Song 1:8). Women and men also met at a town's or
village's water source. Abraham's servant met Rebekah at the spring
where she drew water for his camels (Gen. 24) and Moses met the
seven daughters of the priest of Midian at a well (Exod. 2:15b-17).
According to the Hebrew Bible, in nomadic times Israelite women
had their own separate living quarters. Isaac brought his new wife Rebekah to the tent of his late mother Sarah (Gen. 24:67). Jacob, Leah,
Rachel and their female slaves all had their own separate tents (Gen.
31:33). Yet from the information of archaeological studies it is hard
to tell whether women had separate quarters in the standard houses
of the Iron Age. Excavations have shown a groundplan of three or
four rooms for most houses. 190 Generally, scholars assume the houses
had two storeys. '[T]he ground floor had space allocated for food processing, small craft production, stabling, and storage; the second floor
( 'aliyyh) was suitable for dining, sleeping, and other activities'. 191 De
Geus has pointed to the presence of stairs and their location in the
house as an indication of spatial division for men and women. 'The
position of the stairs indicates that (male?) visitors were led straight
to the guest-room on the roof. The production area and family area
[on the ground level and first floor respectively, HJM] were passed by
' 192 The upper storey - or storeys for richer houses - is where the
women's quarters may have been located. Yet the fact that houses had
a division between male and female areas does not necessarily mean
that women were confined to these areas. It implied that the women's
quarters probably were not visited by (male) strangers to the family. De Geus notes as a rule: 'the higher the social status of women,
the more secluded and restricted to their quarters they lived'. 193 Here
social status and living conditions, i.e., larger houses, intertwine. A
woman of higher social status would have servants to do the kind of
tasks that required going out, such as drawing water and working in
vineyards. Furthermore, the fact that she lived in a large house means
there would be enough space to make distinctions between male and
female quarters.
190

Cf. H. Weippert, Palstina in vorhellenistischer Zeit (Handbuch der

Archologie. Vorderasien 2/1), Mnchen 1988, 393-407, 449, 530-2, 594-7.
191
L.E. Stager, 'The Archaeology of the Family in Ancient Israel', BASOR 260
(1985), 1-35 (17).
192
De Geus, 'The City of Women', 75-86 (81). De Geus suggests that Iron Age
city houses of middle class households had at least two storeys and an 'upper
room' ( 'liyy) - a guest room on the roof.
193
De Geus, 'The City of Women', 79-80.

The kings of Israel and Judah probably had separate quarters in

which their wives and concubines lived in seclusion, although it is very
possible they had freedom of movement and contact with persons
outside the women's quarters. Solomon built a separate house for
Pharaoh's daughter (1 Kgs 7:8; 9:24). The book of Esther mentions
the the 'women's house' several times (Est. 2:9,11,13,14) as
a place where Esther lived a life of seclusion, although she did have
the opportunity to contact her uncle Mordecai. 194
In biblical texts of the post-exilic period the public appearance of
women tends to be valued more negatively. A virtuous woman was
supposed to remain inside the house. It was the temptress who was
seen in the street: ' . . . her feet do not stay at home; now in the street,
now in the squares, and at every corner she lies in wait' (Prov. 7:11b12). Lonie Archer assumes that in the Graeco-Roman period young
girls, especially marriageable virgins, were secluded inside the house
and were not to be seen by male strangers. 195 Married women, on the
other hand, were not as restricted in movement as young girls. They
would go out to perform household duties, go to the temple or the
synagogue, attend weddings and funerals, and visit their parents. 196
Shmuel Safrai, however, paints a more positive picture, claiming that
a young Jewish woman did not live a life of seclusion but could go
out. 197
Archer relates the views on seclusion of women in the home to
the goals of the exiles who guarded themselves against assimilation
(both ethnic and religious) by protecting their internal bonds and
strengthening the social unit of the family. As a consequence of the
rise of the nuclear family, 'there developed an increasing rigidity in the
attitude toward and definition of function within the family group:
the woman's role was placed firmly in the private sphere of activity
as wife, mother and homemaker, while that of the man was located in
the public sphere as worker/family supporter and active participant in
194

According to A. Malamat, Mari and the Bible (SHCANE, 12), Leiden 1998,
172-4, another Heb. designation of the royal women's quarters would have been
' ?inside' (Ps. 45:14-15; 2 Kgs 7:11-12).
195
L.J. Archer, Her Price is Beyond Rubies: The Jewish Woman in GraecoRoman Palestine (JSOT.S, 60), Sheffield 1990, esp. 101-122.
196
L.M. Epstein, Sex Laws and Customs in Judaism, New York 1948, 70; Archer,
Her Price is Beyond Rubies, 239-50.
197
S. Safrai, 'Home and Family', in: S. Safrai, M. Stern (eds), The Jewish People
in the First Century: Historical Geography, Political History, Social, Cultural and
Religious Life and Institutions, vol. 2 (CRI, sect. 1), Assen 1976, 725. See further
D.H. De Waele, 'De positie van de joodse vrouw in de oudheid: Een overzicht van
de recente literatuur', NThT 50 (1996), 215-36.

social, religious, and political affairs'. 198 Furthermore, Claudia Camp

has pointed to the theological importance of the family. Although the
family as a religious symbol was of significance during biblical history,
it was not always the most important symbol, especially not during
the monarchic period. In the post-exilic period the family 'not only
functions as the primary unit of production of this period but also
re-emerges as one locus of community-wide political authority and,
concomitantly, as a primary symbol for understanding the purpose
of Israelite society and its relationship with its God'. 199 Discussing
Rainer Albertz's work on personal or familial piety, Camp disagrees
with his sharp division between familal and official religion but more
or less accepts his view on the role of familial piety in the exilic and
post-exilic period. Whereas during the monarchic period the primary
symbol of official religion had been the power and glory of the king,
this religious stratum encountered a void in the exilic period. Family
symbolism, on the other hand, remained viable, and theological emphasis became focused on the family. 200 Possibly those propagating
the seclusion of women may have used the theological emphasis on
family symbolism to support their views. On the other hand it seems
appropriate to point out that seclusion of women had a long history in
the ancient Near East and existed long before the first millennium. So
it would seem prudent not to draw hasty conclusions from the sparse
evidence from the biblical period we have at our disposal.
Scholars have called for attention to the ' ! mother's household'. Cyrus Gordon assumes a family with children of both sexes
could be divided into a male and a female sub-family, a and a
201
.
Although this institution of parallel households may have
existed, I think it was limited to upper class circles. Royal women
would probably live in separate quarters, where strangers to the family were not admitted. Yet it is not clear from the Hebrew Bible
that every reference to a 'mother's household' involves a female parallel household, as described by Gordon. Carol Meyers notices that
in all texts that mention a a woman's story is being told. 202
198

Archer, Her Price is Beyond Rubies, 85-86 (86).

C.V. Camp, Wisdom and the Feminine in the Book of Proverbs (BiLiSe, 11),
Sheffield 1985, 246-7.
200
Camp, Wisdom and the Feminine in the Book of Proverbs, 247-50. Camp
discusses R. Albertz, Persnliche Frmmigkeit und offizielle Religion: Religionsinterner Pluralismus in Israel und Babylon, Stuttgart 1978. Albertz later on refines his view on religious pluralism, assuming it included three strata. See further
chapter 3.
201
Gordon, 'Father's Sons and Mother's Daughters', 319-24.
202
C. Meyers, '"To Her Mother's House": Considering a Counterpart to the
199

More specifically, Gen. 24:28, Ruth 1:8 and Song 3:4, 8:2 all refer to a
mother-daughter relationship in a context of marriage. A mother apparently had a great deal of influence on matters of matrimony, and
she was the one a daughter would turn to in this regard. Moreover,
the desire of the girl in the Song of Songs to bring her lover to the
household of her mother implies that she wanted him to become part
of the family to whom it was permitted to enter areas that were not
accessible to strangers.
The average size of a nuclear family in an Iron Age I highland
village would be 4-5 persons which is entirely in accord with what
we found for Late Bronze Ugarit. Excavations of this period and geographical area also show clusters of dwellings, inhabited by a multiple
family household. Here a father, mother and unwed children would
live together with married sons and their families, as well as other unwedded or widowed relatives. 203 The women of such an extended family would probably be cooperating in some of their household tasks.
Such a cluster of dwellings where a father and his adult sons with
their families lived together was referred to as ( Deut. 25:5;
Ps. 133:1). It is generally assumed that during the monarchic period
the importance of extended families diminished, at least in the urban
context.
With regard to the tasks women had to perform, the social stratum of society and the rural or urban context the women lived in
was influential. Meyers has described the lives of women in the tribal
villages of early Israel. In these highland villages social and economic
diversity was limited if not absent. Archaeological evidence indicates
that household units in the Cisjordanian hill country of the beginning of the Iron Age were economically self-sufficient. To survive, the
hands of all household members were needed. Although there probably was a gender division concerning tasks, women were involved
in all aspects of economic life. They produced materials, both edible
and non-edible and allocated them. According to Meyers, 'the control
of food preparation and the allocation of the resources in agrarian
settings entailed the control of a large and significant part of the
economic life of the household'. 204 Next to the preparation of food,
women performed the crafts of spinning, weaving and pottery. Plowing and agriculture probably were male tasks, while males and females
Israelite Bt 'ab', in: D. Jobling et al. (eds), The Bible and the Politics of Exegesis,
Cleveland, Ohio 1991, 49.
203
Stager, 'The Archaeology of the Family in Ancient Israel', 18-21.
204
C. Meyers, Discovering Eve: Ancient Israelite Women in Context, New York
1988, 142-9 (147).

both worked in the areas of horticulture and animal husbandry. Meyers concludes that there was a complimentarity in economic functions
of females and males in early Israel. 205
Both textual and archaeological evidence indicates that in Israel,
too, women loved to sing, play musical instruments and dance, not
only at home, but also on public occasions, like the celebration of vietories, secular and religious festivals. 206 As Meyers has shown, soloists
as well as all-female ensembles and choirs are also attested in ancient
Israel. 207 Amos 4:1 shows that the women at the court of Samaria
met for drinking-bouts and had their husbands serve them wine. Yet
there is no reason to assume that only groups of rich women met each
other regularly. The Song of Songs mentions the ' daughters
of Jerusalem' who were, apparently, at least one audience for whom
these love-songs were sung.
An Israelite wife did not have legal independence. When married,
she was under the authority of her husband. But in the sphere of the
household there are examples of biblical women acting quite independently. When Abigail heard that her husband Nabal refused to give
food and drink to David and his men, she brought them a large quantity of provisions on her own accord (1 Sam. 25). Only later did she
inform her husband. 'The implication of v. 25 is that, had she known
of the arrival of David's men, it would have been quite within her
power to deal with them without consulting her husband'. 208 Neither
was the Shunammite woman (2 Kgs 4) a restrained wife. She recommended to her husband that a roof chamber be built for the prophet
Elisha, which so happened. Her behaviour when her son fell ill reveals
a similar promptness of action.
Another example of a woman acting independently in the sphere
of the household is the industrious woman of Prov. 31:10-31. Although
the date of this alphabetic acrostic is difficult to establish 209 , the poem
205

Meyers, Discovering Eve, 148.

Cf. F. van Dijk-Hemmes, "Traces of Women's Texts in the Hebrew Bible', in:
A. Brenner, F. van Dijk-Hemmes, On Gendering Texts: Female and Male Voices
in the Hebrew Bible (BIntS, 1), Leiden 1993, 17-109.
207
C. Meyers, 'Mother to Muse: An Archaeomusicological Study of Women's
Performance in Ancient Israel', in: A. Brenner, J.W. van Henten (eds), Recycling
Biblical Figures (STAR, 1), Leiden 1999, 50-77. See also section 3.1.
208
G.I. Emmerson, 'Women in Ancient Israel', in: R.E. Clements (ed.), The
World of Ancient Israel: Sociological, Anthropological and Political Perspectives,
Cambridge 1989, 381.
209
Scholars suppose the terminus a quo is the establishment of the order of the
Hebrew alphabet, while the post-exilic period is considered the terminus ad quem,
cf. R.B.Y. Scott, Proverbs. Ecclesiastes (AncB, 18), Garden City NY 1965, 22; O.
Plger, Sprche Salomos (Proverbia) (BK, 17), Neukirchen-Vluyn 1984, xvi; R.N.
206

reveals information on the daily life of a wife of a well-to-do family. 210

She was a provisioner of the home, a hard working woman who did
her husband good (Prov. 31:12). She had the means to buy a field
(v. 16) and knew how to make her merchandise profitable (vv. 18,
24). She was not confined to her home, but went out to seek wool
and flax (v. 13) and to bring food in from far away (v. 14). Although
she was active in the provision of food and in commerce, she did not
partake in political and juridical offices. Her works were mentioned
with appreciation in the gate, yet it was her husband, who was 'known
in the city gates' and was 'taking his seat among the elders of the land'
(v. 23).
The image that Prov. 31:10-31 renders us of the industrious wife
is very concrete yet idealized. What is more, it had an ideological
function. The praise she was sung served to keep her in the useful
role of provider of the home. Camp suggests that 'the female image
in Prov 31 defines not only the home itself but also indicates the
proper identity and character of the public domain as well, namely,
one that finds its bearings in home and family life'. 211
D . CONCLUSIONS

It depended on the social position of a wife whether she had to perform

household tasks herself or order others to do them and oversee the
work of servants and slaves. Generally, there existed a gender distincWhybray, Proverbs (NCBC), London; Grand Rapids MI 1994, 6-7, 406, 425-6.
210
Cf. F. Crsemann, " ... er aber soll dein Herr sein" (Genesis 3,16): Die Frau
in der patriarchalischen Welt des Alten Testaments', in: F. Crsemann, H. Thyen,
Als Mann und Frau geschaffen: Exegetische Studien zur Rolle der Frau (Kennzeichen, 2), Gelnhausen 1978, 37; C. Gottlieb, 'The Words of the Exceedingly
Wise: Proverbs 30-31', in: K. Lawson Younger et al. (eds), The Biblical Canon in
Comparative Perspective (Scripture in Context, 4) (Ancient Near Eastern Texts
and Studies, 11), Lewiston 1991, 282; Whybray, Proverbs, 426.
211
Camp, Wisdom and the Feminine in the Book of Proverbs, 92. Cf. further
Crsemann, ' "... er aber soll dein Herr sein" (Genesis 3,16)', 40. On the dichotomy
public/male - private/female see also the analysis of J.C. Exum, 'Murder They
Wrote: Ideology and the Manipulation of Female Presence in Biblical Narrative',
in: A. Bach (ed.), The Pleasure of Her Text: Feminist Readings of Biblical &
Historical Texts, Philadelphia 1990, 45-67, in which she shows that the world
outside is the space where men wield authority. When women go out, they risk
the fate of their lineage being cut of. The implicit message of the analyzed texts
(Judg. 11; 2 Sam. 6) appears to be that for the benefit of both men and women,
the latter should remain in the house. 'The men return to their houses, to the
domestic order preserved by women. Without the house, there is no 'outside'; the
men need what the house represents and what it makes possible for them, the
freedom from domestic responsibilities that allows them to concentrate on affairs
of state. The house is both place and lineage, shelter and posterity. When the
women go outside, houses are cut off' (56).

tion in tasks. Matters concerning food production and textile crafts

were a woman's job. Heavy work regarding agriculture and crafts as
well as administrative and judicial duties were a man's task. Beside
these areas there were some that were entered by both sexes. Women
bought and sold household products and they sometimes engaged in
buying or selling immovables.
The dichotomy public/male - private/female appears to have been
a general one for the ancient Near East, although the boundaries of
the private sphere might be stretched sometimes, when wives acted
as representative of their husband with his authorization.
In general, women had a territory of their own and could spend
time on their own, which they could use for singing, playing music and
dancing. In all civilizations reviewed we found evidence of women's
groups meeting for the simple fun of it.
As De Geus has pointed out, seclusion of wives was correlated to
their social status. 212 The higher their place in the social hierarchy
was, the more secluded women lived. Wives and concubines of Oriental kings were restricted to their living quarters, as apparently were
Israelite queens and concubines. Yet the degree of seclusion probably
varied from period to period. Women of the middle and upper classes
would generally have their own quarters in the house where strangers
to the family got no access. Thus, for these classes houses would have
'public' and 'private' areas. There appear to be no major distinctions
between architecture of Egypt on the one hand and Israel on the other
hand in this regard.
Gelb has shown that in early Mesopotamia extended families occurred at least until the Sargonic period. 213 From Ur ill onwards the
nuclear family-type started to prevail. Also in Egypt the nuclear family was the most common type of household. I assume that up to a
certain period Israelite society differed from its surrounding countries,
in that the extended family continued to be of importance. In early
Israel extended families inhabited the highland villages of Cisjordan.
Although a gradual shift from extended to nuclear families is generally
assumed, the former type probably remained of importance well into
the monarchic period. In any case the symbolic function of the family
as expressed in theological and ideological thought never disappeared
entirely and became of renewed importance in the post-exilic period.
Perhaps this focus on the family has attributed to a stricter emphasis
212

C.H.J, de Geus, 'The City of Women: Women's Places in Ancient Israelite

Cities', in: J.A. Emerton (ed.), Congress Volume: Paris 1992 (VT.S, 61), Leiden
1995, 76.
213
Gelb, 'Household and Family in Early Mesopotamia', 68-79.

of the public/male - private/female dichotomy and has restrained at least ideologically - the freedom of movement of women. Perhaps
- because in view of the long history of the seclusion of wives it seems
prudent not to draw too far-reaching conclusions from a rather restricted amount of evidence.
2.1.1.5

The Dissolution of Marriage

A marriage could be dissolved by the death of one of the partners 1 or

by divorce. Husbands had the right to divorce, but did wives also have
that right? We will discuss the various reasons for divorce, including
adultery. How was adultery defined and how was it punished? Did the
husband have a right to punish his adulterous wife, and, conversely,
did the wife have a right to punish her adulterous husband? Or was
it up to a legal boaxd to pronounce judgment? Were the adulterers
chastised in the same way, or did the law differentiate between males
and females? We will first consider the matter of adultery. This will
logically lead us to questions regarding divorce in general.
A . ANCIENT N E A R EAST

In principal, a Babylonian marriage seems to have been concluded 'for

ever'. 2 Yet an affair with a different partner often became a reason for
divorce. Adultery is mentioned in several ancient Near Eastern law
codes (CU 7, CE 28; CH 129; MAL A13-16,22-23; HL 197198) which, although from different periods and areas, show a large
degree of similarity in treatment of the subject. 3
Adultery generally was regarded as a threefold offence, against the
husband, against the gods and against societal order.
1

On widowhood, see section 2.1.5.

See JEN 620:10, quoted in CAD (D), 113b.
3
For a thourough comparative analysis of the ancient Near Eastern laws with
regard to their treatment of adultery see R. Westbrook, 'Adultery in Ancient Near
Eastern Law', RB 97 (1990), 542-80; Roth, LCMAM, 4-7; E. Otto, 'Zur Stellung
der Frau in den ltesten Rechtstexten des Alten Testaments (Ex 20,14; 22,15f.)
- wider die hermeneutische Naivitt im Umgang mit dem Alten Testament', in:
Idem, Kontinuum und Proprium: Studien zur Sozial- und Rechtsgeschichte des
Alten Orients und des Alten Testaments (Orientalia Biblica et Christiana, 8),
Wiesbaden 1996, 30-48; Idem, 'Das Eherecht im Mittelassyrischen Kodex und im
Deuteronomium: Tradition und Redaktion in den 12-16 der Tafel A des Mittelassyrischen Kodex und in Dtn 22,22-29', in: Idem, Kontinuum und Proprium,
172-91; S. Lafont, Femmes, Droit et Justice dans l'Antiquit orientale: Contribution l'tude du droit pnal au Proche-Orient ancien (OBO, 165), Fribourg,
Suisse 1999, 1-91.
In this section, while relying on the aforementioned studies, I will give a brief
overview of the subject.
2

In contrast to modern practices, in the ancient Near East there was

a gender dissymmetry in the legal judgement of adultery. Whereas a
married woman who had a sexual relationship with a man other than
her husband was considered an adulteress, a married man who had a
sexual relationship with a woman other than his wife was not necessarily thought to be an adulterer. For a man such a relationship was
liable to punishment only if the woman was married. 4 This difference
in assessment can be explained by the fact that the husband was regarded as the owner of the marital rights over his wife. A wife was
not allowed to share her sexuality with anyone else but her husband.
In consenting to have intercourse with another man, she committed
adultery, for which she could be sentenced to death.
Despite the above mentioned gender dissymmetry, sexual relations
between a married man and an unmarried woman may have been
considered immoral. The Code of Lipit-Ishtar (ca. 1930 BCE) forbade
a young married man to marry the single woman (kar.kid) with whom
he had an affair since it directly prompted him to divorce his wife.5
Fidelity of the male partner is also at stake in the Sumerian text
Ni 2489 ( S R T 31), where a woman asked a man to take an oath of
chastity, that he did not have sex with another woman. 6 His chastity
was questioned, not hers. 7 Here fidelity was requested of a man.
In a bilingual hymn to Ninurta we find the statement, 'He who
has intercourse with (another) man's wife, his guilt is grievous'. 8 The
words nam.tag.ga || arnu 'guilt' indicate that the paramour had com4

This gender dissymmetry holds for both Mesopotamia and Egypt. For
Mesopotamia, cf. Westbrook, 'Adultery in Ancient Near Eastern Law', 543; for
Egypt, cf. R. Tanner, 'Untersuchungen zur ehe- und erbrechtlichen Stellung der
Frau im pharaonischen gypten', Klio 49 (1967), 20; S. Allam, 'Ehe', in: LA, Bd.
1, 1174-5.
5
CLI 30; Lafont, Femmes, Droit et Justice, 29-30. On the interpretation of
kar.kid, see section 2.2.2.3.
6
There is difference of opinion whether the text is part of the Inanna-Dumuzi
corpus or whether it describes an erotic dialogue between humans. Sefati, in: C0S,
vol. 1, 540-1, for instance, considers the text to be part of the Dumuzi-Inanna
songs. T. Jacobsen, The Harps That Once ... : Sumerian Poetry in Translation,
New Haven 1987, 97-8, on the other hand, seems to stress the fact that the oath
is turned into a sexual invitation. See further G. Leick, Sex and Eroticism in
Mesopotamian Literature, London 1994, 126-9. Whether one prefers the one or
the other, what is relevant here is that the woman wanted her lover to confirm
his faithfulness to her.
7
Leick, Sex and Eroticism in Mesopotamian Literature, 128: ' . . . the theme
of women competing for the sole attention of the man is common in Sumerian
poetry - . . . we have evidence for the expression of female jealousy, but not of
men doubting the fidelity of their mistresses or wives'.
8
W.G. Lambert, Babylonian Wisdom Literature, Oxford 1960, 119.

mitted a sin against the deities and/or human society.

Also a woman who committed adultery with a married man offended not only the wife but also religious morals. 9 In the bilingual
Myth of the Guilty Slave-Girl10 the goddess Inanna was furious upon
discovering that a slave girl, named Amanamtagga 'Mother of sin',
had violated several taboos, including that of having sex with Dumuzi,
husband of Inanna. 11 The goddess sent her messenger to announce
publicly the charges against the slave girl. According to Thorkild Jacobsen, '[t]he charge is one of public concern, a breech of taboos,
rather than one of private wrong'. 12 When the people had gathered,
Inanna pronounced the girl guilty and called for a lynching. 13
Inanna/Ishtar played various roles in different periods. Beside acting as the deceived wife she could also be the deceiving girl-friend of
a married man. In a first-millennium collection of rather enigmatic
texts that combine love song and incantation, Ishtar did not act as a
model of fidelity. She appeared to be Marduk's girl-friend (tappattu)
who was an object of jealousy to his regular wife Sarpanitu. 14 Sarpan9

Lafont, Femmes, Droit et Justice, 30-3.

P. Haupt, Akkadische und sumerische Keilschrifttexte (AB, 1), Leipzig 1881-2,
119-21 (no. 17); S. Langdon, Babylonian Liturgies, Paris 1913, 77-81 (no. 194).
11
Although it is not explicitly stated that Dumuzi was the person Amanamtagga
had intercourse with, this is generally assumed. Cf. Leick, Sex and Eroticism in
Mesopotamian Literature, 213-6 (214), who renders a different interpretation of
this text.
12
T. Jacobsen, 'An Ancient Mesopotamian Trial for Homicide', in: Studia Biblica et Orientalia, vol. 3, (AnBib, 12), Roma 1959, 142.
13
Perhaps Dumuzi eventually did not get away with his behaviour either. In
the Descent of Inanna the goddess looked at her husband with a look of death.
The same is said of Inanna with regard to the transgressing Amanamtagga. Possibly the relation between the Myth of the Guilty Slave-Girl and the Descent of
Inanna goes further than Inanna sending someone to the Nether World with a
deadly look. Dumuzi apparently was living up to his reputation of an unfaithful
husband by not mourning his wife while she was in the realm of death. This might
have been fuel for the fire of jealousy which burnt in Inanna, after the previous
misconduct of her husband with the slave girl. For the myth of Inanna's Descent,
cf. Jacobsen, The Harps That Once . . . , 205-32 (esp. 225, n. 24). Jacobsen, 'An
Ancient Mesopotamian Trial for Homicide', 142-3, hints at the relation between
the two texts.
14
W.G. Lambert, 'The Problem of the Love Lyrics', in: H. Goedicke, J.J.M.
Roberts (eds), Unity and Diversity: Essays in the History, Literature, and Religion
of the Ancient Near East, Baltimore 1975, 98-135; D.O. Edzard, 'Zur Ritualtafel
der sog. "Love Lyrics" ', in: F. Rochberg-Halton (ed.), Language, Literature, and
History: Philological and Historical Studies Presented to Erica Reiner (AOS, 67),
New Haven CT 1987, 57-69; Leick, Sex and Eroticism in Mesopotamian Literature,
239-46. Lambert translates Ishtar's name qintu as 'concubine', but in view of the
verb qen 'to be jealous' used in BM 41005 obv. ii: 10 and iii: 18 it is questionable
10

itu voiced her jealousy by vividly describing Ishtar's whorish conduct.

She also demanded to give her rival water to drink which resembles
the ritual against jealousy described in Num. 5. The behaviour of the
male (or perhaps, of Marduk?) is described as sinful and despicable. 15
It seems likely that these texts functioned in rituals meant to resolve
jealousy cases between couples. If a wife's jealousy was not taken seriously in a ritual context, it might have grave consequences. A jealous
wife could even burn down her husband's house. 16
In Surpu - a series of incantations - the gods are addressed and
asked to release sinners from their divine punishments. Adultery is
among the various sins mentioned in the incantations. 17 Adultery
is furthermore rejected in a hymn to Ninurta and in a hymn to
Shamash. 18 Raymond Westbrook points to the fact that in the above
mentioned sources 'divine retribution is directed solely against the
paramour'. 19 Perhaps this indicates that, in general, a man was held
more responsible for his deeds than a woman. However, it could also
be that the audience reciting the incantations and hymns to deities
was generally male. Anyway, it seems reasonable to assume people
in Mesopotamia believed that the gods knew of their transgressions,
even if they were hidden from humankind.
The offence of adultery was also a threat to public order, both in a
religious and a social sense. An adulterer evoked divine wrath, which
could be visited not only upon the sinner, but also upon society as
a whole. Besides, the institution of matrimony became endangered
which could result in a decline of society's morals. 20
Thus, adultery was regarded as a grave sin. Yet persons having
intercourse outside marriage were not always considered to be adulterers. Knowledge of the woman's married status and consent of the
woman were important elements of the evaluation. If both partners
willingly had intercourse, while the paramour knew that his lady was
whether Ishtar had the legal status of a concubine, because a wife had to consent in
such a relationship (see section 2.1.1.4.1). Edzard (63) translates 'Nebenbuhlerin,
Rivalin'.
15
Lambert, 'The Problem of the Love Lyrics', 109:13,15.
16
CAD (Q), 'qen', 210.
17
. Reinder, Surpu: A Collection of Sumerian and Akkadian Incantations
(AfO.B, 11), Graz 1958, 14 (11:47-48), 25 (IV:6).
18
Cf. Lambert, Babylonian Wisdom Literature, 119:3-4; 130-1:88-89.
19
Westbrook, 'Adultery in Ancient Near Eastern Law', 566.
20
K. van der Toorn, Sin and Sanction in Israel and Mesopotamia: A Comparative Study, Assen 1985, 17-8; Westbrook, 'Adultery in Ancient Near Eastern Law',
568; A. Depla, 'Women in Ancient Egyptian Wisdom Literature', in: L.J. Archer
et al. (eds), Women in Ancient Societies: An Illusion of the Night, Basingstoke,
Hampshire 1994, 45.

married, they were both condemned by law:

If the wife of a man should go out of her own house, and go to another
man where he resides, and should he fornicate with her knowing that
she is the wife of a man, they shall kill the man and the wife.21
The woman was regarded to consent if she went to the house of another man to have sex with him. Should her lover be unaware of her
married status, the law codes considered him not liable to punishment. In that case only the woman was an adulteress. 22 The location
where the intercourse took place was also of importance and related
to the matter of consent. If a woman went out to the house of another
man, or met him on the street or in a tavern the laws in principle assumed she consented to the liason, reasoning that she could prevent
forcible sexual intercourse by crying for help. If it was evident that
intercourse took place against her will (CH 130), or if it was obvious
the woman could not be heard while crying for help (HL 197), the
woman was not considered guilty of adultery. 23
A girl who was inchoately married was considered to abide by
the laws regarding adultery in the same way as a married woman.
Although the marriage agreement could still be annulled 24 , she was
bound by it as far as pre-marital fidelity was concerned. She was not
allowed to engage in a sexual relationship with another man. If she
was not consenting to it and was forced to have sex with a man other
than her inchoate husband, she would not be charged but the rapist
was considered to have committed a capital offence.25
When a Mesopotamian husband suspected his wife of adultery but
could not prove it, he could have recourse to divine judgement. He
could make his wife swear an oath of innocence before a god (CH
131). Another possibility for the woman was to submit herself to
the River Ordeal (CH 132). A false accusation by a husband was
punished by a flogging and public humiliation (CH 127). Likewise,
an Egyptian wife who was suspected of adultery could be forced by
21

MAL A13; cf. Roth, LCMAM, 158.

CU 7; MAL A14; Westbrook, 'Adultery in Ancient Near Eastern Law1,
550-1; Lafont, Femmes, Droit et Justice, 63-5.
23
Westbrook, 'Adultery in Ancient Near Eastern Law', 571.
24
CH 159-161; cf. M. Sigrist, 'Some di-til-la Tablets in the British Museum',
in: Z. Zevit et al. (eds), Solving Riddles and Untying Knots: Biblical, Epigraphic,
and Semitic Studies in Honor of Jonas C. Greenfield, Winona Lake IN 1995,
614-5.
25
CU 6; CE 26; CH 130; Westbrook, 'Adultery in Ancient Near Eastern
Law', 571. If her inchoate husband, on the other hand, had intercourse with her
it established the marriage; cf. CH 155-156.
22

her husband to take an oath declaring she had not had extramarital
intercourse. If she submitted to it, she was deemed innocent, but if she
refused, she was found guilty. In Egypt the penalty for a husband's
false accusation was a compensation payment to the wife.26
Who was to punish the adulterers? Raymond Westbrook states
that the authority of a husband over his wife did not include jurisdiction over her. Although a husband was not liable for homicide if
he killed the adulterers on the spot after catching them in flagranti
delicto, he afterwards had to defend himself in a trial, proving the
circumstances under which the killing took place. 27 If a husband did
not kill the lovers in a crime passionelle, he could bring them before
the court. He could then demand that they receive either the death
penalty or a less severe punishment (MAL A15). 28
If the charges of adultery were determined beyond doubt, the perpetrators could receive capital punishment. 29 This sentence could be
commuted, however, into a somewhat less severe punishment such
as mutilation (cutting off the nose, laceration of the face, castration
of the paramour) and perhaps public humiliation by being paraded
(naked?) through the city.30 The thought behind the latter punishment probably was that the behaviour of an adulterous wife was
equated with that of a prostitute and that what she had done in se26

P.W. Pestman, Marriage and Matrimonial Property in Ancient Egypt: A Contribution to Establishing the Legal Position of the Woman (PLB, 9), Leiden 1961,
56.
27
Westbrook, 'Adultery in Ancient Near Eastern Law', 551-4. See also Lafont,
Femmes, Droit et Justice, 66-8, 89-90. In this regard Lafont, 68, notes that the
husband had a right to take revenge, but it was not his duty to do so. Pace Otto,
'Das Eherecht im Mittelassyrischen Kodex und im Deuteronomium', 172-91.
28
On the various interpretations of MAL A15, see Westbrook, ' Adultery in Ancient Near Eastern Law', 552-3; Otto,'Das Eherecht im Mittelassyrischen Kodex
und im Deuteronomium', 262-73; Lafont, Femmes, Droit et Justice, 69-72.
The Sumerian text IM 28051, dating to the first half of the second millennium
BCE, demonstrates that even if adulterers were caught on the spot this did not
always lead to capital punishment. On the interpretation of this difficult text, cf. S.
Greengus, Textbook Case of Adultery in Ancient Mesopotamia', HUCA 40-41
(1969-70), 33-44; Westbrook, 'Adultery in Ancient Near Eastern Law', 558; P.L.
Day, 'Adulterous Jerusalem's Imagined Demise: Death of a Metaphor in Ezekiel
XVI', VT 50 (2000), 297.
29
Yet HL 198 notes that the king could pardon them. Cf. Westbrook, 'Adultery
in Ancient Near Eastern Law', 555; Lafont, Femmes, Droit et Justice, 79-81; R.
Haase, 'Der Seitensprung einer Ehefrau und seine Folgen nach der hethitischen
Rechtssatzung', ZABR 5 (1999), 71-74.
30
Westbrook, 'Adultery in Ancient Near Eastern Law', 554, 559; Lafont,
Femmes, Droit et Justice, 82-6. The latter punishment is disputed by Day, 'Adulterous Jerusalem's Imagined Demise: Death of a Metaphor in Ezekiel XVI', 296-9.

cret was now made known publicly.31 Furthermore, a husband could

decide to divorce his wife, which in case of adultery meant she lost
every right to compensational payment. It was also possible that the
paramour or his family offered to pay ransom to the husband in order
to prevent capital punishment (MAL A24).
Sophie Lafont notes that equal punishment for adulterers was a
fundamental idea within the legal material. If a husband did not
wish his adulterous wife to die, then neither should the paramour.
Both should be punished or pardoned. 32 Yet some reservations need
to made here. It would seem that only an adulterous wife was paraded around the city. 33 Her husband probably would divorce her afterwards. She would thereupon lose her right to divorce money, which
brought her into an economically disadvantaged position, especially if
her paramour did not marry her. On the other hand, the punishments
mentioned in MAL A15 - cutting off the wife's nose and castration
of the paramour as well as laceration of his face - are severe, yet
different, in their effect, for the woman would still be able to bear
children but the man could not father them. 34 I, therefore, conclude
that there was equality in punishment only up to a certain level.
So far, no law texts on the subject of adultery have been found
in Egypt. Other texts, however, do provide some information. 35 In
clauses of marriage settlements dating from ca. 1000 BCE adultery is
referred to as the 'great sin which is found in a wife'. 36
In the literary texts of Egypt adultery is taken very seriously, too.
In the Tale of the Two Brothers the elder brother, Anubis, intended
to kill his younger brother, Bata, when his wife told him Bata had
31

Lafont, Femmes, Droit et Justice, 40.

Lafont, Femmes, Droit et Justice, 75-8. Westbrook, 'Adultery in Ancient Near
Eastern Law', 554, points to the dangers of collusion and entrapment as reasons
for equal punishment.
33
It should be noted, however, that this is an argumentum e silentio. Westbrook,
'Adultery in Ancient Near Eastern Law', 559, n. 64, points to the fact that the
Nippur trial text IM 28051 is only concerned with the relations between the
husband and his adulterous wife.
34
To this Lafont, Femmes, Droit et Justice, 82-3, remarks '[1]a femme devient
repoussante et ne pourra plus sduire les hommes; son complice doit endurer une
double amputation physique pour subir le mme effet afflictif'.
35
It needs to be noted, however, that '[a]t the present level of knowledge of the
Egyptian language it is not possible to distinguish between accounts of rape and
acts of intercourse with consent', cf. Depla, 'Women in Ancient Egyptian Wisdom
Literature', 136.
36
J.J. Rabinowitz, 'The "Great Sin" in Ancient Egyptian Marriage Contracts,'
JNES 18 (1959), 72-3; Pestman, Marriage and Matrimonial Property in Ancient
Egypt, 56, n. 2; Depla, 'Women in Ancient Egyptian Wisdom Literature', 46. On
the 'great sin' of the bittu rabiti, see chapter 4.
32

wanted to commit adultery with her. But when he found out his
wife had lied to him and that it was she who had tried to seduce
his brother, he killed her. 37 Wisdom texts such as the Instruction
of Any and the Instructions of Ptahhotep warned men not to start
relationships with married women. 38 The disapproval of adultery is
also illustrated by the Book of the Dead, where the deceased man
declared not to have copulated with another man's wife. 39 Although
adultery was punished by death in the literary texts, it seems that
in real life it was more likely to result in corporal punishment by the
family, a public reprimand by the local council, cutting off the nose
and ears, or divorce. 40
Adultery probably was the main reason for divorce, but there were
others. Another reason for divorce, mentioned in the Mesopotamian
law texts, is misconduct. CH 141 states that if a wife indirectly
sought to effect a divorce by appropriating her own property at the
expense of her husband, squandering her household means or disparaging her husband, thus hoping that she would receive financial
compensation upon the breakdown of the marriage, this could be
withheld from her. In such a case the husband was given a choice
between divorce without compensation or marrying another woman
whilst degrading the first wife to the status of slave woman. 41 If a
wife expressed her wish to divorce while she was herself without fault
but her husband was wayward and extremely disparaging her, she
could leave her husband and take her dowry if the authorities of her
city quarter validated her complaint. Yet if they did not, she would
be cast into the water. 42 It would thus seem that a wife legally had
37

M. Lichtheim, Ancient Egyptian Literature: A Book of Readings, vol. 2, Berkeley 1976, 203-11.
38
M. Lichtheim, Ancient Egyptian Literature: A Book of Readings, vol. 1, Berkeley 1973, 68 (Ptahhotep); Idem, Ancient Egyptian Literature, vol. 2, 137 (Any).
39
Cf. G. Robins, Women in Ancient Egypt, London 1993, 68-9.
40
C. Desroches Noblecourt, La femme au temps des pharaons, Paris 1986, 291-5;
. Watterson, Women in Ancient Egypt, Stroud 1991, 69-70; Robins, Women in
Ancient Egypt, 69-72; P. Vernus, Affaires et scandales sous les Ramss: La crise
des valeurs dans l'Egypte du Nouvel Empire, Paris 1993, 156-7; Depla, 'Women
in Ancient Egyptian Wisdom Literature', 36-7; J. Toivari, 'Het huwelijk en de
getrouwde vrouw: Impressies uit vrouwenlevens in Deir el-Medina', Phoenix 45
(1999), 56-7.
41
R. Westbrook, Old Babylonian Marriage Law (AfO.B, 23), Horn 1988, 76-7.
42
CH 142-143; pace Westbrook, Old Babylonian Marriage Law, 45-7, 71, who
assumes the wife was an inchoately married kallatu who refused completion of
the marriage. See further the thorough discussion by C. Locher, Die Ehre einer
Frau in Israel: Exegetische und rechtsvergleichende Studien zu Deuteronomium
22,13-21 (, 70), Freiburg, Schweiz 1986, 270-311. Lafont, Femmes, Droit et

the possibility to divorce her husband. Yet her behaviour had to be

impeccable. If she was going out and about and her conduct did not
appear to be chaste, she risked not being put in the right by the authorities. Since in the latter instance her behaviour might be inspired
by adultery, the investigation could result in her death by drowning. 43
It is generally assumed that childlessness was also a reason for
divorce. 44 The fact that a couple remained childless was regarded as
a defect in the wife. Although sometimes a husband decided to take
another wife or a concubine in case his first wife did not bear him
children, it was also possible that he divorced her. Contrary to adultery and misconduct this was not, however, considered a legitimate
reason to deprive a woman of her dowry and divorce settlement. Nor
was a serious illness of the wife a legitimate reason to divorce her.
Only if she would consent to a divorce was the husband permitted to
do so. She was then entitled to the restoration of her dowry.45
In Egyptian marriage contracts childlessness is mentioned as a
major cause for divorce, next to infidelity, on the part of the wife.
Even if a wife had born her husband children, but no sons, he could
divorce her. Other reasons for divorce were dislike of one's wife ('she
ceased to please him') and the wish to marry another woman. It could
happen that a man who climbed the bureaucratic ladder regarded it
as appropriate and advantageous to have a wife of a higher social
stratum and therefore divorced the wife of his youth. 46
Justice, 48-55, disagrees with Westbrook.
Crux interpretum of CH 142-143 is the meaning of ul tahhazanni, which
literally means 'you shall not take me1. With regard to the meaning of the terhatu
I have referred to Westbrook's interpretation of ahzu denoting control over the
bride. The control over a woman also included control over her sexuality. A father
had authority over the sexuality of an unmarried girl, a husband over a married
woman. Pace Westbrook, I assume that CH 142-143 refers to a married woman
who refused to have sexual relations with her own husband. If an inchoately
married girl wished not to complete the marriage, the person who had authority
over her (usually her father) would have to take care of that. This is the case
in CH 160. If the woman was a kallatu that term probably would have been
used in the law text, as it is in CH 155-156. Moreover, as Locher, Die Ehre
einer Frau in Israel, 279-80, has pointed out, according to the systematics of the
Code of Hammurapi 142-143 belongs to a larger part ( 137-143) dealing with
questions of divorce. See further E. Lipmski, 'The Wife's Right to Divorce in the
Light of an Ancient Near Eastern Tradition', JLA 4 (1981), 10-1.
43
Lipinski, 'The Wife's Right to Divorce', 11-2, 16; Lafont, Femmes, Droit et
Justice, 52-4, assumes the woman had to submit herself to the River Ordeal.
44
Cf., e.g., M.T. Roth, 'Marriage and Matrimonial Prestations in First Millennium B.C. Babylonia', in: WER, 251.
45
CLI 28; CH 148-149; Westbrook, Old Babylonian Marriage Law, 77-8.
46
Pestman, Marriage and Matrimonial Property in Ancient Egypt, 75-6; Wat-

Although legally a Mesopotamian wife may have had the capacity

to divorce her husband, Old Babylonian marriage contracts appear
to deny her this right. Next to the clause for the husband the contracts also held a clause for the wife expressing her wish to divorce.
But the penalties in case of divorce were not similar. '[W]hereas the
penalty imposed upon the husband for stating "You are not my wife"
is merely pecuniary or at most proprietary, the penalty upon the wife
for stating "You are not my husband" is death, either by drowning
or defenestration'. 47 Some marriage contracts of the Old Babylonian
period, however, did give the wife the right to divorce. Yet these are
to be considered exceptional cases 48
With regard to the Old Babylonian period Raymond Westbrook
concludes that although in theory a wife could divorce her husband,
in practice it was almost impossible. 49 Although I disagree with Westbrook on his interpretation of CH 142-14350, I accept that in practice it would have been very difficult and hazardous for a woman to
try to get a divorce. If a wife denied her husband his right of ahzu,
which I understand as referring to his right to have marital relations,
this did not guarantee a positive outcome for her. 51 Whether she
could leave her husband or was thrown into the water depended on
the judgement of the authorities. It would seem that the practice of
everyday life underlined this. Although some royal women might have
had the right to divorce 52 , according to the Old Babylonian marriage
contracts the penalty for a wife to initiate divorce is death. The underlying assumption appears to be that a woman who wants a divorce
is regarded as an adulteress. 53
The evidence of various places in later periods that grants women
the right to divorce is scarce, too. Edouard Lipmski points to marriage
contracts from Khana (16th cent, BCE), Alalakh (15th cent.), and
Assyria (14th cent.) which contain clauses granting a wife the right
terson, Women in Ancient Egypt, 71; Robins, Women in Ancient Egypt, 63-4.
47
West brook, Old Babylonian Marriage Law, 82.
48
Lipmski, 'The Wife's Right to Divorce', 14-6.
49
West brook, Old Babylonian Marriage Law, 79-85.
50
See n. 42 in this section.
51
Yet I did come across a judicial verdict granting a wife the right to refuse
sexual relations with her husband. Cf. section 2.1.1.4.1.
52
F. Abdallah, 'La femme dans le royaume d'Alep au xviii6 sicle av. J.-C.' in:
FPOA, 14, assumes Shibtu, daughter of Yarim-Lim of Aleppo by contract had
the right to take the initiative in divorcing her husband, king Zimri-Lim of Mari.
53
Greengus, Textbook Case of Adultery in Ancient Mesopotamia', 41; R.
Westbrook, 'Adultery in Ancient Near Eastern Law', RB 97 (1990), 559-60; S.
Lafont, Femmes, Droit et Justice dans l'Antiquit orientale: Contribution l'tude
du droit pnal au Proche-Orient ancien (OBO, 165), Fribourg, Suisse 1999, 48-54.

to dissolve her marriage. 54 Yet at Nuzi, a wife does not seem to have
had the right to divorce. 55 If a woman was unhappy in her marriage,
for instance because she was childless and for that reason her husband
had taken another wife, she might try to return to her paternal family.
Two Nuzi documents record a wife returning to her father's house
without her husband's consent. In both instances the husband sent a
constable to bring his wife back to him. In one case the father refused
to return his daughter, but in the other he handed her over to the
constable. It probably depended on the willingness of the father to
take his daughter back whether a wife could abandon her husband. If
a father (or any other paternal relative) would not support her action,
she probably had no choice but to return to her husband. 56
A few centuries later the picture appears not to have changed.
Neo-Babylonian marriage contracts in general only gave the husband
the right to divorce. He then had to pay his wife a certain sum, either
one, five or six minas of silver. Out of the 45 Neo-Babylonian marriage
agreements dating from 635 to ca. 203 BCE that Martha Roth has
examined, only one gives the wife the right to initiate divorce, by
which she would forfeit her dowry. Since the names of the spouses
and some of the witnesses are Egyptian, this might have been an
Egyptian rather than a Neo-Babylonian practice. 57
When divorced, a Neo-Babylonian woman sometimes returned to
her family home. She then probably had to submit to the authority of
either her father or her brother. Other options for her were to try to
remarry, which might have been difficult if she was considered barren,
or to try living independently on the properties she owned, or to go
to 'the house of a mr ban\58
Prom the New Kingdom on there is evidence that an Egyptian
54

Lipmski, 'The Wife's Right to Divorce', 17-9.

A Nuzi husband could divorce his wife when she was baxren but also when
she had born him children. Cf. J. Paradise, 'Marriage Contracts of Free Persons
at Nuzi', JCS 39 (1987), 13.
56
Paradise, 'Marriage Contracts of Free Persons at Nuzi', 15.
57
M.T. Roth, Babylonian Marriage Agreements: 7th - 3rd Centuries B.C.
(AOAT, 222), Kevelaer & Neukirchen-Vluyn 1989, 12-15. See also J.C. Greenfield, 'Some Neo-Babylonian Women', in: FPOA, 78.
On Neo-Assyrian marriage contracts in which women appear to have divorce
rights equal to men, cf. Lipmski, 'The Wife's Right to Divorce', 19-20.
58
M.T. Roth, 'Women in Transition and the bit mar ban\ RA 82 (1988), 136.
For the similar situation of Egyptian divorcees, cf. Pestman, Marriage and Matrimonial Property in Ancient Egypt, 77-8; S. Allam, 'Zur Stellung der Frau im alten
gypten', BiOr 26 (1969), 156-7. Deeds of divorce have been known in Egypt from
542 BCE on; see Pestman, Marriage and Matrimonial Property in Ancient Egypt,
73-4.
55

wife could initiate divorce. Infidelity of the husband might have been
a cause for a wife to divorce her spouse. Cruelty on his part is also
recorded as a reason, as is constant quarreling. 59 In case of a divorce
initiated by the husband, a wife usually would have a right to one
third of the joint property of the couple. 60 She also took with her her
personal belongings which she had got from her parents and/or had
earned herself by selling textiles, for example. 61 If she took the initiative to leave her husband, she had to pay her husband a certain sum
as compensation but she then had the right to take her personal possessions with her. Barbara Watterson notes that although in theory
divorce was easy, in practice it could be complicated. 62
A somewhat problematic and uncertain ending to a marriage could
be the disappearance of a husband. If a wife was deserted by her
husband, she sometimes had the right to remarry, according to the
Mesopotamian laws. CE 29-30 states that if a woman was married
and her husband was absent for a long time, she could remarry. But
if the husband had been taken prisoner or for any other reason was
absent against his will, the second marriage would become invalid
the moment he returned and the first husband then had the right to
take back his wife from her second husband. If, on the other hand, he
had fled the city, i.e. left of his own free will, leaving his wife behind
whereupon she married another man, the first husband did not have
a claim to his wife anymore upon his return. The second marriage
remained valid. 63
B . UGARITIC LITERARY T E X T S

In Ugarit, too, a marriage was meant to last for ever. When a girl
consented to become a wife she became so w'lmh 'for ever' (KTU
1.23:43, 49). However, there is reason to suspect that in Ugarit, too,
59
Pestman, Marriage and Matrimonial Property in Ancient Egypt, 65; Watterson, Women in Ancient Egypt, 71; Robins, Women in Ancient Egypt, 63; Toivari,
'Het huwelijk en de getrouwde vrouw', 56-7; Idem, Women at Deir el-Medina:
A Study of the Status and Roles of the Female Inhabitants in the Workmen's
Community during the Ramesside Period, Leiden 2000, 86-90.
60
Pestman, Marriage and Matrimonial Property in Ancient Egypt, 124-8, 139.
See section 2.1.1.3.1.
61
M. Bierbrier, The Tomb-Builders of the Pharaohs, London 1982, 75; Toivari,
'Het huwelijk en de getrouwde vrouw', 57.
62
Watterson, Women in Ancient Egypt, 71: 'Social, financial and family prssures may sometimes have militated against a couple divorcing; and the settlement
that had been drawn up before the marriage may have stipulated financial penalties that were so harsh that legal separation was impractical'.
63
The somewhat younger Law of Hammurapi ( 135-136) rules likewise. MAL
A45, while giving attention to matters of inheritance and family possession, is
also in line with CE 29-30.

this ideal sometimes proved to be unattainable. There is one passage

in the literary texts from Ugarit which might be dealing with adultery:
KTU 1.18:1.23-24. Here the goddess 'Anatu, spouse of Ba'lu, appears
to seduce Aqhatu. 64 The text is uncertain, however, and it is not
clear how the Legend of Aqhatu relates to the Myth of Ba'lu. In the
latter text 'Anatu was temporarily a widow. It might be that 'Anatu's
attempt to seduce Aqhatu - if that is the correct interpretation of the
text - took place during the period of Balu's death, in which case the
encounter cannot be regarded as adultery.
Although the Ugaritic literary texts published thus far do not provide us with much information about adultery and divorce, at least
one text seems to indicate that a goddess had to watch her husband
closely because she had always to reckon with rivals.65 According to
a Canaanite myth which is preserved in Hittite translation Athiratu
once invited her son-in-law, Ba'lu, to sleep with her, which he refused. Subsequently he went to report the incident to her husband
who allowed him to kill seventy-seven to eighty-eight of her children
to punish her. 66 Such a text indicates that the absence of Ugaritic
evidence for adultery in myth and legend may be accidental. Moreover, in the non-literary texts of Ugarit we find ample evidence of
adultery and divorces (see chapter 4).
Perhaps there is also a reference to a divorce in the Legend of
Kirtu. Kirtu's first wife either rebelled against him or left him, according to the interpretation of KTU 1.14:1.14 which depends on the
translation of tb't. If the latter translation were correct, this would
mean that an Ugaritic wife could leave her husband. Whether this
meant she had the right to divorce him is not clear.
C . HEBREW BIBLE

In biblical Israel marriage was also intended to be an 'eternal' bond

64

See section 2.1.1.1 for a discussion of the text.

KTU 1.96. No doubt the correct reading in line 1 is nn, cf. T.J. Lewis, 'The
Disappearance of the Goddess Anat: The 1995 West Semitic Research Project on
Ugaritic Epigraphy', BA 59 (1996), 115-121. However, I agree with M.S. Smith,
'Anat's Warfare Cannibalism and the West Semitic Ban', in: S.W. Holloway, L.K.
Handy (eds), The Pitcher Is Broken: Memorial Essays for Gsta W. Ahlstrm
(JSOT.S, 190), Sheffield 1995, 374, and M. Dietrich, 0 . Loretz, Studien zu den
ugaritischen Texten: I. Mythos und Ritual in KTU 1.12, 1.24, 1-96, 1.100 und
1.114 (AOAT, 269/1), Mnster 2000, 227-8, 239, that this should be corrected into
'nt. Cf. KTU 1.3:IV.33 ('nt) nt. The alternative interpretation as a spell against
the evil eye, proposed by G. del Olmo Lete, 'Un conjuro ugaritico contra el "mal
ojo" ', Anuari de Filologia 15 (1992), 7-16, and partially followed by Wyatt, RTU,
375-7, can be upheld only with the help of rather fanciful etymologies.
66
Cf. H.A. Hoffner, Hittite Myths (WAW, 2), Atlanta GA 1990, 69-70.
65

( , Ezek. 16:60; see also Hos. 2:21 [19] ) . The

laws and narratives in the Hebrew Bible condemn adultery. Like their
neighbours, Israelites regarded it a threefold offence, against the husband, against God and against society.
The books of the Hebrew Bible testify to the great interest attached to the maintenance of proper socio-cultural categories. The
social structure of Israelite society depended on the stability of the
family. In the book of Proverbs, for instance, men are warned against
the ways of the adulteress. She is compared to a harlot (6:26). But
whereas a harlot takes a man's money, an adulteress may cause a man
to loose his life by the hand of a vengeful husband. She is also portrayed as an immoral woman, who eats from forbidden fruits and denies having done anything wrong (30:20). Thus, the adulterous woman
is a threat to society's morals.
According to the laws of the Hebrew Bible, a man and woman who
commited adultery should receive the death penalty. In Lev. 20:10 the
technical term for committing adultery is used. The law rules that
both adulterers are to be put to death. Lev. 18:20, on the other hand,
does not mention the death penalty. Raymond Westbrook notes that
the transgression is described differently here and suggest 'that it is
not adultery in the strict legal sense. The paramour agrees to sleep
with his companion's wife with the consent of the husband, evidently
in order to provide "seed", i.e., offspring for a childless couple'. 67
Since the husband consented to the intercourse the matter might not
become publicly known. However, it was a sin against YHWH, who
might punish the community for such defilement.
Also in Deut. 22:22 adultery is condemned. Both the man and
the woman were held liable. Here the phrase
' If a man is caught lying with the wife of another man' is
used to describe the offence. As Carolyn Pressler notes, the wording
' emphasizes the husband's claims over his wife'. 68
An Israelite girl who was inchoately married ( 3 < ?
was bound by marital law to be faithful to her future husband. If she
had sex with another man, she was liable to punishment unless this
happened outside the city, 'in the open country' (Deut. 22:23-27). In
the latter instance the possibility of forcible sexual intercourse was
assumed and only the male was held liable.
Deut. 22:13-21 details what should happen in the case where a
groom accused his bride of not being a virgin upon entering mar67

Westbrook, 'Adultery in Ancient Near Eastern Law', 568.

C. Pressier, The View of Women Found in the Deuteronomic
(BZAW, 216), Berlin 1993, 31.
68

Family Laws

riage. 69 The parents of the slandered bride should go to the elders

of the town and should give proof 70 of their daughter's virginity, for
which they were responsible. If the accusation was false, the law provided for the parents to receive double the (fixed) price of the marriage
deposit as compensation. The law further provided the bride with social security by prohibiting the husband to divorce her. 71 If no proof
could be given of the bride's virginity, the girl should be stoned to
death. 72
The Deuteronomic legislation understands adultery as an offence
against communal order as well as against the husband or father.
This is indicated by the expurgation formula (Deut. 22:21,22,24); the
evil must be removed from Israelite society by killing the adulterers
in order to restore the community's purity. 'This emphasis on the
community is in keeping with the Deuteronomic insistence that all
members of Israel are responsible for actualizing God's blessing by
obeying the law'. 73 Thus, family stability, social order and purity of
the Israelite community are all in line according to the view of the
Deuteronomist.
Because adultery was regarded as a crime that threatened the
values of Israelite society, it had to be dealt with even in cases of
69

For a thorough discussion of the interpretation of this text, cf. Locher, Die
Ehre einer Frau in Israel; Pressier, The View of Women Found in the Deuteronomic Family Laws, 22-31.
70
Pace G.J. Wenham, 'B?tlh "A Girl of Marriageable Age" ' VT 22 (1972),
326-348, who assumes refers to menstruell blood as a sign of the bride not
being pregnant upon entering marriage, is generally assumed to be the
tokens of virginity, i.e. the sheets of the nuptial bed that were stained with the
hymenal blood. See, e.g., Locher, Die Ehre einer Frau in Israel, 181-92; . van
der Toorn, review of C. Locher, Die Ehre einer Frau in Israel, in: BiOr 46 (1989),
428-9; T. Frymer-Kensky, 'Virginity in the Bible', in: V.H. Matthews et al. (eds),
Gender and Law in the Hebrew Bible and the Ancient Near East (JSOT.S, 262),
Sheffield 1998, 94-5.
71
Although modern readers might wonder what kind of life a falsely accused
wife would have. As Frymer-Kensky, 'Virginity in the Bible', 94, comments: 'This
provision for no divorce seems odd to our modern sensibility, for remaining married
to the man who slandered her seems as much a punishment of the wife as of the
husband. But the no divorce provision, here, as in the case of the man who illicitly
sleeps with an unmarried girl, is a deterrent to such actions. He will always have
to support her financially. Perhaps the law assumes that an angry wife could make
his life miserable. Still, the law ignores the girl's wishes or her prospects for a more
congenial marriage in its concern to assure that men cannot use this method of
ridding themselves of unwanted wives'.
72
On the different views regarding whether there was a dissymmetry in the
punishment of the groom and the bride, cf. Locher, Die Ehre einer Frau in Israel,
380; Pressler, The View of Women Found in the Deuteronomic Family Laws, 23-5.
73
Pressier, The View of Women Found in the Deuteronomic Family Laws, 42.

doubt, for it could not be allowed to pass unpunished. If a husband

gravely doubted his wife's fidelity yet no witnesses were present to
confirm adultery, the ritual of the water of bitterness (Num. 5:1131) resolved the matter by religious means. The wife had to take
an oath and drink a certain potion. 74 If she was an adulteress, the
potion would cause her bitter pain, her womb would discharge and
her uterus drop. 75 If she was innocent, however, she would be immune
and able to bear children. Although much of the ritual remains unclear
to us, it would seem that an unjustly accused wife was not affected by
drinking the water of bitterness while an adulterous wife would suffer
the consequences she had agreed to by oath. 76
In the past scholars have proposed a distinction between biblical
and other ancient Near Eastern law with regard to the prosecution
of adultery, assuming that in the latter law systems adultery was
regarded as a private wrong against a husband and in biblical law
it was a sin against God. This would imply that whereas in other
ancient Near Eastern countries a husband had a choice whether or
not to prosecute his wife and her paramour, in Israel adultery inevitably led to the death penalty. 77 As we have seen, it is simply not
true that in other cultures of the ancient Near East adultery was not
seen as a sin. It stands to reason that if marriage was, as Karel van
der Toorn puts it, 'an institution that was religiously legitimized and
sanctioned', 78 its disrupture did not please the deities. According to
Raymond Westbrook, the main objection against the theory that Is74

The meaning of the term is not completely clear, cf. T.

Frymer-Kensky, 'The Strange Case of the Suspected Sotah (Numbers 11-31)',
VT 34 (1984), 25-6.
75
Thus the translation of the NRSV. For various interpretations of vv. 21-22,
see Frymer-Kensky, 'The Strange Case of the Suspected Sotah', 18-21; A. Bach,
'Good to the Last Drop: Viewing the Sotah (Numbers 5.11-31) as the Glass Half
Empty and Wondering How to View it Half Full', in: J.C. Exum, D.J.A. Clines
(eds), New Literary Criticism and the Hebrew Bible (JSOT.S, 143), Sheffield 1993,
39-42; V.H. Matthews, 'Honor and Shame in Gender-Related Legal Situations in
the Hebrew Bible', in: V.H. Matthews et al. (eds), Gender and Law in the Hebrew
Bible and the Ancient Near East (JSOT.S, 262), Sheffield 1998, 102-8.
76
Frymer-Kensky, 'The Strange Case of the Suspected Sotah', 24-5. See also
H.C. Brichto, 'The Case of the t and a Reconsideration of Biblical "Law" ',
HUCA 46 (1975), 55-70; Matthews, 'Honor and Shame in Gender-Related Legal
Situations in the Hebrew Bible', 103, n. 29.
77
This theory was set forth by W. Kornfeld and M. Greenberg. A further elaboration of the theory is given by H. McKeating and A. Phillips, who assume a
historical development of biblical law. Cf. for an evaluation Westbrook, 'Adultery
in Ancient Near Eastern Law', 543-4; Pressler, The View of Women Found in the
Deuteronomic Family Laws, 33-5.
78
Van der Toorn, Cradle, 64.

rael's law is harsher on religious grounds is that it reasons from silence.

Against the argument that '[t]he right of mitigation or pardon by the
husband or by the king, which is mentioned in the cuneiform codes,
does not occur in the biblical laws', it can be stated that Prov. 6:32-35
does refer to the danger of a cuckold husband seeking vengeance and
to the possibility of paying ransom. 79
It may thus be assumed that the husband had a say in the matter
whether to prosecute and punish or pardon and accept ransom. 80 Although the legal texts (Lev. 20:10; Deut. 22:22, 24) demand the death
penalty, the husband does seem to have had a say in the matter. 81
Next to Prov. 6:32-35, which warns against the revenge of a cuckold
husband who will accept no redemption money, the case of the wife
pledged in slavery (Lev. 19:20-22) is another example of a husband
accepting ransom - in this special case cancellation of the debt - in
a situation of adultery. 82
Perhaps public stripping as a ritual preceding divorce was a punishment for an adulterous wife in Israel. A number of prophetic texts
refer to such a practice. 83 By stripping his wife, the husband not only
79

Westbrook, 'Adultery in Ancient Near Eastern Law', 544-7, 572, also refers
to Gen. 38:24.
80
R. Westbrook, Studies in Biblical and Cuneiform Law (CRB, 26), Paris 1988,
108; Idem, 'Adultery in Ancient Near Eastern Law', 564-5; Lafont, Femmes, Droit
et Justice, 33.
81
Pressler, The View of Women Found in the Deuteronomic Family Laws, 35,
suggests that the discrepancy between texts such as Hos. 2:4-5; Jer. 3:8; Isa.
50:1; Prov. 6:32-35 and 'the uncompromising insistence on the death penalty in
the biblical laws concerning adultery is best explained in terms of the difference
between practice and ideal. The laws stress the utter seriousness of the offense'.
82
With Lafont, I accept Westbrooks interpretation of Lev. 19:20-22, translating
'If a man has sexual intercourse with a married woman, she being a slave pledged
to the man and not redeemed or given her freedom, an action lies for her return.
They may not be put to death because she was not freed. He shall bring his guiltoffering, etc'. Westbrook assumes the following situation: a husband had to pledge
(hrp) his wife as a slave to a creditor, who had intercourse with the debtor's wife.
As a ransom for the adultery the husband can take back his wife and the debt
is cancelled. The adulterer has to bring a guilt offering, for he has sinned against
YHWH. The wife is not held liable because of her slave status. Cf. Westbrook,
Studies in Biblical and Cuneiform Law, 101-9 (108); Idem, 'Adultery in Ancient
Near Eastern Law', 566; Lafont, Femmes, Droit et Justice, 59-61, 73-5, 77, 81-2.
Differently, C.M. Carmichael, Law, Legend, and Incest in the Bible: Leviticus 18
20, Ithaca NY 1997, 111, n. 17.
83
Jer. 13:26; Ezek. 16:37; Hos. 2:5[2], 12[9]; Nah. 3:5. Cf. G.I. Emmerson,
'Women in Ancient Israel', in: R.E. Clements (ed.), The World of Ancient Israel: Sociological, Anthropological and Political Perspectives, Cambridge 1989,
386; Westbrook, 'Adultery in Ancient Near Eastern Law', 559-62. It should be
noted, however, that all prophetic references to stripping occur in a metaphoric

acted out his withdrawal of responsibility for her maintenance but also
made her shameful conduct publicly known. Another punishment also
known from the surrounding countries may have been cutting off the
nose and ears (Ezek. 23:25).84
In the so-called 'wife-sister' narratives, their husbands presented
the matriarchs Sarah and Rebekah as their sisters to a monarch, which
got the women into a situation where adultery was possible. In all
three stories (Gen. 12:10-20; 20; 26:1-11) it is clear that he who had
intercourse with another man's wife brought guilt upon himself and
that it was a sin condemned by YHWH. Whereas the Pharaoh was
punished for his sin (Gen. 12:7) and Abimelech of Gerar was warned
in a dream not to commit adultery or else he would die (Gen. 20:37), Sarah was not blamed. It would appear that if a wife was forced
by her husband into a situation where she ran the risk of having
intercourse with another man, she was not liable to punishment. 85
Also the paramours, because of their ignorance of the fact that Sarah
was another man's wife, did not die. But although the husband, i.e.
Abraham, acquiesced, it was considered an offence to Y H W H . 8 6
Likewise, the relationship of David and Bathsheba, wife of Uriah,
is regarded as adulterous (2 Sam. 12:9). Because David confessed that
he had sinned against YHWH, he was forgiven: 'Now the Lord has
put away your sin; you shall not die' (2 Sam. 12:13). Instead of the
death penalty for adultery, David received a double vicarious talion
penalty. 87 David's own wives would be given to others who would have
sexual intercourse with them. Furthermore, not he, the adulterer, but
the child born out of his adultery, would die. It appears that here, too,
the woman was not blamed, although Bathsheba suffered the loss of
her child born out of the liason with David.
The theme of adultery also occurs in the prophetic books. Using
the marriage metaphor to describe the relationship between Israel
and its God, idolatry, which - in the range of the metaphor - was
context; cf. . Stienstra, YHWH Is the Husband of His People: Analysis of a biblical metaphor with special reference to translation, Kampen 1993, 86; P.L. Day,
1
Adulterous Jerusalem's Imagined Demise: Death of a Metaphor in Ezekiel XVI',
VT 50 (2000), 285-309.
84
Cf. Roth, Babylonian Marriage Agreements, 15 and see above.
85
Pressler, The View of Women Found in the Deuteronomic Family Laws, 34,
n. 38-9, observes that it is not clear whether a woman could refuse a king, which
obscures the question of liability.
86
Westbrook, 'Adultery in Ancient Near Eastern Law', 544-5, 567. Cf. Lev.
18:20.
87
To such a punishment Job 31:9-11 also refers; cf. further Westbrook, 'Adultery
in Ancient Near Eastern Law', 568-9.

pictured as adultery, was severely condemned. 88 In the book of Hosea

the marriage of the prophet with Gomer, the 'wife of whoredom' (0
, Hos. 1:2), served as an example of Israel's relationship with
its God. Analogous to the adulterous behaviour of Gomer the idolatrous behaviour of Israel was condemned and in Gomer Israel was
metaphorically threatened with repudiation, stripping and removing
of maintenance (Hos. 2).89 In the same line the prophet Ezekiel also
adressed adultery. He blamed the metaphorical woman Jerusalem for
her shameful conduct (Ezek. 16; 23). Jerusalem was to be punished
for her 'adulterous' behaviour.
In the case of adultery a husband seems to have had the possibility
to divorce his wife. An Israelite husband probably could divorce his
wife for other reasons too. Whether an Israelite man could divorce his
wife at will or needed to account for 'something objectionable' (
, Deut. 24:1) is a much discussed question. Deut. 24:1-4, a passage
that deals with the prohibition against remarrying a woman after she
has been divorced and subsequently married another man, has been
the basis for elaborate study of the subject of divorce. According
to Carolyn Pressler, there is 'a near consensus among contemporary
scholars that the passage in its received form does not include a general law of divorce, and thus does not set the grounds for divorce'. 90
Furthermore, scholars nowadays seem to agree that an Israelite man
could divorce his wife at will.91
88

See section 2.1.1.3.2.

Scholars disagree on the question whether Hos. 2:4[1] should be regarded
as a divorce formula. Westbrook, 'Adultery in Ancient Near Eastern Law', 561,
578, assumes that the phrase 'she is not my wife and I am not her husband' is
a reference to a formula of divorce commonly known in the ancient Near East.
Others, such as F.I. Andersen and D.N. Freedman, Hosea (AncB, 24), Garden City
NY 1980, 219-24, stress the fact that the marriage between Hosea and Gomer and,
analogously to that, the relationship between YHWH and Israel, was not dissolved.
For a mediate position, cf. D. Stuart, Hosea-Jonah (WBC, 31), Waco TX 1987,
46-7.
90
Pressler, The View of Women Found in the Deuteronomic Family Laws, 45,
n. 1. Pressler, 45-62, renders an assessment of the various interpretations of Deut.
24:1-4 and concludes: 'we are pushed to interpret the relationships prohibited
by the law as analogous to adultery. Adultery involves a woman having sexual
relations with man A, then man B, then again man A. Deut. 24:1-4 prohibits just
such a pattern of sexual relations, even when the first and second relationships
were legally contracted and legally dissolved' (60-1).
91
Cf. . Lipinski, 'The Wife's Right to Divorce in the Light of an Ancient Near
Eastern Tradition', JLA 4 (1981), 9; A. Phillips, 'Another Look at Adultery',
JSOT 20 (1981), 14; Pressler, The View of Women Found in the Deuteronomic
Family Laws, 29.1. Kottsieper, 'We Have a Little Sister: Aspects of Brother-SisterRelationship in Ancient Israel', in: J.W. van Henten, A. Brenner (eds), Families
89

Divorce was expressly condemned by the prophet Malachi. Some

scholars interpret Mai. 2:10-16 figuratively as an attack on syncretism
and apostasy, while others consider it to be a literal condemnation of
divorce and marriage to foreign women. 92 Following Beth GlazierMcDonald and Gordon Hugenberger, I assume Malachi condemned
intermarriage between Judahite men and foreign women who worshipped a god other than Y H W H . 9 3 The designation ( v.
11) is an antithetic parallelism to ( v. 10). The Israelites (Judahites) had one God and Creator. They were his children, He was
their Father. Yet Judah, the typological son, had married a Strange
Woman who did not worship YHWH. She was therefore not a daughter of Y H W H but rather of a strange god. The threat of syncretistic elements (re-)entering Yahwism probably was the background of
Malachi's condemnation of intermarriage. In Mai. 2:10-16 he intertwined the notion of marriage as a covenant between husband and
wife with the notion of the covenant between Y H W H and his people.
Divorce of a Jewish wife in order to remarry a non-Jewish wife thus
became a sin with religious overtones.
Exod. 18:2 should not be considered a reuniting after divorce.
Although some modern scholars, following Jewish tradition, assume
Moses had divorced Zipporah, this seems unlikely.94 As Cornelis Houtman observes, '[t]he designations "Moses' father-in-law" and "Moses'
wife" and the warm welcome (18:7) argue against this interpretation'. 95
and Family Relations: As Represented in Early Judaisms and Early Christianities: Texts and Fiction (STAR, 2), Leiden 2000, 51-2, makes some reservations.
According to Y. Zakovitch, 'The Woman's Rights in the Biblical Law of Divorce',
JLA 4 (1981), divorce was a frequently occurring phenomenon (28), but the usual
reason for divorce would be the woman's unfaithfulness (40). Some scholars suggest an increase in divorce rate during the Deuteronomic period; cf. P. Bird,
'Images of Women in the Old Testament', in: R. Radford Ruether (ed.), Religion
and Sexism: Images of Woman in the Jewish and Christian Traditions, New York
1974, 53; Pressler, The View of Women Found in the Deuteronomic Family Laws,
39-40, n. 54.
92
For an overview cf. G.P. Hugenberger, Marriage as a Covenant: A Study of
Biblical Law and Ethics Governing Marriage Developed From the Perspective of
Malachi (SV.S, 52), Leiden 1994, who opts for the latter interpretation. M.A.
Shields, 'Syncretism and Divorce in Malachi 2,10-16', ZAW 111 (1999), 68-86,
has voiced the opinion that the text should be read as a combination of both.
93
B. Glazier-McDonald, 'Intermarriage, Divorce, and the bat- 'l nkr: Insights
into Mai 2:10-16', JBL 106 (1987), 603-11; Hugenberger, Marriage as a Covenant,
34-6.
94
MekhY II, 167-8; cf., e.g., Zakovitch, 'The Woman's Rights in the Biblical
Law of Divorce', 34, 38.
95
C. Houtman, Exodus, vol. 2, (HCOT), Kampen 1996, 404. See further B.S.

On the other hand, the expulsion of Hagar (Gen. 21:8-21) was a

case of divorce. 96 Sarah had given her maidservant Hagar to Abraham as a slave wife. Scholars agree that Sarah's request to Abraham
to drive out Hagar and Ishmael was motivated by concerns of inheritance. When the slave woman Hagar and her son were being freed,
they consequently lost every right to inheritance with the first-ranking
wife. 97
It would seem that according to biblical law a wife did not have the
right to initiate divorce. Referring to this inequality of the sexes Grace
Emmerson states: 'There was no circumstance in which a wife might
divorce her husband, whereas a husband's right to divorce his wife at
any time and for any reason was absolute'. 98 There are some biblical
stories that divulge information on the impossibilities for women to
divorce. In Judges 19 the story is told of the concubine ( )of a
Levite. According to the translation of the NRSV, she 'became angry
with him () , and she went away from him to her father's
house at Bethlehem in Judah, and was there some four months' (v.
2). The basic meaning of the verb is 'to engage in sexual relations
outside of or apart from marriage'. 99 Scholars generally agree that the
concubine did not 'play the harlot'. Rather, should be understood
in line with LXX A 'she scorned him'. Robert Boling
comments: 'As Israelite law did not allow for divorce by the wife, she
became an adulteress by walking out on him'. 100
An example of a wife who made an autonomous decision resulting
in what probably may be regarded as an act of divorce is queen Vashti.
When the king ordered her to come to the party, she refused for reaChilds, Exodus: A Commentary (OTL), London 1974, 326-7.
96
Zakovitch, 'The Woman's Rights in the Biblical Law of Divorce', 34.
97
CLI 25; CH 170-171; G. Wenham, Genesis 16-50 (WBC.2), Dallas TX
1994, 82-3; V.P. Hamilton, The Book of Genesis: Chapters 18-50 (NIC), Grand
Rapids MI 1995, 79-80. See further section 2.2.2.4.
98
Emmerson, 'Women in Ancient Israel', 385. Cf. also Bird, 'Images of Women
in the Old Testament', 52.
99
P.A. Bird, ' "To Play the Harlot": An Inquiry into an Old Testament Metaphor', in: P.L. Day (ed.), Gender and Difference in Ancient Israel, Minneapolis
1989, 76. Bird observes that '[a]s a general term for extramarital sexual intercourse, ZNH is limited in its primary usage to female subjects, since it is only
for women that marriage is the primary determinant of legal status and obligation' (77). See also J. Galambush, Jerusalem in the Book of Ezekiel: The City as
Yahweh's Wife (SBL.DS, 130), Atlanta GA 1992, 27-31.
Apparently, although concubinage differed from marriage, it was considered as
a marriage-like relationship in which the concubine was supposed to act monogamous.
100
R.G. Boling, Judges (AncB, 6A), Garden City NY 1975, 274. Cf. also J.A.
Soggin, Judges: A Commentary (OTL), London 1981, 284.

sons of honour. In the Persian period married women dined together

with men, but they left when the drinking started. The women who
were present during the king's party of excessive drinking (Est. 1:78) supposedly were concubines and courtisans. By joining this scene
queen Vashti would 'degrade herself to the position of a concubine'. 101
Yet the king's shame of not being obeyed by his wife was regarded as
more important than the queen's honour. She was punished by the
prohibition ever to appear again before the king and she was demoted
in status. Although it is not stated explicitly, it may be assumed that
her dismissal was to be equated with divorce. 102 Disobedience of a
wife could thus result in divorce.
When a woman was divorced without fault, she probably had a
right to retrieve her dowry. Her marriage deposit also might have
given her some form of financial security. The Hebrew Bible does not
provide information, however, on the monetary aspects of divorce.
But we do learn about the fact that a husband ought to write a
'certificate of divorce' upon sending his wife away as an act of divorce
(Deut. 24:1,3; Isa. 50:1; Jer. 3:8).
It would seem that when a husband deserted his wife and she was
in the care of her father, the latter could decide to give her in marriage
to another person. 103 Thus when Samson left his Timnite wife at
the wedding party, her father assumed he rejected ( )his bride
and gave her to Samson's companion (Judg. 14:19-15:2). Likewise,
Michal, David's wife, became Saul's daughter again when David fled
from Saul. While being under the authority of her father once more,
she was given by Saul to Palti (1 Sam. 18:27-19:17; 25:44).104
101

Thus Bickerman, cited by L.R. Klein, 'Honor and Shame in Esther', in: A.
Brenner (ed.), A Feminist Companion to Esther, Judith and Susanna (FCB, 7),
Sheffield 1995, 155.
102
Since she was never to appear before the king again it seems logic to assume
she had to leave the palace.
103
Pace Zakovitch, 'The Woman's Rights in the Biblical Law of Divorce', 36-7, I
regard it as incorrect to interpret this as a woman's right to divorce her husband.
The initiative was first with the husband, by leaving the woman, and then with
the father, by marrying her off again. The woman was only object, not subject of
action.
104
On Michal as the object of the political machinations of Saul and David, cf.
D.J.A. Clines, ', X ben Y, ben Y: Personal Names in Hebrew Narrative Style',
VT 22 (1972), 269-72; J.C. Exum, 'Murder They Wrote: Ideology and the Manipulation of Female Presence in Biblical Narrative', in: A. Bach (ed.), The Pleasure
of Her Text: Feminist Readings of Biblical & Historical Texts, Philadelphia 1990,
49-54; A. van der Lingen, Vrouwen rond de koningen van oud-Isral, Zoetermeer
1997, 24-32; I. Willi-Plein, 'Michal und die Anfnge des Knigtums in Israel', in:
J.A. Emerton (ed.), Congress Volume: Cambridge 1995 (VT.S, 66), Leiden 1997,

D . CONCLUSIONS

In Mesopotamia, Ugarit and biblical Israel we found indications for

the idea that marriage was intended as a religious institution 'for
ever'. But nowhere.was this ideal realized completely. It seems that
adultery was a major reason for divorce in the ancient Near East,
including Israel and her neighbouring states. Adultery was considered
a grave offence against the husband, the deity and society. According
to the laws of both Mesopotamia and Israel an adulterous woman
and her paramour should be punished by death. The same tone of
disapproval can be heard in Egyptian literary texts such as the Tale
of the Two Brothers. Yet in Mesopotamia and Egypt as well as in
Israel, a husband of an adulterous wife had the possibility to pardon
and then divorce her. 105 The Ugaritic literary texts do not give any
information in this regard, but we found reason to suspect that here,
too, adultery was condemned.
Both with regard to adultery and divorce a gender dissymmetry
appears to have existed. A woman who committed adultery broke her
own marriage, but her paramour broke only that of another man. In
this the attitude of the Israelites appears not to have differed from
their neighbours.
The gender dissymmetry of divorce relates to the possibility for
both spouses to dissolve a marriage. A husband had the right to divorce his wife at will, but a wife did not have the same right. Here a
difference between the social position of Mesopotamian and Israelite
women may become clear. CH 142-143 rendered a wife of impeccable behaviour the right to divorce her husband, although her case
first had to be judged by the authorities and if they ruled negatively
she risked her life. Furthermore, some marriage contracts from various areas in second-millennium Mesopotamia, though few in number
did attribute to a wife the right to dissolve her marriage. Following
Westbrook I assume that in practice it generally was very difficult and
hazardous for a woman to divorce her husband, because the accusation of adultery was always a threat. This does not appear to have
changed in first millennium Mesopotamia. But in Egypt the situation
was different, for in marriage settlements from ca. 500 BCE onwards
401-19. Pace Z. Ben-Barak, 'The Legal Background to the Restoration of Michal
to David 1 , in: D.J.A. Clines, T.C. Eskenazi (eds), Telling Queen Michal's Story:
An Experiment in Comparative Interpretation (JSOT.S, 119), Sheffield 1991, 86,
who understands Saul's action 'as that of a ruler who is responsible for her fate
and assists her in remarrying, and not at all because he is her father'.
105
S. Lafont, Femmes, Droit et Justice dans l'Antiquit orientale: Contribution
l'tude du droit pnal au Proche-Orient ancien (OBO, 165), Fribourg, Suisse
1999, 88, 90-1.

women were given the right to initiate divorce. The social position of
women in biblical Israel seems to have been restricted in this regard.
The biblical text does not mention any possibility for a woman to
initiate divorce. The story of the concubine in Judg. 19 rather seems
to underline a woman's impossibility to repudiate her husband. Yet
we need to bear in mind that most information on a woman's right to
divorce comes from marriage contracts, not from the legal or literary
texts. In theory it is possible that Israelite marriage contracts, like
the ones from Elephantine, gave women the right to divorce. 106 But
since none of these documents have been found in Israel so far, we are
reasoning from silence here.

2.1.2 Mother
Being a mother was the most prestigious position for a woman in
the ancient world. This position had two sides. First, towards her
husband she was the one who had begotten his child or children.
Secondly, towards her son(s) and/or daughter(s) she was a parent.
With regard to the reproductive role of a woman, we have seen
that the status of a wife could become endangered if she did not
bear a child to her husband. She sometimes would be downgraded or
even divorced. 1 In this section I want to give a survey of questions
concerning maternity.
In order to beget children, a couple were dependent on the gods.
In all societies of the ancient Near East people turned to the gods in
matters of procreation. Yet to which deities did they turn? Were male
and female deities both concerned with fertility? Or did the socalled
'fertility goddesses' play a major role? I will discuss the use of the
concepts 'fertility goddess' and 'fertility religion', which have been
criticized by feminist scholars. Furthermore, I will also pay attention
to deities of dual gender, who are called both Father and Mother.
If children were a blessing from the gods, were the deities displeased with people who did not get any children? How were infertile
women looked upon? Was barrenness related to sin? Furthermore,
what is known about the efforts to get pregnant, was this a matter of
wives only, or did husbands partake in any rituals?
If a woman did get pregnant, what were the risks, the problems
and procedures of childbirth? Israelite women were considered to be
unclean after parturition. Was this also the case in the neighbouring
106

Lipmski, 'The Wife's Right to Divorce', 21-7; T.C. Eskenazi, 'Out from the
Shadows: Biblical Women in the Postexilic Era', JSOT 54 (1992), 29-32. On the
Elephantine contracts, see section 4.3.3.
1
See sections 2.1.1.4.1 and 2.1.1.5.

countries? Did it matter for her status whether a woman was mother
of a son or a daughter? Did it matter whether she had few or many
children?
With regard to the parental role of a woman, we will look at the
relationship between mother and child. What was the influence of a
mother in comparison with that of a father? 2 Did a mother have a
say in the name given to her children? Did she play any part in her
children's education? Could she be a testatrix to her children? Did the
use of matronyms indicate anything about her position? In the following section we will look into these questions concerning motherhood.
A . ANCIENT NEAR EAST

Having children was of great importance to parents in the ancient

Near East. Being blessed with children was regarded more important
than the possession of riches. 3 Not only were children supposed to
take care of their parents in old age, they also continued the family
line and took care of the ancestor gods. 4 A childless marriage was
therefore considered 'unsuccessful'. 5 When a couple did not get any
children, the spouses feared that the reason might be rejection by the
gods.
Humankind could marry, but it was up to the gods to bless a
couple with children. A Sumerian proverb states: 'Marrying several
wives is human, getting many children is divine'. 6 The ancients were
convinced of their dependence on the help of the gods in order to
beget progeny. In an incantation to the Mesopotamian moon god Sin
the supplicant pleaded with the deity to become friendly again after
expressing the knowledge of the powers of Sin:
W h e r e you c o m m a n d so t h e scorned one gives b i r t h t o children.
W h o e v e r has no son you give him an heir.
W i t h o u t you t h e childless one can receive neither seed nor imprgna2

On a mother's role in the marriage arrangements of her daughter, see section

2.1.1.1
3

Cf. the Story of Appu in: Hoffner, C0S, vol. 1, 153-5; the Legend of Kirtu
(KTU 1.14-16); the biblical Abraham (Gen. 15:2).
4
On the cult of the dead, see section 3.2.
5
G.M. Beckman, Hittite Birth Rituals (StBT, 29), Wiesbaden 1983, 2; Van der
Toorn, Cradle, 70.
6
E.I. Gordon, Sumerian Proverbs: Glimpses of Everyday Life in Ancient
Mesopotamia, New York 1968, 126 ( # 1.160). B. Alster, Proverbs of Ancient
Sumer, vol. 1, Bethesda MD 1997, 33, renders: 'Marrying is human. Getting children is divine'.

tion. 7

Another example of the sense of dependence on the gods in matters of

human fertility is the Hittite Story of Appu. In this tale we are told
of a man named Appu, who was the wealthiest in the land. Appu
owned cattle and sheep next to silver, gold and lapis lazuli, but he
had neither son nor daughter, which made him very unhappy. He
therefore sought the help of the Sun God, who eventually granted
him children. 8
Both male and female deities were concerned with matters of fertility. This is the case in Mesopotamia as well as in Egypt. The fact
that several goddesses are labelled 'fertility goddess' has prompted
some feminist scholars to a critical reaction. Peggy Day, for example,
remarks,
There is a marked tendency among scholars in the field of ancient
Near Eastern and biblical studies to characterize virtually all m a j o r
goddesses of the ancient Near E a s t e r n world as "fertility" goddesses.
O f t e n subsumed in this characterization is t h a t t h e goddess in question
engages in illicit sexual activity a n d / o r t h a t her votaries participate in
ritual, cultic sex. 9

The concept of fertility is multi-faceted since it includes a broad number of themes, such as conception, pregnancy, vegetation, harvest,
and agricultural festivities, to name but a few. Christian Frevel offers
a structure which orders fertility in three fields: vegetative fertility
(flora), reproductive fertility (fauna), generative fertility (humans). 10
Writing about fertility, scholars often do not clarify which field they
have in mind and use the data of these fields interchangeably. 11 What
concerns us here is the field of human fertility.
Despite the critical remarks of scholars such as Day, it cannot
7

W. Mayer, Untersuchungen zur Formensprache der babylonischen 'Gebetsbeschwrungen' (StP.SM, 5), Rome 1976, 497, 501, 11. 43, 46-47. Engl, transi, by
S.J. Denning-Bolle in: Van der Toorn, Cradle, 78.
8
Hoffner, in: C0S, vol. 1, 153-5.
9
P.L. Day, 'Anat: Ugarit's "Mistress of Animals" ', JNES 51 (1992), 181. J.A.
Hackett, 'Can a Sexist Model Liberate us?: Ancient Near Eastern "Fertility1' Goddesses', JFSR 5 (1989), 65-76, makes a similar point.
10
C. Frevel, Aschera und der Ausschlielichkeitsanspruch
Yhwhs: Beitrge zu
literarischen, religionsgeschichtlichen und ikonographischen Aspekten der Ascheradiskussion (BBB, 94), Bd. 2, Weinheim 1995, 565.
11
Asherah, for instance, is named fertility goddess, vegetation goddess, mother
goddess, goddess of love as well as great goddess. These designations are often
mixed or used imprecisely. Cf. Frevel, Aschera und der Ausschlielichkeitsanspruch Yhwhs, 562-88 (581).

be denied that the functions of most of the major female deities in

both Mesopotamia and Egypt during the second and first millennium
BCE were restricted to those connected with sexuality and procreation. Tikva Frymer-Kensky has outlined the marginalization of the
goddesses in the Mesopotamian pantheon, a process of 'demotion' for
goddesses. Ereshkigal, for instance, was once in control of the nether
world, but was bereaved of her powers and subsequently functioned as
the spouse of Nergal, ruler of the nether world. This process of 'demotion' seems to have begun during or even before the third millennium
BCE. Frymer-Kensky points to a correlation between the divine world
and the ancient Sumerian state. 12 Power appears to have been a male
monopoly, in the world of deities as well as in that of humankind.
In this male monopoly of visible power in t h e kingdoms of the cosmos,
t h e divine world models the absence of women from the power structure
of the ancient Sumerian state, and demonstrates the culture's expectations t h a t women will not seek such political roles. P a r t of being a
proper female is to be not in control of the sky and t h e forces of the
heavens. Significantly, only the very non-proper Inanna is visible in
this realm. T h e typical goddess's power in n a t u r e is, by contrast, the
essence of "womanly" power, bodily-based and determined. T h e males
have n a t u r e roles not dependent on anatomy; for females, their power in
n a t u r e is defined by sex. T h e goddesses are in control of t h e proccesses
of reproduction, fertility, and sexuality. These are anatomical functions,
seen as the quintessence and defining characteristic of "female". Society associates the female, whether h u m a n woman or goddess, with sex,
reproduction, and fertility. 1 3

Although before the second half of the third millennium BCE female deities performed several roles, these became more and more
restricted. After the Old Babylonian period (ca. 1600 BCE), the majority of the goddesses of Mesopotamia were primarily consorts of
gods. Inanna/Ishtar was the exception to the rule. 14 She had a role
in the sky as morning and evening star, and was a goddess of ferocity
and war. Yet she was also venerated as the embodiment of sexual
12

Although she cannot answer the question 'whether the religious imagery is
leading society, or whether it is following socioeconomic development'; cf. T.
Frymer-Kensky, In the Wake of the Goddesses: Women, Culture, and the Biblical Transformation of Pagan Myth, New York 1992, 45-7, 70-80 (79).
13
Frymer-Kensky, In the Wake of the Goddesses, 46-7.
14
With regard to the Old Babylonian concept of Inanna/Ishtar one may compare the long list of characteristics enumerated by B.R.M. Groneberg, Lob der
Itar: Gebet und Ritual an die altbabylonische Venusgttin (Cuneiform Monographs, 8), Groningen 1997, 124.

attraction, as a nubile young woman who had not borne children.

'Pubescent girl, bride, bored young wife, or prostitute, she does not
metamorphose into a mother, either psychologically or physically, and
remains the object of men's desire. She, for her part, is attracted to
males (human, and even animals)'. 15 While the roles of other deities
diminished in the third and second millennium, that of Ishtar remained prominent. By the end of the second millennium, she was the
only female deity maintaining a position of power in the cosmos. 'Ultimately, she became a "Great Goddess" to whom was attributed a
wide variety of attributes and characteristics, including those of the
mother-goddess'. 16
Although at first sight female deities seem to have played a larger
role in Egyptian religion, they, too, were mostly restricted to feminine
tasks. 'In certain respects . . . the roles played by Egyptian goddesses
do correspond quite closely with the function of women in society.
Women were wives and mothers, concerned with the well-being of
their families; goddesses were consorts of gods and protectresses of
mankind'. 17 Apart from the goddess Nuth 18 , the great creator gods
were male. Also, the most important deities representing the concept
of fertility were male. 19 Renenutet, a lesser goddess, was the only
female deity directly connected with fertility, both of the vegetation
and of human procreation (especially as the nurse of the Pharaoh). 20
Some of the major deities are named 'Father and Mother', referring
to a dual-gendered nature. In Egypt the androgynous character of
Amun, Ptah, Osiris, Hathor and Neith, among others, is acknowledged both in epithets and in iconography. 21 According to Sumerian
mythology, the primeval father-mother gods were of dual gender, but
15

Frymer-Kensky, In the Wake of the Goddesses, 47.

Frymer-Kensky, In the Wake of the Goddesses, 78. See also p. 58-69 on
Inanna/Ishtar's role as goddess of love and war.
17
B. Watterson, Women in Ancient Egypt, Stroud 1991, 16-7. Watterson, 17,
further notes that 'Egypt never had a state goddess, although Isis and Hathor
were universally worshipped'.
18
Cf. J. Bergman, 'Nut - Himmelsgttin - Baumgttin - Lebensgeberin', in:
H. Biezais, Religious Symbols and Their Functions (Scripta Instituti Donneriani
Aboensis, 10), Stockholm 1979, 53-69.
19
E. Feucht, 'Gattenwahl, Ehe und Nachkommenschaft im Alten gypten', in:
E.W. Mller (ed.), Geschlechtsreife und Legitimation zur Zeugung (Historische
Anthropologie, 3) (Kindheit, Jugend, Familie, 1), Mnchen 1985, 78-9, refers to
the gods Khnum, Aton and Ptah-Tenen.
20
The circumstance that she was also the patron of weaving, points to one of
the main occupations of married women with children. Cf. J. Broekhuis, De godin
Renenwetet, Assen 1971. See also section 2.2.2.3.
21
Cf. W. Westendorf, 'Gtter, androgyne', in: L Bd. 2, 633-5.
16

this quality was also attributed to younger deities such as Marduk

and Inanna/Ishtar. 2 2
The deities were believed to be displeased with a woman when
she did not bear children. Childlessness was connected with sin in
Mesopotamia. Karel van der Toorn remarks: ' . . . in a civilization
where male infertility could only be conceived as impotency, the wife
was bound to be saddled with the burden of the blame. "If a woman's
womb has accepted the sperm, but she does not conceive: wrath of the
god; sorrow", comments an omen, echoing public opinion'. 23 Childless women would therefore bring offerings to their gods and pray
that they would forgive their sins and grant them children. Thus a
Mesopotamian woman prayed to Ishtar:
You are the judge, procure me justice!
You bring order, inform me of a ruling!
May my god who is enangered with me t u r n back to me.
May my transgression be forgiven and my guilt be remitted.
May the disease be snatched out of my body
and the sluggishness be expelled from my blood!
May t h e worries disappear from my heart.
Give me a n a m e and a descendant!
May my womb be fruitful . . . 2 4

Ishtar was called upon to forgive whatever sin the woman might
have committed. Without the protection of her goddess, the supplicant believed she would not be blessed with offspring. An infertile
person would take all possible actions to propitiate the gods. Sometimes a childless couple or one of the marriage partners would make a
vow, promising gifts or perhaps money to the deity in case they were
22

Cf. . Groneberg, 'Die sumerisch-akkadische Inanna/Itar: Hermaphroditos? 1

WO 17 (1986), 25-46; Korpel, RiC, 239-40, n. 168; R.J. Clifford, Creation Accounts
in the Ancient Near East and in the Bible (CBQ.MS, 26), Washington 1994,
18-21; H.-W. Jngling, ' "Was anders ist Gott fr den Menschen, wenn nicht
sein Vater und seine Mutter?": Zu einer Doppelmetapher der religisen Sprache',
in: W. Dietrich, M.A. Klopfenstein (eds), Ein Gott allein?: J WH-Verehrung
und biblischer Monotheismus im Kontext der Israelitischen und altorientalischen
Religionsgeschichte (OBO, 139), Freiburg 1994, 365-86.
23
K. van der Toorn, Sin and Sanction in Israel and Mesopotamia: A comparative study (SSN, 22), Assen 1985, 86. Mesopotamian potency incantations
provide evidence for the problems males could have with getting and maintaining an erection; see, e.g., R.D. Biggs, SA.ZI.G A: Ancient Mesopotamian Potency
Incantations (TCS, 2), Locust Valley NY 1967.
24
M.-J. Seux, Hymnes et prires aux dieux de Babylonie et d'Assyrie (LAPO, 8),
Paris, 1976, 325-6; Eng. transi, by S.J. Denning-Bolle in: Van der Toorn, Cradle,
79-80.

granted progeny. 25
A barren woman was considered a pitiful person. In the myth of
Enki and Ninmah the two deities held a contest in which Ninmah ereated six crippled human beings to whom Enki then assigned functions
whereby they could live an honourable life. Next to the blind and the
lame, the barren woman is mentioned. To the latter Enki decreed that
she should work in the women's quarter of the queen's household. 26 In
the epic tale 'Gilgamesh, Enkidu and the Nether World', Gilgamesh
questioned Enkidu on what he witnessed in the nether world and
asked him, 'The woman who never gave birth, did you see her there?'
'1 saw her there', Enkidu responded. 'How has she fared?', Gilgamesh
wanted to know. 'Like a rejected vessel she is thrown to the ground,
she does not rejoice any man'. 27 Indeed, a barren woman risked being rejected by her husband. Some marriage contracts from Nuzi, for
example, contain a clause determining that a groom might take another wife in case the bride did not bear him children. If he did so, she
would probably get demoted to the status of concubine, or even be divorced. There is no textual evidence which indicates how many years
a wife was given to prove her fertility. A marriage text from Alalakh
mentions a seven-year-period, but it cannot be determined whether
this was a customary practice or not. 28 An Old Assyrian marriage
contract records a two-year period before the wife has to provide her
husband with a slave concubine. 29 In any case, a wife's status could
be at grave risk if she did not produce an heir. If she was from the
upper classes of society she might have the opportunity to avert the
dangers of demotion or divorce by offering a slave girl to her husband
to bear children in her stead. 30
In ancient Egypt at least two different views on a woman's share
25

Van der Toorn, Cradle, 80. In Egypt, infertile persons said prayers to the gods,
took vows, wrote letters to the dead, drank magic potions and wore amulets in
order to become pregnant; cf. Feucht, 'Gattenwahl, Ehe und Nachkommenschaft
im Alten gypten', 78. On the vow, see section 3.2.
26
Klein, in: C0S, vol. 1, 516-8.
27
R.J. Tournay, A. Shaffer, L'pope de Gilgamesh (LAPO, 15), Paris 1994,
266.
28

J. Paradise, 'Marriage Contracts of Free Persons at Nuzi', JCS 39 (1987), 1-36

(8, n. 21). R. Tanner, 'Untersuchungen zur ehe- und erbrechtlichen Stellung der
Frau im pharaonischen gypten', Klio 49 (1967), 27, also mentions a probationary
period of seven years.
29
R. Westbrook, 'The Female Slave', in: V.H. Matthews et al. (eds), Gender
and Law in the Hebrew Bible and the Ancient Near East (JSOT.S, 262), Sheffield
1998, 216.
30
K. Grosz, 'Bridewealth and Dowry in Nuzi', in: A. Cameron, A. Kuhrt (eds),
Images of Women in Antiquity, Detroit 1983, 200.

in the procreation existed. Some texts refer to a belief that the woman
was like a vessel in which her husband placed his seed. He was the
procreator while she was the nourisher of the child. The child was believed to be already present in rudimentary form in the male seed. 31 In
other texts, however, both parents are regarded as procreators. In accordance with this the Egyptians assumed that childlessness could be
due to both marriage partners. 32 In Mesopotamian texts the metaphor of woman as field occurs frequently. With regard to texts in
which Inanna rejoiced in her vulva, Gwendolyn Leick notes:
T h e young woman is compared to a field waiting to be rendered fertile,
by the plough (i.e. the penis) driven by the bull (i.e. t h e man). It is
in t h e context of marital intercourse t h a t the male sexual role defines
itself as the provider of fertility. T h e woman joyfully participates and
declares her readiness "to be ploughed". 3 3

Although Mesopotamian and Egyptian texts often express a phallocentric point of view, there is also attention for a woman's pleasure,
especially in love poetry. Female orgasm probably was acknowledged
in Mesopotamia and Egypt. 34
Also in Egypt, becoming pregnant was a focal point in the life
of every recently married young wife. If this did not happen to her,
a woman could be divorced or her husband could diminish her status and take another wife. Fortunately, not every man acted in this
way. In the Instruction of Ankhsheshonqy 14:16, a wisdom text from
the Late Period, a father lectured his son 'Do not abandon a woman
of your household who does not conceive and give birth'. 35 Such an
attitude was not only propagated in theory, but did occur in practice sometimes. Despite childlessness, a couple could decide to remain
31

E. Feucht, Das Kind im. Alten gypten, Frankfurt 1995, 93.

Feucht, Das Kind im Alten gypten, 103, 464.
33
G. Leick, Sex and Eroticism in Mesopotamian Literature, London 1994, 91.
Apparently this metaphor was so well-known in Babylonia that parts of the
seed-plough were called after male and female genitals - a beautiful example of the
bi-directional working of metaphor. Cf. C. Wilcke, Riding Tooth: Metaphor,
Metonymy and Synecdoche, Quick and Frozen in Everyday Language', in: M.
Mindlin et al. (eds), Figurative Language in the Ancient Near East, London 1987,
77-8.
34
L. Manniche, Sexual Life in Ancient Egypt, London 1987, 33; Leick, Sex and
Eroticism in Mesopotamian Literature, 53-4, 90-6.
35
M. Lichtheim, Late Egyptian Wisdom Literature in the International Context:
A Study of Demotic Instructions (OBO, 52), Freiburg 1983, 79. The Instruction
of Ankhsheshonqy is dated to the Twenty-sixth to Thirtieth Dynasty, yet makes
use of older traditions.
32

together and adopt a son. 36

When a woman did become pregnant and bore children, she knew
that she was blessed by the gods. The Hittite queen Puduhepa while
piously giving honour to the gods boasted about her unusual fertility
which even had a positive effect on that of the other women in the
palace. 37
A pregnancy was not without risk for an ancient Near Eastern
woman. The major danger was that of miscarriage. To avert that
danger women wore amulets. 38 In Egypt, women might insert a socalled Isis-knot as a tampon to avoid miscarriage. 39 Several medical
texts give evidence to the illnesses and irregularities that could befall a pregnant woman which were interpreted as signs of sin. 40 The
help of the gods was therefore needed to complete a successful pregnancy. 41 In Mesopotamia, the mother goddess Belet-ili, who is also
known under other names, played a major role during pregnancy and
childbirth. Also very important with regard to matters of conception,
pregnancy and birth were the seven assrtum.42 In Egypt, seven
Hathors acted as birth goddesses. 43
Magi co-religious texts could be cited to help the woman in labour. 44
Proverbs such as sick person is (relatively) well; it is the woman in
childbirth who is (really) ill!' testify to the awareness of parturition being a grievous and dangerous process. 45 A woman in childbirth could
36

G. Robins, Women in Ancient Egypt, London 1993, 77-8; R.M. Janssen,

J.J. Janssen, Getting old in Ancient Egypt, London 1996, 89-90. On adoption
in Mesopotamia, see, e.g., M. David, Die Adoption im altbabylonischen Recht
(LRWS, 23), Leipzig 1927, 67; M.A. Dandamaev, Slavery in Babylonia, rev. ed.,
DeKalb IL 1984, 411-4, 438-46; . Grosz, O n Some Aspects of the Adoption
of Women at Nuzi', in: D.I. Owen, M.A. Morrison (eds), Studies on the Civilization and Culture of Nuzi and the Hurrians, vol. 2, Winona Lake IN 1987,
131-52; E.C. Stone, 'Adoption in Old Babylonian Nippur', in: E.C. Stone, D.I.
Owen, Adoption in Old Babylonian Nippur and the Archive of Mannum-mesulissur (Mesopotamian Civilizations, 3), Winona Lake IN 1991, 1-33.
37
Beckman, Hittite Birth Rituals, 9-10.
38
For Mesopotamia, see M. Stol, Birth in Babylonia and the Bible: Rs Mediterranean Setting (CM, 14), Groningen 2000, 27-33, 49-52. For Egypt, see Feucht,
'Gattenwahl, Ehe und Nachkommenschaft im Alten gypten', 78.
39
Robins, Women in Ancient Egypt, 80-2; Feucht, Das Kind im Alten gypten,
98.
40
Van der Toorn, Sin and Sanction in Israel and Mesopotamia, 86-7.
41
R. Albertz, Persnliche Frmmigkeit und offizielle Religion: Religionsinterner
Pluralismus in Israel und Babylon (CThM.BW, 9). Stuttgart 1978, 51-5.
42
Stol, Birth in Babylonia and the Bible, 74-83.
43
W. Helck, 'Hathoren, sieben', in: LA, Bd. 2, 1033.
44
Beckman, Hittite Birth Rituals.
45
Gordon, Sumerian Proverbs, 146 ( # 1.193). Somewhat differently, Alster,

also be compared to a warrior on the battlefield. Thus, in a Middle

Assyrian medical text Marduk was called upon to assist a woman who
had trouble delivering her baby:
T h e woman in childbirth has pangs at delivery,
At delivery she has pangs, t h e babe is stuck fast,
T h e b a b e is stuck fast. T h e bolt is secure - to bring life to an end,
T h e door is m a d e fast - against the suckling kid . . .
T h e mother is enveloped in t h e dust of death.
Like a chariot she is enveloped in the dust of battle,
Like a plough she is enveloped in t h e dust of the woods,
Like a warrior in the fray, she is cast down in her blood. 4 6

The delivery usually would take place in relative isolation, either in

a room in the house, or in a specially built structure placed next to
the house or on the roof, the confinement pavillon. 47 A woman would
either sit on a stool or crouch on bricks (the socalled birth stones)
on the floor.48 She would be assisted by midwives, who were either
professionals or elderly family members or neighbours. 49 The father
of the child generally would not be present during the birth. 50
During her pregnancy and for thirty days after the birth of her
child, a Mesopotamian woman was considered impure. 51 Hittite birth
ritual texts inform us on purificatory rites after parturition. It would
seem that such rites were performed during the first seven days of
the baby's life. Furthermore, 'a mother and her male child might
Proverbs of Ancient Sumer, vol. 1, 38, renders: 'To be sick is (relatively) "good",
to be pregnant is bad, to be pregnant and sick is too much' ( # 1.193+194).
46
W.G. Lambert, Middle Assyrian Medical Text', Iraq 31 (1969), 31-2. The
connection between a warrior in battle and a woman in labour is also made in Isa.
42:13-14. In Egypt the god Bes and the goddess Thoeris are especially concerned
with women in childbirth; cf. R.M. Janssen, J.J. Janssen, Growing up in Ancient
Egypt, London 1990, 6.
47
For Egypt, see R.M. Janssen, J.J. Janssen, Growing up in Ancient Egypt, 4-6;
Feucht, Das Kind, im Alten gypten, 101. For Mesopotamia and Hatti, see Van
der Toorn, Cradle, 84.
48
For Egypt, see Feucht, Das Kind im Alten gypten, 101. For Mesopotamia,
see Stol, Birth in Babylonia and the Bible, 118-22. For a detailed description in
Hittite, Beckman, Hittite Birth Rituals, 22-3.
49
On midwives see section 2.2.2.3.
50
For Egypt, see R.M. Janssen, J.J. Janssen, Growing up in Ancient Egypt,
6. For Mesopotamia, see C. Wilcke, 'Familiengrndung im alten Babylonien', in:
E.W. Mller (ed.), Geschlechtsreife und Legitimation zur Zeugung (Historische
Anthropologie, 3) (Kindheit, Jugend, Familie, 1), Mnchen 1985, 302; Van der
Toorn, Cradle, 85.
51
R. Labat, 'Geburt', RLA, vol. 3, 178-9; Van der Toorn, Cradle, 84. On matters
of impurity, see also section 3.1.

participate in a ceremonial reentry into the community after three

months had passed . . . , while a mother and baby girl could undergo
this ceremony only after four months 5 2 According to the Egyptian
Tales of Wonder, a woman was impure for fourteen days. 53
When the baby was born, another danger threatened, namely that
of infant mortality. 54 The Mesopotamians blamed illness of a little
child on the demon Lamashtu. This Daughter of Anu was believed to
snatch infants away from their mother or wet-nurse and poison them
while nursing them. When a baby had become ill, a priest was asked
to come and diagnose the illness. If he concluded Lamashtu was to
blame, a ritual had to be performed in order to make the demon leave
the body of the child and travel elsewhere. Amulets were supposed to
prevent the demon from causing illness.55 Another demon who was
believed to cause babies harm was Lilitu or Ardat lili. Against her
harmful behaviour people also used incantations and amulets. Karel
van der Toorn remarks on Lilitu:
She was a personification of the unmarried woman or t h e woman who
died childless. Out of rancor and frustration she avenges herself as a
specter for what she was deprived of during her life. . . . B o t h figures,
L a m a s h t u and Lilitu, give concrete expression to what seems to be the
apparently deep-rooted fear of infertility. T h e y represent the jealous
woman without children, counterpart of t h e happy mother. 5 6

Since Middle Babylonian times both demons have gradually been assimilated to each other. 57
We have noted that the period of post-parturition impurity could
vary with the sex of the child. It may have mattered for a mother's
status whether she had born a son or a daughter. However, although
sons were preferred, daughters were very welcome as well.58 A Hittite
birth ritual expresses the wish that a woman's next pregnancy might
52

Beckman, Hittite Birth Rituals, 251. On the matter of sex difference with
regard to impurity, see also section C below.
53
pWestcar 19; M. Lichtheim, Ancient Egyptian Literature: A Book of Readings,
vol. 1, Berkeley 1973, 221; R.M. Janssen, J.J. Janssen, Growing up in Ancient
Egypt, 7-8, 10-1.
54
For evidence on infant mortality in Egypt, see R.M. Janssen, J.J. Janssen,
Growing up in Ancient Egypt, 21-2.
55
F.A.M. Wiggermann, 'Lamatu, daughter of Anu: A Profile', in: Stol, Birth
in Babylonia and the Bible, 217-49.
56
Van der Toorn, Cradle, 25.
57
Wiggermann, 'Lamatu, daughter of Anu', 227-8; M. Hutter, 'Lilith ', in:
DDD, 520-1.
58
E. Ebeling, 'Familie', RLA, vol. 3, 12. See also section 2.1.4.

result in a child of the opposite sex:

And if a ma[1e] child is then born, then the midwife th[us] speaks:
"Loo[k!] Now I have br0u[ght] the goods of a male child. But next
y[ea]r I will certainly bring the goods of a female child!"
If it is a fema[1e] child, then she speaks thus: "Now - look! - the goods
[of a fema]1e [child] I have brought. But next year the goods [of a ma]le
[child] I will certainly bring!" 5 9

In Egypt, a son was also preferred over a daughter, although both sons
and daughters were welcomed with gratitude. 6 0 Pregnant Egyptian
women could wear amulets with wishes such as, 'We will arrange that
she will conceive male children and female children'. 61
A child was usually given its name by the person with authority
over it. 62 A newborn babe would receive its name either from the
mother or the father. Sometimes another person, such as a midwife,
would name the child. 63 In the Sumerian Stele of the Vultures, for
example, it is the goddess Inanna who names Eannatum, born from
the deities Ningirsu and Baba. Referring to his divine conception,
birth and name giving, the king of Lagash legitimized his reign. 64
The authority of a mother over her child also becomes evident
in matters of education. In principle, primary education and socialization started after the baby's birth. Mothers who belonged to the
upper classes of society would generally have wet nurses and nannies
taking care of their little children. In the lower strata a mother herself
would deal with breast-feeding the baby and with its upbringing. A
child would generally be suckled until it was about three years old. 65
59

KBo XVII 62+63:IV.13'-18'; Beckman, Hittite Birth Rituals, 34-5. Beckman,

40, notes that it is uncertain what is meant with 'goods1, but that they may
refer to the symbols of masculinity (bow and arrows) and femininity (spindle and
distaff) which were presented to the newborn child.
60
Feucht, Das Kind im Alten gypten, 46-51.
61
Feucht, Das Kind im Alten gypten, 46.
62
Legitimation could also play a role, see section C below.
63
For Mesopotamia, see Wilcke, 'Familiengrndung im alten Babylonien1, 302.
For Egypt, see Feucht, Das Kind im Alten gypten, 107-8. According to R.M.
Janssen, J.J. Janssen, Growing up in Ancient Egypt, 14, it was usually the mother
who named the Egyptian child.
64
T. Jacobsen, 'The Stele of the Vultures Col. I - X \ in: B.L. Eichler (ed.),
Kramer Anniversary Volume (AOAT, 25), Kevelaer; Neukirchen-Vluyn 1976, 251;
Wilcke, 'Familiengrndung im alten Babylonien1, 298-302.
65
M.I. Gruber, 'Breast-Feeding Practices in Biblical Israel and in Old Babylonian Mesopotamia1, JANES 19 (1989), 61-83; Robins, Women in Ancient Egypt,
101, 106; Feucht, Das Kind im Alten gypten, 149-50. With regard to iconographic material of nursing mothers, see U. Winter, Frau und Gttin: Exegetische

Although both parents participated in a child's primary education

and socialization, a mother would generally have the major influence.
The Instruction of Ankhsheshonqy warned a man to chose a pious
woman as a future mother for his children: 'Do not marry an impious
woman, lest she give your children an impious upbringing'. 66
Several proverbs and wisdom texts stress a mother's affection over
against a father's strictness in educational matters. 67 These texts further emphasize the desirability to honour both parents. A son should
support his mother, especially when she was dependant on him. In
the Instruction of Any men were told:
Double the food your mother gave you,
Support her as she supported you;
She had a heavy load in you,
But she did not abandon you.
When you were born after your months,
She was yet yoked <to you>,
Her breasts in your mouth for three years.
As you grew and your excrement disgusted,
She was not disgusted, saying: "What shall I do!"
When she sent you to school,
And you were taught to write,
She kept watching you daily,
With bread and beer in her house.68
Such a text exemplifies that a mother was held in high esteem. Mothergoddesses occupied the highest ranks of the panthea of the ancient
Near East. 69 In the Mari correspondence 'mother' and 'daughter' are
used as designations to address women of different ranks, the first
obviously being the highest honorific title. 70
It is noteworthy that in the genre of Egyptian didactic literature
und ikonographische Studien zum weiblichen Gottesbild im Alten Israel und in
dessen Umwelt (OBO, 53), Freiburg, Schweiz 1983, 387-93; P. Albenda, 'Woman,
Child, and Family: Their Imagery in Assyrian Art 1 , in: FPOA, 19; R.M. Janssen,
J.J. Janssen, Growing up in Ancient Egypt, 20-1.
66
Instruction of Ankhsheshonqy 25:17; cf. Lichtheim, Late Egyptian Wisdom
Literature in the International Context, 79.
67
Robins, Women in Ancient Egypt, 106-7; Feucht, Das Kind im Alten gypten,
144-9.
68
Lichtheim, Ancient Egyptian Literature, vol. 2, 141.
69
Cf. M. Krebernik, 'Muttergttin . I', RLA, Bd. 8, 1993-97, 502-16; J. Assmann, 'Muttergottheit', LA, Bd. 4, 1982, 266-71.
70
P. Artzi, A. Malamat,'The Correspondence of ibtu, Queen of Mari in ARM
X', in: A. Malamat, Mari and the Bible (SHCANE, 12), Leiden 1998, 178.

no example has been found of a mother instructing her son or daughter. The Instruction texts are sapiental writings by (older) men for
(younger) men. Although women are sometimes mentioned in them,
they themselves do not give wisdom teaching. 71 Annette Depla points
to the fact that sapiental writings reflect the views of the upper class
males of Egyptian society.72 Since women of the lower classes practised several professions in which they had to be trained, we assume
that in these jobs mothers often educated their daughters, in Egypt
as well as in Mesopotamia.
Some Sumerian texts reflect the difficulties a mother could be
confronted with when raising her son. Ideally, a mother should not
strike or scold her son and a son should not speak disrespectfully of his
mother. One of the proverbs in the Instruction of Shuruppak reads,
'Do not speak arrogantly to your mother, you will be hated'. 73
Legal texts condemn a sexual relationship between a mother and
her son. According to CH 157, '[i]f a man, after his father's death,
should lie with his mother, they shall burn them both'. 74 They were
both held liable to capital punishment on grounds of incest. 75 Even
if the woman in question was not the son's biological mother but
his father's principal wife 76 , this was regarded as an incestuous act,
although not punished by death (CH 158). In the latter case the son
was disinherited. MAL A46, however, does not condemn a marriage
between a widowed second wife and a son of the husband's prior
marriage. HL 189 condemns a man and his mother having sexual
relations, 'it is an unpermitted sexual pairing'. 77
Also in Egypt the sexual relationship between a son and his (adopted) mother was considered a crime. In the Tale of Two Brothers,
the wife of Anubis proposed to the Bata, her husband's brother, to
71

Cf. R. Harris, 'The Female "Sage" in Mesopotamian Literature (with an appendix on Egypt) 1 , in: J.G. Garnie, L.G. Perdue (eds), The Sage in Israel and,
the Ancient Near East. Winona Lake 1990, 4: 'Indeed, "female" and "sage" were
contradictions in terms in the ancient Near Eastern world'.
72
A. Depla, 'Women in Ancient Egyptian Wisdom Literature', in: L.J. Archer
et al. (eds), Women in Ancient Societies: An Illusion of the Night, Basingstoke,
Hampshire 1994, 28-9.
73
B. Alster, The Instructions of Suruppak: A Sumerian Proverb Collection
(Mes.(C), 2), Copenhagen 1974, 48-9 (1. 258).
74
Roth, LCMAM, 111.
75
Cf. H.P.H. Petschow, 'Inzest', in: RLA, Bd. 5, 144-50; S. Lafont, Femmes,
Droit et Justice dans l'Antiquit orientale: Contribution l'tude du droit pnal
au Proche-Orient ancien (OBO, 165), Fribourg, Suisse 1999, 190-2.
76
Differently, R. Haase, 'Inzestuse Beziehungen im Codex Hammurapi', ZABR
5 (1999), 69-70, who assumes the woman is a foster mother.
77
Roth, LCMAM, 236.

have sex. He, however, refused, saying: 'Look, you are like a mother
to me; and your husband is like a father to me. He who is older than I
has raised me. What is this great wrong you said to me?' 78 Apparently
the fact that the younger brother as an adopted son was a member of
the household made the sister-in-law's proposal to commit adultery
even more despicable than when they would not have been family
members.
Only in extreme circumstances, such as a long siege or famine,
parents might resort to selling their children into slavery. Documents
emphasize that these measures were taken to help the children to survive. 79 Children were dear to their parents. Only in cases of unbearable famine might people resort to cannibalism, but such instances
are extremely rare throughout the ancient Near East. 80 In this light
the biblical story of the cannibal mothers (see below) should also be
regarded as exceptional behaviour under extreme circumstances.
According to Depla, in Egypt, 'one's maternal ancestry was as
important as the paternal line'. 81 Although in Egyptian tomb texts
filiation may refer either to one's mother or to one's father, it probably is too far fetched to conclude from this that matrilineality was
as important as patrilineality. Generally the fact that a person was
identified by his or her mother was related to hereditary matters and
the mother's social position. Also the position of the father of the
person in question may have been of influence. For instance, children
of the king were usually identified by their mother. This firstly was
a result of the fact that kings generally had several wives and therefore a further specification was necessary, and secondly, because the
king, being a god, could not be named as the father. 82 With regard
to women who were not wives of the king, Erika Feucht explains the
filiation references to these mothers by way of their strong ties to
the royal family, which made them women of high rank. If the husbands of these highranking women were themselves of lower rank,
the children would be referred to by their mother's name. In some
instances it might have been that the child referred to by matronym
was from an earlier marriage. However, it probably was customary to
use patronyms, since this is how persons are identified in narratives.
78

Lichtheim, Ancient Egyptian Literature, vol. 2, 205.

A. Kuhrt, 'Non-Royal Women in the Late Babylonian Period: A Survey', in:
WER, 234.
80
Cf. D.O. Edzard, 'Kannibalismus', RLA, Bd. 5, 1976-80, 389-90; U. RsslerKhler, 'Kannibalismus', L, Bd. 3, 1980, 314-5.
81
Depla, 'Women in Ancient Egyptian Wisdom Literature', 29.
82
Feucht, Das Kind im Alten gypten, 44-6; 450-3.
79

'In Erzhlungen, in denen nur die Herkunft einer Person definiert werden mute, erbrechtliche Grnde hingegen keine Rolle spielten, wird
nur die Abstammung von dem Vater angegeben'. 83
In early Mesopotamia, it was uncommon to use matronyms. Only
in sources that mention young children and their mothers as prisoners
of war, children born out of wedlock and certain classes of serfs who
were fatherless were matronyms used. 84 At Ebla, the children of the
maliktum could be referred to by matronym, which indicates the importance of the queen's lineage. 85 It was not customary at Emar to
use matronyms. However, they occur, for example, in a text regarding the allocation of property of a certain Iadi-Bala who had children
with two wives.86 Katarzyna Grosz proposes that the mothers of men
who used matronyms at Nuzi might be women who were adopted
as sons by their father. These women thereupon received the status
of son and inherited the family property. 87 As a consequence, they
might have had a status higher or equal to that of their husbands,
which would explain the use of matronyms. Yet Grosz does not exelude the possibility that persons who used matronyms were children
of prostitutes.
In general, a Mesopotamian mother could only act as testatrix to
her children if she was made guardian of the house by her husband.
Emarite testaments give testimony to the fact that mothers could
bequeath property to their children. 88 However, this probably was
possible only when a woman had become a widow and was made
'father and mother', i.e., guardian of the house by her late husband.
It seems that a husband making his wife 'father and mother' of his
house was not a common rule. Mothers generally were only caretakers
of the property of their deceased husband for their children until the
latter were grown up. Therefore testaments could hold provisions for
83

Feucht, Das Kind im Alten gypten, 448-67 (464).

I.J. Gelb, 'Household and Family in Early Mesopotamia 1 , in: E. Lipmski (ed.),
State and Temple Economy in the Ancient Near East I (OLA, 5), Leuven 1979,
84

28.
85

P. Mander, 'The Function of the Maliktum as Based on the Documentation

of the Administrative Texts of Ebla', in: H. Waetzoldt, H. Hauptmann (eds),
Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft von Ebla: Akten der Internationalen Tagung Heidelberg 47.November 1986 (Heidelberger Studien zum Alten Orient, 2), Heidelberg
1988, 266.
86
D. Arnaud, Recherches au pays d'Astata (Emar, 6/3), Paris 1986, 213-4 (no.
202).
87

K. Grosz, 'Daughters Adopted as Sons at Nuzi and Emar', in: FPOA, 84-5;
K. Grosz, 'Some Aspects of the Position of Women in Nuzi', in: WER, 174-7.
88
Cf. Arnaud, Recherches au pays d'Astata (Emar, 6/3), nos. 30, 32, 69, 128,
213. On matters of inheritance see also sections 2.1.4 and 2.1.5.

the mother, stating that adult children who failed to support their
widowed mother could lose their right to the inheritance. 89 Children
thus had the duty to take care of their mother in old age.
According to Old Babylonian law, a woman's dowry (eriktu) was
inherited by her children (CH 173-174). A dowry could consist of
all sorts of items, but a woman from a wealthy family could receive a
house or a parcel of land as (part of) her dowry. After her death such
possessions would be inherited by her children.
In Egypt children could inherit from both their father and mother.
A woman could bequeath her personal property according to her own
choosing and, as a consequence, she could also exclude some of her
children from her inheritance if she wished. 90 Children of either sex
could inherit from their mother. The inheritance would generally consist of property, but occasionally a mother could bequeath her office
to a child. Thus in the Egyptian Old Kingdom period a son named
Akhethotep inherited his mother Pesset's office of Overseer of Physicians. 91
A childless woman could adopt children and make them her heirs.
The Adoption Papyrus, dating from the late New Kingdom provides
an illustration of this principle. The Egyptian woman Rennofre, herself having been adopted by her husband Nebnofre in order to make
her sole heir of their childless marriage, manumitted and adopted the
three children of her female slave. The oldest girl she married to her
brother, whom she also adopted. She declared that all four adopted
children, two males and two females, were to inherit equal shares. Her
brother and adopted son were to act as trustees and take care of her
in her old age. 92 Adoption was thus a means for a childless widow to
provide for herself. 93
B . UGARITIC LITERARY T E X T S

The role of mother was a very important one for Ugaritic women.
89

Cf. G. Beckman, 'Family Values on the Middle Euphrates in the Thirteenth

Century B.C.E.' in: M.W. Chavalas (ed.), Emar: The History, Religion and Culture of a Syrian Town in the Late Bronze Age, Bethesda MD 1996, 60, 72.
90
Cf. P.W. Pestman, Marriage and Matrimonial Property in Ancient Egypt: A
Contribution to Establishing the Legal Position of the Woman (PLB, 9), Leiden
1961,121,162-4; S. Allam, 'Women as Owners of Immovables in Pharaonic Egypt',
in: WER, 123-35. On the personal possessions of an Egyptian wife, see section
2.1.1.3.1.
91
Depla, 'Women in Ancient Egyptian Wisdom Literature', 37-8.
92
R.M. Janssen, J.J. Janssen, Getting Old in Ancient Egypt, 88. According to
the Janssens, Nebnofre doubtlessly was the father of the female slave's children.
93
Adoption contracts of widows adopting persons into the status of daughter or
son are also known from Emar. Beckman, 'Family Values on the Middle Euphrates
in the Thirteenth Century B.C.E.' 62, notes that 'a woman - always apparently
a widow - is the adopting party in over one-fourth of the cases' he discusses.

The desire to become a mother, however, is not given much attention

in the literary texts. Although longing for progeny is a major theme
in the Legends of Kirtu and of Aqhatu, it is the desire to become a
father, i.e. the male perspective, that is mainly described. The Legend
of Kirtu begins with a description of the misfortunes of king Kirtu.
His authority was shattered because he did not have any offspring.
Seven times in a row Kirtu had married a woman who was to become
the mother of his children, but to no avail (KTU 1.14:I.10-20).94 His
first wife rebelled against him 95 and his second wife was unfaithful
(KTU 1.14:1.14-15).96 Since att 'wife' in line 14 is parallelled with
'urn 'mother' in line 15, it would seem that according to the poet of
the legend, a wife ought to be a mother. Kirtu's third wife died ktrrn
'in childbirth'. Literally, she died ' "in success", when she was about
to achieve what she had been married for'. 97 His four other wives
neither accomplished the goal Kirtu longed for: giving him children.
The theme of desire for progeny also occurs in the Legend of
Aqhatu. King Dani'ilu had no sons 98 and tried to propitiate the gods
by making offerings to them. For six days he gave the gods food to eat
and to drink and finally, on the seventh day his personal god Ba'lu
interceded with Ilu to strengthen Dani'ilu. The male god, Ilu, was the
one to whom the god Ba'lu turned with his request for progeny for 'the
Saviour's man'. He was the one - not Athiratu, the mother of the gods
- who could create new human beings. Ba'lu asked for Dani'ilu that
he be blessed and fortified (KTU 1.17:1.1-33). As Laurence Kutler has
demonstrated, mr(r) indicates a special type of blessing, 'either the
94
It is a matter of discussion whether the series of numerical terms of persons
dying of various reasons refers to sons or wives of the king. Cf. J.C. de Moor,
'Contributions to the Ugaritic Lexicon', UF 11 (1979), 643-4; J.C. de Moor, K.
Spronk, 'Problematical Passages in the Legend of Kirtu (I)', UF 14 (1982), 156;
E. Verreet, 'Der Keret-Prolog', UF 19 (1987), 322-31; J. Tropper, 'Die sieben
Frauen des Knigs Keret', UF 27 (1995), 529-32; Sivan, GUL, 94-5; M. Dietrich,
O. Loretz, 'Keret, der leidende "Knig der Gerechtigkeit": Das Wortpaar sdq || yr
als Schlssel zur Dramatik des Keret-Epos (KTU 1.14 I 12-21a)', UF 31 (1999),
133-64. Pace both Greenstein, in: Smith, UNP, 12, and Wyatt, RTU, 181-2, who
assume the terms should be regarded as fractions of the sons whom Kirtu lost,
I regard them to be pass. part. f.s. of D-stem verbs, following De Moor, Spronk
and Tropper. On the basis of a fresh collation by J. Tropper, review of KTU2, in:
AfO 42/43 (1995/96), 269, I read &1[y]t.um 'a second mother' in KTU 1.14:1.15.
95
See section 2.1.1.4.1
96
Assuming the negative particle I was accidentally omitted; cf. De Moor,
Spronk, 'Problematical Passages in the Legend of Kirtu (I)', 156.
97
De Moor, 'Contributions to the Ugaritic Lexicon', 644, n. 29. See further
Wyatt, RTU, 181, n. 16. Apparently, the child of the third wife also died.
98
It is not clear whether at this stage of the narrative Dani'ilu already had a
daughter.

strength to avenge or the vigor to produce children'. 99 Both matters,

prowess in battle and the ability to sire children, expressed the idea
of masculinity in the ancient Near East. 100 Virility of a man was thus
connected with strength.
Childlessness was a problem that could also befall deities. It was
important for goddesses as well as human wives to have children. The
goddess 'Anatu appears to have been childless and wished to change
this undesirable situation. Although the interpretation of KTU 1.10 is
quite difficult, it seems that in this text 'Anatu found a creative solution to her childlessness. The fragmentary beginning of the text seems
to describe 'Anatu in the process of beautifying herself. She then set
out to meet Ba'lu, who was not in his mansion, but happened to be on
a hunt at the shore of Shamku which was filled with wild oxen. When
they met, Ba'lu and 'Anatu made love, possibly in theriomorphic
manifestation, i.e., as a bull and a cow.101 The text is interpreted in
various ways. Based on Egyptian and Mesopotamian myths and on
KTU 1.13:29-36, Johannes de Moor assumes 'Anatu entered into the
cow 'so that the cow would be able to bear offspring for her'. 102 Being
unable to bear children, the goddess found herself a substitute in the
cow who bore a bullcalf for Ba'lu (KTU 1.10:111.1-3,19-21,35-36). It
is remarkable that most scholars do not give attention to the question
whether Ba'lu mated with the cow in the manifestation of a bull or
in some other form, yet stress the distinction between 'Anatu and the
heifer. 103
Further light is shed on the fact that 'Anatu had not (yet) born
a child 104 by the Magical Papyrus Harris, which mentions Semitic
" L . Kutler, "Strong" Case for Hebrew mar', UF 16 (1984), 118. The parallelism of brk and mr(r) also occurs elsewhere in the Legend of Aqhatu, where
Pughatu requested to be blessed in order to avenge her brother (KTU 1.19:IV.3235).
100
Cf. H.A. Hoffner, 'Symbols for Masculinity and Femininity: Their Use in Ancient Near Eastern Sympathetic Magic Rituals', JBL 85 (1966), 327, who refers to
the Hittite noun I-natar which means both 'masculinity' and 'military exploit'
(n. 4).
101
Cf. KTU 1.5:V.17-26.
102
De Moor, ARTU, 114 and nn. 29, 31. 'Cow' (arh) is an epithet of 'Anatu,
see KTU 1.13:22, 29. Cf. G. del Olmo Lete, 'Le mythe de la vierge-mre 'Anatu:
Une nouvelle interprtation de CTA/KTU 13', UF 13 (1981), 58.
103
Cf., e.g., P L . Day, 'Anat: Ugarit's "Mistress of Animals" ', JNES 51 (1992),
184; N.H. Walls, The Goddess Anat in Ugaritic Myth (SBL.DS, 135), Atlanta GA
1992, 131-4; Parker, in: Smith, UNP, 181-6; Wyatt, RTU, 155-60. E.L. Greenstein,
'The God of Israel and the Gods of Canaan: How Different Were They?' in:
PWCJS, Division A: The Bible and Its World, 12 (1999), 52*, does give attention
to the aforementioned question.
104
On 'Anatu's epithet btlt, see section 2.1.4.

deities and elements of Semitic mythology. In a hymn where gods are

called upon to close the mouth of the crocodile, the text reads,
wie der Mund der Gebrmutter der Antit und der Astarte verschlossen
wurde,
der beiden grossen Gttinnen,
die schwanger wurden, aber niet gebaren.
Sie wurden verschlossen durch Horus,
und sie wurden [geffnet] von Seth.105
Although the interpretations of the role of Seth in this mythic fragment differ, it is clear that the theme of 'Anatu as a goddess who
had not given (or, could not give?) birth is known both in Ugarit and
certain areas of Egypt which underwent Semitic influences. 106
In her manifestation as the Cow of Ba'lu, 'Anatu also occurs in
KTU 1.13. This difficult text is regarded by some as a hymn, while
others classify it as a mythological text. 107 KTU 1.13 begins with
a description of 'Anatu that is reminiscent of KTU 1.3, referring to
her ferocious behaviour and her bathing afterwards. The problems
of interpretation that concern us here start in line 23. Gregorio del
Olmo Lete assumes 'Anatu received a promise of maternity and subsequently bore a son after virginal conception. 108 Johannes de Moor,
on the other hand, regards lines 23b-27a to be 'a personal prayer on
105

Mag. Pap. Harris III, 8-9. H.O. Lange, Der magische Papyrus Harris (Det
Kgl. Danske Videnskabernes Selskab. Historisk-filologiske Meddelelser, 14/2),
K0benhavn 1927, 29-30.
106
H. te Velde, Seth, God of Confusion: A Study of his Role in Egyptian Mythology and Religion (PA, 6), Leiden 1967, 28-9, assumes the opening of the womb
by Seth/Ba'lu implied abortion. This view is adopted by P.L. Day, 'Why is Anat
a Warrior and Hunter?' in: D. Jobling et al. (eds), The Bible and the Politics of
Exegesis, Cleveland OH 1991, 144, n. 41. Others assume Seth played a procreative
role and connect the phrase to the Story of 'Anat and Seth, see R. Stadelmann,
Syrisch-palstinensische Gottheiten in gypten (PA, 5), Leiden 1967, 131-3; W.
Helck, Die Beziehungen gyptens zu Vorderasien im 3. und 2. Jahrtausend v.
Chr. (A, 5), Wiesbaden 21971, 446-73 (462); J. van Dijk, "Anat, Seth and the
Seed of Pr' ', in: H.L.J. Vanstiphout et al. (eds), Scripta Signa Vocis: Studies
about Scripts, Scriptures, Scribes and Languages in the Near East, presented to
J.H. Hospers by his pupils, colleagues and friends, Groningen 1986, 31-51. Walls,
The Goddess Anat in Ugaritic Myth, 144-52, has many reservations.
107
For the former opinion, cf. De Moor, ARTU, 137 (classifying the text as 'Myth
and Ritual', though he also refers to it as 'An Incantation Against Infertility (KTU
1.13)', UF 12 (1980), 305-10); Wyatt, RTU, 169; for the latter, cf. Del Olmo Lete,
'Le mythe de la vierge-mre 'Anatu', 50-1; Walls, The Goddess Anat in Ugaritic
Myth, 139.
108
Del Olmo Lete, 'Le mythe de la vierge-mre 'Anatu', 49-62.

behalf of a couple whose son has an infertile marriage'. 109 He assumes

this prayer to be linked with a mythological narrative about 'Anatu
who suffered from infertility as well. A third interpretation is voiced
by Nicholas Wyatt, who suggests the text is a hymn to 'Anatu, in
which she eventually gave birth without having conceived. 110
The end of the text (1.13:29-32) is difficult to interpret but seems
to correspond with KTU 1.10 regarding 'Anatu's infertility problem:
29

ag2ri.'[n]t. 'arh.30b'l
a<g>zrt. 'ni.wld
31
kbdh.l yd' hrh
wtdh 32 tnqt

'Anatu, the Cow of Ba'lu, was eager,

'Anatu was eager 111 to bear 112 .
Her womb 113 had not known pregnancy,
[nor] her breasts nursing 114 .

The following lines are incomprehensible, hence it is uncertain

whether 'Anatu did bear a son. For all we know, she may have been
the eternally childless goddess. Yet it is clear this was not a state
'Anatu wished to continue. 115
Being childless was thus an undesirable state for deities as well as
humans. To overcome their childlessness humans were dependent on
the blessing of the gods.
In the Legend of Aqhatu, only the father, Dani'ilu, is mentioned
in the initial blessing, while the mother, who was to conceive the
child, is not. Only later on, when Ilu actually blessed Dani'ilu, is
his wife also mentioned. This can be explained as an androcentric
interest of the author: the circumstance that Dani'ilu had no son
and therefore required a blessing by the gods was regarded as very
important. Nevertheless, it can also be judged more positively: the
fact that no children had been born was not the fault of Danatiya
alone. The ancients were aware that in order to beget children both
partners needed to be fertile. 116
The blessing in the Legend of Kirtu occured in a comparable manner. It was Ba'lu who, during the dinner party of Kirtu's wedding,
109

De Moor, ARTU, 137.

Wyatt, RTU, 169.
111
On the corrected reading a<g>zrt and its interpretation see Wyatt, RTU,
173, n. 35.
112
See Wyatt, RTU, 173, n. 36.
113
See DLU, 208. For a Sumerian parallel see H. Behrens, Enlil und Ninlil: Ein
sumerischer Mythos aus Nippur (StP.SM, 8), Rome 1978, 22, 98-9, 221, line 30.
114
See De Moor, ARTU, 140, n. 45.
115
Perhaps a reference to 'Anatu in her metaphorical quality of 'mother of the
eagles' may be found in KTU 1.19:111.29; cf. De Moor, ARTU, 257-8, n. 218.
However, if this would be the case, one wonders what her relationship was towards
Hargubu, the 'father of eagles'.
116
Cf. Hoffner, 'Symbols for Masculinity and Femininity', 326, 11. 3. See also my
remarks on RS 86.2208 in chapter 4.
110

incited Ilu to bless and fortify the childless nobleman. Ilu included
Kirtu's wife in the blessings, but it was Kirtu who was addressed
(KTU 1.15:11.11-25)117:
11

['ahjr.m^y. 'di.'iIm
[w]y'n. 'a/'y[n.]b'Z
13
['ik.t]tb'
Ihpn 14 ['il.jdp'id
Itbrk 15 [krt.]'
Itmr.n'mn 16[glm] 'i/.
ks.y'ihd 17 ['il.b]yd
krpn.bm 18 [ym]n.
brkm.ybrk 19 ['bdh].
y brk. 'il.krt 20 [t'.]
12

21

When the Assembly of the gods had arrived,

Ba'lu, the Almighty, spoke:
['How] do you think you can leave,
Benevolent, Ilu the goodnatured?
Surely you will have to bless Kirtu, the nobleman,
surely you will have to fortify the gracious lad of Ilu!1
Ilu took the cup in his hand,
the beaker in his right hand.
Verily he blessed [his servant]
Ilu blessed Kirtu, the nobleman,

[ym]rra.n'm[n.]g/m. '11 he fortified the gracious lad of Ilu:

'att[.tq]h.?/krt.
'The wife you are taking, Kirtu,

'att 22 gh.bk[.]
[g]1mt.V6 23 hzrk
tld.sb'.bnm Ik
24
wimn[.]ti{t}mnm

the wife you are taking into your house,

the lass you are bringing into your residence,
may she bear you seven children 118 ,
fully eight times may she bear for you!

25

Ik

The blessing then continues with a list of the children Hariya would
bear for Kirtu. As in the Legend of Aqhatu, here, too, the viewpoint
is androcentric, although the poet acknowledged that both partners
needed to share in the deity's blessing.
Scholars have pointed to the fact that Canaanite religion has often been characterized as a 'fertility' religion. 119 Jo Ann Hackett,
among others, opposes the often-used dichotomy between Israelite religion and the 'fertility' religion of Canaanites and other neighbouring
peoples. She states that ' "fertility religion" is a euphemism for ritual sex, for ritual prostitution'. 120 Although Canaanite religion was
concerned with fertility, this was not the only dimension to characterize it. Cosmogony, for example, was equally important. And what
is meant when using the term 'fertility religion'? Concern for fertil117

See section 2.1.1.3.2.

The decision whether to translate bnm inclusive or gendered is related to the
question how many children Kirtu and Hariya did beget. See further below.
119
Cf., e.g., P.D. Miller, 'Aspects of the Religion of Ugarit', in: P.D. Miller et al.
(eds), Ancient Israelite Religion: Essays in Honor of Frank Moore Cross, Philadelphia 1987, 59-6; J.A. Hackett, 'Can a Sexist Model Liberate us?: Ancient Near
Eastern "Fertility" Goddesses', JFSR 5 (1989), 65-76; Greenstein, 'The God of
Israel and the Gods of Canaan', 49*.
120
Hackett, 'Can a Sexist Model Liberate us?' 68.
118

ity in its various aspects was also part of Israelite religion. 121 What
is of importance to us, is the fact that the major deities of Ugarit
who were held responsible for fertility were male. Thus, Ilu was the
god who blessed a couple with offspring, and Ba'lu granted fertility
to the fields. However, on earth some of the goddesses were viewed
as equally indispensable for procreation. In the Myth of Ba'lu 'Anatu
performed certain actions that may be interpreted as rites to promote the fertility of the earth. In KTU 1.3:11.38-41 par. she washed
herself with dew. Johannes de Moor proposes a correspondence with
the rite of the so-called 'Rain Bride' whose task it was to promote
abundant rainfall. 122 In KTU 1.3:111.14-17 par. 'Anatu may have performed a rite to stimulate the fertility of the earth with the help of
the aphrodisiac mandrake. 123 However, in the end it was Ba'lu who
gave fecundancy to the earth by his rains and it was Ilu who gave the
blessing of children to humankind. It was only with regard to procreation that goddesses played a certain role connected to their sexual
capacity. Thus Athiratu acted as wet nurse of the gods Shaharu and
Shalimu (KTU 1.23:24) and 'Athtartu and 'Anatu performed the same
task, nursing princes (KTU 1.15:11.26-27).124 'Anatu was called upon
when people suffered from infertility (KTU 1.13) and the Katharatu
oversaw conception and childbirth (KTU 1.17:11.26-47; 1.24).125
According to Ugaritian belief, both man and woman contributed
to conception. Both Kirtu and Dani'ilu were blessed (brk D) and fortified (mr) by Ilu (KTU 1.15:11.18-20; 1.17:1.34-36). Yet both blessings
of Ilu included their wives as well. Thus, in KTU 1.17:I.39-42126 Ilu
decreed that Dani'ilu's wife, Danatiya, would achieve conception:
39

bm.nq. 'atth
bhbqh.hmhmt

121

40

[whr]

While he is kissing his wife, there will be conception,

while he is embracing her 127 , there will be heat 1 2 8 .

Cf. Gen. 27:28; 49:25; Deut. 7:13; Hos. 2:23-24 [21-22].

Cf. J.C. de Moor, The Seasonal Pattern in the Ugaritic Myth of Ba'lu (AOAT,
16), Neukirchen-Vluyn 1971, 99-100; Idem, ARTU, 7, n. 37.
123
Cf. Korpel, RiC, 434-5.
124
Cf. E.L. Greenstein, 'New Readings in the Kirta Epic', IOS 18 (1998), 110-2.
125
J.C. de Moor, 'The Semitic Pantheon of Ugarit', UF 2 (1970), 200. Korpel,
RiC, 243, n. 183, notes that the seven Katharatu 'probably are comparable with
the seven Hathors in Egypt, goddesses who were supposed to assist with childbirth' and with the Babylonian assurtu.
126
The reconstruction of the text is based on KTU 1.23:51, 56. Cf. M. Dijkstra,
J.C. de Moor, 'Problematical Passages in the Legend of Aqhtu', UF 7 (1975),
178-9.
127
Embracing is a euphemism for the sexual act. Cf. U. Winter, Frau und Gttin:
Exegetische und ikonographische Studien zum weiblichen Gottesbild im Alten Israel und in dessen Umwelt (OBO, 53), Freiburg, Schweiz 1983, 369, n. 821.
128
The noun hmhmt refers to the orgasm of the female; cf. A. van Selms, Mar122

41

[hr.t]kn.y/
hmhmt

42

[1mt.r]p '1

She who is going to bear will ach[ieve conception],

heat for the Sa[viour,s man]!

Conception was related to orgasm in Ugaritic thought; 'heat'

(hmhmt) was regarded as a sign of conception. Sexual intercourse
is described here as an act in which both partners were active. The
woman was not a passive partner who was only receiving the semen
of the man, but was active in 'achieving conception' (hr tkn). Her
designation as ylt 'she who is going to bear' (yld G part. act. f.s.) is
also an active one.
For successful conception, however, the work of the Katharatu 1 2 9
was needed, too. This is described in KTU 1.17:11.24-47:
24

dn{.} 'il.bth.ymgyn

Dani'ilu arrived at his house,

25

Dani'ilu proceeded to his palace.

The Katharatu entered his house,
the daughters of Hilalu, the swallows.
And then Dani'ilu, the Saviour's man,
thereat the hero, the Harnamite man,

ytql.dril.lhklh
'rb.bbth.ktrt.
bnt 27hll.snnt.
'apnk. dn'il 28mt.rp'i.
'ap{.}hn.gzr.mt
29
hmmy.
30
'alp.ytbh.lkt rt.
yIhm.ktrt.
wy31 q.bnt.hll.snnt

26

32

hn.ym.wtn.
ylhm 33ktrt.
w.yq.bnt.h1[] 34 snnt
tit.ib' ym.
yP5hm ktrt.

slaughtered an ox for the Katharatu,

he gave the Katharatu to eat,
and gave the daughters of Hilalu, the swallows, to
drink.
Look! For one day and a second,
he gave the Katharatu to eat,
and gave the daughters of Hilalu, the swallows, to
drink.
For a third, a fourth day,
he gave the Katharatu to eat,

riage and Family Life in Ugaritic Literature (POS, 1), London 1954, 83; De Moor,
ARTU, 229, n. 41; Tropper, UG, 494; 565. Pace Sivan, GUL, 176, who considers
hmhmt to be a qatal 3 f.s. and translates 'she became sexually aroused'. Since the
parallel hr is obviously not a qatal 3 f.s., I regard both sentences to be nominal
clauses.
129
In 1933 an alphabetic cuneiform text was found in Beth Shemesh, which was
quite difficult to interpret. Several suggestions were made, the most important
being that of W.F. Albright, 'The Beth-Shemesh Tablet in Alphabetic Cuneiform',
BASOR 173 (1964), 51-3, who assumed it was an amulet mentioning the birth
goddesses (ktrt). He rendered the following transcription and translation: hi htq
ktrt hqny ['att(?)] d w(?) dm mt [l]h "Truly, birth goddesses, enter (her belly?),
Cause this [woman] to produce (offspring), And drive out Death from her!' (52).
See also Winter, Frau und Gttin, 381-2. Further study, however, revealed that this
interpretation was incorrect and the text offered an example of the Beth Shemesh
alphabet, probably a scribal exercise; cf. M. Dietrich, . Loretz, Die Keilalphabete:
Die phnizisch-kanaanischen und altarabischen Alphabete in Ugarit (ALASP, 1),
Mnster 1988, 277-96. As such it is classified in KTU2 (KTU 5.24).

wyq

36

bnt.hll.snnt.

hm 37tdt.ym
ylhm.ktrt
38
wyq.bnt.hll.snnt
39

mk.b sb'.ymm
tb'.b bth 40ktrt
bnt.hll.snnt

41

mddt.n'my.
42

43

and gave the daughters of Hilalu, the swallows, to

drink.
For a fifth, a sixth day,
he gave the Katharatu to eat,
and gave the daughters of Hilalu, the swallows, to
drink.
Then, on the seventh day,
the Katharatu left his house,
the daughters of Hilalu, the swallows,

r.hrt

ysmsmi.'rs.hlln

2/i6.dn'l.[ls]pr.yrhh

those who measure 130 the happiness of the bed of

conception,
the delight of the bed of childbirth.
Dani'ilu sat down [to] count her months.

44

yrh.j/rh.tn[.]ys'i
One month, a second month passed,
45
Zt.r6'[.]
a third, a fourth.
[Then, the t]e[nth] month arrived,
[mk.'s]r[m] 4 6 yrhm.
ymgy
[wypth 47 rhm[.dnty]
[and the] w0[m]b [of Danatiya was opened.] 131

After Ba'lu's intercession and Ilu's blessing, the Katharatu, the

goddesses of conception and childbirth, entered the house of Dani'ilu. 132 They were called bnt hll 'daughters of Hilalu' and sunt 'the
swallows'. 133 The (seven) Katharatu fulfilled the function of assisting
goddesses. For seven days Dani'ilu gave them offerings, as a payment
for their assistance at conception and, in time, at childbirth. Baruch
Margalit remarks:
The idea would seem to be that the Ktrt are mystically present at
the time of successful coitus, i.e., impregnation. The ancients could not
have known of ovulation as a precondition for conception. But they
130

The reading mddt, though not certain, seems most likely. According to De
Moor, ARTU, 232, n. 51, it is a part. f.pl. G md(d) 'to measure', but 'friends,
beloved', as suggested by G. del Olmo Lete, Mitos y leyendas de Canaan: segun
la tradicion de Ugarit (FCiBi, 1), Madrid 1981, 373, 575, is also quite possible.
131
The restoration of lines 46-47 is based on the proposal of De Moor, ARTU,
232-3, n. 57.
132
On the Katharatu, see section 2.1.1.2.
133
The deity Hilalu was the god of the new moon. In KTU 1.24:41-42 the
Katharatu were called bnt hll b'l gml 'the daughters of Hilalu, the lord of the
sickle'. The epithet 'the swallows' is due to their association with domestic (marital) blessings; cf. Ch. Virolleaud, La lgende phnicienne de Danel (MRS, 1),
Paris 1936, 106; J.C.L. Gibson, Canaanite Myths and Legends, Edinburgh 1977,
106; De Moor, ARTU, 231, n. 49. Pace B. Margalit, 'Lexicographical Notes on the
Aqht Epic (Part I: KTU 1.17-18)', UF 15 (1983), 75-6, who assumes snnt to be
related to Arabic sny 'shine, gleam, be exalted'; followed by Pardee and others.
In Mesopotamian texts there are several references to the relationship between the birth goddesses and the moon god; cf. W.G.E. Watson, 'Ugaritic and
Mesopotamian Literary Texts', UF 9 (1977), 282; Winter, Frau und Gttin, 383-5.

would surely have surmised that conception was restricted to a certain,

unknown, period in the menstrual cycle. The ktrt goddesses alone knew
precisely when; from which may perhaps be derived their name meaning
"skillful, clever" ... . 134
After seven days the task of the Katharatu was completed for the
moment and they left the house of Dani'ilu. Dani'ilu then sat down
to count the months of his wife's pregnancy. 135 After ten months
Dani'ilu's wife Danatiya gave birth to a child. The next two columns
are destroyed, so we can only guess about the content of the missing
part. I presume the child that was born to have been the son, Aqhat,
but it is possible that in the missing episode the birth of another child,
the daughter, Pughatu, is narrated.
Again, I note the male perspective from which the legend is told.
Dani'ilu was the one to whom a son was born, as a future father he
was the one to bring offerings to the birth goddesses, and finally he
was the one to sit down and count the months of the pregnancy. The
mother's perspective is not narrated.
In the myth of the marriage of Yarikhu and Nikallu, the birth
goddesses also played an important role. They were invoked to make
the bride convulse (hyl L) and subsequently bear a son to her husband,
as a result of lovemaking in the wedding night (KTU 1.24:5-9).136 The
theme of convulsing in relation to the Katharatu is also mentioned in
KTU 1.10:11.26-30. Interpreters differ on whether it was a cow or the
goddess 'Anatu, who was subject to convulsion and the pangs of the
Katharatu. 1 3 7
As in KTU 1.24, impregnation is also a theme in KTU 1.23, a text
in which myth and ritual are combined. Two women had a choice between being regarded as wives of Ilu or as daughters. They chose the
134

Margalit, 'Lexicographical Notes (I)1, 75.

Cf. Dijkstra, De Moor, 'Problematical Passages in the Legend of Aqhtu', 180.
The counting of months is a common motif introducing childbirth in ancient Near
Eastern literature. Next to references to a nine-months' pregnancy, in some myths
a period of ten months is mentioned. D.T. Tsumura, Problem of Myth and
Ritual Relationship: - CTA 23 (UT 52):56-57 Reconsidered - ', UF 10 (1978), 3924, explains: 'a full-term pregnancy lasts an average of about 280 days or 40 weeks,
counted from the first day of the last menstrual period. This makes a pregnancy
of ten lunar, or 'sidereal', months'. See also W.L. Moran, 'Some Considerations of
Form and Interpretation in Atra-hass\ in: F. Rochberg-Halton (ed.), Language,
Literature, and History: Philological and Historical Studies Presented to Erica
Reiner (AOS, 67), New Haven CT 1987, 250.
136
See section 2.1.1.2.
137
For the former, cf. Wyatt, RTU, 157; for the latter, cf. De Moor, ARTU, 113.
In 1.10:111.17-18 it was the cow that was bearing a calf. For the convulsion of the
two minor deities impregnated by Ilu (KTU 1.12), see below.
135

former and became impregnated by Ilu, whereupon they gave birth to

the gods Shaharu (Dawn) and Shalimu (Dusk). As in KTU 1.17:1.3940, the orgasm of the two wives of Ilu was a sign of conception. Immediately following conception the myth relates the birth of the two
deities (1.23:51-52), while skipping the period of pregnancy. This is
usually omitted in Ugaritic myth (KTU 1.5:V; 1.10:111; 1.12:1).
As in KTU 1.14:1.14-15, in KTU 1.23 motherhood is an extension
of wifehood. With regard to the choice the two women were given,
Johannes de Moor remarks that 'the women playing this part in the
actual cult could refuse to subject themselves to the erotic scenes
by calling out "My father, my father" ', thus becoming daughters of
Ilu. 138 Yet, according to Nicolas Wyatt, who regards the text as a
sacred marriage liturgy, Ilu as an androgynous deity married two of
his own daughters, viz. Athiratu and Rahmay. They thus became both
wives and daughters of Ilu. 139 However, Athiratu is never depicted as
a daughter of Ilu. Dennis Pardee, on the other hand, assumes that
KTU 1.23 narrates the divine impregnation of two human females,
who had a say in their change of status. 140 Whichever interpretation
one opts for, it seems that according to Ugaritic patriarchal ideology,
motherhood was preferable to daughterhood.
The same eagerness to become a mother is reflected in KTU 1.12:1,
where the minor goddesses Tulishu and Damgayu asked their 'father' Ilu to make them pregnant. 141 When Tulishu and Damgayu were
about to give birth, Ilu ordered them to take the necessary equipment
and go into the desert. Apparently in Ugarit, too, women delivered
their children in (relative) confinement. Marjo Korpel suspects that
a woman who gave birth was possibly considered unclean. 142 KTU
1.12:1.18-19 mentions several items used for childbirth: the birth stool
(ks'an), the litter (hdg) and the swaddling clothes (htl). Also the birth
stones ( 'ugrm) are mentioned (1.12:1.25). In the desert the goddesses
were supposed to prepare the scene by digging a hollow above which
138

De Moor, ARTU, 125, n. 45.

Wyatt, RTU, 330-2.
140
Pardee, in: C0S, vol. 1, 274, 281.
141
De Moor, ARTU, 129-30. Wyatt, RTU, 162, however, assumes the deities
were already pregnant and their physical situation was caused by their devouring
unborn children rather than by sexual excitement. Differently, Parker, in: Smith,
UNP, 188; M. Dietrich, O. Loretz, TUAT, Bd. 3/6, 1203-4. For an overview of the
history of interpretation, cf. M. Dietrich, . Loretz, Studien zu den ugaritischen
Texten: I. Mythos und Ritual in KTU 1.12, 1.24, 1-96, 1.100 und I.II4 (AOAT,
269/1), Mnster 2000, 8-25.
142
Korpel, RiC, 245. For a totally different interpretation, cf. J.D. Schloen, 'The
Exile of Disinherited Kin in KTU 1.12 and KTU 1.23', JNES 52 (1993), 209-20.
139

they placed the birth stones. As it was for human females, the birth
of their children was a painful experience for the goddesses, they convulsed and crouched when they bore the Devourers (lines 25-27).
On mortal women bearing children we have little information from
Ugarit. RS 17.81, a fragmentary medical text, seems to refer to certain
rituals and prayers that could be performed to assist a woman in
travail.
According to Ugaritic mythology, a father was not present during parturition. Afterwards, word was brought to him that a child,
preferably a son, was born to him. 143 This preference for a son is also
expressed in KTU 1.24:7: glmt.d bn [lh] 'Let the lass bear a son
[to him]'. Also in the Legends of Kirtu and of Aqhatu the theme of
begetting a male child to continue the family line (patrilineality) is of
importance.
Furthermore, to have many children was regarded as a blessing
from the gods. At king Kirtu's wedding party, Ilu was prompted to
bless the newly-wed king and thereupon endowed a benediction (KTU
1.15:11.21-25, see above). The blessing was addressed to Kirtu, not to
his wife. Hariya was to bear many children for him, so as to continue
Kirtu's family line (cf. KTU 1.14:1).144 Since infant mortality was
high and there were no provisions for the elderly, a large number of
children was regarded desirable to ensure some security for old age.
In the Ugaritic pantheon the most important female parent was
Athiratu. She was the mother of Ilu's central family 145 and called
qnyt 'ilm 'Creatress of the gods'. 146 In a fragmentary text that for
143

KTU 1.10:111.32-36; 1.23:52-53, 59-60.

It is a matter of discussion how many children Hariya gave birth to. Either
she begot two sons and six daughters, or she bore seven sons and seven daughters.
For the former, cf. De Moor, ARTU, 206, n. 50; Greenstein, in: Smith, UNP, 25.
For the latter, cf. Wyatt, RTU, 209, n. 145, 213, n. 160. The interpretations of
TO, t. 1, 539-42 (n. q), and Pardee, in: C0S, vol. 1, 337-8 (n. 52) appear to agree
with the latter, yet are somewhat indecisive. It must be granted, however, that the
circumstance that only two sons of Kirtu (Iluha'u and Yassubu) axe mentioned
later on in the epic argues in favour of De Moor's proposal. If Hariya gave birth to
fourteen children in six (or seven) years, this can only be regarded as hyperbole;
cf. Wyatt, RTU, 213, n. 160. The seventh year, in which the family of Kirtu was
completed, is mentioned in KTU 1.15:111.22. However, if Kirtu's wife begot eight
children in six years it would mean 'that her fertility was used to the maximum',
that she was continuously pregnant, cf. De Moor, ARTU, 206, n. 50. Since royal
children generally were suckled by wet nurses, this would have been possible in
theory (See section 2.2.3).
145
Pardee, in: C0S, vol. 1, 274.
146
KTU 1.4:1.22; 111.26, 30, 35; IV.32; 1.8:11.2. Cf. J.C. de Moor, 1 the Creator',
in: G. Rendsburg et al. (eds), The Bible World: Essays in Honor of Cyrus H.
Gordon, New York 1980, 174-5. Pace L.K. Handy, Among the Host of Heaven:
144

unclear reasons is classified as a letter by the editors of KTU, the

title 'um 'Um 'Mother of the gods' is used. 147 Although the context
is uncertain, it appears to refer to Athiratu, who is mentioned in the
previous and following lines. 148
Athiratu, however, is not the only deity regarded as mother of
the gods. Ilu, as the Father of deities as well as humans, could also
be called 'Mother' beside his male parental titles (KTU 1.23:33).149
This reflected his dual nature as both a father and a mother, a trait
the deity shared with other creator gods in the ancient Near East. 150
Being the creator god, humankind was believed to have its origin with
Ilu. To this KTU 1.24:44-45 refers: dt.ll'ay.'m Izpn il dp'id 'those of
the human creatures 151 (which are) with the Benevolent, Ilu the goodnatured.
In RIH 78/20 Athiratu and Ilu are mentioned together as coworkers in creation:
16

hn.bnp. 'atrt.rbt.
17

bl [b.ys]rk.lttm.

Look! in the soul of Lady Athiratu,

in the he[art of your P]0tter 152 may you be moulded!

The Syro-Palestinian Pantheon as Bureaucracy, Winona Lake IN 1994, 76-7, who

renders the term 'owner of the gods'.
147
KTU 2.31:46. Note that the numbering of lines of KTU1 and KTU2 differs.
148
Ch. Virolleaud, PRU II, viii-ix, 8-11 assumes this text is a mythological fragment. M. Dijkstra et ai, review of KTU1, in: BiOr 38 (1981), 379, also doubt
whether this is a letter.
149
However, some scholars doubt that Ilu is addressed here, see, e.g., Pardee, in:
C0S, vol. 1, 280, n. 47.
150
Cf. H.-W. Jngling, ' "Was anders ist Gott fr den Menschen, wenn nicht sein
Vater und seine Mutter?": Zu einer Doppelmetapher der religisen Sprache', in:
W. Dietrich, M.A. Klopfenstein (eds), Ein Gott allein?: JHWH-Verehrung und
biblischer Monotheismus im Kontext der Israelitischen und altorientalischen Religionsgeschichte (OBO, 139), Freiburg 1994, 365-86; J.C. de Moor, 'The Duality
in God and Man: Gen. 1:26-27 as P's Interpretation of the Yahwistic Creation
Account', in: Idem (ed.), Intertextuality in Ugarit and Israel: Papers ... Oxford,
1997 (OTS, 40), Leiden 1997, 112-25; Wyatt, RTU, 330, n. 33.
Beside Ilu, some other Ugaritic deities also appear to have been of dual gender.
In some cases the duality is also expressed in the name of the deity, e.g. 'ars w
mm, p w yrh, but in other cases one can only discern it in the (androgynous)
traits, as, for example, with 'Anatu.
151
I regard Way as the equivalent of Akk. lull 'human(kind)'. Since in Ugarit
the Katharatu were equated with the Babylonian assurtu it is significant that
according to the Babylonian Atram-hasis epic the birth-goddess (assru) Mami
was entrusted with the creation of humankind (lull), cf. W.G. Lambert, A.R.
Millard, Atrahass: The Babylonian Story of the Flood, Oxford 1969, 56-57. On the
identification of the Katharatu with the Bab. assurtu, see D. Pardee, 'Kosharoth
', in: ODD, 491-2, and my remarks above. The expression 'm '11 means 'what
Ilu has in mind', cf. Job 10:13; 23:14; 27:11.
152
Restoration based on De Moor, Spronk, CARTU, 75. 'Potter' is an epithet of

As Marjo Korpel concludes, 'procreation and creation are seen as related processes in which both Ilu and his wife were involved'. 153 However, although Athiratu and Ilu as a divine parental pair appear to
have been co-workers in creation, they were not mutually dependent,
for Ilu could also perform in a bisexual capacity alone.
Athiratu and Ilu probably were not the only parental deities. Some
of the other gods may also have had a parent-child relationship. In
an incantation against snakes, the Mare, who was named daughter
of Spring, of Stone, and of Heaven and the Deep, called the goddess
Shapshu her mother (KTU 1.100:1).154 The Mare seems to have been
bitten by a venomous snake and asked her mother Shapshu to find
her someone who could expel its deadly poison. The Sun goddess
thereupon 'carried the Mare's voice' (KTU 1.100:2-3 et passim) to Ilu
and ten other deities. Finally, the twelfth deity, Horon, a chthonian
god, was able to cure her. 155 However, it is also possible that 'urn is
used here as an epithet, designating the Sun in her capacity of divine
messenger. 156 The urge of a mother to protect her children might
manifests itself also in KTU 1.82. Two divergent interpretations have
been proposed for this collection of incantations. Either KTU 1.82:2
mentions a mother who launched herself upon Ba'lu for help against
snake bites, or it refers to the spirit of a deceased mother who assailed
the father of the person uttering the incantation. 157
In the Ugaritic texts, it generally was the father who named his
children. Thus in KTU 1.12:1.28-29 Ilu proclaimed the names of the
two deities who were born to Tulishu, handmaid of Yarikhu and
Damgayu, handmaid of Athiratu. 158 And also in KTU 1.23 Ilu named
Ilu, cf. De Moor, ARTU, 185.
153
Korpel, RiC, 244.
154
De Moor, ARTU, 146, n. 3, notes that the text seems to propose a different
theogony, possibly of Hittite and/or Hurrian origin. Differently, D. Pardee, review
of De Moor, Spronk, CARTU; De Moor, ARTU, in: AfO 36/37 (1989/90), 179;
Idem, in: C0S, vol. 1, 295; Parker, in: Smith, UNP, 219; Wyatt, RTU, 378-9; G.
del Olmo Lete, Canaanite Religion: According to the Liturgical Texts of Ugarit,
Bethesda MD 1999, 359-71.
155
Pace Wyatt, RTU, 378, 384, who assumes Horon cured her foal.
156
Cf. S.A. Wiggins, 'Shapsh, Lamp of the Gods', in: N. Wyatt et al. (eds),
Ugarit, Religion and Culture (UBL, 12), Mnster 1996, 327-50; M. Dietrich, .
Loretz, Studien zu den ugaritischen Texten: I. Mythos und Ritual in KTU 1.12,
1.24, 1-96, 1.100 und 1.114 (AOAT, 269/1), Mnster 2000, 263-402 (313).
157
The former interpretation is proposed by Del Olmo Lete, Canaanite Religion,
373-8, the latter by J.C. de Moor, K. Spronk, 'More on Demons in Ugarit: (KTU
1.82)', UF 16 (1984), 237-50.
158
Cf. TO, t. 1, 341; De Moor, ARTU, 130; Parker, in: Smith, UNP, 191, n. 6;
Wyatt, RTU, 163.

the gods born from his liason with the two wives.159 Ilu furthermore named the children born from the marriage of Kirtu and Hariya
(KTU 1.15:11.25-111.12). Due to the fact that columns III and IV of
KTU 1.17 have been destroyed we do not know who named Aqhatu,
son of Dani'ilu and Danatiya. The bow for Aqhatu that was made
by Kotharu-and-Khasisu, the deity of skilful crafts, was named by
Dani'ilu (KTU 1.17:V.33-36).160
In KTU 1.1:IV.13-15 it was the father who renamed his son, probably upon his enthronement or his installation as viceroy. The god
that was first called Yawwu (yw) now was named Yammu (7/771) by
Ilu. 161
Mothers may have had some power in the lives of their children,
especially mothers of heirs to the throne, who could play a major role
in their son's accession. Thus upon Ilu's question to Athiratu whom
to make king after Ba'lu's death, she suggested her son Athtaru (KTU
1.6:1.53-55).
A text which expresses the high regard in which a son held his
mother is RS 25.421.162 In 'The message of Ludingirra to his mother'
a son described the virtues of his mother to a messenger. According
to the poetic description, Ludingirra's mother was kind, beautiful,
fertile, joyful and sweet-scented.
Both in the literary and administrative texts of Ugarit persons
were sometimes referred to by matronyms. 163 In KTU 1.3V.3-4 the
parallel 'ilm || bn 'atrt 'gods || sons of Athiratu' is used. Ba'lu was
excluded from this group of '7/rn who did have a house. Also in KTU
1.6:1.39-41 Ba'lu was excluded from the sons of Athiratu. His widow
'Anatu went to the encampment of Ilu and proclaimed her husband's
death to the king of the gods:

159

Following De Moor, ARTU, 125, nn. 49-50.

. Viberg, Symbols of Law: A Contextual Analysis of Legal Symbolic Acts in
the Old Testament (CB.OT, 34), Stockholm 1992, 173: 'Although this is a case
of naming a weapon, the combination of the act and the following naming of the
weapon probably alludes to how a new-born child was legitimated as a member
of the family'.
161
Cf. De Moor, ARTU, 25; Smith, in: Idem, UNP, 89. Somewhat differently,
TO, t. 1, 309-10; Pardee, in: C0S, vol. 1, 245, n. 32; Wyatt, RTU, 48-9.
162
Ug. V, 310-9. Cf. M. Civil, 'The "Message of L-dingir-ra to his Mother"
and a Group of Akkado-Hittite "Proverbs" ', JNES 23 (1964), 1-11. S.N. Kramer,
'Poets and Psalmists: Goddesses and Theologicans', in: D. Schmandt-Besserat
(ed.), The Legacy of Sumer (Bibliotheca Mesopotamica, 4), Malibu 1976, 19,
however, remarks that it is uncertain whether the text lauds Ludingirra's real
mother or the goddess Inanna.
163
For the administrative texts of Ugarit see chapter 4.
160

39

tmh ht
41

'ilt-wsb

kmt. 'aliyn

40

'atrt.w.bnh.

rt. 'aryh.
42

khlq.zbl.b'l

b '1.
43

'ars.

"Let Athiratu and her sons rejoice now,

the Goddess and the troop of her kin!
For Ba'lu the Almightly is dead,
his Highness, the Lord of earth, has perished!"

Upon hearing this news, Ilu turned to Athiratu and asked her
advice on who to make king now. Apparently the successor of Ba'lu
had to be someone who was a son of Ilu and of his primary wife.
In a polygynous marriage, sons who were born from the same
mother were more closely related. Especially if the mother was the
queen and chief wife of the king, it was important to refer to her and
to trace one's status as a descendant from her. In KTU 1.14:1.8-9 the
tragic fate of Kirtu's exterminated clan is told, a house that counted
seven brothers. Here the brothers ( 'ahm) are parallelled with sons of
the same mother (bn 'urn).164 The same parallel also occurs in KTU
1.6:VI.10-11, 14-15, where the god Motu was tricked into eating his
own brothers, the sons of his own mother, instead of the brothers of
Ba'lu, who were of different parentage.
Adrianus van Selms assumes these references are relics of an older
form of marriage during a stage of society 'at which the mother was
the centre of the family'. Although he wants to avoid using the term
'matriarchy', he seems to intend explaining it by way of this hypothetical societal structure. 165 Yet any reference to matriarchy is unnecessary here, since the occurrence of polygynous marriages forms a
logical explanation for the use of matronyms in royal and upper class
circles. In the same way we must explain the Ugaritic term 'umt 'kin
(of the same mother)'. 166
C . H E B R E W BIBLE

In the Hebrew Bible motherhood is also a desired state for women.

The wish to become the mother of a male heir is prominent in a
number of stories. Although Y H W H addressed the patriarchs and
promised to bless them with many descendants (Gen. 12:2; 15:1-6;
17:4-5; 28:14), the matriarchs were not overlooked. Unlike the Ugaritic
literary texts, the Hebrew Bible pays attention to the problem of
childlessness that many biblical women wished to overcome. Sarah,
Rebekah, Rachel, Samson's mother, Hannah and the Shunammite
164

Cf. De Moor, ARTU, 192, n. 5.

Van Selms, Marriage and Family Life in Ugaritic Literature, 122-3. Van Selms
is cited with approval by Amico, SWU, 142. On matriarchy, see chapter 1.
166
KTU 1.6:.19; 1.14:1.6; 1.19:IV.35,40; possibly also 1.63:10. Cf. A. Malamat,
'ummatum in Old Babylonian Texts and its Ugaritic and Biblical Counterparts',
UF 11 (1979), 527-36.
165

woman all suffered from barrenness. 167 Only after the intervention of
Y H W H did these barren wives become mothers. It is remarkable that
in the ancestral stories of Genesis only the matriarchs, i.e., the women
who would carry forth the promise, were initially barren. When these
women did bear children it was not because of the potency of their
husbands, but because of God's graceful action. 168
Infertility was not always blamed on the woman. King Abimelech,
for instance, suffered from temporary infertility due to his sinful acting
(Gen. 20:17). And Deut. 7:14 mentions both male sterility and female
barrenness ( ) as matters that Y H W H would keep from his
people. Furthermore, the husbands of both Tamar (Gen. 38) and Ruth
(Ruth 1:5,11,21) died childless, while these women later on bore a
child to another man. This implies their first husband might have
suffered from infertility.
The initial childlessness of Ruth is described using the imagery of a
childless woman, namely, as an empty vessel. Naomi's loss is included
in this imagery. In Ruth 1:21 Naomi complained with reference to
the loss of her husband and sons: '1 went away full, but the L O R D
has brought me back empty (')!. But when Ruth returned to her
mother-in-law after 'laying at the feet' of Boaz, she did not return
empty(-handed) (!, Ruth 3:17). Not only did she carry six measures of barley, but the story also alludes to Boaz's seed she would
carry in her womb. 169
As was the case in Israel's neighbouring countries, the relationship
between childlessness and sin was also stressed in the Hebrew Bible
(Gen. 20:17; Num. 5:11-31; 2 Sam. 6:20-23). Although in the narratives of the matriarchs the emphasis is on subjection to the divine
will and persistant hope in God's fulfillment of his promise, barrenness
was often interpreted as a sign of divine displeasure. 170 It was Y H W H
167

Gen. 18:9-15; 21:1-7 (Sarah); Gen. 25:19-28 (Rebekah); Gen. 30:1-8,22-24

(Rachel); Judg. 13 (Samson's mother); 1 Sam. 1 (Hannah); 2 Kgs 4:8-17 (the
Shunammite woman). On the biblical type of the barren mother, cf. J.. Cook,
Hannah's Desire, God's Design: Early Interpretations of the Story of Hannah
(JSOT.S, 282), Sheffield 1999, 10-24.
168
Differently, . Fuchs, 'The Literary Characterization of Mothers and Sexual
Politics in the Hebrew Bible', in: A. Yarbro Collins (ed.), Feminist Perspectives on
Biblical Scholarship (SBL Centennial Publications) (Biblical Scholarship in North
America, 10), Chico CA 1985, 117-36, who criticizes the biblical ideology of the
mother figure. See also her Sexual Politics in the Biblical Narrative: Reading the
Hebrew Bible as a Woman (JSOT.S, 310), Sheffield 2000, 44-90.
169
Cf. . Aschkenasy, Eve's Journey: Feminine Images in Hebraic Literary Tradition, Detroit Ml 1986, 77-105 (esp. 87); M.C.A. Korpel, The Structure of the
Book of Ruth (Pericope, 2), Assen 2001, 163-5, 168-9. See also bSanh. 22a.
170
H.M. Wahl, 'Ester, das adoptierte Waisenkind: Zur Adoption im Alten Tes-

who closed and opened the womb (Gen. 16:2; 20:18: 1 Sam. 1:5) and
he was the one that women called upon. Rachel expressed her hope
that God had taken away her reproach when she bore Joseph (Gen.
30:23) and when Hannah went to the temple at Shiloh, she prayed
God to remember her (1 Sam. 1:10-11). Barrenness was considered
not only a shameful but also a pitiable state. In Job 24:21 the childless woman is mentioned next to the widow as a person who lacked
protection and therefore could be harmed by evildoers. Furthermore,
repentence and being blessed with children are related in the book of
Job. Whereas Job's children were taken from him at the beginning
of his ordeal (Job 1:18-19), he was blessed with seven sons and three
daughters after repenting before YHWH (Job 4 2 : 1 - 7 , 1 3 ) .
A childless person could turn to YHWH in prayer. Thus, 'Isaac
prayed to the Lord for his wife, because she was barren; and the Lord
granted his prayer, and his wife Rebekah conceived' (Gen. 25:21).
Hannah also prayed to YHWH (1 Sam. 1:9-18). Taking a vow was
another option. Hannah vowed that if she would be granted a son,
she would give him to God as a nazirite (1 Sam. 1:11). According to
Prov. 31:2 king Lemuel's mother also took a vow in connection with
his birth. Probably such a vow could also imply other offerings than
the dedication of the child to religious service. Possibly women also
used votive objects to ask that they became pregnant. Thus the socalled fertility figurines may have been magical objects depicting the
desired situation. 171
Although it was Y H W H who blessed people with children, there
may be some traces in the Hebrew Bible of the veneration of other
deities granting fertility. According to some scholars, the ancestor
gods (teraphim) played a certain role in granting fertility to the family.172 Others, however, think there is no explicit evidence linking the
teraphim to fertility rituals and emphasize the relationship between
tament', Bib. 80 (1999), 90-8.
171
Cf. J.H. Tigay, You Shall Have No Other Gods: Israelite Religion in the Light
of Hebrew Inscriptions (HSS, 31), Atlanta GA 1986, 92: 'With their emphasis on
full breasts and childbearing these figurines represent what women in particular
most wanted and what they would have been most likely to try to obtain by
magical means . . . . ' However, other scholars assume the figurines depict goddesses;
cf. . Stern, 'What Happened to the Cult Figurines?: Israelite Religion Purified
After the Exile', BAR 15/4 (1989), 28-9; Van der Toorn, Cradle, 90-1.
172
See, e.g., M.A. Morrison, 'The Jacob and Laban Narrative in Light of Near
Eastern Sources', BA 46 (1983), 161. Differently, A.-M. Korte, 'Significance Obscured: Rachel's Theft of the Teraphim: Divinity and Corporeality in Gen. 31', in:
J. Bekkenkamp, M. de Haardt (eds), Begin with the Body: Corporeality Religion
and Gender, Leuven 1998, 178-9, 181.

the teraphim and necromancy. 173

Johannes de Moor assumes that the 'cow' ( )with whom the
'bull' El sired his 'son' Joseph according to the archaic blessing in Gen.
49:22 was Asherah. 174 Here the link with fertility of women is still particularly clear (v. 25). It is also noteworthy that 'heaven' and 'abyss'
mentioned in Gen. 49:25 were goddesses with the Canaanites. 175
Meindert Dijkstra assumes that there is an allusion to Asherah as
goddess of creation in Ezek. 8:3.176 Another allusion may have been
made by the prophet Amos, who denounced the 'cows of Bashan' for
their behaviour (Amos 4:1). A number of scholars regard this text as
a religious polemic against some aspect of the Canaanite cult in which
the cow as a symbol of fertility played a major role. 177 Yet it is also
possible that the prophet referred to women at the court of Samaria
having drinking-bouts.
These allusions to a fertility role of Asherah in the Hebrew Bible
are rather vague and speculative. This is understandable because
the veneration of Baal and Asherah is repudiated in the final form
of the Hebrew Bible. Most scholars assume these deities were believed to grant fertility, yet opinions differ on the way in which this
was thought to happen. Whereas Baal was regarded as the god who
gave rain and thereby vegetative fertility, the role of the goddess
Asherah is less clear. According to Christian Frevel, '[d]ie Bezeichnungen Fruchtbarkeits-, Vegetations-, Mutter- oder Liebesgttin fr
173

Cf., e.g., T.J. Lewis, 'Teraphim ', in: DDD, 847-8.

J.C. de Moor, 'Genesis 49 and the Early History of Israel', in: J.C. de Moor,
H.F. van Rooy (eds), Past, Present, Future: The Deuteronomistic History and the
Prophets (OTS, 44), Leiden 2000, 192. Differently, Korpel, RiC, 534, n. 66.
175
Cf. Korpel, RiC, 560-77.
176
M Dijkstra, 1, YHWH and their Asherah: On Continuity and Discontinuity in Canaanite and Ancient Israelite Religion', in: M. Dietrich, O. Loretz (eds),
Ugarit: Ein ostmediterranes Kulturzentrum im Alten Orient: Ergebnisse und Perspektiven der Forschung, Bd. 1. Ugarit und seine altorientalische Umwelt, Mnster
1995, 71.
F. van Dijk-Hemmes, 'Traces of Women's Texts in the Hebrew Bible', in: A.
Brenner, F. van Dijk-Hemmes, On Gendering Texts: Female and Male Voices
in the Hebrew Bible (BIntS, 1), Leiden 1993, 93-4, refers to Patai's suggestion
that Gen. 30:13 might contain 'a mutilated version of the originally intended "By
Asherah" '. Given the parallelism with the name of Zilpah's first son Gad and the
fact that there appears to be no reason why Leah specifically would have made a
vow to Asherah during the birth of Asher, I reject this proposal.
177
See, e.g., H.M. Barstad, The Religious Polemics of Amos (VT.S, 34), Leiden
1984, 37-47. It is noteworthy that Barstad assumes the expression 'cows of Bashan'
to be a reference either to the whole of the Israelite people or to the inhabitants
of Samaria, and not to the Samarian women alone (40).
174

die biblische Aschera sind durchweg als inadquat zu bezeichnen'. 178

Frevel cannot deny that Asherah was venerated in the shape of a
stylized tree. Yet any identification of the deity as a tree goddess or
vegetation goddess is too far fetched, according to him, while he also
denies identification of the biblical Asherah with iconographie material of nursing women, terra cotta figurines and images of the dea
nutrix.179 He also rejects any categorising of Asherah as goddess of
love or great goddess. 180 What remains is 'lediglich die GattungsbeZeichnung: Gttin'. 181 Although one might disagree with Frevel in his
minimalistic approach, what he makes perfectly clear is that the Hebrew Bible does not offer a description of Asherah's function. On the
contrary, almost any reference to the goddess other than in a polemizing, rejectionist manner is avoided. It was Y H W H alone who granted
fertility to flora and fauna as well as to humans. 182
The Israelite concept of Y H W H / E 1 as the one who gave the blessing
of offspring is a direct continuation of the Canaanite traditions about
EL. In Gen. 49:23 even the same verb mrr 'to strengthen' is used. 183
However, it is also clear that other deities, both male and female,
were gradually excluded from assisting the highest deity in providing
fertility. At least in its present form, even an ancient blessing like Gen.
49:22-26 deprives the goddesses of their former status. Also Baal's role
as the god of life-giving rain appears to be taken over by Y H W H - E 1
at a very early date.
All taken together, the evidence in favour of a more or less officially
recognized veneration of fertility goddesses in ancient Israel is rather
tenuous. This is not to say that veneration of goddesses did not occur
- the inscriptions from Kuntillet 'Ajrud and Khirbet el-Qom prove
otherwise 184 - but in view of the heavy emphasis on Y H W H / E 1 as
178

C. Frevel, Aschera und der Ausschlielichkeitsanspruch

Yhwhs: Beitrge zu
literarischen, religionsgeschichtlichen und ikonographischen Aspekten der Ascheradiskussion (BBB, 94), Bd. 2, Weinheim 1995, 582.
179
Frevel, Aschera und der Ausschlielichkeitsanspruch
Yhwhs, 583-5. But cf. S.
Schroer, In Israel gab es Bildr: Nachrichten von darstellender Kunst im Alten
Testament (OBO, 74), Freiburg, Schweiz 1987, 21-45.
180
Frevel, Aschera und der Ausschlielichkeitsanspruch
Yhwhs, 585-6.
181
Frevel, Aschera und der Ausschlielichkeitsanspruch
Yhwhs, 586.
182
Gen. 27:28; 49:25; Deut. 7:13; Hos. 2:23-24 [21-22].
183
Cf. Korpel, RiC, 532-3; R. de Hoop, Genesis \9 in its Literary and Historical
Context (OTS, 39), Leiden 1999, 191. See also De Moor, R0Y, 33, 72, 312.
184
See, e.g., J.M. Hadley, 'The Khirbet el-Qom Inscription', VT 37 (1987), 5062; Idem, 'Some Drawings and Inscriptions on Two Pithoi from Kuntillet 'Ajrud',
VT 37 (1987), 180-213; Schroer, In Israel gab es Bilder, 21-45; Frevel, Aschera
und der Ausschlielichkeitsanspruch
Yhwhs, 854-80; N. Wyatt, 'Asherah ,
in: DDD, 103-5; McCarter, in: C0S, vol. 2, 171-2, 179.

the one who blessed parents with children it is unlikely that these
goddesses played a generally accepted role in the official cult.
Y H W H was not only regarded as the God who blessed a couple
with children, but also as a Father and Mother of his people. He thus
could be compared to a childbearing woman. 185 In Deut. 32:8 God is
called 'the Rock that bore you' and 'the God who gave you birth'. 186
Describing the 'new things' (v. 9) that he would do to free his people
in exile, Y H W H is compared to a soldier crying out against his foes and
to a woman crying out in labour (Isa. 42:13-14).187 The imagery of a
potter next to that of a father begetting a child and a mother in travail
occurs in Isa. 45:9-12, where Y H W H is called creator of the earth as
well as of humankind. 188 According to Job 38:8, 28-29 even the waters
of dew, frost, ice and the sea came forth from God's womb, and Psalm
90:2 refers to Y H W H having borne the earth. In Num. 11:12 Moses
implicitly referred to Y H W H as the one who conceived and nursed the
children of Israel. 189 Also in Hos. 11 God is presented as a caring and
nursing mother. Although the word is not used, the imagery used
to describe the actions of God is predominantly female. 190 The image
of God as both father and mother was a persistant one. 191 It occurs
in a prayer from Qumran, 192 but also in much earlier texts. Allusions
to it occur in the creation account of Gen. 1:26-27, in which it is said
that God created humankind in his image. Johannes de Moor has
argued convincingly that the Priestly writer assumed the first human
being was androgynous, both male and female, like God him/herself.
De Moor contends,
[S]evera1 texts in the Hebrew Bible attribute female characteristics to
God and this argues decisively against speculations about the hyper185

Cf. Korpel, RiC, 241-3 (mother); 246-51 (childbirth).

Cf. P. Trible, God and the Rhetoric of Sexuality (OBT, 2), Philadelphia 1978,
62-4; Korpel, RiC, 247-9; P. Sanders, The Provenance of Deuteronomy 32 (OTS,
37), Leiden 1996, 185-6.
187
Cf. V.R. Mollenkott, The Divine Feminine: The Biblical Imagery of God as
Female, New York 1983, 15; Korpel, RiC, 250.
188
Korpel, RiC, 250-1.
189
P. Trible, 'Depatriarchalizing in Biblical Interpretation', JAAR 41 (1973), 32.
190
Cf. H. Schngel-Straumann, 'God as Mother in Hosea 11', in: A. Brenner
(ed.), A Feminist Companion to the Latter Prophets (FCB, 8), Sheffield 1995,
194-218.
191
Cf. T. Frymer-Kensky, In the Wake of the Goddesses: Women, Culture, and
the Biblical Transformation of Pagan Myth, New York 1992, 162-7; Jngling,
' "Was anders ist Gott fr den Menschen, wenn nicht sein Vater und seine Mutter?" ' 365-86.
192
1QH 9 35f.; cf. P.A.H. de Boer, Fatherhood and Motherhood in Israelite and
Judean Piety, Leiden 1974, 16.
186

masculinity of the biblical YHWH. The God of Israel may have been
represented predominantly as masculine, there was an awareness that
the power of the Almighty could not be confined by gender. This is by
no means surprising because all major creator-gods of the Ancient Near
East, like Aten, Amun-Re, Enlil, Marduk, Kumarbi, Ilu and AhuraMazda are described as both father and mother. Apparently it was a
common conviction in the Ancient Near East that the differentiation
of gender could not apply to the One who stood at the beginning of
everything.193
Gruber proposes Deutero-Isaiah may have deliberately made use of
motherly as well as fatherly images of God, in reaction to the polemics
against idolatry by Jeremiah and Ezekiel. These prophets stressed
the involvement of women in the idolatrous cult and thereby may
have debarred them from the official cult. 194 Despite Deutero-Isaiah's
deliberate use of motherly metaphors, the Israelite onomasticon shows
a reluctancy to compare Y H W H to a mother. Marjo Korpel comments
on this:
Whereas all Canaanites were fond of theophoric personal names containing the element ' "Mother" such names are entirely lacking not
only in the Old Testament but also in epigraphic Hebrew sources. It
must be concluded that there was a historically traceable reluctancy to
compare God to a mother. No doubt this was less the result of a patriarchal bias than the logical outcome of the early choice for monotheism.
Because the Canaanites knew many dual gods and goddesses, there
would have been a real danger of syncretism if God would also have
been called "Mother".195
Thus, Y H W H was compared to a mother in metaphorical imagery, but
not invoked as 'Mother'. Whereas in some parts of the Bible allusions
are made to his androgynous nature, in other parts it is stressed that
God was above and beyond both sexes. 196 As such he was both Father
and Mother to his people whom he could bless to become fathers and
mothers themselves.
A woman who was not yet blessed with children and who wanted to
overcome her barrenness, could offer her handmaid to her husband, in
order that she in her stead bear a child for her. 197 Thus, Sarai offered
Hagar to Abram (Gen. 16), Rachel offered Bilhah and Leah Zilpah
193

De Moor, 'The Duality in God and Man', 123.

M.I. Gruber, 'The Motherhood of God in Second Isaiah', RB 90 (1983), 351-9.
195
Korpel, RiC, 241.
196
Gruber, 'The Motherhood of God in Second Isaiah', 354.
197
Of course this option was only open to wealthy women.
194

to Jacob (Gen. 30:1-13).198 The consumption of mandrakes was also

thought to have a positive effect on an infertile woman. In Gen. 30:1421 Leah bartered the love fruits ( )with Rachel for a night in
the conjugal bed with Jacob. 199 The mandrake was believed to be a
fertility drug and an aphrodisiac.
In Israel's neighbouring countries adoption is mentioned as another possibility to overcome childlessness. Yet biblical legislation
does not refer to rights of adoptees. We do find possible indications of
adoption in the narrative texts. 200 Analyzing these texts and wondering why references to adoption are so sparse, Harald Wahl rejects the
explanation of Herbert Donner who focuses on polygyny and levirate
marriage, and in stead takes note of the theological explanation of
infertility in the Bible. 201 Barrenness was regarded as a punishment
by YHWH, just as children were a blessing from Him. To adopt a child
would be a circumvention of Y H W H ' S will, a rejection of divine order.
Jahwe allein sorgt fr die Mehrung seines Volkes und fr die Nachkommen der Familie, das ist der unangezweifelte Konsens Israels. Die Adoption widerspricht daher nicht nur ber alle theologischen Strmungen
hinweg dem religisen Gefhl des Gottesvolkes, sie ist ein Tabu. 202
The only exception to the rule is Esther, who was adopted by her
uncle Mordecai. 203 Apparently the uncertain situation of the exile jus198

J.C. Exum, 'The Mothers of Israel: The Patriarchal Narratives from a Feminist Perspective', BiRe 2 (1986), 64, stresses that 'this particular means of obtaining children is for the woman's sake and not the man's'. When Rachel and Leah
gave their handmaids to Jacob, he already had sons. Yet in the case of Abram
and Sarai, it appears to be for the sake of both marriage partners.
199
On the effects ascribed to the , cf. .. Pope, Song of Songs: A New
Translation with Introduction and Commentary (AncB, 7C), Garden City NY
1977, 647-50; M. Zohary, Plants of the Bible, Cambridge 1982,188-9. On the haggling of Rachel and Leah, see, e.g., I. Fischer, Die Erzeltern Israels: Feministischtheologische Studien zu Genesis 12-36 (BZAW, 222), Berlin 1994, 26-9; V . P
Hamilton, The Book of Genesis: Chapters 18-50 (NIC), Grand Rapids MI 1995,
274-5.
200
Gen. 30:3-13 (the substitute childbearing by the handmaids Bilhah and Zilpah); Gen. 48:5 (Ephraim and Manasseh); Exod. 2:9-10 (Moses); Ruth 4:13-17
(Obed); Est. 2:5-7 (Esther).
201
H. Donner, 'Adoption oder Legitimation?: Erwgungen zur Adoption im Alten Testament auf dem Hintergrund der altorientalischen Rechte', OrAnt 8 (1969),
87-119; Wahl, 'Ester, das adoptierte Waisenkind', 78-99. The theological reason
for rejection of adoption in the Bible was already proposed by H.J. Boecker, 'Anmerkungen zur Adoption im Alten Testament', ZAW 86 (1974), 86-9.
202
Wahl, 'Ester, das adoptierte Waisenkind', 98.
203
Wahl, 'Ester, das adoptierte Waisenkind', 87-9. The cases of Ephraim and

tified adoption, whereby Esther was legally and socially protected. 204
It is noteworthy that the single case of adoption in the Bible regards
a woman. Since women generally did not continue the family line it
may not have been considered a major breach of taboo.
When a woman did conceive and became pregnant, she might
consider herself blessed. In Israel, as in Ugarit, conception was believed to be related to the female orgasm. When Sarah, with whom
'it had ceased to be after the manner of women', i.e., she had reached
menopause, heard that she would have a son, she 'laughed to herself,
saying, "After I have grown old, and my husband is old, shall I have
pleasure?" ' (Gen. 18:11-12). The word used here, , denotes sexual
pleasure. 205
Being pregnant was a blessed yet uncertain state for a woman.
When Rebekah noticed some irregularity during her pregnancy, she
sought a religious answer and inquired of Y H W H what was the matter (Gen. 25:22-23). The Hebrew Bible also testifies to the toilsome
process of parturition. Rachel had hard labour and died in childbirth
(Gen. 35:16-18).206 Gen. 3:16 also reflects women's experience with
childbirth as painful hard work. 207
The motif of the childbearing woman is also used metaphorically
in the Hebrew Bible. The Israelites in distress compared themselves to
a woman in labour: 'Like a woman with child, who writhes and cries
out in her pangs when she is near her time, so were we because of
Manasseh and of Obed were matters of legitimation, not of adoption; see also
Viberg, Symbols of Law, 166-75. Differently, F.W. Knobloch, 'Adoption', in: ABD,
vol. 1, 76-9, according to whom adoption was practiced in ancient Israel.
204
It seems that later traditions of Rabbinical literature and LXX objected to
the reference of adoption; cf. Wahl, 'Ester, das adoptierte Waisenkind', 87-8.
205
Cf. A. van Selms, Marriage and Family Life in Ugantic Literature (POS, 1),
London 1954, 83; Hamilton, The Book of Genesis: Chapters 18-50, 5, n. 13.
206
Archaeological studies on the skeletal remains of humans found in tombs
reveal information on the age of the deceased. One of the results of osteological
analysis is a difference in death rate for men and women. According to C. Meyers,
Discovering Eve: Ancient Israelite Women in Context, New York 1988, 112-3,
'The mortality rate for females in the childbearing years greatly exceeded that of
males. In a population in which the life expectancy for men hovered around 40,
women would have had a life expectancy closer to 30. The physical risks related
to childbearing constituted a gender-specific life threat. The matriarch Rachel is
probably a representative case insofar as she died as she gave birth to her second
son (Gen. 35:16-18)'.
207
On the interpretation of this text, see, e.g., Meyers, Discovering Eve, 95121; Idem, 'Gender Roles and Genesis 3.16 Revisited', in: A. Brenner (ed.), A
Feminist Companion to Genesis (FCB, 2), Sheffield 1993, 118-41; A.J. Bledstein,
'Are Women Cursed in Genesis 3.16?' in: Brenner, A Feminist Companion to
Genesis, 142-5.

you, LORD' (Isa. 26:17). Also the Daughter Zion during the siege is
compared to a woman crying out while bringing forth her child (Jer.
4:31).
During childbirth a mother was assisted by midwives. In Exod. 1
the king of Egypt ordered the midwives of the Hebrews to kill the male
children when they were born. The NRSV renders 'When you act as
midwives to the Hebrew women and see them on the birthstool 208 , if
it is a boy, kill him; but if it is a girl, she shall live' (Exod. 1:16).
There are a few places in the Bible where metaphoric imagery is
used of God as midwife (Isa. 66:9; Pss. 22:10; 71:6), performing tasks
that in Ugaritic mythology were done by the Katharatu. 2 0 9
Since midwifery was a female task, Marjo Korpel wonders, 'Could
one say that God is a woman here when he performs the task of a
midwife?' Yet she thinks the gender of God is not important here:
'The image of delivering was appropriate to what they [the authors
choosing the imagery, HJM] had to say, but the gender of the divine
Actor was not that important. The context of the three passages
proves that it was not the author's purpose to show us God as either
a woman or as a man'. 210
Whereas midwives were present to assist a childbearing woman, a
father generally would be absent during the birth of the child. Lamenting his day of birth, the prophet Jeremiah said, 'Cursed be the day
on which I was born! The day when my mother bore me, let it not
be blessed! Cursed be the man who brought the news to my father,
saying, "A child is born to you, a son", making him very glad' (Jer.
20:14-15, see also Job 3:3).
When the child was born, the mother was considered to be impure.
According to Lev. 12 a woman who had borne a child was impure ()
for 7 and 33 days if the child was a boy and for the double number of
days (14 and 66) if the child was a girl. During the first period, either 7
or 14 days, the mother was unclean as at the time of her menstruation.
208

According to M. Stol, Birth in Babylonia and the Bible: Its Mediterranean

Setting (CM, 14), Groningen 2000, 120, a better translation of the dual is
'the two (birth) stones 1 . See further J.C. de Moor, review of D. Cohen, Dictionnaire des racines smitiques ou attestes dans les langues smitiques, in: BiOr
32 (1975), 191. Differently, C. Houtman, Exodus, vol. 1, (HCOT), Kampen 1993,
252-4.
209
A reference to the Katharatu as the goddesses protecting matrimonial happiness may be found in Ps. 68:7; cf. De Moor, R0Y, 173, n. 353, 185-6, 264. This
has been questioned, however, by D. Pardee, 'Kosharoth 1, in: DDD, 492.
210
Korpel, RiC, 251-2. In Mesopotamian religion, goddesses acted as midwives,
but occassionally a god could be named 'midwife 1 , too; cf. CAD () 1, 16 (abs);
Stol, Birth in Babylonia and the Bible, 71-2.

This state of impurity is described in Lev. 15:19-24 and was regarded

as contagious. After the initial period of uncleanness, the mother was
not contagiously impure anymore, but she was still not allowed to
enter the sanctuary. 211
Several explanations have been proposed for the sex difference
with regard to the number of days of impurity. The number of seven
days of a mother's contagious impurity was correlated to circumcision of the baby boy.212 But why was the number of days of impurity
doubled in case the child was a girl? According to some, it was related
to the inferiority of women in the eyes of the priestly writers. In this
regard Martin Noth, for instance, refers to a 'kultische Zurcksetzung des weiblichen Geschlechtes'. 213 Mayer Gruber, with reference
to m. Yad, objects to this, stating that 'greater defilement is not necessarily an indication of lesser social worth. Hence, a corpse defiles
more than a dead pig
' 214 Others have offered quasi-medical explanations. Apparently in ancient Greece the thought was prevalent
that the parturient's blood discharge (lochia) continued longer after
the birth of a girl than after that of a boy.215 In Greek as well as
Rabbinical sources one also finds the idea that the female embryo
was formed in a larger number of days than the male embryo. 216 Arie
Noordtzij refers to the belief that giving birth to a girl entailed greater
difficulties and dangers to a mother and hence would require a longer
period of impurity. 217 To this Karl Elliger adds that the longer period
of impurity for mothers of baby girls can be explained as a remnant
of the ancient belief that women were more susceptible to demonic influences than men. 218 John Otwell proposes that a woman might have
been considered unclean after childbirth because she had been (too)
closely involved with the creative work of God. The period of impurity
would be necessary to de-energize, 'and that period would need to be
twice as long for the birth of a child which might become capable in
211

On questions regarding impurity and the cult, see chapter 3.

B.A. Levine, Leviticus =( JPSTC), Philadelphia 5749/1989, 73; W.H.
Propp, Exodus 1-18 (AncB, 2), New York 1999, 236.
213
M. Noth, Das dritte Buch Mose: Leviticus (ATD, 6), Gttingen 1962, 82.
214
M.I. Gruber, 'Women in the Cult according to the Priestly Code', in: J.
Neusner et al. (eds), Judaic Perspectives on Ancient Israel, Philadelphia 1987,
43, n. 13.
215
Cf. C.J. Vos, Woman in Old Testament Worship, Delft 1968, 68; J. Milgrom,
Leviticus 1-16 (AncB, 3), New York 1991, 750; J.E. Hartley, Leviticus (WBC, 4),
Dallas TX 1992, 167-8.
216
Cf. Milgrom, Leviticus 1-16, 750-1.
217
A. Noordtzij, Het boek Levitikus (KVHS), Kampen 1940, 131.
218
. Elliger, Leviticus (HAT, 1/4), Tbingen 1966, 158.
212

its turn of bearing children as for a male child'. 219 Clarence Vos points
to the possibility of a number factor. Apparently odd numbers were
often applied to males and even numbers to females in ancient times.
'If this factor was in the Hebrew mind and if the number seven had
to be reckoned with, then there was hardly any alternative than the
"seven-fourteen" scheme of Lv. 12'. 220 The additional 33 days might
have been chosen to arrive at 40, the number representing an ideal
month. 221 Yet Vos himself acknowledges that due to the 'slippery' nature of the problem 'we do well not to build too much upon it'. 222
Gruber relates the period of impurity of the mother to the weaning of
babies. The ancients were aware of temporal infertility as a result of
breast-feeding. If sons were preferred over daughters, a parent might
be inclined to wean a baby girl at an earlier stage than a baby boy,
in order to increase the chance to conception. Gruber concludes that
'it is reasonable to suggest that Lev. 12:1-5 is meant to counter the
notion that the first thought after the birth of a daughter is when to
try for a son and that it is meant to provide an extra margin of time
for mother and daughter to establish breast-feeding'. 223
To my mind the most reasonable explanation is the fact that
sometimes new-born baby girls have a vaginal discharge. As Jonathan
Magonet explains:
There is a phenomenon that sometimes affects a new-born girl following
the withdrawal of the maternal hormones - namely vaginal bleeding.
I consulted a Professor of Obstretics and Gynaecology, the author of
several textbooks on the subject, who confirmed that perhaps one in
ten baby girls may bleed in this way, and even if no blood appears there
may well be a discharge. ... It is therefore altogether possible that with
the birth of a baby girl we have the equivalent of two 'women', each with
an actual or potential vaginal discharge, to be accounted for. Since this
uncleanness has to be ritually dealt with and the baby cannot do so,
the mother with whom the child was formerly united and from whom
she has emerged, symbolically bears the uncleanness so that the period
is doubled.224
219

J.H. Otwell, And Sarah Laughed: The Status of Woman in the Old Testament,
Philadelphia PA 1977, 176-7.
220
Vos, Woman in Old Testament Worship, 69-70.
221
Cf. W.H. Roscher, Die Zahl 40 im Glauben, Brauch und Schrifttum der
Semiten, Leipzig 1909; J.B. Segal, 'Numerals in the Old Testament', JSS 10
(1965), 10-1.
222
Vos, Woman in Old Testament Worship, 70.
223
M.l. Gruber, 'Breast-Feeding Practices in Biblical Israel and in Old Babylonian Mesopotamia', JANES 19 (1989), 68.
224
J. Magonet, ' "But if it is a Girl she is Unclean for Twice Seven Days . . . " :

The biblical laws of purification lack any reference to demons. Still,

scholars assume that the relative seclusion of a woman in childbed
might find its origin in fear for evil spirits. 225 Baruch Levine, for instance, remarks:
In ancient times, concern for the welfare of the mother and child was
most often expressed as the fear of destructive, demonic, or antilife
forces. This fear is evident in other ancient Near Eastern texts contemporaneous with the biblical period; they are replete with incantations and spells against demons and witches who were thought to kill
newborn children and afflict their mothers. It is reasonable to assume
that similar anxieties were current among the ancient Israelites as well.
And although the biblical religion certainly did not permit magical
spells and the like as the proper means for overcoming these perceived
threats to life, it did provide ritual means, as well as practical methods,
to accomplish for the Israelite mother and her community what magic
was supposed to accomplish for a pagan mother.226
Although the Hebrew Bible does not refer explicitly to Lilith as a
baby snatcher, she is mentioned in Isa. 34:14, among other kinds of
demons. It seems probable that in popular belief she was known and
thought to cause illnesses to infants. Rabbinic literature refers to her
actions as a succuba who endangers women in their critical periods
of defloration, menstruation and parturition, and little children. The
Babylonian Talmud mentions magic spells and amulets as means to
ward off the bad influence of Lilith. 227
It seems that in Israel, too, sons were preferred over daughters. 228
When Rachel was having a difficult delivery she was told by way of
comfort that she had borne a son (Gen. 35:17). Yet in a polygynous
marriage, a mother who bore a son not necessarily was the favoured
wife (Gen. 29:32-34; 1 Sam. 1:4-5).
Children were a gift from Y H W H , SO the Israelites believed (Pss.
113:9; 127:3-5; 128:3-4). The covenant that Y H W H made with Abraham held the promise of a multitude of offspring (Gen. 15:5; 17:4-6
The Riddle of Leviticus 12.5', in: J.F.A. Sawyer (ed.), Reading Leviticus: A Conversation with Mary Douglas (JSOT.S, 227), Sheffield 1996, 144-52 (152). I thank
dr. D. Erbele-Kuester for directing me to the Magonet reference.
225
Cf. Vos, Woman in Old Testament Worship, 63-4; Levine, Leviticus ,
249-50.
226
Levine, Leviticus =
.249
,
227
G. Stemberger, 1 Dmonen', in: TRE, Bd. 8, 278; F.A.M. Wiggermann,
'Lamatu, daughter of Anu: A Profile', in: Stol, Birth in Babylonia and the Bible,
228; M. Hutter, 'Lilith ', in: DDD, 520-1.
228
See also section 2.1.4.

etc.). God's blessing of 'the fruit of the womb' recurred a number of

times in Israelite history (Exod. 23:26; Lev. 26:9; Deut. 28:4 etc.).
To have a large family was considered an abundant blessing. When
Rebekah left her family to marry Isaac, her brothers pronounced a
blessing, wishing her a multitude of descendants (Gen. 24:60). And
the people in the gate of Bethlehem expressed the wish that Y H W H
would bless Boaz with many children (Ruth 4:11-12). The first biblical
couple, Adam and Eve, received a comparable blessing from Y H W H :
'Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it' (Gen.
1:28a). In her song of praise Hannah mentioned a barren woman who
had borne seven children as one of the mighty deeds of Y H W H (1
Sam. 2:5).
Although a woman might bear a large number of children - Lawrence Stager mentions as many as six - often some of them would die
during the first few years. Most women would ultimately be a mother
of only one or two surviving children. 229 Not only infant mortality but
also breast-feeding practice was of influence on the average number of
children in a family. As a result of nursing a baby the menses generally
were suppressed for a considerable period and this would result in long
birth intervals. 230
Several scholars have observed that in the Hebrew Bible it was often the mother who named the child. 231 Vos cautions not to draw far
fetching conclusions. He mentions several reasons for this incidence:
agrarian life (i.e., nomadic herding) would often cause a father to be
absent; polygynous and bigynous marriages would make it more understandable for a mother to name the child; a mother's uncleanness
would keep her removed from her husband; and finally, motherhood
as a supreme function of a woman would give her the authority to
229

L.E. Stager, 'The Archaeology of the Family in Ancient Israel', BASOR 260
(1985), 18; K. Engelken, Frauen im Alten Israel: Eine begriffsgeschichtliche und
sozialrechtliche Studie zur Stellung der Frau im Alten Testament (BWANT, 130),
Stuttgart 1990, 123. See further section 2.1.1.4.2 and chapter 4.
230
Gruber, 'Breast-Feeding Practices in Biblical Israel and in Old Babylonian
Mesopotamia', 61-83.
231
Vos, Woman in Old Testament Worship, 161, . 83, refers to 45 cases of
naming, of which 26 were by women, 14 by men and 5 by God. Fischer, Die
Erzeltern Israels, 69-70, refers (n. 191) to M. Lohr, Die Stellung des Weibes zur
Jahwe-Religion und -Kult, Leipzig 1908, 24, who counts 46 cases of naming, of
which 28 were by women and 18 by men. It needs to be kept in mind that the
woman naming the child not necessarily was the (biological) mother, see further
below.
On etiological name-giving by women, see Van Dijk-Hemmes, "Traces of
Women's Texts in the Hebrew Bible', 97-103.

name the child. 232 Scholars have noted that in the texts ascribed to
J and which are generally considered to be pre-exilic it was more
often the mother who named the child, while in the post-exilic texts
that are ascribed to the father predominated as the person naming
the child. 233 One may wonder, however, whether there existed a historical development in which the authority of the person naming the
child shifted from the mother to the father. 234 Nancy Jay points to
the different focus of in comparison to J with regard to genealogies.
'P's genealogies never mention women but J includes named women
who conceive and bear children'. Apparently had an interest in
protecting unilineal continuity. 235 This means that in stead of a historical development - or perhaps next to it - the context of the story
and the agenda of the author need to be taken into consideration.
In line with this is an observation by Naomi Steinberg, who studied
the ancestral stories in Genesis from an anthropological point of view,
emphasizing the kinship structures of the ancestral stories. She wonders why the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah were included as heirs while
Hagar's son Ishmael was not and assumes that the role of those naming the heir(s) was of importance. 236 In the case of Ishmael, it was
not Sarai, the owner of Hagar, but Abram who named Hagar's son
(Gen. 16:15). The sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, on the other hand, were
named by the owners of their mothers, i.e., by Rachel and Leah (Gen.
30:1-13). Naming a child might be a deed of legitimation. 237 Therefore
it is of importance to pay attention to the question who was the biological mother of the child in relation to who named it. For instance,
in the story of Abimelech, son of Gideon and a ?from Shechem,
it was his father who named him and thereby legitimized him. This
is of importance in the following part of the story. It is furthermore
remarkable that in two stories of widows who begot a child as a resuit of extra-marital intercourse it was not the parent but someone
232

Vos, Woman in Old Testament Worship, 163. See also W. Plautz, 'Zur Frage
des Mutterrechts im Alten Testament', ZAW 74 (1962), 13-5.
233
Cf. Plautz, 'Zur Frage des Mutterrechts im Alten Testament', 14; De Boer,
Fatherhood and Motherhood in Israelite and Judean Piety, 7; Fischer, Die Erzeltern Israels, 70.
234
Cf. Vos, Woman in Old Testament Worship, 163.
235
. Jay, 'Sacrifice, Descent and the Patriarchs', VT 38 (1988), 55-6.
236
N. Steinberg, Kinship and Marriage in Genesis: A Household Economics Perspective, Minneapolis 1993, 132.
237
Cf. . Viberg, Symbols of Law: A Contextual Analysis of Legal Symbolic Acts
in the Old Testament (CB.OT, 34), Stockholm 1992, 168-75. However, Viberg
refers to texts in which the naming of the child was combined with placing it on
someone's lap. These acts together symbolized legitimation. Yet perhaps naming
a child was in itself also an act of legitimation.

from the community who named the child. 238 To conclude, it would
seem that in Israel both parents could name the child. The possibility
of a historical development that led to the exclusion of women from
naming their children needs to be studied further with regard to the
question of legitimation, thereby focusing on the relation between the
child and the person who named it.
A mother would be the primary parent for a little child. Children
were generally nursed until the age of three. 239 Although especially
lower class mothers would probably breast-feed their children themselves, the Hebrew Bible does refer to the practise of wet-nursing (Gen.
24:9; 35:8; Exod. 2:7-9; 2 Kgs 11:2 || 2 Chron. 22:11; Isa. 49:23). But
whether or not mothers nursed their own babies, they would generally hold the main responsibility for the socialization and education
of young children. 240
The relationship between a mother and her young child is generally
depicted as full of love and tenderness. Mothers even ceded their baby
to another person if they thereby could save its life. Jochebed put her
baby son Moses in a basket on the riverbank where he was found by
the daughter of Pharaoh (Exod. 2). And one of the two prostitutes
who came to receive a judgement from king Solomon preferred to see
her son alive in the hands of her colleague than divided in half (1
Kgs 3:16-28). A nursing woman did not forget her child, she rather
showed compassion for it (Isa. 49:15). However, the Bible also holds
a tale of maternal cannibalism (2 Kgs 6:24-7:20). 241 The exceptional
behaviour of cannibalism took even more grotesque form in that a
mother here renounced her maternal instincts. Instead of feeding her
238

In Gen. 38:29 it was the midwife who named Perez, son of Tamar and Judah,
and in Ruth 4:17 the women of the neighbourhood named Obed, son of Ruth and
Boaz. Although strictly speaking Ruth did not beget a child after extra-marital
intercourse - she only conceived after properly being married to Boaz (Ruth 4:13)
- her spending the night with Boaz on the threshing floor led to this result. On
the role of bystanders naming a child, see also F.W. Bush, 'Ruth 4:17: A Semantic
Wordplay 1 , in: J.E. Coleson, V.H. Matthews (eds), 'Go to the Land I Will Show
You': Studies in Honor of Dwight W. Young, Winona Lake IN 1996, 12.
239
Meyers, Discovering Eve, 151; Gruber, 'Breast-Feeding Practices in Biblical
Israel and in Old Babylonian Mesopotamia', 61-83.
240
Prov. 4:3; C.L. Meyers, 'Everyday life: Women in the Period of the Hebrew Bible', in: C.A. Newsom, S.H. Ringe (eds), The Women's Bible Commentary
London 21998, 255-6.
241
Cf. G. Hens-Piazza, 'Forms of Violence and the Violence of Forms: Two Cannibal Mothers before a King (2 Kings 6:24-33)', JFSR 14 (1998), 91-104; L. Lanner,
'Cannibal Mothers and Me: A Mother's Reading of 2 Kings 6.24-7.20', JSOT 85
(1999), 107-116.
The Bible generally considered cannibalism to be a curse (Lev. 26:29; Deut.
28:53-57; Isa. 49:26; Jer. 19:9; Ezek. 5:10; Zech. 11:9).

child, she fed herself by eating her child. Indeed, the perplexities of
this story symbolize 'a world in chaos'. 242
The love of a mother for her adult sons is expressed by the story
of Rizpah, concubine of Saul, who did not rest until her executed
sons received a proper burial. 243 After her sons had died by the hands
of the Gibeonites, 'Rizpah the daughter of Aiah took sackcloth, and
spread it on a rock for herself, from the beginning of harvest until rain
fell on them from the heavens; she did not allow the birds of the air
to come on the bodies by day, or the wild animals by night' (2 Sam.
21:10). She kept vigil until king David, after having been told of her
action, ordered them to be buried.
Lev. 18:7 prohibits an incestuous relationship between a mother
and her son. Also a sexual relationship between a son and another
of his father's wives is considered in this light and condemned (Lev.
18:8; 20:11). 244
In Proverbs the 'teachings of your mother' ( ?Prov.l:8;
6:20) are compared to precious jewelry that was not to be rejected
casually. Also the teachings of the ( Prov. 31:10-31, esp. 26),
who was a mother of children, were valued highly. With regard to the
educating role of mothers in Proverbs, Claudia Camp notes,
The Book of Proverbs gives us an important indication of the mother's
role in the training of her children, not only as infants and toddlers,
but also in the proper attitudes and actions of adult life. The mother's
tr is placed in parallelism with the father's msr in Prov. 1:8, and
with his misw in 6:20. Although these instructions are similar in some
respects to works from Egyptian wisdom, it is unique to Israel that the
mother as well as the father is cited as the bearer of this tradition. 245
Generally the teachings as expressed in Proverbs were addressed to
sons. Athalya Brenner defends the possibility of Prov. 31:10-31 being
a didactic text spoken by a mother to her daughter. 246
Being a mother was considered an honourable position. This is
242

C.V. Camp, '1 and 2 Kings', in: C.A. Newsom, S.H. Ringe (eds), The Women's
Bible Commentary, London 21998, 115.
243
2 Sam. 21:1-14; cf. C.J. Goslinga, Het tweede boek Samuel (COT), Kampen
1962, 389-92.
244
Cf. S. Lafont, Femmes, Droit et Justice dans l'Antiquit orientale: Contribution l'tude du droit pnal au Proche-Orient ancien (OBO, 165), Fribourg,
Suisse 1999, 192-3.
245
C.V. Camp, 'The Wise Women of 2 Samuel: A Role Model for Women in
Early Israel?' CBQ 43 (1981), 24.
246
A. Brenner, 'Proverbs 1-9: An F Voice?' in: Brenner, Van Dijk-Hemmes, On
Gendering Texts, 127-30.

illustrated by the metaphorical use of the term 'mother' in the title 'a
mother in Israel', that was bestowed upon Deborah (Judg. 5:7) and
on the city of Abel Beth-maacah (2 Sam. 20:19). 247 Children were
supposed to honour both parents. One of the ten commandments
is the imperative to honour father and mother (Exod. 20:12; Deut.
5:16). Father and mother are paralleled in wisdom texts (Prov. 4:3;
10:1; 15:20; 17:25; 19:26; 20:20; 23:22,25; 28:24; 30:11,17) and also
in legal texts (Exod. 21:15,17; Lev. 20:9; Deut. 27:16). 248 When the
stubborn and rebellious son of Deut. 21:18-21 did not obey his father
and mother, both parents acted together in punishing him. Zech. 13:3
also acknowledges parents cooperating in the punishment of their sons
who prophesied falsely.
In an article on the duties of a son towards his parents, Eckart Otto
notes that honouring one's parents ( Piel) entailed more than just
material care. 'Die Bedeutung von kbd (Pi.) in Ex 20,12/Dtn 5,16
geht aber nicht in der materiellen Frsorge der erwachsenen Kinder
fr die altgewordenen Eltern auf, sondern zielt, wie die Weisheitsberlieferung u.a. in Prov 19,26; 20,20; 23,22; 28,24 und Sir 3,7f. zeigt,
auf die positive Befrderung der Eltern auf allen Gebieten, die die
Altersversorgung umschliet'. 249 He explains the legal clause Deut.
21:18-21* within the context of post-exilic Judah, in which family life
had become of central importance. A person who was 'a glutton and a
drunkard' (v. 20) endangered the family inheritance and the resources
for the care of aging parents. Therefore habitual disdain of parents
was considered a capital sin. 250
Unlike her social role of wife, which was a subservient one from the
viewpoint of authority, the role of mother gave a woman a position
of relative equality next to the father of her child. This was related
to the importance attached to motherhood as a function to preserve
society. As Phyllis Bird notes,

247

Cf. P.A.H. de Boer, 'The Counsellor', in: M. Noth, D. Winton Thomas (eds),
Wisdom in Israel and in the Ancient Near East (VT.S, 3), Leiden 1955, 5960; J.C. Exum, ' "Mother in Israel": A Familiar Figure Reconsidered', in: L.M.
Russell, Feminist Interpretation of the Bible, Oxford 1985, 85.
248
It needs to be noted that the Hebrew does not know the inclusive term 'parent'. See also Gen. 2:24; 28:7; Josh. 2:13,18; Judg. 14; 1 Sam. 22:3; 2 Sam. 19:37;
1 Kgs 19:20; Ezek. 22:7; Pss. 27:10; 109:14; Ruth 2:11.
249
E. Otto, 'Sohnespflichten im antiken Syrien und Palstina', in: E. Otto, Kontinuum und Proprium: Studien zur Sozial- und Rechtsgeschichte des Alten Orients
und des Alten Testaments (Orientalia Biblica et Christiana, 8), Wiesbaden 1996,
271.
250
Otto, 'Sohnespflichten im antiken Syrien und Palstina', 265-82 (275).

The ancient command to honor one's parents (Exod. 20:12; Deut. 5:16)
recognizes the female as the equal of the male in her role as mother. It
places the highest possible value upon this role, in which her essential
function in the society was represented - the reproductive function.
The welfare of the family and society and the status of the husband
depended upon her performance of that task. 251
Being a mother, a woman could exercise legitimate power over certain other persons, i.e., her children. Motherhood offered a certain
authority as well as honour and security. King Solomon, for instance,
honoured his mother Bathsheba by bowing down to her (1 Kgs 2:19).
However, the authority of a mother was restricted. Her actions could
be limited by her husband, who had authority over her. Influence
and deception were strategies a woman could use to get around her
husband in achieving her goals as a mother. 252
Although it is stated elsewhere that a husband could overrule a
vow his wife had made (Num. 30:6-8), Elkanah apparently acquiesced
in Hannah's vow which determined their son's life (1 Sam. 1:11).
Mother Rebekah incited her son Jacob to deceive Isaac (Gen. 27).
She subsequently influenced her husband to send Jacob away in order
to prevent the latter from marrying the wrong kind of woman. Yet
she also had a hidden agenda - that is, hidden from her husband - in
protecting him from being killed by his brother Esau. Another mother
that tried to affect her son's choice of marriage partner was Samson's
mother (Judg. 14:3). Other biblical mothers tried to influence their
sons' lives in general. Thus, Lemuel's mother instructed him on the
right behaviour of a king (Prov. 31:1-9). And queen-mother Athaliah,
who was the counsellor of her son Ahaziah and instructed him 'in
doing wickedly' (2 Chron. 22:2-3), also appears to have had a major
influence on her son. 253
If a marriage was polygynous, a mother usually had to reckon with
co-wives or concubines whose children might constitute a threat to the
251

P. Bird, 'Images of Women in the Old Testament 1 , in: R. Radford Ruether

(ed.), Religion and Sexism: Images of Woman in the Jewish and Christian Traditions, New York 1974, 55. Cf. also E. Fuchs, 'The Literary Characterization of
Mothers and Sexual Politics in the Hebrew Bible1, in: A. Yarbro Collins (ed.), Feminist Perspectives on Biblical Scholarship (SBL Centennial Publications) (Biblical
Scholarship in North America, 10), Chico CA 1985, 117-36, who stresses that the
biblical characterization of mothers is generally flat due to the fact that they are
role models communicating a patriarchal ideology.
252
Cf. J.C. Exum, Fragmented Women: Feminist (Sub)versions of Biblical Narratives (JSOT.S, 163), Sheffield 1993, 139.
253
On queen-mothers, see further section 2.2.1.2.

position of her son. 254 Some biblical stories give evidence to the theme
of the promoting mother, who might go quite far in order to secure
the position of her son. 255 Thus, Sarah asked Abraham to cast out
Hagar and Ishmael in order to prevent the latter from inheriting with
her son Isaac (Gen. 21). When Adonijah, son of Haggith, threatened
to take over the throne from his old father David, Bathsheba went to
David and asked him to confirm that their son Solomon was to be the
king's successor (1 Kgs 1).
Matronyms seldom occur in the Hebrew Bible. Sometimes a person
would refer to his brother as 'the son of his mother'. Thus it is told
of Joseph, that when he met his brothers who had come to Egypt
because of the famine, 'he saw his brother Benjamin, his mother's son'
(Gen. 43:29). And Dinah, half-sister of Joseph, is called 'the daughter
of Leah' (Gen. 34:1). In a context of polygynous marriages, children
who shared the same father and mother probably were more closely
attached to each other. 256 David's nephews Joab and Abishai are both
called 'son of Zeruiah', who according to 1 Chron. 2:16 was a sister of
David. The use of a matronym here might be due to the importance
attributed to the fact that Zeruiah was a sister of the king. Also
noteworthy is the occurence of matronyms of the men who conspired
against king Joash of Judah: 'Those who conspired against him were
Zabad son of Shimeath the Ammonite, and Jehozabad son of Shimrith
the Moabite' (2 Chron. 24:26). In 2 Kgs 12:22 [21], however, these
conspirators are identified by patronyms. Apparently, the Chronicler
wanted to stress the foreignness of the mothers, although in general
the Chronicler's view on intermarriage was not disapproving. 257
D . CONCLUSIONS

Motherhood was of primary importance to women in the ancient Near

East. They had to bear children in order to sustain the continuity of
the generations. The high rate of infant mortality made it desirable
that they became mothers of many children. It is not surprising that
about this aspect of a woman's role in society the sources are more
copious than on any other aspect of her life.
People in all ancient Near Eastern countries believed that children were a blessing from the gods. A childless man was depicted as
254

Apparently, daughters never formed a threat.

Cf. . Otzen, 'The Promoting Mother: A Literary Motif in the Ugaritic Texts
and in the Bible1, in: A. Lemaire, B. Otzen (eds), History and Traditions of Early
Israel (VT.S, 50), Leiden 1993, 104-14.
256
Cf. also Deut. 13:7 [6]; Judg. 8:19; 9:3; Ps. 69:9 [8].
257
Cf. S. Japhet, The Ideology of the Book of Chronicles and Its Place in Biblical
Thought (BEAT, 9), Frankfurt am Main 1989, 350-1.
255

an unhappy person and a barren woman was considered pitiful. Barrenness was related to sin in Mesopotamia as well as in biblical Israel.
Although the ancients were aware that both partners needed to be
fertile in order to beget children, a couple's infertility was generally
attributed to the wife. If a marriage was not blessed with children,
both husband and wife tried to induce the gods with prayers, offerings and vows. The deities with the power of blessing a couple with
offspring were generally male. Although female deities were involved
in matters of fertility, they did not occupy a major role. This is the
case in Mesopotamia and Egypt as well as Ugarit. Although in Israel
vestiges of participation of female deities in the reproductive process
may still be discerned, nevertheless it was Y H W H alone who granted
progeny. This appears to be a further accentuation of the Ugaritic
Ilu's prerogative as the creator of humankind.
It was a common characteristic of all major gods in the ancient
Near East that they were considered to be of dual gender, i.e., both
Father and Mother. This was also true of Ugaritic Ilu. Allusions to
this occur in the Hebrew Bible.
Pregnancy was a blissful yet uncertain stage, which was therefore
surrounded with efforts to ward off the evil. A post-parturiant was
not only considered impure in Israel, but also in Mesopotamia, Hatti
and Egypt, and possibly in Ugarit. A different period of impurity for
mothers of boys and of girls is known for both Israel and Hatti.
It seems that most couples welcomed children of both sexes, although there was a certain preference for boys, since they were the
ones who were supposed to continue the patrilineality. Thus, although
it is not expressed explicitly, a woman who was a mother of sons generally had a higher status than a mother of daughters. To have many
children was an image of a blessed stage, but archaeological information reveals a high rate of infant mortality as well as mothers dying
in childbirth.
A woman's influence was greatest as a mother. Children were
taught to honour their parents, i.e., both father and mother. Wisdom
teachings stressed a mother's role in the education of young children,
although scholarly education appears to have been a male preserve.
In Ugarit, it was generally the father who named the child, whereas
in biblical Israel both parents could name it. Reasons of the exclusion
of mothers in this regard need to be studied further.
While a Mesopotamian mother could act as testatrix of her dowry,
she generally could bequeath the property of her husband to her children only when made guardian of the family. In a comparable manner, an Egyptian mother could bequeath her personal property to her

children. The literary texts from Ugarit and the Hebrew Bible do not
inform us on mothers as testatrixes. 258
The use of matronyms usually can be explained either by way of
polygynous marriage or by the fact that the mother was somehow
related to royal circles.

2.1.3 Sister
Although some female children were an only child, often a girl would
have siblings to whom she was a sister. In this section we will look
into the relationship of a sister and her brother(s). 1 What was the
relationship of a sister and her brother like? Was it one of protection
from the side of the brother? Did he have any authority over her?
If so, was it a delegated authority, imposed by the father? We will
briefly regard the issue of brother-sister incest.
A . ANCIENT N E A R E A S T

In Mesopotamian literature, the relationship between brothers and

sisters generally was depicted as close.2 Yet it should never become
too intimate. Incest between brothers and sisters was almost always
condemned. 3 However, in Egypt, some pharaohs married their sister
or their half-sister. Rosalind and Jac Janssen attempt to explain these
brother-sister marriages within the Egyptian context:
They have nothing to do with the modern notion of "keeping the blood
pure", but such ties are frequent among deities, e.g. the couple Osiris
and Isis. Whereas, so far as we know, it did not occur among commoners, at least not officially, a regular marriage between a Pharaoh
and his full or half-sister removed him from his subjects and allowed
258

For the mother as testatrix in Ugarit, see chapter 4.

Amico, SWU, 154, notes: 'All of the documentation from Ugarit about sisters
deals with the relationship between sisters and brothers, never between two sisters.
Perhaps this indicates somthing [sic] about the androcentricity of this culture, in
that sisters only need be mentioned when they have to do with male siblings;
or perhaps it is a matter of chance'. In the Hebrew Bible very little attention
is given to relationships between sisters. The rivalry between Leah and Rachel
is a relationship of co-wives, the fact that they are sisters as well is of lesser
importance. Furthermore, although it is a very negative picture, it may be inferred
from Ezek. 16 and 23 that sisters could be very close to each other and influence
each other's behaviour. The lack of interest in relationships between sisters is
probably due to the androcentric viewpoint of the writers of the ancient world.
2
S.N. Kramer, 'The Woman in Ancient Sumer: Gleanings from Sumerian Literature', in: FPOA, 109.
3
Cf. S. Lafont, Femmes, Droit et Justice dans l'Antiquit orientale: Contribution l'tude du droit pnal au Proche-Orient ancien (OBO, 165), Fribourg,
Suisse 1999, 195-202. On incest see also sections 2.1.1.1 and 2.1.4.
1

him to approach the divine circle. That may broadly have been the
reason for the practice.4
The custom of calling a beloved relation 'sister' or 'brother' had nothing to do with an incestuous relationship 5 but it certainly illustrates
the closeness between siblings. Also the use of 'sister' as an affectionate way of addressing women of equal status testifies to the fact that
close family ties were held in high esteem. 6
Brothers assisted their fathers in providing protection to their sisters. Especially if the father was incapacitated or had died, a brother
became the protector of his unmarried sister(s). 7 Nuzi texts inform
us that a brother could take it upon himself to arrange his sister's
marriage. 8 A sister generally had less influence on her brother's life.
Yet she could take it upon herself to introduce the bride of her brother
into the new household. 9
B . UGARITIC LITERARY T E X T S

Ugaritic literature renders both an example of a sister acting out of

affection and love for her brother and of a sister whose vehement
emotions express the opposite of affection.
To start with the latter, the goddess 'Anatu threatened to kill her
brothers and sisters because they might rejoice in the misfortunes of
her husband Ba'lu who had no palace. She said she would use violence
against them if they did so (KTU 1.3:V.19-23)10:
19

[bnm.]b/120^.?/ 'ilm.

'Let not the sons of your mansion, Ilu,

6n[.]bh[t]k^a[1.t]mft
21
22

'al. 'ahdhm. bymny.

4

let not the daughters of your mansion rejoice,

'al. tmh. 6nm[.h]k/[k]

let not the children of your palace rejoice!

I shall make sure I seize them with my right hand,

R.M. Janssen, J.J. Janssen, Growing up in Ancient Egypt, London 1990,

122. See also L. Manniche, Sexual Life in Ancient Egypt, London 1987, 29; T.
Meacham, 'The Missing Daughter: Leviticus 18 and 20', ZAW 109 (1997), 256,
nn. 7-8. See further section 2.1.4.
5
See section 2.1.1.4.1.
6
See, e.g., CAD (A) 1, 172-3; R. Hannig, Groes Handwrterbuch
gyptischDeutsch: Die Sprache der Pharaonen (2800-950 v.Chr.) (Kulturgeschichte der
antiken Welt, 64), Mainz 1995, 714-5, s.v. snt.
7
Cf., e.g., J. Paradise, 'Marriage Contracts of Free Persons at Nuzi', JCS 39
(1987), 24, n. 69.
8
See section 2.1.1.1. On sisterhood adoption with regard to marriage arrangements, see S. Greengus, 'Sisterhood Adoption at Nuzi and the 'Wife-Sister' in
Genesis', HUCA 46 (1975), 5-31; R. Westbrook, Old Babylonian Marriage Law
(AfO.B, 23), Horn 1988, 103-7, and section 2.1.1.4.1.
9
C. Wilcke, 'Die Schwester des Ehemannes (/erib/), in: FPOA, 179-87.
10
Cf. De Moor, ARTU, 17; Wyatt, RTU, 86. For a different interpretation, see
Pardee, in: C0S, vol. 1, 254; Smith, in: Idem, UNP, 117.

['amh]s 23bgdlt. 'arkty.

I shall strike them with my long, mighty arm!'

'Anatu probably uttered the same threat in KTU 1.18:1.7-10 (restored), where she demanded that none of the children of Ilu, that is,
none of her brothers and sisters should make fun of her failure. After
having been ridiculed by Aqhatu who refused to give his bow to her,
she could not bear being mocked by her peers. 11
Out of affection, a sister could also act as her brother's vindicator.
When the remains of Aqhatu had been discovered, he was mourned
for seven years. Then his sister Pughatu wished to revenge his death
and asked for her father's blessing (KTU 1.19:IV.28-40):
28

And Pughatu, who carried water on her shoulder, said:

29

'So my father has brought a sacrifice for the gods,

he has made his incense rise to the celestial beings,

wt'n.pgt.tkmt.mym
qrym.'&b.dbh.X'ilm
30
S'iy.dgth.bSmym
31

dgt.hrnmy.dkbkbm

the incense of the Harnamite (to) the beings of the

stars 1 2 .
32
Itbrkn. 'alk.brktm
Please bless me, (that) I may go blessed,
33
imrn.'a/k.nmrrt
fortify me, (that) I may go fortified!
34
'imhs.mhs. 'ahy.
I want to slay the slayer of my brother,
'aklm 35kly[.^]l.h1mty
I want to destroy the destroyer of my kin!'
36
wy'n.dn
'.mt.rp'i.
And Dani'ilu, the Saviour's man, answered:
np.th[.]pg[t] 3 7 tkmt.
'(By) my soul! May Pughatu, who carries water on
mym.
her shoulder, live!
She who scoops up dew from the wool,
hspt.ls'r 3 8 tl.
yd't[.]hlk.kbkbm
who knows the course of the stars,
39
'arh.hy.mh.
may she travel 13 smoothly 14 !
tmhs.rnhs{.'&hh}
May she slay the slayer [of her brother],
40
tkl.mkly.'l. 'umth
may she destroy the destroyer of [her] kin!'

Meindert Dijkstra, among others, has pointed to the fact that Pughatu has much in common with the goddess 'Anatu (as Aqhatu
has with the god Ba'lu). Just as 'Anatu was revenging the death of
her 'brother' Ba'lu (KTU 1.6:11.30-35), likewise Pughatu was taking
upon herself the social duty of blood revenge. 15 However, the nature
11

On the parallelism bum || bnt || bnm, see section 2.1.4.

I prefer to read dkbkbm over KTU*'s rendering b kbkbm\ cf. Ch. Virolleaud,
La lgende phnicienne de Danel (MRS, 1), Paris 1936, 132 1. 186-7 || 193.
13
I reject KTU2's reading np '(By my) soul', since it totally disregards the
readings of Virolleaud (a[ )]and Herdner (a[-]/1); cf. Virolleaud, La lgende
phnicienne de Danel, 132 1. 201; Herdner, CTA, I, 91. On the reading as proposed
by the editors of KTU, cf. . Margalit, 'Lexicographical Notes on the AQHT Epic
(Part II: KTU 1.19)', UF 16 (1984), 170-1.
14
mh 'marrow' is used here in the adverbial sense, thus 'smoothly'; cf. P. Xella,
'Eblaite mu-hu ed ugaritico mh ri', SEL 1 (1984), 27-33. For some Hittite parallels see De Moor, ARTU, 229, n. 39.
15
M. Dijkstra, 'Some Reflections on the Legend of Aqhat', UF 11 (1979), 206-7.
12

of sistership of the female characters differed. Whereas Pughatu was

a biological sister of Aqhatu, 'Anatu was not. 16
A husband could refer to his wife as his 'sister', a lover's dsignation. In this manner Ba'lu called 'Anatu 'his sister' (KTU 1.3:IV.39;
1.10:11.16, 2 0 ) . 1 7

Ordered by their father, a brother could instruct his sister to execute certain tasks. Thus Iluha'u, one of Kirtu's sons was ordered
(KTU 1.16:1.25-45):
25

&n. 'al.tbkn

'My son, do not weep for me,

26

'al tdm.ly
27

'al tkl.bn

28

mh.r'isk
sh. 'ahtk

do not mourn for me.

qr. 'nk.

29

vdm't.

the marrow of your head for tears.

itmnt.
30

bt.hmh<m>h

Call your sister Thatmanatu,

d'an

tbkn.wtdm.ly
31

[ttb

Come back!
Speak by night,

33

yd 't.krhmt

'a1.it. bdm.mmh
35

36

Do not (yet) talk to your sister!

tr[gm.]11t.
dm. 'ahtk

34

37

tmtn.sb'a.rbt
38

w.tgh.nyr
40

mlk. 'T

rbt.

39

wrgm.l'ahtk

tmn.

dbh

41

'r.

qh.tpk byd
42
43

[m] rqstk?0.bm.ymn

1fc.r. '1 Sitt

16

for I know how compassionate your sister is.

Let her not (yet) turn on her water-works in the fields,
the outpouring of her soul on the heights. 19

bsmkt.s'at.npsh

krtn.dbh

the daughter whose passion is strongest(?), 18

let her weep and mourn for me.

'ahr.

'al.trgm.l'ahtk
32

Do not use up, my son, the fountain of your eyes,

You should await the setting of lady Shapshu,

and the turning in of the great Lamp.
Then speak to your sister Thatmanatu:
'Kirtu has sacrificed a sacrifice,
the king has served a banquet.
Take your tambourine in your hand,
your dance-drum in (your) right hand.
Go! Sing on the heights!

See J.C. de Moor, The Seasonal Pattern in the Ugaritic Myth of Ba'lu (AOAT,
16), Neukirchen 1971, 111; DLU, 20. N.H. Walls, The Goddess Anat in Ugaritic
Myth (SBL.DS, 135), Atlanta G A 1992, 89-94, although reluctant to acknowledge
that 'Anatu was Ba'lu's consort, agrees that they were of different parentage. On
Pughatu's revenge, see also section 2.1.4.
17
Cf. sections 2.1.1.1 and 2.1.1.4.1. On 'Anatu's alleged marriage proposal 'at
'ah w'an 'a[htk] 'You be my brother, and I will be your sister!' (KTU 1.18:1.23-24),
see section 2.1.1.1.
18
Based on new photographs, Greenstein, in: Smith, UNP, 32, n. 118, reads
d'an.
19
For smkt one might consider Watson's proposal 'soil', cf. W.G.E. Watson,
'Comments on Some Ugaritic Lexical Items', JNSL 22 (1996), 77-8.
20
On the reading see E.L. Greenstein, 'New Readings in the Kirta Epic', IOS
18 (1998), 112-3.

44

ndr.qrb.ksp
45

bmgn/c.whrs.lkl

Make a vow, 21 offer up silver,

as your personal gift, and gold for all (of us)!'

Thereupon Iluha'u went to the well where he met his sister at sunset
while she went out to draw water. After hearing her father's message
she passionately wept and grieved his approaching death.
The passage illustrates that a girl could be an accomplished singer
and musician whose skills were recognized by her father and brothers.
Apparently Iluha'u did not envy his sister's position as her father's
favourite. It seems likely that in the end she, the youngest daughter,
was to become her father's successor. 22 By emphasizing her father's
preference for her as a singer of dirges, the author of the Legend of
Kirtu paved the way for her future exaltation.
In KTU 1 . 2 4 : 3 6 the sisters of the moon goddess Nikallu are mentioned. Together with their father, mother and brothers they participated in the weighing of the terhatu. In this way the whole family
participated in the acceptance of their future son- and brother-inlaw. 23
C . H E B R E W BIBLE

In Israel sisters and brothers could have an affectionate relationship.

The woman in Song of Songs 8:1 wished her lover were her brother, so
that she might kiss him when meeting him on the street. 24 Apparently
no one would object to such an expression of sisterly love.
Yet the relationship between a sister and her brother should not
become too intimate. In Lev. 18:9, 11; 2 0 : 1 7 and Deut. 2 7 : 2 2 a sexual
relationship between a half brother and a half sister is prohibited. 25
The punishment for such a sin was excision, according to Lev. 2 0 : 1 7 .
Jacob Milgrom assumes that marriage with a half-sister was practiced
in Israel and was not considered a violation by those who were addressed by the law. 26 A sexual relationship with a full sister, on the
21

For the reading, see Greenstein, 'New Readings in the Kirta Epic', 114, who
aptly points to the irony of Kirtu's words: he himself had forgotten to fulfil his
vow of silver and gold to the goddess Athiratu.
22
See section 2.1.4.
23
See further section 2.1.1.3.1.
24
Cf. M.H. Pope, Song of Songs: A New Translation with Introduction and
Commentary (AncB, 7C), Garden City NY 1977, 657; I. Kottsieper, 'We Have a
Little Sister: Aspects of Brother-Sister-Relationship in Ancient Israel', in: J.W.
van Henten, A. Brenner (eds), Families and Family Relations: As Represented in
Early Judaisms and Early Christianities: Texts and Fiction (STAR, 2), Leiden
2000, 55.
25
Cf. Lafont, Femmes, Droit et Justice dans l'Antiquit orientale, 203-7. On
father-daughter incest, see section 2.1.4.
26
J . Milgrom, Leviticus 17-22 (AncB, 3A), New York 2000, 1742-3, 1753-4.

other hand, was considered to be incestuous. Milgrom explains the

fact that the full sister is not mentioned in the list of forbidden sexual relations (Lev. 18:6-23) with reference to Lev. 18:6 and 21:2. In
the former text a man is prohibited to have relations with his closest
relatives, who are summed up in the latter text. 27 With regard to the
missing prohibition in Lev. 20 to marry a full sister, he states,
Sexual congress with a full daughter or sister is missing, just as in
chap. 18. However, this chapter lists penalties. Surely, incest with a
full sister (same father and mother) or daughter (issue of his loins)
should incur the death penalty. The only solution that occurs to me
is that these two unions were not subject to human sanctions. A full
sister and an unmarried daughter are under the complete control of
the addressee. These unions would be conducted secretively. Even if
they became known, who would or could prosecute him? Perhaps this
explains their nonspecificity in 18:6, in which they are subsumed but
unnamed by the term s'r bsr
Nonetheless, although the perpetrator cannot be penalized by a human court, he is subject to krt
in the divine court (18:29).28
Thus, whereas marriage between a full brother and full sister was
rejected as incestuous, marriage between a half brother and half sister
did occur in biblical Israel, although the law codes prohibited it.
Scholars generally agree that the sexual relation of Amnon and
Tamar (2 Sam. 13) was a case of rape. 29 Difference exists, however,
on the question whether their's was regarded as a case of incest.
Jo Ann Hackett, among others, points to the fact that 'the narrator
emphasizes the intertwining relationships in this polygynous family'. 30
Tamar is referred to as a sister of Absalom (2 Sam. 13:1, 4, 20, 21) and
as a sister of Amnon (v. 2, 6,11). She is not explicitly called a daughter
of David; her relation to the king apparently was only indirect, via
27

Milgrom, Leviticus 17-22, 1523-33.

Milgrom, Leviticus 17-22, 1753.
29
Thus, e.g., C.J. Goslinga, Het tweede boek Samuel (COT), Kampen 1962, 23342; P.K. McCarter, II Samuel (AncB, 9), Garden City NY 1984, 314-28; F. van
Dijk-Hemmes, 'Tamar and the Limits of Patriarchy: Between Rape and Seduction
(2 Samuel 13 and Genesis 38)', in: M. Bai (ed.), Anti-Covenant: Counter Reading
Women's Lives in the Hebrew Bible (JSOT.S, 81) (BiLiSe, 22), Sheffield 1989,
135-56; A. van der Lingen, Vrouwen rond de koningen van oud-Isral, Zoetermeer
1997, 50-2; J.A. Hackett, '1 and 2 Samuel', in: C.A. Newsom, S.H. Ringe (eds),
The Women's Bible Commentary, London 21998, 99-100. Differently, but unconvincing, P.T. Reis, 'Cupidity and Stupidity: Woman's Agency and the "Rape" of
Tamar', JANES 25 (1997), 43-60.
30
Hackett, '1 and 2 Samuel', 99.
28

her brother Absalom. A virgin daughter's sexuality was under the

authority of her father. 31 When forced to have sexual intercourse with
her half-brother, Tamar begged him: 'Speak to the king; for he will not
withhold me from you' (v. 13). It is noteworthy that she referred to
David here not as her father, but as 'the king', which seems to imply
that she believed he would grant any request from the heir apparent. It
furthermore underscores that her relationship as a daughter towards
her father was considered of less importance by the narrator than that
of her half brother, who is called 'son of David' (v. 2). What becomes
clear in 2 Sam. 13 is that Tamar's role as a sister was more important
than her role as a daughter. As a sister she became a pawn in the
struggle between brothers over the succession to the throne.
It is questionable whether David would have permitted a marriage
between a half brother and half sister. According to the laws of Lev.
18:9, 11; 20:17 and Deut. 27:22 such a union would be forbidden, but
some scholars propose that these laws might not yet have been in
effect. Others refer to Abraham and Sarah (Gen. 20:12) and surmise
that perhaps such a relation was not (yet) considered incestuous since
Amnon and Tamar did not share the same mother. 32 Another possibility would be that, although incest was forbidden to common people,
these rules did not apply to royalty. 33 In my opinion it is most likely
that the narrator did consider the relation to be incestuous. However,
marriage of a half sister, after having sexual intercourse with her, was
to take precedence over sending her away after removing her virginity.
As king, David could have forced Amnon to take his responsibility to
marry his half sister, but he chose not to do so. Although it is reported that David was very angry (v. 21), he did not punish Amnon.
Apparently his first-born could get away with almost anything. 34
After having been raped and humiliated by her half brother Amnon, her full brother Absalom took Tamar in. She remained in the
house of her brother, while he planned to have the rapist killed. Perhaps in large families such as the royal family, where a man had
several women and many children, the daughters of the house were
primarily taken care of by their brothers, not by their fathers. Ingo
Kottsieper assumes that, prior to the Hellenistic period, a father was
mainly responsible for the interests of his family as a whole, while
31

See section 2.1.4.

On the wife/sister motif, see section 2.1.1.4.1.
33
See my quotation of intermarriage at the Egyptian court, above.
34
Cf. 2 Sam. 14:24, where Absalom is not permitted to come into the presence
of the king because he has killed his brother Amnon.
32

brothers represented the interests of their sisters. 35

An unmarried woman did not have authority over her own sexuality. It was her father, or if he had died, her brother, who had that
authority. Thus, when the honour of a unmarried woman was violated
because she was raped, this had its repercussion on the whole family, especially on her father and her brothers. Since their rights over
her sexuality were violated, they were dishonoured, too. Tragically,
David ignored the violation of his daughter's honour because his son
(Amnon) was the perpetrator. It was the full brother Absalom who
decided to take revenge. However, he may have been motivated more
by his wish to succeed to the throne than by his honour being hurt.
In the case of Dinah's premarital intercourse with Shechem here,
too, her brothers played a larger role than her father. Since Dinah's
family was dishonoured by the fact that Shechem did not properly
ask for her in marriage before lying with her, her brothers wanted to
take measures to restore their honour. 36 Their motivation to kill the
inhabitants and to plunder the city of Hamor and Shechem is voiced
in the rhetorical question 'Should our sister be treated like a whore?'
(Gen. 34:31). What they meant was, 'Should our sister be treated as
if she owned her own sexuality, as if she had no family to protect
her, to guard her sexuality, and to marry her off to someone?' 37 The
question indicates that a brother's honour was connected very closely
to his sister's sexual conduct before marriage.'
In the story of Dinah's ancestor Rebekah (Gen. 24), her brother
also played a larger role than her father. Laban was the one who spoke
with Abraham's servant about his mission. Although the father and
the brother answered the servant together, the marriage arrangements
of Rebekah were dealt with primarily by her brother. 38
Whereas the father of the woman in Song of Songs was absent, her
brothers played a certain role in watching over her sexual behaviour
35

Kottsieper, 'We Have a Little Sister', 72-80.

Cf. L.M. Bechtel, 'What if Dinah is not Raped? (Genesis 34)', JSOT 62
(1994), 19-36; C. Pressier, 'Sexual Violence and Deuteronomic Law', in: A. Brenner (ed.), A Feminist Companion to Exodus to Deuteronomy (FCB, 6), Sheffield
1994, 111; T. Frymer-Kensky, 'Virginity in the Bible', in: V.H. Matthews et al.
(eds), Gender and Law in the Hebrew Bible and the Ancient Near East (JSOT.S,
262), Sheffield 1998, 89; E. van Wolde, 'Does 'inn Denote Rape?: A Semantic
Analysis of a Controversial Word', VT 52 (2002), 528-44. For modern (feminist)
readers it is hard to accept that due to its androcentrism the narrator disregards
Dinah's point of view; cf. S. Scholz, Rape Plots: A Feminist Cultural Study of
Genesis 34 (Studies in Biblical Literature, 13), New York 2000.
37
Frymer-Kensky, 'Virginity in the Bible', 89.
38
On the marginal role of Bethuel, see also section 2.1.1.1.
36

(Song 1:6; 8:8-9). Although the brothers rejected their sister's permissiveness, they did not treat her as harshly as the guards of the
city, who beat and humiliated the woman (Song 5:7). Their's was
a less authoritarian relationship, 'based on emotions like affection,
fondness and responsibility'. 39
A sister could also have a certain influence on her brothers. In
Prov. 7:4a a man is told: 'Say to wisdom, "You are my sister" '. Sister Wisdom might keep him from the temptations personified by the
loose woman and the adulteress. A sister could have 'a guiding and
protecting function for her brother
' 40
Miriam also acted in a protecting capacity towards her baby
brother Moses. When he was put in a little basket in the reeds on
the riverbank, she stood at a distance to see what would happen to
him (Exod. 2:4). And when Pharaoh's daughter found him, she suggested that she look for a wet nurse, thus being able to return him to
their mother. Later on, when they were grown up, she and her brother
Aaron criticized Moses 'because of the Cushite woman whom he had
married' (Num. 12:1).41 Furthermore, they questioned Moses' authority and special position - 'Has the Lord spoken only through Moses?
Has he not spoken through us also?' (v. 2). Yet Miriam was punished more severely than her brother Aaron, for she became leprous.
However, both brothers spoke for her, Aaron to Moses and Moses
to YHWH, which resulted in her healing after a seven-day period of
confinement. 'Whatever tensions exist between Miriamic and Mosaic
points of view, they have not destroyed sibling affection'. 42
D . CONCLUSIONS

In general, the relationship between a sister and her brother was

one of affection. Love between siblings should not get too intimate,
however. Incest was condemned in all societies of the ancient Near
East, although it did occur occasionally in royal circles. The fact that
throughout the ancient Near East the terms 'brother' and 'sister' were
used by lovers to express their feelings of affection shows the closeness
between siblings. Love for one's brother could make a sister go on a
39

Kottsieper, 'We Have a Little Sister 1 , 55.

Kottsieper, 'We Have a Little Sister', 75-7 (76). This conclusion is valid even if
'sister' would be a term for the beloved here 'without connoting erotic attraction',
as stated by M.V. Fox, Proverbs 1-9 (AncB, 18A), New York 2000, 240.
41
According to some authors 'Aaron' may be an addition, cf., e.g., H. Jagersma,
Numeri: deel 1 (PrOT), Nijkerk 1983, 194; P.J. Budd, Numbers (WBC, 5), Waco
TX 1984, 133; De Moor, R0Y, 231.
42
P. Trible, 'Bringing Miriam out of the Shadows', in: A. Brenner (ed.), A
Feminist Companion to Exodus to Deuteronomy (FCB, 6), Sheffield 1994, 178.
40

daring mission, such as the Ugaritic Pughatu did. Yet to 'Anatu, love
for one's consort expressed itself in negative feelings towards her siblings. Biblical sisters could act in a protective manner towards their
brother (Exod. 2:4; Prov. 7:4a).
The relationship of a brother and his sister generally was not as
authoritarian as that of a father and his daughter. Especially when the
father was still alive, a brother's authority was a delegated authority.
When Kirtu was deadly ill, he told his son Iluha'u how to instruct
his sister on what to do with regard to his approaching death. In the
biblical narratives protection of a sister's virginity and honour by her
brothers plays an important role. With their father they often shared
in the responsibility of marrying her off to a good match. Furthermore,
in Gen. 34 and 2 Sam. 13 brothers take revenge on those who have
defiled their sister's honour. Yet it would seem that in Gen. 34 the fact
that the honour of the brothers was violated was of more importance
to them than the love for their sister. While Israelite brothers acted in
this manner even when their father was still alive, in Nuzi, brothers
- either biological or adopted - appear to have taken care of their
sisters as regards marriage only after their father's death. However,
the paucity of evidence calls for caution here.

2.1.4 Daughter
The position of a daughter was primarily fixed by her relationship
to her parents. In this section we will take a closer look into texts
regarding the preference of sons over daughters. As we have seen in
section 2.1.2, sons generally were preferred over daughters. On the
other hand, parents preferred a balanced family with both sons and
daughters.
We will also discuss the role of a daughter within the family. How
was a daughter treated within the family? Did she receive any education? We will look into her tasks and responsibilities.
One of the most important issues for an unmarried daughter appears to have been her virginity. A daughter was to remain chaste
until she married. But what if premarital sex did occur?
A father had authority over his daughter's sexuality. What did
this mean in regard to the view on incest between a father and his
daughter?
Another important question with regard to status is the matter
of inheritance. Could a daughter inherit at all, that is, become legal
owner of her father's property? Was this the case only if she had
no brothers? Or could she inherit together with her brothers? If she

inherited with her brothers, did this happen on an equal base?

A . ANCIENT NEAR EAST

In a society with a high mortality rate the continuity of a family

depended on a large number of children. Parents do not seem to have
had an outspoken preference for boys over girls, although the former
were welcomed more enthusiastically. Some Nuzi marriage contracts
contain a clause determining that a groom might take another wife if
the bride did not bear him children. Out of the nine contracts that
contain such a clause, only three explicitly demand that the bride
bear a son. The other six refer to children in general. 1
In Hittite ritual texts it is considered a blessing to have both male
and female children. Apparently a balanced family was valued highly.
A text in which the gods are invoked to bless the royal couple reads,
And provide the king (and) queen with life, health, long y[ears] (and)
children: male children (and) female children, to the first and second
generations (and) for the male (offspring) manliness (and) valor, (and)
for the female (offspring) womanliness (and) motherhood (provide)!2
Several Egyptian texts give evidence to the fact that, although daughters were welcomed, sons were preferred. 3 Wisdom literature stresses
the desirability to marry a wife and beget a son by her. 4 Yet in Egypt,
too, a balanced family with children of both sexes was considered a
blessing of the gods. 5 Since only a son could succeed his father as
pater familias, sons were welcomed more ardently than daughters in
Egypt. A son was also preferred because he could succeed his father
in his office. Only very rarely did a daughter succeed her father professionally. 6
The world of the gods reflected the familial relationships. An
Egyptian deity such as Ma'at was called daughter of Re and of Thot. 7
Most common in the pantheons of the ancient Near East was a divine
family consisting of a couple to whom sometimes a son was added.
Emma Brunner-Traut stresses the fact that it was a son and not a
daughter who made up this triad of deities. 'Eine solche Triade ist
1

J . Paradise, 'Marriage Contracts of Free Persons at Nuzi', JCS 39 (1987), 9.

KUB XV 34:11 17-19; cf. G.M. Beckman, Hittite Birth Rituals (StBT, 29),
Wiesbaden 1983, 4.
3
Cf. D. Franke, 'Tochter', L, Bd. 6, 610-2.
4
. Brunner-Traut, 'Die Stellung der Frau im Alten gypten', Saeculum 38
(1987), 326-7; E. Feucht, Das Kind im Alten gypten, Frankfurt 1995, 22-4, 55.
5
Feucht, Das Kind im Alten gypten, 46-9.
6
Feucht, Das Kind im Alten gypten, 55-84 (esp. 60-1, n. 221).
7
Brunner-Traut, 'Die Stellung der Frau im Alten gypten', 333.
2

der hufigste Gtterkreis in gypten und Urbild der irdischen Kernfamilie'. 8 Also in Mesopotamian religious texts many goddesses are
described as daughters of other deities. 9
In Egyptian Instructions advice is given on the treatment of several categories of women. Annette Depla notes that the category of the
daughters is missing, which she explains by referring to the purpose
of these wisdom texts, i.e., providing 'a framework for a successful
life'. A successful career and a good marriage were part of this, but
'[d]aughters did not directly impinge upon the furtherance of one's
career
' 10 Thus, daughters could be excluded as persons towards
whom one was instructed to behave correctly.
Sometimes a father would make no difference in his treatment
of sons and daughters. During the Egyptian Old Kingdom period a
certain high priest of Hathor, named Nek'onkh, appointed his daughter as well as his sons to act as priests of the goddess Hathor. The
daughter had the same function as the sons and received the same
stipend. 11
In Sumerian literature reference is made of a special chamber for
young daughters in the household, the ama5.12 This probably was
regarded as her domain. When her city was attacked by an enemy, a
young girl ran the risk of being killed if she did not leave her araa5 in
time. Luckily there also were happier reasons for a young girl to leave
her ama 5 , for instance when she went dancing.
A glance in a Babylonian dictionary reveals what the main destiny
of a daughter was - she had to marry. 13 Because girls married very
early, little time remained for more than a basic training in the skills
of managing a household. Also in Egypt a girl was prepared mainly for
her role as a married woman. 14 On the further education of daughters
little is known. There are many Egyptian sources on the education
of boys, but few on the schooling of girls. 15 Since a small number of
female scribes is known in Egypt, some girls must have had the oppor8

Brunner-Traut, 'Die Stellung der Frau im Alten gypten', 333.

CAD (M) 1, 303-4.
10
A. Depla, 'Women in Ancient Egyptian Wisdom Literature', in: L.J. Archer
et al. (eds), Women in Ancient Societies: An Illusion of the Night, Basingstoke,
Hampshire 1994, 29-30.
11
A.M. Blackman, O n the Position of Women in the Ancient Egyptian Hierarchy\ JEA 7 (1921), 25.
12
S.N. Kramer, 'The Woman in Ancient Sumer: Gleanings from Sumerian Literature', in: FPOA, 107-8.
13
Cf. CAD (M) 1, 300-3.
14
Franke, 'Tochter', 611.
15
Feucht, Das Kind im Alten gypten, 307-42 (336-9).
9

tunity of receiving an education in the skills of reading and writing.

They probably did not attend school, but were taught by a private tutor. A famous example of such a tutor is Senenmut, the 'father-tutor'
of princess Neferure, daughter of Hatshepsut. 16 Girls who were able
to read and write belonged to the upper classes of society. Since they
were not schooled to become a scribe in the Egyptian bureaucracy,
scholars assume that the purpose of educating these girls in the skills
of writing was 'a matter of culture'. 17 Girls were also schooled in the
arts of dance, music and song. 18 Also in Mesopotamia a few women
who were accomplished scribes and authors are known. 19
Daughters of lower class parents would not receive any formal education. Their mothers would teach them various tasks in the household, which they had to perform in their parents' home or as a maid
in the home of an upper class lady. 20 Thus they would gradually learn
to participate in their parents' activities, be it in agriculture, crafts,
or elsewhere. In larger families daughters would also have to take care
of little brothers and sisters. 21
In general, it was the task of a daughter to take care of her parents.
A Sumerian proverb reads: daughter is a man's favored (?) female
servant (?). A daughter-in-law is a man's gendarme'. 22 Apparently the
relationship of a father and his daughter could differ considerably from
that of a father-in-law and his daughter-in-law. The following proverb
also betrays an upset relationship: 'The pleasure of a daughter-in-law
is anger'. 23 Also in Egypt a daughter was expected to take care of her
father and mother. 24
Sometimes Mesopotamian girls were given in marriage at a very
young age. A girl would then live as a kallatu in the house of her
parents-in-law and be under the authority of her father-in-law. She
would have this status of kallatu, i.e. 'girl marrying into a family',
16

Cf. R.M. Janssen, J.J. Janssen, Growing up in Ancient Egypt, London 1990,
125, 127; H. Brunner, Altgyptische Erziehung, Wiesbaden 2 1991, 47. On female
scribes see further section 2.2.2.3.
17
R.M. Janssen, J.J. Janssen, Growing up in Ancient Egypt, 85. See further
W.A. Ward, 'Non-Royal Women and their Occupations in the Middle Kingdom',
in: WER, 35-6.
18
Brunner-Traut, 'Die Stellung der Frau im Alten gypten', 319.
19
W.W. Hallo, J.J.A. van Dijk, The Exaltation of Inanna, New Haven 1968, 15; W.W. Hallo, Origins: The Ancient Near Eastern Background of Some Modern
Western Institutions (SHCANE, 6), Leiden 1996, 262-70.
20
Feucht, Das Kind im Alten gypten, 337-9. See also section 2.1.2.
21
R.M. Janssen, J.J. Janssen, Growing up in Ancient Egypt, 49-53.
22
B. Alster, Proverbs of Ancient Sumer, vol. 1, Bethesda MD 1997, 245.
23
Alster, Proverbs of Ancient Sumer, vol. 1, 89.
24
Depla, 'Women in Ancient Egyptian Wisdom Literature', 29.

in regard to all members of her husband's family, except of course

her husband, to whom she was an aatu 'wife'. 25 Until she and her
future husband had come of age and the marriage was consummated,
she was considered to be inchoately married. 26
It was generally regarded as very important for a girl to enter
marriage being a virgin. This holds for all cultures of the ancient
Near East. 2 7 The concept of virginity is formulated in Akkadian by
denoting the absence of sexual intercourse. A virgin is a girl who has
not yet 'known' a man, who has not been 'opened'. 28 In his discussion
of Neo-Babylonian marriage contracts, Clemens Locher deals with the
question of how to translate batultu. In general, the term refers to an
age group ('nubile girl'). But in a limited number of Middle Assyrian
and Neo-Babylonian legal texts the word has the specific meaning of
'virgin'. 29
Although the term 'virgin' does not occur in Egyptian, the word
'defloration' is well known. 30 Brunner-Traut assumes that pre-marital
intercourse was not condemned but the girl was supposed to marry
her lover. 31 Christine Desroches Noblecourt, on the other hand, refers
to Egyptian marriage contracts in which virginity was required of the
bride. 32
Although considered taboo, incest occurred in all societies of the
25

G. Beckman, 'Family Values on the Middle Euphrates in the Thirteenth Century B.C.E.' in: M.W. Chavalas (ed.), Emar: The History, Religion and Culture
of a Syrian Town in the Late Bronze Age, Bethesda MD 1996, 69.
26
Cf. R. Westbrook, Old Babylonian Marriage Law (AfO.B, 23), Horn 1988,
36-9; Van der Toorn, Cradle, 64. For Nuzi, cf. E. C aasin, 'Pouvoirs de la femme
et structures familiales', RA 63 (1969), 128; S. Greengus, 'Sisterhood Adoption
at Nuzi and the "Wife-Sister" in Genesis', HUCA 46 (1975), 13. See also section
2.1.1.1.
27
On defloration of an inchoately married girl, see CU 6; CE 26; CH 130.
See further section 2.1.1.5. On defloration of a daughter who was not yet betrothed, see CLI 33; MAL A55-56; C. Locher, Die Ehre einer Frau in Israel:
Exegetische und rechtsvergleichende Studien zu Deuteronomium 22,13-21 (OBO,
70), Freiburg, Schweiz 1986; T. Jacobsen, The Harps That Once ...:
Sumerian
Poetry in Translation, New Haven 1987, 167-80 (174, . 18).
28
J.-J. Glassner, 'Women, Hospitality and the Honor of the Family', in: WER,
75-6.
29
Locher, Die Ehre einer Frau in Israel, 173-5. For the Late Babylonian period,
cf. CAD () 174; Locher, Die Ehre einer Frau in Israel, 234-5; A. Kuhrt, 'NonRoyal Women in the Late Babylonian Period: A Survey', in: WER, 225, . 55.
30
Cf. R. Tanner, 'Untersuchungen zur ehe- und erbrechtlichen Stellung der Frau
im pharaonischen gypten', Klio 49 (1967), 9.
31
Brunner-Traut, 'Die Stellung der Frau im Alten gypten', 325.
32
C. Desroches Noblecourt, La femme au temps des pharaons, Paris 1986, 274.
See also S. Allam, 'Ehe', in: L, Bd. 1, 1169.

ancient Near East. Still, the limits of relations which were considered
taboo and which were permitted differed in various cultures. The extension of the taboo might concern consanguineous as well as marital
kin. 33
In ancient Egypt incestuous marriages between father and daughter did not occur among commoners, but were tolerated in the royal
family. 34 Amenophis III (1388-1351/50 BOB) and Ramesses II (12791213 BCE), for example, are generally believed to have married one
of their daughters. 35 Some scholars, however, doubt whether these
daughters really had a sexual relationship with their fathers and assume they only 'performed some ceremonies which were specifically
reserved for the wife of Pharaoh'. 3 6
According to the Babylonian Code of Hammurapi, a man who
'carnally knew his daughter', was to be banished from the city ( 154).
Richard Haase finds it remarkable that, contrary to Hittite Law 189
and biblical law (Lev. 18:6,29), the perpetrator was not condemned to
33

A. Brenner, 'On Incest', in: Idem (ed.), A Feminist Companion to Exodus to

Deuteronomy (FCB, 6), Sheffield 1994, 124-9.
34
L. Manniche, Sexual Life in Ancient Egypt, London 1987, 29: 'The royal family
of the last three centuries BC, of Greek descent, provided numerous examples of
marriage between closely related persons, and for this reason Egypt had acquired
a reputation of being almost the cradle of incest. This was supported by the very
literal interpretation by the early Egyptologists of the words 'sister' and 'brother',
used among lovers and married people.
In pharaonic Egypt incest was the exception, not the rule, but within the
royal family special circumstances applied. For reasons of legitimacy a pharaoh
might marry his half-sister, or perhaps one of his daughters, as did Ramesses II.
Amenophis III may have had a relationship with one of his daughters, too, and,
according to the way in which the evidence is interpreted, this may also have been
the case with Akhenaten. . . . Among ordinary people marriage between closely
related persons was by no means common (unregistered cases of incest of course
remain unknown). Among the numerous liaisons which it has proved possible to
investigate, there is only a single one which can be said to be incestuous; two are
'almost certain', two more are 'unlikely, but possible'. In all instances it was a
question of half-sisters or half-brothers. On the basis of the available material it
can therefore be ascertained that nothing suggests that incest was common among
ordinary people in ancient Egypt'.
35
Desroches Noblecourt, La femme au temps des pharaons, 54-8; G. Robins,
Women in Ancient Egypt, London 1993, 29-30.
36
Cf. R.M. Janssen, J.J. Janssen, Growing up in Ancient Egypt, 121. See also
section 2.1.3 on their explanation of brother-sister marriages within the Egyptian
context.
However, father-daughter incest may have occurred not only in the New Kingdom period, but also in earlier times. Senofru, the first ruler of the Fourth Dynasty,
is believed to have had an incestuous marriage with his daughter Nefretkau. His
son Nefermaat would have been born out of this relationship; cf. W.K. Simpson,
'Nefermaat', L, Bd. 4, 376.

death. 37 He further notes that CH 154 is silent about the daughter's

fate. Haase thinks the Code assumes that the daughter did not resist
or cry for help, which, according to him, would make her a perpetrator
as well. CH 154 would then be an exception to the rule that an
incestuous couple should be killed. However, Haase ignores the fact,
noted by Godfrey Driver and John Miles and confirmed by modern
studies on incest 38 , that power imbalance plays a major role in fatherdaughter incest. Driver and Miles state that as the daughter 'is under
the dominion of her father, she cannot be regarded as a free agent and
presumably is not punished'. 39 Moreover, it is questionable whether
Haase is right in stating that HL 189 requires the death penalty
for the father. The incestuous act is condemned as hurkel, which is
-

interpreted by Haase as a capital offense, but translated by Harry

Hoffner with 'unpermitted sexual pairing'. 40 There is definite evidence
that a Hittite father could be purified of this sexual offense by certain
rituals. 41 With regard to biblical law, Haase cites the comprehensive
statements of Lev. 18:6,29 only, but omits to mention that fatherdaughter incest is not mentioned among the particular cases of incest
enumerated in the Bible (see below).
We must conclude, therefore, that incest between father and daughter was seen as a sexual offense in the ancient Near East, but was not
punished as harshly as when a man had intercourse with a woman
under another man's authority.
37

R. Haase, 'Inzestuse Beziehungen im Codex Hammurapi', ZADR 5 (1999),

66-7.
38
See, e.g., M.M. Fortune, Sexual Violence: The Unmentionable Sin, Cleveland OH 1983; D.E.H. Russell, The Secret Trauma: Incest in the Lives of Girls
and Women, New York 1986; J.L. Herman, Trauma and Recovery: Prom Domestic Abuse to Political Terror, New York 1992; R.R. Ganzevoort, A.L. Veerman,
Geschonden lichaam: pastorale gids voor gemeenten die geconfronteerd worden met
seksueel geweld, Zoetermeer 1999. With kind regards to drs. Alexander Veerman
for bringing these titles to my attention.
39
G.R. Driver, J.C. Miles, The Babylonian Laws, repr., vol. 1, Oxford 1956, 318.
40
H.A. Hoffner, The Laws of the Hittites: A Critical Edition (DMOA, 23), Leiden 1997, 224: 'One should not translate hurkel as "capital crime", since there
were many offences requiring the death penalty which are not labelled hurkel
Furthermore, we know from texts later than the laws that hurkel was punishable
in some localities by death and others [sic] by banishment, and ritual fragments
show that an offender could be purified by ritual from the effects of hurkel so
as to go on living in his original community, thus avoiding even the necessity of
banishment
'
41
H.A. Hoffner, 'Incest, Sodomy and Bestiality in the Ancient Near East 1 , in:
H.A. Hoffner (ed.), Orient and Occident: Essays presented to Cyrus H. Gordon
on the Occasion of his Sixty-fifth Birthday (AOAT, 22), Kevelaer & NeukirchenVluyn 1973, 81-90.

It sometimes happened that a father had sexual intercourse with

his future daughter-in-law (kallatu) living under his roof, which was
regarded as an incestuous relation. According to CH 156 the fatherin-law then had to give her a compensationary pay and return to her
everything she had brought in from her father's house, whereupon
she was free to marry whomever she pleased. 42 If it happened during
the time a kallatu already had a sexual relationship with the son,
the father-in-law was to be drowned (CH 155), since he had acted
adulterous towards his son's marriage. With regard to CH 155, too,
Haase assumes the daughter-in-law is considered guilty by law. 43 He
thinks 129 is applicable to both the daughter-in-law and the fatherin-law, which would make 155 redundant. But since the Code is a
balanced and well-considered corpus, it is more likely that Haase's
interpretation is incorrect. The kallatu probably was not considered
a free agent and was therefore not held liable to punishment. 44
Beside the (lack of) authority over her own sexuality, a daughter's
right to inherit is also an important subject with regard to her status.
Generally, if an ancient Near Eastern father had sons, they would
inherit his property. In the absence of sons, daughters could inherit.
Gudea of Lagash (ca. 2150 BCE) already declared: 'In the house in
which there is no son as an heir, I have made the daughter an heir'. 45
And the law code of Lipit-Ishtar (ca. 1930 BCE) states 'If a man dies
without male offspring, an unmarried daughter shall be his heir'. 46
CH 180-182 also sheds a light on a daughter's rights of inheritance. These paragraphs refer to religious women in their function
of nadtu, sekretu, qaditu or kulmatu. If their father did not give
them a dowry (ektu), they were entitled to the usufruct of a share
of the estate. 47 They were not allowed to sell their inheritance, which
implies they were not proper heirs. After their death the share of these
42

Westbrook, Old Babylonian Marriage Law, 37, notes that, although the
kallatu is inchoately married, the relationship is not considered adulterous since
the father-in-law is an inside party to the inchoate marriage.
43
Haase, 'Inzestuse Beziehungen im Codex Hammurapi', 67-8.
44
Driver, Miles, The Babylonian Laws, vol. 1, 319-20. On CH 155-156 see further S. Lafont, Femmes, Droit et Justice dans l'Antiquit orientale: Contribution
l'tude du droit pnal au Proche-Orient ancien (OBO, 165), Fribourg, Suisse
1999, 209-14.
45
Gudea Statue B, col. vii:44-6. Cf. H. Steible, Die neusumerischen Bau- und
Weihinschriften (FAOS 9/1), Tl. 1, Wiesbaden 1991, 172-3: '(In) ein Haus (,das)
keinen Erbsohn hat, habe ich dessen Tochter zu dessen 'Erbsohn' gemacht'.
46
Roth, LCMAM, 26.
47
On the dowry, especially the difference between a female dowry and a male
share of the inheritance, see section 2.1.1.3.1.

religious women went to their brothers or other male relatives. 48

Driver and Miles infer from these laws that ordinary daughters
were also entitled to a share of the estate if their father had not provided them with a dowry.49 Since a woman usually either married and
received a dowry or became a religous woman, it rarely happened that
an unmarried woman received a share of her father's estate together
with her brothers. Like the share of the religious woman, that of the
unmarried woman would eventually become the property of her male
relatives.
Although a Babylonian father might have only daughters and no
sons, it was not very likely that he, if he were a man of some wealth,
would leave it at that. He would either take a second wife or sire
a son with a slave woman and claim him as his own. If he chose
not to take another woman or did not beget any sons with her, he
could adopt a son and possibly give one of his daughters to him in
marriage. 50 It would seem that, although daughters could participate
as heirs to their father's estate, this did not happen often and if it
did, a document was needed to warrant their rights. 51
From Nuzi we have a fairly extensive body of texts relating to
a daughter's inheritance. A Nuzi daughter who inherited from her
father could be a sole heir or a joint heir. 52 If she was a joint heir, she
could share the right of inheritance with her brother(s) on an equal
basis, 53 or she could be a secondary heir. In the latter case, either
her adoptive brother who usually also happened to be her husband
would be chief heir 54 or her (biological) brother(s) would be principal
48

CH 178-179 states that only if a father had given his daughter, a religious
woman, written authority to give the estate which he had given her as a dowry to
whomever she pleased, was she allowed to dispose of it freely. Without the written
authority the inheritance belonged to her brothers.
49
Driver, Miles, The Babylonian Laws, vol. 1, 335-8.
50
Driver, Miles, The Babylonian Laws, vol. 1, 341.
51
CH 178-179. For such a legal document from eighteenth-century Alalakh,
cf. ANET, 545-6; Z. Ben-Barak, 'Inheritance by Daughters in the Ancient Near
East', JSS 25 (1980), 28-31. Both the son and the daughter of the testator inherit,
yet the son is given first choice in the property and the share of the daughter is
smaller than that of the son.
52
For the former, cf. HSS 19 20; J. Paradise, Daughter and her Father's
Property at Nuzi', JCS 32 (1980), 191. For a Middle Assyrian inheritance text
declaring a daughter as sole heir, cf. J.N. Postgate, 'On Some Assyrian Ladies',
Iraq 41 (1979), 89-91.
53
In HSS 19 1 the two daughters Allaidurhe and Talili participate with their
brothers in an equal division of their father's estate, cf. Paradise, Daughter
and her Father's Property at Nuzi', 192 (Teshuperwe is incorrectly designated as
female in the transliteration of 1. 14).
54
HSS 19 51; cf. Paradise, Daughter and her Father's Property at Nuzi',

heir(s) and her inheritance rights to the property were restricted. It

would seem that she then had only the usufruct of it. 55
If a Nuzi father wanted to secure his daughter's inheritance rights,
he could give her the status of 'son'. 56 As an heir, the legal position
of a 'son' was stronger than that of a daughter. Having the status of
'son' warranted a daughter's inheritance rights against claims made
by other relatives, because a son's rights took precedence over those
of any other male relative. 57
The situation in thirteenth-century Emar resembled that of Nuzi.
Here daughters also could inherit their father's property. Yet in order
to inherit they needed to be formally endowed with male gender.
A number of Emarite testaments declare a daughter to be 'father
and mother' of the house, 58 meaning that she became guardian of
the family and had the right to usufruct of the family property. In
other testaments a daughter received 'male and female' status, by
which she became an heir. 59 Further, a father could also adopt the
future husband of his daughter as son and make him a (co-)heir of his
property. 60 The daughter would thus share in the inheritance via her
husband.
191.
55
Paradise, Daughter and her Father's Property at Nuzi', 198, refers to two
documents, RA 23 143 no. 5 and HSS 5 59. The understanding of the text of RA
23 143 no. 5 and the paucity of evidence calls for caution (199-202).
56
K. Grosz, 'Daughters Adopted as Sons at Nuzi and Emar', in: FPOA, 81-6;
J. Paradise, 'Daughters as "Sons" at Nuzi', in: D.I. Owen, M.A. Morrison (eds),
Studies on the Civilization and Culture of Nuzi and the Hurrians, vol. 2, Winona
Lake IN 1987, 203-13; Z. Ben-Barak, 'The Legal Status of the Daughter as Heir
in Nuzi and Emar', in: M. Heltzer, . Lipinski (eds), Society and Economy in the
Eastern Mediterranean (c. 1500-1000 B.C.), Leuven 1988, 91-3.
The number of wills among the Nuzi corpus is relatively small. Paradise, 204,
mentions twenty-four published mtu documents drawn in favour of principal
heirs. Two of these, Sumer 32, no. 2 and YBC 5142, hold the phrase ana mrti
epu 'to take into sonship' with reference to daughters.
57
Paradise, Daughter and her Father's Property at Nuzi', 197; Idem, 'Daughters as "Sons" at Nuzi', 205.
58
E.g., D. Arnaud, Recherches au pays d'Astata (Emar, 6/3), Paris 1986, no.
31; G. Beckman, Texts from the Vicinity of Emar: in the Collection of Jonathan
Rosen (HANE/M, 2), Padova 1996, no. RE 57.
59
Cf. Beckman, Texts from the Vicinity of Emar, nos. RE 15, 85. See further
Ben-Barak, 'The Legal Status of the Daughter as Heir in Nuzi and Emar', 93-5;
Th. Kmmerer, 'Zur sozialen Stellung der Frau in Emar und Ekalte als Witwe und
Waise', UF 26 (1994), 169-208; J. Goodnick Westenholz, Cuneiform Inscriptions
in the Collection of the Bible Lands Museum Jerusalem. The Emar Tablets (CM,
13), Groningen 2000, 9-12 (no. 3).
60
Beckman, 'Family Values on the Middle Euphrates in the Thirteenth Century
B.C.E.' 63.

In Egypt, a daughter could inherit both from her father and her
mother. 61 Although often the oldest son was main heir, a parent could
also appoint a daughter as either sole or main heir. Other options were
to bequeath property to some of the children (e.g., only the sons), or
to all children. 62 Sometimes a father left his sons and daughters equal
shares, like a certain Pashed probably did in the Ramesside period. 63
A daughter could also be disinherited, for instance if she did not take
proper care of her mother in her old age. 64 No rules on the amount
of individual inheritances can be deduced from the texts. It would
seem that the eldest son received a larger share than the other sons
and that daughters often received less than sons. 65 If the property was
undivided, it could be managed by an appointed administrator. Often
the eldest son would act in this capacity on behalf of the joint heirs.
Yet a woman could also be administrator of an undivided property. 66
To conclude, in Mesopotamia daughters had the legal right to inherit if there were no sons. To secure their status as heiresses, they
could receive the status of 'son' or be given legal documents granting them the right to inherit. Contrary to the laws of Mesopotamia,
where daughters generally did not inherit together with sons, in Egypt
daughters together with sons could inherit from both parents. However, since we do not have any Egyptian law texts, we do not know
whether daughters had the legal right to inherit.
61

P.W. Pestman, 'The Law of Succession in Ancient Egypt', in: J. Brugman et

ai, Essays on Oriental Laws of Succession (SDIO, 9), Leiden 1969, 59; Feucht, Das
Kind, im, Alten gypten, 182-4, 210-23; J.K. Toivari, Women at Deir el-Medina:
A Study of the Status and Roles of the Female Inhabitants in the Workmen's
Community during the Ramesside Period, Leiden 2000, 92-103.
62
P.W. Pestman, Marriage and Matrimonial Property in Ancient Egypt: A Contribution to Establishing the Legal Position of the Woman (PLB, 9), Leiden 1961,
117-24; Tanner, 'Untersuchungen zur ehe- und erbrechtlichen Stellung der Frau
im pharaonischen gypten', 32.
63
Feucht, Das Kind im Alten gypten, 218.
64
See, for example, the statement of the Naunakhte, dating from the Twentieth
Dynasty, in which this mother of eight children disinherits two of her daughters and one son and further partly disinherits one more daughter; cf. Pestman,
Marriage and Matrimonial Property in Ancient Egypt, 162-4.
65
Pestman, 'The Law of Succession in Ancient Egypt', 65-6. However, Pestman
notes that 'it is very well possible that a daughter who apparently receives less
than her brothers does not in actual fact receive less because she has already
received the remainder on the occassion of her marriage' (65). And cf. Toivari,
Women at Deir el-Medina, 101, who assumes gender did not influence the allotment of property.
66
Pestman, 'The Law of Succession in Ancient Egypt', 64-5; S. Allam, 'Women
as Owners of Immovables in Pharaonic Egypt', in: WER, 128-9; Feucht, Das Kind
im Alten gypten, 211.

If daughters did not always share in the family fortune, they certainly shared in the family's misfortune. If Babylonian freeborn parents became insolvent, they might use their daughter as a security for
a debt. If eventually the debt could not be repaid, she might end up
as a slave. 67 The fate of being used as security could befall children of
both sexes. A debtor probably did not have the right to use his wife
as security. 68 It seems that parents would rather sell a daughter into
slavery than a son, the reason obviously being that a son continued
the family line, whereas a daughter did not. Of nine Neo-Babylonian
documents which are part of a family archive of a certain Ninurtauballit and which concern the sale of children of free persons into
slavery, only one records the sale of a boy. In the other instances the
children sold into slavery are girls. 69
Also in Egypt children may have been sold into slavery because of
insolvency. It is believed that this group formed the lowest stratum
of society. 70
B . UGARITIC LITERARY T E X T S

Daughters occur in the myths and the legends of Ugarit, but sons are
mentioned more often and play a more prominent role. 71 It is said
of Ilu and Athiratu that they had seventy children. Apparently the
daughters, i.e. the goddesses, were included in this number. This may
be inferred from KTU 1.4:VI.44-59, in which a description of Ba'lu
regaling his guests is given,
44

sh. 'ahh.bbhth
'aiyh

45

bqrb hklh.

46

sh sb'm.bn. 'atrt
47

pq 'ilm.krm.yn
48

pq. 'ilht.hprt[.yn]

49

pq. 'ilm. 'a/pm.y[n]

50

pq. 'ilht. 'arht[.yn]

51

pq. 'ilm.khtm.yn
52

pq. 'ilht.ks'at[.yn\

53

pq. 'ilm.rhbt yn
54

55

pq. 'ilht.dkr<t y n >

'd.lhm.ty. 'ilm
56

wpq.mrgtm.td

67

He invited his brothers to his mansion,

his kin inside his palace,
he called the seventy children of Athiratu.
he supplied the ram gods with wine,
he supplied the ewe goddesses with wine.
He supplied the ox gods with wine,
he supplied the cow goddesses with wine.
He supplied the throne gods with wine,
he supplied the chair goddesses with wine.
He supplied the vase gods with wine,
he supplied the bowl goddesses with wine.
Again they ate, the gods drank,
and they were supplied with a suckling,

Kuhrt, 'Non-Royal Women in the Late Babylonian Period', 233.

Cf. M.A. Dandamaev, Slavery in Babylonia, rev. ed., DeKalb IL 1984, 168-9.
69
Dandamaev, Slavery in Babylonia, 170-2.
70
Robins, Women in Ancient Egypt, 138; E. Feucht, Das Kind im alten gypten,
Frankfurt 1995, 206, 341.
71
Cf. Korpel, RiC, 252-4.
68

57

bhrb.mlht.qs

with a salted knife they carved a fatling.

[.m]r58 '1

?/./crp[nm.y]n
59

[b]ks.hrs.d[m.'sm]

They drank beakers of wine,

from golden cups blood from the trees.

Although at first it seems as if only the gods were invited, since both
'ilm and 'ilht were supplied with wine, the female deities probably
were included in the number seventy. In the lines describing the gods
eating and drinking (lines 55-59) again the masculine 'ilm occurs,
which might be used in an inclusive sense.
Inclusive use of bnm occurs in KTU 1.3:V. 19-23. In a tricolon
the words bnm || bnt || bnm occur, which is translated with sons ||
daughters || children. Because of the form of the verse, a tricolon, it
is clear that the second bnm should be translated with its inclusive
meaning. Thus, the masculine plural bnm can be interpreted both in
a gender-specific and an inclusive way.72
The designation bt 'ugrt 'daughter of Ugarit' occurs in KTU 1.40:
35 and 3.4:11. 73 KTU 1.40 is a ritual text with alternating sections
adressing the bn 'ugrt and the bt 'ugrt.7'1
It would seem that Ugaritians preferred sons over daughters. In
some cases it apparently was essential to have a son. The legendary
king Kirtu explicitly wished for sons to continue his clan instead of
riches (KTU 1.14:11.4-5):
4

[p.b]nm. 'aqny
5

[w.nj'rm. 'am'id

No, sons I want to sire,

and boys 75 I want to beget!

Apparently only sons could prevent the wiping out of the family.
Another legendary king without offspring, Dani'ilu, also prayed for a
son to continue the family line (KTU 1.17:1.16-19). The reason for his
wish is disclosed in the following passage (11. 26-27): the son was to
fulfill the religous obligations towards the ancestors.
Kirtu's wish for sons was not entirely fulfilled. Although Kirtu had
made it clear he wanted male children, Ilu blesssed him with both sons
and daughters, the latter forming the majority. It seems as if Ilu or perhaps I should say the scribe Ilimilku - deliberately used the
ambiguous word bnm which can mean both 'sons' and 'children'. Of
course the latter meaning needs to be applied here (KTU 1.15:11.23).
72

Possible inclusive use of bnm may also occur in the restored text KTU 1.18:1.710, where sons and daughters are mentioned next to each other. See section 2.1.3.
73
On the latter text, see chapter 4.
74
Cf. J.C. de Moor, P. Sanders, 'An Ugaritic Expiation Ritual and its Old
Testament Parallels', UF 23 (1991), 283-300. Pace the editors of KTU2, who
restore &<n>i.
75
The editors of KTU2 read Srm 'leaders, princes'. In either case the word is
masculine.

Kirtu's wife Hariya bore her husband two boys, and soon thereafter
six girls.76 And whereas Kirtu might have had a preference for sons,
Ilu did not seem to share this. The head of the pantheon did not
distinguish between male and female children. In both instances he
expressed the same blessing (KTU 1.15:111.2-4, 13-15):
m'id.rm.krt
btk.rp'i. 'ars
bphr.qbs.dtn

Be greatly exalted, Kirtu,

among the Saviours of the country,
in the gathered assembly of Ditanu. 77

To both Kirtu and Dani'ilu the continuation of the family line was at
stake. The legends narrate how the kings begot sons, but tragically
lost them again. Consequently, their daughters had to take over the
tasks of sons. In the Legend of Kirtu it was the eighth child, the girl
Thatmanatu, who became the first-born (KTU 1.15:111.16).78 And in
the Legend of Aqhatu it was Dani'ilu's daughter Pughatu who, in
place of her father, revenged her brother Aqhatu (KTU 1.19:IV). 79
These two cases of daughters acting as replacements of sons can possibly be seen as a critique on society 80 or as an ideological programme
to defend women's capability to rule the kingdom of Ugarit 81 .
The importance of having a male heir is also expressed in RS
15.010:1-9. In this bilingual wisdom text a warning is given in Akkadian, followed by a H u m a n translation. If a person vowed to give
silver to the gods, he had to keep his promise and deposit it. For if he
swore falsely, he would be withheld an heir (aplu) and his wife would
76

For a discussion of the number of Hariya's children, see section 2.1.2.

Although the text is restored in 11. 2-4, its restoration is universally accepted.
78
Cf. De Moor, ARTU, 207, n. 54; K. Spronk, 'The Legend of Kirtu (KTU 1.1416): A Study of the Structure and its Consequences for Interpretation', in: W. van
de Meer, J.C. de Moor (eds), The Structural Analysis of Biblical and Canaanite
Poetry (JSOT.S, 74), Sheffield 1988, 80. Differently, Greenstein, in: Smith, UNP,
45, n. 74; Wyatt, RTU, 212, n. 157.
According to some scholars, lady Hariya was also called a firstborn (KTU
1.14:111.40); cf. Amico, SWU, 146; Greenstein, in: Smith, UNP, 17; Wyatt, RTU,
196, n. 96. Yet with G. del Olmo Lete, Mitos y leyendas de Canaan: segun la
tradicion de Ugarit (FCiBi, 1), Madrid 1981, 296; De Moor, ARTU, 197, and
others, I prefer to translate 'the most gracious of the family of your firstborn'.
79
See section 2.1.3.
80
Thus B. Margalit, 'Lexicographical Notes on the AQHT Epic (Part I: KTU
1.17-18)', UF 15 (1983), 67-8, with regard to the Legend of Aqhatu.
81
Thus M.C.A. Korpel, 'Exegesis in the Work of Ilimilku of Ugarit', in: J.C. de
Moor (ed.), Intertextuality in Ugarit and Israel: Papers ... Oxford, 1997 (OTS,
40), Leiden 1997, 106-11. Korpel proposes that in the final days of Ugarit, its
dynasty may have been in danger of collapsing since no direct male descendant
was available. She assumes Ilimilku lived in those final days, and may have wanted
to emphasize the eligibility of women to royal succession.
77

never bear a son (dumu).82 In this connection the (broken) oath of

Kirtu comes to mind. The silver and gold he had promised but failed
to give to Athiratu, ultimately caused the loss of his children except
for the youngest girl. 83 Another text testifying to the wish to have a
son is the omen text 1.141: I agptr k yqny gzr b'altyy 'For Agiptharri,
that he will sire a boy with (literally: in) the Alashian (woman)'. 84
Daughters were supposed to be respectable, that is, remain chaste
until their marriage. Fathers were supposed to protect the respectability of their daughters. KTU 1.4:VI.5-14 may be regarded in light of
this. The god of craftsmanship Kotharu-and-Khasisu offered Ba'lu
to put a window in his newly built palace. But the latter refused; a
window in his palace might give Ba'lu's daughters the opportunity to
leave their father's house unnoticed, or give an unobserved intruder
the chance to enter. 85 Yet since the text is restored we need to be
cautious. 86 On the other hand, texts from the Hebrew Bible as well
as several ivory objects depicting the 'woman in the window' appear
to support the reading. 87
A protective attitude of a father did not have to imply that daughters were confined to the inner rooms of the house. Daughters, even
those of marriageble age, probably had a certain freedom of movement. In the Myth of Ba'lu, the god took two of his daughters with
him on his journey to the nether world, an expedition not without its
82

Cf. M. Dijkstra, 'The Akkado-Hurrian Bilingual Wisdom-Text RS 15.010 Reconsidered', UF 25 (1993), 164-5.
83
Cf. KTU 1.14:IV.34-43; 1.15:111.25-30.
84
The genre of the text renders a translation like 'that he will acquire a boy
from' (cf. M. Dietrich, . Loretz, Mantik in Ugarit: Keilalphabetische Texte der
Opferschau - Omensammlungen Nekromatie (ALASP, 3), Mnster 1990, 8-11)
less likely, but for my argument it does not make any difference whether the boy
was bought or not. Since the woman is referred to as 'the Alashian' instead of 'his
wife', she may have been a concubine. If so, Agiptharri's first wife probably was
not able to give him a son. KTU 4.714 and 6.62 may indicate that the wish came
true.
85
See section 2.1.1.1.
86
Cf. for a somewhat different interpretation Pardee, in: C0S, vol. 1, 261, n.
173.
87
On the iconography of the 'woman in the window', cf. U. Winter, Frau und
Gttin: Exegetische und ikonographische Studien zum weiblichen Gottesbild im AIten Israel und in dessen Umwelt (OBO, 53), Freiburg, Schweiz 1983, 296-301; O.
Keel, Ch. Uehlinger, Gttinnen, Gtter und Gottessymbole: Neue Erkenntnisse
zur Religionsgeschichte Kanaans und Israels aufgrund bislang unerschlossener
ikonographischer Quellen (QD, 134), Freiburg 1992, 225-6. In the Hebrew Bible a
woman in a window is mentioned in Judg. 5:28; 2 Sam. 6:16; 2 Kgs 9:30. See also
1 Sam. 19:12; Song 2:9.

risks (KTU 1.5:V.10-11).88

A father, at least in mythology, could also send his daughter on
a dangerous mission on her own. Thus, in KTU 1.6:III-IV Shapshu was ordered by her father Ilu to seek Ba'lu, who was staying
in the realm of the nether world. 89 The initiative to go on a dangerous mission could also come from the daughter. In the Legend of
Aqhatu, Pughatu wished to revenge her brother Aqhatu. She asked
her father Dani'ilu for his blessing over the task she was going to perform (KTU 1.19:IV.28-40),90 whereupon she set out to execute the
blood vengeance for her father. 91 One wonders whether it was a normal procedure for an Ugaritic daughter to perform blood vengeance.
It may have been her task because there was no son to fulfill this
obligation. 92
At Ugarit it was the task of a daughter to take care of her father
when he was in a condition of physical weakness. 93 When the god
Ba'lu came home from his journey through the nether world 94 his
daughter Tallayu 95 stroked his head and rubbed his legs and horns 96
(KTU 1.101:5-7).
88

See also further below.

Yet the emphasis here is not on the fact that she was a daughter. It was in her
role as Lamp of the gods that Shapshu went out to search for Ba'lu in the dark
world beyond which she visited every night. Cf. S.A. Wiggins, 'Shapsh, Lamp
of the Gods', in: N. Wyatt et al. (eds), Ugarit, Religion and Culture (UBL, 12),
Mnster 1996, 327-50 (334-5).
90
See section 2.1.3.
91
Cf. De Moor, ARTU, 263, n. 247.
92
In the Hebrew Bible, human vengeance was a male task, cf. H.G.L. Peels,
The Vengeance of God: The Meaning of the Root NQM and the Function of the
NQM-Texts in the Context of Divine Revelation in the Old Testament (OTS, 31),
Leiden 1995, 43-102. Differently, Amico, SWU, 155.
93
It also was the task of a wife to take care of her husband when he had fallen
ill, cf. KTU 1.16:VI.14-21 and section 2.1.1.4.1.
94
Although KTU 1.101 did not originally belong to the Ba'lu myth, I assume
it is closely connected to its beginning. Cf. J.C. de Moor, The Seasonal Pattern
in the Ugaritic Myth of Ba'lu (AOAT, 16), Neukirchen-Vluyn 1971, 7; Del Olmo
Lete, Mitos y leyendas de Canaan, 115, n. 126; M. Dijkstra, 'Once Again: The
Closing Lines of the Ba'al-Cycle (KTU 1.6.VI.42ff)', UF 17 (1985), 148.
95
Although it has been suggested that Tallayu and her sisters Pidrayu and
Arsayu were wives of Ba'lu - e.g., by U. Cassuto, The Goddess Anath: Canaanite
Epics of the Patriarchal Age, Jerusalem 1971,113; M.S. Smith, The Ugaritic Baal
Cycle, vol. 1: Introduction with text, translation and commentary of KTU 1.1-1.2
(VT.S, 55), Leiden 1994, xxiii, 72 - most authors assume they were daughters
of Ba'lu, cf., e.g., Del Olmo Lete, Mitos y leyendas de Canaan, 555; J.F. Healey,
'Dew ', in: DDD, 249-50. See also below.
96
Ba'lu is depicted as a horned deity on the stela AO 15.775, cf. Smith, The
Ugaritic Baal Cycle, vol. 1, 107.
89

Also in the Legend of Aqhatu, the daughter Pughatu took care of

her father Dani'ilu (KTU 1.19:1.49-11.11):
49
1

gm.lfeth[.dn'il.kysh]
m'.pgt.tkmt[]my
2

hspt.ls'r.tl.
yd'[t] 3hlk.kbkbm.
mdl. 'r
4
smd.phl.
t.gpny.dtks
5
dt.yrq.nqbny.
[m'] 6 pgt.tkmt.my.
fosp.1[']r.1
7
yd't.hlk.kbkbm
8
bkm.tmdln. V
9
bkm.tsmd.phl.
bkm 10ts'iL. 'abh.
ttnn.l[b]mt V
11
lysmsm.bmt.phl

Dani'ilu cried aloud to his daughter:

'Listen, Pughatu, (you) who carry water on your
shoulder,
(you) who scoop up dew from the wool,
(you) who know the course of the stars!
Saddle a he-ass,
harness a male (animal).
Put on my reins of silver,
my straps of gold!'
Pughatu obeyed, (she) who carried water on her
shoulder,
who scooped up dew from the wool
who knew the course of the stars.
Thereupon 97 she saddled the he-ass,
then she harnessed the male (animal),
Then she lifted up her father,
put him on the back of the he-ass,
on the most comfortable part of the male
(animal)'s back.

Dani'ilu ordered his daughter to saddle his he-ass. This probably had
become her duty now that her brother was gone. 98 She then lifted up
her father to put him on the back of the animal. Lifting up an adult
man was quite a heavy task for a woman, let alone an adolescent
girl. I assume Dani'ilu had weakened so much from his fasting that
he needed the support of Pughatu to get on the back of the ass. If a
son had been around, this probably would have been his duty.
Also in a context of illness Kirtu's daughter Thatmanatu tended
to her father. While Kirtu was lying on his sickbed and was expected
to die, his youngest daughter came and refreshed him with wine (KTU
1.16:11.14-16)."
Several menial tasks fell upon a daughter. According to KTU 1.92:
97

Cf. M.C.A. Korpel, J.C. de Moor, 'Fundamentals of Ugaritic and Hebrew Poetry', UF 18 (1986), 175. Some authors do not regard the word to be an adverb
but a construct infinitive of bky 'weeping' with enclitic mem; cf. S. Segert, 'Parallelism in Ugaritic Poetry', JAO S 103 (1983), 298; Pardee, in: C0S, vol. 1, 352.
B. Margalit, 'Lexicographical Notes on the Aqht Epic (Part II: KTU 1.19)', UF
16 (1984), 135-7, unconvincingly defends a third option: bkm 'to be silent, mute'.
98
Cf. KTU 1.4:IV.2-7, where Athiratu ordered her personal attendant Qidshuand-Amruru to saddle an ass for her.
99
Based on the reconstruction of the text by J.C. de Moor, K. Spronk, A
Cuneiform Anthology of Religious Texts from Ugarit (SSS, NS, 6), Leiden 1987,
96. For a different reconstruction, see B. Margalit, 'K-R-T Studies', UF 27 (1995),
276-9.

15 the goddess 'Athtartu prepared a meal of game for her father Ilu.
Both Kirtu's daughter Thatmanatu (KTU 1.16:1.51) and Dani'ilu's
daughter Pughatu (KTU 1.19:11.1 par.) had to draw water at the well
in the evening. Pughatu also had to scoop up (honey-)dew from the
fleeces of sheep in the early morning before dawn so that she had
every opportunity to gaze at the stars (KTU 1.19:11.2-3 par.). 100
KTU 1.114 describes a feast held by Ilu at which his daughters
'Athtartu and 'Anatu partook alongside other gods. During the party
the host himself got dead drunk. Although the text is lacunal in 11.
24ff., it would seem that 'Athtartu and 'Anatu went out to find ingredients for a remedy to cure their inebriated father. They would thus
be taking care of their father in his state of drunkenness.
'Anatu appears to have been an obedient daughter when she accompanied her mother (KTU 1.4:IV.18).101 Athiratu travelled on a heass to Ilu's encampment and 'Anatu apparently followed her mother
on foot. Based on KTU 1.4:V.25-27 I assume 'Anatu was present
as a silent witness during the meeting of Athiratu and Ilu. Her behaviour differed considerably when she met her father alone. In her
attitude of expressing ferocious threats towards her father, 'Anatu
was the opposite of the exemplary obedient daughter. Opinions differ
on the question whether Ilu was afraid of his daughter's irascibility
or showed a lenient attitude towards his spoiled daughter. 102 In any
case, towards his daughter 'Anatu Ilu was not the authoritative father
whom no one might contradict.
An example of a human father taking care of his sick daughter may
perhaps be found in KTU 1.82. Johannes de Moor and Klaas Spronk
have restored this difficult text and interpreted it as an incantation
against demons that afflicted someone's daughter. 103 Central to their
interpretation is line 7: hmt.tmt 'abdomen, bleed!', which they assume
to refer to a menstruational problem. If they are correct, the girl's
problem was perhaps related to a failure of menarche to occur. In any
case, her father apparently turned to a priest or a diviner to plead for
Ba'lu's help with the girl's problem. 104
The three sisters Pidrayu, Tallayu and Arsayu are usually called
100

See further section 3.1.

See also section 2.1.1.4.1.
102
For the former, see Pardee, in: C0S, vol. 1, 354, n. 105; for the latter, see N.H.
Walls, The Goddess Anat in Ugaritic Myth (SBL.DS, 135), Atlanta GA 1992, 179.
103
J.C. de Moor, K. Spronk, 'More on Demons in Ugarit: (KTU 1.82)', UF 16
(1984), 237-50.
104
For a different interpretation, cf. A. Caquot, 'Un recueil ougaritique de formules magiques: KTU 1.82', SEL 5 (1988), 31-43; G. del Olmo Lete, Canaanite
Religion: According to the Liturgical Texts of Ugarit, Bethesda MD 1999, 373-8.
101

kit knyt 'the respectable brides'. 105 The noun kit can either be translated 'bride' or 'daughter-in-law'. 106 It has been suggested 107 that the
sisters were concubines of Ba'lu, but this is unlikely since they are
called his bnt (KTU 1.3:1.23).108 Furthermore, in KTU 1.24:26-27
Ba'lu is referred to as the father of Pidrayu, and she is presented
as a marriageable girl not yet betrothed. 109 More likely, therefore,
is the interpretation that they were his nubile daughters, for whose
respectability, that is, their virginity, Ba'lu was responsible. 110
This seems to be confirmed by KTU 1.3:111.4-8, a text in which
'Anatu sang of the love of Ba'lu and the affection and passion of
Pidrayu, Tallayu and Arsayu. Apparently there was no rivalry between 'Anatu and these girls, which would support the assumption
that they were Balu's daughters and not his wives.111
Thus, according to Ugaritic mythology, a betrothed woman could
live in the house of her father until she married. This seems to have
been customary. Although KTU 1.18 is in bad condition, it might refer
in this direction, too. After 'Anatu had proposed marriage to Aqhatu,
she asked him not to go to her father's house with his groomsmen.
Contrary to the usual practise, she did not live in her father's house,
but independently. 112
The designation btlt occurs in Ugaritic only as an epithet of the
goddess 'Anatu. 1 1 3 Since the term refers to an age category in Akkadian and Hebrew, the translation 'adolescent, nubile girl' seems most
likely.114 Most Ugaritologists, while acknowledging the ambiguous interpretation of some texts, think btlt 'Anatu was not a virgin in the
strict sense (a virgo intacta) but a young woman who had not (yet)
born a child. 115
Unlike married women, nubile girls could occasionaly be present
105

KTU 1.3:1.26-27; IV.52-53; 1.4:1.15; IV.54.

Cf. DLU, 216.
107
E.g., by Walls, The Goddess Anat in Ugaritic Myth, 117-22.
108
Cf. Amico, SWU, 407-8.
109
But note that in KTU 1.24 Pidrayu is not called a kit and that the tablet
does not have a direct relation to the Ba'lu myth. Perhaps at Ugarit a nubile
girl could be called a kit even if she was not yet betrothed, yet other Northwest
Semitic languages do not seem to confirm this.
110
Pace Pardee, in: C0S, vol. 1, 253, n. 99.
111
We do not know who the mother of these girls was, perhaps Athtartu?
112
KTU 1.18:1.25-27. Cf. De Moor, ARTU, 242-3.
113
But see chapter 4, where a young woman is called batlatu in an Akkadian
text (RS 16.252).
114
Cf. CAD (), 173-4; Walls, The Goddess Anat in Ugaritic Myth, 78-9.
115
Cf. De Moor, ARTU, 7, n. 33; Smith, in: Idem, UNP, 165, n. 12.
106

at a marzeah.116 At Ba'lu's drinking party, which probably reflected

the practice of a marzeah on earth, two of his daughters were present
(KTU 1.3:1.22-25). They apparently were 'virgins', for the presence of
married women was forbidden at Ba'lu's gathering (KTU 1.3:1.2-15):
2

prdmn. 'M.'al'i[yn] 3b'l. Then Radmanu 1 1 7 served Ba'lu, the Almighty,

s'id.zbl.b'l
5

'ars.

qm.yt'r w.ylhmnh
6
ybrd.td Ipnwh
7
bhrb.mlht 8qs.mn'.
dd 9y'r.wyqyrh
10
ytn.ks.bdh
11
krpn[m).bkl'at.ydh
12
bk rb. 'zm.
r'idn 13mt.mm.
ks.qd 14/ tphnh. 'ait.
krpn 15I t'n. 'atrt.

he regaled his Highness, the Lord of earth.

He rose, set (the table) to offer him food,
he cut a breast(-cut) 118 before him,
with a salted knife he carved a fatling.
He stood up, made preparations to offer him drink,
he put a cup into his hands,
a beaker into both his hands,
a goblet of a mighty lord,
a rhyton 119 of a man of heaven,
the holy cup which no married woman may look at,
the beaker which not (even) Athiratu may see.

Ba'lu was offered a holy cup by his servant Radmanu. This cup was
not to be seen by married women, not even by the goddess Athiratu,
the wife of Ilu. 120
Korpel has pointed to the fact that at first notice the exclusion of
women from this drinking scene seems to refer to the unequal status
of women and men:
At first sight one might be inclined to regard this as proof t h a t t h e
unequal s t a t u s of men and women on e a r t h was reflected in t h e m y t h .
T h a t cannot be the correct explanation, however. According t o other
Ugaritic texts, married goddesses did dine with their male p a r t n e r s on
116

An analogy may be found in the exclusion of wives at Greek symposia, cf. M.

Brosius, Women in Ancient Persia, 559-331 BC (Oxford classical monographs),
Oxford 1996, 96.
117
Generally the word rdmn 'Radmanu 1 is assumed to be the name of a servant
of Ba'lu, probably his head waiter; cf. De Moor, ARTU, 2, n. 9; Pardee, in: C0S,
vol. 1, 249-50, n. 68.
118
Although td is used to refer to a woman's breast, it seems unlikely that 'udder'
is to be translated here. 'Breast-cut' seems more likely; cf. Del Olmo Lete, Mitos
y leyendas de Canaan, 640-1. Differently, De Moor, The Seasonal Pattern, 70, 80:
'suckling'.
119
Korpel, RiC, 401, n. 266, has explained both bk 'goblet' and r'idn 'rhyton' as
Mycenaean loan words.
120
Some authors assume 'atrt is used in a generic sense here, so that one might
translate 'goddess'. Cf., e.g., J.C.L. Gibson, Canaanite Myths and Legends, Edinburgh 1977, 46; W.G.E. Watson, 'Quasi-Acrostics in Ugaritic Poetry', UF 12
(1980), 447. However, the generic meaning is not attested unequivocally, cf. DLU,
67.

occassion. Therefore, it is more likely that the holy cup which married women may not regard reflects a special ceremony from which
the women were excluded. It might be the heavenly counterpart of the
mrzh.121
Although goddesses were not always excluded from wining and dining
with gods, what we encounter here is a ritual that did exclude a
large group of women, viz. married women, whereas unmarried girls
like Ba'lu's daughters were allowed to attend, perhaps to serve their
fathers or to entertain the men with music and dance. Also in Egypt
young servant girls could serve at a banquet as a dancer, a musician
or as a hostess. 122 Korpel assumes that the scene described in KTU
1.3:1 reflected the human marzeah. Of this institution we only have
scattered information. 123 In a few texts the 'men of the marzeah1 are
mentioned. 124 From these texts it can be concluded that the marzeah
was a building or part of a building owned or hired by a club of
men. However, KTU 1.114 describes a drinking party organized by
Ilu at which his daughters, the goddesses 'Athtartu and 'Anatu, were
present. According to 1.15 Ilu was sitting in his marzeah during this
party, drinking much more wine than was good for him. 125 This is a
clear parallel with KTU 1.3:1.15-17 according to which Ba'lu drank
10,000 jars of wine. Because Ba'lu is not mentioned in KTU 1.114,
perhaps Ilu's two daughters were still unmarried at that time. Because
they, too, grossly misbehaved, throwing the best pieces of game to
a dog (11. 9-12), 126 they also were slightly intoxicated. Although no
sexual license on the part of Ilu's daughters is mentioned, it is clear
that such a drinking bout might easily develop into an orgy.
121

Korpel, RiC, 130-1.

Cf. . Feucht, Das Kind im Alten gypten, Frankfurt 1995, 339.
123
Cf. H.M. Barstad, The Religious Polemics of Amos (VT.S, 34), Leiden 1984,
127-42; K. Spronk, Beatific Afterlife in Ancient Israel and in the Ancient Near
East (AOAT, 219), Kevelaer & Neukirchen-Vluyn 1986,196-202; J.L. McLaughlin,
'The marzeah at Ugarit: A Textual and Contextual Study', UF 23 (1991), 265-81;
Smith, The Ugaritic Baal Cycle, vol. 1, 140-4.
124
mi mrzh in KTU 3.9:13; = l me mar-zi/a-i in RS 15.88:4,6 {PRU III, 88);
RS 15.70:4/7,10,15 {PRU III, 130); RS 18.01:7,10 (PRU IV, 230); = l me marzi-hi in RS 14.16:3 (Syria 28 (1951), 175). KTU 4.399:8 records the bn mrzh 'sons
of the marzeah1.
125
Cf. Lewis," in: Smith, UNP, 194; Wyatt, RTU, 404.
126
It is unclear whether the dog is to be identified with Yarikhu, or the unknown
god of line 7, or as a hunting dog of the goddesses who may themselves be associated with the hunt (KTU 1.17-19; 1.92). Cf. De Moor, ARTU, 134-7; Lewis,
in: Smith, UNP, 193-6; Pardee, in: C0S, vol. 1, 302-5; Wyatt, RTU, 404-13; M.
Dietrich, O. Loretz, Studien zu den ugaritischen Texten: I. Mythos und Ritual in
KTU 1.12, 1.24, 1-96, 1.100 und 1.114 (AOAT, 269/1), Mnster 2000, 411-35.
122

Although the evidence is inconclusive, it is possible that exactly

for this reason married women were excluded from marzeah parties.
Perhaps married women had their own separate gatherings. 127 In general it would seem that members of a marzeah were wealthy men who
owned property, usually houses and vineyards. 128 Such men could easily afford more than one wife and may have been a desirable match
to unmarried women of a lower class. This did not automatically imply sexual license, though this may have happened occasionally. In a
world so much concerned with a girl's virginity one could only hope
that the consequences were taken seriously by the man involved.
After returning from the nether world, Ba'lu asked Pidrayu 129
whether his daughters had been respectable (KTU 1.3:1.22-27).130 Being the eldest sister 131 , she probably was responsible for their chastity
during the period of weakness of her father. 132
In KTU 1.23 two women were given the choice whether to be wives
or daughters of Ilu. They chose to be wives and Ilu subsequently had
sexual intercourse with them. Although reasoning from silence, we
may assume that Ilu would not have had intercourse with them if
they chose to be daughters, since father-daughter incest was generally
regarded as unacceptable in the ancient Near East. 133
127

See chapter 4.
There is much discussion on the question whether the cult of the dead was an
aspect of the marzeah institution. Although virtually no scholar denies that there
was a certain connection, opinions differ on whether the funerary association to
the marzeah was primary or secondary. Cf., e.g., T.J. Lewis, Cults of the Dead
in Ancient Israel and Ugarit (HSM, 39), Atlanta GA 1989, 80-94, reacting on
M.H. Pope, 'The Cult of the Dead at Ugarit', in: G.D. Young (ed.), Ugant in
Retrospect: Proceedings ... Literature, Winona Lake IN 1981, 159-79.1 agree with
Smith, The Ugaritic Baal Cycle, vol. 1, 144, who concludes: 'while one might not
entirely equate the marzeah with the cult of the dead, it appears that the marzeah
provided a context for it'.
129
The reading is uncertain. Perhaps we encounter haplography here: pdr<y>.yd'
[yd'Jt. But it is also possible that Pidru was a male deity who functioned as some
sort of guard of the women's quarters. Cf. De Moor, ARTU, 4, n. 19.
130
Referring to their honourable status, cf. Akk. kunn, CAD (K), 540-2; De
Moor, The Seasonal Pattern, 83.
131
Cf. De Moor, The Seasonal Pattern, 82.
132
Both Pidrayu and her sister Tallayu joined Ba'lu on his journey to the realm
of Death, cf. KTU 1.5:V.10-11. But apparently Ba'lu was not able to execute his
paternal control in the nether world.
133
Cf. TO, t. 1, 357. Ba'lu denounced incestuous behaviour in the family of Ilu
(KTU 1.4:111.20-22), cf. J.C. de Moor, 'The Sacrifice Which Is an Abomination
to the Lord', in: M.H. van Es et al., Loven en geloven, Fs. .H. Ridderbos, Amsterdam 1975, 217-20. It should be remembered that in the first generation of
any pantheon incestuous relations were inevitable. However, this was a 'logical'
figment of the mythopoets and should not be regarded as proof that they accepted
128

It would seem that at Ugarit daughters were not entitled to a

share of the inheritance. In KTU 1.14:1 Kirtu's clan is described as
the king's house which was wiped out:
S

db'

['a]hm.lh

tmnt.bn

'um

(the house) that counted seven brothers,

eight sons by the same mother.

Somewhat further the sorry state of Kirtu's clan is repeated,

24

wbtmhn.sph.y'itbd
25

wbph.yrh.yrt

and the clan had been wiped out entirely 134

totally those entitled to succession.

Since Kirtu's clan ( 'umt, 1. 6) is paralleled with the king's house (bt,
11. 7-8), which is further described as counting seven brothers || eight
sons by the same mother (KTU 1.14:1.6-9), it would seem that 'those
entitled to succession' were only the male family members. However,
the Legend of Kirtu probably illustrates that in the absence of any
sons, a daughter could become heiress (KTU 1.15:111.16).135
The literary texts of Ugarit often mention the nhlt 'heritage' of
male deities, 136 but not a single goddess appears to have had such.
Although 'Anatu, for example, had her own mountain Inbb,137 it is
never called her nhlt in the texts published thus far. This would seem
to confirm that as a rule women were not supposed to inherit. 138
C . H E B R E W BIBLE

In the Hebrew Bible the word occurs about ten times as often as the
word 139 Yet the biblical genealogies do not reflect a demographic
reality, as Lonie Archer has observed, but rather a preference for
sons. 140 Two reasons are mentioned to explain this preference. First,
transfer of land by inheritance was arranged patrilineally. 141 Related
to this is the fact that daughters left the paternal family to marry
into their husband's family. 142
incest in the human world.
134
Following the reading of CTA. See Wyatt, RTU, 183, n. 23.
135
Cf. Korpel, 'Exegesis in the Work of Ilimilku of Ugarit', 106-11 and above.
See chapter 4 on several legal texts that give further insight into the matter.
136
Kotharu, KTU 1.1:111.1; 1.3:VL16; Ba'lu, 1.3:111.30; IV.20; Motu, 1.4:VIII.14;
1.5:11.16.
137
KTU 1.13:9; cf. 1.3:IV.34.
138
Although 'Anatu boasted she would 'inherit' (verb yrt) the gold of Ba'lu's
opponents (KTU 1.3:111.47) the context suggests that yrt is used in the sense of
'to dispossess, conquer' here.
139
H. Haag, '', in: ThWAT, Bd. 1, 870.
140
L.J. Archer, Her Price is Beyond Rubies: The Jewish Woman in GraecoRoman Palestine (JSOT.S, 60), Sheffield 1990, 18.
141
C.L. Meyers, 'Everyday life: Women in the Period of the Hebrew Bible', in:
C.A. Newsom, S.H. Ringe (eds), The Women's Bible Commentary London s 1998,
255.
142
G.I. Emmerson, 'Women in Ancient Israel', in: R.E. Clements (ed.), The

It is only seldom that daughters are mentioned by name in biblical

genealogies (Gen. 4:22; 46:15; Num. 26:33,46,59; Josh. 17:3; 1 Sam.
14:49; 1 Chron. 2:49; 7:15,24). Generally, the names of fathers who begot sons are recorded, while incidently a mother's name is mentioned,
often in a polygynous context. Another option is the statement that
sons and daughters were born to a person. 143
Although more often the inclusive ' children' is used, the Israelites were sometimes called sons and daughters of Y H W H (Deut.
32:19; Isa. 43:6; Ezek. 16:20). In various passages in Jeremiah the Israelites are called ' my Daughter People'. 144 Marjo Korpel notes
that the image of Israel as YHWH's children is a Yahwistic adaption
of the polytheistic concept of the family of gods, as is the image of
Israel as YHWH's metaphorical wife. 145 Yet here too, the image of
Israel as a son prevails. In rudimentary form the idea of the sons of
God as gods or heavenly creatures has been preserved. Furthermore,
two kinds of metaphors, that of the Israelite people and that of their
king as son of God occur in the Bible. On the other hand, '[t]he idea
of divine daughters of God cannot be found in the Old Testament. No
doubt the fear that they might easily be promoted to female partners
of God played a role here'. 146
That sons were valued more highly than daughters can also be
deduced from Neh. 5:5. This text describes a situation of economic
hardship in which poor parents had to hand over their children in
servitude as pledges on loans of grain and money. When it eventually
turned out they could not repay their debts, the children were sold as
slaves. Phyllis Bird comments on this:
It appears that when forced to give up their children into slavery, parents surrendered their daughters first - a reasonable preference in view
of the high value placed on sons, especially when the survival of the
family is at stake.147
In this regard scholars have stressed the difference in social position of
World of Ancient Israel: Sociological, Anthropological and Political Perspectives,
Cambridge 1989, 384.
143
E.g., Gen. 5:4,7,10,etc.; 11:11,13,15,etc.; 46:15; 1 Sam. 1:4; 2 Chron. 24:3.
144
Jer. 4:11; 6:14,26; 8:11,19,21,22; 9:1[8:23]; 14:17. This term also occurs in
Isa. 22:4; Lam. 2:11; 3:48; 4:3,6,10.
145
Korpel, RiC, 257. On the marriage metaphor see section 2.1.1.3.2.
146
Korpel, RiC, 254-61 (260).
147
P. Bird, 'Poor Man or Poor Woman?: Gendering the Poor in Prophetic Texts',
in: B. Becking, M. Dijkstra (eds), On Reading Prophetic Texts: G ender-Specific
and Related Studies in Memory of Fokkelien van Dijk-Hemmes (BIntS, 18), Leiden
1996, 45-6.

a daughter and a wife. Exod. 21:7 permits a father to sell his daughter,
whereas he does not have that right with regard to his wife. 148
A couple of texts illustrate the affection a father could feel for his
daughter. Although Laban's intentions were somewhat ambiguous,
recovering the teraphim was not his only goal when he pursued Jacob.
He also wanted to kiss his daughters and grandsons farewell (Gen.
31:28). Laban only left them in the hands of Jacob after they had
made a covenant according to which Jacob was to treat the daughters
of Laban well and not to take any wives in addition to them (Gen.
31:50). 149
Father Jephthah thoughtlessly vowed to YHWH: 'If you will give
the Ammonites into my hands, then whoever comes out of the doors of
my house to meet me, when I return victorious from the Ammonites,
shall be the Lord's, to be offered up by me as a burnt offering' (Judg.
11:30-31). When his unnamed daughter came out to meet him after
his victory, he rent his clothes, saying: 'Alas, my daughter! You have
brought me very low; you have become the cause of great trouble to
me . . . ' (v. 35). 150 Several authors have pointed to the fact that the
daughter submitted to the authority of the father without challenging
his word. Cheryl Exum, for instance, states: 'In encouraging her father
to fulfill his vow, she subordinates her life to the communal good. The
seriousness of the vow is upheld, the need for sacrifice is satisfied, and
paternal authority goes unchallenged'. 151 Shulamit Valler emphasizes
that in the biblical story father and daughter were both convinced the
vow had to be carried out. They equally dreaded the idea of breaking
a vow. Unlike the Hebrew Bible, which depicts father and daughter
as victims of a tragic situation, the midrashim condemn Jephthah for
his choice to sacrifice his daughter. 152
In the parable that the prophet Nathan told David after the king
148

Cf., e.g., C. Houtman, Exodus, vol. 3, (HCOT), Leuven 2000, 115. On the
rights of the daughter sold into debt-slavery and the differences in this regard
between Exod. 21:7 and Deut. 15:12-18, see section 2.2.2.4.
149
See section 2.1.1.3.1 on M.A. Morrison's explanation of the covenant as the
completion of an incomplete marriage agreement.
150
Note that Jephthah appears to have blamed his daughter for the consequences
of his own, rashly spoken vow. On the vow, see also section 3.2.
151
J.C. Exum, O n Judges 11', in: A. Brenner (ed.), A Feminist Companion to
Judges (FCB, 4), Sheffield 1993, 137.
152
S. Valler, 'The Story of Jephthah's Daughter in the Midrash', in: A. Brenner
(ed.), Judges (FCB(SS), 4), Sheffield 1999, 49. On the story of Jephthah's daughter in the history of interpretation see further C. Houtman, K. Spronk, Jefta's
dochter: Tragiek van een vrouuienleven in theologie en kunst, Zoetermeer 1999; P.
Silverman Kramer, 'Jephthah's Daughter: A Thematic Approach to the Narrative
as Seen in Selected Rabbinic Exegesis and in Artwork', in: Brenner, Judges, 67-92.

had taken Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah the Hittite, to be his wife, another loving father is depicted. This man, although poor, had a little
ewe lamb that he treated very well and that 'was like a daughter to
him' (2 Sam. 12:3). David, however, appears to have been a negligent
father himself. Towards his daughter Tamar he showed little compassion after she had been raped by Amnon. 153 2 Sam. 13:21 records that
'[w]hen King David heard of all these things, he became very angry,
but he would not punish his son Amnon, because he loved him, for he
was his firstborn'. He did not take any action to change Tamar's fate.
She remained in the house of her brother Absalom, being 'a desolate
woman' (v. 20).
Obedience to her father appears to be one of the most important
traits of a biblical daughter. Jephthah's daughter, for example, submitted to her father's authority (Judg. 11). She uttered no objections
but only asked for a postponement of the execution of the vow. Esther was another obedient daughter. She did as her adoptive father
Mordecai told her (Est. 2:10, 20; 4:13-16) even when her own life was
threatened by it.
In Exod. 1:8-2:10 daughters play an important role. 154 In this
text daughters are contrasted with sons. Not only were the midwives
Shiphrah and Puah told by Pharaoh to kill sons and let daughters
live, but when this plan failed Moses' mother, who is referred to as 'a
daughter of Levi' (Exod. 2:1), and Pharaoh's daughter acted as saving
heroines in the life of Moses. The importance attached to daughters is
of short duration, however, for after the first few chapters they hardly
play a significant role in the book of Exodus. 155
Israelite daughters would generally receive their education from
their mother. Margaret Crook has defended the thesis that Prov.
31:10-31 was an instructional text for daughters of marriageable
age. 156 In this didactic text the ideal of a woman of valour is described,
153

Cf. P. Trible, Texts of Terror: Literary-Feminist Readings of Biblical Narratives (OBT, 13), Philadelphia 1984, 53-5. See further section 2.1.3.
154
Cf. J.C. Exum, ' "You Shall Let Every Daughter Live": A Study of Exodus
1.8-2.10', in: A. Brenner (ed.), A Feminist Companion to Exodus to Deuteronomy (FCB, 6), Sheffield 1994, 37-61; Idem, 'Second Thoughts About Secondary
Characters: Women In Exodus 1.8-2.10', in: Brenner, A Feminist Companion to
Exodus to Deuteronomy, 75-87; J. Siebert-Hommes, 'But if She be a Daughter . . .
She May Live!: "Daughters" and "Sons" in Exodus 1-2', in: Brenner, A Feminist
Companion to Exodus to Deuteronomy, 62-74.
155
Cf. Exum, 'Second Thoughts About Secondary Characters', 76.
156
M.B. Crook, 'The Marriageable Maiden of Prov. 31:10-31', JNES 13 (1954),
137-40. See also A. Brenner, 'Proverbs 1-9: An F Voice?' in: A. Brenner, F. van
Dijk-Hemmes, On Gendering Texts: Female and Male Voices in the Hebrew Bible
(BIntS, 1), Leiden 1993, 127-30, who defends the possibility of Prov. 31:10-31

an ideal which was probably presented as a goal for daughters to aim

at.
Biblical daughters had several tasks concerning household and animal husbandry. 157 One of them was to draw water. Rebekah went to
the well to draw water and offered Abraham's servant a drink. She
also watered his camels (Gen. 24:15-21). Likewise, the daughters of
the priest of Midian watered their father's flock (Exod. 2:16).
The spring was an excellent place for young women to meet men
and get acquainted with them. This held a certain risk, however,
from a father's point of view, for acquaintance could lead to courtship
and possibly to the loss of a girl's respectability. Fathers had the
task to guard their daughers' virginity. Girls were supposed to enter
matrimony being a virgin. Thus, any unmarried girl who engaged in
sexual relations was considered a threat to social order. 158 The laws
of Deuteronomy even prescribe stoning to death for a daughter for
whom no evidence of her virginity is found upon marriage, 'because
she committed a disgraceful act in Israel by prostituting herself in her
father's house' (Deut. 22:20-21).159 Although reality might not have
been this harsh, sexual purity was quite strict for girls, despite the
picture painted in love songs. 160
In the Wisdom of Jesus ben Sirach the concern of a father regarding his daughter is described (Sir. 42:9-14)161:
A daughter is a treasure that keeps her father wakeful,
and worry over her drives away sleep:
Lest in her youth she remain unmarried,
or when she is married, lest she be childless;
While unmarried, lest she be defiled,
or lest she prove unfaithful to her husband;
Lest she become pregnant in her father's house,
or be sterile in that of her husband.
My son, keep a close watch on your daughter,
lest she make you the sport of your enemies,
A byword in the city and the assembly of the people,
being spoken by a mother to her daughter.
157
See section 2.2.2.3.
158
S. Niditch, 'The Wronged Woman Righted: An Analysis of Genesis 38', HThR
72 (1979), 146.
159
See section 2.1.1.5.
160
See section 2.1.1.2.
161
Although the text of Ben Sirach actually is beyond the scope of this study
due to its date of origin (second cent, BCE), the corresponding theme (see below)
makes it worthwile to remark upon it.

an object of derision in public gatherings.

See that there is no lattice in her room,
no spot that overlooks the approaches to the house.
Let her not reveal her beauty to any male,
or spend her time among married women;
For just as moths come from garments,
so a woman's wickedness comes from a woman.
Better a man's wickedness than a woman's goodness,
but better a religious daughter than a shameless son.162
In this text a father is concerned about his good name, which would
be defiled by his daughter's misbehaviour. He is recommended to keep
close watch over her while she resides in his house in order to keep her
pure. Of interest to us is the parallel with the theme in the Ugaritic
Ba'lu myth of a window in the palace that might give Ba'lu's daughters the chance to leave their father's house unnoticed, or give an uninvited guest the opportunity to enter (KTU 1.4:VI.5-14, see above).
However, verse 11, dealing with a room without a window in which
to keep one's daughter, is not without textcritical difficulties, since
it only occurs in MS B. Neither MS M, not the Greek text has a
reference to a separate windowless room. 163 This urges caution on
any definitive conclusion about restrictions on a daughter's freedom
of movement. 164
There has been some discussion on the translation of the term
. Most scholars nowadays agree on the basic meaning 'girl of
marriageable age'. 165 Yet in certain biblical laws has the specialized meaning 'virgin' (i.e., virgo intacta).166
162

Transi. P.W. Skehan, A.A. di Leila, The Wisdom of Ben Sira (AncB, 39),
New York 1987, 477-8.
163
Skehan, Di Leila, The Wisdom of Ben Sira, 476-83; D.H. De Waele, 'De positie
van de joodse vrouw in de oudheid: Een overzicht van de recente literatuur', NThT
50 (1996), 226-7; P.C. Beentjes, The Book of Ben Sira in Hebrew: A Text Edition
of All Extant Hebrew Manuscripts and a Synopsis of All Parallel Hebrew Ben Sira
Texts (VT.S, 68), Leiden 1997, 168.
164
Cf. P.W. van der Horst, 'Images of Women in Ancient Judaism', in: R. Kloppenburg, W.J. Hanegraaff (eds), Female Stereotypes in Religious Traditions (SHR,
66), Leiden 1995, 43-60; De Waele, 'De positie van de joodse vrouw in de oudheid',
215-36.
165
G.J. Wenham, 'B e tlh "A Girl of Marriageable Age" ' VT 22 (1972), 32648; followed by P.L. Day, 'From the Child is Born the Woman: The Story of
Jephthah's Daughter', in: P.L. Day (ed.), Gender and Difference in Ancient Israel, Minneapolis 1989, 59; T. Frymer-Kensky, 'Virginity in the Bible', in: V.H.
Matthews et al. (eds), Gender and Law in the Hebrew Bible and the Ancient Near
East (JSOT.S, 262), Sheffield 1998, 79, among others.
166
Cf. C. Locher, Die Ehre einer Frau in Israel: Exegetische und rechtsver-

Although an unmarried daughter was supposed to remain a virgin

until her marriage, this did not always happen. Dinah and Shechem
(Gen. 34) had pre-marital intercourse, which was considered illicit,
since Dinah was not married nor betrothed to Shechem. 167 Intercourse
with an unmarried girl is also mentioned in legal texts. Both Exod.
22:15-16 [16-17] and Deut. 22:28-29 treat the subject of violation of
an unbetrothed girl. 168 Unlike sexual intercourse with a betrothed
girl, this was not considered a capital offence. 169 The violator had
to pay a marriage deposit to the father of the bride - probably a
fixed, customary sum - and was obliged to marry the girl. 170 In the
Deuteronomic passage the violator is prohibited to divorce the girl.
This is generally regarded as a clause protecting the violated girl. 171
It has been suggested - with reference to Tamar (2 Sam. 13) - that
a violated daughter was possibly not eligible for marriage 172 , but this
is denied by others as an incorrect assumption. Although it is told of
Tamar that she remained desolate 173 in her brother Absalom's house,
it would be too far fetched to conclude from this that a woman who
had lost her virginity was ineligible for marriage. 174
Some scholars have reflected on the possibility of young girls being
exposed to sexual license in the context of a . The 1 is mentioned twice in the Hebrew Bible. In Amos 6:7 the context is that
of a luxurious banquet and in Jer. 16:5 its funerary aspects are emphasized. Amos 2:7b is of especial interest to us, since it mentions a
: 'father and son go in to the same girl, so that my holy name
gleichende Studien zu Deuteronomium 22,13-21 (OBO, 70), Freiburg, Schweiz
1986, 176-92; . Engelken, Frauen im Alten Israel: Eine begnffsgeschichtliche und
sozialrechtliche Studie zur Stellung der Frau im Alten Testament (BWANT, 130),
Stuttgart 1990, 39; C. Pressler, The View of Women Found in the Deuteronomic
Family Laws (BZAW, 216), Berlin 1993, 25-7.
167
Cf. Frymer-Kensky, 'Virginity in the Bible', 89. See also sections 2.1.1.1 and
2.1.3.
168
Cf. Pressler, The View of Women Found in the Deuteronomic Family Laws,
36-41; Frymer-Kensky, 'Virginity in the Bible', 91-3.
169
See section 2.1.1.5 on adultery in general and Deut. 22:13-21 in particular.
170
On the differences of emphasis between Exod. 22:15-16 and Deut. 22:28-29,
cf. Pressler, The View of Women Found in the Deuteronomic Family Laws, 37-8;
Frymer-Kensky, 'Virginity in the Bible', 92.
171
Pressler, The View of Women Found in the Deuteronomic Family Laws, 3941; Frymer-Kensky, 'Virginity in the Bible', 92-4.
172
C. Pressler, 'Sexual Violence and Deuteronomic Law', in: Brenner, A Feminist
Companion to Exodus to Deuteronomy, 105.
173
, a word that implies barrenness, cf. Isa. 54:1
174
Cf. . van der Toorn, review of C. Locher, Die Ehre einer Frau in Israel, in:
BiOr 46 (1989), 429; P.T. Reis, 'Cupidity and Stupidity: Woman's Agency and
the "Rape" of Tamar', JANES 25 (1997), 58.

is profaned'. Some scholars have suggested a relationship between

the marzeah mentioned in Amos 6:7 and sexual license in 2:7b. 175
Hans Barstad denies a reference to cultic prostitution in the passage of Amos 2:6-8 and assumes the was a marzeah hostess of
high social rank. 176 The offence which Amos denounced would be of
a religious nature. Most scholars assume, however, that some kind
of sexual transgression with a female in a subservient position is at
stake here. 177 With regard to the Ugaritic material I mentioned the
possibility that the marzeah was a male institution, forbidden to married women, but not to unmarried girls. It seems likely that married
women, too, enjoyed a drink together and this might be what Amos
4:1 is referring to: not a marzeah, but a women's party. The prophet
possibly criticized these women at the court of Samaria for having
drinking-bouts. 178
In the Hebrew Bible the noun can either mean 'daughter-inlaw' or 'bride'. 179 Thus, a girl referred to as a either was someone
who was member of a household through marriage or someone who
was in a phase of transition, still living in the household she was biologically part of, but by betrothal also already related to the household
of her future husband.
In Gen. 19:8 it is told that Lot's daughters had not known a man
() . His daughters were betrothed (v. 14) but still lived in
their father's house. Instead of protecting their virginity, however, Lot
offered his daughters to the men of Sodom who intended to violate
the guests under his roof. According to Lyn Bechtel, who analyses
175

Cf. M.H. Pope, Song of Songs: A New Translation with Introduction and
Commentary (AncB, 7C), Garden City NY 1977, 210-29; K. Spronk, Beatific
Afterlife in Ancient Israel and in the Ancient Near East (AOAT, 219), Kevelaer
& Neukirchen-Vluyn 1986, 198.
176
H.M. Barstad, The Religious Polemics of Amos (VT.S, 34), Leiden 1984,
21-36 (33).
177
H.W. Wolff, Dodekapropheton 2: Joel und Amos (BKAT, 14/2), NeukirchenVluyn 21975, 202-3, argues that Amos 2:7b is a radicalization of the incest laws
of Lev. 18:15 and 20:12 regarding sexual relations between a father-in-law and his
daughter-in-law. And C. van Leeuwen, Amos (PrOT), Nijkerk 1985, 82-4, stresses
that the sin is one of social exploitation since the girl was in a socially inferior
position and was dependent on 'a man and his father 1 . See further D. Stuart,
Hosea-Jonah (WBC, 31), Waco TX 1987, 317; F.I. Andersen, D.N. Freedman,
Amos (AncB, 24A), Garden City NY 1989, 318; C.S. Leeb, Away from the Father's
House: The Social Location ofna'ar and na'arah in Ancient Israel (JSOT.S, 301),
Sheffield 2000, 146-50.
178
See section 2.1.2 for this and other interpretations.
179
Cf. J. Conrad, '', in: TWAT, Bd. 4, 174-8. Cf. also L. Rost, 'Erwgungen
zu Hosea 4,13f.' in: W. Baumgartner et al. (ed.), Festschrift Alfred Bertholet zum
80. Geburtstag gewidmet von Kollegen und Freunden, Tbingen 1950, 452-5.

the story from a sociological point of view and emphasizes the grouporiented structure of ancient society, the men of Sodom regarded Lot's
guests as strangers who formed a threat to their community. 180 She
suggests an antithesis between the daughters as potential 'builders'
of society - women are generally regarded as 'builders' of society by
marriage and childbirth - and the strangers as 'destroyers' of society.
Wondering why Lot would protect 'destroyers' of society over against
'builders', she explains:
The answer may be found in the fact that, if the townsmen are attempting to rape two threatening, outside men in order to diminish the threat
to the community, then their intentions are not for sexual pleasure but
for protection. Therefore Lot's offer of two non-threatening, marginal
women is startlingly incongruent and totally inappropriate under the
circumstances. In either case, whether the intention is rape or simply to
know what the messengers are doing there, Lot's offer does not address
the situation. The men of the city are responding to a threat to the
community, not trying to fulfill their sexual needs. There is no chance
that the townsmen will be interested in Lot's offer. It is inappropriate and even offensive. And, of course, that is the point of the offer.
The function of the incongruent, offensive offer is to defuse a tense
situation. 181
Yet I wonder whether Bechtel is correct in xcusing Lot so easily.
In Judg. 19 the same theme occurs of strangers receiving hospitality
and subsequently being threatened with forcible sexual intercourse
by townsmen. Unlike the daughters of Lot, who had been spared that
fate, in Judg. 19 a woman was raped. The host offered his virgin
daughter and the concubine of his guest, a Levite from Ephraim.
The men of Gibeah did not accept this offer. Thereupon the Levite
'seized his concubine and put her out to them. They wantonly raped
her, and abused her all through the night until the morning' (v. 25).
Bechtel would probably argue that via the concubine the Levite was
shamed. 'In a society where social bonding is central, heterosexual or
homosexual rape is the antithesis to bonding - it severs bonding'. 182
Michael Carden has written on the rape cases in Sodom and
Gibeah from an anthropological point of view. He argues that our
modern term 'homosexuality' cannot be applied to these stories without further additional remarks. Carden contends that 'the male, pen180

L.M. Bechtel, Feminist Reading of Genesis 19.1-11', in: A. Brenner (ed.),

Genesis (FCB(SS), 1), Sheffield 1998, 108-28.
181
Bechtel, Feminist Reading of Genesis 19.1-11', 123.
182
Bechtel, Feminist Reading of Genesis 19.1-11', 117.

etrated by other men, is stigmatised . . . but not the male who penetrates'. 1 8 3 Only the male who is buggered is shamed, not the one
who buggers. With regard to the sexual act of rape, Carden states:
' . . . rape is to be understood as sexual violence grounded in issues of
power and anger'. Rape of women by men is used as 'a means by which
men struggle for power over each other'. 184 With regard to Gen. 19
Carden, too, stresses that sexual pleasure was not the motive of the
men of Sodom. Rather, they were driven by xenophobia and homophobia to describe the outsiders as queer in the sense of non-male.
Misogyny surfaced in Lot's act of offering his daughters instead of his
guests:
The laws of hospitality demand that Lot protect the male honour (heterosexuality) of his guests. In this world it is better that women be
raped than men because rape of men takes away their heterosexuality.185
The rape of the concubine by the men of Gibeah was also motivated
by the intention to shame the outsider, i.e., the Levite. Yet, contrary
to Bechtel, Carden assumes that Lot's daughters were in danger of
suffering the fate of the concubine, i.e., being raped by townsmen in
order to shame the person who had authority over their sexuality.
After all, Lot was a sojourner and had a marginal status in Sodomite
society.
To put it bluntly, the Levite is made queer by the rape of his woman.
It is for that reason that the old man's offer is initially rejected by the
mob - his daughter belongs to him and not the Levite. For the same
reason Lot's offer is rejected by the Sodomites (in the mob's subsequent
threatening of Lot, however, I believe that Lot's daughters were put in
peril of the concubine's fate). 186
In Gen. 19 as well as Judg. 19 women's sexuality is sacrificed in order
183

M. Carden, 'Homophobia and Rape in Sodom and Gibeah: A Response to

Ken Stone', JSOT 82 (1999), 86.
184
Carden, 'Homophobia and Rape in Sodom and Gibeah', 88.
185
Carden, 'Homophobia and Rape in Sodom and Gibeah', 90.
186
Carden, 'Homophobia and Rape in Sodom and Gibeah', 91-2. In contrast with
this, cf. Bechtel, Feminist Reading of Genesis 19.1-11', 124, according to whom
Lot deliberately offered his daughters, knowing it was an inappropriate offer. 'So
Lot has made his offer with confidence that its incongruity and inappropriateness
will stop the action and prevent further aggression. Contrary to the opinion of
some scholars, Lot does not offer his daughters as an act of self-preservation, or
as a heroic deed carried out by a perfect Near Eastern host, or as a desperate act
of a wicked man, or as a father doing what he has the right to do'.

to save that of men. Rape is used as a means to shame either those

who are being raped (if they are men) or those who have authority
over the sexuality of those who are being raped (if they are women).
Yet in both stories men prefer to be shamed indirectly and let their
women be raped rather than be shamed and raped themselves. This
illustrates the androcentric view of the biblical authors as well as the
low status of women in comparison to that of men.
The story of Lot and his daughters continues with another shaming event. To many modern readers the incestuous relationship of Lot
and his daughters is very problematic, since it contradicts reality. It
is important to note that abuse of power by the father is a characteristic of father-daughter incest. Writing on this subject, Elke Seifert
explains:
Diejenigen, die sich heute feministisch parteilich mit der T h e m a t i k des
Inzest auseinandersetzen, beharren darauf, da aufgrund f u n d a m e n t a 1er A s y m m e t r i e in der Beziehung zwischen Vater u n d Tochter sexuelle
H a n d l u n g e n zwischen ihnen immer einen Machtmibrauch des Vaters
darstellen. Denn in einer fr die Opfer parteilichen, therapeutischen
Arbeit mit Mdchen und Frauen, die eine inzestuse Vaterbeziehung
h a t t e n , wird ausnahmslos deutlich: Tchter wollen nie und unter keinen
U m s t n d e n aus freien Stcken den sexuellen K o n t a k t mit d e m Vater;
diese A r t von K o n t a k t h a t fr sie vielmehr traumatische Konsequenzen. 1 8 7

In Gen. 19:30-38 the world is turned upside down, for here, daughters wish to engage in an incestuous relationship with their father.
The reason they wish to do so is because they 'may preserve offspring' (v. 32). According to Naomi Steinberg, '[t]he heinous act of
incest witnesses to the women's commitment to bear children: they
will do whatever is necessary - go against all taboos - in order to
have children'. 188 Scholars have noted the literary parallels between
Gen. 19:1-11 and 30-38. Victor Hamilton, for example, states: 'Earlier
the father was willing to use his daughters for sexual purposes without their consent. Now they will use their father for sexual purposes
187

E. Seifert, 'Lot und seine Tchter: Eine Hermeneutik des Verdachts', in: H.
Jahnow et al, Feministische Hermeneutik und Erstes Testament: Analysen und
Interpretationen, Stuttgart 1994, 62. See also Idem, Tocher und Vater im AIten Testament: Eine ideologiekritische Untersuchung zur Verfgungsgewalt von
Vtern ber ihre Tchter (Neukirchener Theologische Dissertationen und Habiiitationen, 9), Neukirchen-Vluyn 1996, 82-6, 92-6.
188
N. Steinberg, Kinship and Marriage in Genesis: A Household Economics Perspective, Minneapolis 1993, 72.

without his consent'. 189 As I mentioned above, Carden, with reference to Gen. 19:1-11, emphasizes that the threatened rape of Lot's
guests was an abusive act of shaming strangers instead of honouring
them. 190 Although his article does not refer to Gen. 19:30-38, it seems
to me that Lot's daughters in turn were shaming their father instead
of honouring him by making him drunk in order to have sexual intercourse with him. This might answer the question whether Lot is
excused in this incestuous act: his daughters appear to have executed
the ius tallionis. Thus, both offering one's virgin daughter for mob
rape and father-daughter incest are condemned by the narrator, albeit not explicitly. 191 The mere fact that he wants to drive home his
joke about the shameful origin of the Moabites and Ammonites (vv.
37, 38) - they are 'from our father', vv. 33, 34, 35, 36, their own 'kinsman' ( )- expresses the narrator's contempt for this kind of sexual
misbehaviour.
However, it should not be glossed over that at the same time
the narrator exonerates Lot and his daughters to some extent. Lot
had been forced to live in a cave, like a wild outcast (Gen. 19:30).
His daughters justified their deed by pointing out the exceptional
circumstances - Sodom had just been wiped out and their prospective
husbands were killed in the event (Gen. 19:14,25,31). Lot is said not
to have known what he was doing because he was dead-drunk (Gen.
19:33,35). So we are forced to conclude that incest between father
and daughter was no doubt seen as a grave sexual offense, but that
mitigating circumstances might be adduced on behalf of both parties.
One may compare this with the half-way condemnation of this offense
in other cultures of the ancient Near East.
Several scholars have tried to offer an explanation for the fact that
in the incest laws of Lev. 18 and 20 the prohibition against fatherdaughter incest is missing. 192 According to some, this type of incest
189

V.P. Hamilton, The Book of Genesis: Chapters 18-50 (NIC), Grand Rapids
MI 1995, 51. G. Wenham, Genesis 16-50 (WBC,2), Dallas TX 1994, 32-65,
stresses the parallels in the whole of chapters 18-19, in which Abraham is portrayed in a positive fashion, while Lot is portrayed negatively.
190
Carden, 'Homophobia and Rape in Sodom and Gibeah', 90.
191
Cf. Wenham, Genesis 16-50, 55-6, 61-2; Hamilton, The Book of Genesis:
Chapters 18-50, 35-6, 51-3. Note that Wenham seems to excuse Lot somewhat
more than his daughters. Pace Seifert, 'Lot und seine Tchter', 63, who argues
that 'die Erzhlung suggeriert, da Vater-Tochter-Inzest auch etwas durchaus
Akzeptables sein kann'.
192
For an overview, see F. Fechter, Die Familie in der Nachexilszeit: Untersuchungen zur Bedeutung der Verwandtschaft in ausgewhlten Texten des Alten
Testaments (BZAW, 264), Berlin 1998, 177-88.

was so repugnant and its prohibition so obvious that it need not explictily be mentioned in a law text. 193 Others point to socio-economic
reasons. Since the value of the marriage deposit ( )would diminish
if a father had sexual relations with his daughter, he would not think
of doing so. 194 Yet Calum Carmichael rightly comments: 'It is difficult to believe that a father's lust for a daughter would be deflected
by thoughts of his bank account'. 195 Most likely is the assumption
that the silence on father-daughter incest should be related to the
authority of the father. In the incest laws, men are prohibited to have
sexual relations with women to whom they are closely related and
whose sexuality is legal property of another man. A daughter's sexual
and reproductive functions legally belonged to her father. In case of
father-daughter incest, the person who should prosecute was also the
violator. Jacob Milgrom assumes the perpetrator could not be penalized by a human court, which would account for the omission in Lev.
20. 196

In Genesis 38 the story of Judah and Tamar is told. Being a widowed daughter-in-law, whose future levirate 197 husband had not yet
come of age, Tamar was sent to live in her father's house. Yet when
Judah's son Shelah had grown up, she was not given in marriage to
him. She therefore took the initiative of having Judah perform the
levirate duty of begetting a child with her. He was ignorant of the
fact that he had sexual intercourse with his daughter-in-law because
she disguised herself. When he found out how it happened, he acknowledged that Tamar was in the right, for he should have given his
son Shelah to her. 'And he [Judah] did not lie with her again' (Gen.
38:26b). The information that Judah, while a widower, could have
married Tamar himself, but did not do so, probably indicates that
a sexual relationship between a father-in-law and a daughter-in-law
193

S. Lafont, Femmes, Droit et Justice dans l'Antiquit orientale: Contribution

l'tude du droit pnal au Proche-Orient ancien (OBO, 165), Fribourg, Suisse
1999, 182, n. 46.
194
J.E. Hartley, Leviticus (WBC, 4), Dallas TX 1992, 287.
195
C.M. Carmichael, Law, Legend, and Incest in the Bible: Leviticus 18-20,
Ithaca NY 1997, 25.
196
Father-daughter incest would be forbidden in a non-specific way in Lev. 18,
according to Milgrom; cf. the citation of J. Milgrom, Leviticus 17-22 (AncB, 3A),
New York 2000, 1753, in section 2.1.3. See also J.R. Wegner, 'Leviticus', in: C.A.
Newsom, S.H. Ringe (eds), The Women's Bible Commentary, London 21998, 44-5;
J. Herman, cited by I.N. Rashkow, in: Brenner, A Feminist Companion to Exodus
to Deuteronomy, 28. Lafont, Femmes, Droit et Justice dans l'Antiquit orientale,
184, even goes so fax as to suggest that fat her-daughter incest is not condemned
in the Hebrew Bible.
197
On levirate marriage, see section 2.1.5.

was considered incestuous. In this case '[a] unusual adherence to the

law of the levirate takes precedence over an incest law1.198 It is also
possible, however, that Gen. 38:26b is a later editorial addition to
harmonize the story with the law of Lev. 18:15.
In Lev. 18:15 and 20:12 a sexual relationship between a fatherin-law and his daughter-in-law is forbidden as incestuous as well as
adulterous and condemned with the death penalty. 199 Whereas the
narrative implies that in some circumstances the relationship of a
father-in-law and a daughter-in-law might be acceptable, the lawgiver
was opposed to it.
The Hebrew Bible does not differ fundamentally from its cultural
surroundings in treating sexual offenses on the part of a father or
father-in-law against a daughter or daughter-in-law half-heartedly.
The overarching prescript in Lev. 18:6 as well as the capital punishment for all such offenses in Lev. 18:29 is clear enough, yet the
silence with regard to father-daughter incest is inexcusable, since all
other kinds of sexual offenses in the family are spelled out, be it in a
purely patrilineal manner. 200 The circumstance that Lev. 21 as well
as Deut. 27:20,22,23 omit father-daughter incest excludes the possibility of an unintentional error. Israelite lawgivers simply did not want
to speak out loud and clearly against abuse of a daughter by a father.
The excuses woven into the narratives about Lot and his daughters,
and about Tamar and Judah, indicate a tendency to regard such acts
by the father as forgivable sins. As we have seen, this was also the
attitude in other cultures of the ancient Near East and, therefore,
the presentation of the incest prohibitions in Lev. 18:3 as measures
against the evil customs of the Egyptians and Canaanites was nothing
less than hypocritical as far as daughters are concerned. In view of the
unspeakable suffering of daughters abused by their own fathers, from
biblical times up to the present, it is deplorable that ancient Israel
was unable to distinguish itself from its neighbours in this respect. 201
It once again shows the androcentric perspective of both the Bible
and other ancient Near Eastern texts.
Within a patriarchal context, sons generally were the ones to continue the family line and therefore, they were the ones to inherit.
198

Niditch, 'The Wronged Woman Righted', 148.

Cf. Lafont, Femmes, Droit et Justice dans l'Antiquit orientale, 214-6.
200
Cf. . Otto, Theologische Ethik des Alten Testaments (ThW, 3,2), Stuttgart
1994, 40-1.
201
The Mishnah needed a forced exegesis of Lev. 18:17 to include father-daughter
incest in the list of capital offenses (mSanh. IX:1), cf. J.R. Wegner, Chattel or
Person? The Status of Women in the Mishnah, New York 1988, 27-8, 224, n. 58.
199

According to the Hebrew Bible, daughters did not inherit with sons
on an equal basis. What is more, if a father had both daughters and
sons, the daughters did not inherit at all. According to Num. 27:1-11;
36:1-12 the daughters of Zelophehad received the inheritance of their
father because he had no sons. They were, however, obliged to marry
into the clan of their father's tribe ( ^, Num. 36:6). 202
On the restrictions in Num. 36, Katharine Doob Sakenfeld observes: 'The restriction of marriage emphasizes that no woman who
"possessed an inheritance" can do what she pleases with property, so
that it is not hers "in her own right" in the popular modern sense of
the phrase'. 203 Thus the biblical laws recognize inheritance rights for
women, though only in a restricted sense.
The daughters of Zelophehad based their request for a holding
among their father's kinsmen on the fact that their father's name otherwise would be lost to his clan. Apparently the continued existence of
a person's name depended on his attachment to land. 204 The name of
Zelophehad continued through his grandsons. The Hebrew Bible renders some other examples of a genealogy in which a daughter played
an intermediary role in the continuation of a patrilineage. A situation
more or less comparable with that of the daughters of Zelophehad is
that of the daughters of Eleazar, who also had no brothers and married the sons of their father's brother Kish (1 Chron. 23:22). Here,
too, patrilineage continues through a man's daughters in the absence
202

Although this phrase can be translated with either a definite or an indefinite

article, the former is preferred in view of Num. 27:4,8,9,10 and 36:8; cf. W.H.
Gispen, Het boek Numeri, dl. 2, (COT), Kampen 1964; J. Milgrom, Numbers =
( JPSTC), Philadelphia 5750/1990, 298, 331, 511-2.
On the date of the ordinance regarding inheritance by daughters, cf. . BenBarak, 'Inheritance by Daughters in the Ancient Near East', JSS 25 (1980), 27,
who assumes that although the section derives from P, the legislation is composed
of material dating before the destruction of Samaria. According to K. Doob Sakenfeld, 'Zelophehad's Daughters', in: J.L. Crenshaw (ed.), Perspectives on the
Hebrew Bible: Essays in Honor of Walter J. Harrelson, Macon GA 1988, 37-9,
Num. 36 ought to be attributed to the hand of a post-Ezra supplementor. For a
discussion of the case of Zelophehad's daughters in the light of anthropological
theory, see S.J. Osgood, 'Women and the Inheritance of Land in Early Israel',
in: G.J. Brooke (ed.), Women in the Biblical Tradition (Studies in Women and
Religion, 31), Lewiston-Lampeter 1992, 29-52.
203
Doob Sakenfeld, 'Zelophehad's Daughters', 42-3, n. 13.
204
Cf. Doob Sakenfeld, 'Zelophehad's Daughters', 41: 'Israel's understanding of
the relationship between continuation of the father's name and the "possession"
of an "inheritance" is difficult to delineate with precision. The implication seems
to be that the name is preserved by descendants' being in possession of ancestral
property'. See also section 2.1.1.1.

of sons. 205 In 1 Chron. 2:34-35 the line of Sheshan is continued via

his unnamed daughter whom he gave in marriage to his Egyptian
slave Jarha. Attai, the child born from this relationship, continued
his grandfather's lineage. Another possibility seems to have been for
a son-in-law to adopt his father-in-law's name, as did Barzillai (Ezra
2:61; Neh. 7:63). The son-in-law, whose original name is unknown,
married an unnamed daughter of Barzillai and was called by the name
of his wife's father. Contrary to the daughters of Zelophehad, whose
names are recorded in Num. 27:1, both the daughter of Sheshan and
of Barzillai remain unnamed. Although their intermediary role in the
continuation of their father's line is recorded, their names are forgotten.
Sometimes daughters could receive an inheritance together with
sons. Job 42:13-15 narrates of the daughters of Job, whose father 'gave
them an inheritance along with their brothers' (? , v. 15).206
It is generally assumed that it was due to Job's extraordinary wealth
that his daughters received an inheritance. 207 Yet it is put forward
that the case of Job's daughters is not really a case of inheritance,
since Job gave them estates during his lifetime. Strictly speaking, it
was gifts that Job gave to his daughters Jemimah, Keziah and Kerenhappuch. 208 It therefore cannot be deduced from this text that in
some period Israelite daughters had a right to inherit. It would rather
seem to be dependent on a father's good intentions.
D . CONCLUSIONS

In all ancient Near Eastern societies sons were preferred over daughters. This can be ascribed to the patrilineal structure of society, according to which sons perpetuated the family line and inherited the
family land, whereas daughters left their paternal family to marry
into their husbands' family. In Mesopotamia, Egypt, Ugarit and Israel continuation of the family line was of the utmost importance.
The Legends of Kirtu and Aqhatu give evidence to this, as do the
biblical genealogies. Furthermore, both Babylonian and Israelite parents would rather use their daughter as a security for debt with the
205

Cf. H.G.M. Williamson, 1 and 2 Chronicles (NCBC), Grand Rapids 1982,

161.
206

It is interesting to note that, like the daughters of Zelophehad, Job's daughters

are also mentioned by name.
207
E.g., J.H. Kroeze, Het boek Job (COT), Kampen 1961, 477; C.A. Newsom,
'Job', in: C.A. Newsom, S.H. Ringe (eds), The Women's Bible Commentary, London 2 1998, 139: 'That their inheritance is mentioned suggests that it was not a
customary practice'.
208
J. Milgrom, Numbers = ( JPSTC), Philadelphia 5750/1990, 483.

risk of having to sell her into slavery than their son. It is noteworthy
that in the Ugaritic Legends of Kirtu and Aqhatu there is a tendency
to contradict the preference for sons, possibly for exceptional political
reasons. The privileged position of a son is also expressed by the frequent metaphor of Israel as a son of God which is never balanced by
Israel as a daughter of God, possibly for fear that she might develop
into a goddess.
Both positive and negative aspects of the treatment of daughters surface in the ancient Near Eastern texts. On the one hand, in
Egyptian wisdom texts instructions on how to behave towards one's
daughter are missing and some biblical fathers thoughtlessly (Jephthah) or carelessly (David) seem to have disregarded their daughters'
needs. On the other hand, sometimes an Egyptian father would make
no distinction in his treatment of daughters and sons. And biblical
fathers, such as Laban, put their love and affection into practice.
Daughters would generally be educated in the home by their
mother. Only upper class daughters would sometimes receive an education by a private tutor, such as the Egyptian princess Neferure.
Daughters would learn to perform tasks in the household and to participate in their parents' activities. A virtuous daughter was obedient
to her parents. Unlike biblical Esther and the nameless daughter of
Jephthah, the goddess 'Anatu in Ugaritic myth showed little respect
for her father Ilu but instead threatened him. Other Ugaritic daughters (the goddess Tallayu, Pughatu and Thatmanatu), however, behaved more respectful in that they took care of their fathers. Taking
care of one's parents was generally valued positively in the ancient
Near East.
Although some scholars have asserted that daughters were held
in confinement in ancient Judaism, one needs to be cautious about
any firm conclusions regarding a daughter's restriction of movement.
Already in ancient Sumer a girl could have a special room in the
house. Outside the house a girl could be exposed to the dangers of
sexual assault. In Ugaritic myth, father Ba'lu wished to protect his
daughters from any such exposure or any unseemly behaviour by his
daughters by not putting a window in his palace. Yet on the other
hand, Ba'lu's daughters accompanied him on his journey through the
nether world while the goddess Shapshu as well as human Pughatu
went on dangerous missions on their own.
Virginity of an unmarried daughter was valued highly. In Mesopotamia, Ugarit, Israel and probably in Egypt, too, a respectable girl
was expected to remain chaste until marriage. Laws in Mesopotamia
and Israel rule that the violator of an unbetrothed girl had to pay a

marriage deposit and, the father consenting, had to marry her. Violation of a betrothed girl was regarded as adultery.
It was recognized that incest between father and daughter was
seen as a despicable, yet, on particular occasions, an excusable act.
Whereas other forms of incest which threatened a man's 'ownership'
over a woman's sexuality were seen as capital offenses, this was not
the case with a father who abused his own daughter. He was banished (Babylonia), had to marry the daughter (Egyptian Pharaohs),
had to be ritually purified (Hatti) or was ridiculed (Israel), but nothing worse. In this respect, Israel did not distinguish itself from its
neighbours. Only in the post-biblical period did the Rabbis decree
that an incestuous father had to be executed. In Ugarit, incest in
general was condemned. Although reasoning from silence, I assume
that father-daughter incest was regarded as also unacceptable.
According to Mesopotamian and Israelite law, daughters had a
right to inherit in the absence of sons. Perhaps this may also be coneluded from the Ugaritic Legend of Kirtu, if we assume the youngest
daughter eventually was the only surviving child. If a father had both
sons and daughters, daughters had no right to a share of the inheritance. Only if their father had given them written evidence could they
claim their share.

2.1.5 Widow
In this section we turn to questions regarding the position of the
widow in ancient Near Eastern society. Was she independent? Could
she own possessions to live on? Was she restricted in one way or other?
To whom could she turn for protection? Did she have any legal rights
with regard to her deceased husband's property? Could she inherit
from her husband?
Further, what is known about remarriage of widows? Was a widow
free to marry whomever she pleased? In the Hebrew Bible levirate
marriage is mentioned. It seems that it is also attested in Middle
Assyrian and Hittite Law. Was levirate marriage an obligation for
a widow? Was it a duty for the levirl What can be said about the
purpose of levirate marriage?
A . ANCIENT NEAR EAST

In Mesopotamia, the status of a married woman changed after her

husband died. She no longer was under his authority, as a widow she
became legally independent. Yet this did not always happen.
There has been some discussion on the interpretation of Akk. al-

mattu and, derived from this, on Heb. 1. Some scholars have

contended that it was a legal-technical term, which should not be applied to all women whose husband had died, but only to those who
were without financial support from either father, father-in-law, or
sons and, as a consequence, had become impoverished. 2
Yet Martha Roth has shown that a women referred to as almattu
was not necessarily poor. 3 In a Middle Assyrian household list, widows
who are head of a household and who are not under someone else's
jural authority are labelled almattu. Since some of these women have
possessions, the criterion of poverty does not seem to apply as a rule.
Furthermore, a widow with adult sons could also be called an almattu.A Roth concludes that it is not lack of financial support that
is decisive, but absence of jural authority over her which makes a
widowed woman an almattu.5
A Mesopotamian widow probably did not achieve jural independence if her husband's father was still alive and acted as pater familias.
Since marriage was not so much an arrangement between two persons
as between two families, the marriage bond did not automatically
dissolve when the husband died. 6 A father-in-law held the authority
over his daughter-in-law, who remained a member of his family. It is
uncertain whether she would then be named an almattu.
Based on MAL A33 it is assumed that responsibility for a married
woman who became a widow did not revert to her paternal family. A
woman without sons whose husband and father-in-law were both dead
was called an almattu even when she resided in her father's house. 7
Although her father or some other member of her paternal family
might decide to support her, they probably were not legally obliged
1

Cf. M.T. Roth, 'The Neo-Babylonian Widow', JCS 43-45 (1991-93), 2-3; K.
van der Toorn, 'Torn Between Vice and Virtue: Stereotypes of the Widow in Israel
and Mesopotamia', in: R. Kloppenburg, W.J. Hanegraaff (eds), Female Stereotypes
in Religious Traditions (SHR, 66), Leiden 1995, 5-6.
2
This contention is largely based on MAL A33; cf. CAD (A) 1, 362-4; G.R.
Driver, J.C. Miles, The Assyrian Laws, repr. of the ed. Oxford 1935 with suppl.
add. and corr. by G.R. Driver, Aalen 1975, 224-6, 400-3; C. Saporetti, The Status
of Women in the Middle Assyrian Period (MANE, 2/1), Malibu 1979, 18-9.
3
Roth, 'The Neo-Babylonian Widow', 2-3.
4
Roth, 'The Neo-Babylonian Widow', 3.
5
Roth, 'The Neo-Babylonian Widow', 3.
6
Cf. P.S. Hiebert, ' "Whence Shall Help Come to Me?": The Biblical Widow',
in: P.L. Day (ed.), Gender and Difference in Ancient Israel, Minneapolis 1989,
129.
7
Cf. Driver, Miles, The Assyrian Laws, 225; Hiebert, ' "Whence Shall Help
Come to Me?" ' 128.

to do so. 8
Possibly the situation was different during the Neo-Babylonian
period. In two cases of childless women who became widows, their
dowries reverted to the control of the donors, for the one, to her
mother, for the other widow, to her father. 'The dowry returned to
the control of the parent, and it is probable that the widow, too,
returned to that parent. The death of a husband, then, would not
necessarily make a woman legally and economically independent if
there was a prior jural authority to reassert control.' 9
In literary texts from Mesopotamia widows often are depicted as
vulnerable women who are in need of protection. Their vulnerability
generally is connected with their financial situation. The proverbial
widow is poor. 10 Yet not all widows were poor. Some women possessed
property or had control over property assigned to them by their husbands during his lifetime. Thus, '[t]he extent to which widows were
actually poor will have varied'. 11
If a widow owned property, it probably was (part of) her dowry. A
Mesopotamian woman who received a dowry upon entering marriage,
had a legal right to the dowry or its comparable value when she left
her husband's home as a widow. According to CH 172, the only
inalienable property of a widow was her dowry (seriktu). During his
lifetime her husband could bestow her with a marriage settlement
(nudunn), which would serve as a means of existence to her after
his death. If he had not made a marriage settlement she was entitled
to a share of her husband's estate equivalent to that of an individual
heir. If a widow decided to remarry, the only property she could take
with her was her dowry. Either the nudunn or the inheritance share,
whichever she had received, she then had to leave behind for her sons
or other relatives who were to inherit it (CH 171-174).12
Likewise, Neo-Babylonian law rendered any wife whose husband
had died the right to a dowry. Even if she had no dowry upon entering marriage, 'a judge shall assess the value of her husband's estate,
and shall give to her some property in accordance with the value of
8

Cf. Driver, Miles, The Assyrian Laws, 217, n. 4.

Roth, 'The Neo-Babylonian Widow', 22. See also LNB 10.
10
Van der Toorn, 'Torn Between Vice and Virtue', 2-7.
11
Van der Toorn, 'Torn Between Vice and Virtue', 3.
12
Her dowry would be inherited by her children, in case of remarriage by the
children born to her in both marriages.
For the Neo-Sumerian period, cf. H. Neumann, 'Bemerkungen zu Ehe, Konkubinat und Bigamie in neusumerischer Zeit', in: FPOA, 133-4. For Nuzi, cf. .
Cassin, 'Pouvoirs de la femme et structures familiales', RA 63 (1969), 137. See
also MAL A25-26. On the dowry see further sections 2.1.1.3.1 and 2.1.2.
9

her husband's estate' (LNB 12). 13 Neo-Babylonian law appears to

have been somewhat more lenient, since it gave a widow the right
to continue to enjoy the usufruct of any additional property her first
husband gave her when she remarried a husband of her choice: 'as
long as she lives, they shall have the joint use of the properties' (LNB
13).14 Yet Amlie Kuhrt points to the fact that in actual practice a
woman's dowry frequently would stay in her husband's family, since
remarriages often were endogamous, probably due to family pressure
to keep the property together. 15 Martha Roth, on the other hand,
points to 'ample documentation of widows claiming their dowries from
the estates of their dead husbands. They sue or defend their rights
against their husbands' brothers and fathers, and even against their
own sons.' 16 A widow could thus become economically independent
and engage in business. Yet her dowry and possibly the settlement
her husband arranged for her during his lifetime (seriktu) would generally be the only means of maintenance she had. Only if they were
of sufficient value was she able to live on them.
According to MAL A35, the husband of an almattu who remarried and went to live in her new husband's house, became the owner
of her property. Yet on the other hand, if her husband came to live in
her house, she became the owner of his possessions. 17
Care for the widow was part of the ethics of life in the ancient Near
East. Protecting the widow and the orphan was one of the virtues
of the good king. 18 King Hammurapi, for instance, declared in the
epilogue to his law code: 'In order that the mighty not wrong the
weak, to provide just ways for the waif and the widow, I have inscribed
my precious pronouncements upon my stela and set it up before the
13

Cf. Roth, LCMAM, 147.

Roth, LCMAM, 147-8.
15
A. Kuhrt, 'Non-Royal Women in the Late Babylonian Period: A Survey', in:
WER, 225-6; for Archaemenidian Babylonia, cf. M.W. Stolper, Property in Bit
Pniya', RA 85 (1991), 51. See also below and section 2.1.1.1.
16
M.T. Roth, 'Marriage and Matrimonial Prestations in First Millennium B.C.
Babylonia', in: WER, 251.
17
Cf. Driver, Miles, The Assyrian Laws, 221-2; C. Wilcke, 'Familiengrndung
im alten Babylonien', in: E.W. Mller (ed.), Geschlechtsreife und Legitimation zur
Zeugung (Historische Anthropologie, 3) (Kindheit, Jugend, Familie, 1), Mnchen
1985, 304-5.
18
Cf. F.C. Fensham, 'Widow, Orphan, and the Poor in Ancient Near Eastern
Legal and Wisdom Literature', JNES 21 (1962), 129-39 (repr. in: F.E. Greenspahn
(ed.), Essential Papers on Israel and the Ancient Near East, New York 1991,
176-92); S.N. Kramer, 'The Woman in Ancient Sumer: Gleanings from Sumerian
Literature', in: FPOA, 111; E. Feucht, Das Kind im Alten gypten, Frankfurt
1995, 379-83.
14

,19
statue of me, the king of justice, in the city of Babylon
But caring for the widow was not only part of the ethics of kings.
Other wealthy persons could also refer to the care they provided for
the widow. In autobiographical texts from Egypt, high officials asserted in various ways that they were a helper to the widow and the
orphan. 20 Egyptian wisdom texts express the same social ideal. In the
Instruction to Merikare the king is told not to oppress the widow. 21
And Amenemope is instructed,

Do not be greedy for a cubit of land,

Nor encroach on t h e boundaries of a widow.
. . . Do not pounce on a widow when you find her in the fields
And t h e n fail to be patient with her reply. 2 2

It seems that in Egypt, too, widows generally belonged to the disadvantaged of society. With regard to their legal rights, Gay Robins
assumes that although Egyptian women could conduct a lawsuit on
their own they probably needed backup of male family members. 'The
position of disadvantaged persons such as widows suggests that their
rights were protected not by law but by the good will of male officials.
Women's legal rights clearly did not extend effectively throughout society.' 23
Widows were believed to be under the special protection of the
gods. Thus it is said of the god Marduk that he provided justice for the
widow. By being dedicated to a deity, widows were assured of maintenance by the temple. 24 In early Mesopotamia, temple households
provided shelter for widows as well as other individuals without a male
protector. These people in need of protection formed a substantial
part of a temple's labour force. 25 Also in the Neo-Babylonian period
19

Roth, LCMAM, 133-4.

C. Desroches Noblecourt, La femme au temps des pharaons, Paris 1986, 3567; G. Robins, Women in Ancient Egypt, London 1993, 138-9; Feucht, Das Kind
im Alten gypten, 379-85.
21
. Lichtheim, Ancient Egyptian Literature: A Book of Readings, vol. 1, Berkeley 1973, 100. The Instruction to Merikare is dated to the Herakleopolitan period
(2170/2120-2025/2020 BCE).
22
M. Lichtheim, Ancient Egyptian Literature: A Book of Readings, vol. 2, Berkeley 1976, 151, 161. See further A. Depla, 'Women in Ancient Egyptian Wisdom
Literature 1 , in: L.J. Archer et al. (eds), Women in Ancient Societies: An Illusion
of the Night, Basingstoke, Hampshire 1994, 47. The Instruction to Amenemope
is generally believed to be composed during the Ramesside period (1292-1070/69
20

BCE).
23

Robins, Women in Ancient Egypt, 141.

Van der Toorn, Cradle, 136-7.
25
Cf. I.J. Gelb, 'Household and Family in Early Mesopotamia', in: E. Lipmski
24

temple authorities provided for widows and their children. According

to one text the widows were obliged to deliver a number of garments
on an annual basis in return for support from the temple. 26 Besides
becoming a temple servant, there was another option for widows. They
could also enter the house of a mr ban.27 Not much is known of this
institution. Apparently widows could reside temporarily in such a
house, until they remarried.
CU 9-11 exemplifies a widow's weak social position. Whereas a
man who divorced his first-ranking wife had to pay her 60 shekels of
silver (CU 9), one who divorced a widow only had to pay half the
amount of money (CU 10) and if a man had sexual relations with
a widow without drawing up a written contract for her, he did not
have to pay any divorce money at all.28 As we have seen, a marriage
contract was of importance to women who were in a vulnerable position. MAL A34 also attests to the practice of widows being forced to
accept cohabitation with a man without him drawing up a marriage
contract for her. According to this law she became a legal wife only
after two years of cohabitation. 29
An Emarite text records how a certain widow had become impoverished and was forced to go into debt. Her husband's brothers did
not come to her help, but a certain 'Ba'al-malik, son of the "diviner" '
did help her and payed her debts. She, on her part, gave her daughter
in marriage to him and donated her property to him. 30
According to Neo-Sumerian juridical documents (ca. 2200-1900),
a widow did not have any right to a share of her husband's property
after his death. She did not inherit from him, unless additional testamentory provisions were made. In general, she would have to live on
her own possessions, viz. her dowry and the property her husband
might have given her during their marriage. 31
Neither does the Code of Hammurapi render widows the right to
(ed.), State and Temple Economy in the Ancient Near East I (OLA, 5), Leuven 1979, 23; J.M. Asher-Greve, Frauen in altsumerischer Zeit (Bibliotheca
Mesopotamia, 18), Malibu CA 1985, 162; Van der Toorn, 'Torn Between Vice
and Virtue', 3-4.
26
Roth, 'The Neo-Babylonian Widow', 23-4.
27
M.T. Roth, 'Women in Transition and the bit mar ban', RA 82 (1988), 136-7;
Idem, 'The Neo-Babylonian Widow', 24-5.
28
Roth, LCMAM, 18. The Code of Ur-Namma is dated to ca. 2100 BCE.
29
Cf. Driver, Miles, The Assyrian Laws, 217-8. See also section 2.1.1.3.1.
30
G. Beckman, 'Family Values on the Middle Euphrates in the Thirteenth Century B.C.E.', in: M.W. Chavalas (ed.), Emar: The History, Religion and Culture
of a Syrian Town in the Late Bronze Age, Bethesda MD 1996, 65.
31
Cf. Neumann, 'Bemerkungen zu Ehe, Konkubinat und Bigamie in neusumerischer Zeit', 133-4.

inherit. A husband could provide his wife with a marriage settlement

during his life time. If he had not done so, after his death she was
entitled to 'a share of the property of her husband's estate comparable
in value to that of one heir'. 32 Yet both these kinds of possessions
were not her property, control over it was restricted to lifetime use.
When she remarried, she had to renounce any rights to them. CH
177 records that a widow whose children were still very young could
administer her late husband's estate for them, yet did not inherit any
of it herself. If she should decide to remarry she needed to obtain the
approval of the judges. Together with her new husband she could then
manage the estate of her deceased husband. An inventory of the estate
needed to be made upon the second marriage. Also, the couple were
not allowed to sell anything from the household goods. The property
was to be managed for the children of the first marriage who were to
inherit it.
Widows in thirteenth-century Emarite society did not have the
right to inherit the family property. In order to execute the right of
inheritance a widow had to become the head of a household upon the
death of her husband. A small number of testaments state that the
testator made his wife primary heir and 'father and mother' of his
house, thus endowing her with legally male gender and making her
guardian. 33 It seems that this was not a common rule. In general, an
adult son would become head of the household and he was supposed
to take care of his mother. Testators usually intended to assure the
social and economic position of their surviving wives. If a wife was
not made 'father and mother', the adult children were enjoined to
support her. Children who failed to do so could lose their right to the
inheritance. 34
In the absence of any relatives, a Nuzi widow could inherit from her
deceased husband. Yet it would seem that it did not often occur that a
man neither had any children (biological or adopted) nor brothers to
32

Roth, LCMAM, 114 (CH 172). Cf. further G.R. Driver, J.C. Miles,
The Babylonian Laws, repr., vol. 1, Oxford 1956, 334-5; F.R. Kraus, 'Von
altmesopotamischem Erbrecht: Ein Vortrag', in: J. Brugman et al., Essays on
Oriental Laws of Succession (SDIO, 9), Leiden 1969, 16.
33
E.g., D. Arnaud, Recherches au pays d'Astata (Emar, 6/3), Paris 1986, nos.
15, 91, 112, 181, 185, 195; G. Beckman, Texts from the Vicinity of Emar: in the
Collection of Jonathan Rosen (HANE/M, 2), Padova 1996, nos. RE 15, 28, 37.
See also Th. Kmmerer, 'Zur sozialen Stellung der Frau in Emar und Ekalte als
Witwe und Waise', UF 26 (1994), 169-208.
34
Cf. Beckman, 'Family Values on the Middle Euphrates in the Thirteenth
Century B.C.E.', 60, 72.

whom he could leave his property. 35 However, since this information

is deduced from testaments, it is possible that a Nuzi widow only had
inheritance rights if she was accorded legal male gender.
Generally an Egyptian wife would not inherit from her husband.
In order to make her an heir, juridic measures had to be taken. In
general husband and wife had their own possessions. They inherited
from their own family but not from each other. 36 The fact that a
widow did not inherit from her husband did not necessarily mean
that she was without financial means. Often a marriage arrangement
contained clauses on the care for the widow. Further, if the couple
had had joint property, one third of it generally would befall the
widow. 37 And finally the 'testament' could contain a phrase obliging
the children to take care of their mother. 38
An Egyptian husband could also 'sell' his property to his wife.
This would be a fictitious sale, by which the wife would be entitled
to her husband's property after his death. For the sale to become
in effect, a statement in which the seller renounced his title to the
property was needed. With one exception the husband did not draw
up such a statement and thus still owned the property. Yet his aim
was not to sell it to her, but to ensure that she - who as a wife was
not entitled to it - could inherit the property. 39
In some cases husbands bequeathed either a part or the total sum
of their possessions to their wives.40 In the bequest of Wah, for instance, which dates from the eightteenth century BCE, he stated that
his wife was to inherit all his property. She could give if to whichever
child of them she chose.41 Although it would seem that an Egyptian
wife could thus be a rightful heir of her husband, she only appears
to be an intermediairy. According to Pieter Willem Pestman it would
appear ' that the wife does not receive this property for herself but for
the benefit of their children, so that in due course the rightful heirs do
35

J. Paradise, Daughter and her Father's Property at Nuzi', JCS 32 (1980),

197, n. 34.
36
P.W. Pestman, 'The Law of Succession in Ancient Egypt', in: J. Brugman et
al., Essays on Oriental Laws of Succession (SDIO, 9), Leiden 1969, 7; E. BrunnerTraut, 'Die Stellung der Frau im Alten gypten', Saeculum 38 (1987), 325.
37
Feucht, Das Kind im Alten gypten, 211.
38
Pestman, 'The Law of Succession in Ancient Egypt', 73; Desroches Noblecourt, La femme au temps des pharaons, 279.
iy
P.W. Pestman, Marriage and Matrimonial Property in Ancient Egypt: A Contribution to Establishing the Legal Position of the Woman (PLB, 9), Leiden 1961,
122-3.
40
Feucht, Das Kind im Alten gypten, 182.
41
Pestman, 'The Law of Succession in Ancient Egypt', 73. Differently, Feucht,
Das Kind im Alten gypten, 182.

receive the legacy even though it is not directly from the testator but
from his wife'. 42 In some of these cases the children probably were
still quite young.
If a couple was childless, the rights of the wife with regard to
the usufruct of her husband's inheritance appear to have been more
unstable. Probably for this reason the Egyptian husband, Nebnofre,
adopted his wife as his daughter, in order to safeguard her position
after his death. Had he not done so, his brothers and sisters would
have inherited his possessions. 43
Data from Neo-Assyrian and Neo-Babylonian society indicate that
widows frequently remarried. Since women usually married at an early
age - between the ages of fourteen and twenty - and their husbands
generally were about a decade older, they could become widows at
a relatively young age, when they were still fertile. 44 '[I] a sample
of documented households with daughters of marriage age, at least
one-quarter and perhaps as many as one-half of the households were
headed by widows'. 45
If a widow did remarry, she could either choose a relative of her
late husband or someone outside her husband's family. In a series of
texts from sixth-century Borsippa endogamous marriages frequently
occur and scholars wonder whether this should be compared with
the custom of levirate marriage. Some deny that the levirate obligation existed, but others assume that, although not by law, in practise
a brother-in-law might have great interest in marrying his widowed
sister-in-law. 46 Through marriage a family could come into the possession of certain goods, such as land, which was (part of) the bride's
dowry. When the husband died, there was a chance the widow remarried outside the family. She then had the right to take her dowry
with her and would remove that property from her late husband's
family. To prevent that from happening, the husband's brother could
remarry his sister-in-law. Pressure of family members also might in42

Pestman, 'The Law of Succession in Ancient Egypt', 75 (emphasis by Pestman). Cf. also Idem, Marriage and Matrimonial Property in Ancient Egypt, 120-4.
43
Pestman, 'The Law of Succession in Ancient Egypt', 74; Robins, Women in
Ancient Egypt, 77; R.M. Janssen, J.J. Janssen, Getting Old in Ancient Egypt,
London 1996, 88. Having become a widow, Nebnofre's wife in turn adopted three
children of her female slave, as well as her brother. They were to take care of her
in her old age. See section 2.1.2.
44
Roth, 'The Neo-Babylonian Widow', 4.
45
Roth, 'The Neo-Babylonian Widow', 5.
46
Cf. J.C. Greenfield, 'Some Neo-Babylonian Women', in: FPOA, 78; F.
Joannes, 'Un cas de remariage d'poque no-babylonienne', in: FPOA, 93.

fluence their choice.47

If a widow remarried with someone outside her husband's family
she would loose any rights she had to the usufruct of her husband's
property. In a verdict dating from the Ur m period (ca. 2000 BCE) it
is stated that a widow who remarried lost the right to her husband's
house, which was given to her son. 48 In this text the deposit of a garment is mentioned, a symbolic act signifying 'the change in status of
a person in respect to the house in which he or she had resided' 4 9
A widow who remarried thereby symbolically acted out that she dissolved the familial ties with the members of her first husband's family
other than her children.
Testaments from Emar in which a woman is made guardian of the
family could contain a phrase regarding remarriage. If she should wish
to 'go after a strange man', i.e., a man of another family, she was not
allowed to take with her any property of the inheritance of which she
was guardian. 50
Likewise, Nuzi testaments that regulate a wife's guardianship often contain a clause stating that 'if she wishes to remarry she "shall
take her personal belongings and leave" '.51 A widow who remarried
was thus not allowed to remove any property, for it belonged to the
heirs, i.e. her children. One Nuzi testament, Sumer 32 133 no. 2,
records a very stern measure. If the testator's wife remarries, she
should be killed as punishment. In this way the testator probably
hoped to prevent removal of the inheritance that he willed to his
daughter, who presumably was the testator's wife's step-daughter. 52
Both Middle Assyrian and Hittite Law discuss practices that resemble the biblical custom of levirate marriage. MAL A30 is concerned with the death of a groom during inchoate marriage. The situation is one in which a father has two sons who are both inchoately
married. If the first son dies, the father 'shall give the wife of his
deceased son into the protection of the household of his second son
' 53 In case the father-in-law of the second son disagrees to this 47

Joannes, 'Un cas de remariage d'poque no-babylonienne', 94-5; Kuhrt, 'NonRoyal Women in the Late Babylonian Period', 225-6.
48
M. Sigrist, 'Some di-til-la Tablets in the British Museum', in: Z. Zevit et
al. (eds), Solving Riddles and Untying Knots: Biblical, Epigraphic, and Semitic
Studies in Honor of Jonas C. Greenfield, Winona Lake IN 1995, 613-4.
49
Sigrist, 'Some di-til-la Tablets in the British Museum', 614.
50
Cf., e.g., J. Huehnergard, 'Five Tablets from the Vicinity of Emar', RA 77
(1983), 16-9, 30-1.
51
Paradise, Daughter and her Father's Property at Nuzi', 196.
52
Paradise, Daughter and her Father's Property at Nuzi', 195-6.
53
Roth, LCMAM, 164.

because, instead of being the only wife of the second son, his daughter
would now become a co-wife - the inchoate marriage of the second son
may be dissolved. Raymond Westbrook notes that the union between
the second son and the widow of the deceased first son is called ana
ahzete, 'a technical term for marriage without formalities, generally
a second marriage'. 54
MAL A33 would seem to refer to levirate marriage between
a father-in-law and his daughter-in-law. Here, too, the phrase ana
ahzete is used. Perhaps such a union could occur where the woman
was childless.55 However, since the text is fragmentary we cannot be
certain.
The third reference occurs in MAL A43, where it is recorded
what should happen in case an inchoate marriage performed by way
of pouring oil on the bride's head 56 was ended by either death or flight
of the groom. Should such an event occur, then the bride's father-inlaw 'shall give her in marriage to whichever of his remaining sons he
wishes, from the oldest to the youngest of at least ten years of age'. 57
In case no brothers or father of the groom were present, his sons of at
least ten years old - whom the groom had fathered by another wife
or other wives - had the obligation to marry her.
Godfrey Driver and John Miles stress the difference between biblical levirate and the marriages described in MAL A30, A33 and
A43. Both MAL A30 and A43 deal with an inchoately married
bride, a girl who is considered to be married by law, but whose marriage has not yet been consummated and who therefore is (still) childless. MAL A33 may concern a situation resembling levirate, yet the
text is too fragmentary to be certain. They furthermore point to other
law texts where one would expect to find a reference to levirate marriage if such a custom would exist in Assyria. Yet in MAL A25,
A36 and A45 we lack such a reference. 58
The custom described in HL 193 does resemble levirate marriage:
54

R. Westbrook, Property and the Family in Biblical Law (JSOT.S, 113),

Sheffield 1991, 88. Roth, LCMAM, 164, n. 22, refers to CAD (A) 1, 217, which
describes the union as 'a marriage-like relationship of dependency and protection
between an unprotected female and the head of a household'.
55
Thus, G.R. Driver, J.C. Miles, The Assyrian Laws, repr. of the ed. Oxford
1935 with suppl. add. and corr. by G.R. Driver, Aalen 1975, 247, 400-3; Westbrook, Property and the Family in Biblical Law, 88.
56
See section 2.1.1.3.2.
57
Roth, LCMAM, 169.
58
Driver, Miles, The Assyrian Laws, 240-50. On the problem of possible redactional layers in MAL, cf. . Otto, Das Deuteronomium: Politische Theologie und
Rechtsreform in Juda und Assyrien (BZAW, 284), Berlin 1999, 157-202.

If a m a n has a wife, a n d t h e m a n dies, his brother shall take his widow

as wife. (If t h e b r o t h e r dies,) his f a t h e r shall take her. W h e n a f t e r w a r d s
his f a t h e r dies, his (i.e., t h e father's) b r o t h e r shall take t h e w o m a n
w h o m he h a d . 5 9

Harry Hoffner cites a possible example of this law in practice. 60 Hittite

law distinguishes sharply between this type of 'levirate' marriage and
sexual intercourse of a man and his brother's wife during the brother's
lifetime, which is strictly prohibited in HL 195a.61
Whereas the Assyrian material is inconclusive, Hittite law resembles the Biblical custom of levirate marriage. Although Hittite law is
silent on the reasons for these marriage regulations, we may assume
preventing removal of family property and protection of the widow
are the most important ones.
B . UGARITIC LITERARY T E X T S

Widows and their social position receive little attention in the Ugaritic
literary texts. Generally they were poor women, who had little means
of support. A widow's poverty and her exemplary behaviour despite
her sorry situation is mentioned in KTU 1.14:11.44. The widow was
among those who contributed in one way or another to Kirtu's campaign, during which he would capture his bride. There is some discussion on the sort of contribution she made. Crux interpretum is
the absolute infinitive kr tkr, which scholars have connected with
Heb. . Either the widow hired someone to go in her stead 62 , or she
hired herself out 63 . In the latter case, however, one would expect the
infinitive to be an stem (*nkr). Furthermore, Johannes de Moor
and Klaas Spronk point to the fact that in Ugaritic the verb 'gr is
used as a cognate of Heb. ' to hire someone'. Of course it is very
well possible that Ug. kr more or less has the same meaning, but
on contextual grounds it seems more probable to relate it to Arab.
59

Roth, LCMAM, 236.

H.A. Hoffner, The Laws of the Hittites: A Critical Edition (DMOA, 23), Leiden 1997, 226.
61
Westbrook, Property and the Family in Biblical Law, 86-8. HL 195a reads: 'If
a man sleeps with his brother's wife, while his brother is alive, it is an unpermitted
sexual pairing'; cf. Roth, LCMAM, 236-7; Hoffner, The Laws of the Hittites, 154.
62
Thus, e.g., J. Gray, The KRT Text in the Literature of Ras Shamra: A Social
Myth of Ancient Canaan (DMOA, 15), Leiden 2 1964, 13, 42; Pardee, in: C0S, vol.
1, 334; Greenstein, in: Smith, UNP, 15.
63
Thus, e.g., TO, t. 1, 518; J.C.L. Gibson, Canaanite Myths and Legends, Edinburgh 1977, 84.
60

akira 'to become generous'. 64 The context (KTU 1.14:11.43-47) is a

list of persons who normally had no obligations with regard to military service. It mentions a single man, a widow, a sick man and a
blind man,
43

yhd.bth.sgr
44
Silmnt.kr 45 1six.
zbl. 'rm 4 6 y'u
'wr.mzl 47 ymzl

Let the single man close his house,

let the widow give a generous contribution,
let the sick man take up his bed,
let the blind one donate very generously.

In the first bicolon two adults living alone are mentioned, persons
without a family to care for or to take care of them. The second
bicolon parallels two disabled persons, a sick and a blind man. But
the two bicola also form a unit together, parallelling someone who
went and someone who gave: both the single man and the sick man
went and joined Kirtu's army, while the widow and the blind man,
both unable to enlist themselves, supported the campaign financially.
Both widowed women and handicapped men generally belonged to the
lowest social strata. Yet they, in their poverty, donated generously to
the enterprise of Kirtu to obtain himself a bride. 65
Widows could belong to those who lacked protection by their family. The only patronage they could then call upon was the king's. A
righteous king was supposed to protect the rights of the weak, viz.
widows and orphans, in judging their case. Dan'ilu was such a just
king (KTU 1.17:V.7-8 || 1.19:1.23-25):
7

ydn

dn. 'almnt.

ytpt.tpt.ytm

He judged the case of the widow,

he tried the case of the orphan.

In KTU 1.16:VI.33,45-46, on the other hand, prince Yassubu throwed

in the face of his father, Kirtu, that he should abdicate because he
failed to be a righteous king. One of his defects was the fact that he
did not judge the case of the widow (I tdn.dn. 'almnt).
It was a king's duty to watch over the rights of the widow. He also
had the duty to feed her (KTU 1.16:VI.49-50). However, Yassubu
reproached Kirtu with the fact that he had not only neglected the
former duty, but also the latter,
48

Ipnk
50

49

1tlhm.ytm.

b'd kslk. 'almnt

Before you, you do not let the orphan eat,

(nor) behind your back the widow.

Apparently, the orphan was supposed to be fed at the king's table,

while the widow received her portion 'behind the king's back'. Widows
64

Thus L. Badre et al., 'Notes ougaritiques I: Keret', Syria 53 (1976), 109; J.C.
de Moor, K. Spronk, 'Problematical Passages in the Legend of Kirtu (I)', UF 14
(1982), 164.
65
De Moor, Spronk, 'Problematical Passages in the Legend of Kirtu (I)', 164.

probably came at the palace door to ask for food. 66

One of the epithets of the goddess 'Anatu is ybmt I'imm. With
regard to its translation, several suggestions have been made. 67 Most
scholars assume ybmt is a cognate of Heb. *' widowed sister-inlaw'. The second element of the epithet, I'imm, generally is regarded
as a cognate of Heb. ' people'. 68
Ugaritologists have referred to two passages in the Ba'lu myth as
texts which possibly might shed light on the translation of 'Anatu's
epithet ybmt I'imm. First, KTU 1.3:IV.39-40, which reads,
39

hlk. 'ahth.b'l.y'n.
40

tdrq ybnt.abh.

Ba'lu saw his sister coming,

(saw) the ybnt of his father approaching.

Crux interpretum here is the word ybnt, which according to some is a

variant spelling of ybmt69 and according to others a scribal error for
bt70
In the former case, 'Anatu would be a ybmt to Ba'lu's father Daganu. Perhaps the meaning of ybmt not only referred to a widowed
sister-in-law in relation to her husband's brother, but also included
the relation to other members of her husband's family. 71 It would
seem that in Hebrew the meaning of * was not restricted to the
relation of a widowed sister-in-law towards her husband's brother. In
Ruth 1:15 Orpah was a husband's brother's widow of Ruth and was
called 72 However, in relation to Naomi, Orpah and Ruth were
66

Cf. Job 22:9; 31:16-17.

For an overview cf. . Kutsch,' jbm\ in: ThWAT, Bd. 3, 393-6; .H. Walls,
The Goddess Anat in Ugaritic Myth (SBL.DS, 135), Atlanta GA 1992, 94-107.
68
Some scholars have suggested the meaning ybmt of Lim, Lim being a deity,
possibly of Amorite origin. However, as C.L. Seow, 'Lim', in: DDD, 523, notes,
the designation of 'Anatu 'occurs at least ten times in Ugaritic, always with limm,
instead of lim
' The translation 'ybmt of the Nations' or 'ybmt of the thousand
(gods)' is therefore preferable. In a different manner J.C. de Moor, 'Studies in the
New Alphabetic Texts from Ras Shamra I', UF 1 (1969), 183, has related the
god Lim to 'Anatu's epithet. He assumed that I'imm referred to 'the Li'mites,
those belonging to the race of Li'mu'. He later on modified his opinion on this
translation, however, preferring 'Wanton Widow of the Nations'; cf. Idem, 'An
Incantation against Infertility (KTU 1.13)', UF 12 (1980), 308-9. J. Fox, 'The
Ugaritic Divine Epithet ybmt limm and the Biblical 'mm', UF 30 (1998), 27988, has proposed the translation 'Sister-in-Law to the Terrible Ones (=gods)'.
69
E.g., Gibson, Canaanite Myths and Legends, 52; Tropper, UG, 154. Sivan,
GUL, 20-6, on the other hand, does not mention the consonantal shift m > n.
70
E.g., D. Pardee, 'The New Canaanite Myths and Legends', DiOr 37 (1980),
279.
71
Analogous to the meaning of kallatu for a girl marrying into her husband's
family; cf. CAD (K), 79-82; Beckman, 'Family Values on the Middle Euphrates
in the Thirteenth Century B.C.E.', 69.
72
F.W. Bush, Ruth, Esther (WBC, 9), Dallas TX 1996, 81-2, assumes the terms
67

called1:6)
etc.) and1:1 ) ) , not *. If the word was used in
the same sense in Ugaritic, perhaps a widowed female in-law could be
named a ybmt not only in relation to her husband's brother, but also
in relation to other family members. Based on its Hebrew cognate,
however, a meaning encompassing the relation between a father-inlaw and his daughter-in-law cannot be defended.
On the other hand, if in KTU 1.3:IV.39-40 ybnt should be understood as a scribal error and the text should be emended to bt abh,
it would make a perfect parallelism with 'ahth. 73 However, from a
graphical point of view the emendation is not very convincing.
The second text that might shed light on the translation of 'Anatu's
epithet ybmt I'imm is KTU 1.6:1.30-31, a text which unfortunately is
damaged. In its preceding lines it is told how 'Anatu offered funerary sacrifices for the deceased Ba'lu. Lines 30-31 are reconstructed
in various ways. Gregorio del Olmo Lete, for instance, assumes the
sacrifical theme is continued and reconstructs as follows,
30

[d]bhh.tt bm. ,[nt]

31
[wg]zrh.ybm.I'ilm

His sacrificial meal she arranged 74 in [the furrows]

[and] his ration, (the one) of 'brother-in-law' of the
gods / (the one) belonging to a god. 75

Johannes de Moor understands the text differently. According to

him 'Anatu proclaimed herself a nubile widow among Ba'lu's clan. He
renders the following reconstruction,
30

[b]p/1/1.s&771. '[nt]
31

[kd.g]zrh.ybm.l'ilm

[In] his [c]1an 'A[natu] proclaimed herself 76 a nubile

widow,
[so that] his [fe]110ws would fulfil the nuptial duty for
the gods. 77

* and ' are simply synonymous, meaning "sister-in-law" '. HALAT, Lf.
2, 367, renders 'Witwe d. Bruders', but also mentions 'Schwgerin?'
73
Cf. Gen. 20:12; Lev. 18:9, 11; 20:17; Deut. 27:22; Ezek. 16:45; 22:11.
In TO, t. 1,172, n. b, it is suggested to regard ybnt as an error of bnt 'daughter'.
However, bnt is only attested as a plural, not as a singular, and 'there is no reason
for a plural here'; cf. Pardee, 'The New Canaanite Myths and Legends', 279.
74
Virolleaud, Syria 12 (1931), 194, initially read pt, but in Syria 15 (1934),
236, proposed to read tt, which was followed by Herdner, CTA, 39, n. 3, and
many others.
75
G. del Olmo Lete, 'Notes on Ugaritic Semantics V', UF 14 (1982), 66. He also
mentions Ginsberg's suggestion to read a parallelism '[nt] || ybm<t>
l'im(!)m,
which would result in the translation 'His sacrificial meal 'Anatu set with them,
/ and his ration, the "Promised of peoples(?)" '.
76
ttbm is regarded as a St stem of ybm. Walls, The Goddess Anat in Ugaritic
Myth, 100, however, points to the phrase I'istbm tnn in KTU 1.3:111.40, which is
generally parsed as a Gt stem of bm 'muzzle'; cf., e.g., Tropper, UG, 525, 572.
According to Walls, '[w]hi1e KTU 1.6 i 30-1 is a difficult passage and the verbal
root of the forms ttbm and I'istbm are disputed, de Moor's ingenious proposal of
a St stem of ybm, "to proclaim oneself a ybm[t!]," lacks support'.
77
De Moor, 'An Incantation against Infertility (KTU 1.13)', 308-9; Idem,

Yet another interpretation is proposed by Joseph Tropper. He accepts Virolleaud's initial reading ptbm, thereby changing the subject
of the St stem of ybm,
30

[x ]phh tbrn '[nt]

31

[xxx] zrh ybm l ilm

(?) ihre [Fa]mi1ie erklrte daraufhin (die Gttin)

'A[natu] zur Witwe;
ihr
(?) um die Schwagerehe zu vollziehen fr den
Gott (sc. Ba'lu) / . . . ( ? ) Bruder fr den Gott (sc.
Ba'lu). 78

Possibly 'Anatu brought offerings befitting a brother-in-law of the

gods, 79 yet a reference to the duty to perform the levirate marriage
seems just as likely, in which case both Tropper's and De Moor's
interpretation make good sense.
As we have noted before, 'Anatu was a goddess who had not (yet)
born a child. 80 Due to the death of her husband Ba'lu, 'Anatu became
a ybmt, a nubile widow. If the interpretation of De Moor and Tropper
is accepted, it would mean that in Ugarit, too, a close male relative
of her husband had the duty to sire children with a childless widow.81
If so, it might be that, analogous to Hittite law, a father-in-law could
also fulfil this duty.
Both KTU 1.3:IV.39-40 and 1.6:1.30-31 have their difficulties of
interpretation and do not offer a clear-cut answer to the question of
how to translate 'Anatu's epithet ybmt I'imm. De Moor's suggestion
'Wanton Widow of the Nations' has met serious objection by Dennis
Pardee, according to whom this translation makes no sense: 'there was
nothing wanton about a sister-in-law nor about a levirate bride'. 82 De
Moor refers to biblical data according to which men were not always
willing to perform the duty of levirate marriage. 83 In some cases,
women could go to court (Deut. 25:5-10). In other instances widows
used their sexual attractiveness to beget descendants (Gen. 38) or to
get married (Ruth). 84 It cannot be attested from Ugaritic mythology
that 'Anatu had a reputation as a seductress towards male relatives
ARTU, 84. Whereas De Moor reads ll!i'!m in UF 12 (1980), he alters his opinion
in ARTU, reading I'ilm.
78
Tropper, UG, 608-9.
79
Cf. Gibson, Canaanite Myths and Legends, 75; G. del Olmo Lete, Mitos y
leyendas de Canaan: segun la tradicion de Ugarit (FCiBi, 1), Madrid 1981, 224.
80
See section 2.1.2.
81
Cf. Korpel, RiC, 131, 227.
82
D. Pardee, review of De Moor, Spronk, CARTU\ De Moor, ARTU, in: AfO
36/37 (1989/90), 179.
83
De Moor, 'An Incantation against Infertility (KTU 1.13)', 309. See below on
biblical levirate marriage.
84
On the discussion whether in the Hebrew Bible a levirate marriage between
a father-in-law and his daughter-in-law was possible, see below.

of her late husband Ba'lu. 85

A ybmt was a childless woman who had become a widow. Male
family members of her late husband - a brother but possibly also a
father - probably had the duty to marry her and sire a child. The
translation 'Levirate Widow of the Nations' therefore seems most appropriate.
C . H E B R E W BIBLE

Related to the interpretation of Akk. almattu there has also been

some discussion with regard to Heb. . According to some it is
a technical term for a woman who had lost her husband and was
without male protection of either father-in-law or adult son. 86 Yet
Karel van der Toorn has pointed to 2 Sam. 14:5, in which the woman
of Tekoa, mother of two adult sons, referred to herself as
. This text indicates that even a widow with adult sons could
87
be called an
.
An generally was not under any male authority. 88 She was
considered to be independent and responsible for her own deeds, and
she was entitled to make commitments that were binding, such as
vows. Contrary to the married woman whose vow could be nullified
by her husband, a widow was bound by her vow (Num. 30:9).
Although widows often were poor, not all biblical women answered
85

Even her seducing qualities towards humans can be doubted, since the interpretation of KTU 1.18:1.23-24 as a possible marriage proposal by 'Anatu to
Aqhatu is rather uncertain; see section 2.1.1.1.
On the other hand, we should refrain from stating prematurely that such behaviour would be impossible on the part of the goddess. 'Anatu's Mesopotamian
counterpart Inanna/Ishtar is described as a harlot 'who snatches the man from
the wife's embrace'; cf. Th. Jacobsen, 'Pictures and Pictorial Language: (The Burney Relief)', in: M. Mindlin et al. (eds), Figurative Language in the Ancient Near
East, London 1987, 5. See also Epic of Gilgamesh, Tablet VI, and W. von Soden,
J. Oelsner, 'Ein spt-altbabylonisches prum-Preislied fr Itar: (Tab. CVI)', Or.
60 (1991), 339-43, according to which Ishtar engaged in tireless intercourse with
all young men of a city.
86
A.A. Tavares, 'L , almanah hebraique et Valmattu des textes akkadiens', in:
FPOA, 155-62; P.S. Hiebert, ' "Whence Shall Help Come to Me?": The Biblical
Widow', in: P.L. Day (ed.), Gender and Difference in Ancient Israel, Minneapolis
1989, 127-9; Van der Toorn, Cradle, 134.
87
K. van der Toorn, 'Torn Between Vice and Virtue: Stereotypes of the Widow
in Israel and Mesopotamia', in: R. Kloppenburg, W.J. Hanegraaff (eds), Female
Stereotypes in Religious Traditions (SHR, 66), Leiden 1995, 6.
88
Tamar's case appears to be an exception to the rule. As a of Judah,
she was sent away to remain an in her father's house (Gen. 38:11). It is
noteworthy that the narrator called her Judah's while Judah himself told her
to remain an . The narrator thereby seems to have emphasized the question
of authority and responsibility. See further below.

to this stereotype picture. Some widows owned a substantial dowry

which gave them economic independence. It is generally assumed that
a widow received her dowry and possibly a settlement, if her husband
had made arrangements providing for her. 89 The widow Abigail, for
instance, had been married to Nabal, of whom it was said that he was
very rich (1 Sam. 25:2). It is not known whether she inherited any of
his property, but the five maids ( )}who accompanied her when she
went to join David in marriage probably were her dower property. 90
Another biblical woman who probably was a rich widow is the mother
of Micah (Judg. 17:1-4). She owned eleven hundred pieces of silver of
which she apparently could dispose freely.
An Israelite woman who entered into an endogamous marriage
incidentally may have received land as a dowry, but this probably
seldom happened. Scholars assume that, as in Mesopotamia, a dowry
of an Israelite woman could consist of slaves or other movable goods.
These resources 'do not indicate that ordinarily it would have been
sufficient to provide economic support for a widow for any length of
time'. 91 Perhaps women of wealthier families were able to get by on
it.
After her husband had died, a woman could still be called his wife.
During the negotiations concerning the sale of Elimelech's land, Ruth
was called 'the wife of the dead man' and 'the wife of Mahlon' (Ruth
4:5,10, cf. Deut. 25:5). Likewise, the widow who turned to Elisha for
help because her two children had been taken by a creditor was called
'the wife of a member of the company of prophets' (2 Kgs 4:1). And
Abigail was even called 'wife of Nabal' after she had married David
(1 Sam. 27:3; 30:5; 2 Sam. 3:3). We may conclude that also in Israel
a woman who became a widow stayed a member of her husband's
family.
The view that the ties of marriage were not dissolved by the death
of the husband is related to the fact that a woman left her paternal
family and entered her husband's family upon marriage. 92 Even when
her husband had passed away, she was still considered to be part of her
husband's family and subject to the authority of her husband's father,
if he was still alive. Thus Judah held authority over Tamar even after
he had told her to return to her own kin until his son Shelah had grown
89

C. Pressler, The View of Women Found in the Deuteronomic Family Laws

(BZAW, 216), Berlin 1993, 54-5. See als section 2.1.1.3.1.
90
Cf. C.S. Leeb, Away from the Father's House: The Social Location of na'ar
and na'arah in Ancient Israel (JSOT.S, 301), Sheffield 2000, 127.
91
Hiebert, 1 "Whence Shall Help Come to Me?" ' 136.
92
Hiebert, ' "Whence Shall Help Come to Me?" ' 129.

up (Gen. 38). When Judah was told that Tamar was pregnant, it was
he as a father-in-law who exercised his authority over her and ordered
her to be burned because she 'played the whore' (v. 24). Apparently
Tamar's paternal family had no say in the matter. 'So even though
death had ended the physical relationship that existed between Tamar
and Er, it had not terminated the relationship of Tamar with her
husband's family, with the mutual rights and obligations incumbent
upon both parties.' 93
Thus, even after her husband had died, a widow could be under
male authority. If she was not under any male authority this meant
she was without any male protection, in which case she could fall
victim to abuse. It therefore was the duty of the king to protect the
rights of those who had no helper, such as the widow (2 Sam. 14; Ps.
72:12). Yet it would seem that a widow's rights were often neglected.
The prophet Isaiah called on the people to do justice and plead for
the widow, since her case was not presented in court (Isa. 1:17, 23).
A poor widow could be at the mercy of creditors who might force
her to pay her debts by taking in pledge an item which was of vital
importance to her, such as a cloak or an ox (Deut. 24:17; Job 24:3).
It could even happen that she was forced to render her children to
the creditor (2 Kgs 4:1-7).
There are various rules in the Hebrew Bible for the benefit of the
poor, such as that of letting the land lie fallow (Exod. 23:10-11), of
leaving something of the harvest behind for the poor (Lev. 19:9-10;
Deut. 24:19-21) and of bringing the tithes to the temple (Deut. 26:1213). These rules, as well as the rebuke of the prophets, indicate that
the majority of the Israelite widows were probably poor.
Furthermore, it would seem that, especially in times of crises, care
for the widow was neglected. In their criticism of this lack of care for
the weak, the prophets often mention the widow next to the orphan
(Isa. 10:2: Jer. 7:6; 22:3; Ezek. 22:7; Zech. 7:10; Mai. 3:5). The negative
fate of the widow also is mentioned in threats to the people (Isa. 47:89).
The widow therefore stood in need of YHWH'S protection. The
belief that to those who had no protector, Y H W H acted as their helper
and judge is expressed in several texts (Exod. 22:21-23[22-24]; Deut.
10:18; Pss. 68:6; 146:9; Prov. 15:25 etc.). 94
To kings and other persons who belonged to the highest levels of
93

Hiebert, ' "Whence Shall Help Come to Me?" ' 129-30.

On the interpretation of rules regarding the protection of widows as serving
class interests of the elites, cf. M. Sneed, 'Israelite Concern for the Alien, Orphan,
and Widow: Altruism or Ideology?' ZAW 111 (1999), 498-507.
94

society care for the widow was regarded as laudable (Job 22:9; 29:13;
31:16). In Deuteronomy the widow, together with the resident alien
and the orphan, is often part of the proverbial triad of the disinherited to whom the Israelites should offer special care (e.g., Deut. 16:14).
However, it became an obligation of all Israelites to implement God's
care for the widow (Deut. 10:18-19; 14:29; 16:11, 14; 24:17, etc.). It
may be significant that Deut. 17:14-20 does not regard this as a special task of the king anymore. 95 It was from the personnel of the
temple that care was bestowed on the widow. The Israelites were instructed to bring a tithe of their income to the temple in order that
the Levites, the resident aliens, the orphans and widows might be fed
on it (Deut. 14:29; 26:12, but cf. Mal. 3:8-10). Since the tithe-rule
is not mentioned in the Book of the Covenant (Exod. 21-23), which
is generally regarded as the oldest law collection, the care for the
weak in Israelite society probably was institutionalized only gradually. Karel van der Toorn assumes that spontanious expressions of
generosity transformed into an obligatory tax during the transition of
semi-nomadic to urban society. 'In the long run the temple assumed
the responsibility for the collection and administration of this tax.' 9 6
As in Mesopotamia, so in Israel, the temple probably was a place of
refuge for widows who were in need of support, probably even in the
period before Deuteronomy. 97
It has often been stated that Israelite women were not entitled to
inherit land. 98 Daughters did not share the right to inheritance with
their brothers on an equal basis, but could only inherit in exceptional
cases. 99 But could widows inherit from their deceased husband? There
are two texts in the Hebrew Bible that might shed some light on this
question: 2 Kgs 8:1-6 and Ruth 4:3. With regard to 2 Kgs 8:1-6, it
cannot be established with certainty what is the status of the woman
mentioned in this text. According to some it is beyond question that
she is a widow. 100 Yet others maintain that assumptions regarding
her widowhood are unjustified. 101
95

Cf. Y.-U. Kim, The Ideal King According to Deuteronomy 17:14-20: An Investigation into Kingship in the Old Testament, diss. Kampen 2000, 136.
96
Van der Toorn, Cradle, 136.
97
Van der Toorn, Cradle, 137; Idem, 'Torn Between Vice and Virtue', 4.
98
E.g., by R. de Vaux, Les institutions de l'Ancien Testament, vol. 1, 89.
99
Num. 27:1-11; 36:1-12. See further section 2.1.4.
100
Thus, e.g., S.J. Osgood, 'Women and the Inheritance of Land in Early Israel1,
in: G.J. Brooke (ed.), Women in the Biblical Tradition (Studies in Women and
Religion, 31), Lewiston-Lampeter 1992, 29.
101
Thus, e.g., M. Cogan, H. Tadmor, II Kings: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary (AncB, 11), Garden City NY 1988, 88.

The story of the woman in 2 Kgs 8:1-6 may be regarded as the

second part of a diptych. In the first part, 2 Kgs 4:8-37, we are told of
a wealthy Shunammite woman who provided hospitality to Elisha. By
way of thanks the prophet promised her a son in due time. A son was
indeed born to her, but he died after a couple of years. Thereupon
the woman went to the prophet and urged him to come back with
her. Elisha did so and revived the child. In the second part of the
diptych the woman was advised by Elisha to leave the country because
Y H W H had called for a famine. When she returned after seven years,
she appealed to the king for her house and her land, which the king
granted to her.
In both stories the Shunammite woman acted independently, in a
way that reminds us of the woman of valour of Prov. 31:10-31. In the
first part of the diptych, mention is made of her husband, who was
old, but still capable of overviewing the reapers, if not of harvesting.
The Shunammite took the initiative to build a roof chamber for the
prophet and to go to the man of God when her son had died, yet
in both these acts she consulted her husband. In the second part of
the diptych, the husband does not occur, that is, he is not mentioned
explicitly. It might be that he was included in the phrase the prophet
spoke to the woman, ' you and your household'. 102 But since
the Shunammite woman acted on her own, it seems probable that she
had become a widow in the intervening years. There are indications
in the text pointing in this direction. First, all the possessions are
referred to as the woman's possessions and the household is referred
to as her household, while the husband of the Shunammite is not a
character in this story. Secondly, the woman is not named 'the Shunammite' here, but 'the woman whose son Elisha had restored to life'
(v. 1, 5). With her son she appeared before the king as a live illustration of the wondrous deeds of the prophet that Gehazi was telling the
king of Israel about (v. 4). The place of the story of 2 Kgs 8:1-6 in
the whole of the book of Kings suggests that the anonymous Israelite
king was Joram, son of Achab. The writer of Kings seems to contrast
the unjust king Achab who took Naboth's vinyard which was his ancestral inheritance ( ) with the just king who listened to a
pleading widow with her orphan son and restored what was rightfully
hers. 103 The son is an important character both in the first and the
second part of the narrative. Not only was he living proof of Elisha's
powers, but he was also a silent witness to his mother's plea. As a
102

6QReg 15 reads [ ]and the Lucianic recension of LXX adds

'and your son'; cf. T.R. Hobbs, 2 Kings (WBC, 13), Waco TX 1985, 95.
103
Cf. Hobbs, 2 Kings, 101, especially his comment on v. 6.

minor he could not speak for himself before the king. His mother, as
a trustee of his inheritance, spoke on his behalf. 104
It would thus seem that the woman mentioned in 2 Kgs 8:1-6 was
a widow who held the land of her deceased husband in trusteeship
for her minor son. As long as he was a minor, she was entitled to
administer the house and the land and she had the right to its produce.
The second text dealing with the question whether Israelite widows
could inherit from their deceased husbands is Ruth 4:3. Contrary to
the woman in 2 Kgs 8:1-6, there is no doubt that Naomi was a widow.
She was selling 105 the parcel of land that belonged to Elimelech. To
be more specific, she was selling the usufructary rights to the land. 106
Since her husband and her sons had died, she was entitled to manage
the land. In general, an Israelite widow would hold the usufructary
rights to the land of her deceased husband's household. The right of
inheritance for a widow was conditional to prevent that property be
removed from the clan when she remarried. If she had any children,
they would inherit the land once they had come of age. If she had no
children, she would hold the usufructary rights until she remarried or
until she died. Thereafter the land would be redistributed within the
mipah.107
The law of levirate marriage (Deut. 25:5-10) also may shed some
104

Cf. H.H. Rowley, 'The Marriage of Ruth', in: Idem, The Servant of the Lord
and other Essays on the Old Testament, Oxford 2 1965, 184, n. 2; G.H. Jones, 1
and 2 Kings vol. 2 (NCBC) Grand Rapids 1984, 440.
105
Although the Hebrew text reads as a Qal perfect, it should be regarded as having present-time reference in view of its juridical setting; cf. J.M. Sasson, Ruth: A
New Translation with a Philological Commentary and a Formalist-Folklorist Interpretation, Baltimore 1979, 108-14; Bush, Ruth, Esther, 202, 211-2. A performative
present is also used in Ruth 4:10, cf. Bush, Ruth, Esther, 238.
106
With regard to the buying and selling of land, some observations need to be
made. The verb has two closely related meanings. First, it can refer to the
selling of movables, a transaction in which 'the sale includes the transfer of the
unconditional right of ownership and disposition of the object sold as well as its
possession and use'; cf. Bush, Ruth, Esther, 200. The movables can be items such
as meat, oil or even slaves. When the object of the transaction is land, however,
the verb can have a distinct, second meaning, referring to a transfer of the
usufruct of land for an established period of time; cf. . Lipmski, 'Le mariage de
Ruth', VT 26 (1976), 126; Idem, mkr\ in: ThWAT, Bd. 4, 869-75. The latter
meaning is related to the Israelite belief that the land belonged to YHWH as his
possession (Lev. 25:23) and that Israel as his people had the right of usufruct. This
belief seems to be early and persistent. Cf. S.H. Bess, Systems of Land Tenure in
Ancient Israel, Ph.D. Dissertation University of Michigan 1963 [Ann Arbor MI
1981], 83-91; Osgood, 'Women and the Inheritance of Land in Early Israel', 37-41;
Bush, Ruth, Esther, 200-1.
107

Cf. Lipinski, 'Le mariage de Ruth', 125-6; Osgood, 'Women and the Inheritance of Land in Early Israel', 51; Bush, Ruth, Esther, 204.

light on the question whether a widow could inherit her husband's

land. 108 Some scholars assume that one of the purposes of levirate
marriage was to keep the property of the deceased brother within the
family. If a widow would remarry outside the family, the land she
inherited would be lost to her late husband's family. Carolyn Pressler
notes three objections to this view.109 First, the Hebrew Bible does
not provide any evidence for it. Second, the biblical stories portray
the levir as reluctant to perform his obligation. 'If the woman could
inherit a portion of the estate, one would expect the brother-in-law
to be the party more interested in the levirate marriage being carried
out'. 110 Third, the view on this purpose of levirate marriage rests on a
certain interpretation of the symbolic act of removing the sandal. This
interpretation is rejected by Pressler, who points to the differences
between the symbolic act in Deut. 25:9 and in Ruth 4:7. 111
Scholars refer to three texts in the Hebrew Bible in relation to
the practice of levirate marriage 112 : the story of Judah and Tamar in
Gen. 38, the laws in Deut. 25:5-10, and the story of Ruth and Boaz.
Often they try to discern different stages of a historical development,
generally assuming that Deut. 25 reflects a younger stage than Gen.
38, while opinions differ on the date of Ruth. 113 With regard to these
hypotheses, Raymond Westbrook points to their methodological fault.
'The assumption is that Deuteronomy 25 contains a comprehensive
108
109

On levirate marriage see below.

Pressler, The View of Women Found in the Deuteronomic Family Laws, 69-

71.
110

Pressler, The View of Women Found in the Deuteronomic Family Laws, 70.
Pressler, The View of Women Found in the Deuteronomic Family Laws, 701. On the symbolic act, cf. . Viberg, Symbols of Law: A Contextual Analysis of
Legal Symbolic Acts in the Old Testament (CB.OT, 34), Stockholm 1992, 145-65.
112
In general levirate is regarded as a form of marriage, cf. R. Westbrook, Property and the Family in Biblical Law (JSOT.S, 113), Sheffield 1991, 84-5; Pressler,
The View of Women Found in the Deuteronomic Family Laws, 65, n. 7. Pace
G.W. Coats, 'Widow's Rights: A Crux in the Structure of Genesis 38', CBQ 34
(1972), 461-6.
113
Cf., e.g., J. Morgenstern, 'The Book of the Covenant: Part II', HUCA 7 (1930),
180-3; R. Gordis, 'Love, Marriage, and Business in the Book of Ruth: A Chapter
in Hebrew Customary Law', in: H.N. Bream et al. (eds), A Light unto My Path,
Fs. J.M. Myers, (Gettysburg Theological Studies, 4), Philadelphia 1974, 246-52;
D.A. Leggett, The Levirate and Goel Institutions in the Old Testament: With
Special Attention to the Book of Ruth, Cherry Hill NJ 1974, 271-91; E.W. Davies,
'Inheritance Rights and the Hebrew Levirate Marriage: Part 2', VT 31 (1981), 2607; E. Otto, Theologische Ethik des Alten Testaments (ThW, 3,2), Stuttgart 1994,
57-61; Bush, Ruth, Esther, 224-5; F. Fechter, Die Familie in der Nachexilszeit:
Untersuchungen zur Bedeutung der Verwandtschaft in ausgewhlten Texten des
Alten Testaments (BZAW, 264), Berlin 1998, 258-65.
111

account of the law of levirate. Thus any detail in the other sources
which is not mentioned in Deuteronomy is in conflict with it. Not
only is this an argument from silence, but such an assumption is
also an invalid approach to ancient Near Eastern law, which does
not offer 'a comprehensive statement of general principles'. The law
codes are 'seldom more than collections of decisions in individual cases
which, of course, refer only to particular aspects of the legal institution
involved'. 114
Some biblical scholars have wondered whether the story of Ruth
concerned levirate marriage at all, since Ruth did not marry a levir, a
husband's brother, but a distant kinsman and the verb is not used
to describe her marriage with Boaz. 115 Others, however, are convinced
Ruth's marriage was a levirate marriage. They point to the fact that
Ruth's brother-in-law had died, and that therefore the levirate duty
was transferred to the next-of-kin. Furthermore, the story contains a
reference to the other narrative in which levirate marriage occurs: the
story of Judah and Tamar (Ruth 4:12). 116
With regard to the obligation of the levir as well as with regard
to the right of the widow, the story of Ruth differs from Deut. 25:5-10
and Gen. 38. In Deut. 25:5-10 levirate marriage is described as a legal
obligation. The situation is generally assumed to be one of brothers
living together on an undivided estate which they had inherited from
their deceased father. 117 If one of the brothers died, the other had the
duty to marry his widowed sister-in-law. He could, however, refuse
to perform his duty and she thereupon had the right to go to court.
Two symbolic acts were then carried out, viz. removing the shoe of
the levir and spitting in his face, by which the widow publicly shamed
her brother-in-law. 118
114
Westbrook, Property and the Family in Biblical Law, 71. Likewise, Bush, Ruth,
Esther, 168.
115
Cf., e.g., E. Kutsch,' jbm', in: ThWAT, Bd. 3, 398; Gordis, 'Love, Marriage,
and Business in the Book of Ruth', 248; Sasson, Ruth, 125-36; Bush, Ruth, Esther,
224-7.
116
Cf., e.g., Rowley, 'The Marriage of Ruth', 174-5; E.W. Davies, 'Inheritance
Rights and the Hebrew Levirate Marriage: Part 1', VT 31 (1981), 140, n. 9.
117
Cf. Westbrook, Property and the Family in Biblical Law, 78-9; Pressler, The
View of Women Found in the Deuteronomic Family Laws, 64, n. 4.
118
Viberg, Symbols of Law, 147-8, 156-7; V.H. Matthews, 'Honor and Shame in
Gender-Related Legal Situations in the Hebrew Bible', in: V.H. Matthews et al.
(eds), Gender and Law in the Hebrew Bible and the Ancient Near East (JSOT.S,
262), Sheffield 1998, 100-2.
The punishment in Deut. 25:9-10 is, especially in comparison with other sanetions in the book of Deuteronomy, not a very severe one. This is due to the fact
that 'the levirate involves a positive duty, and the law is notoriously shy of en-

In the narrative of Gen. 38 the situation was different. Here the

father was still alive and acted as pater familias. He ordered his second son Onan to marry the widow of his deceased first son, Er. Onan
fulfilled his duty, but in such a way as not to produce offspring. Some
scholars assume Onan did not have any choice in accepting or refusing the duty of levirate marriage. Gen. 38 would represent an earlier
stage during which the custom was unavoidable. 119 It would also point
to the power of the pater familias, to whose authority not only the
women of the family, but also men of younger generations had to subject. 120 Yet according to Raymond Westbrook the question whether
Onan could have refused is irrelevant. He was reluctant to perform the
duty of levirate marriage because he wanted his brother's inheritance,

... had Onan refused outright, he would have gained nothing, since
either his father or younger brother could perform the levirate instead
and provide an heir for the deceased's share. Onan, therefore, thought
of a trick. He ostensibly undertook the responsibility given to him,
but took care that no heir could possibly result from the union. By
performing the duty in form but not in fact he hoped to gain for himself
his dead brother's inheritance.121
Onan chose to gain his brother's inheritance. The only person aware
of this deception was his childless wife. Being married, a wife had
a right to sexual relations with her husband. Onan's sin was withholding this right to Tamar. Etan Levine states, that 'it is the levirate husband Onan . . . neither freeing her from the marital bond nor
fully consummating sexual relations with her, thereby depriving her
of both complete gratification and impregnation. This act is considered so heinous that God intervenes and kills the man for depriving
the hapless woman of her due'. 122
Contrary to Deut. 25:5-10 and Gen. 38, the nearer kinsman and
Boaz do not appear to have had any obligation to marry Ruth. They
both were neither brother, nor father to Ruth's deceased husband,
but more distantly related. Strictly speaking, they were not levirs.
forcing such duties'. Furthermore, 'it is a family matter, not a public duty'; cf.
Westbrook, Property and the Family in Biblical Law, 82.
119
Cf., e.g., Davies, 'Inheritance Rights and the Hebrew Levirate Marriage (2)',
260.
120

Davies, 'Inheritance Rights and the Hebrew Levirate Marriage (2)', 261.
Westbrook, Property and the Family in Biblical Law, 76.
122
E. Levine, 'On Exodus 21,10 Onah and Biblical Marriage', ZABR 5 (1999),
151.
121

According to Frederic Bush, 'the levirate obligation can be substantiated only for the brother of the deceased husband, and there is no
certain indication in Deut 25 or Gen 38 that any more distant relative
could serve in his place if he refused'. 123
It is a matter of discussion whether the levirate duty extended to
a widow's father-in-law. With reference to Hittite Law, some scholars
assume that Judah had the duty to perform the levirate marriage with
his daughter-in-law Tamar. 124 Others, however, argue that the duty
of the levir was restricted to the brother-in-law, while referring to the
term *, which is only employed for a brother-in-law. 125 Gen. 38
seems to reflect a certain uneasiness with a father-in-law performing
the levirate duty. 126 The fact that Tamar could only become pregnant
by deceiving Judah, pleads for the latter interpretation. Furthermore,
the phrase 'Judah did not lie with her again' (v. 26b) implies that
there was no marriage. 127
Furthermore, whereas in Deut. 25:9-10 refusal of the duty resulted
in public humiliation, this was not the case in Ruth 4. When the nearer
kinsman renounced his rights in favour of Boaz, there was no social
stigma attached to it. 128
Although there was no legal obligation for the nearer kinsman and
Boaz in the book of Ruth, there does appear to have been a moral
obligation. According to Frederic Bush, 'Ruth 4:5d clearly implies that
a communally recognized moral obligation, a family responsibility, on
the part of the next of kin did exist'. 129
The Bible presents levirate marriage as a right of the widow. Her
brother-in-law was to marry her and provide her with offspring. In a
patriarchal society such as Israel only remarriage could give a widow
security. 130 Discussing the purpose of levirate marriage, scholars often
123

F.W. Bush, Ruth, Esther (WBC, 9), Dallas TX 1996, 224.

Morgenstern, 'The Book of the Covenant1, 180; Rowley, 'The Marriage of
Ruth', 176; Gordis, 'Love, Marriage, and Business in the Book of Ruth', 249;
Davies, 'Inheritance Rights and the Hebrew Levirate Marriage (2)', 263-4.
125
A.A. Anderson, 'The Marriage of Ruth', JSS 33 (1978), 175-6; Kutsch, '
jbm\ 397. See also Bush, Ruth, Esther, 222-3.
126
Westbrook, Property and the Family in Biblical Law, 86-7.
127
Levine, 'On Exodus 21,10 Onah and Biblical Marriage', 151-2.
128
On the difference between the symbolic acts in Deut. 25 and Ruth, cf. Westbrook, Property and the Family in Biblical Law, 83-4; Viberg, Symbols of Law,
145-65; Pressler, The View of Women Found in the Deuteronomic Family Laws,
70-1; Bush, Ruth, Esther, 224.
129
Bush, Ruth, Esther, 225 (emphasis Bush). How this family responsibility was
related to the duty of the go 'el is beyond the scope of this study. See Leggett, The
Levirate and Goel Institutions in the Old Testament; Bush, Ruth, Esther, 166-9.
130
Note that in all three texts the widow is the instigator. According to Bush,
124

point to the protection of the widow. This is a secondary purpose,

however. 131 The primary purpose of levirate marriage was to provide
the deceased husband with a son, a successor to his estate. 132 It was
the deceased husband who primarily benefited from the marriage,
since it was his name that was perpetuated. 133
If a husband's brother was unwilling to perform the duty of levirate
marriage, the widow had a right to bring her case to court (Deut.
25:7-10). When the levir publicly denounced his right, she was free
to marry whomever she wished. 134
Tamar also had a right to a levirate marriage. When her fatherin-law Judah failed to give her in marriage to his third son Shelah,
she deceived him in order to raise offspring for her first husband Er.
Judah acknowledged that she was more in the right than he (Gen.
38:26).
Contrary to what is described in Deut. 25, Ruth and Naomi apparently did not have any right to a levirate marriage. During her
nightly encounter with Boaz Ruth asked for protection, which in this
context implied marriage. 135 Neither did Ruth have any obligation,
Ruth, Esther, 222, levirate marriage 'provided her with the protection and security
that husband and progeny alone could give'.
131
Cf. Rowley, 'The Marriage of Ruth', 177, n. 3; Davies, 'Inheritance Rights and
the Hebrew Levirate Marriage (1)', 138-144; Westbrook, Property and the Family
in Biblical Law, 72; Pressler, The View of Women Found in the Deuteronomic
Family Laws, 63-4; E. Otto, 'False Weights in the Scales of Biblical Justice? Different Views of Women from Patriarchal Hierarchy to Religious Equality in the
Book of Deuteronomy', in: V.H. Matthews et al. (eds), Gender and Law in the
Hebrew Bible and the Ancient Near East (JSOT.S, 262), Sheffield 1998, 138-9.
132
The translation of is gender specific; cf. Westbrook, Property and the Family
in Biblical Law, 81-2; Pressler, The View of Women Found in the Deuteronomic
Family Laws, 64-5.
133
On the interpretation of the perpetuation of the name, cf. Leggett, The Levirate and Goel Institutions in the Old Testament, 48-54; Westbrook, Property and
the Family in Biblical Law, 73-7; Pressler, The View of Women Found in the
Deuteronomic Family Laws, 66-9; Otto, Theologische Ethik des Alten Testaments,
57-8.
134
Davies, 'Inheritance Rights and the Hebrew Levirate Marriage (2)', 262; Westbrook, Property and the Family in Biblical Law, 84; V.P. Hamilton, 'Marriage (OT
and ANE)', in: ABD, vol. 4, 567; Bush, Ruth, Esther, 222.
Nothing is mentioned about the hereditary rights of the widow. Although some
scholars assume she had the right to inherit her husband's property in case the
levir refused to marry her, it generally is assumed that she only had usufructary
rights. Cf. Westbrook, Property and the Family in Biblical Law, 83; Pressler, The
View of Women Found in the Deuteronomic Family Laws, 70; Otto, 'False Weights
in the Scales of Biblical Justice?' 139-40. See also above.
135
Bush, Ruth, Esther, 165-9.

for she was free to marry whomever she wished (Ruth 3:10). 136
Strictly speaking, levirate marriage refers to remarriage of a widow
with her husband's brother. Although there are some differences in
this regard between Deut. 25 and Gen. 38 on the one hand and Ruth
on the other hand, in many aspects the situation is corresponding. I
therefore agree with Frederic Bush, who refers to Ruth's marriage as
'a levirate-type marriage'. 137 A certain distinction cannot be denied,
yet should not be overemphasized.
Although the Bible ascribed certain virtues such as devotion, wisdom and chastity to the widow, the stories concerning levirate marriage offer a somewhat different picture. The biblical image of the
widow is somewhat ambiguous. 'Exalted as a symbol of godliness
and virtue, the widow was also regarded as a potential seductress
and enchantress. Often the dividing line between wisdom and cunning, perspicacity and slyness, is very thin indeed'. 138 Young, childless
widows might employ their sexual attractiveness in achieving their
goals. Thus, Tamar deceived her father-in-law into performing the
duty of the levir (Gen. 38). And Ruth was instructed by her widowed
mother-in-law to approach Boaz when he lay down to sleep in order
that he marry her (Ruth 3). 139
It seems that the ambiguity of the image of the Israelite widow was
related to the male fear of female independence. Writing on stereotypes of the widow in the Bible, Karel van der Toorn notes the following,
One reason why the Israelite texts stress the poverty and the virtue of
the widow, so much so that these came to be regarded as defining her
condition, may be the fear of female independence. The widow may
once have been a respectful daughter and a loyal wife; yet now she is
free. Her unchosen freedom makes her an ambiguous figure. Hence, in
the public perception, there are different, at times contradictory, stereotypes of the widow. On the one hand, she is a monument of devotion,
wisdom, and chastity; on the other hand, she is known as an easy prey
for religious fanatics, a prattler, and a woman of loose sexual habits.
Such stereotypes reveal the uneasiness which independent women pro136

Sasson, Ruth, 127; Bush, Ruth, Esther, 224.

Bush, Ruth, Esther, 221-7
138
K. van der Toorn, 'Torn Between Vice and Virtue: Stereotypes of the Widow
in Israel and Mesopotamia', in: R. Kloppenburg, W.J. Hanegraaff (eds), Female
Stereotypes in Religious Traditions (SHR, 66), Leiden 1995, 10.
139
Another example, which is not part of the Hebrew canon, is Judith, who,
although behaving virtuously, used her physical attraction to deceive Holophernes
and managed to kill him in his bed (Judith 10-13).
137

voke in male-dominated societies.140

In line with this, Susan Niditch has stressed that a young, childless
widow was a social anomaly. By way of levirate marriage she again
fitted within the acceptable categories of society. 141
D . CONCLUSIONS

In Mesopotamia as well as in Israel, a widow was not always an independent woman. By marriage she had become a member of her
husband's family. If her father-in-law lived longer than her husband,
she continued to be under the former's jural authority. Documents
from Neo-Babylonia reveal that in that society the authority over a
widow could also revert to one of her parents. Yet if neither fatherin-law nor one of her own parents was alive, a woman became an
independent widow after her husband's death.
Her independency was not always a positive situation. Whether
or not she had any property to support herself was of vital importance. When her dowry and perhaps other possessions her husband
had given her during his lifetime were of substantial value, she could
be economically independent and engage in business. If, however, she
was poor, she could fall victim to creditors. Independency and the
possession of property were thus interrelated. Although there were
rich widows in most societies, proverbs from Mesopotamia as well as
texts from Ugarit and Israel reveal that far more often a widow was
poor.
Despite a widow's jural autonomy, her legal rights could be neglected. When a widow was confronted with lack of justice, she had
no other option than to appeal to the king. In all societies of the
ancient Near East the social ideal of care for the widow existed. It
was a virtue of the good king in Mesopotamia, Egypt, Ugarit and
Israel to protect a widow's rights. However, various texts show that
he did not always live up to this ideal. A widow's rights were thus
dependent on the good will of kings and other influential persons.
Widows were believed to be under the special protection of the gods
- in Mesopotamia the god Marduk and in Israel Y H W H - and often
they turned to their deity for help. Both in Mesopotamia and Israel
temple authorities provided for widows.
Widows in Mesopotamia, Egypt and Israel did not have any right
to inherit from their husband. Only if a husband had made additional
testamentory provisions could a widow inherit (part of) his property.
140

Van der Toorn, 'Torn Between Vice and Virtue', 13.

S. Niditch, 'The Wronged Woman Righted: An Analysis of Genesis 38', HThR
72 (1979), 146.
141

In Egypt and Emar special provisions for the widow were devised,
such as 'selling' the husband's property to his wife, and endowing the
wife with legally male gender while making her primary heir. A widow
could have usufructary rights, however, but these appear to have been
less stable if she was childless. If a widow had young children, she was
entitled to manage her late husband's property for them.
The only property that was lawfully hers was her dowry. During
their marriage, her husband could give her additional property, but in
case of remarriage she had to renounce that. The frequent occurrence
of endogamous remarriage in some societies can be related to the
wish of a husband's family to keep the widow's dowry as part of their
property. This reluctance to let go of a widow's dowry is also expressed
in Neo-Babylonian law suits in which widows had to sue their in-laws
or their sons in order to get control over it. Although in theory a
widow may have been free to marry whoever she pleased, in practice
this freedom could be restricted by family pressure. Moreover, the
fact that she would lose the usufructary rights over any additional
property her late husband had provided her with might influence her
choice of marriage partner.
Both in Hittite and biblical law the custom of levirate marriage
occurs, whereas the Assyrian material and the evidence from the
Ugaritic literary texts is inconclusive, but seems to point to a similar practice. The primary purpose of biblical levirate marriage was
the perpetuation of the name of the deceased husband. Secondly, it
provided the widow with the security of marriage. Thirdly, any dower
property the widow might have remained in the family of her in-laws.
Although the Hebrew Bible presents it as a legal obligation of the
levir, there was no harsh punishment in case he refused to perform
this duty. Likewise, HL 193 does not mention any punishment in
case the custom was not carried out. The question whether a widow
was obliged to perform levirate marriage or could renounce her right
in this, cannot be answered. We may assume most women preferred
the protection of remarriage over against widowhood with its threat
of poverty and debt-slavery.
Both the Ugaritic and Hebrew texts present an image that reveals the ambiguity of male writers towards the widow. The image
of the poor widow who is in need of protection appeals to feelings
of sympathy and compassion. The independent widow who has autonomy over her own sexuality, however, is assumed to create uneasiness
within an androcentric society.

2.1.6

Orphan

Orphans belonged to the most vulnerable human beings in society.

Legally being minors who lacked protection due to the death of their
father, they were dependent on others, viz. their mother or their older
brothers or sisters, to protect their rights. Although in the past some
scholars have stressed the unique ethics of Israel with regard to protection of the weak, this has been convincingly refuted. 1 In all societies
of the ancient Near East, protection of the orphan was considered a
religious and social duty. Yet this duty was not always fulfilled and
could be performed in various ways.
A . ANCIENT N E A R E A S T

In ancient Sumer, orphans could find means of sustenance in palace

and temple complexes. For those without a male provider becoming
part of the labour force of a temple household was one of the few
options to keep alive.2
If times turned bad and the protection of orphans (and their
mothers) was neglected, they could become debt slaves. According
to Charles Fensham, the Code of Hammurapi 117-118 limits debt
service to three years. 'In 117-18 it is stipulated that credit-slaves
must be released after three years 3 What is stipulated, however,
is that a man may redeem his wife, son or daughter after the period
of three years. But if there is no one to act as redeemer, as in the case
of an unprotected orphan, it might be that the orphan remained in
slavery.4
At Emar, an orphaned girl had no claim to her father's inheritance,
unless she was given 'female and male' status. She then legally became
an heir to her father's property. 5
When a girl became orphaned in 6th-century Babylonia, there
1

Cf. F.C. Fensham, 'Widow, Orphan, and the Poor in Ancient Near Eastern
Legal and Wisdom Literature', JNES 21 (1962), 129-39.
2
Cf. I.J. Gelb, 'Household and Family in Early Mesopotamia', in: E. Lipmski
(ed.), State and Temple Economy in the Ancient Near East I (OLA, 5), Leuven 1979, 23; J.M. Asher-Greve, Frauen in altsumerischer Zeit (Bibliotheca
Mesopotamica, 18), Malibu CA 1985, 162.
3
Fensham, 'Widow, Orphan, and the Poor in Ancient Near Eastern Legal and
Wisdom Literature', 131.
4
Cf. G.R. Driver, J.C. Miles, The Babylonian Laws, repr., vol. 1, Oxford 1956,
208-2; R. Westbrook, 'The Female Slave', in: V.H. Matthews et al. (eds), Gender
and Law in the Hebrew Bible and the Ancient Near East (JSOT.S, 262), Sheffield
1998, 217.
5
Th. Kmmerer, 'Zur sozialen Stellung der Frau in Emar und Ekalte als Witwe
und Waise', UF 26 (1994), 202-3. On a daughter's right to inherit, see section 2.1.4.

were a number of possibilities for her to receive legal protection. She

could be given in marriage either by her widowed mother or by her
brother. Seldom did an orphaned girl arrange her own marriage. 6
Besides marriage, she could agree to become adopted and in return
support her adoptive parents, or go to a 'house of a mar ban\ a
free citizen, probably to serve as a maid. 7 Another, probably not very
preferable, option for an orphaned girl was to become a prostitute.
In Egypt, too, orphans were dependent on their mother or their
older brothers and sisters. 8 Although wisdom texts stress the need to
care for widows and orphans, apparently this was not always taken
to heart. Sometimes orphans were left in the hands of a certain deity,
which meant that they were brought to a temple to serve there. It
could also happen that, while abandoned, they had to survive on
their own and wandered the streets. 9
According to literary texts of both Mesopotamia and Egypt, the
ideal ruler protected the weak. 10 In the Egyptian tale of the Eloquent
Peasant, for example, the peasant speaks to the high steward Rensi:
For you are a father to the orphan,
Husband to the widow,
Brother to the rejected woman,
Apron11 to the motherless.12
B . UGARITIC LITERARY T E X T S

In Ugarit it was also considered a virtue of a king to protect the rights

of the orphan. As a righteous king Dani'ilu sat on the threshingfloor to
judge the cases of widows and orphans (KTU 1.17:V.7-8 || 1.19:1.2325). The circumstance that only the female orphan is mentioned here
should not be over-emphasized. When king Kirtu had been ill for a
6

M.T. Roth, 'Women in Transition and the bit mar banV, RA 82 (1988), 132,
mentions 23 out of 45 cases in which a woman is given in marriage either by
her mother and/or her brother. Only in three instances a woman arranges her
marriage on her own.
7
Roth, 'Women in Transition and the bit mr ban\ 132-5. For adoption at
Emar, see, e.g., D. Arnaud, Recherches au pays d'Astata (Emar, 6/3), Paris 1986,
251-3 (no. 256). For Nuzi, see J. Paradise, Daughter and her Father's Property
at Nuzi', JCS 32 (1980), 189-207.
8
E. Feucht, Das Kind im Alten gypten, Frankfurt 1995, 379.
9
Feucht, Das Kind im Alten gypten, 384.
10
Fensham, 'Widow, Orphan, and the Poor in Ancient Near Eastern Legal and
Wisdom Literature', 129-39.
11
Referring to the function of protector of those who wear the high official's
garment called an apron.
12
Shupak, in: C0S, vol. 1, 100.

long time his eldest son who was aspiring to succeed him reproached
his father for not having fed the orphan (ytm, masc.; see also KTU
4.618:3) and widow (KTU 1.16:VI.48-50).
An orphan not only had to fear cruelties from adults, also evil
demons were supposed to be after the ytmt dit 'poor orphan (fem.)'
to bite her and apparently priests were willing to recite incantations
in order to protect her from this danger (KTU 1.82:22).
C . H E B R E W BIBLE

Care for the orphan is also part of the ethics of the Hebrew Bible.
Exod. 22:21 [22] prohibits their affliction: 'You shall not abuse any
widow or orphan'. Deuteronomy shows a special interest in the weak,
i.e., the alien, the orphan and the widow, and stipulates several regulations regarding proper conduct towards them. 13
If their father had died while in debt, his children could fall in
the hands of creditors and become slaves (2 Kgs 4:1). According to
Deuteronomic law, a debt slave should not serve his or her master for
more than six years, 'in the seventh year you shall set that person
free' (Deut. 15:12). In the sabbatical year the Israelites should grant
a remission of all debts. Social ethics of the Bible thus set a limit
to debt slavery, but it cannot be discerned whether this was actually
carried out in biblical times. 14
Wicked people might take advantage of the vulnerable position of
an orphan by removing land marks or by driving away an orphan's
donkey, which represented his or her meagre possessions (Job 24:2-3).
Generally the orphan was counted among the poor of society. 15
The Psalms give praise to Y H W H as the One who is a Father to the
orphans and protects their rights (Pss. 10:14,18; 68:6; 82:3; 146:9).
Although the norm of provision for widows and orphans was one of
the most important of Israelite society,16 prophetic literature shows
that at times it was severely violated. The prophet Isaiah rebuked
'the faithful city' Jerusalem: 'Your princes are rebels and companions
of thieves. Everyone loves a bribe and runs after gifts. They do not
defend the orphan and the widow's cause does not come before them'
13

Cf. B. Maarsingh, Onderzoek naar de ethiek van de wetten in Deuteronomium,

Winterswijk 1961, 85-9; Fensham, 'Widow, Orphan, and the Poor in Ancient
Near Eastern Legal and Wisdom Literature', 135; H. Ringgren, ' ;jtm', in:
ThWAT, Bd. 3, 1078; . Otto, Theologische Ethik des Alten Testaments (ThW,
3,2), Stuttgart 1994, 180-6.
14
Otto, Theologische Ethik des Alten Testaments, 249-56.
15
C. van Leeuwen, Le dveloppement du sens social en Isral, Assen 1954, 28-31.
16
S. Bendor, The Social Structure of Ancient Israel: the Institution of the Family
(beit 'ab) from the Settlement to the End of the Monarchy (JBS, 7), Jerusalem
1996, 191.

(Isa. 1:23; see also Jer. 5:28). In the Hebrew Bible oilT always has the
masculine form which does not preclude that it was a gender-neutral
term which also covered girls. 17 In any case there is little reason to
assume that only boys were protected, 18 because widow, daughter and
female servant are mentioned side by side with the ( Deut. 16:11,
14).
The Hebrew Bible relates only one case of adoption, that of the
orphan Esther by her uncle Mordecai (Est. 2:7).19 It seems that, while
adoption as a means to overcome barrenness was not accepted, adoption in order to offer an orphan legal and social protection was.
D . CONCLUSIONS

Although care for orphans was part of the ethical values of all societies
in the ancient Near East, it did not mean that orphans were always
protected. Sometimes they could find refuge in a temple household, or
be adopted. It also happened that orphans became debt slaves or that
they roamed the streets. Ideally, however, there was always someone
who looked after them, if not a family member, then the king as the
upholder of social justice.

2.2 Women in Society

Beside their roles in the family, women often fulfilled roles in society.
These will be discussed in the second part of this chapter.
Of the roles women fulfilled in society, those of the ladies of the
court were quite influential and well-recognized. The queen and the
queen mother were women whose position generally was very powerfui. I will consider the possibilities a queen had to exercise power and
the areas in which she could act authoritatively. The position of a
queen mother will also be discussed. I will give attention to the sole
rule of some famous queen mothers. Also of interest is the question
whether the queen mother occupied an official position at the court.
Finally, the possibilities for this class of women to exercise influence
and power will be examined.
I will also look into the roles of other ladies of the court, those of
royal wives and concubines, and of princesses. The question whether
the wives and concubines of a king lived in seclusion will be regarded,
17

For comparable cases cf., e.g., J. Blau, A Grammar of Biblical Hebrew (PLO,
NS, 12), Wiesbaden 1976, 39.1; P. Joon, T. Muraoka, A Grammar of Biblical
Hebrew (SubBi, 14/1), Roma 1991, 89.
18
Pace HALAT, 430: 'Waise, d. vaterlos gewordene Knabe'.
19
H.M. Wahl, 'Ester, das adoptierte Waisenkind. Zur Adoption im Alten Testament', Bib. 80 (1999), 78-99. On adoption see section 2.1.2.

as well as their role in national and international politics, both as

subjects and objects. Princesses, too, could be either subject or object in national and international politics. I will consider their role of
marriage partner in a political marriage.
Non-royal women could also partake in various societal roles. They
could be legal owners of immovable property, or engage in business.
Furthermore, they could occupy various professions and perform work
in the home. Since the distinction between domestic and professional
activities is not always a clear one, and since women's domestic activities had its impact on society and the economy, I will discuss them
together. A special societal role is that of the female slave. She was
regarded as another person's property and had to perform all sorts
of tasks. Of special interest is the fact that her owner had authority
over her sexuality. I will consider the consequences this had for her.

2.2.1 Women of the Court

The women of the court could fulfil an influential role in society. In
the following sections I will discuss the various roles of royal ladies. In
section 2.2.1.1 I will investigate the role of the queen, who, as the chief
wife of the king, often exercised considerable power. Yet often even
more powerful was the role of the queen mother, whom I will discuss in
section 2.2.1.2. Of a somewhat lower status were the royal wives and
concubines of a king. In section 2.2.1.3 I will give attention to aspects
of their life, especially the question whether they lived secluded in
the harem. Finally, the role of the princess in society, especially in
international politics, will be discussed in section 2.2.1.4.
2.2.1.1

Queen

It is often assumed that the queens of the ancient Near East were
powerful women. Yet to what extent did a queen have the possibility
to exercise power? Could she have any influence on her husband by
way of intercession? Did she have any possibility to attend official
meetings and banquets? To what extent could a queen partake in
these meetings?
Queens generally had an entourage of personnel over whom they
had authority. Some queens lived in the women's quarters of the
palace, but others had their own palace and their own administration, a sign of wealth and often of power.
Engaging in political matters certainly was a way to exercise power.
Often a queen was of foreign origin and was married to the king under
the terms of a political alliance. What was the role of such a queen?

Did she play a part in matters of international diplomacy?

In the following section we will look into these questions. One
needs to keep in mind, however, that the queen, i.e., the chief wife
of the king, generally was less powerful than her mother-in-law, the
queen mother. 1 As long as the queen mother was alive, she generally
would be second in command to her son, the king. But if the queen
mother was dead, the position of the queen changed. She would be the
one in whom he might confide and to whom he might give considerable
authority. Furthermore, it is often difficult to distinguish in the texts
between the queen and the queen mother. Both were called 'queen'.
Sometimes it is not clear whether a royal woman acted in one capacity
or the other. In the following, I will tacitly assume that the wife of
the king is meant if there are no indications that the queen mother is
involved.
A . ANCIENT N E A R E A S T

In Mesopotamia the names of a queen differed according to period and

place. 2 In Mari and in the West a queen was called arratu, feminine
form of arru 'king'. In Assyria, however, the queen was called aat
arri 'wife of the king' or (later) a ekalli 'she-of-the-palace' or rather
issi ekalli 'the woman of the palace'. 3
Although a queen generally did not have any power over her husband the king, she could exercise influence by acting as intermediary
between her subjects and her husband. The Mari correspondence reveals that queen Shibtu wielded great influence with her husband
Zimri-Lim and therefore her help was often sought. 4 Shibtu conveyed
messages of all kinds to the king. Prophecies, for instance, could be
brought to her attention with the intention that she pass them on to
her husband. 5
Likewise, Parysatis, wife of the Achaemenid king Darius II, interceded for her daughter-in-law, Stateira, whose brother had affronted
the royal family. While her brother was sentenced to death, Stateira's
life was saved by Parysatis' mediation with the king. 6
Yet the queen's role as intercessor was one of restricted power. A
1

On the queen mother see section 2.2.1.2.

M.-J. Seux, 'Knigtum', in: RLA, Bd. 6, 159-60.
3
CAD () 2, 72-5; (E), 61-2; S. Parpola, 'The Neo-Assyrian Word for "Queen" ',
State Archives of Assyria Bulletin 2/2 (1988), 73-6.
4
B.F. Batto, Studies on Women at Mari, Baltimore 1974, 14-5.
5
A. Malamat, Forerunner of Biblical Prophecy: The Mari Documents', in:
P.D. Miller et al. (eds), Ancient Israelite Religion, Philadelphia 1987, 44.
6
M. Brosius, Women in Ancient Persia, 559-331 BC (Oxford classical monographs), Oxford 1996, 115-6, 119.
2

queen could seek to alter a king's decision, for example, by asking him
to change the mode of punishment. Yet if the king did not give his
consent, she did not have the power to act independently. 7
Another way of exercising influence was by attending official meetings and banquets. A queen could accompany her husband on such
occassions. But whether she could partake of politics or business during offical meetings cannot be established. Little is known about the
presence of women at royal banquets. An Assyrian bas-relief shows
king Ashurbanipal (668-627 BCE) and his queen Ashur-shurrat in a
banquet scene. The presence of female personnel indicates that the
banquet took place in the quarters of the queen. 8 Whether the queen
also participated in feasts which the king organised cannot be determined.
Noble women probably did participate in some of the celebrations
of the Persian court. The king's wife and the queen mother were
present at private dinners of the king, and they may have attended
official celebrations such as the New Year festival. 'Celebrations which
required the presence of the court may well have included royal and
noble women, while other banquets may have been restricted to male
members of the nobility'. 9
Whereas the role of a queen in politics may have been limited,
administrative texts from several places and times show that queens
could play an important role in the economy of a kingdom. In the
Early Dynastic Period (ca. 2600-2350 BCE) Baranamtara, wife of Lugalanda of Lagash, did business with other Mesopotamian cities. She
maintained diplomatic relationships with Ninizkimti, the wife of the
king of Adab, with whom she exchanged presents. 10 Also, in the following periods, queens could have their own separate administration.
They held plots of land, managed their own personnel and had their
own channels of food production, independent of their husband, the
king. 11
7

Brosius, Women in Ancient Persia, 119-20.

P. Albenda, 'Western Asiatic Women in the Iron Age: Their Image Revealed',
BA 46 (1983), 87-8.
9
Brosius, Women in Ancient Persia, 95.
10
J.M. Asher-Greve, Frauen in altsumerischer Zeit (Bibliotheca Mesopotamica,
18), Malibu CA 1985, 150-1; M. Van de Mieroop, 'Women in the Economy of
Sumer', in: WER, 54-6.
11
For the Sargonic period and Ur III, cf. B.R. Foster, 'Notes on Women in
Sargonic Society', in: FPOA, 53; Van de Mieroop, 'Women in the Economy of
Sumer', 56-8. For the Neo-Assyrian empire, cf. A. Kuhrt, The Ancient Near East:
c. 3000-330 BC (Routledge History of the Ancient World), vol. 2, London 1995,
527.
8

The Eblaite queen also had a considerable role in the country's

economy. She had her own personnel and administration, she received
several products, such as textiles and also sent such commodities to
other influential persons. 12 The role of the queen of Emar appears
to have been of similar importance. She possessed large quantities of
grain, several fields, cattle, slaves and wagons. 13
About two millennia later, queens of the Achaemenid period seem
to have been as influential in royal economy as their predecessors.
They managed their estates, distributed food and other materials and
commanded their personnel. 14
Egyptian queens who occupied the office of God's Wife of Amun
also played a role in the country's economy. This religious office ineluded participation in the management of the extensive properties of
the Amun temple for which the God's Wife had an enormous staff of
administrators at her service. The women holding this high office are
often depicted with a mace in their hand to indicate their power. 15
That queens could have their own administration, and sometimes
even had their own palace to manage, is probably reflected in the lives
of deities. In Sumerian mythology gods and goddesses who were husbands and wives had their own temples, their own separate dwellings,
from which they visited each other. 16 Queens, too, generally would
have separate living quarters. Sometimes they would live in a separate wing of the palace, but it could also happen that they had their
own palace.
Ramesses 11 (1279-1213 BCE), for instance, built 'a fine house(?)'
for his bride, the daughter of Hattushili ill. 17 Whether this meant
12

M.G. Biga, 'Frauen in der Wirtschaft von Ebla', in: H. Waetzoldt, H. Hauptmann (eds), Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft von Ebla: Akten der Internationalen
Tagung Heidelberg | 7 . November 1986 (Heidelberger Studien zum Alten Orient,
2), Heidelberg 1988, 159; P. Mander, 'The Function of the Maliktum as Based on
the Documentation of the Administrative Texts of Ebla', in: Waetzoldt, Hauptmann (eds), Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft von Ebla, 261-6.
13
M. Dietrich, ' "Besitz der Tia-Lim" : Zuwendungen des Knigs von Ebla an
die Knigin von Emar', UF 25 (1993), 93-8.
14
Brosius, Women in Ancient Persia, 125-46.
15
Cf. E. Graefe, Untersuchungen zur Verwaltung und Geschichte der Institution
der Gottesgemahlin des Amun vom Beginn des Neuen Reiches bis zur Sptzeit
(AA, 37/1-2), Wiesbaden 1981; M. Gitton, Les divines pouses de la 18e dynastie,
Paris 1984; B.M. Bryan, The Reign of Thutmose IV, Baltimore 1991, 93, 102-3.
On the religious office of God's Wife of Amun see chapter 3.
16
J.-J. Glassner, 'Women, Hospitality and the Honor of the Family', in: WER,
87.
17
. Edel, Die gyptisch-hethitische Korrespondenz aus Boghazki in babylonischer und hethitischer Sprache (ARWAW, 77/1-2), Opladen 1994, Bd. 1: 140-3;

she had a separate palace, however, is not certain, for the Ramesside
record of the marriage states that '[s]he was installed in the (Royal)
Palace, (in) the king's Domain, accompanying the Sovereign daily
>18

The Nineveh palace of King Sennacherib of Assyria (704-681 BCE)

held an inscription lauding his wife Tashmetum-sharrat and informing
the reader that he had a palace built for her. Yet the text was inscribed
in a door of the west wing of the palace, where the women's quarters
were. 19
In this connection it is confusing that the Akkadian term bitu
could denote both a house or palace, and a room in such a building. 20
The word ekallu mostly describes the royal palace, but occasionally
the main room in a private house. 21
We know that queens could play a certain role in national and
international politics, for this can be gleaned from royal correspondence. The letters of queen Shibtu of Mari are well known. Based on
her correspondence she can be pictured 'as a very active and highly
influential person in the kingdom of Mari'. 22 During king Zimri-Lim's
absence she supervised many departments, such as the administration, the palace, the temple and the women's quarters. On all these
matters she reported to him in her correspondence. 23 But although
Shibtu was his principal personal representative, ultimately, all authority rested with the king.
Likewise, the correspondence of the Hittite queen Puduhepa shows
she was very influential in national affairs of state as well as in international politics. 24 For example, she discussed marriage politics with
K.A. Kitchen, Ramesside Inscriptions: Translated & Annotated. Notes and Comments (Series B: Annotations. Vol. 2: Ramesses II, Royal Inscriptions), Oxford
1999, 149.
18
K.A. Kitchen, Ramesside Inscriptions: Translated & Annotated. Translations
(Series A: Translations. Vol. 2: Ramesses II, Royal Inscriptions), Oxford 1996, 96.
See also G. Robins, Women in Ancient Egypt, London 1993, 34.
19
J. Reade, 'Was Sennacherib a Feminist?' in: FPOA, 141. Despite her high
position at the court, another wife's son became the successor of Sennacherib, cf.
section 2.2.1.2.
20
CAD (B), 282, 292.
21
CAD (E), 52, 60.
22
P. Artzi, A. Malamat, 'The Correspondence of ibtu, Queen of Mari in ARM
X', in: A. Malamat, Man and the Bible (SHCANE, 12), Leiden 1998, 176; Batto,
Studies on Women at Mari, 8-17; G. Dossin, Correspondance fminine (ARM,
10), Paris 1978.
23
Artzi, Malamat, 'The Correspondence of Sibtu', 184; Batto, Studies on
Women at Mari, 11-3.
24
. Edel, 'Die Rolle der Kniginnen in der gyptisch-hettitischen Korrespon-

king Ramesses 11 of Egypt and her role in this matter seems to have
been equal to that of her husband. 25 Yet a queen's role in diplomacy
generally was a limited one, and Puduhepa seems to have been an
exception. The fact that she was so influential may have been related
to the political situation of the country as well as the ill health of her
husband. Since her husband had come to power by dethroning UrhiTeshub (=Murshili III), a son of his deceased brother, the late king
Muwatalli, and because Urhi-Teshub's descendants remained a threat,
it was important that the king exercise a steadfast rule. Probably because of his weak health Hattushili ill had therefore strengthened the
position of his wife, queen Puduhepa. 26 Usually negotiations with regard to interdynastic marriages were conducted between kings. O n
the whole . . . women had little active part to play in diplomatic negotiations; they were important only in that they provided through
marriage the means to cement international alliances'. 27
Despite the fact that a queen generally would not engage actively
in marriage negotiations, she could play a role in the diplomatic relations between two countries. Within the scope of interdynastical
relations a princess of one country could be married to the king of
another country. If the alliance was considered to be of great importance, she would become his queen, i.e., his first wife. If, however,
her country of origin was of less political importance, she would only
be one of his many wives and concubines. 28 The practice of political
marriage is well attested in the ancient Near East. 29 It is generally
assumed that this sort of arranged marriage 'was undertaken for the
purely political reasons of reinforcing treaties, strengthening the relationships of the states concerned, establishing alliances, neutralizing
potential rivals, and the like'. 30
denz von Boghazki', Zeitschrift fr Indogermanische Forschung 60 (1950), 72-85;
M. Darga, 'Puduhepa: an Anatolian Queen of the thirteenth Century B C , in: E.
Akurgal, U.B. Alkim (eds), Mansel'e Armagan = Mlanges Mansel, Ankara 1974,
942-3; H. Otten, Puduhepa: Eine Hethitische Knigin in ihren Textzeugnissen,
Mainz 1975.
25
Edel, 'Die Rolle der Kniginnen in der gyptisch-hettitischen Korrespondenz
von Boghazki', 76.
26
S.R. Bin-Nun, The Tauiananna in the Hittite Kingdom (Texte der Hethiter,
5), Heidelberg 1975, 179; Otten, Puduhepa, esp. 10, 24, 27; T. Bryce, The Kingdom
of the Hittites, Oxford 1998, 284-325.
27
Robins, Women in Ancient Egypt, 34.
28
Robins, Women in Ancient Egypt, 34-6. See section 2.2.1.3.
29
Cf. W. Rllig, 'Heirat, politische', in: RLA, Bd. 4, 282-7; A.R. Schulman,
'Diplomatic Marriage in the Egyptian New Kingdom', JNES 38 (1979), 177-93;
Brosius, Women in Ancient Persia, 35-82.
30
Schulman, 'Diplomatic Marriage in the Egyptian New Kingdom', 179.

Quite well known are the marriages of Ramesses II with two Hittite
princesses, daughters of king Hattushili ill. The subsequent marriages
are recorded in both Egyptian and Hittite sources. 31 In his study of
these marriages, Alan Schulman concludes that 'diplomatic marriages
forged bonds between the two rulers, the father- or brother-in-law and
the son-in-law, but not between their respective states; thus, if either
king or the bride died, then new bonds had to be forged'. 32 Since the
first Hittite princess, who had become the Egyptian queen Maat-HorNeferure, probably died within a couple of years after her marriage,
Ramesses II had to marry another Hittite princess to secure his bond
with king Hattushili ill. 33
Another well known political marriage is that of king Zimri-Lim
of Mari with queen Shibtu, whose town of origin was Aleppo. Most
scholars assume Zimri-Lim married the daughter of Yarim-Lim, king
of Yamhad, during the former's exile. Yarim-Lim acted as his patron
and helped Zimri-Lim to reascend the throne of Mari. 34 If one accepts
this hypothesis, it sheds an 'interesting light on the unusually close
bond between the future king and his spouse whose fate proceeded
from the former's humble days in exile'. 35
Yet Zimri-Lim may have been exceptional in other ways as well.
He married his daughters to petty kings of neighbouring countries,
thus securing his frontiers. This, in itself, was not exceptional. But he
invested his daughters with authority to act out their father's hegemony.
The difference between Zimri-Lim and his contemporaries in the use of
the dynastic marriage to secure alliances, to judge from the available
evidence, is that Zimri-Lim additionally invested his daughter-queens
with real authority in their respective states. Sometimes, as in the case
of Inib-arri and Kiru, these marriages turned out to be unhappy ventures. But in a culture which institutionalized the subordination of
women, the feelings of the woman involved were considered unimportant. Indeed, by contemporary standards, Zimri-Lim's policies regard31

Kitchen, Ramesside Inscriptions (Series A: Translations. Vol. 2), 86-99, 1102; Idem, Ramesside Inscriptions (Series B: Annotations. Vol. 2), 146-59, 163-5;
Edel, Die gyptisch-hethitische Korrespondenz aus Boghazki in babylonischer und
hethitischer Sprache, Bd. 1: 90-167, 174-5, 214-33; Bd. 2: 144-257, 266-7, 320-55.
32
Schulman, 'Diplomatic Marriage in the Egyptian New Kingdom', 192-3.
33
Schulman, 'Diplomatic Marriage in the Egyptian New Kingdom', 193; Robins,
Women in Ancient Egypt, 32.
34
Cf. Artzi, Malamat, 'The Correspondence of Sibtu', 176; Batto, Studies on
Women at Mari, 52. Differently, F. Abdallah, 'La femme dans le royaume d'Alep
au xviii6 sicle av. J.-C.' in: FPOA, 13-15.
35
Artzi, Malamat, 'The Correspondence of ibtu', 177.

ing women, particularly the women of his own family, may be regarded
as unusually enlightened.36
However, Rivkah Harris is less positive. Commenting on Bernard
Batto's Studies on Women at Mari, in which he writes about the independence queen Shibtu enjoyed and about the possibilities she had
to act out of her own initiative, Harris emphasizes that the queen's authority is only a delegated one. Both queen Shibtu herself and ZimriLim's daughters remained to be agents of the king, instruments of
his policy.37 Since Zimri-Lim was more powerful than the kinglets to
whom he married his daughters, he was in a position to give his daughters delegated authority. If he had been less powerful, his daughters'
authority would have been less, too.
That the power base of the men, to whom the queens were related,
was of utmost importance is illustrated by the fate of the Egyptian
queen Ankhesenamun. This widow of Tutankhamun wrote to king
Shuppiluliuma 1 of Hatti requesting that he sent one of his sons to
marry her. 38 In the 'Deeds of Shuppiluliuma' this event is described
from the point of view of the Hittites by the king's son, Murshili 11.
The Deeds narrate the attack of Hatti on Amqa, a country previously
under Egypt's influence, and relate it to the queen's request,
When the people of Egypt heard of the attack on 'Amqa, they were
afraid. And since their lord Nibhururiya (=Tutankamun) had just died,
the Queen of Egypt (=Ankesenamun), who was the king's wife, sent
a messenger to my father saying: "My husband has died, and I have
no son. They say you have many sons. If you will give me one of your
sons, he will become my husband. I do not wish to choose a subject
of mine and make him my husband ... I am afraid." When my father
heard this, he convened the Great Ones for council (saying): "Nothing
like this has ever happened to me in my whole life." My father sent
Hattua-ziti, the chamberlain, to Egypt (with this order): "Go bring
back the true story to me. Maybe they are trying to deceive me. Maybe
(in fact) they do have a son of their lord. Bring back the true story to
me."39
King Shuppiluliuma was surprised by the queen's request. Something
like this had never happened to him. Apparently it was very unusual
36

Batto, Studies on Women at Mari, 53.

R. Harris, 'Independent Women in Ancient Mesopotamia?' in: WER, 146-7.
38
Edel, Die gyptisch-hethitische Korrespondenz aus Boghazki in babylonischer
und hethitischer Sprache, Bd. 1: 14-5; Bd. 2: 22-6.
39
Hoffner, in: C0S, vol. 1, 190.
37

for a widowed queen to ask that a prince be given in marriage to

her. Unlike Egyptian kings, who often asked for the hand of a foreign
princess, 40 it probably was a unique event for a queen to ask for a
foreign husband. Yet not only was Shuppiluliuma surprised, he was
also suspicious. What if it was a trick to obtain one of his sons as a
hostage? He therefore sent his chamberlain to investigate the matter.
With the passage of time, the latter returned, accompanied by the
messenger of the Egyptian court, who brought an answer of the queen.
Murshili reported,
Now, since my father - when he sent Hattua-ziti to Egypt - had given
him these orders: "Maybe they have a son of their lord. Maybe they
deceive me and do not want my son for the kingship. - therefore the
queen of Egypt wrote back to my father as follows: "Why did you say
'they deceive me' in that way? If I had a son, would I have written
about my own and my land's embarrassing predicament to a foreign
land? You did not believe me and have dared to speak this way to me.
My husband has died, and I have no son. I do not wish to take one
of my subjects and make him my husband. I have written to no other
land, only to you. They say you have many sons. Well then, give me
one of them. To me he will be a husband, but in Egypt he will be king."
So since my father was kindhearted, he granted the woman's wish and
set about choosing the son he would send.41
Eventually Shuppiluliuma sent his fourth son Zannanza. Unfortunately, the rivals of the queen killed Zannanza, and most probably
the queen, too. 42
This unique case raises several questions. What was the position
of Ankhesenamun after her husband had died? Was it on her own
initiative that she wrote a letter to the Hittite king? Was she perhaps
desperate because she could not rule the country in her own right and
needed the help of a strong external power?
Tutankhamun became king when he was only a child of about
nine years. He reigned for about ten years before he died (1340/13321330/1322 BCE). Since he was a minor, the regency was probably
40

Schulman, 'Diplomatic Marriage in the Egyptian New Kingdom', 177-93;

C. Desroches Noblecourt, La femme au temps des pharaons, Paris 1986, 58-61;
Robins, Women in Ancient Egypt, 30-6.
41
Hoffner, 'Deeds of Suppiluliuma', 190.
42
Cf. F. Cornelius, Geschichte der Hethiter: Mit besonderer Bercksichtigung
der geographischen Verhltnisse und der Rechtsgeschichte Darmstadt 1973, 160-4;
B.S. Lesko, The Remarkable Women of Ancient Egypt, Providence 3 1996, 22-3;
Hoffner, 'Deeds of Suppiluliuma', 191; Bryce, The Kingdom of the Hittites, 193-9.

carried out by Ay and Haremhab, two high officials who, one after the
other, succeeded him after his death. Jrgen von Beckerath assumes
Ay, who already had reached a ripe old age, agreed with Ankhesenamun's attempt to marry a son of the Hittite king. 'Das Scheitern
dieses jedenfalls mit Zustimmung Ajas erfolgten Versuches durch die
Ermordung des hethitischen Prinzen Zannanza wird letztlich auch
das Ende Ajas und der jungen Knigin herbeigefhrt haben'. 43 It
would seem that queen Ankhesenamun did not rule in her own right.
When Tutankhamun died, Ay became king. Because of the unstable
political situation and his old age he may have thought it wise that
queen Ankhesenamun ask for the help of the Hittites. In time the
Hittite prince could then become Ay's successor. However, Haremhab
succeeded Ay. Whether Haremhab played a part in Zannaza's murder
cannot be ascertained.
In Egypt, a queen who ruled in her own right was an exception. Nitokret (2218/2168-2216/2166 BCE) and Sobeknefru (1798/97-1794/93
BCE) probably were the only female pharaohs. Their brief rule was
acknowledged because the continuation of the dynasty was considered more important than the fact that they were female. 44 After the
Middle Kingdom period, however, the view on kingship changed and
it was perceived as a joint husband-and-wife monarchy. A queen such
as Nefertiti, Great Royal Wife of Akhenaten, played a significant role
during her husband's reign. There was a disadvantage to this joint
rule, however. The power of a queen depended on the authority her
husband granted her. Without her husband's consent, she could not
exercise any power. 45
B . UGARITIC LITERARY T E X T S

In Ugaritic the queen is called mlkt, feminine form of mlk 'king'.

Several Ugaritic queens are known by name, such as Ahatmilku and
Tharyelli. Since most information on these women, for instance their
correspondence and their activities in economy, is derived from nonliterary texts, this will be dealt with in chapter 4.
The literary texts of Ugarit do, however, inform us somewhat on
the position of queens. Hariya, the wife of king Kirtu was not called
43

J. von Beckerath, Chronologie des pharaonischen gypten: Die Zeitbestimmung der gyptischen Geschichte von der Vorzeit bis 332 v. Chr. (MSt, 46),
Mainz 1997, 115.
44
On Nitokret and Sobeknefru, see section 2.2.1.2.
45
Cf. .M. Bryan, 'In Women Good and Bad Fortune are on Earth: Status
and Roles of Women in Egyptian culture', in: A.K. Capel, G.E. Markoe (eds),
Mistress of the House, Mistress of Heaven: Women in Ancient Egypt, New York
1996, 25-46.

mlkt, but mtt 'lady'. Her husband Kirtu is usually referred to as krt
V 'Kirtu, the Noble', but from KTU 1.16:VI.52-54 it is clear that he
was a king. When Kirtu was deadly ill, he ordered Hariya to prepare a
banquet, to invite the guests and serve them dinner (KTU 1.15:IV).46
Because Kirtu could not attend the banquet due to his illness, Hariya
presided at the meal. It has been noted that Kirtu did not give this
task to the heir-apparent, Yassubu, but to his wife, who apparently
had more authority and status. 47 Because of the fragmentary state
of the text it cannot be determined whether during the meal Hariya
declared her eldest son Yassubu to be heir to the throne, or the guests
suggested that he become their king (1.15:V). 48 But in any case she
seems to have taken matters in hand when her husband was incapacitated. 49
Another queen called mtt 'lady' is Danatiya, wife of king Dani'ilu. 50
She, too, had to perform humble duties like preparing food for a guest
(KTU 1.17:V). It is possible that this reflects the reality at the small
courts of vassal kings ruling over nothing but a modest city state,
although queens probably were assisted by their servants.
Beside being ordered to perform menial tasks, queens could also
be consulted by their husbands and be involved in matters of state.
A case in point is the wife of king Pubala. 51 When his city was under siege, king Pubala called out to his wife, probably to discuss his
strategy of dealing with Kirtu (KTU 1.14:V.12-17). Since the text is
broken at this point, we do not know whether or not his wife had any
influence on Pubala's decisions.
Finally it seems certain that queens also took part in state ritual,
either alone, or alongside the king. 52
In addition to this scanty information on human queens, we can
also derive some data from literary texts which deal with female
deities holding positions in the Ugaritic pantheon that are comparable
46

On the menial tasks from which not even queens were exempted, see 2.2.2.3.
J. Gray, The Legacy of Canaan: The Ras Shamra Texts and their Relevance
to the Old Testament (VT.S, 5), Leiden 21965, 227; Amico, SWU, 327.
48
For the former, cf. De Moor, ARTU, 210; Wyatt, RTU, 218; for the latter,
cf. TO, t. 1, 546-7; Greenstein, in: Smith, UNP, 29; B. Margalit, 'The Legend of
Keret', in: HUS, 217.
49
Similarly, the goddess 'Anatu seems to have been ready to battle for her
husband when she feared that he was unable to fend off certain enemies (KTU
1.3:III-IV).
50
On the royal status of Dani'ilu see De Moor, R0Y, 280, n. 35.
51
The restoration of the name of the wife of king Pubala is a matter of dispute.
See section 2.1.1.1.
52
See chapter 3.
47

to that of a queen. Since Ilu was head of the pantheon, he was regarded
as king 53 and consequently, his wife Athiratu as queen (mother). 54
Ba'lu, too, is referred to as king. In the hierarchical structure of the
Ugaritic pantheon, Ba'lu was in a position subordinate to Ilu, and
may be regarded as a viceroy.55 His wives 'Anatu and 'Athtartu may
therefore be regarded as queens, too. Yet none of these goddesses is
ever called mlkt although 'Anatu is once called b'lt mlk 'mistress of
kingship' (KTU 1.108:6).
Just as human queens had their personnel, Athiratu had a personal
attendant named Qidshu-Amruru. This god, who is called Fisherman
of Athiratu, acted as her messenger and her valet. 56 In addition she
had at least one female slave (KTU 1.12:1.16-17). 'Anatu commanded
a number of mhrm 'warriors' (KTU 1.13:7; 1.22:1.9; cf. 1.3:11) and
employed seven chambermaids (KTU 1.3:11.2).
Furthermore, the procedures at the court of Ugarit were probably
projected onto the divine court. In KTU 1.4:11-111 'Anatu and Ba'lu
approached Athiratu with the request to intercede on their behalf.
Ba'lu wished to obtain his own palace and the couple wanted the
goddess to act as intermediary for them with Ilu. Nicholas Wyatt
notes, '[t]here were evidently regular procedures for gaining access to
El, which involved invoking intermediaries in the first instance. This
would reflect procedures at court'. 57 It would seem that part of this
procedure was to bribe the intercessor with gifts. Kotharu, the skilful
deity, was instructed to make presents of silver and gold for Athiratu
(KTU 1.4:1.20-22), which were thereupon presented to the goddess
(1.4:11.26-28; III.25-36).
When 'Anatu and Ba'lu had asked Athiratu for her intercession,
she set out to go to her husband Ilu, who lived 'at the fountain-head
of the two Rivers, in the middle of the bedding of the two Floods'
(KTU 1.4:IV.21-22). From this we may conclude that Ilu and Athiratu
had their separate dwellings. Ba'lu and his wife 'Anatu, too, lived in
separate palaces. 'Anatu had to travel to visit her husband in his
palace (KTU 1.3:IV.33-40; 1.10:11.4-5). Also their messengers had to
travel great distances to communicate between the pair (e.g. KTU
1.3:III-IV). The texts speak repeatedly of 'Anatu's mansion which
53

He is called mlk explicitly in KTU 1.3:V.8.

Cf., e.g., L.K. Handy, Among the Host of Heaven: The Syro-Palestinian Pantheon as Bureaucracy, Winona Lake IN 1994, 69, 85; Smith, in: Idem, UNP, 83.
55
Handy, Among the Host of Heaven, 101-2.
56
Cf. KTU 1.3:VI; 1.4:11.28-36; 1.4:1V. According to Smith, in: Idem, UNP,
118-9, and Wyatt, RTU, 89-90, Qidshu-Amruru acted as messenger of Ba'lu in
1.3:VI.
57
Wyatt, RTU, 97, n. 119. See also Amico, SWU, 321.
54

seems to have been located now in heaven (KTU 1.13:12; 1.108:7),

now on earth (KTU 1.3:11). That queens had their own dwellings and
households is also confirmed in KTU 1.161:31-33, where the houses
of king 'Ammurapi and queen Tharyelli are mentioned separately. 58
Upon Athiratu's arrival at Ilu's palace, the god was pleased to
meet his wife and tried to charm her into love-making (lines 27-39).
But she ignored this, asking his attention for Ba'lu's request. Apparently Athiratu could refuse Ilu's sexual invitation. This is all the
more worth noting since Athiratu earlier had beautified herself with
the intention to please her husband (KTU 1.4:II.10-11)59 and since she
did obeisance when approaching her husband (1.4:IV.25-26), thereby
expressing subservience,
Ip'n. 'il.thbr.wtql
tthwy.wtkbdh

At the feet of Ilu she bowed and fell down,

prostrated herself and honoured him.

Since he was the ruling king she had to honour him in the proper
way. In general, persons of lower social status honoured those of higher
status. 60
Before 'Anatu and Ba'lu approached Athiratu with their request,
'Anatu herself had tried to intercede with her father for her husband's sake (KTU 1.3:V.32-33). As daughter of the king and wife
of the viceroy, she played an intermediary role asking for a palace
for Ba'lu. Yet her influence on her father apparently was not strong
enough, for 'Anatu later turned to her mother with the request that
she intercede. Moreover, her conduct towards her father, especially
her lack of respect towards him, probably did not help in winning his
favour. 61
Like Hariya, who was present at the banquet given by her husband, 'Anatu dined with Ba'lu (KTU 1.3:IV.41-42). Both 'Anatu and
'Athtartu were attending a meal of the gods (KTU 1.2:1.40; see also
58

See section 3.1.

Could it be that she regarded the political issue at hand more important
than making love with her husband? In any case she appeared to have been
highly interested in court politics when she acted repeatedly as a king-maker. See
section 2.2.1.2.
60
For example, messengers of a god honoured the deity they were sent to (KTU
1.1:11.15-17; III.2-3; 1.3:111.9-10; VI.18-20; 1.4:VIII.26-29). Likewise, when 'Anatu
entered the camp of Ilu to bring her father a message, she bowed and fell down
at the feet of Ilu (KTU 1.6:1.36-38), as did the deity of crafstmanship, Kotharuwa-Khasisu (1.1:111.24-25; 1.2:111.5-6). In KTU 1.10:11.17-18 it is told that Ba'lu
bowed to 'Anatu, which appears to have been an exceptional tribute, cf. De Moor,
ARTU, 112, n. 20. Deliberately not prostrating oneself in front of a person of
higher status was considered an insult, cf. KTU 1.2:1.14-15, 30-31; 1.3:V. On
formulas of obeisance in letters, see chapter 4.
61
Cf. Handy, Among the Host of Heaven, 82-3.
59

1.114), during which they prevented Ba'lu from killing the messenger
of bad news. It would thus seem that a queen was sometimes present
during meetings of the king and could exercise some influence.
When kings were conquered by their enemies their wives were
often captured too. So it does not come as a surprise that when Ba'lu
was taken prisoner by Yammu, it seems that one of his wives, possibly
'Athtartu, was with him (KTU 1.2:IV.5-7).62
C . H E B R E W BIBLE

It is sometimes seen as remarkable that the word is not used

for the wife of an Israelite or Judahite king. 'The only females whom
the Bible acknowledges as queens are either foreigners or else Hebrew
women residing in a foreign court'. 63 Thus, the queen of Sheba who
came to visit Solomon (1 Kgs 10:1-13 || 2 Chron. 9:1-12) is called
, as are Vashti and Esther, queens at the Persian court. Queens in
general are mentioned in Song 6:8, where the male lover expresses his
preference for his beloved one over sixty queens and eighty concubines.
But neither wives of Israelite and Judahite kings, nor women acting
as regents are called 'queen' in the Hebrew Bible. However, as we
have seen, the same is true of the queens, both divine and human, in
the literary texts of Ugarit. It remains to be seen, therefore, whether
any special significance should be attributed to the similar situation
in the literary texts of Israel.
In a few instances the word is used, denoting a 'king's wife'. 64
The term is a transcription of the Neo-Assyrian title a ekalli lit.
'she-of-the-palace' 65 or rather issi ekalli 'the woman of the palace'. 66
As in the surrounding world, the power of an Israelite queen could
be considerable, depending on the amount of freedom her husband
granted her. 67 Bathsheba acted as kingmaker for her son Solomon (1
62

Cf. De Moor, ARTU, 39, n. 175. Others interpret the -ny differently, see
Wyatt, RTU, 64, n. 131.
63
A. Brenner, The Israelite Woman: Social Role and Literary Type in Biblical
Narrative (BiSe, 2), Sheffield 1985, 17.
64
Ps. 45:10; Neh. 2:6; Dan. 5:2,3,23 (Aram.).
65
Cf. HALAT Lf. 4, 1315; B. Landsberger, 'Akkadisch-Hebrische Wortgleichungen', in: B. Hartmann et al. (eds), Hebrische Wortforschung Fs. . . .
Baumgartner (VT.S, 16), Leiden 1967, 198-204; E. Lipmski, 'Emprunts sumroakkadiens en hbreu biblique', ZAH 1 (1988), 72.
66
See my remarks above as well as P.V. Mankowski, Akkadian Loanwords in
Biblical Hebrew (HSS, 47), Winona Lake IN 2000, 137-8, 156, 158.
67
C. Smith, ' 'Queenship' in Israel?: The Cases of Bathsheba, Jezebel and
Athaliah', in: J. Day (ed.), King and Messiah in Israel and the Ancient Near
East: Proceedings of the Oxford Old Testament Seminar (JSOT.S, 270), Sheffield
1998, 161, states: 'It is simply not sensible to argue that because the only power
these women had derived from their connection with males then it cannot be

Kgs 1) and Jezebel had the power to decide life or death (1 Kgs 19:2;
21:10).

Esther was a biblical queen 68 at the Persian court with considerable influence. She convinced the king to save the lives of the Jews
and to kill their enemies (Est. 7-9). Her influence is also illustrated by
the role she played as intercessor. When Haman had sent out letters
to all provinces of the empire that the Jews should be killed, Mordecai charged Esther 'to go to the king to make supplication to him
and entreat him for her people' (Est. 4:8). Although she hesitated
at first, because she risked her life by approaching the king without
being called, she complied with Mordecai's order. She dressed in her
royal robes and stood in the courtyard of the king's palace, where he
would catch sight of her standing there. She thus awaited the king's
invitation to approach the throne. Seeing his queen, Esther won the
grace of the king (Est. 5:1-2). Subsequently, she made her request
indirectly, asking first that the king and Haman dine with her. When
she finally revealed Haman's plans to kill all the Jews this evoked
the anger of the king (Est. 7). Haman thereupon pleaded with the
queen that she intercede with the king to save his life. Both parties,
Mordecai and Haman, thus asked the queen to play an intermediary
role in saving their lives.
According to the book of Esther, men and women sometimes participated in a banquet together, yet they also had their separate
feasts. King Ahasuerus gave a banquet for his officials and ministers
(Est. 1:3) and another one for all the people present in the citadel of
Susa (1:5). Meanwhile, his queen, Vashti, organised a banquet for the
women of the palace (1:9). At a certain stage of the party, however,
the queen was commanded to appear before the king, which she refused (1:10-12).69 Her disobedience was not tolerated by the king and
she was queen no longer.
After king Ahasuerus had found himself a new queen, he gave
another banquet to his officials and ministers in honour of Esther
counted as 'real' power. It certainly was real power, whatever its provenance'.
68
Since the book of Esther is commonly regarded as a Jewish legend, it is
warranted to call her a 'biblical' queen.
69
According to some scholars, Vashti refused because she did not want to lower
herself to the conduct of a concubine; cf. . Bickerman, Four Strange Books of
the Bible: Jonah, Daniel, Koheleth, Esther, New York 1967, 185-6; L.R. Klein,
'Honor and Shame in Esther', in: A. Brenner (ed.), A Feminist Companion to
Esther, Judith and Susanna (FCB, 7), Sheffield 1995, 155. Differently, M. Brosius,
Women in Ancient Persia, 559-331 BC (Oxford classical monographs), Oxford
1996, 94-7. According to rabbinical tradition (bMeg. 12b; EstR 3:13-14), Vashti
refused because she had to appear naked, wearing only her royal crown.

(2:18).70 Somewhat later, the new queen, Esther, also gave a banquet,
but on a smaller scale (5:4), inviting only the king and his second in
command, Haman. She thereupon invited them to another banquet,
during which she asked the king for a favour: to spare the lives of
herself and her people (7:1-10, see above). Before the second banquet
of queen Esther, while Haman was still unaware of Esther's plans, he
considered it an honour to be invited to feast with the queen (5:12).
To dine with the king and queen was considered a sign of being in
favour with them.
In the court of Artaxerxes, another Persian king, the queen attended a banquet together with the king. Nehemiah, cupbearer to
the king, made a request to the king while his wife was seated beside him (Neh. 2:6). And king Belshazzar of Babylon held a drinking
bout in which not only his lords, but also his wives and concubines
participated (Dan. 5:2,3). 71
Next to their role as intercessor and as accompanying person during a banquet, a queen could exercise some influence on internal politics. The role a queen could play in the affairs of state could be
expressed in her correspondence. Queen Jezebel of Israel wrote letters in Ahab's name and sealed them with her husband's seal (1 Kgs
21:8).72 She apparently 'was empowered to promulgate royal edicts
on behalf of the king'. 73 King Ahasuerus allowed his queen Esther,
together with her uncle Mordecai, to write an edict in the name of
the king and to seal it with his ring (Est. 8:7-10). Esther furthermore
gave her written authority concerning matters regarding Purim (Est.
9:29,31). In this latter instance Esther possibly acted independently,
not in cooperation with Mordecai. With regard to the interpretation
of Est. 9:29-32, Frederic Bush assumes that queen Esther 'wrote a letter in which she used all her authority' to confirm the letter Mordecai
70

On the structural function of the banqueting scenes, cf. F.W. Bush, Ruth,
Esther (WBC, 9), Dallas TX 1996, 353-5, 370.
71
It is possible, however, that the queen was not present, for the entered
the banqueting hall after there appeared writing on the wall, which none of the
persons present could explain (5:10). But since the wives of the king are called
the Aram, word probably refers to the queen mother; cf. HALAT,
Lief. 4, 1315; Lief. 5, 1737j 1788.
72
On the seal of yzbl, which may or may not have belonged to the queen, cf. .
Avigad, 'The Seal of Jezebel', IEJ 14 (1964), 274-6, pl. 56C. On seals of Israelite
women, see chapter 4.
73
. Spanier, 'The Northern Israelite Queen Mother in the Judaean Court:
Athalia and Abi', in: M. Lubetski et al. (eds), Boundaries of the Ancient Near
Eastern World: A Tribute to Cyrus H. Gordon (JSOT.S, 273), Sheffield 1998,
141.

had written to the Jews (9:20-22).74 If so, this would illustrate her
authority.
A queen would generally have her own personnel over whom she
could exercise power. Queen Jezebel, after having heard that Jehu
came to Jezreel, prepared herself for the encounter with the murderer
of her husband. She probably was assisted by her personnel in beautifying herself (2 Kgs 9:30), for she was thrown out of the window
by two or three eunuchs who were with her in the room. 75 Esther,
too, had her entourage of maids and eunuchs (Est. 4). She could order Hathach, 'one of the king's eunuchs, who had been appointed to
attend her' (4:5) to act as her messenger, and she decided that her
maids would fast with her before she went to the king (4:16).
In Israel the women of the palace probably had their own separate
quarters. The Egyptian princess whom Solomon married had her own
house (1 Kgs 9:24). In the book of Esther it is told that king Ahasuerus
had in his Susa palace separate quarters for his wives and concubines.
It is not clear whether queen Esther had free access to the king.
According to Est. 4:11 she might only approach him at his call, but
Est. 2:19-23 gives the impression she could approach him freely. On
the other hand, when asked to come to the king, one was obliged to
comply with him. Queen Vashti's refusal to appear before the king
was regarded as an offence not only against the king, but against the
whole kingdom (Est. 1:12-22).
Bathsheba apparently could approach the king freely. She went
to the king to present the matter of her son's succession to him: 'So
Bathsheba went to the king in his room' (1 Kgs 1:15). Although the
king was old and loosing grip on his kingdom, he still was in charge.
Bathsheba expressed this by bowing down and doing obeisance to
the king (1:16). Towards the king she was in a subservient position.
After her son had succeeded to the throne, her position was altered.
Her son bowed down to her, thus honouring his mother (1 Kgs 2:19).
Although there is no doubt that he was first in command (2:20-25),
her position as queen mother was improved in comparison with that
of wife of the king.76
74

F.W. Bush, Ruth, Esther (WBC, 9), Dallas TX 1996, 467. With most commentators Bush regards 'and Mordecai the Jew' (v. 29) and 'and Esther the queen'
(v. 31) as additions (471).
75
Cf. C.V. Camp, '1 and 2 Kings', in: C.A. Newsom, S.H. Ringe (eds), The
Women's Bible Commentary, 2 London 1998, 109; H. Tadmor, 'Was the Biblical
srs a Eunuch?' in: Z. Zevit et al. (eds), Solving Riddles and Untying Knots:
Biblical, Epigraphic, and Semitic Studies in Honor of Jonas C. Greenfield, Winona
Lake IN 1995, 319.
76
See further section 2.2.1.2.

Not many biblical queens engaged in politics actively. Some participated in a more passive manner by way of a political marriage.
Several biblical kings engaged in such a marriage to enhance their
position. During the reign of Saul, David married Saul's daughter
Michal after first having been promised her elder sister Merab (1 Sam.
18:17-28). He thus became the king's son-in-law and thereby gained
a certain power, which he later lost after having fled from Gibeah,
for Saul thereupon gave Michal to Palti (1 Sam. 25:44). David then
married two other women, Abigail, the widow of Nabal who had been
'a high-ranking member of the clan that controlled Hebron' 77 and
Ahinoam of Jezreel. 78 Thus was laid the basis for support of David's
kingship at Hebron. 79 During his Hebron years, David furthermore
married Maacah, daughter of king Talmai of Geshur (2 Sam. 3:3; 1
Chron. 3:2). 'This step, taken by David while he was still king of the
House of Judah at Hebron, was no doubt aimed against the northern
tribes loyal to Ishbaal, for the bond of marriage gained for David an
ally to the north of Ishbaal's kingdom and placed the latter in a precarious strategic position between Geshur and Judah'. 8 0 When David
became king of Judah, Michal again was of importance to him. His
marriage to the daughter of the king of Israel gave David a justification to succeed the northern throne as well (cf. 2 Sam. 3:12-14).81
Through his marriages with women from various areas in Judah and
Israel, David created political bonds which supported his political
ambitions.
Solomon apparently made international marriages a cornerstone of
his foreign policy, for he engaged in them on a large scale. He married
an Egyptian princess (1 Kgs 3:1) and royal women from neighbouring
countries such as Moab, Ammon and Edom (1 Kgs 11:1-3; 14:21).82
77

P.K. McCarter, I Samuel (AncB, 8), Garden City NY 1980, 402.

J.D. Levenson, B. Halpern, 'The Political Import of David's Marriages', JBL
99 (1980), 507-18, suggest that Ahinoam of Jezreel may be identified with Ahinoam, wife of Saul (1 Sam. 14:50). This hypothesis is accepted by some, e.g., A.
van der Lingen, Vrouwen rond, de koningen van oud-Isral, Zoetermeer 1997, 33-5,
but repudiated by others, e.g., R.W. Klein, 1 Samuel (WBC, 10), Waco TX 1983,
246-7.
79
Klein, 1 Samuel, 246-7.
80
A. Malamat, 'Aspects of the Foreign Policies of David and Solomon', JNES
22 (1963), 8.
81
McCarter, I Samuel, 318. See also I. Willi-Plein, 'Michal und die Anfnge des
Knigtums in Israel', in: J.A. Emerton (ed.), Congress Volume: Cambridge 1995
(VT.S, 66), Leiden 1997, 401-19.
82
The Egyptian princess p r o b a t ^ was a daughter of Siamun (979/78-960/59
BCE); cf. A. Malamat, 'The Kingdom of David & Solomon in its Contact with
Egypt and Aram Naharaim', BA 21 (1958), 96-102; Idem, 'Aspects of the Foreign
78

After Solomon's death the northern tribes seceded from the house
of David and the kingdoms of Judah and Israel were at war with
each other for some time, before entering into a matrimonial alliance.
Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, made peace with the king of Israel (1 Kgs
22:44) and Jehoshaphat's son Jehoram married Athaliah, the sister
of Ahab of Israel (2 Kgs 8:18). 83 Ahab, king of Israel, cemented the
relations with his northern neighbour. He made a political marriage
with Jezebel, daughter of King Ethbaal of the Sidonians (1 Kgs 16:31).
Ktziah Spanier notes that the extent of authority of a woman who
became queen by way of a diplomatic marriage 'was often determined
by the terms of her marriage contract, which reflected the relative
power of the treaty partners'. 84 Thus, the more powerful the home
country of the queen, the more authority she might have. This would
explain Jezebel's powerful position.
The kings of the Davidic dynasty who reigned after Jehoram also
engaged in a certain policy regarding their marriages. Contrary to
their ancestors, they did not marry foreign princesses, but women
from the Judahite nobility. It would seem that to these kings strengthening their internal bonds was more important than enhancing international contacts. 85
The redactors of the Deuteronomistic History emphasize the dangers of international marriages. To them, Solomon's foreign women
turned his heart away from worshipping Y H W H (1 Kgs 11:3-8). The
foreign princesses whom Solomon married led him astray to worship
idols. The redactors of the Deuteronomistic History contrast the external marriage politics of Solomon with the internal marriage politics of the later Judaean kings. According to them, 'endogamous'
marriages were a better guarantee for keeping the Yahwistic faith
pure than 'exogamous' marriages. 86 One may wonder whether this
presentation of the Deuteronomistic History is historically accurate,
since some of the gods of Solomon's foreign wives may have been

Policies of David and Solomon', 10-17; G. Robins, Women in Ancient Egypt,

London 1993, 32. Note that Solomon's heir was the son of an Ammonite princess,
not of Pharaoh's daughter (1 Kgs 14:31).
83
On the discussion whether Athaliah was a daughter or a granddaughter of
Omri, cf. H.J. Katzenstein, 'Who Were the Parents of Athaliah?' IEJ 5 (1955),
194-7; T. Ishida, 1 "The House of Ahab" ', IEJ 25 (1975), 135-7; Spanier, 'The
Northern Israelite Queen Mother in the Judaean Court', 141-2.
84
Spanier, 'The Northern Israelite Queen Mother in the Judaean Court', 136.
85
Ihromi, 'Die Kniginmutter und der 'Amm Ha'arez im Reich Juda', VT 24
(1974), 421-9; Van der Lingen, Vrouwen rond, de koningen van oud-Isral, 59-61.
86
See also section 2.1.1.1.

worshipped in Jerusalem prior to Solomon's marriages. 87

According to Urs Winter, the influence of the Israelite queen may
have been less than that of her colleagues in Mesopotamia and Egypt
because she could not execute the office of high priestess of a god or
goddess. 88
Most biblical queens did not engage in politics actively. Jezebel
and Esther played a certain role in national politics. And although
little is known about her, we may assume that Athaliah (2 Kgs 11), the
only Israelite queen who acted as sole ruler, also engaged in national
politics. 89
D . CONCLUSIONS

In all countries of the ancient Near East, a queen was credited much
influence with her husband the king. Although there is no doubt that
the king was the most powerful person in the country, it seems that
the queen was often approached to act as intermediary because of her
influence on her husband. People seeking to alter the king's decision,
be it over a punishment or on another matter, could turn to the queen
and ask her to intercede. According to the Ugaritic Ba'lu cycle, such
a request may have been accompanied by bribes and thus lead to
enrichment of the queen. The same text furthermore makes clear that
a request made by a king's wife was more likely to be granted than one
made by a king's daughter, implying that a queen was more influential
than a princess.
Banquets and official meetings could offer opportunities for a queen
to exercise influence. In Mesopotamia, women did partake in private
dinners, but it is uncertain to what extent they were present at official
meetings. The Ugaritic material reveals that a queen was sometimes
present at meetings of the king. Queen Hariya was even ordered by
her husband to preside at a meal, replacing Kirtu when he was fatally
ill. According to the biblical story of Esther, a queen sometimes enjoyed a banquet together with her husband but also had her separate
feasts.
Queens had their living quarters separately from those of the king.
They might live in a separate wing of the palace, but it could also occur that they had their own palace. The latter is the case in Ugaritic
myth, where Athiratu and Ilu as well as 'Anatu and Ba'lu had separate dwellings, and in the Hebrew Bible, where Solomon built a palace
87

Van der Lingen, Vrouwen rond de koningen van oud-Isral, 71-2.

U. Winter, Frau und Gttin: Exegetische und ikonographische Studien zum
weiblichen Gottesbild im Alten Israel und in dessen Umwelt (OBO, 53), Freiburg,
Schweiz 1983, 84-5. See further section 3.1.
89
On Athaliah, see section 2.2.1.2.
88

for his Egyptian wife. Yet Esther lived in the women's wing of king
Ahasuerus' palace. Whether or not queens had their own palace, they
often had estates to manage with their own administration. This
meant an active engagement in the country's economy. Usually a
queen would have her own personnel, over whom she exercised power.
Correspondence of some queens also illustrates their power and authority. Queen Shibtu of Mari acted as representative of her husband
during his absence and played a considerable role in national politics.
Her letters give evidence of her authority in many areas. Likewise,
the letters of queen Puduhepa of Hatti reflect her role in international politics. The biblical queens Jezebel and Esther wrote letters
in the name of their husbands. Although Est. 9:29-32 may show that
Esther had a limited independent authority, it seems that the authority of both ancient Near Eastern and biblical queens was delegated to
them by their husband, the king. Perhaps only Puduhepa's position
was one nearly equal to her husband. It would seem that Puduhepa's
role in international diplomacy was exceptional, since women generally played a limited role in this field. Princesses who were involved in
a diplomatic marriage often could only participate passively. Exceptions to the rule are strongwilled women such as Shibtu of Mari and
Jezebel of Israel. Yet it holds for all queens that to engage in politics,
they needed a firm power base and this was related to their husband's
and the authority the latter allowed them to exercise.
To conclude, a queen was one of the most powerful women in
the country, if not the most powerful woman - that is, if there was
no queen mother at the court anymore. Yet she shared her power
with her husband and it was not shared equally. He could delegate
authority to her but she not to him. Her power base was related to
his position as king.
2.2.1.2

Queen Mother

In this section we will look into the position of the queen mother.
In general, she would be the second most powerful person in the
kingdom. This was due to her status as mother of the king. Yet the fact
that she was a mother was in itself not enough reason for her special
position at the court. Her place of origin and the political contacts
resulting from this could also be of importance. 1 Also relevant was the
fact that she played a key role connecting two generations of rulers. 2
1

On international marriages, see section 2.2.1.1.

U. Winter, Frau und Gttin: Exegetische und ikonographische Studien zum
weiblichen Gottesbild im Alten Israel und in dessen Umwelt (OBO, 53), Freiburg,
2

We will discuss some of the famous queen mothers who exercised

power as rulers and regents. Only very few exercised sole rule, however.
Did the queen mother occupy an official position at the court?
The Hittite evidence concerning the tawananna seems to point in
that direction and an analogous situation with regard to the position
of the Judaean queen mother has been proposed by some scholars.
Some royal women acted as king-makers by promoting their son as
successor to the throne. They tried to influence their husband the king
into putting aside the principle of primogeniture. If they succeeded,
they often had a very influential position themselves.
Did queen mothers in general have the possibility to exercise
power? Or were they merely the power behind the throne? We will
look into the means of power and influence of a queen mother.
A . ANCIENT N E A R E A S T

In general, the first son of the primary wife of the king would be
heir-apparent and she would thus become queen mother. It was normal procedure that the king designated his successor, but the queen
could play a part in the king's choice. Ammitaqu, the heir-apparent
of Alalakh (ca. 1700 BCE) refers to the role of the queen when he
writes ' . . . just as his father and his mother had appointed him to
be king'. 3 In the Amarna correspondence king Abdiheba of Jerusalem
(ca. 1400 BCE) also refers to the role of both his father and mother
in designating him as successor to the throne. 4
Although in general the principle of primogeniture held firm, this
did not always happen. Sometimes a younger son by another wife of
the king became the next ruler. Thus, the position of a primary wife
was not always stable. The king might prefer the son of another wife
to become his successor, and this other wife would generally then
become queen mother. When the king did not choose his eldest son
as crown prince, this often was due to influence and cunning of a
mother who wanted her son to ascend the throne. Zafrira Ben-Barak
describes the conduct of these promoting mothers as follows,
Schweiz 1983, 385-6.
3
D.J. Wiseman, The Alalakh Tablets (Occasional Publications of the British
Institute of Archaeology at Ankara, 2), London 1953, 33 no. 6:9-10 obv.
(ATT/39/81).
4
EA 286:9-13; transi. W.L. Moran, The Amarna Letters, Baltimore 1992, 326:
'Seeing that, as far as I am concerned, neither my father nor my mother put me in
this place, but the strong arm of the king brought me into my father's house, why
should I ' C f . T. Ishida, The Royal Dynasties in Ancient Israel: A Study on
the Formation and Development of Royal-Dynastic Ideology (BZAW, 142), Berlin
1977, 155.

These women were well aware that custom and practice worked to the
disadvantage of their sons in the matter of the royal succession. They
had therefore covertly to plan and establish a sophisticated power base
capable of justifying and backing their sons in their bid for power.
To this end they gathered supporters to their sons' side from various
political strata in the realm, and recruited religious elements in order to
obtain for their sons the legitimacy of divine election to the kingship.5
Yet it should be noted that, despite the efforts of such a promoting
mother, she did not always succeed. Ultimately it was the king who
decided on who was to be his successor.6
The high position of the queen mother in the national hierarchies
of the ancient Near East is illustrated by the fact that in international
correspondence to or from Mari, Hatti and Amarna she is called 'mistress of the land (X)'. 7
Some Mesopotamian queen mothers are quite well known. Sammuramat, wife of Shamshi-Adad (823-810 BCE) became regent of
Assyria after her husband's death, because her son Adad-nirari III
was a minor. She ruled the country for five years but did not call herself 'Queen of Assyria', only 'Royal Wife of Shamshi-Adad', thereby
stressing her regency. She remained to be an influential woman during the reign of her son. Little is known about her deeds, yet her
reputation survived and she became immortalized in the legend of
Semiramis. 8
Another famous queen mother is Naqi'a/Zakutu, wife of king Sennacherib of Assyria (704-681 BCE). She is an example of a king's wife
who interfered with the succession to the throne. As a promoting
mother she succeeded in securing the throne for her son. Although
Arda-Mulishshi was an elder son, the younger Esarhaddon was chosen
5

Z. Ben-Barak, 'The Queen Consort and the Struggle for Succession to the
Throne', in: FPOA, 36.
6
Cf., e.g., S.R. Bin-Nun, The Tawananna in the Hittite Kingdom (Texte der
Hethiter, 5), Heidelberg 1975, 296; M. Brosius, Women in Ancient Persia, 559331 BC (Oxford classical monographs), Oxford 1996, 48-51, 108.
7
P. Artzi, A. Malamat, 'The Correspondence of Sibtu, Queen of Mari in ARM
X', in: A. Malamat, Mari and the Bible (SHCANE, 12), Leiden 1998, 177-8.
8
On Sammuramat/Semiramis, cf. J.F. Rowbotham, The Epic of Semiramis,
Queen of Babylon, London 1920; W. Eilers, Semiramis: Entstehung und Nachhall
einer altorientalischen Sage (DAW.PH, 274/2), Wien 1971; G. Pettinato, Semiramis: Herrin ber Assur und Babylon, Zrich 1988, 208ff.; A.M.G. Capomacchia,
Semiramis: Una femminilit ribaltata (StorRel(R), 4), Roma 1986; M. Weinfeld,
'Semiramis: Her Name and Her Origin', in: M. Cogan, I. Eph'al (eds), Ah, Assyria... : Studies in Assyrian History and Ancient Near Eastern Historiography
Presented to Hayim Tadmor (ScrHier, 33), Jerusalem 1991, 99-103.

crown prince by Sennacherib. This was probably due to a combination

of factors, one of them being the influence of Naqi , a, Esarhaddon's
mother, on her husband. 9 When Esarhaddon had become king in 681,
she gained much authority at the court as urnmi arri 'mother of the
king'. Correspondence testifies to this, as well as the building inscription of the palace she had built for her son at Nineveh. She furthermore played a substantial role in the cult. 10 When a power vacuum
occurred because of Esarhaddon's sudden death, Naqi'a stepped into
it to secure the throne for Ashurbanipal. She managed to get the support of the Assyrian population as well as that of the members of
the court and the royal family for the crown prince. Ashurbanipal, although having an older brother, thus could succeed Esarhaddon with
the help of his grandmother. 11
A third well-known Mesopotamian queen-mother was Adad-guppi,
mother of king Nabonidus of Babylon (556-539 BCE). Despite being
from a modest background she achieved a high position at the court
during the reigns of Nabopolassar and Nebuchadnezzar. She reported
on her career at the court,
During the 21 years, the 43 years, and the 4 years when Nabopolassar, king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar, the son of Nabopolassar, and
Neriglissar, king of Babylon, respectively reigned, during 68 years I
wholeheartedly served them and performed duties before them. I introduced Nabonidus, my son, my offspring, to Nebuchadnezzar, son of
Nabopolassar, and to Neriglissar, king of Babylon. Day and night he
performed duties before them and regularly did whatever pleased them.
He established my good name before them. They exalted me as though
I had been a daughter born of their loins.12
Apparently Adad-guppi had a controlling role in her son's career, for
Nabonidus received an office at the court due to her intercession. Nebuchadnezzar was succeeded by three family members who all reigned
for a short period. The last one, Labashi-Marduk, was murdered following a conspiracy. Nabonidus probably belonged to the group of
9

S.C. Melville, The Role of Naqia/Zakutu in Sargonid Politics (SAAS, 9),

Helsinki 1999, 13-29; M.P. Streck, 'Naq'a', in: RLA, Bd. 9, 165.
10
M.-J. Seux, 'Knigtum', RLA, Bd. 6, 162; Melville, The Role of Naqia/Zakutu
in Sargonid Politics, 31-77; Streck, 'Naq'a', 165.
11
Ben-Barak, 'The Queen Consort and the Struggle for Succession to the
Throne', 34; A. Kuhrt, The Ancient Near East: c. 3000-330 BC (Routledge History of the Ancient World), London 1995, 528; Melville, The Role of Naqia/Zakutu
in Sargonid Politics, 79-90.
12
P.-A. Beaulieu, The Reign of Nabonidus, King of Babylon 556-539 B.C.
(YNER, 10), New Haven 1989, 69.

conspirators and was selected by them as king. By that time Adadguppi, already 92 or 93 years old, attained the status of queen-mother.
In her inscription she depicts herself as a pious woman, a life-long
devotee of the moon-god, Sin, whose temple in Harran Nabonidus
restored. Adad-guppi died over a hundred years old. 13
Although Mesopotamian queen-mothers had a high rank at the
court, they did not exercise any official power. 14 'However, in situations of political uncertainty occasioned by the sudden death of the
king or the accession of a very young ruler, they could function to defend and protect the existing rgime, and ensure that arrangements
for the succession worked smoothly
' 15 It would seem that Sammuramat's regency for Adad-nirari ill and Naqi'a's interference with
Ashurbanipal's succession of Esarhaddon can be explained in this way.
We now turn to Egypt, where it would seem that only the sons
of the Great Royal Wife were eligible for succession. The eldest son
would probably be heir-apparent, but the pharaoh could decide otherwise. However, much is unclear, due to the silence of the sources on
this matter. 1 6
Up untill recently, Egyptian women were believed to have had a
better position than women in its neighbouring countries, sometimes
even one equal to men. This view has been convincingly refuted by
Gay Robins. 17 In support of the aforementioned view scholars have
often pointed to the queens of Egypt, some of whom ruled in their
own right. Yet it would seem that Egyptian queens could only rule in
exceptional cases, such as in times of crisis, when there was no male
heir left to ascend the throne and the country was in a very unstable
political situation. Then it was possible for a queen to rule in her own
right. Moreover, official historiography rarely acknowledged female
rulers,
13

Seux, 'Knigtum 1 , 162; Ben-Barak, 'The Queen Consort and the Struggle for
Succession to the Throne', 38; Beaulieu, The Reign of Nabonidus, 68-86.
14
Naqia, for instance, did not have a formal position at the court, cf. Melville,
The Role of Naqia/Zakutu in Sargonid Politics, 77.
15
Kuhrt, The Ancient Near East, 528.
16
R.M. Janssen, J.J. Janssen, Growing up in Ancient Egypt, London 1990, 120.
It has been suggested that some queen mothers may have received the title of
Great Royal Wife only after their son's accession; cf., e.g., E. Feucht, Das Kind
im. Alten gypten, Frankfurt 1995, 173; .M. Bryan, The Reign of Thutmose IV,
Baltimore 1991, 108, 113-5.
17
G. Robins, Women in Ancient Egypt, London 1993, 15. See also B.M. Bryan,
'In Women Good and Bad Fortune are on Earth: Status and Roles of Women
in Egyptian culture', in: A.K. Capel, G.E. Markoe (eds), Mistress of the House,
Mistress of Heaven: Women in Ancient Egypt, New York 1996, 25.

Aus der Tatsache, da die Knigslisten, die die historisch bedeutenden

Knige auffhren, die Kniginnen unerwhnt lassen, selbst die Knigin
Hatschepsut, die ber 20 Jahre regiert hat und sich sogar als (mannlicher) Knig gerierte und auch so darstellten lie, geht hervor, da ihre
Herrschaft spter nicht als legitim anerkannt wurde.18
Ultimately, the thought of a woman upon the throne as pharaoh of
Egypt was unacceptable. 19 Egyptian queen mothers could come to
the throne as a result of a dynastic problem, however, and rule as
regent on behalf of their minor son. A few queen mothers managed to
accomplish a sole rule, which met with fierce opposition and in most
cases ended tragically.
In Egypt's First Dynasty (ca. 3032/2982-2853/2803 BCE), Neithhotep and Mer-Neith acted as regents for Djer and Den respectively.
'The examples of Neith-hotep and Mer-Neith demonstrate clearly
how the preference for male rulers gave way to the desire to preserve the dynastic succession. Nonetheless, the royal succession remained a male domain'. 20 One of the king lists refers to Mer-Neith
as a 'King's Mother', implying that her regency was not considered
as kingship. The mothers of Merenre (2285/2235-2279/2229 BCE) and
Pepy II (2279/2229-2219/2169 BCE) also ruled as regents for their minor sons after the death of Pepy I.21 At the end of the Sixth Dynasty,
queen Nitokret (2218/2168-2216/2166 BCE) assumed the actual rule
of Egypt as the first female king. Nitokret and the other female regents of the Old Kingdom probably were necessary for the moment
and therefore tolerated. In later times their rule was downplayed.
In the Middle Kingdom, queen Sobeknefru (1798/97-1794/93 BCE)
ruled Egypt as the last pharaoh of the Twelfth Dynasty. She can
be distinguished from the aforementioned female rulers by 'her use
of the titles of kingship and her adoption on statuary of the nemes
headdress, uniquely a king's diadem'. 22 Contrary to her predecessors,
she is included in several king's lists and acknowledged as king. 'The
fact of her acknowledgment as king, however, attests to the central
18
E. Brunner-Traut, 'Die Stellung der Frau im Alten gypten', Saeculum 38
(1987), 332. An exception to the rule that official historiography did not acknowledge female monarchs is Sobeknefru, see below.
19
Cf. A. Dodson, review L. Troy, Patterns of Queenship in Ancient Egyptian
Myth and History, in: BiOr 46 (1989), 47.
20
Bryan, 'In Women Good and Bad Fortune are on Earth', 28. See also B.S.
Lesko, The Remarkable Women of Ancient Egypt, Providence 31996, 7-8.
21
Feucht, Das Kind im Alten gypten, 175.
22
Bryan, 'In Women Good and Bad Fortune are on Earth', 30. See also Lesko,
The Remarkable Women of Ancient Egypt, 10-1.

role of the king's immediate family in perpetuating the ideology of a

continuous kingship. Apparently the ruling elite regarded the kingship
as interconnected sufficiently with Sobeknefru's ancestry to make her
acceptable in the absence of a male heir'. 23
Hatshepsut, ruler of the Eighteenth Dynasty (1479/73-1458/57
BCE), is probably the best known female pharaoh. During the reign
of her husband Thutmose II she held the religious office of God's
Wife of Amun in which she was quite powerful. In the cult she figured nearly equally with the king, according to a recent study of their
monuments. 24 When her husband died she became regent for Thutmose III, who was no son of hers, but of her husband and a minor wife.
As regent of Egypt, 'Hatshepsut reinforced her authority by drawing
on kingly iconography, titulature, and actions'. 25 Gradually she abandoned the titles and insignia of a queen and adopted those of a king.
Furthermore, according to inscriptions in her mortuary temple, her
father had pronounced her to be his heir. 26 Hatshepsut also justified
her right to rule by recording her divine parentage. Amun, the great
god of Egypt, had begotten her by Hatshepsut's mother. She thus was
entitled to the throne through both her parents. In this manner she
assumed the kingship as co-regent to Thutmose III. In dress and titles
she presented herself mostly as male. Being a co-regent, she could rule
together with her stepson, whom she undoubtedly dominated. 27 Hatshepsut ruled as regent and later as co-regent for about 21 years. It
is unknown whether she died naturally or was forcibly removed from
the throne. Her monuments, however, were later destroyed by one of
her successors, either Thutmose ill or Amenophis 11.28 According to
Betsy Bryan, Hatshepsut's gender did play a role in her dishonouring,
Was Hatshepsut's rule disgraced partly because of her gender? It would
be rash not to conclude that this was a factor, for in all the 1,500
years of rulers who preceded Hatshepsut, we find no other widespread
23

Bryan, 'In Women Good and Bad Fortune axe on Earth', 30.
Bryan, 'In Women Good and Bad Fortune are on Earth', 32. On the role of
the queen in the cult, see section 3.1.
25
Robins, Women in Ancient Egypt, 46.
26
B.S. Lesko, 'Women's Monumental Mark on Ancient Egypt', BArR 54/1
(1991), 11; Robins, Women in Ancient Egypt, 46-7.
27
Robins, Women in Ancient Egypt, 47; Bryan, 'In Women Good and Bad
Fortune are on Earth', 32.
28
Bryan, 'In Women Good and Bad Fortune are on Earth', 34: 'The overwhelming view now is that "the dishonoring of Hatshepsut" took place only in the last
year of Thutmose Ill's life (post year 46), and perhaps not until he had already
determined to associate his son Amenhotep II with him as coregent'. Cf. also
Robins, Women in Ancient Egypt, 51-2.
24

attempt to obliterate a king's memory. On the other hand, the fact that
Thutmose III and Amenhotep II waited some thirty years before acting
against the queen suggests that her gender was as much a pretext as a
motive, for public opinion against female rulers was likely strong.29
As a female ruler, Hatshepsut adapted to a male gender role. This way
of acting probably is part of the reason why she succeeded in reigning
for such a long period. Yet her clever acting in politics as well as her
strength of character in other areas have surely contributed to her
successful rule as well.30
Almost three centuries later, Tausret was the last Egyptian queen
to rule. 31 After the death of her husband Sety II, young Siptah was
installed as king. Siptah was no son of Tausret, but of a Canaanite
wife of Sety II. Tausret's own son, who had been heir to the throne,
had died shortly before. Yet she had been Great Royal Wife and
it was probably due to that position that she acted as co-regent to
Siptah (1194/93-1186/85 B C E ) . 3 2 When Siptah died after a brief reign,
Tausret ascended the throne. Her reign was met, however, with strong
opposition and lasted only a short time. 33
A woman on the Egyptian throne obviously was an exception.
Gay Robins remarks, 'It is clear that a woman did not easily occupy the Egyptian throne, and indeed in nearly three millennia, only
four out of two to three hundred kings were female'. 34 Some women,
such as Neith-hotep and Mer-Neith, enjoyed a regency for an underaged pharaoh. Others, such as Hatshepsut and Tausret, managed to
become co-regents together with a stepson. Nitokret and Sobeknefru ruled as female kings, to preserve the dynasty. It seems that the
model of rule changed after the reign of Hatshepsut. Whereas in the
Old and Middle Kingdom period perpetuation of the dynastic line was
considered of utmost importance and lead to acknowledgement of an
occasional female king, during and after the New Kingdom period
kingship changed into a joint husband-and-wife monarchy. Since a
queen did not exercise any official power, but depended on the authority granted her by her husband, this joint rule 'did not support
individual female reigns as successfully as did the desire for dynastic
29

Bryan, 'In Women Good and Bad Fortune are on Earth', 34.
Cf. Robins, Women in Ancient Egypt, 45-52; Lesko, The Remarkable Women
of Ancient Egypt, 14-8.
31
Cf. Bryan, 'In Women Good and Bad Fortune are on Earth', 35-6; Lesko, The
Remarkable Women of Ancient Egypt, 25.
32
De Moor, R0Y, 220, n. 52.
33
De Moor, R0Y, 227, mentions a period of 21 months.
34
Robins, Women in Ancient Egypt, 51.
30

purity and survival'. 35

To conclude, both in Mesopotamia and in Egypt a queen mother
was not expected to exercise any official power. Her role and function
were not defined. If a queen wanted to obtain power, it had to be in
association with her husband or her son and she generally would have
to take the initiative to achieve this. However, since she was one of
many women, her position as queen could be subject to change. Her
husband might grant her influence, but then again, he might take it
back some day. In the relationship with her son, her position was far
more secure. He had only one mother, and especially if she was an
agent in putting him on the throne he would be grateful to her which
he could express in granting her power as queen mother. According
to Ben-Barak, 'if a queen mother did attain a position of significant
political power, it was entirely the consequence of her own ambitions,
and her personal skill in the struggles which she undertook on her
behalf'. 36
Herbert Donner has pointed to the position of the Hittite tawananna as 'eine Wrde mit Amtscharakter, die sich unabhngig von
der des Knigs vererbt
' 3 7 I t would seem that the situation in Hatti
differed from that in its surrounding countries in that the tawananna
did have an official position at the court. But what did this position
imply?
In her study on the tawananna in the Hittite Kingdom, Shoshanna
Bin-Nun emphasizes the difference that would have existed between
her position in the Old Kingdom (17th-16th century BCE) and in the
New Empire (15th-12th century BCE). Bin-Nun assumes that '[i]n the
Old Kingdom the positions of queen (sa I. lu gal) and Tawananna were
held by different women', while '[i]n the New Empire Tabarna and
Tawananna became the additional titles of Hittite kings and queens
beside lugal and sal.lugal'.38 To illustrate this, she points to king Hattushili l's sister and his daughter who both were tawanannas.39 Yet
there may not have been that much of a difference between the position of the tawananna in the Old Kingdom and the New Empire. As
Trevor Bryce explains,
35

Bryan, 'In Women Good and Bad Fortune are on Earth', 36.
Ben-Barak, 'The Queen Consort and the Struggle for Succession to the
Throne', 39.
37
H. Donner, 'Art und Herkunft des Amtes der Kniginmutter im Alten Testament', in: R. von Kienle et al. (eds), Festschrift Johannes Friedrich zum 65.
Geburtstag am 27. August 1958 gewidmet, Heidelberg 1959, 122.
38
Bin-Nun, The Tawananna in the Hittite Kingdom, 102, 160.
39
Bin-Nun, The Tawananna in the Hittite Kingdom, 158.
36

One of the most powerful and influential positions in the Hittite kingdom was that of the Tawananna, a position always held by a female
member of the royal family. The first known Tawananna was Hattusili's
aunt. Subsequently the title may have been conferred upon his sister or
his daughter. But in later reigns the Tawananna seems to have gained
her position by virtue of the fact that she was the king's wife. Once she
became Tawananna, she retained the title and the powers and privileges which it entailed for the rest of her life, even if she outlived her
husband. 40
Apparently in the foundational years of the kingdom the tawananna
weis not necessarily the wife of the king. Yet if this was not the case she
was the queen-mother-to-be, i.e., the mother of the heir apparent. 41
The first known tawananna, as Bryce states, was an aunt of Hattushili I.42 Two other female relatives of Hattushili are mentioned
in relation to his succession. During his reign Hattushili had to deal
with the rebellion of his two sons, whom he deposed. 43 Thereupon
Hattushili's daughter was approached by the 'sons of Hatti' to make
her son the new king. Apparently the 'sons of Hatti' as well as the
king's own personnel turned against Hattushili because they feared
that he would put a 'servant' on the throne while they preferred the
royal line to continue. This rebellion, too, was crushed by Hattushili,
who punished his daughter by stripping her of her possessions and
banishing her from the city.44
40

T. Bryce, The Kingdom of the Hittites, Oxford 1998, 96.

Cf. S. Arbeli, 'The Removal of the Tawananna from her Position', in: M.
Heltzer, E. Lipmski (eds), Society and Economy in the Eastern Mediterranean (c.
1500-1000 B.C.): Proceedings of the International Symposium held at the University of Haifa from the 28th of April to the 2nd of May 1985, Leuven 1988,
79.
42
Hattushili referred to himself as 'son of the brother of Tawananna'; cf. Bryce,
The Kingdom of the Hittites, 97. Whether the king referred to himself in this way
because he was adopted by his predecessor, or because of some form of matrilineal
succession cannot be established. 'All we can conclude with reasonable certainty
is that his relationship with the Tawananna in question - his aunt - provided, in
his view at least, a legitimate basis for his own succession' (97). However, it would
seem that Bryce prefers the former explanation, since he rejects matrilineality in
relation to Hattushili's successors: 'There is nothing whatever to indicate that
matrilineality was an issue in the disputes over the Hittite royal succession' (92).
See also G. Beckman, 'Inheritance and Royal Succession Among the Hittites', in:
H.A. Hoffner, G.M. Beckman (eds), Kaniuwar: A tribute to Hans G. Gterbock
on his seventy-fifth birthday May 27, 1983 (AS, 23), Chicago IL 1986, 13-31.
43
Bryce, The Kingdom of the Hittites, 90. Differently, G. Steiner, 'Muri1i I:
Sohn oder Enkel Labarna-Hattui1is I?' UF 28 (1996), 561-618.
44
Bryce, The Kingdom of the Hittites, 90.
41

Hattushili then adopted the son of his sister as heir. Yet his nephew
did not live up to the expectations of the king, who ultimately decided to renounce him in favour of his grandson Murshili. 45 Either
Hattushili's sister or his daughter is referred to as tawananna in a decree which states that neither her name, nor those of her children be
mentioned anymore. 46 Since no name is mentioned, it is not clear to
whom the title refers, but in either case the woman had been regarded
as mother of the next king-to-be.
Another text testifies to the influence the sister of Hattushili had
on his adopted son. Hattushili accused his adopted son of not lending
his ear to the words of the king, but to the words of his mother, the
serpent. Hattushili's sister was thus indirectly accused of trying to
influence state affairs and to gain authority through her son. 47
In the New Empire there were also difficulties between kings and
tawanannas. At least two queens who retained their rule after their
husband's death were removed from their position. Tawananna - in
this case a personal name - widow of Shuppiluliuma I, was deprived of
her rank by Murshili II. 4 8 Queen mother Tanuhepa remained in office
during three consecutive reigns but was eventually removed by Hattushili ill. 49 Apparently, they had gained considerable political power
and posed a threat to the king. However, it would seem that not every
queen mother had a troublesome relationship with her son. Queen
mother Puduhepa acted as Great Queen next to her son Tudhaliya
IV, Great King of Hatti. 50 Whether Puduhepa had a hand in the suecession of Tudhaliya, who was appointed king in stead of his elder
brother Nerikkaili cannot be established. 51
45

Bryce, The Kingdom of the Hittites, 93-4. For a different reconstruction, cf.
Steiner, 'Muri1i I', 561-618, who assumes Murshili was a son of Hattushili who
was born to him when he was already of advanced age.
46
Steiner, 'Muri1i , 609-10; Bryce, The Kingdom of the Hittites, 98.
47
Steiner, 'Muri1i , 585-6, 613-4; Bryce, The Kingdom of the Hittites, 93-4.
48
Arbeli, 'The Removal of the Tawananna from her Position', 80-1; Bryce, The
Kingdom of the Hittites, 172-4, 225-30; . Spanier, 'The Northern Israelite Queen
Mother in the Judaean Court: Athalia and Abi', in: M. Lubetski et al. (eds),
Boundaries of the Ancient Near Eastern World: A Tribute to Cyrus H. Gordon
(JSOT.S, 273), Sheffield 1998, 138-9.
49
Bryce, The Kingdom of the Hittites, 230, 264-7.
50
Cf. RS 17.159 {PRU IV, 126-7); H. Otten, Puduhepa: Eine Hethitische Konigin in ihren Textzeugnissen, Mainz 1975, 30-1, 33; Bryce, The Kingdom of the
Hittites, 315-20; Spanier, The Northern Israelite Queen Mother in the Judaean
Court', 139.
51
According to Bryce, The Kingdom of the Hittites, 301, 'this is mere speculation'. He thinks other political factors may have influenced Hattushili's choice of
successor (300-1). See also Otten, Puduhepa, 32-3; Ben-Barak, 'The Queen Consort and the Struggle for Succession to the Throne', 37.

It is known of Puduhepa that she was active in national as well as

international matters. 52 Yet one may wonder whether every tawananna
was that influential. It would seem that in general she had a priestly
function. 53 In the New Empire the tawananna held the religious office
of high priestess of the Sun Goddess of Arinna. 54 Both tawanannas
who were removed from their position were accused of misdeeds in
relation to the Hittite cult. 55 But both queen mothers were also very
influential in the court and their being stripped of office may have
had political motives as well as religious ones.56
To conclude, the Hittite tawananna had an official function in the
royal cult as high priestess. Some of the queen mothers were very
influential, yet this may have been due to their personal character.
On the other hand, since a tawananna held her office for life, she
was not altogether dependent on her husband or her son, as were the
queen mothers in the surrounding countries.
The power a queen mother had was generally indirect. She could
influence her son's decisions, for example by advising him to alter a
verdict. Thus Amestris, mother of the Achaemenid king Artaxerxes
I intervened in a conflict between her son and Megabyxos, the husband of her daughter Amytis. 57 Yet the power of a queen mother was
limited. She could not act without the consent of the king. If she did
so, she could be punished. An extreme example is that of Parysatis,
mother of king Artaxerxes. During the reign of Darius II she had
saved the life of her son's wife Stateira, daughter of Hydarnes, when
Stateira's brother Teritouchmes had affronted the royal family. Later,
when she was queen mother, she poisoned her daughter-in-law because she saw her influence endangered. For this Parysatis was exiled
to Babylon. 58
Another example of the power a queen mother could exercise was
the fact that she could act as a constant factor in international affairs
after the death of her husband. Part of the Amarna correspondence
52

See section 2.2.1.1.

According to Bin-Nun, The Tawananna in the Hittite Kingdom, 159, there are
neither texts nor seals from the Old Kingdom which point to a political influence
on the part of the tawananna. She further states that even in the New Empire
period, 'when her political status as Great Queen was not debated, her main office
was a religious one' (194). See further section 3.1.
54
Bin-Nun, The Tawananna in the Hittite Kingdom, 194, 204.
55
Bryce, The Kingdom of the Hittites, 226-8, 265
56
Bryce, The Kingdom of the Hittites, 225-9, 265.
57
M. Brosius, Women in Ancient Persia, 559-331 BC (Oxford classical monographs), Oxford 1996, 118-9.
58
Brosius, Women in Ancient Persia, 559-331 BC, 110-9.
53

are the letters king Tushratta of Mitanni wrote to Amenophis IV when

he had ascended the throne, in which he referred to queen mother Teye
as the one who knew about the agreements Tushratta had made with
Amenophis ill.
Teye, your mother, knows all the words that I spoke with yo[ur] father.
No one else knows them. You must ask Teye, your mother, about them
so she can tell you ... . 59
Apparently Teye had been present or perhaps even participated in the
talks between Amenophis ill and Tushratta. The latter even wrote to
Teye herself asking her to intercede concerning an unfinished business
with her husband that her son should now tie up. 60
B . UGARITIC LITERARY T E X T S

In Ugaritic literature, especially in the texts of Ilimilku, women are

often involved in king-making. 61 Athiratu in her position as queen
mother 62 suggested to her husband who would be the new viceroy.
She first nominated Yammu (KTU 1.1:1V), who was made king by
Ilu. 63 Later on Ba'lu killed Yammu and became king (1.2:IV), but
eventually Ba'lu was killed too (1.5). Having heard the news of Ba'lu's
death, Ilu called Athiratu asking her to nominate the new king. After
discussing the qualities that the new viceroy might need, Athiratu
suggested Athtaru. It would seem that, while there was some discussion between Ilu and Athiratu on who was to be Ba'lu's successor,
Athiratu got her way (1.6:1.43-55):
43

ysh
59

'il 44 Irbt. 'atrt ym

Ilu cried aloud to Lady 64 Athiratu of the Sea:

EA 28:42-49, transi. W.L. Moran, The Amarna Letters, Baltimore 1992, 90-2.
Cf. also EA 29 for a comparable message.
60
EA 26; cf. Moran, The Amarna Letters, 84-6.
61
Cf. M.C.A. Korpel, 'Exegesis in the Work of Ilimilku of Ugarit', in: J.C. de
Moor (ed.), Intertextuality in Ugarit and Israel: Papers ... Oxford, 1997 (OTS,
40), Leiden 1998, 107-8.
62
Cf. L.K. Handy, Among the Host of Heaven: The Syro-Palestinian
Pantheon
as Bureaucracy, Winona Lake IN 1994, 85.
63
Although the text is fragmentary and its interpretation disputed, scholars
assume that 'ilt (line 14) refers to Athiratu. Thus, TO, t. 1, 309-10; De Moor,
ARTU, 25; Korpel, 'Exegesis in the Work of Ilimilku of Ugarit', 107. Smith, in:
Idem, UNP, 89, also appears to interpret the text in this manner. Wyatt, RTU,
48-9, sees no role for Athiratu as king-maker in this text.
64
C.H. Gordon, 'Ugaritic rbt/rabitu', in: L. Eslinger, G. Taylor (eds), Ascribe
to the Lord: Biblical & Other Studies in Memory of Peter C. Craigie (JSOT.S,
67), Sheffield 1988, 127-32; Idem, 'Sixty Years in Ugaritology', in: M. Yon et al.
(eds), Le pays d'Ougarit autour de 1200 av. J.-C.: Histoire et archologie (RSO,
11), Paris 1995, 44, assumes the rbt 'Great Lady' was the king's chief wife, whose
son was contractually entitled to become crown prince. See also Spanier, 'The

m' 45Zr&.atr[t] y m.
in 4 6 'ahd. bbnk.
'am[.)lkn
47

'Listen, Lady Athiratu of the Sea!

Give one of your sons,
that I may make him king!'

And Lady Athiratu of the Sea answered:

'Should we not make king someone who knows how to
moisten 65 ?'
49
wy'n.ltpn. 'il dp'i 5 0 d. And the Benevolent, Ilu the good-natured answered:
dq. 'anm.lyrz, 5 1 'm.b'l.
'One of feeble strength cannot run like66 Ba'lu
52
ly'db.mrh
'm.bn.dgn.
nor can one who bends the knee 67 handle the lance
ktmsm
like the son of Daganu'.
53
w 'n.rbt. 'atrt ym
And Lady Athiratu of the Sea answered:
54
blt.nmlk. 'ttr. 'rz
'Should we not make 'Athtaru the Powerful 68 king?
55
ymlk. 'ttr. 'rz
Let 'Athtaru the Powerful be made king!'
48

wt'n.rbt.atrt ym
bl.nmlk.yd'.ylhn

Thereupon 'Athtaru ascended Ba'lu's throne on Mount Sapanu, but

his qualities appear to have been inadequate. 69 He was too small, his
feet did not reach the footstool and his head did not reach the top of
the throne. He then descended from the throne and became king on
the earth. 7 0
Benedikt Otzen supposes Athiratu's role may be explained as
that of a promoting mother who wanted to secure the career of her
favourite son. 71 Yet it cannot be established that 'Athtaru was AthiNorthern Israelite Queen Mother in the Judaean Court', 137-8. On the case of
the bittu rabiti, see chapter 4.
65
The interpretation of yd' ylhn is problematic. Cf. for an overview R. McClive
Good, 'The Sportsman Baal', UF 26 (1994), 153-4. See further J.C. de Moor, The
Seasonal Pattern in the Ugaritic Myth of Ba'lu (AOAT, 16), Neukirchen-Vluyn
1971, 202-3; W.G.E. Watson, 'An Example of Multiple Wordplay in Ugaritic', UF
12 (1980), 443, n. 6; Wyatt, RTU, 132, n. 72.
66
De Moor, The Seasonal Pattern, 203, proposes the translation 'in comparison with, like'; followed by, e.g., Smith, in: Idem, UNP, 154; Wyatt, RTU, 132.
Tropper, UG, 764, however, rejects this and opts for the translation 'against'. See
further M. Dietrich, 0 . Loretz, 'Ein Spottlied auf 'Attar (KTU 1.6 I 50-52): Zu
ug. 'm, rmh und kms', UF 9 (1977), 330-1.
67
ktmsm is interpreted as a cognate of Akk. kitmusu 'to kneel down (reflexive),
(in the stative) to be in a kneeling position', cf. CAD (K), 117, 466. For other
suggested translations, cf. Dietrich, Loretz, 'Ein Spottlied auf 'Attar (KTU 1.6 I
50-52)', 330-1; McClive Good, 'The Sportsman Baal', 154-5; DLU, 296.
68
Cf. M.S. Smith, The Ugaritic Baal Cycle, vol. 1: Introduction with text, translation and commentary of KTU 1.1-1.2 (VT.S, 55), Leiden 1994, 241-2. Several
other suggestions for the translation of 'rz have been proposed; cf. DLU, 90.
69
Differently, however, Wyatt, RTU, 132-3.
70
Cf. J.C. Greenfield, 'Ba'al's Throne and Isa. 6:1', in: A. Caquot et al. (eds),
Mlanges bibliques et orientaux en l'honneur de M. Mathias Delcor (AOAT, 215),
Kevelaer & Neukirchen-Vluyn 1985, 194-6; De Moor, ARTU, 86, n. 417.
71
B. Otzen, 'The Promoting Mother: A Literary Motif in the Ugaritic Texts
and in the Bible', in: A. Lemaire, B. Otzen (eds), History and Traditions of Early
Israel (VT.S, 50), Leiden 1993, 104-14 (107).

ratu's favourite.
Marjo Korpel has suggested that the role of a daughter being the
only heir left to ascend the throne, as it is presented in the Legend of
Kirtu and the Legend of Aqhatu, may be related to the political need
to defend the capability of a female ruler. 72 If we accept her thesis,
this would imply that prior to the destruction of Ugarit there was
no male heir left to ascend the throne, while there was a female heir
who was presented as the rightful successor to the Ugaritic throne.
Crucial to Korpel's interpretation is the line sgrthn 'abkrn in the Legend of Kirtu (KTU 1.15:111.16), which is translated in various ways.
Nicholas Wyatt, for instance, renders, 'Their last one I shall treat as
the first born', assuming that Ilu will bless Kirtu with such wealth that
there will be no need to divide the inheritance proportionally and all
will receive an equal share. 73 Edward Greenstein, on the other hand,
translates, 'The youngest of them I name firstborn', and explains: 1
exercises a quasi-parental right to declare that the last-born daughter
will have the legal prerogatives of the first-born'. 74 I reject Wyatt's
interpretation for the following reasons. (1) Be a king rich or poor,
the appointment of an heir is always an important matter. Moreover,
the fact that Kirtu had no heir is stressed in KTU 1.14:1. (2) The
girl that received the blessing of becoming the first-born was called
Thatmanatu 'Octavia'. The theme of the eight child in line being
made heir is also known from other ancient Near Eastern texts. 75 (3)
In KTU 1.6:IV Kirtu cursed his first-born son Yassubu. It thereupon
became necessary that someone else was appointed heir, i.e., 'firstborn'. Johannes de Moor and Klaas Spronk find reason to suspect
'that Kirtu eventually lost all but one of his children so that in the
end he was almost as destitute as at the beginning of the epic'. 76 Since
females generally only became heirs when no males were available, it
seems likely that at least Kirtu's other son also was disqualified as
heir. 77 There may have been a parallel between Kirtu's loss of his
72

Korpel, 'Exegesis in the Work of Ilimilku of Ugarit', 106-11.

N. Wyatt, 'Cosmic Entropy in Ugaritic Religious Thought', UF 17 (1985),
383-4; Idem, RTU, 212.
74
Greenstein, in: Smith, UNP, 26,45 (n. 74). See also E. Verreet, Modi Ugaritici: Eine morpho-syntaktische Abhandlung ber das Modalsystem im Ugaritischen
(OLA, 27), Leuven 1988, 88; De Moor, R0Y, 91-5.
75
Cf. J.C. de Moor, K. Spronk, 'Problematical Passages in the Legend of Kirtu
(II)', UF 14 (1982), 176; K. Spronk, 'The Legend of Kirtu (KTU 1.14-16)', in:
W. van der Meer, J.C. de Moor (eds), The Structural Analysis of Biblical and
Canaanite Poetry (JSOT.S, 74), Sheffield 1988, 80 (with more parallels).
76
De Moor, Spronk, 'Problematical Passages in the Legend of Kirtu (II)', 176.
77
As noted by Korpel, 'Exegesis in the Work of Ilimilku of Ugarit', 107, Kirtu
73

seven wives and the loss of his seven children, yet on this we can only
speculate.
In the past, several scholars have understood KTU 1.15:111.16 as
an allusion to the decline of the Ugaritic royal dynasty. The Legend of
Kirtu would function as a legitimization for a breach in the male line of
succession to the Ugaritic throne. 78 Yet while these scholars assumed
that KTU 1.15:111 refers to an event in the past, it is also possible
that the text refers to a contemporary event, as Korpel argues. The
evidence for both interpretations is circumstantial, however, and no
definitive answers can be given.
C . H E B R E W BIBLE

The writers of the Bible seem to have denied the existence of the queen
79
( ) in an official position at the Israelite and Judaean court , yet
they did acknowledge the status of the queen mother () . The
book of Kings furthermore refers to another position that some women
occupied, namely that of 80. Although in some cases (2 Kgs 2 4 : 1 5
II Jer. 2 9 : 2 and 1 Kgs 1 5 : 1 3 ) the terms and 'queen mother' refer
to the same person, it is not certain whether every Judahite 81 queen
preferred the songs of lament of his daughter, Thatmanatu, over those of his
second son, Iluha'u.
78
Cf., e.g., A. van Selms, Marriage and Family Life in Ugaritic Literature (POS,
1), London 1954, 141; J. Gray, The Krt Text in the Literature of Ras Shamra: A
Social Myth of Ancient Canaan (DMOA, 15), Leiden 2 1964, 60.
79
See section 2.2.1.1.
80
T h e term occurs fifteen times in the Hebrew Bible and is used with three
different meanings: (1) mother or wife of the ruling king (1 Kgs 11:19; 15:13; 2
Kgs 10:13; Jer. 13:18; 29:2; 2 Chron. 15:16); (2) mistress in relation to a female
slave (Gen. 16:4,8,9; 2 Kgs 5:3; Isa. 24:2; Ps. 123:2; Prov. 30:23); (3) ruler, regent
(referring to Babel in a metaphorical sense in Isa. 47:5,7). Korpel, RiC, 277, n.
421, relates its paucity of occurence to the avoidance of feminine forms of terms
that express authority in the Bible. A word such as ' Mistress' occurs only
four times. She connects this with the zeal to eradicate every memory to goddesses
in the Bible.
Up until now the special meaning of Heb. as a designation of the position
of the queen mother is unparalleled in the North-West Semitic languages. The use
of gbrt in Sir. 41:18 is apparently derived from the biblical usage. In the Mesha
Stela gbrt 'female citizens' occurs in parallelism with gbrn 'male citizens' (KAI
181:16). Their status of full-fledged citizens is evident from the oppositional pair
grn || grt, male and female sojourners. Probably this noun gbrt was vocalized
differently. But both reflect the basic root meaning of 'to be strong, powerful'.
81
The lack of information with regard to the Israelite queen mothers - Jezebel
excepted - is probably to be attributed to a defect in the sources of the book of
Kings and not to the fact that the office of did not occur in Israel; cf. T.
Ishida, The Royal Dynasties in Ancient Israel: A Study on the Formation and
Development of Royal-Dynastic Ideology (BZAW, 142), Berlin 1977, 157.

mother bore the title 82. Queen mother and are not always
identical in the Bible, although this usually seems to have been the
case. 83
The biblical material offers little information on the question
whether the position of was a royal office. According to Zafrira
Ben-Barak, the cases in which a queen mother could obtain a position of influence and power should be regarded as exceptions to the
rule. The data is too sporadic to lead to general conclusions. 84 Others,
however, deem it warranted to speak of the office of queen mother,
despite the limited data. 8 5 They refer to the fact that the book of
Kings records the name and place of origin of most of the queen
mothers of Judahite kings in their succession notice. Only the names
of the mothers of Jehoram (2 Kgs 8:16-18) and of Ahaz (2 Kgs 16:2-3)
are lacking. 86 The custom of recording the name of the mother of the
82

This is assumed by, e.g., Donner, 'Art und Herkunft des Amtes der Kniginmutter im Alten Testament', 106; G.W. Ahlstrm, Aspects of Syncretism in
Israelite Religion (HSoed, 5), Lund 1963, 61; Ishida, The Royal Dynasties in
Ancient Israel, 156; N.-E.A. Andreasen, 'The Role of the Queen Mother in Israelite
Society', CBQ 45 (1983), 179-80; E.Th. Mullen, Narrative History and Ethnic
Boundaries: The Deuteronomistic Historian and the Creation of Israelite National
Identity (SBL Semeia Studies), Atlanta GA 1993, 21, n. 5.
83
I Kgs 11:19 (wife of the pharaoh); 1 Kgs 15:10,13 (probably grandmother of
Asa); cf. G. Molin, 'Die Stellung der G e bira im Staate Juda', ThZ 10 (1954), 163;
A. van der Lingen, Vrouwen rond de koningen van oud-Isral, Zoetermeer 1997,
55, n. 95; C. Smith, ' 'Queenship' in Israel?: The Cases of Bathsheba, Jezebel and
Athaliah', in: J. Day (ed.), King and Messiah in Israel and the Ancient Near East:
Proceedings of the Oxford Old Testament Seminar (JSOT.S, 270), Sheffield 1998,
144. A. Brenner, The Israelite Woman: Social Role and Literary Type in Biblical
Narrative (BiSe, 2), Sheffield 1985, 18-9, 32, argues that was the title of a
queen mother who acted as regent after the death of her husband or her ruling
son or during the reign of her minor son.
84
Cf. . Ben-Barak, 'The Status and Right of the Gbr', JBL 110 (1991),
23-34.
85
The question whether the held an institutionalized office is answered
affirmatively by R. de Vaux, Les institutions de l'Ancien Testament, vol. 1, Paris
1958, 180-2; Donner, 'Art und Herkunft des Amtes der Kniginmutter im Alten
Testament', 107; Andreasen, 'The Role of the Queen Mother in Israelite Society',
180, and S. Schroer, 'Weise Frauen und Ratgeberinnen in Israel: Literarische und
historische Vorbilder der personifizierten Chokmah', BN 51 (1990), 50-1, among
others.
86
Molin, 'Die Stellung der G e bira im Staate Juda', 164, assumes that they probably had died before they could hold the office. Ihromi, 'Die Kniginmutter und
der 'Amin Ha'arez im Reich Juda', VT 24 (1974), 425, n. 1, on the other hand,
points to the fact that it is said of both kings that they walked in the ways of
the kings of Israel (2 Kgs 8:18; 16:2) and suggests that this formulation is related
to the absence of the names of their mothers. This suggestion is elaborated by
Spanier, 'The Northern Israelite Queen Mother in the Judaean Court', 136-49,

king reflects the important position she held. 87 Even when very little
is told about a king, the name of his mother is passed down in the
succession formula. This creates the impression that her position was
more than a status of honour; it may have been an official position. 88
Furthermore, king Asa removed ( Hiph) queen mother Maacah
from being a 1) !: Kgs 15:13). According to Herbert Donner, this
note makes clear 'da es sich bei keineswegs nur um ein epitheton ornans der Kniginmutter handelt, sondern um eine Wrde
mit Amtscharakter, die unbeschadet der fortdauernden Rolle als leibliehe Mutter des Knigs entzogen werden kann, wenn die Umstnde es
notwendig erscheinen lassen'. 89 If Donner is correct in assuming that
the held an official office, it should be noted that in the first half
of the 9th century BCE this perhaps included cultic tasks (see further
chapter 3).
I agree with Ben-Barak that the evidence to support the thesis
that every : held an office of state is quite meagre. 90 Yet on the
other hand, the evidence we do have reveals their high status. Although perhaps not every Judahite queen mother became a , nor
held a position of power, at least four out of nineteen either achieved
considerable power themselves or were granted such by their son. 91 It
cannot be established with certainty that the held an official position, but the queen mother generally was the most powerful female
in the Judaean royal court.
The wife of the king could have much influence on the nomination
of the successor to the throne. 92 It was the prerogative of the king
who considers both queen mothers to be of Israelite ancestry. Another explanation is offered by Van der Lingen, Vrouwen rond, de koningen van oud-Isral, 59,
according to whom the author of Kings may have deliberately left out the names
of the mothers of these two kings with a bad name. By not mentioning the name
of their mother, nor their place of origin, no one in the land was compromised
with such a bad family member.
87
S. Ackerman, 'The Queen Mother and the Cult in Ancient Israel', JBL 112
(1993), 399; C.V. Camp, '1 and 2 Kings', in: C.A. Newsom, S.H. Ringe (eds),
The Women's Bible Commentary, 2 London 1998, 104; Spanier, 'The Northern
Israelite Queen Mother in the Judaean Court', 137. Pace Ben-Barak, 'The Status
and Right of the Gbr', 24.
88
Cf. Molin, 'Die Stellung der G e bira im Staate Juda', 161; De Vaux, Les institutions de l'Ancien Testament, vol. 1, 180; Mullen, Narrative History and Ethnic
Boundaries, 21, n. 5; Camp, '1 and 2 Kings', 104.
89
Donner, 'Art und Herkunft des Amtes der Kniginmutter im Alten Testament', 107.
90
Ben-Barak, 'The Status and Right of the Gbr', 29. See also Van der Lingen,
Vrouwen rond de koningen van oud-Isral, 65.
91
Cf. Ben-Barak, 'The Status and Right of the Gbr', 25-6.
92
It is not entirely clear whether a woman became at the moment her son

to designate the heir-apparent, and generally he would comply with

the principle of primogeniture. 93 However, the firstborn son did not
always become the next king. Several factors contributed to the king's
dcision on the succession, one of them being the influence of anyone
of his wives who intended to promote the position of her son and,
indirectly, of herself. Both Solomon and Abijah became king due to
the influence of their mothers, Bathsheba and Maacah, respectively. 94
Queen Bathsheba played an active part in her son Solomon's suecession to the throne (1 Kgs 1). When king David had become old
and his power was waning, a critical situation arose. Adonijah, son of
David through his wife Haggith, declared himself king. Thereupon the
prophet Nathan advised Bathsheba to approach David on this matter. Her actions and words were diplomatic as well as cunning. She
honoured David, thereby letting him know that he was still in charge,
and subsequently put words in his mouth that were favourable to
Solomon. She thus ensured, together with Nathan, that her son sueceeded David.
According to 2 Chron. 11:18-22 King Rehoboam loved his wife
Maacah more than all his other wives and concubines. It is Maacah's
son, Abijah, whom he made king, although he had older sons with
another wife.
The story of queen-mother Bathsheba acting as intercessor for
Adonijah (1 Kgs 2:13-25) illustrates the honorary position and the
influence that a queen mother could have on her son, the king. Adonijah, who expected to become king after David, had lost his position
to Solomon. He went to Bathsheba, asked to have a word with her 95
and expressed his request: 'Please ask King Solomon - he will not
refuse you - to give me Abishag the Shunammite as my wife' (v. 17).
Bathsheba therupon agreed to comply with his request (v. 18). When
the queen mother went to her son to speak on behalf of Adonijah, she
was met in an honourable way. Solomon rose, bowed down to her and
when he resumed his seat he ordered that a throne for Bathsheba be
was the nominated heir or when her son ascended the throne. The latter seems
the most obvious. When her son was officially nominated, the status of the future
queen mother would probably start to rise.
93
Ishida, The Royal Dynasties in Ancient Israel, 151-7.
94
Whether or not divine intervention, as in Egypt, may also have been presupposed is unclear, except for the case of David, the founder of the dynasty. It may
well have been a more or less tacit assumption. See e.g., 1 Kgs 2:15.
95
M.J. Mulder, 1 Kings (HCOT), vol. 1, Leuven 1998, 106, is right in rejecting
the LXX which makes Adonijah bow to the queen mother. He discerns a subtle
difference with Solomon in this respect (v. 19).

placed at his right hand, the place of honour. 96 She then addressed
her son: '1 have one small request to make of you; do not refuse me' (v.
20a). It would seem that generally her intercessory missions were suecesful, for Solomon answered her: 'Make your request, my mother; for
I will not refuse you' (v. 20b). However, when he heard the content
of the request, his attitude of responsiveness changed into outrage.
He ordered Adonijah to be killed for scheming to ascend the throne
through his father's concubine Abishag. 97
It is a matter of discussion whether Bathsheba was aware of the
impact of her question on her son. It seems unlikely that she was
naive and did not consider the consequences of the request. 98 On the
contrary, she probably knew very well what she was doing. She may
have cunningly used Adonijah's request to meet her own goal, i.e.,
that her son be king without the threat of any competition of his
elder brother. 99
Claudia Camp, however, proposes a different scenaxio. She assmes that neither Bathsheba, nor Adonijah were naive. Adonijah
may not have been intending to assume the throne through Abishag,
but 'may have been seeking a negotiated settlement: the release of
Abishag from a situation of possible reprisal in return for his acquiescence to Solomon's rule'. 100 Since David had not known Abishag
sexually, Adonijah may have reasoned that she was not one of the
96

Cf. H. Donner, 'Art und Herkunft des Amtes der Kniginmutter im Alten
Testament', in: R. von Kienle et al. (eds), Festschrift Johannes Friedrich zum 65.
Geburtstag am 27. August 1958 gewidmet, Heidelberg 1959, 110; Andreasen, 'The
Role of the Queen Mother in Israelite Society', 189, . 59; Mulder, 1 Kings, vol.
1, 108-9.
97
Abishag's status at the court is ambiguous. She is called a1)
Kgs 1:2,4),
and it is told of her that she lay in the bosom of king David, but that the king
did not know her sexually. According to M. Heltzer, 'The Neo-Assyrian akintu
and the Biblical skenet (I Reg. 1,4)', in: FPOA, 89, she was not a concubine
of the king, but rather the supervisor of the royal harem. Likewise, S. Schroer,
'Auf dem Weg zu einer feministischen Rekonstruktion der Geschichte Israels', in:
L. Schottroff et al., Feministische Exegese: Forschungsertrge zur Bibel aus der
Perspektive von Frauen, Darmstadt 1995, 116; De Moor, R0Y, 349-50; Mulder,
1 Kings, vol. 1, 34-5, 108. T. Ishida, 'Adonijah the Son of Haggith and his Supporters: An Inquiry into Problems About History and Historiography', in: R.E.
Friedman, H.G.M. Williamson (eds), The Future of Biblical Studies: The Hebrew
Scriptures (SBL Semeia Studies), Atlanta G A 1987, 178-9, on the other hand,
contends that she certainly was one of David's concubines.
98
A concubine's son might threaten the dynasty, cf. Mulder, 1 Kings, vol. 1,
108, with bibliography.
99
Cf. A. Berlin, 'Characterization in Biblical Narrative: David's Wives', JSOT
23 (1982), 74-6. Berlin assumes jealousy of Abishag also motivated Bathsheba.
100
Camp, '1 and 2 Kings', 106.

king's concubines. If so, asking for her would not imply he was staking a claim to the throne. Bathsheba, for her part, may have thought
to gain the support of the losing party by granting Adonijah's request to intercede. 101 Yet she may also have discovered a chance to
get rid of the person who formed a major threat to her son's position
as king. 'One way or another, Adonijah's attempted use of a woman
as a channel to power once again fails, for the queen mother serves
no interests but her son's'. 102 It is furthermore clear that, despite the
honour that Solomon bestowed on his mother, he as the king was the
one who had the authority either to comply with his mother's request
or to reject it. Hers was only a delegated authority.
As long as her son reigned, the queen mother could hold the position of second in command. If her son died, she was supposed to step
back and yield her position to the mother of her son's successor. 103
Hamutal, for example, was queen mother during the reign of her son
Jehoahaz (2 Kgs 23:31). When pharaoh Neco deposed of him, she
yielded her position to Zebidah, mother of Eliakim/Jehoiakim. Yet
when Jehoiakim's son, Jehoiachin, was taken captive and deported to
Babylon together with his mother, Nehushta, Hamutal again became
queen mother when her son Mattaniah/Zedekiah was made king by
Nebuchadnezzar (2 Kgs 24:17-18). Maacah, on the other hand, was
queen mother during the reigns of Abijam and his successor Asa, who
either was Abijam's son or his brother but in any case probably very
young if not a minor. Maacah may have acted as regent for Asa after
the death of Abijam. 104
A queen mother could represent the people before the king and
be his counsellor in affairs of state. Thus it is said of Athaliah, that
she was counsellor to her son Ahaziah (2 Chron. 22:3). Since she was
related to the house of Ahab, her counsel is qualified negatively. The
honourable reception preceding Bathsheba's request to her son may
also point to an advisory influence. 105 In Prov. 31:1-19 the mother of
king Lemuel advised him on proper conduct and in Dan. 5:10-12 it was
probably the queen mother who advised king Belshazzar regarding
the person who could interpret the writing on the wall. 106 Based on
101

Camp refers to Andreasen, 'The Role of the Queen Mother in Israelite Society', 189.
102
Camp, '1 and 2 Kings', 106.
103
Pace Molin, 'Die Stellung der G e bira im Staate Juda', 164-5 and others who
assume that the rank of queen mother was retained by her for life.
104
Brenner, The Israelite Woman, 19.
105
Andreasen, 'The Role of the Queen Mother in Israelite Society', 188-90;
Schroer, 'Weise Frauen und Ratgeberinnen in Israel', 51.
106
See section 2.2.1.1 on the interpretation of Aram. in Dan. 5.

these texts, Niels-Erik Andreasen assumes that the queen mother held
the official position of senior counsellor at the court. 107 Andreasen's
assumption is contradicted by Ben-Barak, among others. She stresses
that this and other assumptions concerning an official position of the
queen mother 'depend entirely on a very small number of instances
of indirect evidence contained in the Hebrew Bible'. 108
Gsta Ahlstrm has proposed the thesis that the position of the
queen mother was related to her role in the Asherah cult. 109 Lately,
Susan Ackerman has elaborated this thesis in assuming that the queen
mother was perceived as the earthly counterpart of the goddess Asherah. The deity would have functioned next to Y H W H in the Judaean cult. While Y H W H was the adoptive father of the king, Asherah
would have been the adoptive mother. 110 Although the Judaean queen
mother may have had a role in the cult, the biblical evidence is too
scarce to accept such far-reaching conclusions. 111
Although evidence with regard to an official function as senior
counsellor or high priestess of Asherah is inconclusive, the biblical
authors do refer to the political power a queen mother could exercise.
Jezebel was one of the Israelite queen mothers of whom it is fairly
certain she had a political power base. During the reigns of her sons
Ahazia and Jehoram she acted as queen mother. When Jehoram was
killed by Jehu (2 Kgs 9), this murder was not sufficient to settle his
rule as usurper to the throne. The queen mother, Jezebel, had to be
killed too, as well as any male from the house of Ahab. 112
Queen mother Nehushta may have had an influential role during
the reign of king Jehoiachin. Some scholars assume Nehushta acted
as regent for her minor son. 113 They refer to 2 Chron. 36:9, according
to which Jehoiachin was only eight years old when he began to reign.
Yet according to 2 Kgs 24:8 Jehoiachin was eighteen years old. Purthermore, the oracle in Jer. 22:28 mentions Coniah (=Jehoiachin) and
107

Andreasen, 'The Role of the Queen Mother in Israelite Society', 179-94. Andreasen is followed by Schroer, 'Weise Frauen und Ratgeberinnen in Israel', 49-53.
108
Ben-Barak, 'The Status and Right of the Gbr\ 23-34 (24). See also Van
der Lingen, Vrouwen rond de koningen van oud-Isral, 67.
109
Ahlstrm, Aspects of Syncretism in Israelite Religion, 57-88
110
Ackerman, 'The Queen Mother and the Cult in Ancient Israel', 385-401;
Idem, Warrior, Dancer, Seductress, Queen: Women in Judges and Biblical Israel (AncBRL), New York 1998, 138-54.
111
On the role of the queen mother in the Judaean cult, see section 3.1.
112
Cf. Brenner, The Israelite Woman, 19-20.
113
Cf., e.g., Z. Ben-Barak, 'The Queen Consort and the Struggle for Succession
to the Throne', in: FPOA, 38.

his offspring, which renders the age of eight unlikely for the king. 114
Although Jehoiachin may not have been a minor anymore, Nehushta
probably did have a very important position at the court. 115 A reference in Jer. 13:18 emphasizes her role as being second after the
king: 'Say to the king and the queen mother; "Take a lowly seat, for
your beautiful crown has come down from your head" '. 116 Both the
king and the queen mother apparently wore crowns, a symbol of their
royal dignity. The anonymous king and his mother are usually identified as Jehoiachin and Nehushta. 117 When king Jehoiachin was taken
captive by Nebuchadnezzar and carried away to Babylon, his mother
and many others were taken with him (2 Kgs 24:15).
Although not acknowledged as a queen by the biblical authors 1 1 8 ,
Athaliah is the only woman who ruled Judah in her own right and
thus acted as a female king. After the death of her son Ahaziah (2 Kgs
9:27) and forty-two of his relatives (2 Kgs 10:12-14), Athaliah assumed
the Judahite throne and ruled the country for six or seven years.
When she ascended the throne, she killed all the possible heirs 119 , but
overlooked one little prince, Joash (2 Kgs 11:1-2). In the seventh year
of Athaliah's rule, the child Joash, up until then hidden in the temple
of YHWH, was made king on the initiative of the priest Jehoiada, while
the queen mother's rule ended disastrously. She was put to death.
114

J.R. Lundblom, Jeremiah 1-20 (AncB, 21A), New York 1999, 681.
Cf. Andreasen, 'The Role of the Queen Mother in Israelite Society', 192.
116
Queen mother is the translation of Heb. . Although the NRSV translates
a singular for , most commentators assume that both the king and the
queen mother are wearing a crown; cf. P.C. Craigie et al., Jeremiah 1-25 (WBC,
26), Dallas TX 1991, 188; B.J. Oosterhoff, Jeremia (COT), dl. 2, Kampen 1994,
75; Lundblom, Jeremiah 1-20, 681.
117
Craigie et ai, Jeremiah 1-25, 190-1; Oosterhoff, Jeremia, 76; Lundblom,
Jeremiah 1-20, 680; W. McKane, Jeremiah, vol. 1, (ICC), Edinburgh 1986, 303.
118
Mullen, Narrative History and Ethnic Boundaries, 19-54, offers a historical reconstruction of Athaliah's ascent to the throne. He assumes that the
Deuteronomists' presentation of her rule as illegitimate is influenced by the ideology of unbroken Davidic succession (29, 42-52). For a critical analysis of 2
Kgs 11 see further L.K. Handy, 'Speaking of Babies in the Temple', Proceedings of the Eastern Great Lakes and Midwest Bible Societies 8 (1988), 155-65; P.
Dutcher-Walls, Narrative Art, Political Rhetoric: The Case of Athaliah and Joash
(JSOT.S, 209), Sheffield 1996.
119
Some scholars assume she did not eliminate all heirs, while others explain
her murderous behaviour as an attempt to retain her power. For the former, cf.,
e.g., M. Liverani, 'L'histoire de Joas', VT 24 (1974), 438-53; Handy, 'Speaking
of Babies in the Temple', 155-65. For the latter, cf. . Spanier, 'The Northern
Israelite Queen Mother in the Judaean Court: Athalia and Abi', in: M. Lubetski
et al. (eds), Boundaries of the Ancient Near Eastern World: A Tribute to Cyrus
H. Gordon (JSOT.S, 273), Sheffield 1998, 143.
115

Except for its length, hardly anything is told of Athaliah , s reign.

She is portrayed as a murderer and a worshipper of Baal. Being related
to Ahab, the curse spoken to him and his house also extended to her
(1 Kgs 21:17-29). 120 Athaliah's power base, previous to the death of
her son Ahaziah, had been her relationship with her royal family in
Israel and her status as queen mother. When both her son and her
relatives in the North had been killed by Jehu, she was left emptyhanded. Being non-Davidide, non-male and non-Judahite, she had no
right to ascend the throne, according to the ideology as presented in
the book of Kings. Therefore, to hold the position of monarch for such
a period implies she must have had some political support. Claudia
Camp proposes the following political situation,
On the one hand, Athaliah considered herself greatly threatened; on the
other, she could not have ruled for six years without support. Backing
for the new female ruler would have come from the Jerusalem-based
politicians who had promoted the Judean-Israelite alliance symbolized
by Athaliah's marriage to Jehoram. The threat probably came from the
so-called "people of the land." These were Judean nationalists, opposed
to the alliance with the North. They were also adherents of exclusive
Yahweh worship, appalled at Athaliah's religious practices, and thus
later at Jehoiada's disposal.121
Although some of the later Judahite kings were just as faithless with
regard to Yahwism as Athaliah, their rule was considered legitimate,
for they were males and descendants of the Davidic line, whereas
Athaliah was a female and a foreigner. 122 Isaiah may have had Athaliah's reign in mind when he prophecied to Judah 'My people - children
are their oppressors, and women rule over them' (Isa. 3:12). 123 A queen
ruling in her own right apparently was unacceptable.
D . CONCLUSIONS

Of many queen mothers we know virtually nothing. A small number of them are famous because they rose to a position of power.
Mesopotamian queen mother Sammuramat ruled as regent for her
son. Also in Egypt several queen mothers ruled as regents for their
minor sons. Four out of two to three hundred pharaohs were females:
120

Cf. Dutcher-Walls, Narrative Art, Political Rhetoric, 110-1.

Camp, '1 and 2 Kings', 111. See further Brenner, The Israelite Woman, 29-30;
Mullen, Narrative History and Ethnic Boundaries, 22-3.
122
Mullen, Narrative History and Ethnic Boundaries, 20; Dutcher-Walls, Narrative Art, Political Rhetoric, 112, 186.
123
It would seem that even such an indirect reference to a woman's reign as a
legitimate rule is unacceptable to both the Targum and LXX, for they render
'creditors rule over them'.
121

Nitokret, Sobeknefru, Hatshepsut and Tausret. Only if a queen ruled

in her own right did she not depend on her husband's power base,
which was very exceptional. It is significant that the reigns of these
very few female kings mostly ended in tragedy.
Queens or queen mothers could occupy the throne in a period when
the dynasty was in danger of vanishing because there was no male heir.
In Hatshepsut's case, there was a male and she was his regent. She
managed to become co-regent and ruled the country as a king with
combined male/female traits for many years. Historiographers generally downplayed the rule of these female pharaohs, Sobeknefru being
the exception. Biblical Athaliah assumed the throne in a comparable
situation, i.e., a time of distress when the Judahite dynasty had nearly
died out. Her rule, and probably also her title, were downplayed as
well by the biblical historiographers. Whereas the Bible acknowledges
that in foreign countries, a woman could be a ruling queen (cf. the
queen of Sheba), the rule of a female monarch in Judah was considered
to be illegitimate. At Ugarit, a female heir may have been presented
as the rightful successor to the throne in the absence of a male heir.
If we accept this thesis of Marjo Korpel, this would imply that prior
to the destruction of Ugarit a woman was presented as the rightful
new ruler.
In Mesopotamia and Egypt queen mothers were not supposed to
exercise any official power. The Hittite queen mother, however, occupied an official position in the royal cult. 124 She kept her office
of tawananna for life, provided she was not removed from it by the
ruling king. Some tawanannas had considerable political power, yet
this does not seem to be part of their offical cultic position, but rather
gained by them on the basis of personal character. The Judaean queen
mother may have been involved in a cultic role, too, yet the biblical
evidence on this assumption is meagre and perhaps downplayed. A
biblical queen mother did not hold her position for life, but was supposed to yield her position to the mother of her son's successor. The
fact that Maacah was removed from her position as ?by king
Asa because she had violated the royal cult, as well as the custom to
record the names of the queen mothers in the succession formula may
imply a royal office. Yet whether she had any offical power or not, the
biblical queen mother did have a very important position.
With regard to the succession of a king, generally he would designate his male successor by the principle of primogeniture. This is the
case in all countries of the ancient Near East, including Ugarit and
124

On the role of the queen (mother) in the cult, see section 3.1.

Israel. Sometimes a king would choose another son. This could be due
to the influence of a promoting mother, who thereby improved her position at the court. Mesopotamian Naqi'a was successful in interfering
with the succession of her son and grandson, while Adad-guppi also
had considerable influence on her son's career. Texts from Alalakh
and Amarna provide evidence for the fact that a king's wife could
have a say in matters of succession. Also in Ugaritic mythology Athiratu advised her husband Ilu on who was to become the new king.
Biblical Bathsheba played an active role in the succession of Solomon.
But in all these cases the final decision was made by the king.
The kind of power queen mothers could exercise was generally
indirect. They could influence the king's decision and act as his counsellor. Furthermore, they possessed the knowledge of political affairs
that had been dealt with by their deceased husband, which could
make their role as intercessor between the new king and the partner in political affairs quite important. Some queen mothers played
a considerable role in politics, yet this seems to be due to personal
character rather than official power.
Ultimately, like the queen, the queen mother could wield considerable power, but it was power behind the throne, granted by the king.
On the other hand, she was the most powerful woman in the kingdom
and had far more power than many men.
2.2.1.3

Royal Wives and Concubines

Next to his chief wife a king generally had several other wives and
concubines. The status of a secondary wife or concubine was lower
than that of a primary wife. Among the primary wives the chief wife
had a higher status as mother of the heir apparent. If the king had
not designated an heir yet, or if the heir had died an untimely death,
all primary wives who were mother of a son were potential queen
mothers, which could lead to rivalry.
In this section we will look into questions regarding the life in
the women's quarters of the palace. Did women live in seclusion?
Who belonged to the king's harem? And could the king have a sexual
relation with any inhabitant of the women's quarters? Lately some
scholars 1 have pointed to the confusion the use of the term 'harem'
might bring about, a confusion I hope to clarify by discussing the
abovementioned questions.
1

Cf., e.g., J. Goodnick Westenholz, 'Towards a New Conceptualization of the

Female Role in Mesopotamian Society', JAOS 110 (1990), 513-6; A. Kuhrt, The
Ancient Near East: c. 3000-330 BC (Routledge History of the Ancient World),
vol. 2, London 1995, 527.

A . ANCIENT NEAR EAST

Ancient Near Eastern kings generally had polygynous marriages. 2 Although scholars such as Julia Asher-Greve assume that most Old
Sumerian rulers were monogamous, this has been convincingly refuted by Ignace Gelb who points to the imbalance of 'a single royal
wife and as many as 18-20 children'. 3 Eblaite administrative texts also
refer to various primary and secondary royal wives.4 And king ZimriLim of Mari, too, is known to have had several wives.5 Most scholars
assume that from the Old Kingdom on the Egyptian pharaohs also
had polygynous marriages. 6
The term 'harem' generally is used to designate the wives and concubines of a king as well as their living quarters. The harem has been
the subject of discussion among Egyptologists and Mesopotamian
scholars. William Ward, for example, assumes there were no harems
prior to the Egyptian New Kingdom period, but this has been contradicted by other Egyptologists. 7 And Benno Landsberger supposes
that in contrast to the Middle-Assyrian period, when harems were still
normal, the kings of the Neo-Assyrian empire opted for monogamous
marriages. The many women, partially from foreign countries, in the
royal palace would have been mere housekeepers. 8 This assumption,
too, is contradicted. 9
Both Ward and Landsberger acknowledge that the women's quarters of the palace were populated by many women. However, they
assume that the majority of them belonged to the personnel as lady2

On polygyny, see section 2.1.1.4.1.

J.M. Asher-Greve, Frauen in altsumerischer Zeit (Bibliotheca Mesopotamica, 18), Malibu CA 1985, 166; I.J. Gelb, 'Household and Family in Early
Mesopotamia', in: E. Lipmski (ed.), State and Temple Economy in the Ancient
Near East I (OLA, 5), Leuven 1979, 26, 65-8.
4
M.G. Biga, 'Femmes de la famille royale d'Ebla', in: FPOA, 41-7.
5
B.F. Batto, Studies on Women at Mari, Baltimore 1974, 21-8.
6
Cf. C. Desroches Noblecourt, La femme au temps des pharaons, Paris 1986,
98-125; W.A. Ward, 'Non-Royal Women and their Occupations in the Middle
Kingdom', in: WER, 40, and the 'Responses to Prof. Ward's Paper', 44-5; E.S.
Meitzer, 'Queens, Goddesses and Other Women of Ancient Egypt', JAOS 110
(1990), 504, 507-8; G. Robins, Women in Ancient Egypt, London 1993, 39-40;
B.S. Lesko, The Remarkable Women of Ancient Egypt, Providence 3 1996, 12.
7
Ward, 'Non-Royal Women and their Occupations in the Middle Kingdom',
40; 'Responses to Prof. Ward's Paper', 44-5; Meitzer, 'Queens, Goddesses and
Other Women of Ancient Egypt', 504, 507-8.
8
B. Landsberger, 'Akkadisch-hebrische Wortgleichungen', in: . Hartmann et
al. (eds), Hebrische Wortforschung: Festschrift ... W. Baumgartner (VT.S, 16),
Leiden 1967, 202-3.
9
Cf., e.g., Kuhrt, The Ancient Near East, vol. 2, 526-8.
3

in-waiting, musician, dancer, housekeeper, etc. This brings us to the

question who belonged to a king's harem.
In the women's quarters of the palace not only the wives and
concubines of the king lived, but also their personal servants and
slaves. It is known from Egypt as well as from Assyria that some of
the female servants who worked in the women's quarters of the palace
were married to men outside the palace. 10 The women living in the
women's quarters of the court who officially were wives or concubines
of the king presumably had sexual relations with him. Yet it probably
happened that the king sometimes set his heart on one of the female
servants. In such a case she would have no other option but to comply.
Barbara Lesko refers to the Egyptian Tale of the Boating Party, in
which king Snefru went out boating. He was being rowed by 'twenty
women with the shapeliest bodies, breasts and braids, who have not
yet given birth'. 1 1 Instead of clothes the king ordered these women to
be dressed in nets. 'They rowed up and down, and his majesty's heart
was happy seeing them row'. 12 According to Lesko the tale suggests
that the young women 'were not there to be ladies in waiting for the
queen', but rather, for the sexual pleasure of the king. 13 Furthermore,
it cannot be excluded that the king occasionally desired a female
servant who was married. The biblical story of David and Bathsheba,
who, although not a servant of the king, was a married woman, shows
that a king who desired another man's wife might regard himself to be
above the law. Thus, in the women's quarters of the palace, women
of various status lived. Female servants who did not belong to the
official wives and concubines of the king may sometimes have had
sexual relations with the king, if the latter desired so.
Another issue that scholars point to in relation to the use of the
word 'harem' is that of seclusion. Whereas the Arabic loanword harirn
suggests that the women of the harem lived strictly segregated, this is
not the case with all women of the harem in the ancient Near East. 14
10

For Egypt, cf. Ward, 'Non-Royal Women and their Occupations in the Middle
Kingdom', 40. For Assyria, cf. . Weidner, 'Hof- und Harems-Erlasse assyrischer
Knige aus dem 2. Jahrtausend v. Chr.' AfO 17 (1954-56), 262.
11
M. Lichtheim, Ancient Egyptian Literature: A Book of Readings, vol. 1, Berkeley 1973, 216.
12
Lichtheim, Ancient Egyptian Literature, vol. 1, 216.
13
Lesko, The Remarkable Women of Ancient Egypt, 11-2.
14
Ward, 'Non-Royal Women and their Occupations in the Middle Kingdom',
40; Goodnick Westenholz, 'Towards a New Conceptualization of the Female Role
in Mesopotamian Society', 513-6. But cf. . Ziegler, Le Harem de Zimr-Lm: La
population fminine des palais d'aprs les archives royales de Mari (Florilegium
marianum, 4) (Mmoires de NABU, 5), Paris 1999, 5-8.

Queens especially and other primary wives could have much contact
with the 'outside world'. 15 And some of the female personnel who
were married to men outside the harem could occasionally leave the
harem with the king's permission. 16
On the other hand, as we have already noted in section 2.1.1.4.2,
seclusion of women was related to their social status. 1 7 The higher
their status, the more secluded women lived, especially women of the
court who sometimes had to live a life of seclusion inside the women's
quarters, as the terminology suggests.
The Mesopotamian court lady could be referred to as sekretu 'enclosed woman'. 18 The wives and concubines of a harem could live in
seclusion in the bit sinniti 'women's house' or sikru 'enclosure'. 19
Evidence from Mari and other places indicates that the quarters
where the king's women resided usually were 'deep within the palatial
structure or in the corner of the building, some distance from the
palace gate'. 20 Depending on the power and wealth of a king, these
quarters could occupy a considerable area of the palace precincts. 21
The chief wife of the king had her own separate quarters within the
harem, while the lesser women lived together in common quarters
where they had to share items such as chairs and beds. 22
The freedom of movement of royal wives could be restricted. 23
15

Cf., e.g., Batto, Studies on Women at Man, 8-25, for the activities of queen
Shibtu and the other wives of Zimri-Lim who were at the head of his harems.
16
Weidner, 'Hof- und Harems-Erlasse assyrischer Knige aus dem 2. Jahrtausend v. Chr.' 262, 272; Roth, LCMAM, 198.
17
C.H.J. de Geus, 'The City of Women: Women's Places in Ancient Israelite
Cities', in: J.A. Emerton (ed.), Congress Volume: Pans 1992 (VT.S, 61), Leiden
1995, 76.
18
CAD (S), 215-7. See also Kuhrt, The Ancient Near East, vol. 2, 527.
19
CAD (S), 292, 259. In Mari the area in the royal palace reserved for the harem
is called tubqum 'corner'; cf. J.-M. Durand, J. Margueron, 'La question du harem
royal dans le palais de Mari', Journal des Savants (Oct.-Dec. 1980), 253-63.
20
A. Malamat, 'Is There a Word for the Royal Harem in the Bible?: The Inside
Story', in: D.P. Wright et al (eds), Pomegranates and Golden Bells: Studies in
Biblical, Jewish, and Near Eastern Ritual, Law, and Literature in Honor of Jacob
Milgrom, Winona Lake IN 1995, 786. For Egypt, see E. Reiser, Die knigliche
Harim im alten gypten und seine Verwaltung, Wien 1972, 32-47.
21
Malamat, 'Is There a Word for the Royal Harem in the Bible?' 786.
22
Batto, Studies on Women at Man, 28; Durand, Margueron, 'La question du
harem royal dans le palais de Mari', 253-80; Ziegler, Le Harem de Zimr-Lm.
23
According to Goodnick Westenholz, 'Towards a New Conceptualization of
the Female Role in Mesopotamian Society', 516, 'the ladies at court seem to have
enjoyed a considerable measure of freedom, in particular, in their comings and
goings'. However, this is contradicted by Ziegler, Le Harem de Zimr-Lm, 7, 302.

Edicts from the Assyrian kings dating from the 14th to the 11th century BCE give evidence to their circumscribed space and the restrictions on their encounters with male personnel. 24 Royal concubines
could be part of the retinue accompanying the king on a trip through
the country, but whether they were in the palace or outside it, regulations on contact between concubines and male personnel were very
strict. A eunuch was not permitted to speak directly to a concubine
without the permission of the inspector of the palace (rab kalli).
When speaking to a palace wife, a male servant had to keep a distance of at least seven steps between them. The male servants of the
palace were not to stand still and listen to concubines scolding or quarreling, and they were not to look at concubines when the latter were
not decently dressed. Furthermore, when a palace wife was having her
monthly period, she was not permitted to approach the king. Otherwise she would jeopardize his cultic purity when he brought offerings
to the gods. Blasphemy was not tolerated. When harem women used
the deity's name in vain while quarreling, their throat was cut regardless of their position. Primary wives (aat arri) and concubines
(sinniati sa kallim) each had a personal female servant, whom they
were allowed to punish in case of an offence. If, however, the offence
would be repeated, the maidservant was to be brought before the king
and not to be punished again by her mistress. Also, if a maidservant
would die because she was punished too harshly by her mistress, the
latter would in turn be penalized. These decrees indicate that harem
wives lived in an environment of envy and competition with too little
distraction and few matters to attend to.
The text of the treaty between Shuppiluliuma I of Hatti and
Huqqana of Hayasha allows us a look into Hittite harem life. Huqqana,
a tribal chief in the land of Hayasha (northeastern Anatolia) has made
a treaty with the more powerful king Shuppiluliuma I. In addition,
Huqqana has married a sister of Shuppiluliuma and is instructed by
the latter how to behave in Hittite royal circles. He is not permitted
to have sexual relations with a sister or a female cousin of his wife.
Furthermore, he is forbidden to approach a woman of the palace,
Beware of a woman of the palace. Whatever sort of palace woman
she might be, whether a free woman or a lady's maid, you shall not
approach her, and you shall not go near her. You shall not speak a
word to her. Your slave or your slave girl shall not go near her. Beware
24

Cf. Weidner, 'Hof- und Harems-Erlasse assyrischer Knige aus dem 2.

Jahrtausend v. Chr.' 257-93; Roth, LCMAM, 195-209. Roth dates the Middle
Assyrian Palace Decrees to ca. 1076 BCE.

of her. When you see a palace woman, jump far out of the way and
leave her a broad path. Beware of this matter of a palace woman. 25
To emphasize the seriousness of these rules, Huqqana is reminded of
the sad story of Mariya, who was put to death for merely looking at
a woman of the palace ( 28).
The Middle Assyrian Palace Decrees and the Hittite treaty between Shuppiluliuma I and Huqqana render us some information on
the organisation of the women's quarters at the courts of Assyria
and Hatti. Of somewhat earlier date is the Mari material (18th cent.
BCE) which informs us on the harem of Zimri-Lim. Next to his chief
wife queen Shibtu, who played an important role in his realm, he
had several other wives, some of whom also held responsible posts. 26
Zimri-Lim's harem was occupied not only by his wives, but also by
women of lower status. Some of these women were of local origin,
but others were foreigners, usually prisoners of war. These female
captives, who generally were of exceptional beauty, escaped the fate
of being put to work in the royal textile factories and became a royal
concubine. 27 Zimri-Lim furthermore appropriated the royal harem of
his predecessor as well as that of other defeated enemies. 28
Also in Egypt the royal women's quarters were strictly organized. 29
The Great Royal Wife supervised the king's primary and secondary
wives. Furthermore, there was a large staff of personnel in order to
manage the herds, the estates with their farmland and the weaving
factories that belonged to the harem. Also part of the harem were
schools for dancing, singing and musical lessons. 30
Although little is known about the freedom of movement of royal
women in the Egyptian harem, they probably could have contact with
the 'outside world'. In her correspondence with king Ramesses II of
Egypt, the Hittite queen, Puduhepa, requested that the daughter she
would give in marriage to him should be allowed to receive visiting
Hittite envoys. From the Babylonian envoy she had heard 'that the
Babylonian princess in his harim was barred from such visits of her
25

G. Beckman; H.A. Hoffner (ed.), Hittite Diplomatic Texts (WAW, 7), Atlanta
GA 1996, 28, 27 (A iii 59'-67').
26
Ziegler, Le Harem de Zimr-Lm, 52-9.
27
Batto, Studies on Women at Mari, 25-8.
28
Cf. . Ziegler, 'Le harem du vaincu', RA 93 (1999), 1-26; Idem, Le Harem de
Zimr-Lm, 33-8, 119-20.
29
Cf. Reiser, Die knigliche Harim im alten gypten und seine Verwaltung;
Desroches Noblecourt, La femme au temps des pharaons, 98-125.
30
. Brunner-Traut, 'Die Stellung der Frau im Alten gypten', Saeculum 38
(1987), 322.

own countrymen'. 3 1 Ramesses II denied this rumour, but we may assume that the king did control the contacts his wives had with the
world outside the harem.
To some of the pharaohs this control may have been of vital importance, since court intrigues could endanger their life. There are references to at least three court intrigues in which women of the harem
played a vital role. 32 The first is recorded in the Sixth Dynasty. The
court official Weni writes in his autobiography about the secret trial
against queen Weret-yamtes, wife of Pepy I (2335/2285-2285/2235
BCE), who probably conspired against the king. 33 Evidence of another
court intrigue may be found in the Instruction of King Amenemhet
I for his Son Sesostris I, dating from the Middle Kingdom. 34 The Instruction describes the attack; referring to this, Gay Robins states:
'The attack clearly came from within the palace and the question
"Had any woman previously raised troops?" suggests that the conspiracy may have involved one or more of the royal women'. 35 The
third Egyptian king against whom women of the harem conspired
was Ramesses ill (1183/82-1152/51 BCE). The king apparently had
neither designated a wife as Great Royal Wife nor a son as heir. One
of his wives, Tiy, seems to have intended to put her son on the throne.
Together with her son she probably organized the conspiracy which
would have made her queen mother, had it succeeded. Other women of
the palace as well as royal officials and some people outside the palace
were also involved in the plot. However, the move was unsuccessful
and the prince was forced to commit suicide. Remarkably, '[n]0thing
in the document [which records the trial of the conspirators, HJM]
mentions a trial for Tiy or the other palace women, nor what their
punishment was'. In contrast with this, the document does mention
punishments for the male plotters. 36
More so than any husband, the king was vulnerable in the respectability of his wives and concubines. On the one hand, the great
number of wives and concubines as well as children were a sign of his
31

K.A. Kitchen, Ramesside Inscriptions: Translated & Annotated, Notes and

Comments (Series B: Annotations. Vol. 2: Ramesses II, Royal Inscriptions), Oxford 1999, 148.
32
Cf. M. Weber, 'Harimsverschwrung', in: LA, Bd. 2, 987-91; Desroches Noblecourt, La femme au temps des pharaons, 113-25.
33
Lichtheim, Ancient Egyptian Literature, vol. 1, 19.
34
Lichtheim, Ancient Egyptian Literature, vol. 1, 137. The document was probably written during the reign of Sesostris (1956-1911/10 BCE).
35
Robins, Women in Ancient Egypt, 39.
36
Robins, Women in Ancient Egypt, 38; Lesko, The Remarkable Women of
Ancient Egypt, 12-3.

wealth and power. But on the other hand, whoever had a sexual relationship with a wife or a concubine of the king thereby challenged his
power and authority. Moreover, the many wives and concubines could
quarrel among themselves and form parties. Dissatisfaction with the
king's choice of successor could lead such a party to start a court intrigue and try to take over the king's power. Depending on the king's
character and personal history, the regime in the women's quarters
may have varied, yet we may assume there would always have been a
large degree of control.
B . UGARITIC LITERARY T E X T S

As we shall see in chapter 4, Ugaritic kings also had their harems.

However, apart from his chief wife, other wives and concubines of
the king are rarely mentioned in the literary texts from Ugarit. An
allusion to them is found in KTU 1.3:IV.40, where it is told that Ba'lu
removed the women from his presence (rhq 'att Ipnnh) when he saw
'Anatu approaching. In the hierarchy of the pantheon these women
were probably considered as concubines of Ba'lu since they were to
go, once his chief wife arrived. The fact that they were supposed to be
absent when 'Anatu visited her husband indicates their lower status. 3 7
C . H E B R E W BIBLE

Like the ancient Near Eastern kings in general, biblical kings, too,
had many wives and concubines. Based on 2 Sam. 12:8 it is assumed
Saul had several wives, of whom his primary wife Ahinoam (1 Sam.
14:50) and his concubine Rizpah (2 Sam. 3:6) are known by name. 38
Saul's successor, David, also had many wives and concubines. Next
to Saul's wives, whom he had taken over (2 Sam. 12:8), the names
of Ahinoam, Abigail, Maacah, Haggith, Abital and Eglah are mentioned (2 Sam. 3:2) as the wives he had when living in Hebron. Furthermore, Michal (1 Sam. 18:27) and Bathsheba (2 Sam. 12:24) also
were wives of David and he had at least ten concubines (2 Sam. 15:16;
16:20-22; 20:3). King Solomon is reported to have had seven hundred
wives ( ) and three hundred concubines ( )due to his
international marriage politics (1 Kgs 11:1-13). These large numbers
probably have a symbolic meaning, emphasizing the king's wealth.
According to Song of Songs 6:8 Solomon's harem encompassed sixty
queens and eighty concubines. With regard to the rising number of
wives and concubines of Israel's first kings, Karen Engelken notes the
37

See also section 2.1.1.4.1

Cf. . Engelken, Frauen im Alten Israel: Eine begriffsgeschichtliche und
sozialrechtliche Studie zur Stellung der Frau im Alten Testament (BWANT, 130),
Stuttgart 1990, 82-3.
38

following:
Es fllt auf, da die Anzahl der Frauen und Nebenfrauen von Saul
zu David und von David zu Salomo erheblich steigt. Zum Bild eines
machtvollen Knigtums gehrt von Knig zu Knig eine immer steigende Zahl von Frauen, von deren Einzelschicksal es sich in der Regel
nicht zu reden lohnt.39
Rehoboam, son of Solomon, apparently imitated his father's example,
for he had eighteen wives and sixty concubines (2 Chron. 1 1 : 2 1 ) . Two
of his wives are known by name: Mahalath and Maacah (2 Chron.
1 1 : 1 8 , 2 0 ) . Other kings with many wives and concubines are Ahab (2
Kgs 1 0 : 1 ) , Jehoiachin ( 2 Kgs 2 4 : 1 5 ) and Zedekiah (Jer. 3 8 : 2 2 - 2 3 ) .
Polygyny was regarded a sign of wealth. In this way a king could
display his splendour and his power. 40 Not only the large number of
wives, but also the number of children of a king, especially the male
children, were an expression of his power. 41
That a king had many wives is also assumed in the Law of the
King (Deut. 1 7 : 1 4 - 2 0 ) , but it is stated that having many wives jeopardized the king, since it turned his heart away from the service of
Y H W H (Deut. 1 7 : 1 7 ) . It is commonly assumed that this is a relatively
late prescription that does not accord with the attested polygyny of
Israel's kings. In general polygyny is not rejected. 42
According to Tomoo Ishida, '[i]t is a well-known fact . . . that one
way royal legitimacy was acquired was by the appropriation of the
previous king's harem, both in Israel and in the rest of the ancient
Near East'. 4 3 A royal wife or a concubine could thus, willingly or
unwillingly, become a pawn in a political game.
When a man lay with a concubine of the reigning king, this act
39

Engelken, Frauen im Alten Israel, 83.

.-F. Richter, Geschlechtlichkeit, Ehe und Familie im Alten Testament und
seiner Umwelt (BET, 10), Frankfurt am Main 1978, Ergnzungsbd., 52, however,
points to the fact that some of the Judges, too, had many wives and that the
custom of polygyny was not restricted to kings.
41
Cf. Engelken, Frauen im Alten Israel, 75, 112, 118.
42
See section 2.1.1.4.1.
43
T . Ishida, 'Adonijah the Son of Haggith and his Supporters: An Inquiry
into Problems About History and Historiography 1 , in: R.E. Friedman, H.G.M.
Williamson (eds), The Future of Biblical Studies: The Hebrew Scriptures (SBL
Semeia Studies), Atlanta GA 1987, 178. Cf. also G.I. Emmerson, 'Women in Ancient Israel', in: R.E. Clements (ed.), The World of Ancient Israel: Sociological,
Anthropological and Political Perspectives, Cambridge 1989, 385; A. van der Lingen, Vrouwen rond de koningen van oud-Isral, Zoetermeer 1997, 33, 114-6; R. de
Hoop, Genesis 49 in Its Literary and Historical Context (OTS, 39), Leiden 1998,
351, n. 166, 512.
40

could be understood in a political way. Thus, when Absolom publicly took David's concubines, he claimed his father's throne (2 Sam.
16:20-22).44 Ishbaal, son of Saul, reproached Abner, 'who was making
himself strong in the house of Saul', for having taken Rizpa, one of
Saul's concubines. The fact that Abner got away with this indicates
the weakening of Saul's house (2 Sam. 3:6-11). Solomon's reaction
to Adonijah's request for Abishag the Shunammite as a wife (1 Kgs
2:13-25) is another indication that a sexual relationship with one of
the (former) king's concubine's was regarded as a political act. 45
The position of royal concubines (46( is illustrated by David's
treatment of the ten women whom he had left behind to look after the
house when he fled for Absalom. His son had slept with the concubines
and when David returned to Jerusalem he 'put them in a house under
guard, and provided for them, but did not go in to them. So they
were shut up until the day of their death, living as if in widowhood'
(2 Sam. 20:3). Apparently these women had no control over their
own lives. According to Grace Emmerson, '[i]t is in such situations
that they do seem to be regarded as little better than chattels'. 47
Anton van der Lingen explains that the ten concubines became a
symbol of Absalom's take-over and formed a threat to David when
he regained power. Since they had been part of Absalom's court they
might function as a fifth column at David's court. He therefore had
them separated under guard. 48
When king Ben-Hadad of Aram besieged Samaria, he ordered that
44

There is a certain parallel between Absalom and Reuben, who both were the
rightful heir, but lost this right because they lay with their father's concubines - a
forbidden incestuous relation according to Lev. 18:8. It is probably therefore that
Bilhah, slave wife of Jacob, is referred to as his concubine ( )in the account
of Reuben laying with her (Gen. 35:22). R. Westbrook, 'The Female Slave', in:
V.H. Matthews et al. (eds), Gender and Law in the Hebrew Bible and the Ancient
Near East (JSOT.S, 262), Sheffield 1998, 232-3, gives a plausible explanation of
the use of here. Cf. also Engelken, Frauen im Alten Israel, 99-101; De Hoop,
Genesis 49 in its Literary and Historical Context, 351, 513-4. Engelken, Frauen
im Alten Israel, 99, points to the fact that the terms and axe sometimes
used in a polemical sense.
It is striking that Reuben is said to have defiled 'the beds (plural) of his father'
in Gen. 49:4; cf. J.C. de Moor, 'Genesis 49 and the Early History of Israel', in:
J.C. de Moor, H.F. van Rooy (eds), The Deuteronomistic History and the Prophets
(OTS, 44), Leiden 2000, 182.
45
On Adonijah's request for Abishag and on the question whether Abishag was
a concubine or a high government official see section 2.2.1.2.
46
On the use of Aram. * as a translation of Heb. in Dan. 5:2,3,23, cf.
Landsberger, 'Akkadisch-Hebrische Wortgleichungen', 198-204.
47
Emmerson, 'Women in Ancient Israel', 385.
48
Van der Lingen, Vrouwen rond de koningen van oud-Isral, 115.

silver and gold as well as Ahab's fairest wives and children should
become his (1 Kgs 20:1-8). The demand of Ben-Hadad implied that
Ahab was to become his vassal. Ahab's son would be held hostage
in Aram, while his wives would be added to Ben-Hadad's harem.
These royal wives, too, would be mere pawns in the political game of
the king. 49 The same fate happened to the concubines of Hezekiah.
Among the many items Sennacherib enumerates as the heavy tribute
with which Hezekiah bought off the destruction of Jerusalem are well to the end of the list - his harem-women. 50
Also in Israel royal wives and concubines lived in the women's
quarters of the palace complex, which were probably somewhere in
the inner part of the palace. These quarters are usually referred to
in a general way. The house that Solomon built for his Egyptian
wife (Pharaoh's daughter) is called her1)
Kgs 7:8; 9:24). Esther is brought to the , which is usually translated 'harem'
(Est. 2:3, 9,11,13,14). According to Abraham Malamat, 'we may assume that in the palaces of Jerusalem and in the capital cities in
the Northern Kingdom special quarters were set aside to accomodate
royal ladies, similar to the harems throughout the ancient Near East
>51
D . CONCLUSIONS

The evidence from the ancient Near East in general as well as that
of Ugarit and Israel confirms that kings usually had polygynous marriages. The royal wives and concubines of a king lived in the women's
quarters of the court, in a separate part of the palace. In the women's
quarters, which are often referred to as 'harem' by scholars, not only
the royal wives and concubines lived, but also female personnel, such
as personal attendants of the royal wives and female slaves. Singers,
dancers and musicians could also be part of the harem personnel, as
well as weavers and housekeepers. The royal wives and concubines
presumably had sexual relations with the king, but the latter may
occasionally also have desired one of the lesser women of the harem
personnel. Such a woman probably had no choice but to comply.
There was a strict hierarchy in the women's quarters. The texts
from Mari inform us that generally the queen or the queen mother
would be at its head, but she might delegate daily matters to an
official of the palace.
49

Van der Lingen, Vrouwen rond de koningen van oud-Isral, 119.

D.D. Luckenbill, The Annals of Sennacherib (OIP, 2), Chicago IL 1924, 34,
III.46. For other instances of this Neo-Assyrian policy see CAD (S), 216.
51
Malamat, 'Is There a Word for the Royal Harem in the Bible?' 785. Malamat
assumes the word signifies the royal harem.
50

Although royal women probably were not confined to the women's

quarters, they were restricted in their movements and in their contacts. The Middle Assyrian Palace Decrees inform us on the circumscribed space of the royal women and the restrictions on their encounters with male personnel. The treaty between Shuppiluliuma I of
Hatti and Huqqana of Hayasha also emphasizes that neither an official wife nor a female slave was to have any contact with a stranger.
The Hebrew Bible provides very little information on the degree of
seclusion of royal women. The ten concubines with whom Absalom
had had sexual relations were locked up under guard, yet their fate
was exceptional.
Royal wives and concubines often were pawns in the political
games of kings. When at war, a king could take over the royal women
of his defeated enemy. Likewise, an usurper would take over the harem
of his predecessor, thereby emphasizing his claim to the throne. These
customs are recorded in the ancient Near East in general as well as
in the Hebrew Bible.
Yet royal wives and concubines could also play an active part
in politics, through court intrigues. Dissatisfaction with the king's
choice of successor could initiate such an intrigue, and court women
could form a party that turned against the king himself. Although
restricted in movement and contacts, royal women thus might find
ways to influence national politics.
Although the royal harem expressed a king's wealth and power,
it also was a king's vulnerable spot. Whoever had sexual relations
with a wife or a concubine of the king thereby challenged his power
and authority. And the women themselves could form a danger from
inside the palace, when intriguing against the king. It was probably
because of this that the women's quarters of the palace were under
strict control.
2.2.1.4

Princess

Just as it was important for any daughter in the ancient Near East
to enter the marriage state, 1 so likewise for the daughter of a king.
Princesses could be wed to a high official of their own country or to
a prince or king of a neighbouring or allied country. Often political
motives would play a role in such a marriage.
What was the role of a princess in a political marriage? Was she a
mere pawn in the hands of those who arranged the marriage or could
she play an active part in it?
1

See sections 2.1.1 and 2.1.4.

Another important issue is the role a princess might play in the

cult. This will be treated in chapter 3.
A . ANCIENT NEAR EAST

Living in relative luxury and having both opportunity and time to engage in study and music, the princesses' unmarried youth was often a
happy if not the happiest time of their life.2 Eventually, however, they
had to engage in marriage and become wives, often of kings. Princesses
played an important part in maintaining international relations. Several ancient Near Eastern princesses were given in marriage to kings
of other countries or city states for political reasons. King Zimri-Lim
of Mari, for example, married several of his daughters to kings of citystates in the north. 3 Massanauzzi, sister of the Hittite king Muwatalli
II (1295-1272 BCE) was married to one of Muwatalli's most important
vassal kings, Masturi of the Seha River Land. 4 Hattushili ill (12671237 BCE), another Hittite king, also employed political marriages as
a means to consolidate international relations. He not only gave his
daughters in marriage to foreign rulers, but twice he also arranged
a double or exchange marriage. 5 An example of such an exchange
marriage is the one he arranged with king Benteshina of Amurru.
Hattushili's son Nerikkaili married a daughter of Benteshina and Hattushili's daughter Gassuliyawiya was given in marriage to Benteshina
himself. 6
Yet the custom of reciprocity did not always function in the contacts between the Egyptian pharaohs and the great kings of the Near
East. According to a statement in the Amarna correspondence, the
pharaohs of Egypt did not give their daughters in marriage to monarchs of other countries. EA 4:6-7 reads: 'Prom time immemorial no
daughter of the king of Egy[pt] is given to anyone'. 7 The Babylonian king who sent the letter obviously had problems with this and
asked whether the pharaoh could not send another beautiful Egyptian
girl, pretending she was one of his daughters. Who at the Babylonian
2

See sections 2.1.3 and 2.1.4.

B.F. Batto, Studies on Women at Man, Baltimore 1974, 37-58; B. Lafont,
'Les filles du roi de Mari', in: FPOA, 113-23.
4
T . Bryce, The Kingdom of the Hittites, Oxford 1998, 268, n. 1, 278-9, 313,
338.
5
On exchange marriages see also section 2.1.1.1.
6
Bryce, The Kingdom of the Hittites, 294.
7
Cf. W.L. Moran, The Amarna Letters, Baltimore 1992, 8. The beginning of
EA 4 is missing, therefore sender and receiver are not known with certainty.
The sender generally is identified with the Babylonian king Kadasman-Enlil, the
receiver with Amenophis III. Cf. C. Khne, Die Chronologie der internationalen
Korrespondenz von El-Amarna (AOAT, 17), Neukirchen-Vluyn 1973, 55-6, 72.
3

court would question her status? Yet this deceit was rejected by the
Egyptian king. The reason behind the rejection was twofold. First,
the Egyptian kings considered themselves far too exalted to accept
the custom of reciprocity. Although Egypt paid lip service to the fraternal connections with countries such as Babylonia and Mitanni for example in the form of address in the letters - the parity had
its limits. According to Egypt, some were more equal than others. 8
Secondly, Egyptian princesses sometimes played an important role in
legitimizing the king's succession to the throne. Although some of
the Egyptian kings married commoners, more often a pharaoh took
a lady of royal blood for a wife. During the New Kingdom period
some pharaohs even married their own daughter or their half-sister
for mythological and ideological reasons. 9 Amenophis ill himself, too,
probably had made such an incestuous marriage.
In later times, however, when Egypt was no longer the great international power it had been, Egyptian pharaohs did marry their
daughters to kings of neighbouring countries. According to 1 Kgs
3:1, king Solomon married an Egyptian princess. She probably was
a daughter of pharaoh Siamun (979/78-960/59 BCE).10 Likewise, the
request of Tutankhamun's widow, Ankhesenamun, to marry a son of
Shuppiluliuma I of Hatti could only occur during times when Egypt
suffered from political weakness. 11
During his reign king Ramesses II of Egypt (1279-1213 BCE) twice
married a Hittite princess. 12 The marriages may be regarded as a confirmation of improved political relations between the two countries
since the battle of Qadesh, which had taken place in the 5th year of
Ramesses n's rule. In his 21st year a treaty was made with Hatti,
8

Cf. Khne, Die Chronologie der internationalen Korrespondenz von ElAmarna, 58.
9
Cf. Khne, Die Chronologie der internationalen Korrespondenz von ElAmama, 57-8, n. 278; L. Manniche, Sexual Life in Ancient Egypt, London 1987,
29; G. Robins, Women in Ancient Egypt, London 1993, 30-2. On father-daughter
incest see further section 2.1.4. On brother-sister incest see section 2.1.3.
10
Cf. A. Malamat, 'The Kingdom of David & Solomon in its Contact with Egypt
and Aram Naharaim', BA 21 (1958), 96-102; Idem, 'Aspects of the Foreign Policies
of David and Solomon', JNES 22 (1963), 10-17; Robins, Women in Ancient Egypt,
32.
11
See section 2.2.1.1.
12
Cf. K.A. Kitchen, Ramesside Inscriptions: Translated & Annotated. Translations (Series A: Translations. Vol. 2: Ramesses 11, Royal Inscriptions), Oxford
1996, 86-99, 110-2 (nos. 66-67, 69); Idem, Ramesside Inscriptions: Translated &
Annotated. Notes and Comments (Series B: Annotations. Vol. 2: Ramesses II,
Royal Inscriptions), Oxford 1999, 146-59, 163-5. See also Robins, Women in Ancient Egypt, 32-4; Bryce, The Kingdom of the Hittites, 310-5.

but the first marriage in his 34th year apparently sealed interdynastic relations. After long negotiations in which queen Puduhepa of
Hatti played an important role, the anointing ceremony took place. 13
Thereafter the princess went to Egypt together with her dowry, a
cavalcade of male and female slaves, horses, cattle, sheep and goats. 14
She received the Egyptian name Maat-Hor-Neferure ('She who beholds the Falcon (King), visible splendour of Re') and bore her husband a daughter. This apparently disappointed the Hittite court, since
Hattushili ill had hoped for a grandson whom he might designate suecessor to the Hatti throne. 15 It is assumed Maat-Hor Neferure died a
few years later, since some ten to fifteen years after the first marriage
Hattushili ill married another one of his daughters to Ramesses II.
She also was sent to Egypt with a large dowry and probably fulfilled
her diplomatic role in maintaining the pax Aegyptiaca-Hettitica.
A diplomatic marriage usually required a lot of international communications. The central problem was to come to an agreement on the
marriage deposit, the marriage gifts and the dowry. Pinhas Artzi has
reconstructed the preparations of the diplomatic marriage between
Taduhepa, daughter of Tushratta, king of Mitanni and Amenophis
ill of Egypt in the fourteenth cent. BCE. It seems that the aim of
Tushratta was to obtain a large marriage deposit from the Egyptian pharaoh, since he sent several letters asking for gold. Eventually,
princess Taduhepa travelled to Egypt in a large procession of great
magnificence, meant to impress 'the public opinion'. 16 And it must
have been an impressive sight indeed. Accompanied by a large collection of marriage gifts (EA 22) and probably by an equally impressive
amount of goods and servants that constituted the dowry (EA 25),
king Tushratta sent his daughter to Amenophis III.17 Taduhepa was
married to Amenophis m for two years. The king then died and his
son Akhenaten married the Mitannian princess. 18
13

The anointment signified 'her union in principle with Ramesses', cf. Kitchen,
Ramesside Inscriptions (Series B: Annotations. Vol. 2), 149-50. See also section
2.1.1.3.2.
14
For propaganda purposes the dowry is referred to as 'tribute' in the stela
(247:5-10); cf. Kitchen, Ramesside Inscriptions (Series B: Annotations. Vol. 2),
154, 158. See also Robins, Women in Ancient Egypt, 32-4.
15
Kitchen, Ramesside Inscriptions (Series B: Annotations. Vol. 2), 150.
16
P. Artzi, 'The Influence of Political Marriages on the International Relations
of the Amarna-Age', in: FPOA, 23-6.
17
Cf. Moran, The Amarna Letters, 51-61, 72-84; Khne, Die Chronologie der
internationalen Korrespondenz von El-Amarna, 34-6; A.R. Schulman, 'Diplomatie
Marriage in the Egyptian New Kingdom', JNES 38 (1979), 184, n. 35.
18
Robins, Women in Ancient Egypt, 31.

In general, we know little about the fate of foreign princesses once

they married an Egyptian king. Once in Egypt, the relatives in her
homecountry might never hear from her again. The aforementioned
Amenophis m had also married a Babylonian princess, daughter of
Kurigalzu II, and requested the daughter of Kurigalzu's successor,
Kadishman Enlil I, in marriage, too. Yet Kadishman Enlil expressed
his concern for both his daughter and his sister, the daughter of Kurigalzu, in a letter to Amenophis. 19 The fate of Kadishman Enlil's sister
was unknown, no one had seen her and Kadishman wondered whether
she was alive or dead. Amenophis reassured his Babylonian ally that
she was alive and suggested that someone who knew her personally
be sent to speak with her. Yet '[t]he impression given is that the
Babylonian princess had become a fairly obscure figure'.20
Records have survived of a few diplomatic marriages. It may be
assumed, however, that many more were made. W h i l e Egypt was at
the height of her imperial power, there must have been many minor
rulers who saw an advantage in having an alliance with her, while
others may have been compelled to send daughters as part of the
tribute Egypt demanded'. 21 Not every princess involved in a diplomatic marriage had a powerful relative who could inquire after her
well-being. Gay Robins describes their fate as follows,
T h e lot of many of these women m a y not have been pleasant. In a
strange society, far from their families, p e r h a p s not proficient in t h e
language, they would have had no n a t u r a l protector against exploitation and abuse. A minor ruler subject to E g y p t could hardly question
t h e king's t r e a t m e n t of his daughter or sister. So long as powerful rulers
sent greetings and gifts t o their daughters and their ambassadors enquired after the women, they would have had t o be well-treated or
risk an international incident. However, once outside concern for their
well-being was lost, their position was potentially vulnerable. In fact,
such women were little more t h a n commodities to be t r a d e d for peace
and an alliance. They had no say in their fate, and yet t h e y b e c a m e
i m p o r t a n t cogs in t h e workings of the international diplomatic system:
while t h e system was run by men, the women were needed to make it
work. 2 2

Such a princess whose father was a minor ruler might be put to work
in the women's quarters of the palace, engaging in household duties
19

EA 1:10-21. Cf.
Robins, Women
21
Robins, Women
22
Robins, Women
20

Moran, The Amarna Letters, 1-5.

in Ancient Egypt, 35.
in Ancient Egypt, 35.
in Ancient Egypt, 35-6.

or textile production. 23
Of some of the Mari princesses we know they were unhappy in their
diplomatic marriages. Inib-sharri, for instance, wrote to her father
Zimri-Lim that she was not treated well and that she wanted to return to Mari. 24 Another daughter of Zimri-Lim, Kiru, did not have
a harmonious marriage either. Her father had appointed her mayor
of Ilansaru, the city over which her husband was ruler. This caused
conflicts of authority and of loyalty, since Kiru apparently looked after her father's interests more than after those of her husband. The
marriage probably ended in divorce. 25
B . U G A R I T I C LITERARY T E X T S

As in the ancient Near East in general, in Ugarit, too, princesses

played a role in political marriages. Although the Legend of Kirtu
presents the conquest of the daughter of king Pubala, princess of
Great and Little Udumu, as the main reason for besieging the city,
in general a marriage between the daughter of a besieged city's ruler
and the assailant would probably be a side-effect of a peace treaty
between the two parties. Before handing her over to Kirtu, king Pubala lauded his daughter's virtues, thereby upgrading her worth. She
was compassionate towards the hungry and the thirsty and beloved
by the inhabitants of Udumu (KTU 1.15:1.1-7).26
Pughatu, the daughter of Dani'ilu according to the Legend of
Aqhatu, was a princess too. 27 As we have seen when discussing the
role of daughters, 28 she had to perform humble duties like drawing
water and collecting dew from fleeces. Nothing indicates she was of
noble birth. This may reflect the relatively simple life at the courts of
small Canaanite city states.
'Anatu is the most obvious example of a divine princess. Being the
daughter of the highest king, Ilu, she lived in opulence. She had her
own mountain, Inbabu, 29 her own house, 30 her own personnel 31 and
owned plenty of silver and gold. 32 It is unclear, however, how much
of this was given to her by her father. Some may have been acquired
through her marriage with Ba'lu, but, according to KTU 1.3:111.4623

Robins, Women in Ancient Egypt, 35.

Batto, Studies on Women at Man, 37-42.
25
Batto, Studies on Women at Man, 42-8.
26
Cf. the compassion of Pharaoh's daughter for the baby Moses in Exod. 2.
27
On Dani'ilu's royal status see section 2.2.1.1.
28
See section 2.1.4.
29
KTU 1.1:11.14; 1.3:IV.34; 1.13:9; 1.100:20.
30
K T U 1.3:11.3-4; cf. 1.13:11-12.
31
See section 2.2.1.1.
32
K T U 1.17:VI.17-18.
24

47, she also deemed herself perfectly capable of robbing her enemies
of their silver and gold. For princess Nikkalu the moon god, Yarikhu,
payed a large marriage deposit in gold and silver (KTU 1.24). It may
be assumed that 'Anatu's dowry was of comparable value.
Not all divine princesses were that fortunate. The apparently minor daughters of 'king' Ba'lu had to live in separate quarters, at first in
the palace of their father-in-law, Ilu, later on in their father's palace. 33
C . H E B R E W BIBLE

Only a few biblical princesses are known by name. In the Hebrew

Bible, princesses are referred to by the title ' daughter of the
king' or, in poetry, ( Ps. 45:13; cf. Dan. 11:6). This title is only
used explicitly in reference to Jehoshabeath, daughter of Jehoram king
of Judah (2 Chron. 22:11). In the parallel account of 2 Kgs 11:2 the
title is not used; here she is called 'Jehosheba, king Joram's daughter'.
The title is used in the plural only in 2 Sam. 13:18; Jer. 41:10; 43:6
and Ps. 45:10. The former text reveals that virgin daughters of the
king had to wear long robes with sleeves, apparently to distinguish
them from other marriageable girls. On festive occasions they were
clad in gold-woven robes (Ps. 45:14). Also in Israel princesses had to
be honoured (Ps. 45:10). Yet a princess like Tamar had to perform
the humble task of preparing food for her (pretending) ill brother
if the king commanded her to do so. These texts further confirm
what we know from other sources 34 : that women surrounding a king,
among them his daughters, were prized trophies of conquerors. One
can imagine what happened to them as spoils of war.
The Hebrew Bible further mentions princesses by name without referring to them by the title 'daughter of the king', e.g. Michal, daughter of Saul and Athaliah (grand)daughter of Omri. 35
By defeating the Philistines David obtained the right to marry
king Saul's daughter Michal (1 Sam. 17:25; 18:27), the first step in the
success story of the future king of Israel and Judah. 3 6 From the fact
that he married the king's daughter, David partly derived the right
to inherit the throne of Israel. 37 Michal was a pawn in the political
33

See section 2.1.4.

E.g. with regard to the daughters of king Hezekiah according to Sennacherib:
D.D. Luckenbill, The Annals of Sennacherib (OIP, 2), Chicago IL 1924, 34,111.46.
35
On the seals of women with the text , see chapter 4.
36
See section 2.2.1.1.
37
J.W. Flanagan, 'Succession and Genealogy in the Davidic Dynasty', in: H.B.
Huffmon et al. (eds), The Quest for the Kingdom of God: Studies in Honor of
George E. Mendenhall, Winona Lake IN 1983, 35-55 (esp. 51-54); J.C. Exum,
34

conflict between her father and her husband. In the narrative this is
expressed by the way she is referred to: she is either called 'daughter
of Saul' or 'wife of David'. 38 Although her role in the conflict was
mostly a passive one, she engaged actively in the teraphim story (1
Sam. 19). When her father Saul sought to kill her husband David,
she acted in the latter's interest by helping him escape and setting up
a diversion. However, in response to Saul's question 'Why have you
deceived me like this, and let my enemy go, so that he has escaped?'
(v. 17), she made it appear as if David would have killed her. In 2
Sam. 6:16-23, on the other hand, she defended her own rights as chief
wife of David by objecting to his womanizing. 39
Another princess who engaged in a political marriage was Athaliah,
sister of king Ahab of Israel (2 Kgs 8:18), who was wedded to Jehoram of Judah. And Ahab himself made a political marriage with the
Sidonian princess, Jezebel (1 Kgs 16:31).
Biblical princesses could also be married to high officiais of the
king. Thus, two of Solomon's daughters, Taphath and Basemath, were
married to governors (LPD^)0f their father (1 Kgs 4:11,15). These
princesses may have been given in marriage to cement the bond between the king and his governors. 40
D . CONCLUSIONS

Princesses were often used in political marriages as mere pawns. Virtuous Hariya, for instance, appears to be a pawn in the marriage agreement between her father and her future husband. Some princesses
received a certain authority from their father, such as Kiru, who was
made mayor of the city of which her husband was king. Especially if
their father was more powerful than their husband, a princess might
be caught in a conflict of loyalty. The abovementioned Mari princesses,
as well as biblical Michal, fell victim to such a conflict. On the other
hand, if their husband was more powerful than their father, their fate
might be insecure. If a princess was only one of many foreign women
who had been captured or had been sent off as either tribute or as
Fragmented Women: Feminist (Sub)versions of Biblical Narratives (JSOT.S, 163),
Sheffield 1993, 42-60 (esp. 51, 54); I. Willi-Plein, 'Michal und die Anfnge des
Knigtums in Israel', in: J.A. Emerton (ed.), Congress Volume: Cambridge 1995
(VT.S, 66), Leiden 1997, 401-19.
38
D.J.A. Clines, ', X ben Y, ben Y: Personal Names in Hebrew Narrative
Style', VT 22 (1972), 269-72; Exum, Fragmented Women, 43.
39
See v. 20 and F. Crsemann, 'Zwei alttestamentliche Witze: I Sam 21:11-15
und II Sam 6:16, 20-23 als Beispiele einer biblischen Gattung', AW 92 (1980),
223-7.
40
Cf. Y. Avishur, M. Heltzer, Studies on the Royal Administration: In Ancient
Israel in the Light of Epigraphic Sources TelAviv-Jaffa 2000, 69.

part of a treaty, she might not be treated well if she did not have an
influential relative who informed about her well-being. If she was the
daughter of a petty king, she might be put to work, for example, in
the harem's textile production.
But even in her own country where she was honoured as long as
her father protected her, she had to bow to his authority even if his
orders created a great risk for her.
2.2.2

Non-royal W o m e n

Beside the women of the court, non-royal women also played various
roles in society. In the following sections we will look into the roles of
non-royal women. Although few in number, some women were legal
owners of immovable property. In section 2.2.2.1 I will discuss the
question whether they could dispose of it freely. Women also engaged
in business. In section 2.2.2.2 I will give attention to business transactions in which women were involved. Women furthermore fulfilled
domestic tasks and were active in various professions. These will be
dealt with in section 2.2.2.3. Finally, in section 2.2.2.4, I will analyze the position of women who were another person's property, i.e.,
female slaves.
2.2.2.1

Legal Ownership of Immovable Property

Some women in the ancient Near East were owners of immovable property, such as fields, orchards, and houses. How did they acquire such
property? Could they dispose of it freely? Were women autonomous
legal owners, or were their (male) family members somehow involved?
In this section we will look into questions regarding legal ownership
by women.
A . ANCIENT NEAR EAST

Most information we have on women as owners of immovables is derived from contracts of sales, wills, and other non-literary texts. One
of the few literary texts that inform us on women as property holders is the Code of Hammurapi. From the laws that concern dowry
and marriage settlement we learn that women who owned immovable
property often had acquired this as part of their dowry. According
to the Code of Hammurapi the dowry (seriktu) was regarded as the
wife's property of which she had the usufruct but which she was not
allowed to sell.1 The dowry was given to a woman by her family and
was meant to provide some financial security in case she became wid1

O n the dowry see also section 2.1.1.3.1.

owed or was divorced without grounds. Only after her death did her
children have a right to her dowry (CH 162,167,171-174). 2 If a
woman died childless, her husband did not inherit the dowry, but he
rather had to restore it to his wife's father, who would return the
marriage deposit (terhatu) (CH 163). In case the father would not
do so, the widowed husband could deduct the value of the deposit
from the dowry upon returning it (CH 164).
Raymond Westbrook assumes that a wife's ownership of a dowry
was mainly theoretical. Yet she nonetheless 'would have practical control of many of the dowry items during marriage, such as kitchen
utensils, personal clothing and personal slaves, because of the very
nature of those items and of the wife's role in the household'. 3
According to the Code of Hammurapi ( 150,171-172) a woman
could possess a marriage settlement (nudunn) beside her dowry
(seriktu).4 A husband could award his wife immovable property, such
as a field, an orchard, or a house. This property, too, however, was to
remain in the family. CH 150 forbids the widowed wife to give it to
an outsider. 5
Of the ugbabtu, nadtu and sekretu, women holding certain cultic
offices, it is said explicitly that they could own land (CH 178-179).
Godfrey Driver and John Miles conclude that 'land and/or movable
property was given indifferently as a eriktum or its equivalent to a
priestess at her dedication and similarly to a daughter who was not
a priestess on her marriage, although there seems to be no clear case
in the documents where the eriktum is given to a woman who is not
a priestess of sorts'. 6 Although donation of land is only mentioned
with reference to these women holding cultic offices, they assume this
did not exclude the possibility of ordinary daughters owning land as
dower property. Yet with regard to the nadtu, it should be noted that
many of them came from wealthy and respectable families belonging
to the upper classes of Mesopotamian society. 'Most of them received
as their dowry fields, plots of land, slaves, jewelry, and prized household furniture and utensils'. 7 It is remarkable that these women who
lived a life of celibacy in the cloister, seem to have been 'a significant
2

Middle Assyrian Law did not differ much from the practice described in the
Code of Hammurapi; cf. G.R. Driver, J.C. Miles, The Assyrian Laws, repr. of the
ed. Oxford 1935 with suppl. add. and corr. by G.R. Driver, Aalen 1975, 205-11.
3
R. Westbrook, Property and the Family in Biblical Law (JSOT.S, 113),
Sheffield 1991, 144.
4
Cf. section 2.1.1.3.1.
5
Roth, LCMAM, 109-10.
6
G.R. Driver, J.C. Miles, The Babylonian Laws, repr., vol. 1, Oxford 1956, 274.
7
R. Harris, 'Independent Women in Ancient Mesopotamia?' in: WER, 152.

economic power in their community , at Sippar:

The hundreds of nadtu texts are mainly business documents: contracts
of sale, lease and hire. With few exceptions it is a nadtu who buys
houses and fields, leases out fields, houses, and plots of land, and hires
out her slaves as farm hands to Sipparian farmers or as menials in their
households.8
The wealth that a nadtu accumulated during her lifetime, however,
returned to her brothers after her death and thus stayed in the paternal family. The property of a woman who was not a cultic functionary
and received a eriktu upon marriage, however, in due time was inherited by the children born out of the marriage and accrued to her
husband's family. As a result, it was lost to the woman's parental
family as property. It may, therefore, be questioned whether women,
other than religious women, received a share in their father's estate
for seriktu in a manner similar to the categories of women holding
cultic offices mentioned in CH 178-179.
Several legal documents, both from Mesopotamia and Egypt, inform us about women as holders of property. It would seem that from
the third to first millennium women could own landed property and
have a certain amount of legal independence in disposing of it. In
third millennium Sumer, women are attested as buyers and sellers of
immovable property. They owned fields, orchards, and houses as well
as slaves, cattle, and silver.9
In the Early Dynastic Period (ca. 2600-2350 BCE), fields and
houses generally were family property. When such immovables were
sold, buyers and sellers would act in groups, which sometimes included
female family members such as wives, adult daughters and widows. 10
Texts from Sargonic Society (ca. 2350-2150 BCE) testify that by
then individuals could also own immovables. A famous business woman
from that period is Ama-e. An archive from Umma holds several texts
that give us an impression of the activities of Ama-e and her husband
Ur-Shara. While the husband specialized in animal husbandry, the
wife Ama-e owned large areas of land, and she is mentioned in texts
recording harvests and grain expenditures. She also seems to deal with
8

Harris, 'Independent Women in Ancient Mesopotamia?' 152.

M. Van de Mieroop, 'Women in the Economy of Sumer', in: WER, 53-66.
10
I.J. Gelb, 'Household and Family in Early Mesopotamia', in: E. Lipmski (ed.),
State and Temple Economy in the Ancient Near East I (OLA, 5), Leuven 1979,
89; J.M. Asher-Greve, Frauen in altsumerischer Zeit (Bibliotheca Mesopotamica,
18), Malibu CA 1985, 164.
9

wool and metals'. 11 Benjamin Fosters stresses that Ama-e was by no

means unique in her economic activities. 12 But although women did
act as legal owners of immovables, their role should not be overestimated. Marc Van de Mieroop makes some reservations: 'It is clear
that the major economic powers lay in the hands of men, and that
only a small percentage of the texts preserved reflect the women's
role'. 13
A tablet dating from the reign of Enlil-bani (1860-1837 BCE) during the Isin Period, records the purchase of part of a house by a
woman, Shat-Damu, from her brother Sin-iddinashshu. Brigitte Lion
notes that such a sale is a rare phenomenon. 14
At Mari, too, women had the legal right to own private property.
They could hold royal lands in tenancy and be held liable to taxation. They could also receive and own land as permanent property.
Yet although de jure women enjoyed equality with men, de facto their
participation in the economy of Mari was far less than that of men.
Furthermore, Bernard Batto notes that women seem to have received
smaller land allotments than men. He presumes 'that these women
who received royal land allotments were legally independent (sui juris), unmarried and free of paternal authority'. 15
In a couple of Nuzi wills a woman receives real estate as dowry
(mulgu).16 Testaments in which dower property of women is mentioned are rare at Nuzi. Katarzyna Grosz therefore assumes 'that
the dowry only exceptionally consisted of immovables . . . while the
usual practice would call for dowries composed of movables'. 17 Little
is known about the Nuzi administration of dower property after marriage. As a general rule the property would be under the authority
of the head of the family, although perhaps a wife had some nominal
authority. If a husband wanted to sell immovables that were (part of)
his wife's dowry, he probably needed her consent. When children were
11

Van de Mieroop, 'Women in the Economy of Sumer', 56. See further B.R.
Foster, Umma in the Sargonic Period (MCAA, 20), Hamden CT 1982, 52-78;
Idem, 'Notes on Women in Sargonic Society', in: FPOA, 54.
12
Foster, 'Notes on Women in Sargonic Society', 54.
13
Van de Mieroop, 'Women in the Economy of Sumer', 66.
14
B. Lion, 'Un contrat de vente de maison dat du rgne d'Enlil-bni d'Isin',
RA 88 (1994), 129-33.
15
B.F. Batto, 'Land Tenure and Woman at Mari', JESHO 23 (1980), 209-39
(238).
16
HSS 5 76; 19 79; RA 23 149 no. 31; cf. J. Paradise, Daughter and her
Father's Property at Nuzi', JCS 32 (1980), 200-1.
17
K. Grosz, 'Bridewealth and Dowry in Nuzi', in: A. Cameron, A. Kuhrt (eds),
Images of Women in Antiquity, Detroit 1983, 202.

born into the marriage, the dowry was probably incorporated into the
rest of the family property. Ultimately, the goods were meant to be
part of the children's inheritance. 18
Besides receiving real estate as dower property, Nuzi women could
further become owners of real estate by inheritance. 19 Their rights
could be enhanced by legally giving them male gender. 20 Only rarely
do women occur as the sole seller of immovable property. In these cases
the women are always designated as the daughter of someone, which
indicates they were not married. Since the land plots were larger than
the ususal inheritance shares, Grosz concludes 'that these women were
sole heiresses to their father's property'. Sometimes a woman would
sell the property in return for lifelong support. 21
Land was to remain in the family and was inherited according
to the patrilineal principle. Adoption was used as a means to circumvent this principle. This explains another legal fiction, that of
sale-adoption. A woman could be adopted when she bought land. By
doing so, she could safeguard her proprietary rights. Thus, '[t]he wellknown business woman Tulpunnaya was adopted several times in the
course of her numerous real estate transactions'. 22
Much remains unclear about the possibilities that a Nuzi woman
had to dispose of her private property. When married, her dower property would probably be under her husband's control. As a widowed
guardian of the family, she was forbidden to bequeath property to
strangers. But on the other hand there is evidence of women engaging in transactions involving immovables. Grosz comments,
Thus on the one hand women's possibilities of disposing of their private
property seem to have been very limited indeed, but on the other hand
tens of business documents attest the economic activities of women
designated as 'FN, wife of PN', therefore either married or widows.
Every type of economic transaction is represented, from slave sales
18

Paradise, Daughter and her Father's Property at Nuzi', 200-1, 204-5; K.

Grosz, 'Dowry and Brideprice in Nuzi', in: M.A. Morrison, D.I. Owen (eds), Studies on the Civilization and Culture of Nuzi and the Hurrians, Fs. E.R. Lacheman,
Winona Lake IN 1981, 172-5, 179-80; Idem, 'Bridewealth and Dowry in Nuzi',
203.
19
On daughters as heirs, see section 2.1.4.
20
Cf. Paradise, Daughter and her Father's Property at Nuzi', 193; Idem,
'Daughters as "Sons" at Nuzi', in: D.I. Owen, M.A. Morrison (eds), Studies on
the Civilization and Culture of Nuzi and the Hurrians, vol. 2, Winona Lake IN
1987, 204-5.
21
Paradise, Daughter and her Father's Property at Nuzi', 199; Grosz,
'Bridewealth and Dowry in Nuzi', 203.
22
Paradise, Daughter and her Father's Property at Nuzi', 193, n. 17.

to acquisition of immovables. Were these women's funds derived from

their dowries or from their position as guardians? Were the wives or
widows allowed to dispose of their private acquisitions as long as the
transactions did not entail losses for the family? Unfortunately the
economic archives of these women are not matched by any private
documents and the legal position of these female business tycoons will
thus always be subject for conjectures.23
At Emar, too, a woman could become the owner of landed property
by inheritance. 24 An Emarite contract records the sale of a house by
the lady Dagan-mudammiq. The house had belonged to her father
Tarinna, from whom she probably had inherited it. 25 Yet such a reference to the way in which a woman had acquired her property is
rarely made. Widowed women may have received property from their
husbands who had either given or bequeathed it to them in order to
sustain their wives and children after their death.
In a number of contracts Emarite women are mentioned as buyers
and sellers of land and houses. Lady Ashtar-abu, for example, purchased a house that she could bequeath to whomever she pleased,
either daughter or son. 26 And the lady Abini sold her house to a
man named Baba. She was forced to do so because her children had
abandoned her in times of distress and war. 27 Another woman, possibly widowed, sold her house and cornfields in order to sustain her
children. 28
A Neo-Babylonian woman, too, had the right to own property. She
could buy and sell it, but there appear to have been restrictions with
regard to legal custom. Since a woman could not act as witness of a
contract, a male relative had to act on her behalf. On this restriction
Amlie Kuhrt comments,
Oppenheim has suggested that the status of women in this period was
lower than in the Old Babylonian period because women do not appear
as witnesses in legal documents. Whether the equation legal role =
status is correct or not, it indicates the possibility that while men may
23

Grosz, 'Bridewealth and Dowry in Nuzi', 204.

G. Beckman, 'Family Values on the Middle Euphrates in the Thirteenth Century B.C.E.' in: M.W. Chavalas (ed.), Emar: The History, Religion and Culture
of a Syrian Town in the Late Bronze Age, Bethesda MD 1996, 73.
25
D. Arnaud, Recherches au pays d'Astata (Emar, 6/3), Paris 1986, 119 (no.
113).
26
Arnaud, Recherches au pays d'Astata (Emar, 6/3), 116-7 (no. 111).
27
Arnaud, Recherches au pays d'Astata (Emar, 6/3), 31-2 (no. 20).
28
Arnaud, Recherches au pays d'Astata (Emar, 6/3), 91-2 (no. 82). See also no.
80, 89, 130.
24

have had to act on behalf of their wives in conducting public business

or because of prevailing legal custom, the latter nevertheless retained
fairly full control of their possessions. And one should note that despite
the prominence of the role of husbands in handling women's property
transactions, her presence in court during such proceedings is always
noted and was clearly, therefore, indispensable.29
Yet perhaps the status of women in Neo-Babylonia was lower than
that of women in the Old Babylonian period. Jonas Greenfield points
to the fact that a Neo-Babylonian woman was restricted in disposing
of her property. 'Even though she could sell or otherwise transfer her
property, the strong influence of husband, and when widowed, son or
sons is always present. Recently published texts from the late NeoBabylonian period make this quite clear'. 30 Moreover, the husband
often appears to have been the exploiter of his wife's property. 31 And
a woman's dower property frequently seems to have been regarded as
a family resource. When a woman became widowed and intended to
alienate her property from the family, she could be confronted with
difficulties.
A Neo-Babylonian tablet gives evidence of such trouble. The
widow Bunanitum intended to collect her dowry and her share of
the inheritance after her husband had passed away. Bel-apla-iddin,
son of her husband but perhaps not of Bunanitum, had apparently
destroyed her dowry record, and denied her claim. The matter was
settled in court once (a copy of?) the record was produced. 32
In the Achaemenid period Babylonian women could also hold land
as (part of) their dowry. A certain woman named Amat-Sherua, wife
of Bel-ittannu owned a piece of land with a date orchard. In the text
that registers the tenancy of the orchard it is referred to as her dowry.
The same date orchard is mentioned again in another text. By now
Bel-ittannu has married another woman, Re'indu, perhaps a sister or
half-sister of (the deceased ?) Amat-Sherua. While the property by
now has come under Bel-ittannu's control, when he and his second
wife put up the orchard as a security for a debt the concurrence of
29

A. Kuhrt, , Non-Royal Women in the Late Babylonian Period: A Survey', in:

WER, 228. Kuhrt refers to A.L. Oppenheim, Letters from Mesopotamia, Chicago
1967, 45. She furthermore points to the wide legal competence of Neo-Babylonian
women in other fields, which complicates the question of the equation made by
Oppenheim.
30
J.C. Greenfield, 'Some Neo-Babylonian Women', in: FPOA, 79.
31
Kuhrt, 'Non-Royal Women in the Late Babylonian Period', 228.
32
Cf. Greenfield, 'Some Neo-Babylonian Women', 77. See also section 2.1.5.

Amat-Sherua's family is still needed. 33

As was the case in Mesopotamia, in Egypt, too, women could be
legal owners of immovables. They could become owners of property
by way of dowry gift, by will, by inheritance or by purchase 34 and
they could buy and sell immovable property on their own behalf. 35
An example of women as legal owners of landed property can be
found in the Wilbour Papyrus (ca. 1145 BCE) that contains a tax list of
fields, some of which are undivided properties. The list of landholders
records 131 female personal names, i.e. 10.8 per cent of the total
number of apportioned plots. 36
The picture that emerges from the various examples of Egyptian women as legal owners of immovables, such as plots of land and
houses, is a fairly positive one. No male guardian was required to act
with regard to transactions involving property. 37 In theory, Egyptian
women had legal rights equal to men. Yet some comments need to be
made with regard to this apparent equality. Although women could
own houses, documents listing households do not reflect the aforementioned equality. Gay Robins remarks that 'in the lists, houses or
households virtually all belong to men'. 38 She furthermore comments
on this,
In Egypt, taken at face value the sources show that elite women had
legal rights equal to men, and that they could engage in economic
transactions on their own behalf in the same way as men. Yet when
we set this against women's subordinate positions in other areas of
society, we have to ask what sort of equality there was in practice.
Undoubtedly women had legal rights, but could they exercise them
freely at all times? We have to remember that documents dealing with
aspects of property involving women, even from the New Kingdom,
are few in number and seem to exist because of the exceptional nature
of each situation. Were there other women who were prevented from
33

M.W. Stolper, Property in Bit Pniya', RA 85 (1991), 49-62.

See sections 2.1.1.3.1 and 2.1.4.
35
Cf. S. Allam, 'Women as Owners of Immovables in Pharaonic Egypt', in:
WER, 123-35; . Brunner-Traut, 'Die Stellung der Frau im Alten gypten', Saeculurn 38 (1987), 326; B.S. Lesko, 'Women's Monumental Mark on Ancient Egypt',
BArR 54/1 (1991), 6; G. Robins, Women in Ancient Egypt, London 199, 127-41.
36
Allam, 'Women as Owners of Immovables in Pharaonic Egypt', 128-9, 135;
S.L.D. Katary, 'Land-Tenure in the New Kingdom: The Role of Women Smallholders and the Military', in: A.K. Bowman, E. Rogan (eds), Agriculture in Egypt:
From Pharaonic to Modern Times (PBA, 96), Oxford 1999, 61-82.
37
Allam, 'Women as Owners of Immovables in Pharaonic Egypt', 133; Robins,
Women in Ancient Egypt, 136.
38
Robins, Women in Ancient Egypt, 99.
34

disposing of their p r o p e r t y as t h e y w a n t e d b e c a u s e of family pressure?

Were t h e r e women cheated by m e n in positions of a u t h o r i t y w h o did n o t
even b o t h e r t o bring a case against t h e p e r p e t r a t o r s because t h e y knew
t h e y could never h o p e t o win? Even t h o u g h a w o m a n could c o n d u c t a
lawsuit on her own behalf, did she have a b e t t e r chance of success if she
h a d powerful male backing? In other words, was t h e s y s t e m i m p a r t i a l ,
or was it weighted against w o m e n ? T h e very fact t h a t m e m b e r s of t h e
court were male makes t h e l a t t e r m o r e probable. Such a bias would
b e unlikely t o show u p overtly in our sources, b u t t h e m u c h smaller
n u m b e r of women m e n t i o n e d in legal a n d economic d o c u m e n t s s u p p o r t s
the assumptions.39

Although the position of Egyptian women as legal owners of immovables was undeniably better than that of women in Mesopotamia in
that they could engage in transactions autonomously, yet here, too,
male family members may have influenced or determined their actions.
B . UGARITIC LITERARY T E X T S

The literary texts from Ugarit make little mention of women as legal
owners of property. Whereas the myths and epics often mention male
deities and kings as owners of palaces, cities and even countries, this
is rarely the case with goddesses and never with queens. This in itself
is indicative of a relatively weak position of women with regard to
legal ownership.
The goddess 'Anatu appears to own landed property, for the mountain Inbb, where she lives, is referred to as 'her' mountain (KTU
1.13:9; see also 1.1:11.14; 1.3:IV.34). Yet this property is not called
her nhlt, which seems to imply she did not acquire it by inheritance. 40
Moreover, she shares this mountain with her double, 'Athtartu (KTU
1.100:20), who was also married to Ba'lu. 'Athtartu/Ishtar, however,
also had a large temple of her own in Mari (KTU 1.100:left edge). 41
Interestingly, however, the pair 'Anatu-'Athtartu is the sole exception
to what seems to be an iron rule even in the divine world: of the 12
deities (or pairs of deities) mentioned as owners of geographic entities in KTU 1.100, no less than 10 are male. Even with regard to the
highest-ranking goddess in the Ugaritic pantheon, Athiratu, we can
39

Robins, Women in Ancient Egypt, 139-41.

See section 2.1.4.
41
Cf. P. Bordreuil, 'Ashtart de Mari et les dieux dOugarit', in: J.-M. Durand,
J.-M. Margueron, "A propos d'un cinquantenaire: Man, bilan et perspectives"
(Strasbourg ... 1983): Actes du colloque international du C.N.R.S. 620 (M.A.R.I.,
4), Paris 1985, 545-7.
40

only surmise that she had her own residence. 42

Although Ugaritic women are known to receive a dowry upon marriage, it cannot be determined whether immovables would be part of
it and if so, to what extent these would be given. Women further may
have received immovables by inheritance in the absence of brothers, as
gifts during marriage or via wills of relatives. Non-literary documents
show that women did own property at Ugarit. 43
C . H E B R E W BIBLE

Rarely does the Hebrew Bible mention women as owners of immovables. According to Prov. 31:16 the industrious woman 'considers a
field and buys it'. Frank Crsemann assumes she had her own money
to buy a field independently. 44 In v. 11, the gain of the husband is
referred to as lit. 'spoils', which would indicate it was not selfevident that everything she had laboured for accrued to him. 45 Yet
Crsemann's conclusions might be too far-fetched. It cannot be clarified to what extent married women had their own money and acted
independently. Perhaps they could only buy land with authorization
of their husband. 46 It should not go unnoticed that the scope of the
eulogy on the ideal woman in Proverbs 31 is the husband's gain in
marrying an industrious wife. Everything she does, including the acquisition of a field, has to be in his interest. Moreover, the parallel
colon 'from what her hands achieve, she plants a vineyard' in v. 16
suggests that a wife could not finance the acquisition of land from
the joint resources of the married couple but had to earn the money
herself.
A woman could furthermore become the owner of a plot of land
by receiving such as her dowry. Achsah, daughter of Caleb, asked her
father for springs in accordance with the field she presumably received
as a dowry when she was married to her cousin Othniel (Josh. 15:1619; Judg. 1:13-15).
Biblical daughters could inherit land, but only if a man did not
42

See section 2.2.1.1.

See chapter 4.
44
Cf. F. Crsemann, " . . . er aber soll dein Herr sein1' (Genesis 3,16): Die
Frau in der patriarchalischen Welt des Alten Testaments', in: F. Crsemann, H.
Thyen, Als Mann und Frau geschaffen: Exegetische Studien zur Rolle der Frau
(Kennzeichen, 2), Gelnhausen 1978, 38. See also section 2.1.1.4.2.
45
Crsemann, ' " . . . er aber soll dein Herr sein" (Genesis 3,16)', 38. But cf.
R.N. Whybray, Proverbs (NCBC), London; Grand Rapids MI 1994, 426-7, for a
different interpretation.
46
Cf. Harris, 'Independent Women in Ancient Mesopotamia?' 148, who poses
this kind of question with regard to the wives of Old Assyrian merchants residing
in Anatolia.
43

have sons. Moreover, they were obliged to marry into the clan of their
father's tribe (Num. 27:1-11; 36:1-12). In this way the land remained
in the (patrilineal) family. Job's daughters received an inheritance together with their brothers (Job 42:15), but strictly speaking it should
be regarded as a gift. 47
The circumstance that Naomi apparently had the right to sell the
land which had belonged to her husband (Ruth 4:3) is in accordance
with what we found elsewhere: a widow could do so if there was
no living male offspring. However, exactly the circumstance that the
patrilineal line has to be restored by Ruth's marriage with Boaz and
the fact that Naomi could not engage in the negotiations herself proves
that here we are dealing with an exceptional situation. 48
D . CONCLUSIONS

Women could become legal owners of immovable property by receiving

it as dowry, marriage settlement or gift, by inheritance, by will or by
purchase.
Although examples of women receiving immovables as dower property are known from various areas and periods, it seems to have been
a rare phenomenon. At Nuzi, for instance, testaments in which dower
property of women is mentioned are rare. And the Hebrew Bible only
mentions one example, that of Achsa (Josh. 15:16-19; Judg. 1:1315). Furthermore, although women had nominal authority over it,
the property would probably be under the control of their husbands
or some other male family member.
As a rule, people tried to keep their landed property in the family. The Code of Hammurapi records that both dowry (seriktu) and
marriage settlement (nudunnu) property was not to be sold or given
to one outside the family. Nuzi wills mention the same restriction for
widows who have become guardian of the family. And documents from
the Neo-Babylonian period reveal that a widow could be confronted
with many difficulties if she tried to alienate her dower property.
During their marriage, wives could be awarded with property by
their husbands. But husbands could also make a will and bequeath
property to their wives after the husband's death. In both cases the
intention was not to leave the wife in a position of economic distress.
Another way for women to become legal owners of immovables
was by inheritance. Daughters as heirs are known from Mesopotamia
(Nuzi, Emar), Egypt and Israel. Yet generally daughters would only
inherit in the absence of sons. Only in Egypt did daughters inherit
47
48

See section 2.1.4.

See further section 2.1.5.

together with sons.

Documents from Mesopotamia and Egypt record women as buyers and sellers of immovables. The Hebrew Bible also refers to a
woman buying land independently. A business woman such as Ama-e
from the Sargonic period seems to have made her transactions autonomously. Also from Nuzi, Emar and Neo-Babylonian society such
examples are known, as well as from Egypt. As far as can be determined, there may have been a difference between Mesopotamian
societies and Egypt. Whereas Egyptian women could engage in economic transactions on their own behalf, Mesopotamian women from
various areas and periods seem to have had limited possibilities in
disposing of their properties. The restrictions were quite clear in the
Neo-Babylonian period, where a woman needed a male relative to act
on her behalf as a witness in a contract. But also in earlier periods
the influence of either husband or son(s) was probably very noticeable
when a woman engaged in buying or selling property. It cannot be
determined whether women in biblical Israel needed their husband's
authorization when purchasing a field.
The scant evidence from the literary texts of Ugarit seems to confirm that in Ugarit, too, a woman's right to landed property was
restricted.
2.2.2.2

Business

In the previous section some reference has already been made to the
economic activities of women in the ancient Near East. Next to transactions involving immovables such as fields and houses, did non-royal
women participate in other areas of economic life? Could they stand
surety for another person? Did they purchase or sell goods, and if so,
what kind of goods? In sum, what is known about women in business?

A . ANCIENT NEAR EAST

In Early Mesopotamian society women appear to have acted quite

independently in business and to have been acknowledged as legal
persons in their own right. 1 Women are recorded as agents who could
stand surety for someone else.2 Legal documents from the Sargonic
period, for example, mention women who act as guarantor for another
1

Cf. . Ebeling, 'Frau', RLA, vol. 3, 101; J.M. Asher-Greve, Frauen in altsumerischer Zeit (Bibliotheca Mesopotamia, 18), Malibu 1985, 164
2
J.-J. Glassner, 'Women, Hospitality and the Honor of the Family', in: WER,

person. 3
During the Ur III dynasty the wife of the governor (dam-nsi)
is known to have played an important role in the economy of her
city.4 Ninmelam, for example, who was wife of the governor of Umma,
Ur-Lisi, acted as supervisor of gold transactions on behalf of queen
Ninkalla. She furthermore supervised transactions involved with products such as wool and leather. Other wives of governors are recorded
as engaging in similar economic activities. In the previous section I
have referred to the business woman Ama-e, who lived in Sargonic
Umma. She engaged in trade involving grain, wool and metals.
The wives of Old-Assyrian merchants shared in the responsibility
for the family business. 5 While their husbands were engaged in business in Anatolia, they remained in Assur and took care of the household and certain aspects of the family business. The letters written
between the spouses in Assur en Anatolia (ca. 19th cent, BCE) reveal much about their lives and worries. Although the male members
of the family (uncles, brothers etc.) took care of the family business, the merchant's wife was involved in certain aspects of it. The
women of the family, including the female slaves, weaved woollen fabrics that were used for export. For this form of labour they received
payment. Sometimes, however, it took much effort to receive remuneration from the husband who stayed in Anatolia. Some women even
had to threaten their husbands that they would invoke spirits of the
dead in order to get their money. 6 Although these wives apparently
expected to receive private earnings, it is not clear to what extent a
merchant and his wife kept separate purses. Even though a wife 'may
have enjoyed some private means, and could act independently in
various situations, she nevertheless basically worked for the profit of
her husband's "house" ', according to Klaas Veenhof. 7 Furthermore,
although the husband was abroad, he remained responsible for debts
3

M. Van de Mieroop, 'Women in the Economy of Surner', in: WER, 56-7.

Van de Mieroop, 'Women in the Economy of Sumer', 62-3.
5
Cf., e.g., K.R. Veenhof, Aspects of Old Assyrian Trade and its Terminology,
Leiden 1972; Idem, 'Brieven van Assyrische vrouwen: uit de correspondentie der
oudassyrische handelaars in Anatoli (19e eeuw v. Chr.)', in: K.R. Veenhof (ed.),
Schrijvend verleden: documenten uit het oude Nabije Oosten vertaald en toegelicht
(MEOL), Leiden 1983, 81-93; C. Michel, 'Nouvelles Tablettes Cappadociennes du
Louvre', RA 81 (1987), 3-78 (esp. nos. 7,15, 31, 59).
6
L. Matous, 'Zur Korrespondenz des Imdi-ilum mit Tarm-Kubi', in: G. van
Driel et al. (eds), Zikir umim: Assyriological Studies Presented to F.R. Kraus on
the Occasion of his Seventieth Birthday (SFSMD, 15), Leiden 1982, 268-70.
7
Veenhof, Aspects of Old Assyrian Trade and its Terminology, 123. See also R.
Harris, 'Independent Women in Ancient Mesopotamia?' in: WER, 148.
4

that had to be paid. The wife could be the one to suffer from debtors
and she then had to solve the matter by selling property such as a
slave, for instance. 8
Prom Emar a few contracts are known of women paying debts,
either their own or those of a close relative. One of the texts records
that the lady Al-(a)hati had payed a debt of twenty-six sides of silver and one side of gold, which her brother, Itur-Dagan, had contracted. 9 In another case, a man named Abi-beli, son of the lady
Tabat-maliktu, had a debt of sixty sides of silver. The other children of Tabat-maliktu, of whom his sister-in-law and his brother apparently were mentioned explicitly, stood surety for their brother's
debt. 10 And the Emarite lady Washti received money from Abdi-ili
regarding Ia'shuka, a man of Uri, probably a slave whom she had sold
to Abdi-ili. 11 Perhaps women could even be professionally engaged
in business at Emar. A letter seems to mention a female merchant,
although the reading is hypothetical. 12
In Egypt, too, women could engage in business independently. The
records of Deir el-Medina show that women were involved in business
enterprises on their own account. 13 Women could weave clothes and
sell them. They also could sell their rights to a certain number of
days' work of a jointly owned slave, or hire out a slave who was personal property. Market scenes of the Old and the New Kingdom occasionally show women as purchasers, and rarely as sellers of produce
such as bread, fish and vegetables. 14 Yet professional traders generally
were male, and '[t]he records left from the village [of Deir el-Medina,
HJM] show that it was men who predominated in the economic affairs
there. 15
B . U G A R I T I C LITERARY T E X T S

In the literary texts from Ugarit women and goddesses rarely engage
in business. Perhaps the scene in which 'Anatu commissions Kotharuand-Khasisu, the craftsman of the gods, to make presents for Athiratu
8

Veenhof, Aspects of Old Assyrian Trade and its Terminology, 110-1; Idem,
'Brieven van Assyrische vrouwen', 81-93.
9
D. Arnaud, Recherches au pays d'Astata (Emar, 6/3), Paris 1986, 248-9 (no.
252). See further p. 34 (no. 23).
10
Arnaud, Recherches au pays d'Astata (Emar, 6/3), 98 (no. 88).
11
Arnaud, Recherches au pays d'Astata (Emar, 6/3), 52 (no. 35).
12
Arnaud, Recherches au pays d'Astata (Emar, 6/3), 35-6 (no. 25): 'Lecture
hypothtique. Le mot tamkru n'a pas de fminin connu'.
13
G. Robins, Women in Ancient Egypt, London 1993, 129-30.
14
H.G. Fischer, 'Women in the Old Kingdom and the Heracleopolitan Period',
in: WER, 21; Robins, Women in Ancient Egypt, 104.
15
Robins, Women in Ancient Egypt, 105-6, 131.

(KTU 1.4:1.20-22) may be regarded as an example of a goddess conducting business independently. 16 'Anatu instructs the gods to make
several items of nicely decorated furniture of silver and gold. Although
several lines are missing and we therefore cannot be certain, 'Anatu
does not seem to ask permission from her consort Ba'lu, or consult
with him on such a large order.
When Athiratu demands of Kirtu that he pays the enormous debt
he has incurred because he rashly had vowed to give Athiratu twice his
bride's weight in silver and thrice her weight in gold (KTU 1.14:IV.4243; 1.15:111.29-30), she does not consult her husband, Ilu. On the
contrary, Ilu has great difficulty in redressing the result of Athiratu's
punitive action against Kirtu, but does not question her right to claim
the money (KTU 1.16:V-VI).
Apparently 'Anatu feels free to offer Aqhatu silver and gold to
purchase his miraculous bow (KTU 1.17:VI.17-18). She also hires a
professional killer, again, apparently, without consulting Ba'lu. 17 It
seems, therefore, that the literary texts of Ugarit confirm the relative
freedom of important ladies to engage in business transactions.
C . H E B R E W BIBLE

The industrious woman of Prov. 31:10-31 is presented as an outstanding business woman. She purchases wool and flax and makes all sorts
of garments and clothing. Not only does she clothe her own family
with it, so as to keep them warm in winter, but she also sells linen
garments and sashes to the merchant. With the profit, the 'fruit of
her hands', she plants a vineyard on the land she has purchased. 18
It is not clear whether the profit that the 0 earned, through
the production of linen and woollen fabrics, belonged to herself or were
jointly owned by both marriage partners. 19 Since the poem stresses
that all the works of the virtuous wife's household accrue to her husband, the latter might be the case. On the other hand, the story of
Abigail shows that a woman could decide to make a present of considerable value to people she valued against the will of her husband
(1 Sam. 25:18-19).

16

With De Moor, ARTU, 44, as well as Dietrich and Loretz, TUAT, Bd. 3/6,
1152, . 5,1 assume that 'Anatu is speaking here. Others, however, have suggested
that Ba'lu or his messengers are speaking. See, e.g., Smith, in: Idem, UNP, 119;
Wyatt, RTU, 90-1.
17
This follows from KTU 1.19:IV.51. Presumably Ba'lu, being Aqhatu's divine
patron, would not have consented.
18
See also sections 2.1.1.4.2 and 2.2.2.1.
19
See section 2.2.2.1.

D . CONCLUSIONS

Although information on women in business is scarce and men appear

to have predominated in this area, women in Mesopotamia, Egypt,
Ugarit and biblical Israel did engage in business. Information from the
Sargonic period and from Emar reveals that women could stand surety
for another person who engaged in a transaction, and that they sometimes had to pay that other person's debts. Women in Mesopotamia,
Egypt, Ugarit and biblical Israel purchased goods, and also sold produce, often the work of their own hands, such as textiles and food
products. Sometimes they made money by hiring out a slave or even
by selling a slave. However, it often cannot be discerned whether a
woman had separate earnings or worked for the profit of her husband.
In the case of Ugarit, however, we encounter at least two occasions
in which business transactions by goddesses were not in the interest
of their husbands who, however, did not dispute their wives' right to
engage in independent transactions. We must await the evidence from
the non-literary texts to check the reliability of these findings.
2.2.2.3

Professions and Domestic Activities

The daily life of women involved several tasks. Most of them were
gender related. When we look at the work women performed at home,
it becomes clear that a gender distinction existed for some parts of
it. There were certain jobs that were shared by men and women,
such as food preparation and (re)building activities, while others were
commonly regarded as man's work or woman's work. We will look into
work that was considered to be the realm of women, such as drawing
water and textile production. 1
With regard to the professions, some were hardly ever held by
women. Most importantly, administrative offices were closed to
women. 2 Other professions, such as that of the scribe, the messenger and the healer were open to women. However, their occurrence is
rare. We will also investigate female professions such as midwife, wet
nurse and prostitute.
1

Anthropological studies have shown that women were absorbed primarily in

domestic activities because of their role as a mother. The different orientation of
men and women - the former being oriented towards the public sphere and the
latter towards the domestic sphere - is thus related to the role of women as a
mother. Cf. M. Zimbalist Rosaldo, 'Woman, Culture, and Society: A Theoretical
Overview', in: M. Zimbalist Rosaldo, L. Lamphere (eds), Woman, Culture, and
Society, Stanford CA 1974, 24.
2
Cf. R.M. Janssen, J.J. Janssen, Growing up in Ancient Egypt, London 1990,
120.

A . ANCIENT NEAR EAST

In daily life, there were several areas in which women worked together
with men. In the home, food preparation was one of them. Women
generally prepared the food. Yet part of it, i.e. the butchering of
animals and the preparation of meat, fish and fowl, was probably regarded as a man's job. Egyptian tomb scenes almost exclusively show
men in scenes of preparing and cooking meat. In scenes of baking
bread and brewing beer, on the other hand, men and women work
side by side, while grinding grain is a woman's job. 3 Although women
are shown to perform these tasks in daily life, they rarely appear to
do them in a professional capacity. In the Old Kingdom '[0]n1y men
are known to be called "baker" (rth)\ 4 In the Middle Kingdom a few
women worked as brewers and millers in large private households,
but none are found in the palaces. 5 In ancient Sumer, a relatively
large number of women, often female slaves (gem), worked in milling
houses, at the oil presses, in kitchens and breweries. 6 In his study of
Akkadian professional names, Erkki Salonen also refers to women employed by either palace or temple who worked as bakers, brewers and
oil pressers. 7 These were not exclusive female professions, however,
since males are also recorded in these professions. At Mari, administrative lists concerning the harem women mention female kitchen personnel in various functions connected with the preparation of food. 8
In ancient Mesopotamia, a woman could professionally be responsible
for brewing and selling beer. Yet the sbtu 'disappears from the scene
at the end of the Old Babylonian Period'. 9 The extensive archives of
the Neo-Babylonian Ebabbar temple at Sippar hardly ever mention
women, let alone in a professional capacity. With very few exceptions,
3

H.G. Fischer, 'Women in the Old Kingdom and the Heracleopolitan Period',
in: WER, 17; G. Robins, 'Some Images of Women in New Kingdom Art and
Literature', in: WER, 112; Idem, Women in Ancient Egypt, London 1993, 102.
4
Fischer, 'Women in the Old Kingdom and the Heracleopolitan Period', 17.
5
W.A. Ward, 'Non-Royal Women and their Occupations in the Middle Kingdorn', in: WER, 35.
6
J.M. Asher-Greve, Frauen in altsumerischer Zeit (Bibliotheca Mesopotamica,
18), Malibu CA 1985,162; M. Van de Mieroop, 'Women in the Economy of Sumer',
in: WER, 64; W. Heimpel, 'Towards an Understanding of the Term Sikkum', RA
88 (1994), 13.
7
. Salonen, Uber das Erwerbsleben im alten Mesopotamien:
Untersuchungen
zu den akkadischen Berufsnamen, Tl. 1, (StOr, 41), Helsinki 1970, 34.
8
N. Ziegler, 'Le harem du vaincu', RA 93 (1999), 5.
9
R. Harris, 'Independent Women in Ancient Mesopotamia?' in: WER, 148. Cf.
W.G. Lambert, 'Goddesses in the Pantheon: A Reflection of Women in Society?'
in: FPOA, 127: 'Probably women did much of the work in breweries, and certainly
brewed at home'.

their tasks were humble, like grinding flour and weaving. 10

Drawing and carrying home a vital commodity like water was a
task both men and women could and did perform in the ancient Near
East. 1 1 However, as is the case up to the present day in the Orient,
women were normally supposed to fetch the water a household needed
from the well.12
Although Egyptian women may have done their own laundry, professionally, doing the laundry was a man's job. 13 In Mesopotamia, too,
the professional fuller or washer was usually a man (alku, Neo-Bab.
also psayu).14
Women often worked as servants in large households of the higher
and middle classes of society. Already in the Old Sumerian period
female household personnel are mentioned among those receiving rations from the palace. 15 Women could furthermore function at the
palace as personal attendants of princesses and royal wives. The palace
edicts of the Middle Assyrian period, for instance, refer to the treatment and punishment of personal maidservants of the wives and concubines of the king. 16 In Egypt female domestic servants were also very
common. At an early age girls could start to work as personal attendant of a mistress of the house. 17 The status of a housemaid could vary
considerably, depending on that of her employer. 18 Women could also
10

A.C.V.M. Bongenaar, The Neo-Babylonian Ebabbar Temple at Sippar: Its Administration and its Prosopography (UNHAI, 80), Istanbul 1997, 113, n. 114; 3312; see also pp. 41, 249, 274, 292-3, 307.
11
M.A. Dandamaev, 'Free Hired Labor in Babylonia During the Sixth through
Fourth Centuries BC', in: M.A. Powell (ed.), Labor in the Ancient Near East
(AOS, 68), New Haven CT 1987, 273; C.J. Eyre, 'Work and the Organisation of
Work in the New Kingdom', in: Powell, Labor in the Ancient Near East, 170, 173.
12
J.P. Oleson, 'Water Works', in: A BD, vol. 6, 885-6.
13
Fischer, 'Women in the Old Kingdom and the Heracleopolitan Period', 17;
Ward, 'Non-Royal Women and their Occupations in the Middle Kingdom', 38;
Robins, Women in Ancient Egypt, 120; B.M. Bryan, 'In Women Good and Bad
Fortune are on Eaxth: Status and Roles of Women in Egyptian Culture', in: A.K.
Capel, G.E. Markoe (eds), Mistress of the House, Mistress of Heaven: Women in
Ancient Egypt, New York 1996, 40.
14
Cf. A. Livingstone, ' "At the Cleaners" and Notes on Humorous Literature',
in: G. Mauer, U. Magen (eds), Ad bene et fideliter seminandum : Festgabe fr
Karlheinz Deller zum 21. Februar 1987 (AOAT, 220), Neukirchen-Vluyn 1988,
175-87.
15
Asher-Greve, Frauen in altsumerischer Zeit, 156, 162.
16
MAPD 18; cf. . Weidner, 'Hof- und Harems-Erlasse assyrischer Knige aus
dem 2. Jahrtausend v. Chr.' AfO 17 (1954-56), 284; Roth, LCMAM, 203-4.
17
E. Feucht, Das Kind im Alten gypten, Frankfurt 1995, 337.
18
Ward, 'Non-Royal Women and their Occupations in the Middle Kingdom',
36; Bryan, 'In Women Good and Bad Fortune are on Earth', 40.

become ladies-in-waiting in the royal harem. Girls from both simple

and eminent families functioned as 'Royal Ornament' in the palace. 19
Agriculture and animal husbandry are categories of work in which
both sexes partook. In Mesopotamia as well as in Egypt, women
worked in both fields. Iconographie evidence from Sumer shows women
performing tasks of animal husbandry, such as milking. 20 In administrative lists women occur as shepherdess. 21 Egyptian tomb scenes
also depict women as agricultural workers, who assist men during the
grain harvest by gathering ears. Women themselves harvested flax.22
Men and women could also participate together in building activities. Although we know little of Mesopotamian women working in this
field23, we may assume that slave women participated in it. Egyptian
women 'were often conscripted as part of the government corves to
support the needs of large works projects'. 24 They apparently could
be employed as servants in building projects.
Contrary to agriculture and building activities, textile production was mainly woman's province from very early times on. 25 Seals
from third millennium Mesopotamia already show women as textile
workers, engaged in spinning, weaving, as well as washing, fulling and
painting of cloth. 26 Administrative lists from the Early Dynastic to
Ur ill periods show that large numbers of women worked in the textile
industry, often under female supervision. 27 As an industry, the textile
production was mainly run by temples and royal palaces.
At Mari, queen Shibtu supervised the royal textile industry. Her
husband Zimri-Lim sent her a letter requiring that she select the most
19

R.M. Janssen, J.J. Janssen, Growing up in Ancient Egypt, 143.

Asher-Greve, Frauen in altsumerischer Zeit, 52-4; Van de Mieroop, 'Women
in the Economy of Sumer', 63.
21
Asher-Greve, Frauen in altsumerischer Zeit, 162.
22
. Brunner-Traut, 'Die Stellung der Frau im Alten gypten', Saeculum 38
(1987), 323; Robins, 'Some Images of Women in New Kingdom Art and Literature', 111; B.S. Lesko, 'Women's Monumental Mark on Ancient Egypt', BArR
54/1 (1991), 5. The Instruction of Amenemope warns not to maltreat a widow
who is found in the fields, probably gleaning ears. See section 2.1.5.
23
Assyrian wall reliefs do not depict women in this capacity. According to P.
Albenda, 'Woman, Child, and Family: Their Imagery in Assyrian Art', in: FPOA,
20, 'scenes describing civic works confirm that women were not among the large
labor forces required for construction projects undertaken by Assyrian kings'.
24
Bryan, 'In Women Good and Bad Fortune are on Earth', 40.
25
On the various female and male professions with regard to textile production
in Mesopotamia, cf. Salonen, Uber das Erwerbsleben im alten Mesopotamien, Tl.
1, 244-315.
26
Asher-Greve, Frauen in altsumerischer Zeit, 48-51.
27
J.S. Cooper, 'Third Millennium Mesopotamia: An Introduction', in: WER,
50; Van de Mieroop, 'Women in the Economy of Sumer', 63-4.
20

beautiful women from among the female captives for the royal harem
and assign the rest of them to the textile factories. 28 Female weavers
serving in the palace are further mentioned in several administrative
texts from Mari. 29
Nuzi ration lists also reveal that textile workers were mostly women.
The Nuzi textile industry was run by the palace and the large estates. 3 0
The correspondence between Old Assyrian merchants in Anatolia
and their wives or other female relatives in Assur also informs us on
the manufacture of textiles by women. The letters show a demand
for several types of fabric, both woollen and linen. These were often
produced in a kind of home industry in which female family members
as well as female servants of the family participated. The fabrics were
sent to Anatolia through the service of transporters and in exchange
the wives received payment in silver and objects of value. It is not
clear whether they could keep the payment as a personal reward in
a separate purse, or whether the money was spent on the household.
The latter generally seems to have been the case. 31
A Late Babylonian reference to female weavers is found in the
temple archives, where they occasionally appear as workers charged
with producing textiles that were needed for cultic services. 32
Also in Egypt, women were engaged in spinning and weaving.
During the Old and Middle Kingdom periods, textile production was
conducted entirely by women. It was only in the New Kingdom period
that men engaged in weaving. 33 Textile workshops, where women
worked on a professional basis, were attached to private estates, tem28

B.F. Batto, Studies on Women at Mari, Baltimore 1974, 13, 26-8, 109. ZimriLim later changed his mind and selected the women for the harem himself.
29
P. Artzi, A. Malamat, 'The Correspondence of ibtu, Queen of Mari in ARM
X', in: A. Malamat, Mari and the Bible (SHCANE, 12), Leiden 1998, 184.
30
M.A. Morrison, 'Nuzi', in: A BD, vol. 4, 1159.
31
Cf. K.R. Veenhof, Aspects of Old Assyrian Trade and its Terminology Leiden
1972, 103-24; Idem, 'Brieven van Assyrische vrouwen: uit de correspondentie der
oudassyrische handelaars in Anatoli (19e eeuw v. Chr.)', in: K.R. Veenhof (ed.),
Schrijvend verleden: documenten uit het oude Nabije Oosten vertaald en toegelicht
(MEOL), Leiden 1983, 83-6.
32
A. Kuhrt, 'Non-Royal Women in the Late Babylonian Period: A Survey', in:
WER, 221; see also Bongenaar, The Neo-Babylonian Ebabbar Temple at Sippar.
33
This may be related to the introduction of the upright loom, while in previous
periods the horizontal loom was used. Cf. Robins, Women in Ancient Egypt, 104,
119-20; C.H. Roehrig, 'Women's Work: Some Occupations of Nonroyal Women as
Depicted in Ancient Egyptian Art', in: A.K. Capel, G.E. Markoe (eds), Mistress
of the House, Mistress of Heaven: Women in Ancient Egypt, New York 1996,
19-24.

pies and royal palaces. 34 Some of these women bore the administrative
titles of Overseer of Weavers' or Overseer of the House of Weavers'. 35
Both in Mesopotamia and Egypt, professional female scribes were
rare. It is remarkable that despite this the tutelary deity of scribes was
female. 36 In early Mesopotamia the patron goddess of scribes was the
goddess Nisaba. However, she was later replaced by the god Nabu. 3 7
In Egypt the goddess of writing was Seshat.
Very few people could read and write in ancient times. For Egyptian society, it is assumed that only one per cent of the population
was literate. 38 Women possessing a certain degree of literacy probably were members of the royal household, temple staff, or relatives of
workmen attached to royal tombs or provincial necropoli. 39 Whereas
boys were sent to school to receive a scribal education, those few girls
who could write probably learned the skills at home, from a parent or
a private tutor. 4 0 Contrary to boys who might inherit their father's office in bureaucracy, girls would never achieve such a function. There is
no evidence that women acted as professional scribes in the Egyptian
bureaucracy. 41 In the Middle Kingdom, however, there are a few occurrences of the word seshet, the feminine form of sesh 'scribe'. Some
scholars assume this feminine title refers to a cosmetician, while others think it might signify a female scribe. 42 These seshet probably
were employed in a large private or a royal household. Moreover,
34
35

Roehrig, 'Women's Work', 19.

Fischer, 'Women in the Old Kingdom and the Heracleopolitan Period', 16,

25.
36

Cf. R. Harris, 'The Female "Sage" in Mesopotamian Literature (with an appendix on Egypt)', in: J.G. Garnie, L.G. Perdue (eds), The Sage in Israel and the
Ancient Near East, Winona Lake IN 1990, 6; S.A. Meier, 'Women and Communication in the Ancient Near East', JAOS 111 (1991), 543-4; B. Watterson, Women
in Ancient Egypt, New York 1991, 18; B.S. Lesko, The Remarkable Women of Ancient Egypt, Providence 3 1996, 33.
37
T. Frymer-Kensky, In the Wake of the Goddesses: Women, Culture, and the
Biblical Transformation of Pagan Myth, New York 1992, 71.
38
Harris, 'The Female "Sage" ', 15.
39
A. Depla, 'Women in Ancient Egyptian Wisdom Literature', in: L.J. Archer
et al. (eds), Women in Ancient Societies: An Illusion of the Night, Basingstoke,
Hampshire 1994, 27-8.
40
H. Brunner, Altgyptische Erziehung, Wiesbaden 2 1991, 47; Watterson,
Women in Ancient Egypt, 124; Robins, Women in Ancient Egypt, 106. See also
section 2.1.4.
41
Cf. G.. Markoe, in: A.K. Capel, G.. Markoe (eds), Mistress of the House,
Mistress of Heaven: Women in Ancient Egypt, New York 1996, 142.
42
Cf. Ward, 'Non-Royal Women and their Occupations in the Middle Kingdom',
35-6; Robins, Women in Ancient Egypt, 111-4; Lesko, The Remarkable Women
of Ancient Egypt, 33-4.

'[w]omen's administrative titles in general belong to the service of

women for women'. 43 In any case, it cannot be proven that they held
a position in the state bureaucracy. Gay Robins comments,
Clearly, t h e existence at certain periods of a few women called seshet
does not destroy t h e basic gender distinction in t h e elite class between
m e n w h o were scribes a n d could hold government office, and women
w h o in general were not, and did not hold office. 44

Also in Mesopotamia girls were rarely educated. In the wisdom literature from Mesopotamia the pupils are invariably boys. The schools
were intended for boys and several texts inform us about their ups
and downs in mastering reading and writing. 45 Yet occasionally Mesopotamian women could become accomplished scribes and authors. 46
Samuel Meier explains that, since in the earliest period of Sumerian
no gender marking was used to distinguish women from men in professions both shared, and also in later times the Akkadian female
determinative was not always applied, it is problematic to identify a
female scribe. 47 The first female scribes are distinguished in the Ur
ill period. Although Enheduanna wrote her poetry somewhat earlier,
viz. in the Sargonid period, she, of course, was not a female scribe by
profession, but a priestess. 48 In the Old Babylonian cloister at Sippar
at least fourteen female scribes are attested, and a further nine are
mentioned in a single administrative text from'Mari. In Neo-Assyrian
times female scribes occur as employees of the queen. Some of these
women may have had a relatively high social position, but others,
such as the Mari scribes, were slaves who worked in the harem. 49
43

C.J. Eyre and J. Baines, cited in: Harris, 'The Female "Sage" ', 15.
Robins, Women in Ancient Egypt, 113.
An Egyptian woman whose husband had a function in public administration
could only represent him during his absence; cf. S. Allam, 'Zur Stellung der Frau
im alten gypten 1 , BiOr 26 (1969), 159; Brunner-Traut, 'Die Stellung der Frau
im Alten gypten', 326.
45
See, e.g., T.J.H. Krispijn, 'Naar school in het oude Mesopotami', Phoenix
38/3 (1992), 21-33, with the literature cited there.
46
Cf. W.W. Hallo, J.J.A. van Dijk, The Exaltation of Inanna, New Haven 1968,
1-5; R. Harris, 'The Female "Sage" ', 5-10; Meier, 'Women and Communication in
the Ancient Near East', 541-5; W.W. Hallo, Ongins: The Ancient Near Eastern
Background of Some Modern Western Institutions (SHCANE, 6), Leiden 1996,
262-70.
47
Meier, 'Women and Communication in the Ancient Near East', 541.
48
On priestesses, see chapter 3.
49
On the female scribes from Mari, cf. . Ziegler, Le Harem de Zimr-Lm: La
population fminine des palais d'aprs les archives royales de Mari (Florilegium
marianum, 4) (Mmoires de NABU, 5), Paris 1999, 91-2.
44

Through the centuries female scribes are occasionally mentioned.

Still, women who exercised this profession were rare. 50 For the NeoBabylonian period, so far not a single female scribe has been attested. 51 And it would seem that in general those women who acted
as professional scribes served only women.
The same mechanism might be true for female messengers. Although compared to their male collgues female messengers (mrat
ipri) are few in number, they are attested in various periods of Mesopotamian history. 52 Usually women would employ female messengers,
but sometimes they used male messengers. 53
Female professional healers are rarely mentioned in ancient Near
Eastern texts. In two records of purchase from Suruppak, a female
physician acts as a witness. 54 In the Old Babylonian period a female
physician occurs in a text from the palace at Larsa, and in a Mari
letter a female physician is mentioned who is remiss in taking care of
the women of the harem. 55 The goddess Gula is sometimes designated
by the Sumerian loan word azugallatu 'chief woman physician'. 56 In a
text from Old Kingdom Egypt a female overseer of the physicians is
mentioned by name: Peseshet. However, no female physicians are mentioned in Egyptian texts from later periods. 57 It would thus seem that,
although women could act in a healing capacity in a household situation, professional healers normally were men, both in Mesopotamia
and Egypt. 5 8
A field of profession connected with the physician's is midwifery.
Maarten Stol summarizes a midwife's activities as follows,
She makes the woman sit on the bricks of birth, she may have punctured
the amniotic sac, she delivers the child, cuts the umbilical cord, disposes
of the afterbirth. She applies ointments to the mother and rubs the
50

Cf. L.E. Pearce, 'The Scribes and Scholars of Ancient Mesopotamia', CANE,
vol. 4, 2266, who notes that the vast majority of scribes were men.
51
J.C. Greenfield, 'Some Neo-Babylonian Women', in: FPOA, 79; Harris, 'The
Female "Sage" ', 8.
52
Meier, 'Women and Communication in the Ancient Near East', 545-6.
53
The lady Tarishhattu, for instance, sent a male messenger to queen Shibtu of
Mari; cf. Artzi, Malamat, 'The Correspondence of ibtu, Queen of Mari in ARM
X', 178-90.
54
Asher-Greve, Frauen in altsumerischer Zeit, 161. Asher-Greve wonders
whether the physician would practice her profession independently.
55
Harris, 'The Female "Sage" ',11.
56
CAD (A) 2, 529.
57
Harris, 'The Female "Sage" ', 16; Depla, 'Women in Ancient Egyptian Wisdom
Literature', 38.
58
Lambert, 'Goddesses in the Pantheon', 127; Harris, 'The Female "Sage" ', 11.

newborn. 59
The Akkadian word for 'midwife', abstu, probably is a loanword
of Sum. -zu 'knowing the inside (of the body)'. 6 0 According to
Babylonian mythology, goddesses who act as midwives are called
'wise', which seems to indicate midwives were considered to be 'wise
women'. 61 Sometimes religious women would be involved in midwifery.
Thus, nadtus and qaditus act as midwives in some literary texts. 62
With regard to the Hittite midwife we are informed about two
categories of tasks:
First, of course, there are the actual physical tasks involved in any
birth: The midwife prepares the equipment necessary for delivery and
thereafter also delivers the child.
Secondly, the midwife recites incantations on behalf of the new-born,
beseeching the gods to remove evil influences and to grant a desirable
fate to the child.63
As a spokesperson for new-born babies, the task of a midwife, in
her capacity as incantation priestess, could sometimes be expanded
to include magician on behalf of those suffering from some sort of
illness. 64
There is little information on the process of childbirth in Egypt.
The Middle Kingdom Tales of Wonder tell about deities being sent by
Re to assist queen Ruddedet during the childbirth of triplets. They
disguised themselves as four dancing girls with their porter and were
invited inside by Ruddedet's husband Rawoser, after they informed
him 'We understand childbirth'. Their assistance is described in the
following manner,
Isis placed herself before her, Nephthys behind her, Heket hastened
the birth. Isis said: "Don't be so mighty in her womb, you whose name
is 'Mighty'. The child slid into her arms, a child of one cubit, strong
59

M. Stol, Birth in Babylonia and the Bible: Its Mediterranean Setting (CM,
14), Groningen 2000, 171.
60
CAD () 1, 16.
61
Harris, 'The Female "Sage" ', 11-12; Stol, Birth in Babylonia and the Bible,
171-2. Generally divine midwives are goddesses, but occasionally a male god could
be called 'midwife', too; cf. CAD () 1, 16 (abs), Stol, Birth in Babylonia and
the Bible, 71-2.
62
Harris, 'The Female "Sage" ', 12; Stol, Birth in Babylonia and the Bible, 172-3.
63
G.M. Beckman, Hittite Birth Rituals (StBT, 29), Wiesbaden 1983, 234. See
further J. Pringle, 'Hittite Birth Rituals', in: A. Cameron, A. Kuhrt (eds), Images
of Women in Antiquity, Detroit 1983, 132-3.
64
Beckman, Hittite Birth Rituals, 235.

boned, his limbs overlaid with gold, his headdress of true lapis lazuli.
They washed him, having cut his navel cord, and laid him on a pillow
of cloth. Then Meskhenet approached him and said: "A king who will
assume the kingship in this whole land". And Khnum gave health to
his body.65
The two other children are born in the same way. The goddess Isis
calls them forth and names them, whereupon Meskhenet speaks her
good words and Khnum gives health.
In Ptolemaic temple scenes which show the birth of a divine child
the mother is assisted by two goddesses. 'Usually one goddess stands
behind the mother holding her, and one kneels in front to receive the
child'. 66
Yet whether ordinary women were generally assisted by professional midwives during labour may be doubted. Rosalind and Jac
Janssen assume elderly female relatives performed the tasks of midwives. 67 Barbara Watterson, on the other hand, states that 'midwifery
was a recognized profession'. She refers to Exod. 1:16 and a school of
midwifery in the Temple of Neith at Sais. 68 She, too, assumes female
relatives and friends tended to the woman in labour, but according to
her they were assisted by the local midwife. However, '[t]he majority
of ancient Egyptian midwives were untrained, and such skills as they
had would have been acquired through experience'. 69
No skills other than the ability to breast-feed a baby appear to
have been necessary for the function of wet nurse. In Mesopotamia,
wet nurses are already attested on administrative lists of the Early
Dynastic period. They belonged to the higher personnel of the palace
and received relatively large rations. 70 Two law texts also refer to the
practice of wet-nursing. According to the Code of Eshnunna 32, a
man who gives his child 'for suckling and for rearing' should provide
the wet nurse with 'food, oil, and clothing rations'. If he fails to do
65

pWestcar 19; M. Lichtheim, Ancient Egyptian Literature: A Book of Readings,

vol. 1, Berkeley 1973, 220.
66
G. Robins, Women in Ancient Egypt, London 1993, 82.
67
R.M. Janssen, J.J. Janssen, Growing up in Ancient Egypt, London 1990, 6.
68
Watterson, Women in Ancient Egypt, 43.
69
Watterson, Women in Ancient Egypt, 44.
70
Asher-Greve, Frauen in altsumerischer Zeit, 162. For Ebla, cf. M.G. Biga,
'Frauen in der Wirtschaft von Ebla 1 , in: H. Waetzoldt, H. Hauptmann (eds),
Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft von Ebla: Akten der Internationalen Tagung Heidelberg 4--7. November 1986 (Heidelberger Studien zum Alten Orient, 2), Heidelberg
1988, 171. For a general overview, cf. Stol, Birth in Babylonia and the Bible, 18192.

so, he has to pay her 10 shekels of silver to cover the costs. 71 CH

194 deals with malpractice of the wet nurse (muniqtu),
If a man gives his son to a wet nurse and that child then dies while in
the care of the wet nurse, and the wet nurse then contracts to care for
another child without the consent of his (the dead child's) father and
mother, they shall charge and convict her, and, because she contracted
to care for another child without the consent of his father and mother,
they shall cut off her breast. 72
While having a contract with the parents of the deceased child, the
wet nurse apparantly first had to annul it, before entering into a
new contract. She was prohibited to take a second contract and nurse
another child without the consent of the first child's parents. 73 Several
of such wet-nursing contracts from the Old Babylonian period have
been found. The nursing period generally was three years. 74 In later
times the wet nurse is only once attested. A Neo-Babylnian contract
mentions a muniqtu by the name of Urki-sharrat. 75
It seems that in Babylonia, the child generally grew up in the house
of the wet nurse. In Egypt, on the other hand, a wet nurse apparently
more often entered the child's family. 76 There are a few occurences
of wet nurses on stela dating from the Old and Middle Kingdom 77 ,
but during the Eighteenth Dynasty wet nurses are mentioned more
often. The New Kingdom title Royal Nurse (mn't nswt) occurs in a
number of tomb scenes, where she is represented prominently as the
wife or the mother of the tomb owner, generally a high official. The
connection of these wet nurses with the king's children 'brought great
prestige to their own families, and may have helped to advance their
husbands or later their sons to higher rank. 78 A colourful example of
a wet nurse who enhanced the career of herself and her husband is
Teye. This lady was the wet nurse of Nefertiti, queen of Akhenaten.
It seems that she and her husband, Ay, held influential positions at
71

Cf. Roth, LCMAM, 64.

Roth, LCMAM, 120.
73
Cf. Stol, Birth in Babylonia and the Bible, 184.
74
Cf. M.I. Gruber, 'Breast-Feeding Practices in Biblical Israel and in Old BabyIonian Mesopotamia', JANES 19 (1989), 76-7; Stol, Birth in Babylonia and the
Bible, 181-2.
75
Greenfield, 'Some Neo-Babylonian Women', 77; Stol, Birth in Babylonia and
the Bible, 182.
76
Feucht, Das Kind im Alten gypten, 149-50.
77
Feucht, Das Kind im Alten gypten, 151-4.
78
Robins, Women in Ancient Egypt, 89.
72

the court. 79 During the reign of Akhenaten's successor Tutankhamun,

Ay probably acted as regent for the minor king and after the king's
death Ay himself assumed the throne. 80
Ideally, a mother would nurse her own child. This is reflected in
wisdom texts such as the Instruction of Any, in which the student is
taught to support his mother, since she took care of him as a baby
and nursed him: 'Her breast in your mouth for three years'. 81 But in
the highest strata of society, wet nurses took care of the royal children
and of the offspring of elite families. The use of wet nurses seems to
have been quite widespread, for it is also attested in the workmen
community of Deir el-Medina. 82 It may have been regarded as a sign
of wealth to hire a wet nurse for one's children. Yet the services of a
wet nurse were also needed when a mother died in childbed or was
unable to breastfeed her child.
A special theme in Egyptian art is that of the goddess suckling
the king. 'By the act of suckling, a goddess confirms the king as her
son and thus ratifies his divinity'. 83 In Mesopotamia the theme of the
divine wet nurse suckling the king occurs in several texts. Here, too,
it is used to legitimize the king's special position. 84
Midwifery and wet-nursing were considered honourable professions
for women. Quite differently, the occupation of prostitute was held in
low esteem. Although female prostitution occurred in Mesopotamia as
well as in Egypt, it is quite difficult to understand how this profession
functioned in ancient times. In the 19th and 20th century CE due to
the influence of the 'myth and ritual school' many scholars regarded
Mesopotamian culture as one of sexual freedom and its religion as de79

Cf. R.M. Janssen, J.J. Janssen, Growing up in Ancient Egypt, 18.

See also section 2.2.1.1 on Ay's presumed involvement in the attempt of Tutankhamun's widow, Ankhesenamun, to marry a son of the Hittite king.
81
M. Lichtheim, Ancient Egyptian Literature: A Book of Readings, vol. 2, Berkeley 1976, 141.
82
R.M. Janssen, J.J. Janssen, Growing up in Ancient Egypt, 17; Robins, Women
in Ancient Egypt, 106.
83
Robins, Women in Ancient Egypt, 91. And see A.M. Blackman, 'On the Position of Women in the Ancient Egyptian Hierarchy 1 , JEA 7 (1921), 11; Lesko,
'Women's Monumental Mark on Ancient Egypt', 11; Roehrig, 'Women's Work',
16-7.
84
Cf. U. Winter, Frau und Gttin: Exegetische und ikonographische Studien zum
weiblichen Gottesbild im Alten Israel und in dessen Umwelt (OBO, 53), Freiburg,
Schweiz 1983, 394-404; M. Weippert, 'Die Bildsprache der neuassyrischen
Prophetie' in: H. Weippert et al., Beitrge zur prophetischen Bildsprache in Israel und Assyrien (OBO, 64), Freiburg, Schweiz 1985, 61-4, 71-8; Stol, Birth in
Babylonia and the Bible, 88-9, 191-2.
80

termined by fertility rites. 85 A distinction was usually made between

'sacred' and 'secular' prostitution, but it was not always clear how
both terms were defined. I will discuss the subject of sacred prostitution in the next chapter, and focus here on secular prostitution.
Prostitution is described as 'the practice of engaging in relatively
indiscriminate sexual activity, in general with individuals other than
a spouse or friend, in exchange for immediate payment in money or
other valuables'. 86 In general, the phenomenon seems to have been
accepted, but not valued highly. 87 Until recently scholars generally
assumed that Sum. kar.kid and Akk. harimtu were to be translated
'prostitute' in the sense of 'common, secular prostitute, street prostitute'. This translation has been challenged by Julia Assante, according to whom kar.kid/harimtu refers to the legal category of the
single woman properly belonging outside the patriarchal system. 88
She rejects the idea that the kar.kid/harimtu was a professional category. Although I do not entirely agree with Assante, she may have a
point with regard to the early texts. 89 Assante states that '[t]he social
meaning inherent in hanmtu varied from region to region and from
one period to another, generally diminishing in value over time'. 90 It
would seem that up to the Old Babylonian period kar.kid/harimtu
could denote a single woman who had authority over her own sexuality and thus the freedom to enter into sexual relations with any man
she chose, i.e., a designation of the legal category. This might be the
background of CLI 27, which reads,
If a man's wife does not bear him a child but a kar.kid from the street
does bear him a child, he shall provide grain, oil, and clothing rations
for the kar.kid, and the child whom the kar.kid bore him shall be his
85

Cf. J. Assante, 'The kai.kid/hanmtu,

Prostitute or Single Woman?: A Reconsideration of the Evidence', UF 30 (1998), 5-9.
86
NEBrit.Mic, vol. 9, 737.
87
Van der Toorn, Cradle, 105: 'In spite of divine patronage [of the goddess
Ishtar, HJM] Babylonians . . . considered the secular prostitutes a pitiable class of
people'.
88
Assante, 'The kar.kid/harimtu, Prostitute or Single Woman?' 5-96. Cf.
J.G. Westenholz, 'Heilige Hochzeit und kultische Prostitution im Alten
Mesopotamien', WuD NF 23 (1995), 59: 'eine "Prostituierte" ist eine Frau,
die sich auerhalb der gesellschaftlich akzeptierten Grenzen geregelter Sexualitt
befindet'.
89
Problematic, for instance, is Assante's assumption that a kar.kid/harimtu
properly belonged outside the patriarchal system. There is an example from Emar
of a father making his daughter, who is a kar.kid, into 'father and mother' of his
house; cf. D. Arnaud, Recherches au pays d'Astata (Emar, 6/3), Paris 1986, 44-5
(no. 31).
90
Assante, 'The k&r .kid/harimtu, Prostitute or Single Woman?' 82.

heir; as long as his wife is alive, t h e kar.kid will not reside in t h e house
with his first-ranking wife. 9 1

Assante has rightly pointed to the problem of fatherhood in case the

kar.kid in CLI 27 was to be regarded as a professional prostitute. 9 2
If so, she would have engaged in sex with several men and it would
be uncertain who of them would be the child , s father. It would be
very unusual for a man to make such a child of unknown paternity
his heir and even more so to make this a law. The interpretation of
kar.kid as a designation of the legal category of the single woman may
further be supported by CLI 30, according to which a married man
is forbidden to end his marriage in favour of a kar.kid, with whom he
has had a relationship. The law favours marriage over a relationship
with a kar.kid, who obviously is regarded to be of lower status than
the first-ranking wife.
In Nuzi, a woman who cohabited with a man but was not married
to him could be referred to as a harimtu. It would seem that in this
case the term referred to her unmarried status, not to her profession. 93
However, in other texts where the harimtu occurs, it is less clear
whether her status as single woman or her profession is mentioned.
Apparently the meaning of the term shifted from a somewhat neutral
to a more negative connotation from the Old Babylonian period on.
This may be illustrated by the advice in the 'Counsels of Wisdom' not
to marry a hanmtu, 'whose husbands are legion'. 94 Thus, a hanmtu
proverbially had sexual relations with various men. Whether she gave
her sexual services in exchange for pay cannot be determined. 95
The reference to a professional prostitute (kar.kid) seems more
clear in the 'Instructions of Shuruppak', where a man is warned, 'Do
not buy a prostitute; she is the sharp edge of a sickle'. 96 However,
91

Roth, LCMAM, 31.

Assante, 'The kai.kid/hanmtu,
Prostitute or Single Woman?' 27-8.
93
Assante, 'The k&r.kid/hanmtu, Prostitute or Single Woman?' 30. This also
appears to be the case in MAL A52. MAL A50-51 regulates the punishment
for a man who strikes another man's wife and thereby causes an abortion. MAL
A52 regulates matters for a hanmtu who looses her unborn child as a result of
battering.
94
W.G. Lambert, Babylonian Wisdom Literature, Oxford 1960, 102-3:72. Lambert, 97, proposes the Kassite period (ca. 1530-1160 BCE) as the time of composition.
95
Assante, 'The kar.kid/harimtu, Prostitute or Single Woman?' 54, comments:
'Here the harimtu has a reputation for multiple sexual partners, the quintessential
sign of her unmarried state, and her full attention will not go to her husband, nor
can she be counted on to be faithful'.
96
Alster, in: C0S, vol. 1, 569. See also J.M. Asher-Greve, Frauen in alt92

the text may also advise upon what kind of slave girl one should
acquire. 97 According to the wisdom text a foreign slave is far more
loyal than a houseborn slave or a slave girl from the palace. Since the
slave girl who was prostituted is mentioned together with these other
categories, she possibly belongs to those slaves who had bettter not
be bought by a wise man.
Late Babylonian material renders convincing evidence of slave girls
hired out as prostitutes by their owners. The latter received payment
for the slave girls' services. 98 There is also evidence of free women
who were prostitutes, yet their role is very hard to understand. A
Babylonian text that regulates a man's adoption of his sister's child
seems to mention the possibility that the sister, a prostitute, may
marry a free citizen. 99
Another reference to prostitution is found in a Sumerian bal bale
hymn. Although the term kar.kid is not used, the text mentions payment for sexual services: 'When I am standing by the wall, it is one
lamb, When I am bowing down, it is one and a half shekels'. 100
Another text in which is it quite obvious that harimtu should
be translated by 'prostitute' is the curse and blessing of Shamhat
by Enkidu in the Gilgamesh Epic (GE VII:iii-iv). 101 Rivka Harris
comments,
sumerischer Zeit (Bibliotheca Mesopotamica, 18), Malibu 1985, 165, n. 175; Assante, 'The kai.kid/harimtu,
Prostitute or Single Woman?' 59.
97
Cf. C. Wilcke, 'Philologische Bemerkungen zum Rat des uruppag und Versuch einer neuen Ubersetzung', ZA 68 (1978), 208-9:159, who translates 'prostituierte Sklavin'.
98
M.A. Dandamaev, Slavery in Babylonia, rev. ed., DeKalb IL 1984, 132-6; A.
Kuhrt, 'Non-Royal Women in the Late Babylonian Period: A Survey', in: WER,
232-3.
99
i4n.0r. 8, 14; cf. Kuhrt, 'Non-Royal Women in the Late Babylonian Period',
235-7; Assante, 'The kzx.kid/harimtu, Prostitute or Single Woman?' 64, n. 171.
100
CBS 8530 is a bal bale hymn for the goddess Nanaja. It is a slightly variant
duplicate of a similar hymn to the goddess Inanna. However, the latter, ROM 721,
lacks the crucial sentences regarding payment for sexual services. The goddess
Nanaja is closely associated with Inanna/Ishtar, who may be regarded as the
patroness of prostitutes. Cf. A.W. Sjberg, 'Miscellaneous Sumerian Texts, II',
JCS 29 (1977), 16-27; G. Leick, Sex and Eroticism in Mesopotamian Literature,
London 1994, 149-53; Van der Toorn, Cradle, 104-5; M. Stol, 'Nanaja', in: RLA,
Bd. 9, 146-51.
See also B. Alster, 'Marriage and Love in the Sumerian Love Songs: with Some
Notes on the Manchester Tammuz', in: M.E. Cohen et al. (eds), The Tablet and
the Scroll: Near Eastern Studies in Honor of William W. Hallo, Bethesda MD
1993, 15-27; Assante, 'The kar.kid/harimtu, Prostitute or Single Woman?' 86, n.
237.
101
Cf. M.G. Kovacs, The Epic of Gilgamesh, Stanford CA 1989, 62-4; A. George,
The Epic of Gilgamesh, London 1999, 57-9.

T h e t e r m harimtu

in t h e E n k i d u episode is, in my view, a non-judg[e]-

m e n t a l t e r m for a w o m a n w h o uses her sexuality t o s u p p o r t herself.

In E n k i d u ' s curse t h e harimtu

becomes a n o b j e c t of m a l e control a n d

m a l e violence. 1 0 2

The curse and blessing refer to several aspects of a prostitute's life:

she has no family life, she frequents the tavern and interacts with
drunkards, she is found at gateways and city walls, she is desired by
many men and paid for her sexual services. 103
To conclude, although in early times the term kar.kid/harimtu
may have referred to the legal category of the single woman, in later
periods it referred to the (professional) prostitute. Furthermore, there
is convincing evidence from various periods that some Mesopotamian
women acted as professional prostitutes and got payed for their services.
In Egypt professional prostitution also occurred. Although there
is very little actual evidence for it, literary sources do refer to women
who bestowed sexual favours for money. 104 Prostitution may have
occurred in the village of Deir el-Median, but the source material is
inadequate to determine this. 105
B . U G A R I T I C LITERARY T E X T S

Concerning domestic activities, food preparation is often described

in the literary texts from Ugarit as one of the tasks shared by men
and women. Women often performed the tasks of preparing food and
serving a banquet. When he was fatally ill, Kirtu bade his wife Hariya
to serve a banquet to the nobles of Great and Little Khuburu (KTU
1.15:IV). Since there were seventy to eighty guests, she propably did
not slaughter the fatlings on her own but either was assisted by her
servants or oversaw their work. After Kirtu's recovery she again had
102

R. Harris, 'Images of Women in the Gilgamesh Epic', in: T. Abusch et al.

(eds), Lingering over Words: Studies in Ancient Near Eastern Literature in Honor
of William L. Moran (HSS, 37), Atlanta GA 1990, 222, n. 14.
103
Cf. Assante, 'The kar.kid/harimtu, Prostitute or Single Woman?' 57-9. For
references to the city wall as the place where a prostitute offered her services,
cf. V.A. Hurowitz, 'An Old Babylonian Bawdy Ballad', in: Z. Zevit et al. (eds),
Solving Riddles and Untying Knots: Biblical, Epigraphic, and Semitic Studies in
Honor of Jonas C. Greenfield, Winona Lake IN 1995, 552.
104
L. Manniche, Sexual Life in Ancient Egypt, London 1987, 15-20; G. Robins,
'Some Images of Women in New Kingdom Art and Literature', in: WER, 110; .
Watterson, Women in Ancient Egypt, Stroud 1991, 38.
105
Although it has been suggested that one of the houses at Deir el-Medina might
have been a brothel, this has been convincingly refuted by J.K. Toivari, Women
at Deir el-Medina: A Study of the Status and Roles of the Female Inhabitants in
the Workmen's Community during the Ramesside Period, Leiden 2000, 139-41.

to prepare a meal. Kirtu asked her to slaughter a lamb on which

he dined and regained his strength (KTU 1.16:VI. 14-21). Dani'ilu
ordered his wife Danatiya to prepare a meal for his (divine) guest
Kotharu-and-Khasisu (KTU 1.17:V. 15-25). 'Athtartu prepared a meal
of game for her father, Ilu, and several other gods (KTU 1.92:1519). 106 Dani'ilu's daughter, Pughatu, poured wine for the minor god
who murdered her brother (KTU 1.19:IV.53-62). On the other hand,
men also acted as hosts who prepared and offered food. Ba'lu received
his wife 'Anatu with a good meal (KTU 1.3:IV.41), Ilu offered his wife
Athiratu food and wine (KTU 1.4:IV.33-38), Radimanu served Ba'lu
a fatling and poured him many beakers of wine (KTU 1.3:1.2-17),
Ba'lu slaughtered a lot of cattle for both male and female deities to
celebrate the completion of his palace (KTU 1.4:VI), Yarikhu carved
the meat in KTU 1.114, and even the highest god, Ilu, plucked a bird
and roasted it himself on a coal fire (KTU 1.23:38-39,41,44-45). So
cooking and serving at the table seem to have been tasks which both
men and women performed. 107
Drawing water, on the other hand, was a woman's job. After
having battled outside and inside the house, the goddess 'Anatu
cleaned the place and drew water to wash herself (KTU 1.3:11.3041). Pughatu, the daughter of king Dani'ilu is referred to with the
epithet 'She who carries water on her shoulder', which implies it was
her duty to draw water and carry it home (1.19:11.1). Thatmanatu,
the youngest daughter of Kirtu, also went out at dusk to draw water (1.16:1.50-51). Likewise, the female inhabitants of Udumu, who
were surprised while drawing water when Kirtu's army descended
upon them (1.14:111.9-10 par). KTU 1.6:1.66-67, too, probably refers
to women drawing water (t'abn), although the reading ys'abn is
also proposed. 108 In what appears to be a ritual instruction (KTU
1.12:11.59), women drawing water at the well are mentioned (s'ibt
'n). Possibly these women performed some sort of cultic function. 109
Drawing water had its opportunities as well as its risks. A girl
who went out of the city gate to draw water at dusk could meet other
people at the well, have a chat with friends, see her lover, or meet a
stranger. If she would stay out for too long she could find the city gate
106

Cf. M. Dijkstra, 'The Myth of Astarte, the Huntress (KTU 1.92)', UF 26

(1994), 117.
107
Cf. Korpel, RiC, 399-408.
108
For the former, cf. K T U 2 ; J.C. de Moor, K. Spronk, A Cuneiform Anthology
of Religious Texts from Ugarit (SSS, NS, 6), Leiden 1987, 38. For the latter, cf.
DLU, 424.
109
See section 3.1.

closed. She would then fiercely pound the gate in order to be let in (cf.
KTU 1.16:11.27). Morover, outside the protection of the gate, alone in
the field, she could also be harassed, or be assaulted during an enemy
offense. The latter happened to the female inhabitants of Great and
Little Udumu. Kirtu was instructed by the god Ilu to attack the twin
city. He was to
7

s't.bsdm

htbh.

bgrnt.hpt
9

s't.bn<p>k.'ibt
bmqr

10

mml'at

Sweep from the fields the men 1 1 0 cutting wood,

from the threshing-floors the women picking straw.
Sweep from the well the women drawing water,
From the spring 111 the women filling jars

KTU 1.14:111.7-10 thus describes drawing water and filling jars with
it as tasks of women.
Doing the laundry, however, was not. Washing ones clothes was
done by both men and women. Men were supposed to wash men's
clothes, women those of women. Thus Dani'ilu's son should wash his
father's clothes when they were dirty (KTU 1.17:1.33).112 Athiratu
washed her own clothes, rinsing them in the water of the sea and the
river and afterwards boiling them (KTU 1.4:11.5-9).113
Also in the realm of deities minor goddesses could function as
household personnel or personal servants. The goddess 'Anatu was
assisted by seven ladies-in-waiting. Seven girls (bnt) served her as personal attendants and helped her put on her make-up (KTU 1.3:11.2).114
Servants of both sexes could work as personal attendants. In building activities, men and women could also work together. Female slaves
had to participate in building activities, such as making bricks (KTU
1.4:IV.59-61). 115
An area that was considered exclusively female is that of spinning
and weaving. It is told of the goddess Athiratu that she was holding
her spindle in her hand (KTU 1.4:11.3-4). This possibly means that
goddesses were supposed to occupy themselves with spinning. How110

In the ancient Near East cutting wood was a man's job. Cf. J.C. de Moor, K.
Spronk, 'Problematical Passages in the Legend of Kirtu (I)', UF 14 (1982), 166;
E.L. Greenstein, in: Smith, UNP, 16; Idem, 'New Readings in the Kirta Epic',
IOS 18 (1998), 108. See also htbm in KTU 4.609:20; cf. M. Heltzer, 'Labour in
Ugarit', in: M.A. Powell (ed.), Labor in the Ancient Near East (AOS, 68), New
Haven CT 1987, 242.
111
KTU 1.14:111.9 erroneously reads bbqr in stead of bmqr, cf. 1.14:V.l-2.
112
W.G.E. Watson, 'Puzzling Passages in the Tale of Aqhat', UF 8 (1976), 376.
113
J.C. de Moor, The Seasonal Pattern in the Ugaritic Myth of Ba'lu (AOAT,
16), Neukirchen-Vluyn 1971, 144, . 2.
114
It is also possible, however, that they were her friends; cf. Song of Songs,
where the appear to have been the friends of the female lover.
115
See section 2.2.2.4.

ever, it is not certain whether in this passage it means Athiratu was

engaged in spinning, for the spindle could also function as a symbol
of femininity. 116 Since it is told in the next lines that she washed
her clothes and wanted to please Ilu, the spindle might be an erotic
symbol here.
There are several occupations that were considered male professions and in which women rarely functioned. One of them was that
of the scribe. In Ugaritic literary texts no professional female scribes
are attested.
Women also acted rarely in the capacity of messenger. In the Legend of Kirtu, a divine couple was called upon by Ilu to act as heralds
of the gods. The role of the female messenger was subservient to that
of her husband. Not only was the male herald called by his name,
Ilishu, whereas the female herald remained nameless and was referred
to as 'his wife' (KTU 1.16:IV.4,8), but it also was Ilishu who was addressed when Ilu ordered him to deliver a message, while Ilishu's wife
was referred to by Ilu as 'your wife' ( attk, 1. 12) and was thus not addressed herself. 117 Furthermore, Ilishu delivered messages to the male
gods, while his wife was the heraldess of the goddesses (ngrt ,ilht).
Possibly, at Ugarit, too, female messengers mainly served women. It
would seem an obvious choice for those living in the (royal) women's
quarters, where strangers to the family were not supposed to enter
freely. 118
116

H.A. Hoffner, 'Symbols for Masculinity and Femininity: Their Use in Ancient
Near Eastern Sympathetic Magic Rituals', JBL 85 (1966), 326-34. Hoffner refers
to the Hittite version of the Canaanite Myth of Elkunisha and Ashertu, in which
Ashertu tried to seduce Baal. The spindle plays an important role in the seduction
scene (330). However, the occurrence of the word 'spindle' here is disputed, cf.
ANET, 519; H.A. Hoffner, Hittite Myths, ed. by G.M. Beckman (WAW, 2), Atlanta
G A 1990, 69; Beckman, in: (70S, vol. 1, 149.
117
This is recognized by De Moor, ARTU, 218, who translates 'Listen, Ilishu,
. . . and (let listen) your wife, the heraldess of the goddesses'.
118
This gender distinction may also be present in certain Hurrian-Ugaritic incantations. If M. Dietrich and W. Mayer, 'Hurritische Weihrauch-Beschwrungen:
in ugaritischer Alphabetschrift', UF 26 (1994), 73-112, are correct in translating
ski as a cognate of Akk. ukkallu, then male messengers generally served gods
and female messengers served goddesses. Thus, the god arrumma was messenger
of the god Kumarbe in KTU 1.44 (RS 1.007):10; the goddess Tarui was messenger of the goddess Shaushka in KTU 1.54 (RS1.034+1.045):14; and the god
Ilabrat was messenger of El in KTU 1.128 (RS 24.278):16. Even the god Misharu
as messenger of the goddess Ushhara, mentioned in KTU 1.131 (RS 24.285):15
does not neccessarily break the pattern, since Ushhara was a manifestation of
Ishtar, who had androgynous traits. However, a totally different translation of
ski, 'alone' is proposed by M. Dijkstra, 'The Ugaritic-Hurrian Sacrificial Hymn to
El (RS 24.278=KTU 1.128)', UF 25 (1993), 157-71.

Although in Mesopotamian literature healers generally were male,

in the Legend of Kirtu a female deity acted as healer. When king Kirtu
was fatally ill, Ilu created the female being Sha'tiqtu 1 1 9 , who drove
out the illness (KTU 1.16:VI.2-14):
2

wttb'.'tqt
3

bt.krt.b'u.tb'u

bkt.tgly.wtb'u
5

nsrt.tb'u.pnm

'rm.td'u.mnth
7

pdrm.td'u.srr

&

htm.t'mt.(tS)tr.
km 9zbln.'l.r'iSh
10

wttb.trhs.nn.bd't

11

nph.llhm.tpth
12

brlth.lirm

13

mt.dm.ht.
s'tqt

14

dm.la"at!

And Sha'tiqtu departed,

verily she entered the house of Kirtu.
Weeping 120 she appeared and entered,
shrieking she entered.
Through the town she let her charm 1 2 1 fly,
through the city she let her flowerstalk122 fly.
She rolled the primrose 123 into a brush,
whenever the illness was on his head,
she washed him clean of sweat.
She opened his throat so that he would eat,
his gorge so that he would dine.
Motu was the one who was shattered,
Sha'tiqtu the one who prevailed 124 .

The female deity healed the sick king by performing magic and by
nursing him.
'Anatu and 'Athtartu also seem to have been involved in healing. KTU 1.114 describes how Ilu became intoxicated after drinking
enormous quantities of wine. The goddesses apparently went to collect
herbs that could cure his hangover. 125
Female deities also seem to have been involved in midwifery. The
Katharatu were generally regarded as goddesses of pregnancy and
childbirth. The names of at least three of them, as listed in KTU
119

s'iri 'she who causes (the illness) to pass'.

Disguised as a mourner Sha'tiqtu entered the house of Kirtu.
121
Following the suggestion of J.C. de Moor, 'Contributions to the Ugaritic Lexicon', UF 11 (1979), 646, n. 47.
122
Cf. De Moor, 'Contributions to the Ugaritic Lexicon', 647, n. 48. For a totally
different interpretation, cf. Wyatt, RTU, 237.
123
For the reading 'tr in stead of ptr, cf. De Moor, 'Contributions to the Ugaritic
Lexicon', 647. For a different rendering on the basis of ptr, see, e.g., Greenstein,
in: Smith, UNP, 39; Wyatt, RTU, 237; DLU, 359.
124
The emendation l'an > la"at is proposed by J.C. de Moor, 'Some Remarks
on U 5 V, no. 7 and 8 (KTU 1.100 and 1.107)', UF 9 (1977), 366, n. 5. Other
proposals for emendations are I'at and l'atn, cf. DLU, 240; Tropper, UG, 272, 713.
125
Cf. De Moor, ARTU, 134-7; Pardee, in: C0S, vol. 1, 303-5; Lewis, in: Smith,
UNP, 193-6; Wyatt, RTU, 404-13; M. Dietrich, O. Loretz, Studien zu den ugaritischen Texten: I. Mythos und Ritual in KTU 1.12, 1.24, 1-96, 1.100 und 1.114
(AOAT, 269/1), Mnster 2000, 413, 471-81. There are some differences with regard to the exact interpretation of various words, but these do not concern us
here. The authors cited agree on the therapeutic activity of the two goddesses.
120

1.24:47-50, refer to assistance at childbirth: ttqt 'She who cuts loose

(the baby)', bq't 'She who forces open (the womb)', tq't 'She who
blows air into (the baby)'. 126
Ugarit's major goddesses performed the task of wet-nursing. In
KTU 1.23 Ilu impregnated two females who subsequently gave birth to
the gods Shaharu and Shalimu. Of these 'gracious gods' it is told that
they sucked the nipple of the breast of Athiratu (KTU 1.23:24). 127
'Athtartu and 'Anatu are mentioned as wet nurses of prince Yassubu, firstborn and heir of king Kirtu (KTU 1.15:11.26-27).128
Edward Greenstein explains the use of the wet-nursing theme in
Ugaritic mythology as follows,
Asherah, who is the mother of the gods ... was once upon a time, at
the time of theogony, the nurser of gods. Thus, the so-called Shahar and
Shalim text described the goodly gods (n'mm) as 'those who were sucking at Asherah's teats' (ynqm bap zd atrt; CAT 1.23.22-24). However,
a future king, and in other literature even a reigning king, is suckled
not by an older goddess like Asherah, but by younger, fertile ones, like
Anath and Astarte. 129
It would seem that in Ugarit, too, wet-nursing of a prince by a goddess
was regarded as divine legitimation.
Although the literary texts do not mention any prostitutes, we
may assume that women acting as such also occurred in Ugarit.
126

De Moor, ARTU, 145; Wyatt, RTU, 341. See further M. Stol, Birth in Babylonia and the Bible: Its Mediterranean Setting (CM, 14), Groningen 2000, 83. Pace
D. Pardee, 'Kosharoth ', in: DDD, 491-2, according to whom 'it is clear that
the ktartu are not 'midwives' as such'.
127
On the various interpretations, cf. De Moor, ARTU, 117-28; T.J. Lewis, in:
Smith, UNP, 205-14; Pardee, in: C0S, vol. 1, 274-83; Wyatt, RTU, 324-35. Wyatt
assumes Athiratu and Rahmay were the mothers of the gods who nursed them.
De Moor thinks Athiratu and 'Anatu - the latter would be named by her epithets 'Damsel' and 'Breast' - acted as wet nurses. Lewis, although more cautious,
seems to agree with De Moor. Both Korpel, RiC, 246, and Pardee seem to regard
Athiratu as the single wet nurse of the two gracious gods.
The act of acceptance does not imply that the goddesses would have actually
suckled the boys. Athiratu was too old for this and 'Anatu needed to transform
herself into a cow to be able to suckle (KTU 1.12:111). One may compare Ruth
4:16 here.
Some scholars have related the ivory panel of a bed found in the palace at Ugarit
with KTU 1.23; cf., e.g., Korpel, RiC, 246, n. 212. The panel depicts a goddess
nursing two boys. The identification of the Hathor-like goddess with Athiratu and
the two youths as Shaharu and Shalimu is uncertain, however.
128
Cf. Greenstein, 'New Readings in the Kirta Epic', 110.
129
Greenstein, 'New Readings in the Kirta Epic', 111.

C. HEBREW

BIBLE

At the Israelite home, the tasks of cooking and preparing a meal were
performed by males as well as females. When Abraham was visited
by three divine guests he ordered his wife Sarah: 'Make ready quickly
three measures of choice flour, knead it, and make cakes'. He himself
selected a calf which he gave to his servant to prepare (Gen. 18:68). Esau, too, prepared meat. Isaac asked his firstborn son to go and
hunt game for him, which he had to prepare as a savory dish (Gen.
27:1-4). Because she wanted her son Jacob to receive the blessing
instead of Esau, Rebekah deceived her husband by preparing two
choice kids such as Isaac liked. Rebekah is not the only biblical woman
who prepared meat, for Woman Wisdom also slaughtered animals
(Prov. 9:2).
It may be worth noting that Rebekah also prepared bread (v.
17), generally a woman's job. Whereas Jacob offered his father meat
and bread, which were both prepared by his mother, no bread is
mentioned when Esau offered the game to his father (v. 31). Another
woman who baked bread was the widow from Zarephath, when the
prophet Elijah asked her for some water and bread during a drought
(1 Kgs 17:9-16). And Tamar baked cakes for Amnon (2 Sam. 13). In
1 Sam. 8:13 the prophet Samuel warned the people who asked for
a king that a king would take their daughters 'to be perfumers and
cooks and bakers'. Thus, food preparation in the palace kitchen seems
to have been a woman's job. However, baking was also done by men.
When two angels visited Lot in Sodom, he invited them into his house
as guests, prepared a banquet for them and baked unleavened bread
(Gen. 19:3).
Not only men act as host in the Bible. When David's men came
to Nabal, asking for his hospitality, the latter refused: 'Shall I take
my bread and my water and the meat that I have butchered for my
shearers, and give it to men who come from I do not know where?'
(1 Sam. 25:11). When Abigail was informed about this behaviour of
her husband, she 'hurried and took two hundred loaves, two skins of
wine, five sheep ready dressed, five measures of parched grain, one
hundred clusters of raisins, and two hundred cakes of figs' (v. 18).
This abundance of food she ordered to be loaded on donkeys and sent
to David. She herself followed the donkeys and upon meeting David
explained that she 'did not see the young men of my lord, whom you
sent', thereby implying that, had she seen them then, she would have
offered the hospitality for the lack of which she now tried to make up.
Another hospitable woman who offered food is mentioned in 2 Kgs
4:8-10. A wealthy woman living in Shunem regularly provided the

prophet Elisha with a meal. The virtuous housewife of Prov. 31 fed

her household (v. 14-15) and Woman Wisdom invited those passing
by to eat her bread and drink her mixed wine (Prov. 9:5). A lot of
banqueting is done in the book of Esther. 130 Here both Ahasuerus
and Esther invited guests to a feast.
Whereas in Ugaritic literary texts deities provided other deities
with food and drink, in the Bible Y H W H offered it to his people. He
gave Israel its drink and provided his people with food. 131 Y H W H
himself is hardly ever described as eating or drinking. 132
In contrast to the provision of food, drawing water was women's
work. Upon finding a well in the desert, Hagar filled the empty skin
with water and gave her son a drink (Gen. 21:19). Rebekah drew water
at the spring, offered a drink to Abraham's servant and watered his
camels (Gen. 24:11-21, 43-46). The seven daughters of the priest of
Midian received help from Moses while they drew water to water
their father's flock (Exod. 2:15-17). Saul and his servant-boy, who
were looking for his father's donkeys and intended to inquire about
their whereabouts with the seer Samuel, met girls who came out of the
town to draw water (1 Sam. 9:11). And the prophet Elijah asked the
widow of Zarephat for some water (1 Kgs 17:10-11). Drawing water
held certain risks for women. 'They might have unwanted meetings
with men or they could even be harassed by shepherds or strangers'. 133
As in Ugaritic literature, so also in the Hebrew Bible, men and
women washed their own clothes. The washing of clothes is often
mentioned in relation to uncleanness. In Lev. 13:6, for instance, a
person who had a skin disease and was pronounced clean by the priest
had to wash his clothes. 134 Not washing ones clothes could be a sign of
mourning. Thus, Mephiboshet, grandson of the late king Saul, came
to meet David while in mourning: 'he had not taken care of his feet,
or trimmed his beard, or washed his clothes' (2 Sam. 19:24). Perhaps
wives took care of their husband's laundry, but washing as a profession
was regarded as men's work. 135
130

On the structuring element of the banquets in Esther, cf. S.B. Berg, The Book
of Esther: Motifs, Themes and Structure (SBL.DS, 44), Missoula M T 1979, 31-58.
131
Exod. 16:4-36; 17:1-7; Num. 11:4-35; 20:2-13; Deut. 32:13-14; Hos. 11:4; Pss.
23:5; 36:9; 81:11, 17; Neh. 9:15.
132
Korpel, RiC, 408-13.
133
C.H.J, de Geus, 'The City of Women: Women's Places in Ancient Israelite
Cities', in: J.A. Emerton (ed.), Congress Volume: Paris 1992 (VT.S, 61), Leiden
1995, 77.
134
Cf. G. Andr, kbas', in: ThWAT, Bd. 4, 42-5.
135
2 Kgs 18:17; Mal. 3:2; cf. G. Dalman, Arbeit und Sitte in Palstina, Bd. 5,
Gtersloh 1937, 145-59.

Several biblical women worked as servants. 136 Respectable women

were often accompanied by servants when they went out. Thus, Pharaoh's daughter 'came down to bathe at the river, while her attendants
walked beside the river' (Exod. 2:5). One of these female servants was
sent into the water to bring the basket with baby Moses in it to her
mistress. When Rebekah left her home to marry, she was accompanied by her maids (Gen. 24:61). Likewise, Abigail's maids attended
her when she left Carmel to become David's wife (1 Sam. 25:42). In
both cases these probably were the women's property. 137 Other
servants who might also be slave women are the seven maids from the
king's palace that Esther was provided with (Est. 2:9). The maids
functioned as intermediaries and informed her about the things that
happened outside the harem (4:4). And when their mistress Esther
held a fast, they, too, neither ate nor drank for three days (4:16).
Female servants could be ordered to do various tasks (Prov. 31:15),
one of them being to invite guests of the mistress into the house (Prov.
9:3). Others worked as agricultural labourers for a wealthy land owner
(Ruth 2:5,8,22,23; 3:2), or as a household help (2 Kgs 5:2-4).
As an agricultural worker, Ruth participated in harvesting when
she gleaned ears of corn in Boaz's fields (Ruth 2). Rachel was a shepherdess, who tended the flock of her father (Gen. 29:7,9). She thus
was engaged in animal husbandry.
Unlike Assyrian women, biblical women did participate in building
activities. Among those who helped rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem
were the daughters of Shallum, son of Hallohesh (Neh. 3:12). As
daughters of the ruler of half the district of Jerusalem, these women
belonged to a prominent family, but it apparently did not prohibit
them from partaking in this important work. Grace Emmerson assmes that it was not uncommon for women to engage in (re)building,
since the reference in Nehemiah passes without comment. 138 Yet many
commentators have tried to emend the daughters into sons. 139
Another biblical woman commissioned (re)building activities. Of
Sheerah, daughter of Beriah, it is told that she 'built both Lower and
136

For a recent study on the meaning and social position of , cf. C.S. Leeb,
Away from the Father's House: The Social Location of na'ar and na'arah in Andent Israel (JSOT.S, 301), Sheffield 2000, 125-50.
137
See sections 2.1.1.3.1 and 2.2.2.4.
138
G.I. Emmerson, 'Women in Ancient Israel', in: R.E. Clements (ed.), The
World of Ancient Israel: Sociological, Anthropological and Political Perspectives,
Cambridge 1989, 372.
139
Cf. T.C. Eskenazi, 'Out from the Shadows: Biblical Women in the Postexilic
Era', JSOT 54 (1992), 39-40.

Upper Beth-horon, and Uzzen-sheerah (1 Chron. 7:24). 140

Agriculture and building activities were areas in which women
worked together with men. Textile production, on the other hand, was
gender-defined as a woman's job. Spinning as women's work is referred
to in Exod. 35:25-26. There it is told that skillful women spun 'blue
and purple and crimson yarns and fine linen' for the Tabernacle, while
goats' hair was also used. Also in 2 Kgs 23:7 women were weaving for
cultic purpose, yet this was condemned since it was for the goddess
Asherah. The industrious housewife of Prov. 31 also occupied herself
with spinning and weaving. 'She seeks wool and flax, and works with
willing hands' (v. 13). Further, she held spindle and distaff (v. 19)
and was an able weaver, making garments of fine linen (v. 22). She
not only clothed her family with the produce of her hand, but also
sold garments (v. 24) and thereby provided her husband with extra
income.
In 2 Sam. 3:29 David uttered a curse on the house of Joab, that
Joab's house might never be without one who held the spindle. 141 In a
Hittite prayer to Ishtar of Nineveh the goddess is asked to take away
the masculinity of the enemy and place spindle and mirror, symbols
of femininity, in his hands. In the same way the distaff occurs in selfmaledictory loyalty oaths of Hittite soldiers. The bow as a symbol of
prowess in battle and of sexual potency is thus opposed to spindle
and distaff, symbols of femininity. 142 The curse on the house of Joab
should probably be regarded in this light, referring to a man who can
only do women's work. 143
There are some professions which were mainly occupied by men,
although occasionally women practiced it. In the Bible, professional
female scribes are rare. A few women who could read and write are
mentioned. Queen Jezebel wrote letters (1 Kgs 21:8) and so did queen
140

Whereas R. Braun, 1 Chronicles (WBC, 14), Waco TX 1986, 115, assumes

she founded the cities, K. Roubos, I Kronieken (PrOT), Nijkerk 1969, 131, notes
that Sheerah probably rebuilt them.
141
Some scholars, however, opt for a different translation. They either follow
LXX ('one who holds a staff'), cf., e.g., C.J. Goslinga, Het tweede boek Samuel
(COT), Kampen 1962, 73, or assume that should be related to Phoen. plkm
'crutches', cf., e.g., P.K. McCarter, II Samuel (AncB, 9), New York 1984, 118.
142
Compare the words of Aqhat in KTU 1.17:VL40-41: 'The bow is the weapon
of soldiers, would now womankind go hunting with it?'
143
Cf. D.R. Hillers, Treaty-Curses and the Old Testament Prophets (BibOr, 16),
Rome 1964, 66-8; Hoffner, 'Symbols for Masculinity and Femininity', 331-2; S.W.
Holloway, 'Distaff, Crutch or Chain Gang: The Curse of the House of Joab in 2
Samuel III 29', VT 37 (1987), 370-3; S.C. Layton, Chain Gang in 2 Samuel iii
29? A Rejoinder', VT 39 (1989), 81-6.

Esther (Est. 9:29). 144 These royal women, however, were not professional scribes. According to Athalya Brenner, '[i]t must be admitted . . . that there is no evidence for or against the existence of female professional scribes in ancient Israel'. 145 Tamara Eskenazi, however, points to Ezra 2:55, where the descendants of the female scribe
( )are mentioned, according to a literal translation. But generally it is not translated as such; '[translators or commentators . . .
tend to say that this name denotes either a profession that had become a proper name, or "the guild or office of scribes" '. 146
Beside the profession of scribe, that of messenger was also an occupation which women seldom practiced. A few women occur as female
messengers in the Bible. When David had left Jerusalem in flight for
his son Absalom, he was informed about his son's actions by Jonathan
and Ahimaaz. The two men received their information from a servant
girl, who went to En-rogel to meet them there and keep them informed of the news in Jerusalem (2 Sam. 17:15-17). Here a female
messenger is employed by men, which seems to be an exception to
the general rule of female messengers working for women. However,
Samuel Meier explains, 'a woman would presumably be less suspicious
in passing through enemy lines'. 147
A metaphorical messenger is Lady Zion, who is called a ,
a female herald of good news (Isa. 40:9). According to Meier, '[i]t
is remarkable that a woman is found as God's envoy, in light of the
general pattern of female messengers in the employ of females'. 148
However, Deutero-Isaiah compares Y H W H with both male and female metaphorical imagery and thus 'makes explicit what is implicit
throughout the Hebrew Scriptures, namely, that the LORD is neither
specifically male nor specifically female. God is above and beyond
both sexes'. 149 It is therefore remarkable, but not problematic that
Y H W H had a female messenger.
144

See, however, the critical remarks of D.J.A. Clines, 'Reading Esther from Left
to Right: Contemporary Strategies for Reading a Biblical Text', in: Idem, On the
Way to the Postmodern: Old Testament Essays, 1967-1998 (JSOT.S, 292), vol.
1, Sheffield 1998, 15.
145
A. Brenner, 'Introduction', in: A. Brenner, F. van Dijk-Hemmes, On Gendering Texts: Female and Male Voices in the Hebrew Bible (BIntS, 1), Leiden
1993, 5. Brenner proposes that 'the lack of female-run cultic centres' might be an
explanation for this.
146
Eskenazi, O u t from the Shadows', 36.
147
S.A. Meier, 'Women and Communication in the Ancient Near East', JAOS
111 (1991), 546.
148
Meier, 'Women and Communication in the Ancient Near East', 546, n. 48.
149
M.I. Gruber, 'The Motherhood of God in Second Isaiah', RB 90 (1983), 354.

No professional female healers are mentioned in the Hebrew Bible.

When her son became ill, the Shunammite woman tended to him. But
when he died, she went to the prophet Elisha and it was he who cured
the child (2 Kgs 4).
Midwives, on the other hand, are mentioned several times. A
encouraged Rachel during her hard labour that she would have another son (Gen. 35:17). When Tamar was bearing twins, she was assisted by a midwife who bound a thread around the hand of one of
the babies. Stol comments on this,
It is i m p o r t a n t t o know w h o is t h e

first-born

a n d t h a t is why t h e

m i d w i f e b o u n d a scarlet t h r e a d on t h e h a n d of t h e first t o arrive. It

was her responsibility t o establish t h e t r u t h a b o u t t h e identity of t h e
first b o r n . 1 5 0

Midwives also play an important role in Exod. 1:15-22. Several authors have pointed to the fact that the midwives Shiphrah and Puah
are among the few characters that are named in the stories surrounding the birth of Moses (Exod. 1-2:10). 151 Pharaoh ordered them to
kill every male child born to the Hebrews, but they disobeyed and let
the boys live. When asked by the king of Egypt why they allowed the
children to live, they told him that the Hebrew women 'are vigorous
and give birth before the midwife comes to them' (Exod. 1:19). 152
In another text dealing with childbirth no midwife is mentioned.
Like Rachel, the wife of Phinehas, died in childbed after having borne
a son (1 Sam. 4:20). Those attending her are called , a
quite neutral term which might refer to family members, neighbours
or servants.
The delivering qualities of Y H W H are sometimes expressed in the
metaphor of a midwife: 'Yet it was you who took me from the womb;
you kept me safe on my mother's breast' (Ps. 22:9). Also in other
biblical texts Y H W H performed the tasks of a midwife. In Ps. 71:6
153
Y H W H cut the umbilical cord , while in Isa. 66:9 he assisted Lady
Zion at childbirth. According to Marjo Korpel the gender of God is
150

Stol, Birth in Babylonia and the Bible, 135.

E.g., J.C. Exum, ' "You Shall Let Every Daughter Live": A Study of Exodus 1.8-2.10', in: A. Brenner, A Feminist Companion to Exodus to Deuteronomy
(FCB, 6), Sheffield 1994, 46; J. Siebert-Hommes, 'But If She Be a Daughter . . .
She May Live!: "Daughters" and "Sons" in Exodus 1-2', in: Brenner, A Feminist
Companion to Exodus to Deuteronomy, 66.
152
It cannot be established with certainty whether the midwives were themselves
Hebrew, too, or Egyptian; cf. Exum, ' "You Shall Let Every Daughter Live" ', 48-9.
153
Cf. Korpel, RiC, 251, n. 236.
151

not an issue here, but rather his helping and delivering qualities. 154
Beside the occupation of midwife, biblical women also exercised
the profession of wet nurse (). After finding baby Moses in a
basket on the river Nile, Pharaoh's daughter hired a Hebrew wet
nurse, who happened to be the child's mother (Exod. 2:5-9). The wet
nurse was instructed: 'Take this child and nurse it for me, and I will
give you your wages' (v. 9). Another biblical wet nurse is mentioned in
2 Kgs 11 ( 2 Chron. 22:11). Prince Joash and his nurse were hidden
by his aunt Jehosheba from queen Athaliah who intended to destroy
the whole royal family. Sometimes a wet nurse would remain close to
her nursling for her lifetime, such as Deborah, Rebekah's nurse (Gen.
24:59; 35:8).
Wet nurses are also referred to in the prophetic metaphors of Isaiah. Israel was comforted that its fate would change. Those who now
oppressed the people, would tenderly take care of it: 'Kings shall
be your foster fathers, and their queens your nursing mothers' (Isa.
4 9 : 2 3 ) . Furthermore, nations and kings would act as wet nurses (Isa.
6 0 : 1 6 ) and finally, Jerusalem would comfort and nurse Israel (Isa.
66:10-13). 155 It is noteworthy that YHWH, although pictured as a
mother in Isa. 6 6 : 1 3 , is not acting in the capacity of a wet nurse. It
seems that the author did not wish to employ the metaphor of divine
wet-nursing.
As was the case in Mesopotamia, it would seem that prostitution
was accepted but not valued highly in biblical Israel. 156 The professional had authority over her own sexuality and as such generally
lived outside the structure of the patriarchal family. 157 This is underlined by the fact that the prostitute's location was the street, in
opposition to the family home, where women who were under patriarchal authority dwelled. 158
With regard to the meaning of the root , Julie Galambush emphasizes the need to distinguish between its literal sense and the two
154

Korpel, RiC, 251-2.

M.I. Gruber, 'Breast-Feeding Practices in Biblical Israel and in Old Babylonian Mesopotamia', JANES 19 (1989), 82-3.
156
Cf. Gen. 34:31; Amos 7:17; Sir. 9:6; 19:2.
157
S. Niditch, 'The Wronged Woman Righted: An Analysis of Genesis 38', HThR
72 (1979), 147.
158
Cf. P.A. Bird, 'The Harlot as Heroine: Narrative Art and Social Presupposition in Three Old Testament Texts', in: M. Amihai et al. (eds), Narrative Research
on the Hebrew Bible (Semeia, 46), Atalanta GA 1989, 121. See also J.G. Westenholz, 'Tamar, Qd, Qaditu, and Sacred Prostitution in Mesopotamia', HTRh
82 (1989), 251.
155

levels of metaphorical usage. 159 In the Hebrew Bible the participle

and the phrase both refer to the professional prostitute
(Gen. 38:15; Josh. 2:1). 160 More often, however, the verb and its related nouns are used metaphorically, on two levels. On the first level,
according to Galambush,
the verb znh and related abstract nouns can be used to describe illicit
sexual activity by a woman. Most women in Israelite society were under
the authority of a man (usually a husband or father), who claimed
rights of use or disposal over the woman's child-bearing capacity. The
woman's sexual intercourse on her own authority violated the rights
of the man in authority over her (sexuality), and so was defined illicit.
Thus, extramarital sex by a woman who was betrothed (Deut 22:23-24)
or married (Num 5:13), or by a dependent virgin daughter (Deut 22:21)
or a levirate widow (Gen 38:24), was forbidden, and was described
metaphorically as prostitution, using the verb znh. The logic of this
usage seems to be that the woman has, like a prostitute, allowed more
than one man access to her sexuality.161
The second level of metaphorical use of the root seems to be derived
from the first level. Galambush explains,
According to this usage worship of gods other than Yahweh is referred
to by the verb znh. The male Israelite's worship of other gods is understood as parallel to a woman's illicit sexual activity, because in each
case the offender has transferred the exclusive rights of the one in authority (at the second level, Yahweh, rather than husband or father) to
a second, competing party (the other god). Unlike the first level metaphor, the second level metaphor is applied to cultic activity and does
159

J. Galambush, Jerusalem in the Book of Ezekiel: The City as Yahweh's Wife

(SBL.DS, 130), Atlanta GA 1992, 27-31. See also section 2.1.1.3.2, n. 161.
160
Galambush, Jerusalem in the Book of Ezekiel, 28, n. 9, stresses that 'the verb
znh is never used of a professional prostitute. This is because the sexual activity
of the prostitute, while outside formal bonds, is in fact licit. Whatever original,
literal meaning the verb may have had, in biblical Hebrew it refers (unlike the
participle) to the illicit activity of a woman who is not a professional prostitute'.
161
Galambush, Jerusalem in the Book of Ezekiel, 28-29. She notes (n. 13) that
a woman who is thus condemned 'need not have had intercourse with more than
one man'. It refers to 'a situation in which more than one man (the one in authority and one unauthorized) is allowed power over a woman's sexual activity,
rather than a situation in which more than one man actually has intercourse with
the woman'. This seems to be illustrated by the rhetorical question of Dinah's
brothers, 'Should our sister be treated like a whore?' (Gen. 34:31). On Dinah's
premarital intercourse see sections 2.1.1.1 and 2.1.3.

not ordinarily entail any literal sexual activity.162

With this distinction in mind it becomes clear that the juxtaposition
of and should be regarded in the context of the polemics
against worship of gods other than Y H W H . I regard the to be
a cultic functionary and will deal with this function in chapter 3.
The use of in a cultic context and the subject of cultic prostitution will be treated there, too. Here I will confine myself to 'secular'
prostitution.
Prostitutes occur several times in the Bible. Their working place
was the city, where they generally moved around in public places such
as squares, streets and taverns. One of the professional prostitutes was
Rahab (Josh. 2). She was not condemned for her profession, but rather
praised for hiding the Israelite spies. 163 Rahab lived in a house 'on the
outer side of the city wall', separate from her relatives. When Jericho
was destroyed, she took her father and mother, brothers and sisters,
and all who belonged to them into her house and thus saved their lives
(Josh. 6). It would seem that she was a sexually independent woman,
who was neither under the authority of her father, nor of any other
male. Although she had a low social status 1 6 4 - probably expressed
by the place of her living quarters - she was not without any familial
relation.
The two prostitutes mentioned in 1 Kgs 3:16-28, on the other
hand, do appear to have been without familial relations. They lived
together in the same house, possibly a brothel. Although their social
status was low, they had the legal right to appeal to the king for
judgment. 1 6 5
Another biblical prostitute is Jephthah's mother. Although born
from an , it is told that 'Gilead was the father of Jephthah'
(Judg. 11:1). With regard to this, Danna Fewell states: 'Blurring the
person Gilead with the town, the narrator suggests that Jephthah's
father might be any man in the town of Gilead'. 166
162

Galambush, Jerusalem in the Book of Ezekiel, 29-30.

On Rahab's role as heroine and the function of her profession in the narrative,
cf. Bird, 'The Harlot as Heroine', 126-32.
164
Cf. A. Brenner, The Israelite Woman: Social Role and Literary Type in Biblical Narrative (BiSe, 2), Sheffield 1985, 80; Bird, 'The Harlot as Heroine', 130.
165
Cf. Brenner, The Israelite Woman, 81-2; Bird, 'The Harlot as Heroine', 132-3.
166
D.N. Fewell, 'Judges', in: C.A. Newsom, S.H. Ringe (eds), The Women's Bible
Commentary, London 2 1998, 76.
If Assante's hypothesis of the word harimtu (originally referring to the legal
category of the single woman properly belonging outside the patriarchal system)
is right, then one wonders whether an analogous development could have occurred
with regard to . Cf. J. Assante, 'The kar.kid/harimtu, Prostitute or Single
163

The fact that Judah had sexual intercourse with a prostitute whom
he met at the side of the road (Gen. 38) is not condemned, but rather
explained. 167 He had recently become a widower and therefore needed
sexual gratification. But when Judah found out that his widowed
daughter-in-law must have 'whored' because she was with child, he
wanted her to be burned. Phyllis Bird points to the wordplay in the
story:
A striking contrast is created through the use of the same root to
describe two situations which occasion very different reactions from
Judah. When he perceives that the woman by the road is a zn, his
response is a proposition; when he hears that his daughter-in-law has
zn-ed, his response is a sentence of death. He embraces the whore, but
would put to death the daughter-in-law who "whored". The irony on
which the story turns is that the two acts and the two women are one,
and the use of etymologically related terms as the situation-defining
terms strengthens the irony. The essential difference between the two
uses is the sociolegal status of the woman involved. In the first instance,
the term zn describes the woman's position or profession (prostitute)
as well as the activity on which it is based. Thus, it serves as a class
or status designation. In the second instance, the verb describes the
activity of one whose sociologal status makes it a crime.168
Since Tamar was a levirate widow under the authority of her fatherin-law, her sexual activities were regarded as illicit. 169
Like Judah, Samson also engaged in sex with a prostitute (Judg.
16:1). Of this woman nothing is told except the fact that the encounter
occurred in Gaza, which implies she probably lived in that city.
Disapproval of prostitution is expressed in the book Leviticus. Lev.
19 opens with a call to holiness to all Israelites. An Israelite father
should not degrade his daughter by making her a prostitute (v. 29),
for 'she belongs to a people whose goal is holiness, and her father is
Woman?: A Reconsideration of the Evidence', UF 30 (1998), 5-96. See my remarks
on CLI 27 above. Unlike H. Schulte, 'Beobachtungen zum Begriff der Zn im
Alten Testament', ZAW 104 (1992), 255-62, however, I do not think that in the
pre-monarchic period meant 'die selbstndig lebende Frau der matrilinearen
Familie'. On my rejection of the hypothesis of beena marriage and related types
of marriage, see section 2.1.1.3.1.
167
Niditch, 'The Wronged Woman Righted', 147; Bird, 'The Harlot as Heroine',
123.
168
Bird, 'The Harlot as Heroine', 124.
169
On levirate marriage and the question whether the levirate duty extended to
a father-in-law, see section 2.1.5.

depriving her of her right and duty to attain this goal' if he does so. 170
The entire people of Israel was called upon to attain holiness, but
priests must sustain it. 171 Because a priest had to preserve the highest
level of sanctity and because priesthood was a hereditary office in
biblical Israel, he was forbidden to marry a prostitute (Lev. 2 1 : 7 , 1 4 ) .
This prohibition was intended to prevent any uncertainty of parentage
of priestly offspring. 172 The demand for priestly sanctity extended to
other family members. In Lev. 21:9 a priest's daughter is forbidden
to profane herself by prostitution, because she thereby profaned her
father. 1 7 3
As indicated above, prostitutes engaged in sexual activity in exchange for payment. Thus, the price for her services that Tamar
agreed upon with Judah was a kid. In Isa. 2 3 : 1 5 - 1 8 Tyre is compared
to a prostitute, who 'will prostitute herself with all the kingdoms of
the world' (v. 17). Her wages would be dedicated to Y H W H and 'her
merchandise will supply abundant food and fine clothing for those
who live in the presence of the L O R D ' ( V . 18). In Micah 1:7 the idols
of Samaria are said to have been paid for with 'prostitute's wages'.
Less abundant were the wages of the prostitute according to Prov.
6 : 2 0 - 3 5 . In this text the dangers of adultery are stressed. To this end
the adulteress is opposed to the prostitute: 'For a whore costs but a
loaf of bread, but a married woman hunts for a precious life' (v. 26). 174
Although prostitution in itself was a waste of money (Prov. 2 9 : 3 ) , the
author of Proverbs was not troubled by it, and was 'willing to downplay its cost in order to make the contrast more dramatic'. 1 7 5 It was
safer to have sex with a prostitute than with a married woman. In the
latter case, a man could lose his life. 176 The motive of payment is also
mentioned in Hos. 2:7 [5], where the woman who prostituted herself
went after her 'lovers' because they provided her with bread and water and other means of sustenance. In a polemical context Jerusalem
is compared to a prostitute who payed her lovers, instead of being
payed by them (Ezek. 16:30-34).
D . CONCLUSIONS

Women in various regions and periods of the ancient Near East shared
170

J. Milgrom, Leviticus 17-22 (AncB, 3A), New York 2000, 1697.

Thus is the view of H, according to Milgrom, Leviticus 17-22, 1397.
172
J.R. Wegner, 'Leviticus 1 , in: C.A. Newsom, S.H. Ringe (eds), The Women's
Bible Commentary, London 2 1998, 46.
173
Cf. Milgrom, Leviticus 17-22, 1810.
174
Transi. M.V. Fox, Proverbs 1-9 (AncB, 18A), New York 2000, 228.
175
Fox, Proverbs 1-9, 138, 231.
176
On adultery, see section 2.1.1.5.
171

many tasks. Preparing food and serving it was done by both women
and men. In Egypt, the preparation and cooking of meat probably was
a man's job. Although in Ugarit and biblical Israel men more often
than women did the butchering of meat, both were involved in its
preparation. In Egypt and Mesopotamia, baking bread and brewing
beer was done by both sexes. On a professional basis, both women and
men are attested as bakers and brewers in Mesopotamia. Although
men in the Bible occasionally baked bread, this generally seems to
have been a woman's job. The Ugaritic literary texts do not inform
us on this matter.
Both in Ugarit and biblical Israel, drawing water definitely was
women's work. Doing the laundry, however, was not. Men were supposed to wash men's clothes, women those of women. In Egypt, the
professional launderer was male.
Women could work in various functions as household personnel.
Their status could vary in accordance with that of their owner. Palace
servants of the harem would usually be female.
In Mesopotamia and biblical Israel women were involved in animal
husbandry, tending the flocks as shepherdess. From Egyptian iconography and the biblical story of Ruth we know women participated
with men in agriculture, gleaning ears of corn during the harvest.
Women in Egypt, Ugarit and biblical Israel worked at large building projects. Usually women of low status were employed, but in Israel
women of a prominent family helped rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.
Moreover, the Bible records a woman named Sheerah, who commissioned building activities.
Textile production was an activity in which many women were
involved. Although men were also occupied in the textile industry,
women participated in large numbers, both in Mesopotamia and Egypt.
At home, spinning and weaving were mainly done by women. Both in
Ugarit and biblical Israel, spinning and weaving were gender-specific,
i.e., they were the preserve of women.
Other jobs were also gender-specific. Although professional female
scribes did occur in Mesopotamia and Egypt, and perhaps in biblical
Israel, they were very rare and often were working for other women.
In Ugaritic literary texts no female scribes are mentioned.
The same mechanism of women working for women in a profession
that is generally regarded as male, might also function with regard
to female messengers. In Mesopotamia and Ugarit, female messengers
mainly seem to have served women, although sometimes women employed male messengers. Although at first sight one may think the
mechanism did not function in biblical Israel, the two occurrences of

female messengers can be explained in a non-contradictory fashion.

In one case a female servant was employed by men, who probably regarded a woman as less suspicious in passing messages through enemy
lines. The other messenger is the metaphorical Lady Zion, employed
by Y H W H who was regarded as beyond both sexes.
Professional female healers were rare in Mesopotamia and Egypt
and were not recorded after the first half of the second millennium
BCE. In the literary texts from Ugarit, a female deity acted as healer.
No professional female healers are recorded in the Bible.
Midwifery and wet-nursing, on the other hand, were women's
work. Divine midwives generally were goddesses, in Mesopotamia,
Egypt and Ugarit, but occasionally a male god could be called 'midwife', too. In the Bible, the metaphor of the midwife could be used
to express the delivering qualities of YHWH. Human midwives invariably were women, as were human wet nurses. The theme of divine
wet-nursing as a legitimation of the king's special position occured
in Mesopotamia, Egypt and Ugarit. Remarkably, in Israel it was the
people - not the king - who were wet-nursed. Moreover, Y H W H did
not act in the capacity of wet nurse.
Finally, women could also work as prostitutes. Prostitution is
attested in the whole of the ancient Near East. 1 7 7 It was an accepted phenomenon, but not valued highly. Both free women and
slave women are attested as prostitutes. Their status was low.
2.2.2.4

Slavery

At the bottom of society's hierarchy were women who were another

person's property, i.e., slave women. Slaves could be owned by individuals and by institutions. Did it matter who was the owner of a
female slave? Slave women could either be born as children of mothers
who were themselves slaves, or might have been born as free citizens
but became slaves as captives of war or because they had to be sold
as slaves because of debts the man incurred under whose authority
they lived (father, husband, etc.). With regard to debt slavery, was
there a circumscribed period for a free person to be a debt slave, that
is, could it end? And what kind of work did female slaves do?
A slave women had no authority over her own sexuality. She could
become her master's concubine or his wife. This often happened in
case of childlessness of her master's first wife. Did it improve her
status if a slave woman bore children to her master? Furthermore, a
177

too.

Although not attested in the texts from Ugarit, I assume they occurred there,

female slave could become the object of forcible sexual intercourse. In

what way do texts deal with this subject?
A . ANCIENT NEAR EAST

A slave woman (Akk. amtu) could be owned by an institution or an

individual, and individual slave-owners could be male as well as female. Various documents from the ancient Near East demonstrate
that women could own slaves. 1 Texts from the Neo- and the Late
Babylonian period attest that a woman of wealthy family would often receive slave-girls as part of her dowry. Sometimes female family
members to the bride would give female slaves in addition to the
dowry. 2 Also in Egypt, a slave woman (Eg. hmt) could be owned by
a woman. 3
Not only did a female slave have a certain market value, she was
also useful to her mistress in several ways. She could do household
tasks, be a confidante to her mistress and look after her when she was
aged. Especially when a slave-owner was left without husband or children, she sometimes would adopt or manumit her slave on condition
that she took care of her in her old age. 4
Beside individuals institutions also owned slaves. In Mesopotamia
as well as in Egypt, palaces and temples generally possessed a large
number of slaves, who had become their property in various ways.
Some women were captured as prisoners of war and became slaves in
a foreign country. More often temple slaves were of local origin. Marc
Van de Mieroop describes the situation during the Ur in period, when
thousands of female slaves (Sum. gem) are recorded.
A great number of them seems to have been derived from the so-called
a-ru-a institution. This term describes the practice where objects, animals, or people are donated to the temples. For the well-to-do such
an act probably contained an element of piety, but for the poor this
seems to have been a way to dispose of undesirables, such as widows,
waifs and handicapped, who thus became protected by the temple or1

Cf. . Ebeling, 'Frau', RLA, vol. 3, 102; C. Pressler, 'Wives and Daughters,
Bond and Free: Views of Women in the Slave Laws of Exodus 21.2-11,' in: V.H.
Matthews et al. (eds), Gender and Law in the Hebrew Bible and the Ancient Near
East (JSOT.S, 262), Sheffield 1998, 165-6. See also section 2.2.2.1.
2
J.C. Greenfield, 'Some Neo-Babylonian Women', in: FPOA, 76; A. Kuhrt,
'Non-Royal Women in the Late Babylonian Period: A Survey', in: WER, 229; M.T.
Roth, 'Marriage and Matrimonial Prestations in First Millennium B.C. Babylonia', in: WER, 254-5.
3
Cf. S. Allam, 'Women as Owners of Immovables in Pharaonic Egypt', in:
WER, 130; G. Robins, Women in Ancient Egypt, London 1993, 30-6, 129-30.
4
K u h r t , 'Non-Royal Women in the Late Babylonian Period', 229-30.

ganization. They were, however, obliged to work and the temples seem
to have employed them in large industries such as weaving institutions
and agriculture.5
Also in later times donation of one's slave to a temple is recorded.
Some Neo-Babylonian texts give evidence to the fate that could befall a female slave. Although dedicated to the temple by their owner,
some slaves first became the property of another person before ending up as a temple slave. Thus was the fate of Nupta, slave woman
(amtu) of Nadin-ahi. Her master had dedicated her to Ishtar of Uruk
and branded her with a star, a symbol denoting property of the goddess. Yet when Nadin-ahi died, his brother Shamash-zer-ushabshi sueceeded to his inheritance and took Nupta into his house instead of
giving her to the temple of Ishtar in Uruk, the Eanna. In the house
of Shamash-zer-ushabshi Nupta bore three sons. The authorities of
the Eanna decided that the slave woman was to remain with her new
master until his death. He was not to sell her or to marry her to a
slave. Only after Shamash-zer-ushabshi's death would she become a
temple slave. 6 The authorities decided differently in the case of Khazaziti, slave woman (qallatu) of Teshi-etir. Her owner had dedicated
her for temple slavery, but she was thereupon sold to a certain Ibna.
The dedication made Khazaziti the rightful property of the temple of
Eanna and the sale was therefore regarded as a violation of the law. 7
One of the main differences between slaves owned by individuals
and those owned by institutions appears to have been the possibility
for institution-owned slaves to form their own families, whereas slaves
owned by individuals often bore children to their masters. 8 There are
exceptions to this general rule. At Emar, a certain Dagan-talih sold
his slave, Shalilu, together with the latter's wife and children (two
sons and three daughters). Shalilu's family was thus kept together. 9
And although it probably was not a very regular procedure, it could
also happen that an owner bought a slave woman as a wife for his male
5

M. Van de Mieroop, 'Women in the Economy of Sumer', in: WER, 65. Cf. I.J.
Gelb, 'The Ancient Mesopotamian Ration System', JNES 24 (1965), 239; Idem,
'The Arua Institution', RA 66 (1972), 1-32. See section 2.1.5.
6
Cf. M.A. Dandamaev, Slavery in Babylonia, rev. ed., DeKalb IL 1984, 478-9.
7
Dandamaev, Slavery in Babylonia, 475-6.
8
For the Ur III period, cf. Van de Mieroop, 'Women in the Economy of Sumer',
65; H. Neumann, 'Bemerkungen zu Ehe, Konkubinat und Bigamie in neusumerischer Zeit', in: FPOA, 136. For the Late Babylonian period, cf. Kuhrt, 'Non-Royal
Women in the Late Babylonian Period', 230-1.
9
D. Arnaud, Recherches au pays d'Astata (Emar, 6/3), Paris 1986, 222-5 (nos.
211-212).

slave. 10 Yet privately owned slaves generally had less opportunities to

marry and form their own family. As Amlie Kuhrt states,
slave-girls in households frequently bore children to their owners (note
the fact that household-slaves are usually identified by the name of their
mother only) and had, one assumes, little chance of either fending off
their master's advances nor any legal claims on their owner as a result
of bearing him children
Because of their reproductive and sexual
function, moreover, those who were beautiful were highly prized . . . ,
and lost their value as they aged
By contrast, female temple slaves were less vulnerable to sexual advances as of right since their owners were institutions, and as they
were inalienable temple-property their age, physical attributes, state of
health etc. could not affect their market-value and hence insidiously influence (in that respect, at least) the regard which they were accorded.
A significant difference between temple and private slaves is that temple
slaves were almost always identified by their patronymic suggesting the
existence of a regular family-structure among this group.11
The fact that children of slave women in households are usually identified by matronym can be explained by their mother's status. If the
slave woman was not married, and her owner had taken (or given) her
as a slave concubine, the child born out of this sexual relation would
be regarded as a houseborn slave. This meant that it had a mother
but no legal father. 12 Both mother and child were the property of
the owner, regardless of the fact that he may have engendered the
child. Concubinage differed from legitimate marriage in that it did
not create legitimate heirs. A child of a concubine, either slave or free
woman, like the child of a prostitute, only had a mother, no father. 1 3
According to the Code of Hammurapi, a man could acknowledge
the children he had begotten by his slave concubine. They would then
inherit together with the children of the first-ranking wife. If he would
not acknowledge the children of the slave concubine as his own, the
slave concubine as well as her children ought to be released after the
10

J.N. Postgate, O n Some Assyrian Ladies', Iraq 41 (1979), 95-7, refers to three
documents from a single archive from the Neo-Assyrian period.
11
Kuhrt, 'Non-Royal Women in the Late Babylonian Period', 231.
12
Cf., e.g., G. Beckman, 'Family Values on the Middle Euphrates in the Thirteenth Century B.C.E.' in: M.W. Chavalas (ed.), Emar: The History, Religion
and Culture of a Syrian Town in the Late Bronze Age, Bethesda MD 1996, 67.
13
R. Westbrook, 'The Female Slave', in: V.H. Matthews et al. (eds), Gender
and Law in the Hebrew Bible and the Ancient Near East (JSOT.S, 262), Sheffield
1998, 220-3.

master's death. 1 4
Female slaves, prostitutes and courtisans are all held in low esteem. In wisdom literature, men are warned against these categories
of women. Of slave girls it is said:
Do not honour a slave girl in your house;
She shall not rule [your] bedroom like a wife.
Let this be said [to you among] your peoples,
"The house which a slave girl rules, she disrupts". 15
Thus, a man had better not marry a slave girl and certainly not make
her a first wife, for she would not be up to the responsibilities of ruling
a household. 16 Yet not all slave women were concubines; some were
married, either to a free person or to a slave. Although in a marriage
between a free person and a slave the former could be male, often
the free spouse would be a female. It would seem that for a Hittite
woman, marrying a slave changed her status of free woman into that
of her husband. 1 7 HL 34 reads: 'If a male slave pays a brideprice for a
woman and takes her as his wife, no one shall free her from slavery'. 18
Regarding such marriages between a free person and a slave, CU
5 rules that one male child born out of the marriage should be
placed 'in the service of his master'. 1 9 According to CH 175-176
the owner of the slave has no claim to the children born out of such a
marriage. Clauses in marriage contracts show, however, that it could
also happen that some or even all children born out of the marriage
between a slave and a free person were assigned to slavery. 20
A special situation arose when a female slave owner gave her slave
girl in marriage to her own husband as a second wife. To the husband,
the slave woman was a wife, but to the first wife she remained a slave.
Should the ownership rights of the first wife conflict with her marital
status, 'she cannot assert against her husband the rights of a slave
14
15

CH 171; Roth, LCMAM, 113-4.

W.G. Lambert, Babylonian Wisdom Literature, Oxford 1960, 102-3:66-67, 70-

71.
16

According to J. Assante, 'The ka.r.kid/harimtu, Prostitute or Single Woman?:

A Reconsideration of the Evidence', UF 30 (1998), 54-5, the slave girl, like the
harimtu, is described here as emotionally independent, unsupportive and disobedient.
17
Cf. Westbrook, 'The Female Slave', 225-6.
18
Roth, LCMAM, 221.
19
Roth, LCMAM, 17. Westbrook, 'The Female Slave', 225, n. 25, assumes the
child is not a slave.
20
Westbrook, 'The Female Slave', 226-7.

owner as she would against an outsider'. 21

In Egypt, too, marriages between a free person and a slave occurred. 22 Sometimes slaves would be emancipated when they married
into their owner's family. 23 The Adoption Papyrus, for example, gives
evidence to this. The Egyptian lady Rennofre manumitted the three
children of her female slave and married one of them to her brother. 24
Sometimes a free woman became a payment slave because a relative of hers - her husband or her father - could not pay his debts. 25
The Code of Hammurapi states that when a man had made a loan
and was unable to repay his debt, he could give his wife, his son
or daughter into debt service (CH 117). In such a case a person
would be put to work by the creditor until the debt was satisfied.
According to the law, one should not be held in debt service for more
than three years. 26 The limitation of the three-year period did not
hold for slaves. They could be held longer in debt service and might
even be sold (CH 118). Yet if a female slave had borne children
to her master, who, while in debt, had sold her, he might redeem
her after repayment of the loan (CH 119). As Raymond Westbrook
points out, because she had borne children to her master the right
of redemption, which usually was limited to members of the family,
applied. However, property law remained valid inasmuch as her status
was concerned, for she returned to her former master as a slave, not
as a free person. 27 The same distinction is made with regard to the
remission of debts by kings at the beginning of their reign. Thus, in the
Edict of Ammisaduqa, free citizens in debt servitude were released,
whereas houseborn slaves given in debt servitude were not. 28 Also in
Egypt, women could be sold or sell themselves into slavery because
of a debt. 2 9
From the Mari correspondence we learn that queen Shibtu secured the release of several women who had become payment slaves
21

Westbrook, 'The Female Slave', 228.

E. Brunner-Traut, 'Die Stellung der Frau im Alten gypten', Saeculum 38
(1987), 323.
23
Robins, Women in Ancient Egypt, 138.
24
Robins, Women in Ancient Egypt, 58, 77. See also section 2.1.2.
25
On slavery because of insolvency, cf., e.g., I. Mendelsohn, Slavery in the Ancient Near East, New York 1949, 23-33; Dandamaev, Slavery in Babylonia, 157-80.
26
G.R. Driver, J.C. Miles, The Babylonian Laws, repr., vol. 1, Oxford 1956,
208-21; M. Stol, Een Babylonir maakt schulden, Amsterdam 1983, 9-15.
27
Westbrook, 'The Female Slave', 217.
2S
ANET, 528.
29
C. Desroches Noblecourt, La femme au temps des pharaons, Paris 1986, 241;
Brunner-Traut, 'Die Stellung der Frau im Alten gypten', 323; Robins, Women
in Ancient Egypt, 138.
22

(niptu).30
CH 117 shows that fathers could sell their daughters into slavery.
Mothers, too, are recorded as selling their children into slavery. 31 It
would seem, however, that this only happened in a situation of distress. Such appears to have been the case for the Emarite Abi-hamis,
who sold his daughter as a slave to Dagan-talih for nine sides of silver. 32
Middle Assyrian Law holds certain rules concerning the giving in
marriage of a daughter who lived in a creditor's house as a pledge.
If the creditor wished to give her in marriage, he had to ask for her
father's permission or, if her father was deceased, for permission of
one of her brothers. In the latter case, her brother had to redeem
her within one month, or the creditor might give her to a husband
(MAL A48). If, however, a prior creditor should come forward, 'he
must be indemnified by the man who has given her in marriage. . . .
If, however, the man who has thus given the girl in marriage is unable
to pay this sum, the creditor who has been deprived of his security
may seize and take him in her place, so that he makes good the debt
in his own person' (MAL A39). 33
Also in the Late Babylonian period, daughters could be used as a
security for a debt and end up being a slave girl. It seems that in this
period, too, a daughter of free parents would only become a slave in
a situation of distress. 34
Both in the Old Babylonian and the Middle Assyrian period, a wife
could become a payment slave as a result of her husband's debts. 35
The status of a wife, however, appears to have been better than that
of a daughter in the Neo-Babylonian period, when a man did not seem
to have had the right to use his wife as security in a debt. 36
30

P. Artzi, A. Malamat, 'The Correspondence of ibtu, Queen of Mari in ARM

X', Or. 40 (1971), 80; G. Dossin, Correspondance fminine (ARM, 10), Paris 1978,
226-9 (no. 160). Judging from the examples in CAD (N) 2, 249-51, it would seem
that fairly often a wife would be the person to become a man's payment slave, but
also cases of children and (female) slaves are attested, cf. Stol, Een Babylonir
maakt schulden, 12, 27, . 84.
31
Dandamaev, Slavery in Babylonia, 170-5; Pressler, 'Wives and Daughters,
Bond and Free', 167, n. 49.
32
Arnaud, Recherches au pays d'Astata (Emar, 6/3), 92-3 (no. 83).
33
G.R. Driver, J.C. Miles, The Assyrian Laws, repr. of the ed. Oxford 1935 with
suppl. add. and corr. by G.R. Driver, Aalen 1975, 279-80.
34
Kuhrt, 'Non-Royal Women in the Late Babylonian Period', 233-4.
35
Cf. CH 117; Driver, Miles, The Assyrian Laws, 276.
36
Dandamaev, Slavery in Babylonia, 168-9; Kuhrt, 'Non-Royal Women in the
Late Babylonian Period', 233. However, Kuhrt, 234, notes that 'married women
could be imprisoned and then hired out to work'.

In a bigynous marriage where the first wife was a free person and
the second wife a slave wife, certain problems could arise. CH 146147 deals with such problems, in this case concerning a slave woman
owned by a naditu.37 Since the latter was not allowed to bear children,
she could provide her husband with a slave woman for this purpose.
Yet it sometimes happened that the slave aspired to equal status with
her mistress. If this should occur, the slave woman should not be sold
in case she had borne children to the naditu's husband, but a childless
slave woman with such aspirations should be sold. The earlier Code
of Ur-Namma also seems to deal with a problem of a slave wife not
acknowledging the authority of her husband's first wife. CU 25-26
concerns a slave woman (gem) who acted with the authority of her
mistress. The offender probably was a slave wife who aspired to the
status of her mistress. However, the interpretation of these laws is not
unequivocal. 38 Some Old Babylonian marriage contracts hold clauses
concerning the sanctions a first wife could perform in case of a second
(slave) wife's misconduct. One of them rules that '[t]he day she (W2)
distresses W l , she will shave her and sell her'. 39
Despite the law (CH 146-147) ruling that a slave woman who
bore a child to her master should not be sold, this sometimes did
happen. Some Mesopotamian marriage contracts contain provisions
granting childless wives the right to sell a slave woman, purchased for
the purpose of bearing children after she had done so. 40
With regard to the work of female slaves, it would seem that they
generally had to perform domestic tasks and agricultural work. Often
slave women worked in the textile production. 41 In Egypt, the workers
at Deir el-Medina were provided with state-owned female slaves who
had to work for them for some days. Some people sold their right to
a certain number of days' work to another person. The work of these
female slaves was probably to grind grain for the household. 42
Slaves could also be used by their masters to work off a debt in
the creditor's house. 'But the most striking method by which female
slaves were exploited (both by private owners and temples) was to hire
37

A woman dedicated to a deity, cf. section 3.1.

Neumann, 'Bemerkungen zu Ehe, Konkubinat und Bigamie in neusumerischer
Zeit', 135-7; Roth, LCMAM, 20, 22, n. 15.
39
C T 48 48:12-15, cited in: R. Westbrook, Old. Babylonian Marriage Law
(AfO.B, 23), Horn 1988, 110-1.
40
Neumann, 'Bemerkungen zu Ehe, Konkubinat und Bigamie in neusumerischer
Zeit', 137; Westbrook, 'The Female Slave', 216.
41
Cf., e.g., J.M. Asher-Greve, Frauen in altsumerischer Zeit (Bibliotheca
Mesopotamica, 18), Malibu CA 1985, 161.
42
Robins, Women in Ancient Egypt, 102.
38

them out to brothels . . . or individuals . . . as prostitutes, the fee paid

augmenting the income of their master or that of the god/goddess to
whose house they belonged
' 43
Female slaves had no say over their own sexuality. A sexual offense
against a slave girl was regarded as an offense against her owner.
Whereas a man who had deflowered a free woman generally had to
marry the girl according to ancient Near Eastern law, 44 he only had
to pay a fine when he deflowered another man's slave girl without
the owner's consent. Whether or not the slave girl consented was
irrelevant from the juridical point of view. 45
B . U G A R I T I C LITERARY T E X T S

In Ugarit a slave woman could be owned either by an individual or

by an institution, such as a palace. Pubala, king of Great and Little
Udumu, offered peace gifts when he was besieged by Kirtu. Among
the gifts were slaves (KTU 1.14:111.22-25):
22

qh.ksp.wyrq.
hrs

23

yd.mqmh

w'bd.'lm
mrkbt

24
25

tlt.sswm.

btrbs. bn. 'amt

Take silver and the yellow metal,

gold, together with its finding place,
and eternal slaves, teams of three horses,
chariots from the corral, sons of a slave woman 4 6 .

The eternal slaves ( 'bd 'Im) are parallelled with sons of a slave
woman (bn 'amt), indicating that children of a slave woman were
themselves slaves, too.
King Pubala was not the only one who could possess slaves and
offer them as a gift. The gods of Ugarit also had slaves. KTU 1.12:1.1417 refers to Tulishu, the handmaid ( 'amt) of Yarikhu and to Damgayu,
the handmaid of Athiratu. Both slave women desired to be impregnated by Ilu. As pater familias he apparently had the right to have
sexual relations with a slave woman of his wife Athiratu, and also
with a slave woman of his son Yarikhu. 47 Unlike the biblical slave
women Hagar, Bilhah and Zilpah, who were given to their master to
bear offspring for their mistress and whose voice in this matter was
not heard, these handmaids themselves asked of their master to make
them pregnant.
43

Kuhrt, 'Non-Royal Women in the Late Babylonian Period', 232-3.

See section 2.1.4.
45
J.J. Finkelstein, 'Sex Offenses in Sumerian Laws', JAOS 86 (1966), 359-60; C.
Locher, Die Ehre einer Frau in Israel: Exegetische und rechtsvergleichende
Studien
zu Deuteronomium 22,13-21 (OBO, 70), Freiburg, Schweiz 1986, 236.
46
Cf. J. Sanmartin, 'Glossen zum ugaritischen Lexikon (VI)', UF 21 (1989),
335.
47
In Hittite law it is not an offence if a father and his son sleep with the same
slave woman, cf. HL 194; Westbrook, 'The Female Slave', 221-2. Korpel, RiC,
290-1, however, assumes Ilu's behaviour is improper.
44

It would seem that the literary texts from Ugarit portray slave
women as having questionable morals. In the Ba'lu Myth the god
Ba'lu rejected the misconduct of handmaids (KTU 1.4:111.17-22):
17

dm.tn.dbhm.n'a.b'1.

For there are two feasts 48 Ba'lu hates,

tit 1arkb. 'rpt.

three the Rider on the Clouds:
19
dbh btt.
a feast of shamefulness
and a feast 49 of strife 50 ,
wdbh[.wdbh} 2 0 dnt.
wdbh.tdmm<t>
and a meal of handmaids' lewdness 51 .
21
'amht
Indeed in it shamefulness becomes visible 52 ,

kbh.btt.ltbt
22

wbh.tdmmt.

'amht

and in it handmaids' lewdness (becomes visible).

Ba'lu sharply condemned debauchery during sacrificial meals in the

house of his father-in-law Ilu. The slave women who served the food
and wine were behaving improperly. Ug. tdmm is usually regarded as
a cognate of Heb. , implying sexual misconduct of handmaids. 5 3
The association of slave women with lewdness may be a case of
'blaming the victim', since these women had no say over their own
sexuality. A slave girl's master could have sexual relations with her
himself or hire her out for sexual services. She had no choice whether
48

On the meaning of dbh, cf. D. Pardee, Les textes para-mythologiques de la 24e

campagne (1961) (RSO, 4), Paris 1988, 24-6; Idem, in: C0S, vol. 1, 258, n. 142; G.
del Olmo Lete, Canaanite Religion: According to the Liturgical Texts of Ugarit,
Bethesda MD 1999, 35.
49
Dittography in the Ugaxitic text; cf. Tropper, UG, 64.
50
The interpretation of dnt is disputed. Whereas some scholars, among whom
is J.C. de Moor, 'The Sacrifice Which is an Abomination to the Lord', in: M.H.
van Es et al., Loven en geloven, Fs. .H. Ridderbos, Amsterdam 1975, 218, . 41,
propose 'strife', others, such as G. del Olmo Lete, 'Notes on Ugaritic Semantics
IV', UF 10 (1978), 45-6, translate it as 'fornication, lewdness' (cf. DLU, 35), while
'(a feast of) low quality' is also suggested, cf. TO, t. 1, 201, n. g; M. Dietrich, 0 .
Loretz, , Baals Ablehnung niedriger Gste (KTU 1.4 III 17-22)', UF 18 (1986),
447, . 8.
51
Cf. De Moor, 'The Sacrifice Which is an Abomination to the Lord', 218, n.
42; Tropper, UG, 271, 582. The text is emended in analogy to 1. 22, cf. Tropper,
UG, 60, 445. Differently, E. Verreet, Modi Ugaritici: Eine
morpho-syntaktische
Abhandlung ber das Modalsystem im Ugaritischen (OLA, 27), Leuven 1988, 139,
205, assumes tdmm[t} is a scribal error in 1. 22 and regards it as a verb in both
cases. But see W.G.E. Watson, 'Sundry Ugaritic Notes' UF 22 (1990), 421, n. 5.
52
I regard tbt as an imperfect 3 f.s. G of nbt\ cf. DLU, 317; Tropper, UG, 875.
53
Cf. De Moor, 'The Sacrifice Which is an Abomination to the Lord', 218; Idem,
ARTU, 50; Smith, in: Idem, UNP, 124; Wyatt, RTU, 96; DLU, 463; Tropper, UG,
271, 582.
Some, however, refer to Arabic damma 'to misbehave', in which case the misconduct does not have to have a sexual or orgiastic connotation; cf. Dietrich,
Loretz, 'Baals Ablehnung niedriger Gste (KTU 1.4 III 17-22)', 448; Pardee, in:
C0S, vol. 1, 258, n. 144.

or not to have sexual relations with various men. On the other hand,
slave girls could also offer themselves to the master of the house,
hoping to gain status by bearing his child.
Slaves had the lowest status in society. They had to perform tasks
that were despised by other, less unfortunate persons. It was a slave's
job, for example, to make bricks. When Athiratu came to her husband Ilu and told him Ba'lu should have a palace, Ilu ironically asked
whether he was a slave ('bd), or she a slave girl ('ami), who had to
hold the brick-mould or make bricks (KTU 1.4:IV.59-61).
C . HEBREW BIBLE

In the Hebrew Bible, two terms are used to refer to female slaves:
and 54. Various scholars have discussed the question whether or
not there exists a distinction between the terms. Until Alfred Jepsen
published his article 'Ama h und Schiphcha h ' (1958) 55 , most authors
assumed that the two terms were used synonymously and were indicators for source criticism. 56 Jepsen distinguishes between the two
words in the following way. He states that a is 'das noch unberhrte, unfreie Mdchen, vor allem im Dienst der Frau des Hauses',
whereas an is 'die unfreie Frau, sowohl die Nebenfrau des Mannes,
wie die unfreie Frau eines unfreien Mannes, eines Sklaven'. 57 However,
Jepsen's definitions do not always concur with the text and his thesis
has been convincingly refuted. 58
Ingrid Riesener is one of the scholars who has rejected Jepsen's
thesis. She proposes that both words emphasize different aspects of a
woman:
54

On the extra-biblical Hebrew documents that mention an , see chapter 4.

A. Jepsen,'Ama h und Schiphcha 11 ', VT 8 (1958), 293-7, 425.'
56
E.g. W.D. van Wijngaarden, De sociale positie van de vrouw bij Isral in den
voor- en na-exilischen tijd, Leiden 1919, 78-83; 0 . Eissfeldt, Einleitung in das Alte
Testament (NTG), Tbingen 1964 3 , 243. Though not on source critical grounds,
C. Cohen, 'Studies in Extra-Biblical Hebrew Inscriptions I: The Semantic Range
and Usage of the Terms and ', Shnaton 5-6 (1978/79), xxv-liii, has argued
that both terms are synonyms; see below.
57
Jepsen, 'Ama h und Schiphcha h \ 293.
58
Cf. Cohen, 'Studies in Extra-Biblical Hebrew Inscriptions', xxxiii, n. 43,
xxxviii, n. 61, xxxix, n. 66; I. Riesener, Der Stamm im Alten
Testament:
Eine Wortuntersuchung unter Bercksichtigung neuerer
sprachwissenschaftlicher
Methoden (BZAW, 149), Berlin 1979, 76-83; K. Engelken, Frauen im alten Israel:
Eine begriffsgeschichtliche und sozialrechtliche Studie zur Stellung der Frau im
Alten Testament (BWANT, 130), Stuttgart 1990, 131-2.
Pace R. Kessler, 'Die Sklavin als Ehefrau: Zur Stellung der 'mh\ VT 52
(2002), 501, who follows Jepsen and disregards texts such as Gen. 32:23(22],
where Jacob's slave wives, who have borne him sons, are called .
55

Der Unterschied zwischen beiden Wrtern ist folgendermaen zu bestimmen:

Als wird die zum Besitz ihres Herrn oder ihrer Herrin gezhlte und
als "Arbeitskraft" gewertete Sklavin bezeichnet. Als Hflichkeitsformel
bei Selbstbezeichnungen signalisiert das Wort Unterwrfigkeit und
Dienstbereitschaft.
Als wird eine Sklavin im Hinblick auf ihre weiblichen Qualitten
(Schutzbedrftigkeit, Schwachheit, sexuelle Attraktivitt etc.) bezeichnet. Der formelhafte Gebrauch bei Selbstbezeichnungen und die Verwendung in Rechtstexten zeigen die Schutz- und Hilfsbedrfigkeit der
so Bezeichneten.59
Riesener's distinction, however, is not convincing. Especially as a
formula of self-abasement the terms seem to be used synonymously. 60
Furthermore, her description of 'female qualities' is stereotypical and
with regard to some of the texts, not to the point. 61
Karen Engelken, who has also rejected Jepsen's thesis, modifies
Riesener's proposal and founds the distinction on social position.
She states that the is to be regarded as a woman of humble
social position, but the is of even lower status. Summing up
their characteristics, she describes the latter category as 'Sklavinnen
ohne Rechte, niedrigste soziale Stufe, werden zum materiellen Besitz gerechnet', whereas the , who are only one step higher on
the social ladder, are ' [anhngiges, weibliches Dienstpersonal, eng
zur Hausgemeinschaft gehrig, schutzbedrftig, Mglichkeit gewisser
eingeschrnkter Rechte'. 62 However, Engelken cannot overcome the
problem of the same woman being called both and 63.
Since none of the abovementioned theories on the distinction
between and is convincing, it would seem best to regard both
terms as synonyms. 64 Following Chaim Cohen I assume the terms are
interchangeable, they do not indicate different social status. 6 5 There
is, however, a formal stylistic difference in use: ' . . . is generally
59

Riesener, Der Stamm im Alten Testament, 83.

Cf. Cohen, 'Studies in Extra-Biblical Hebrew Inscriptions', xxxviii-xl.
61
For a critical evaluation, see I. Fischer, Die Erzeltern Israels: Feministischtheologische Studien zu Genesis 12-36 (BZAW, 222), Berlin 1994, 95-6.
62
Engelken, Frauen im alten Israel, 185.
63
Her treatment of Gen. 16:1-8 ( )?in relation to Gen. 21:10,12 ( )and
Gen. 25:12 (), for instance, is problematic. The same holds for Gen. 30:3;
31:33 ( )in relation to Gen. 29:24,29; 30:4,7,9,10,12,18,43; 32:6,23; 33:1,2,6;
35:25,26 (), cf. Engelken, Frauen im alten Israel, 136-9.
64
See also C. Houtman, Exodus, vol. 1, (HCOT), Kampen 1993, 45: 'The texts
provide little basis for a possible (subtle) difference between the two terms'.
65
Cohen, 'Studies in Extra-Biblical Hebrew Inscriptions', xxxiii.
60

used as the legal technical term for "female slave, slave-wife" while
is preferred in more colloquial contexts'. 66
Also, in Israel slaves could serve in the temple. In an apparently
anachronistic note preserved in Josh. 9:23 the Gibeonites are cursed
to be lowly life-long servants of the sanctuary. Even according to a
late source like Lev. 22:10-11 priests could own slaves. There is no
explicit mention of female slaves owned by the sanctuary, but women
were serving ( Qal) at its entrance (Exod. 38:8; 1 Sam. 2:22).
Palaces, too, or rather kings and queens, owned slaves (Exod. 2:5;
Nah. 2:8). And as in the surrounding world, individual free citizens
could be slave-owners. Several biblical women possessed slaves who
probably were their dower property. Thus Sarai owned the Egyptian
slave woman Hagar (Gen. 16; 21), Rebekah was accompanied by maids
and by her personal nurse when she left to get married to Isaac (Gen.
24:59,61), Leah owned the maidservant Zilpah (Gen. 29:24), her sister
Rachel owned Bilhah (Gen. 29:29), and Abigail took five maids with
her when marrying David (1 Sam. 25:42).
In circumstances of extreme poverty, parents with debts might be
forced to sell their children into bondage (Exod. 21:7-11; 2 Kgs 4:17; Neh. 5:1-5). 67 Biblical scholars have stressed the difference in this
regard between a daughter and a wife. Whereas the former might be
sold into debt slavery, the latter might not. 68 Raymond Westbrook,
however, assumes that a wife could enter debt servitude while her
husband remained a free person (see further below). Furthermore,
when all other means of survival had been exhausted, a person might
sell him- or herself into slavery in order to stay alive (Deut. 28:68).
Generally, biblical law treats male and female slaves alike. There
is one major exception: Exod. 21:2-11, which deals with cases of free
men and women sold into debt slavery. 69 Biblical law in this regard
distinguishes between the sexes and contrasts the rights of a freeborn
Hebrew slave with those of a daughter sold into bondage. Unlike the
Hebrew slave, who should only be a debt slave for six years unless he
wished to remain enslaved because of his marriage to a slave woman
66

Cohen, 'Studies in Extra-Biblical Hebrew Inscriptions', xxxvii.

See section 2.1.4.
68
Cf., e.g., C. Houtman, Exodus, vol. 3, (HCOT), Leuven 2000, 115.
69
Cf. G.C. Chirichigno, Debt-Slavery in Israel and the Ancient Near East
(JSOT.S, 141), Sheffield 1993,186-255; J.M. Sprinkle, ,The Book of the Covenant':
A Literary Approach (JSOT.S, 174), Sheffield 1994, 51-61; C. Pressler, 'Wives and
Daughters, Bond and Free: Views of Women in the Slave Laws of Exodus 21.211,' in: V.H. Matthews et al. (eds), Gender and Law in the Hebrew Bible and
the Ancient Near East (JSOT.S, 262), Sheffield 1998, 147-72; R. Westbrook, 'The
Female Slave', in: Matthews, Gender and Law, 218-20, 235-6.
67

owned by his master, the daughter did not have to be released after
this period. Carolyn Pressler assumes the daughters concerned were
minor, unbetrothed girls, whose primary economic value would be
their sexual and reproductive capacity. 70 A release after six years of
debt servitude might frustrate the purpose of the sale from the point
of view of the owner. In Exod. 21:8-11 subcases are mentioned with
regard to enslaved daughters who were purchased to be a slave wife71
of a master or his son. If a man had bought a freeborn girl with the
intention of making her his slave wife while later on, when she was
grown up, he disliked her, he must allow her to be redeemed by her
kinfolk (v. 8). If he had bought her as a slave wife for his son, he must
treat her as a member of the family, which meant that he might not
illtreat her nor prostitute her (v. 9). 72 If he decided to take another
slave wife, he must continue to provide her with the provisions she
needed, or else set her free (v. 10-11).73 As Cornells Houtman notes,
the enslaved daughter's right was primarily a right to good care, not
to freedom. 74 Her right to freedom only came into effect when her
right to care was disregarded. If the slave owner did not do one of
the 'three things', i.e., provide for her as either his slave wife or as
his daughter, or give her relatives the opportunity to redeem her, she
regained her freedom. 75
Compared to Exod. 21:2-11, the law of Deut. 15:12-18 is somewhat different. 76 In the latter text the is included in the seventh
year release. Furthermore, there is no exception from release for the
daughter who is sold into slavery (Exod. 21:7). Carolyn Pressler suggests that, as a result of warfare and other social disruptions, the
70

Pressler, 'Wives and Daughters, Bond and Free', 155.

Commentators differ on the opinion whether the enslaved daughter was a
slave wife or a slave concubine. With Kessler, 'Die Sklavin als Ehefrau', 501-12,
I assume the former to be the case. Differently, Westbrook, 'The Female Slave',
235-7, and Pressler, 'Wives and Daughters, Bond and Free', 163, who assume she
was a slave concubine.
72
Pressler, 'Wives and Daughters, Bond and Free', 159.
73
For an overview of various interpretations of , cf. . Levine, 'On Exodus
21,10 Onah and Biblical Marriage', ADR 5 (1999), 133-64.
74
Houtman, Exodus, vol. 3, 112.
75
Cf. Houtman, Exodus, vol. 3, 110-30.
76
It is generally assumed that the law in Exod. 21:2-11 is older than those
in Deut. 15:12-18 and Lev. 25:39-46; cf., e.g., P.C. Craigie, The Book of Deuteronomy (NIC), Grand Rapids MI 1976, 238-9; A.D.H. Mayes, Deuteronomy
(NCBC), Grand Rapids MI 1979, 249-53; Chirichigno, Debt-slavery in Israel and
the Ancient Near East, 186-301; E. Otto, Das Deuteronomium (BZAW, 284),
Berlin 1999, 303-11. Differently, J. Van Seters, 'The Law of the Hebrew Slave',
ZAW 108 (1996), 534-46.
71

number of economically vulnerable women who lacked the protection

of a male headed household increased. This may have caused a more
frequent enslavement of women in the period of Deuteronomy or the
Deuteronomistic redaction. 77 A slightly different explanation is proposed by Cornells Houtman, who refers to Deuteronomy's preference
of emphasizing equal treatment of men and women (e.g. Deut. 7:25). 78 It would seem that Deut. 15:12,17 refers to a female debt slave
who was a slave woman but not a slave wife. 79 Such a female slave
had the same status as a male slave and should therefore be released
after six years of debt servitude.
The law of Lev. 25:39-46 rejects the idea of fellow Israelites becoming slaves. The Israelites might acquire them from the neighbouring countries only. But it is questionable whether the Holiness Code
reflected actual practice in this respect. 80 Scholars assume that the
release of slaves in Jer. 34 is based on a late interpretation of Deut.
15 rather than Exod. 21.81
In Exod. 20:10 and Deut. 5:14 both male and female slaves are
included in the commandment to keep the sabbath. Thus, according
to the Israelite law, not only their owners, but also the slaves who
belonged to the household should not work on the sabbath.
In biblical Israel, as in Mesopotamia, female slave owners could
give their slave as a wife to their husband. Thus Sarah, Rachel and
Leah all gave a female slave to their husbands for the purpose of providing legitimate offspring. In the case of Sarah and her slave Hagar
this led to difficulties regarding the former's ownership rights. At first,
when Hagar acted impudently, Sarai had to ask for Abram's permission to punish her slave (Gen. 16:5-6). Later, when both Sarah and
Hagar were mothers of a son, Sarah considered Ishmael a threat to
her son Isaac (Gen. 21:1-14). Since both women were wives of Abraham, their sons had a right to a certain part of the inheritance. To
prevent Ishmael from inheriting together with Isaac, Sarah asked her
husband to expel her slave. Although Sarah was the owner, she could
not sell Hagar or release her without the consent of her husband, who
77

Pressler, 'Wives and Daughters, Bond and Free', 171.

Houtman, Exodus, vol. 3, 115.
79
Chirichigno, Debt-Slavery in Israel and the Ancient Near East, 279-82;
Pressler, 'Wives and Daughters, Bond and Free', 149-50, 161; Westbrook, 'The
Female Slave', 219, n. 14.
80
Cf. J. Milgrom, Leviticus 23-27 (AncB, 3B), New York 2001, 2212-41.
81
See, e.g., D.R. Jones, Jeremiah (NCBC), Grand Rapids MI 1992, 429-30;
G L. Keown et al (eds), Jeremiah 26-52 (WBC, 27), Dallas TX 1995, 182-90;
W. McKane, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on Jeremiah (ICC), vol. 2,
Edinburgh 1996, 878-84.
78

was also her slave's husband. It is generally assumed that Hagar was
divorced and that she and her son were released and as a consequence
forfeited the right to inheritance. 82
The threat a slave wife could constitute to a first wife (and, probably, to her children) is also expressed in Prov. 30:21-23, where it is
said that a slave wife should not be raised in status:
Under three things the earth trembles
under four it cannot bear up:
a slave when he becomes king,
and a fool when glutted with food;
an unloved woman when she gets a husband,
and a maid when she succeeds her mistress.
It seems that only biblical women who were unable to bear children
gave their maidservant to their husband. Sarai seemed to act for the
benefit of both herself and her husband, but Rachel and Leah appear
to have done so for their own sake, since Jacob already had four
sons. They were not legally obliged to give their female slaves to their
husband, but acted out of their own free will, to overcome their own
(temporary) infertility. 83
The marriage between a slave and a free person is also acknowledged in biblical Israel. According to 1 Chron. 2:34-35, Sheshan, an
Israelite with no sons but only daughters, gave his (eldest?) daughter
in marriage to his Egyptian slave Jarha. Such a marriage would sometimes lead to conflicts between family law and property law. Exod.
21:2-6 distinguishes between marriage prior to debt slavery and marriage during enslavement. If a married man became a debt slave, his
wife followed him into slavery and, after six years, was released together with him. If a man married a slave woman owned by his master,
while being a debt slave himself, the master remained the owner of
the slave woman upon release of the debt slave. While he became a
82

CLI 25; CH 170-171; Y. Zakovitch, 'The Woman's Rights in the Biblical

Law of Divorce', JLA 4 (1981), 34; G. Wenham, Genesis 16-50 (WBC,2), Dallas
TX 1994, 82-3; V.R Hamilton, The Book of Genesis: Chapters 18-50 (NIC),
Grand Rapids MI 1995, 79-80; Westbrook, 'The Female Slave', 228.
The inheritance situation was different for the family of Jacob, since he already
had four sons before any sons were born of slave women. Ishmael, on the other
hand, although born of a slave woman, was Abraham's firstborn son. Cf. Fischer,
Die Erzeltern Israels, 100-1.
83
J. Van Seters, 'The Problem of Childlessness in Near Eastern Law and the
Patriarchs of Israel', JBL 87 (1968), 403; T.L. Thompson, The Historicity of
the Patriarchal Narratives: The Quest for the Historical Abraham (BZAW, 133),
Berlin 1974, 256; Fischer, Die Erzeltern Israels, 98-9. Cf. section 2.1.2.

free person again, her status remained that of a slave. 84

In general, a man who owned a female slave had authority over
her sexuality. He had the right to enjoy her sexual services. There was
only one restriction: if the female slave was married to a free person
other than the owner. This situation could occur if a woman was a
slave pledged in debt by her husband. Then the rights of the creditor
could conflict with marital law, as is demonstrated in Lev. 19:2022. Raymond Westbrook has proposed the following interpretation of
this adultery case: 'a husband has been forced to give his wife to a
creditor in pledge and the creditor has slept with her'. 85 Enslavement
of the wife did not affect the validity of the marriage. Since the wife
was in an unfree position, she was not executed. Yet it is difficult to
understand why the offending owner came off with a guilt offering.
According to Westbrook, when the creditor violated the marriage, his
rights of ownership were cancelled.
As in its neighbouring countries, in biblical Israel slaves were also
obtained as a result of warfare. Foreign women who became captives of
war were regarded as slaves. Sometimes, however, their status ameliorated into that of a free wife. Deut. 21:10-14 regulates the case of
a man who wished to marry a foreign captive woman. 86 Because she
was a prisoner of war and a slave, the ordinary procedure to arrange a
marriage could not be met. After the captive woman had been given
the opportunity to mourn her parents and the prescribed rituals were
fulfilled, the man might marry the foreign woman and she became
his free wife. If her husband would thereupon cease to desire her and
wish to divorce her, she should not become a slave again, but remain
a free person.
D . CONCLUSIONS

In all societies of the ancient Near East female slaves could be owned
by individuals as well as by institutions. It often mattered to a slave
whether she was owned by an individual or an institution. In the for84

Westbrook, 'The Female Slave', 223-4. Cf. CU 4.

R. Westbrook, 'Adultery in Ancient Near Eastern Law', RB 97 (1990), 566;
see also his Studies in Biblical and Cuneiform Law CRB, 26), Paris 1988, 1019; S. Lafont, Femmes, Droit et Justice dans l'Antiquit orientale:
Contribution
l'tude du droit pnal au Proche-Orient ancien (OBO, 165), Fribourg, Suisse
1999, 59-61, 73-5, 77 and section 2.1.1.5 on adultery. See furthermore, for a somewhat different interpretation, B.J. Schwartz, Literary Study of the Slave-Girl
Pericope - Leviticus 19:20-22', in: S. Japhet, Studies in Bible, 1986 (ScrHier, 31) ,
Jerusalem 1986, 241-55; E. Otto, Theologische Ethik des Alten Testaments (ThW,
3/2), Stuttgart 1994, 248.
86
Cf. C. Pressler, The View of Women Found in the Deuteronomic Family Laws
(BZAW, 216), Berlin 1993, 9-15; Westbrook, 'The Female Slave', 235.
85

mer case, she might become a slave concubine of her master, whereas
in the latter case she might marry and have her own family. Also the
chance of being sold was greater when being owned by an individual.
Women could become debt slaves in Mesopotamia, Egypt and Israel. The Ugaritic literary texts do not inform us on debt slavery. In a
situation of distress free persons who could not pay their debts might
sell either a family member or themselves into debt servitude. Parents
could sell their daughters, husbands their wives. Both Mesopotamian
and biblical law hold a limit for the period of debt servitude. Biblical law, however, excludes the minor, unbetrothed girl from release
(Exod. 21:2-11). Moreover, the limitation of the period of servitude
was not valid for houseborn slaves.
Having the lowest status in society, female slaves often had to do
menial tasks. Privately owned slaves had to perform household duties,
while slaves owned by institutions worked in the textile industry or
in agriculture. State owned slaves in Deir el-Medina had to grind
grain, and slaves at Ugarit also had to do heavy work, making bricks.
Mesopotamian evidence testifies to the fact that slaves could also be
hired out as prostitutes.
According to the Mesopotamian, Ugaritic and biblical evidence,
female slaves had no authority over their own sexuality. It is remarkable, however, that in Ugaritic literature two slave women offered
themselves to Ilu in order to make them pregnant. Perhaps their debauchery was stressed in this way. A slave woman's owner could give
her or hire her out to someone else for sexual service. He could also
use her himself as a concubine. The status of a privately owned female slave who was a slave wife was better than a slave who was a
concubine, for her children - if she had any - were acknowledged as
heirs.
In general, men were warned against the lewdness of slave girls. In
wisdom texts, they are often mentioned together with other women
of dubious morals. But since slave women had no say over their own
sexuality, and could be the object of forcible sexual intercourse, one
wonders whether the stereotype image of the lewd slave girl is a case
of 'blaming the victim'.

2.3 General Conclusions

The picture that has emerged from the comparison between the status
patterns of women in the Ugaritic literary texts and the Hebrew Bible,
supplemented with data on women in the ancient Near East in general,
shows for the most part only minor differences.

W O M E N IN T H E FAMILY

Within family life, the role that is given most attention in literary
texts is that of the wife. Being married was the normal state of affairs for a woman. Marriage primarily was an arrangement between
families. Personal choice of the partners was of secondary importance
only. Based on the Sumerian myth of the Marriage of Martu, I have
assumed that girls at Ugarit, too, may have had an unofficial say in
who was to become their future husband. In the Hebrew Bible, Rebekah is asked for her consent in marrying Isaac. In general, however,
biblical daughters were dependent on their fathers with regard to the
choice of their marriage partner.
Possibly a difference existed with regard to the preference for endogamous marriage. According to the Hebrew Bible, endogamous marriages were preferred in order to protect Israel's religious identity. It
would seem that in Ugarit exogamy was less frowned upon, although
this is not entirely certain.
Although girls had no official say in their choice of marriage partner, marriageable girls might try to court their lover, while aiming
at matrimony. In love poetry from Ugarit and Israel female and male
lovers mutually express their affection for each other. In the area of
love both partners could take the initiative and both sexes were apparently considered equal.
Both in Ugarit and Israel, marriages were generally patrilocal.
Although a couple could live in the household of the wife, this was
uncommon. The Ugaritic deity Ba'lu, for instance, lived in the house
of his father-in-law only for as long as he did not have a residence of
his own. Theories on matriarchal and matrilocal forms of marriages
in Israel should be rejected. Marriages were not only patrilocal but
also patrilineal. Only in exceptional cases was descent traced in the
matrilineal line and that for just one generation.
Formal marriage arrangements were made in Ugarit as well as
in Israel. Part of these arrangements was the setting of a price for
the marriage deposit. Once the marriage deposit and gifts were exchanged, the couple were inchoately married. Neither the Hebrew
Bible, nor the literary texts from Ugarit mention written marriage
contracts. Their use was widespread in the ancient Near East, however, and it is likely that they were also commonly used in both societies. The custom to give a woman who left her paternal home a
dowry, well-known in the ancient Near East, is suggested in the literary texts from Ugarit and is also indicated in the Bible.
At Ugarit, marriage was an institution with religious connotations. Traces of ritual in connection with the marriage ceremony were

found, but marriage does not seem to have been regarded as a divine institution at Ugarit. The Hebrew Bible, on the other hand,
offers several allusions to marriage being considered a divine institution, legitimized and sanctioned by YHWH. Marriage was regarded
as a covenant between two partners who had mutual obligations. In
the marriage metaphor the relationship between Y H W H and Israel is
compared to that of a husband and wife. However, caution is called
for when deducing information on biblical marriage from the marriage metaphor. Faithfulness is required of both marriage partners
and monogamy is preferred, both in biblical marriage and in the marriage metaphor. Yet with regard to the punishment of the adulterous
wife the marriage metaphor probably differs from normal practice in
Israelite society. To express the unfaithfullness of the Israelite people,
the prophets emphasized the imagery of unrestrained female sexuality.
The view that the sexuality of a married woman was regarded as her
husband's property is reflected by the marriage metaphor and legitimized by it. At the same time, however, the conceptual system of the
marriage metaphor holds a negative view on women's sexuality. Such
a negative view is not found in the Ugaritic mythology, which offers
a quite different emphasis. While Y H W H binds himself in a spiritual
sense to one partner, the Ugaritic deity El has physical intercourse
with several women. The sexual activity of some deities - male as well
as female - is unrestrained in Ugaritic mythology. However, here, too,
we must not confuse acceptable behaviour in the realm of deities with
what was acceptable in human life. The non-literary texts will prove
to be enlightening in this respect (chapter 4).
In Ugarit as well as in Israel monogamy was the rule, but bigyny
and polygyny also occurred. Polygyny was restricted to the circles
of royalty and the very wealthy. The marriages of the Ugaritic gods,
Ilu and Ba'lu, were polygynous, yet those of the kings Kirtu and
Dani'ilu seem to have been monogamous. 1 Men in the upper circles
of Israelite society were polygynists, too. As we have seen, Y H W H ' S
metaphorical relationship with Israel was monogamous. On the other
hand, in Ezek. 2 3 Y H W H is depicted as the bigynous husband of
Oholah/Samaria and Oholibah/Jerusalem. Bigyny occurs fairly often
in the biblical narratives. In such a bigynous marriage often one of
the wives is allegedly barren, but does not lose her position. In the
Ugaritic texts, too, btlt 'Anatu seems to hold a steady position as first
wife, despite her apparent childlessness.
Legally a husband was lord and owner of his wife. This is the case
1

T h e non-literary texts from Ugarit show, however, that Ugaritic kings also
had polygynous marriages. See chapter 4.

in Ugaritic literature as well as in the Hebrew Bible. Although a husband had the right to dominate his wife, both bodies of literature
give evidence of relationships between husbands and wives in which
harmony and love played an important role. Officially the husband
had authority over his wife, yet she could influence him by being his
counsellor or his representative. The Ugaritic goddess 'Athtartu acted
as counterpart to her husband Ba'lu and was referred to as a manifestation of him. Since the Phoenician goddess Tannit was depicted
likewise, this may point to a diminishing importance of goddesses in
general. Asherah's role in Israelite religion differed due to its tendency toward monotheism. The goddess gradually lost her independent status and her characteristics merged into those of YHWH/E1. She
ultimately disappeared from Israel's official religion. 2
Both in Ugarit and Israel wives had their own domain, of which
housekeeping was the most important part. Depending on their social
position they performed household tasks themselves or oversaw the
tasks performed by their personnel. The Ugaritic goddesses sometimes
performed menial tasks, such as washing clothes and cleaning the
house, but they also employed servants who could take chores off
their hands. Wives in biblical Israel also performed various household
tasks. The industrious woman of Prov. 31:10-31 is depicted as an ideal
provider of the home. Wives of high social status had servants to do
certain chores.
Women of all classes could spend some time on their own or meet
other women to enjoy moments of relaxation with song and dance.
Wealthy wives generally lived in large houses with separate female
quarters. Since they had the personnel to do tasks that required going
out, they themselves did not need to leave the house. Royal wives and
concubines probably lived in seclusion, although they may have had
freedom of movement and contact with people outside the women's
quarters. The situation of women in Israel may have differed from
those in Ugarit with regard to the continuing importance of extended
families. Although we may assume a gradual shift from extended to
nuclear families in Israel, the former remained of importance. The
symbolic function of the family as expressed in theological and ideological thought may have attributed to a restriction of the freedom of
movement of women. But since the amount of evidence is restricted
it seems prudent not to draw too far-reaching conclusions on this
matter.
Although both Ugaritians and Israelites held the view that a mar2

On the role of Asherah in Israelite religion, see chapter 3.

riage should ideally last 'for ever', this did not always happen. Some
marriages ended in divorce. Adultery by a wife probably was the main
reason for a husband to divorce her. The Ugaritic literary texts do not
provide us with much information on adultery. 3 In the Hebrew Bible
adultery by a wife is condemned and should be punished by death,
according to biblical law. Yet in Israel as well as in its neighbouring
countries a husband of an adulterous wife had the option to pardon
and then divorce her. With regard to adultery a gender dissymmetry
existed. Whereas a woman who committed adultery broke her own
marriage, an adulterous man only broke the marriage of another man.
There was also a gender dissymmetry with regard to divorce. A husband had the right to divorce his wife at will, but a wife did not have
that right. Whereas in Mesopotamia and Egypt a wife under certain
restrictions had the right to divorce, this was not the case in Israel,
so it seems. Since up till now no Israelite marriage contract from the
biblical period has shown up that gives a wife the right to dissolve her
marriage, we have to assume that in this case the position of Israelite
women was worse than that of women in neighbouring countries. It
is not clear whether or not an Ugaritic wife had the right to divorce.
The data on this subject are too scarce and inconclusive.
A successful marriage was a marriage that produced children,
preferably male children. In Ugaritic literary texts the desire for children is expressed from a male perspective. In the Hebrew Bible the
female perspective is also given attention. 4 Although both Canaanite/Ugaritic and Israelite religion were concerned with fertility, neither
should be characterized as a fertility religion. It is worth noting that
the major deity of Ugarit who was held responsible for human fertility
was Ilu. Goddesses played a certain role with regard to procreation,
yet this role was connected to their sexual capacity and their gender.
In the Hebrew Bible some vestiges of the participation of goddesses
in the reproductive process may still be discerned, but it was Y H W H
alone who granted progeny. Ugarit's major deity, Ilu, was considered
to be of dual gender, i.e., both Father and Mother. Allusions to this
occur in the Hebrew Bible, where Y H W H is compared to a mother in
metaphorical imagery. Yet Y H W H is not invoked as 'Mother'.
3

B u t see the non-literary texts in chapter 4 on the case of the bittu rabiti.
This has been criticized by Esther Fuchs, however, as serving patrilineal interests and patriarchal ideology; cf. . Fuchs, 'The Literary Characterization of
Mothers and Sexual Politics in the Hebrew Bible', in: A. Yarbro Collins (ed.), Feminist Perspectives on Biblical Scholarship (SBL Centennial Publications) (Biblical
Scholarship in North America, 10), Chico CA 1985, 117-36; Idem, Sexual Politics
in the Biblical Narrative: Reading the Hebrew Bible as a Woman (JSOT.S, 310),
Sheffield 2000, 44-90.
4

Both in Ugarit and Israel people regarded children as a blessing

from the gods/God. People also were aware that both partners had to
be fertile in order to beget children. Examples of this awareness occur
in both Ugaritic literature and the Hebrew Bible. Still, a couple's
infertility was generally attributed to the wife. Thus, the Ugaritic
king Kirtu had subsequently married seven wives, who all failed to
bear him offspring. And it was the goddess 'Anatu who appeared
to be the eternal btlt, unable to bear. In the Hebrew Bible, several
women suffered from initial barrenness, among whom the matriarchs.
Although in the narratives of the childless matriarchs the emphasis is
on subjection to the divine will and persistant hope in God's fulfilment
of his promise, barrenness is also related to sin in the Hebrew Bible,
and to divine displeasure. Ugaritic literary texts do not explicitly
relate childlessness to sin. Infertile husbands such as Dani'ilu tried to
mollify the gods with offerings. It is not clear whether Dani'ilu feared
to have been rejected by the gods, yet his behaviour towards them
in offering food and drink, and dressing in sackcloth (KTU 1.17:1)
might point in that direction. In both cultures childless persons were
considered pitiful. In Ugarit, the focus is on the childless husband, who
tries to induce the pity of the deities and is pitied by them. Although
the Hebrew Bible also narrates Isaac praying to Y H W H that his wife
Rebekah may conceive, its focus is mainly on the childless wife, whose
husband, in some cases, has children with another woman. Thus, the
perspective of women, and especially their sorrow and grief of being
childless, is given more attention in the Hebrew Bible than in Ugaritic
literature.
People knew that, in order to become pregnant, sexual intercourse
was essential. Whereas in Ugaritic literature sexual intercourse is described freely, and the woman is regarded as an active partner, who,
in experiencing 'heat' (orgasm), 'achieves conception' (KTU 1.17:1.3942), this sort of description does not occur in the Hebrew Bible. Biblical authors generally refer to sexual intercourse in guarded terms.
However, Sarah, upon hearing that she would have a son, wondered
whether she should 'have (sexual) pleasure' in her old age (Gen. 18:1112). In both cultures conception was thus believed to be related to
the female orgasm.
When a child was born, the Israelite mother was believed to be
unclean for a certain number of days. Also in Ugarit, a woman who
gave birth was possibly considered unclean. Several explanations have
been proposed for the sex difference with regard to the number of days
of impurity in the Hebrew Bible (80 for a girl and 40 for a boy). It is
most obvious to asume that the double number of days is related to

the vaginal discharge of the new-born baby girl. And it is worth noting
that such a sex difference also existed among the Hittites. In Ugarit as
well as in Israel, there was a preference for sons, although parents also
welcomed daughters. The theme of begetting a male child to continue
the family line is prominent in the literature of both cultures.
According to the Hebrew Bible, children were to honour their
father and mother. A mother's role in teaching young children is valued highly in the Bible and various examples of a mother's love for her
children, either young or adult, are given. A mother who renounced
her instincts by feeding herself on her child (cannibalism) instead of
feeding her child symbolized a world in chaos. Motherhood offered
a woman authority over her children as well as honour and security
in old age. Of a mother's influence on her children, little is known
from Ugaritic literature. Judging by the extant literary texts, it was a
father who named the child in Ugarit. In the Hebrew Bible, mothers
as well as fathers could name their children, although there may have
been a historical development that led to the exclusion of women from
naming their children. This subject needs further study. Matronyms
are sometimes used in Ugaritic literary texts. In the Hebrew Bible,
they are used seldom. In both cases any reference to matriarchy is redundant, since the use of matronyms can be explained either by way
of polygynous marriage or by the fact that the mother was somehow
related to royal circles.
The role of a sister in family life is given far less attention in
literary texts than that of a mother. The relationship between a sister and her brother (s) is generally depicted as one of love and affection, although examples of a quarrelsome nature are also present.
We encountered an example of the affection between a sister and her
brother in the Legend of Aqhatu. Upon the death of her brother,
Pughatu acted as his vindicator. A brother often exercised a certain
authority over his sister. In the Ugaritic Legend of Kirtu, Iluha'u instructed his sister, Thatmanatu, to mourn the approaching death of
their father, after having been ordered to do so by the latter. Thatmanatu's brother thus acted with delegated authority towards her.
The biblical narratives on brothers and their sister (Gen. 34; 2 Sam.
13) emphasize the theme of family honour. The honour of a girl was
closely related to that of her father and brothers. Although in both
stories the brothers took revenge on those who had defiled their sister's honour, they had their own agenda for doing so and the love for
their sister seems to have played a subservient role in it. It is remarkable that the brothers acted in this manner even while their father
was still alive, which might indicate that in biblical Israel a brother

had more authority over his sister than at Ugarit. Yet the different
themes of the narratives and the paucity of evidence calls for caution.
Incest between a full brother and sister was condemned in all
societies of the ancient Near East. Although the Ugaritic texts do
not deal with the subject, we may assume it was also denounced at
Ugarit. In the Hebrew Bible, too, incest between a brother and sister
is condemned. The law texts explicitly forbid sexual relations between
a half brother and sister, but an explicit prohibition of sexual relations
between a full brother and sister is missing. It seems to be implicitly
prohibited in Lev. 18:6. I assume the narrator of 2 Sam. 13 considered
the sexual relationship between Tamar and Amnon to be incestuous
and disapproved of Amnon's behaviour.
Besides the relation towards her siblings as a sister, a woman had a
relation towards her parents as a daughter. Because of the patrilineal
structure of Ugaritic and Israelite society, sons were preferred over
daughters. Sons perpetuated the family line, whereas daughters left
the family to marry into their husband's family. Both in Ugaritic
and Israelite literature the continuation of the family line and the
desire for a son are important themes. Furthermore, examples from
Babylonia and biblical Israel testify that, if parents had to surrender a
child as a security for debt, they would rather use their daughter than
their son. Remarkably, although in the Ugaritic Legends of Kirtu and
Aqhatu the fathers desire to have sons, the theme of daughters acting
as replacements for sons seems to contradict this preference. Possibly
the Ugaritic scribe Ilimilku wanted to emphasize the eligibility of
women to royal succession in an exceptional political situation. The
image of Israel as the metaphorical son of Y H W H in the Hebrew Bible
is an adaption of the polytheistic concept of the family of gods. Yet
the metaphor of Israel as a son is never balanced with Israel as God's
daughter, possibly for fear that she might develop into a goddess.
With regard to the treatment of daughters in the context of the
family we encounter both positive and negative examples. Some biblical fathers, such as Jephthah and David, acted thoughtlessly or carelessly towards their daughter's needs. Others, such as Laban, acted
with more affection. Ugaritic literary texts focus more on how daughters treated their father than the other way around. In the texts the
fathers gave their daughters orders, to mourn, to saddle a he-ass, etc.
Of a father's care for his daughter we do not read. The only example
in which emotions expressed between a father and his daughter played
a certain role is the behaviour of 'Anatu towards her father, Ilu, when
she threatened to strike his skull. Towards his daughter 'Anatu Ilu did
not behave as an authoritative father. Unlike 'Anatu, other daugh-

ters in Ugaritic literature were all obedient to their fathers, as were

Jephthah's daughter and Esther in the Hebrew Bible.
The virginity of an unmarried daughter was highly valued in the
ancient Near East and is a recurrent theme in its literature. A respectable girl was expected to remain chaste until she married. In
Ugaritic literature, the value of chastity in daughters is referred to,
for instance, in Ba'lu's question whether his daughter Pidrayu and
her sisters had been respectable. And the initial refusal of Ba'lu to
put a window in his palace should possibly be regarded in the light
of his intention to protect his daughters' virginity. Biblical law rules
that a man who violated an unbetrothed girl had to pay a marriage
deposit and had to marry the girl, if the father consented to it.
When a father violated his own daughter's sexuality, this was regarded as a despicable, yet forgivable act in the ancient Near East. In
the Hebrew Bible, father-daughter incest is not explicitly prohibited.
Whereas other forms of incest threatening a man's 'ownership' over
a woman's sexuality were seen as capital offenses, this was not the
case with father-daughter incest, since the offender was the one with
authority over the girl. In Ugarit, incest in general was condemned.
Probably, father-daughter incest was also regarded as unacceptable,
but we are reasoning from silence here. On the other hand, sexual
offenses on the part of a father against a daughter may have been
treated as half-heartedly in Ugarit as they were in the rest of the
ancient Near Eastern world.
A daughter generally did not have a high status within the family.
She was under the authority of her father whose main concern appears
to have been to guard her chastity and marry her off while she was
still a virgin. Her rights seem to have been restricted. This can be
illustrated by way of inheritance rights. In Ugarit as well as Israel,
daughters had no right to a share of the inheritance, if a father had
both sons and daughters. Only in the absence of sons did a daughter
have the right to inherit. This was the case in biblical Israel and
probably in Ugarit, too.
Whereas a daughter was under the authority of her father, a widow
could be under the authority of her father-in-law. This was the case
when her father-in-law lived longer than her husband. When neither
her father-in-law, nor her own parents were alive, a widow was an independent woman. Yet her juridical independence did not always mean
economic independence. In the literary texts of Ugarit the widow is
depicted as a poor woman. Beside the proverbial poor widow, the
Hebrew Bible also offers examples of widows who were economically
independent and more or less wealthy.

Despite her juridical autonomy, a widow could be confronted with

lack of justice. When her rights were neglected, she had no other
option than to appeal to the king. Both in Ugarit and Israel the
good king protected the rights of the widow. In Israel, as well as in
Mesopotamia, a widow furthermore was under the special protection
of the deity (YHWH, Marduk) and temple authorities could provide
for her.
An Israelite widow did not have the right to inherit from her husband. She did have usufructary rights to his land, however. If she had
young children, they would inherit later and she was entitled to manage her late husband's property for them. The Ugaritic literary texts
do not offer any information on this subject.
Although a widow was no heir to her husband's property, she could
own possessions. Her dowry was lawfully her personal property. Purthermore, we know from other ancient Near Eastern countries that a
husband could give his wife property during his lifetime or make certain arrangements for her to become the owner of property after his
death. However, she would loose the right to this additional property
if she remarried. The frequent occurrence of endogamous remarriages
in some ancient Near Eastern societies can be related to the wish of a
husband's family to keep the widow's dower property within the family. The widow, on her part, might be disposed towards endogamous
remarriage because she did not want to loose the usufructary rights
over the additional property her late husband had given her.
Keeping a widow's dower property within the family was one of the
purposes of levirate marriage. This type of marriage not only occurs
in the Hebrew Bible, but also in Hittite and probably in Assyrian and
Ugaritic society. Although it is presented in the Hebrew Bible as being
for the benefit of the widow, its primary purpose was perpetuation of
the name of the deceased husband. The levirate marriage is presented
as a law, but there was no severe punishment if the law was not obeyed
by the levir. In the Hebrew Bible, the brother of a deceased man was
obliged to marry his widowed sister-in-law. Contrary to Hittite and,
possibly, Ugaritic society, it seems that in biblical Israel the levirate
duty did not extend to a widow's father-in-law. To distant kinsmen,
the levirate marriage was no law, but a moral obligation. If a kinsman
refused to fulfil the obligation, he did not loose face. But if a brotherin-law did not wish to perform the duty of levirate marriage, a widow
could go to court and publicly shame him. Thereupon she probably
was free to marry whomever she pleased. We do not know whether a
widow was obliged to perform the levirate marriage or could renounce
it. Yet she would probably prefer marriage over widowhood, which

offered her protection rather than the threat of poverty.

The main need of the orphan girl was that to be protected. Sometimes a family member would take care of an orphan (cf. Mordecai
and Esther). In both Ugaritic literature and the Hebrew Bible, it is
a task of the king as an upholder of social justice to protect and feed
the orphan.
W O M E N IN S O C I E T Y

Of the women of the court, the queen and the queen mother were the
most influential women. Both in Ugarit and Israel the queen acted
as an intermediary between the king and his subjects. People would
approach the queen with the request to intercede on their behalf. Furthermore, official meetings and banquets could offer opportunities to
a queen to exercise influence. In Ugarit as well as in Israel, kings and
queens did not share the same living quarters. Queens either lived separately in their own palace or in a separate wing of the king's palace.
According to the Ugaritic texts, the queen's movements were not restricted. Athiratu went to the king's dwelling to visit him without
having to ask permission to do so. The Hebrew Bible offers a twofold
picture. Whereas Bathsheba could approach the king freely, Esther
did not have free access to the Persian king Ahasuerus.
The Ugaritic texts and the Hebrew Bible both illustrate queens
exercising power over their own personnel. Moreover, in both cultures
a queen could have a certain influence on the affairs of state. With
the consent of her husband, Esther was allowed to write an edict in
the name of the Persian king. And queen Jezebel wrote letters in the
name of her Israelite husband. The Ugaritic king, Pubala, probably
discussed his strategy of dealing with a siege with his wife. However,
all queens who engaged in affairs of state and in politics needed a
firm power base. This power base was related to the authority their
husbands had delegated to them and had allowed them to exercise.
Thus, the power of a queen was related to and dependent on her
husband, the king.
In general, the power of a queen mother was also a delegated
power. A few ancient Near Eastern queens and queen mothers are
known to have ruled in their own right. These were exceptional cases,
however, and their rule generally was downplayed by later historiographers. This also happened to the biblical Athaliah. Although she
reigned independently, her rule was downplayed by the biblical historiographers, who did not regard her as one of the legitimate rulers of
Judah. Possibly, Judaean queen mothers, like their Hittite collgues,
occupied an official position at the court. If so, they had official power

as !.
Although a king would generally designate his eldest son as his
successor, sometimes one of his wives, either his chief wife or another
favoured lady, could persuade him to renounce the custom of primogeniture and choose another son. Biblical Bathsheba is an example of
such a promoting mother, who improved her own position and that
of her son. In Ugaritic mythology, Athiratu advised her husband on
who was to become the new viceroy. Her position as queen mother
was already firmly established, however.
Usually the power a queen mother could exercise was indirect.
The literature of both cultures renders examples of queen mothers
as advisors and counsellors, who could influence the decisions of the
king. Yet theirs was a power behind the throne, granted by their son.
Still, a queen mother was the most powerful woman in the kingdom.
Beside his chief wife, the queen, a king had several other wives and
concubines. These women lived in a separate part of the palace, in the
women's quarters, or harem. In the Hebrew Bible, the women's quarters are only referred to in a general way and we have little information
on the degree of seclusion of royal wives. The Ugaritic literary texts
are silent on the subject.
Royal wives and concubines were often pawns in the hands of
those in power. Legitimacy to the throne was acquired via the king's
wives and concubines. Lying with a concubine of the reigning king
was understood as a claim to the throne. With regard to international politics, the Hebrew Bible offers examples of royal wives and
concubines who became part of the tribute that had to be paid to the
conqueror. Yet Egyptian sources inform us that some harem women
also played an active part in politics. By participating in court intrigues, they tried to influence national politics. It was probably to
prevent them from becoming a danger to the king from inside the
palace, that his wives and concubines lived in the women's quarters
under strict control.
It would seem that the most important role princesses played in
Ugarit and Israel was as a marriage partner who helped cement national and international relations. In the Ugaritic Legend of Kirtu,
princess Hariya engaged in an international marriage with Kirtu after
the latter had besieged the city. As we shall see later on, intermarriage
with other royal houses corresponds with the reality at the court of
Ugarit (chapter 4). In the Hebrew Bible, Michal's marriage was also of
a political nature. She was a pawn in the conflict between her father,
Saul, and his successor, David, and mostly played a passive role in it.
Other biblical princesses also made political marriages of a national

or international character. Although princesses held a high social position, in which they generally were honoured, they were under the
authority of their father, the king, whose will they had to obey.
Next to the women of the court, there were non-royal women who
fulfilled several roles in society. Some women were legal owners of
immovable property. They had become owners by receiving it as a
dowry, a marriage settlement or a gift, by inheritance, by will, or by
purchase. Although female legal owners of immovables are known from
various periods and places, their role generally is an exceptional one.
The Bible only mentions one such woman: Achsa. In Mesopotamia
a woman often would only have nominal authority over her property. Her (male) family members wished to keep the landed property
within the family and if she intended to alienate it, she would be
confronted with difficulties. Unlike Egyptian women, who could engage in buying and selling immovable property on their own behalf,
Mesopotamian women probably needed the consent of male family
members to engage in business transactions. It cannot be determined
whether biblical women needed their husband's authorization to buy
land. The Ugaritic literary texts offer scanty information on women
as legal owners of immovable property. But non-literary texts suggest that the situation in biblical Israel and Ugarit resembled that in
Mesopotamia.
Although economic life was a male-dominated area, there are examples both in the Ugaritic literary texts and the Hebrew Bible of
women who engaged in business. The industrious woman of Prov.
31:10-31 is presented as an outstanding business woman who earned
her profit by the work of her hands. Yet it is not clear whether the
profit she made belonged only to herself or also to her husband. The
Ugaritic goddesses engaged in business transactions that were not in
the interest of their husbands. Although these women seem to have
acted in an independent way, the examples are too scarce to draw
any reliable conclusions. Again we have to await the evidence from
the non-litary texts (chapter 4).
With regard to the tasks and professions women performed, there
was a large degree of resemblance between Ugarit and Israel. Men as
well as women prepared food, although there was a certain gender
distinction. Butchering and preparing meat was generally the task of
a man, whereas baking bread was generally a woman's job. Drawing
water was a task for women, both in the Ugaritic texts and the Hebrew
Bible, but men and women both washed their own clothes. Women
furthermore worked in various functions as servants. Biblical women
were involved in animal husbandry and agriculture. The Ugaritic liter-

ary texts do not record women performing tasks in these latter fields.
Women in Ugarit and Israel also worked at large building projects.
In Ugarit only slave women participated in such a job, but in Israel
women of high status helped to rebuild Jerusalem's walls. The Bible
also records a female building commissioner. Spinning and weaving
were regarded as typical female tasks in both text corpora.
Several professions were regarded as male jobs, although they were
sometimes occupied by women. Often the women in these professions
worked for other women. This seems to be the case with female scribes
and female messengers. A female deity acting as healer occurs in an
Ugaritic text, but no professional female healer is recorded in the
Bible. In both cultures midwifery and wet-nursing were women's jobs.
The Hebrew Bible furthermore records women working as prostitutes.
The Ugaritic literary texts render no information on prostitution.
Female slaves occur in both text corpora. They could be owned by
individuals or institutions. A study on slaves in the Late Baylonian
period reveals that slaves owned by institutions such as the temple
generally had more opportunities to form their own family and were
less vulnerable to sexual advances by their owners. Furthermore, the
chance of being sold was smaller for institution-owned slaves.
Biblical law informs us on debt slavery, which is limited to a few
years. The minor, unbetrothed girl was excluded from this limit, she
did not have a right to be released, but only a right to good care as
a slave wife. The Ugaritic literary texts are silent on debt slavery.
Female slaves often had to do menial tasks. Slaves at Ugarit had to
do the heavy work of making bricks. The Hebrew Bible renders little
information on the work of slaves. Those who were part of the household were obliged to keep the sabbath, together with their owners.
One of the characteristics of a female slave in the ancient Near
East was that she had no authority over her own sexuality. Her owner
could decide to take her as a concubine, or to give her or hire her out
to someone for sexual services. The Hebrew Bible offers examples of
female slave owners giving their slave as a wife to their husband for the
purpose of providing offspring. Slave women are stereotyped as lewd in
Ugaritic texts, offering themselves for sexual intercourse and behaving
improperly during meals. Moreover, ancient Near Eastern wisdom
texts mention female slaves together with women of dubious morals.
Yet since slave women had no authority over their own sexuality and
could become the object of forcible sexual intercourse, the stereotyped
lewdness of female slaves may be a case of 'blaming the victim'.
As we have seen, in some instances it is not possible to compare
the social position of women in Ugarit and Israel, since information

on the subject with regard to women in Ugarit is lacking. In other

cases we do have information on the social position of women in both
cultures, but the information is from a different focus. Often we can
compare the positions of women in Ugarit and Israel and have to
conclude they are more or less equal. Yet there are a few cases in
which we can acknowledge a difference. We will look at issues which
seem to indicate that the social position of women in the Hebrew
Bible was worse than that of women at Ugarit.
1. In the biblical marriage metaphor a negative view on female
sexuality is expressed (section 2.1.1.3.2). The conceptual system
of the metaphor holds a negative view on women's sexuality. The
metaphorical wife has lax morals, and as an adulterous woman
is in need of restriction and punishment. The marriage metaphor is used to express the unfaithfullness of the Israelite people
towards her deity. The people are to worship only Y H W H and no
other gods, just as a wife in a marriage is to have a monogamous
relation with her husband and not to have sexual relations with
other men. As I have stated in section 2.1.1.3.2, the marriage
metaphor should not be considered as a paradigm for human
marriage in biblical Israel. With regard to the adultery of the
metaphorical wife the following points need to be taken into account:
(a) The sexuality of a married woman was under the control
of her husband. The husband was regarded as the owner of the
marital rights over his wife. She was not allowed to share her
sexuality with anyone else but her husband. This was the case
in all societies of the ancient Near East.
(b) The metaphorical husband has the right to punish his adulterous wife by beating her and exposing her 'nakedness'. As
we have seen in section 2.1.1.5, biblical law ruled that an adulterous wife should receive the death penalty together with her
paramour. The husband does seem to have had a say in the
matter, however, and it may be assumed that he could decide
whether to prosecute and punish or pardon and accept ransom.
If he chose to punish his adulterous wife, there were other options beside the death penalty, such as mutilation and public
stripping followed by divorce. These punishments also occurred
in Mesopotamian and Egyptian society.
(c) Regarding the metaphor genre, a metaphor is not valueneutral. It informs us on the perception of reality by those who
used the conceptual system of the metaphor, i.e., the prophets,

and their audience. It is undeniable that they disapproved of

promiscuous female sexuality. However, it should be taken into
account that we are dealing with the metaphorical situation of
adultery. In the ancient Near East, a married wife who was sexually active outside her marriage was severely condemned. In this
regard the conceptual system of the biblical marriage metaphor
reflects the general (male) way of thinking in the ancient Near
East and cannot be considered more restrictive towards women,
(d) Problematic, however, is the fact that the imagery of female
sexual sin is used to represent the sins of the entire community,
male and female. In the history of interpretation of the Bible
this imagery has had a negative effect on women. But can we
say that the use of such imagery only occurs in biblical Israel?
In other words, did the disapproval of promiscuous female sexuality also occur in Ugarit and in other countries of the ancient
Near East? It would seem that unrestrained female sexuality
was regarded negatively in all ancient Near Eastern countries,
including Ugarit and Israel. A woman's sexuality should be under the control of a man, be it her father, her brother, or her
husband. Those who had authority over their own sexuality,
such as certain prostitutes, were frowned upon, although men
happily made use of their services. A remarkable Ugaritic example of the disapproval of promiscuous female sexuality is the
alleged lewdness of the slave girl. Although these women had no
say over their own sexuality and could be hired out for sexual
services, they were associated with sexual misconduct. Perhaps
this should be seen as a case of 'blaming the victim'.
2. Some scholars assume that the symbolic function of the family
as expressed in theological and ideological thought may have
contributed to a restriction of the freedom of movement of Israelite women in the post-exilic period. They refer to biblical
texts of this period which value the public appearance of women
more negatively than do texts from earlier times. Together with
a renewed theological and ideological importance of the family this may have led to a stricter emphasis on the dichotomy
public/male - private/female. There is no scholarly consensus
on the alleged seclusion of (young) women in the post-exilic
period, however. More study needs to be done on this subject
as no conclusive answer can be given as yet.
3. Unlike the Ugaritic deity Ilu who is called both 'Father' and
'Mother', Y H W H is never invoked as 'Mother'. Still, Y H W H is

compared to a mother in metaphorical imagery. And unlike Ilu,

Y H W H ' S male sexuality is not described. In the Ugaritic myths
we find explicit love scenes, but these are absent from the Hebrew Bible. Although undoubtedly represented as a male being,
no description of Y H W H ' S genitals is ever given in the Hebrew Bible. As Marjo Korpel explained, '[g]enita1s only serve a
purpose if there is a partner', and Y H W H had none. 5 Like the
a-sexual description of YHWH, his metaphorical motherhood
can be explained as the 'logical outcome of the early choice for
monotheism'. 6 Invoking God as 'Mother' held the risk of regarding him as a dual god, instead of the One (Deut. 6:4).
4. In Ugaritic literature sexual intercourse is described more freely
than in the Hebrew Bible. But we need to keep in mind that
Ugaritic descriptions of sexual intercourse refer to deities more
often than to humans. Whereas the sexual morals of the Ugaritic
gods differ greatly from that of the God of Israel, who is not
sexually active, the morals of the Ugaritic people are not that
different from the Israelites. Sexuality is practised within marriage and the experience of female sexual pleasure was not outside the view of men. It is described more extensively in Ugaritic
literature, but the Bible also refers to it, although only once.
5. The stories of Dinah and Tamar (Gen. 34; 2 Sam. 13) might
indicate that in biblical Israel a brother had more authority over
his sister than at Ugarit. However, the themes of the narratives
in which brother-sister relations occur are quite different. While
the focus of the two biblical stories is on a sister's honour being
defiled, that of the Ugaritic stories is on the approaching death
of the father of the siblings (Kirtu) and on the death of the
brother (Aqhatu). It seems probable that in Ugarit, too, the
violation of a sister's honour would have its impact on the whole
family, including her brother(s). It is therefore too far fetched
to conclude that in biblical Israel a brother had more authority
over his sister.
6. In the Ugaritic Legends of Kirtu and of Aqhatu daughters act as
replacements for sons. This seems to contradict the preference
for sons, which is prominent in Ugaritic literature (as well as
in the Hebrew Bible). Yet this is only seemingly the case. It
is only in exceptional cases that daughters have such a special
5
6

Korpel, RiC, 125.

Korpel, RiC, 241.

role. Only when sons are absent, do daughters fulfil the role of
sons. That is, they become surrogate sons.
Based on these issues we cannot conclude that the social position
of women in the Hebrew Bible was worse than that of women at
Ugarit. Beside the abovementioned issues there are two more points
of possible difference.
1. First, the perspective of women who are childless is given more
attention in the Hebrew Bible than in Ugaritic literature. Both
in Ugaritic literature and the Hebrew Bible the sorrow of males
who are without a son is a recurrent theme. But in the latter
corpus the grief of women who are childless is also narrated,
whereas we do not read about this in the former texts. Yet
Ugaritic literature does inform us on the childlessness of the
goddess 'Anatu and her attempts to overcome it.

2. The second issue is the official position as that Judaean

queen mothers may have had. The literary texts from Ugarit do
not inform us on such a position for the Ugaritic queen mother.
Many of the Ugaritic queen mothers, however, were related to
the Hittite court and, as we will see in chapter four, their position was not less important than that of the queen mothers in
biblical Israel.
The social position of women in Ugarit and Israel, based on the status
patterns that arise from the literary texts, was more or less the same.
The texts do not give any indication that the social position of women
in biblical Israel would have been better than that of women at Ugarit,
or that it would have been worse.

The Religious Position of Women

Women fulfilled various roles in ancient Near Eastern religion. In describing the history of Israelite (as well as ancient Near Eastern) religion, scholars generally refer to an internal pluralism and distinguish
two layers of religion, viz. official or state religion and personal or
popular religion. 1 This distinction, although useful, is not without its
problems, however.
First, some scholars, such as Rainer Albertz and Manfred Weippert, discern three, instead of two layers. They distinguish a level of
local religion beside that of a personal religion and a state religion. 2
Secondly, the concept 'personal religion' is in itself problematic. In
the ancient world persons regarded themselves primarily as members
of a group rather than as individuals. Citing Gsta Ahlstrm and
Cornells de Geus, Karel van der Toorn states:
Ahlstrm's reminder that 'religion was the expression of the life of a
community' is justified. 'The religions of the ancient Near East have
too often been looked upon from the viewpoints of modern man who
is unable to comprehend that private religions held little place in these
oriental societies,' as the same author remarks. Though the adjectives
'personal' and 'individual' should not be simply dismissed, it must be
born in mind that in the ancient world 'a person was not an individual
in our sense of the word'. Individuals were first and foremost members
of a group, the principal one being the family.3
1

Cf. R. Albertz, Persnliche Frmmigkeit und offizielle Religion: Religionsinterner Pluralismus in Israel und Babylon (CThM.BW, 9), Stuttgart 1978; P.D.
Miller, 'Israelite Religion1, in: D.A. Knight, G.M. Tucker (eds), The Hebrew Bible
and its Modern Interpreters, Philadelphia PA 1985, 215-8; E. Matsushima (ed.),
Official Cult and Popular Religion in the Ancient Near East: Papers of the First
Colloquium on the Ancient Near East - The City and its Life held at the Middle
Eastern Culture Center in Japan (Mitaka, Tokyo) March 20-22, 1992, Heidelberg
1993; K. van der Toorn, Family Religion in Babylonia, Syria and Israel: Continuity and Change in the Forms of Religious Life (SHCANE, 7), Leiden 1996.
2
R. Albertz, Religionsgeschichte Israels in alttestamentlicher Zeit (GAT, 8/1),
Gttingen 1992, 40-3; M. Weippert, 'Synkretismus und Monotheismus: Religionsinterne Konfliktbewltigung im alten Israel1, in: J. Assmann, D. Harth (eds),
Kultur und Konflikt (edition suhrkamp NF, 612), Frankfurt am Main 1990, 14379; K. van der Toorn, 'Currents in the Study of Israelite Religion1, CR.BS 6
(1998), 13-4. A. Westenholz, 'The Earliest Akkadian Religion', Or. 45 (1976),
215-6, even discerns four layers.
3
Van der Toorn, Family Religion in Babylonia, Syria and Israel, 3, citing
G.W. Ahlstrm, Royal Administration and National Religion in Ancient Palestine

Van der Toorn therefore prefers the term 'family religion' over 'personal religion'. This would furthermore make a tripartition unnecessary, since kinship ties generally coincided with local ties in the premonarchic and monarchic periods. 4
Instead of 'personal religion', some scholars prefer the concept
'popular religion'. 5 Yet this concept, too, has its flaws.6 The assumption that popular religion was the manifestation of a homogenous
group, which stood apart from an equally homogenous officiai religion, is challenged by recent studies. Within popular religion a heterogenity existed and instead of 'popular religion' one should therefore rather speak of 'popular religious groups', according to Jacques
Berliner blau. 7 He discerns three popular religious groups: Baalists,
women and the poor. 8 Yet is it correct to regard women as a (homogenous) popular religious group? The relationship between 'official
religion' and 'popular religious groups' is regarded as an antithetic
one, as a relationship of those in power versus the powerless. This
identifies women as a powerless group and excludes them from fulfilling authoritative roles in official religion. Not only is such a generalization problematic, but it does not offer a correct picture of the
religious position of women (see below).
Furthermore, the question arises whether the Bible represents the
literature of Israelite official religion. 9 The biblical authors sometimes
criticized the monarchy and its (state) religion. 'The impression one
receives is that those who wrote certain sections of the Old Testament,
far from being loyal devotees or employees of the monarchy, actually
lived in a state of high tension with this institution'. 10 What the
Bible offers us seems to be a picture of biblical Yahwism rather than
(Studies in the History of the Ancient Near East, 1), Leiden 1982, ix, and C.H.J,
de Geus, 'The Individual in Relation to Authority in Ancient Israel', RSJB 46
(1989), 54.
4
Van der Toorn, Family Religion in Babylonia, Syria and Israel, 3. See also
section 2.1.1.1.
5
E.g., J.B. Segal, 'Popular Religion in Ancient Israel', JJS 27 (1976), 1-22.
6
Cf. J. Berlinerblau, The Vow and the 'Popular Religious Groups' of Ancient
Israel: A Philological and Sociological Inquiry (JSOT.S, 210), Sheffield 1996, 1722; M.D. Carroll R., 'Re-Examining "Popular Religion": Issues of Definition and
Sources. Insights from Interpretive Anthropology', in: Idem (ed.), Rethinking Contexts, Rereading Texts: Contributions from the Social Sciences to Biblical Interpretation (JSOT.S, 299), Sheffield 2000, 151-3.
7
Berlinerblau, The Vow and the 'Popular Religious Groups', 22.
8
Berlinerblau, The Vow and the 'Popular Religious Groups', 33-5.
9
Cf. P.D. Miller, et al., 'Introduction', in: Idem (eds), Ancient Israelite Religion, Philadelphia 1987, xviii.
10
Berlinerblau, The Vow and the 'Popular Religious Groups', 29-33 (31).

'Israelite official religion'. Although official religion was Yahwistic, it

probably was inclined to polytheism rather than monolatry during the
reign of some kings. 'Official Yahwism', as the state religion, probably
differed from biblical Yahwism. I will discuss this matter below.
With regard to Ugarit, the distinction between state religion and
family religion is artificial. What we know about Ugaritic family religion, especially the ancestor cult, comprises the religion of the royal
family. 11 The performance of the ancestor cult of the royal family
was of national significance, whereas that of an 'ordinary' Ugaritian
was not. Moreover, the Ugaritians themselves did not make such a
distinction. According to them there was no antithesis between the
veneration of the great gods and the ancestors. The Legend of Aqhatu,
for instance, offers a catalogue of duties of a son in which there is no
tension between family religion and national religion. 12
Finally, a model of Israelite religion in which state religion and
family religion are presented antithetically offers a biased picture of
the position of women. Sylvia Schroer warns about this specific danger:
Die spezielle Gefahr dieser Begrifflichkeiten fr eine feministische Perspektive ist, da Frauen dann sehr rasch auf die Seite der Volksfrmmigkeit und des Hauskultes geraten, whrend die staatliche JHWHReligion zur reinen Mnnerdomne wird. Wir wissen aber, da auch auf
hchster politischer Ebene Frauen versuchten, Einflu auf die Landesreligion zu nehmen, und da andererseits an all den kultischen Praktiken,
die als Volks- oder Privatfrmmigkeit definiert werden, auch Mnner,
manchmal sogar die Landesherren beteiligt waren. 13
Because of the problems mentioned above, I have decided not to use
the distinction between official religion and popular/family religion
as the basis for my discussion of the religious position of women. As
Sylvia Schroer has rightly pointed out, such a distinction generally
results in a biased view on the religious position of women, stressing
their participation in popular religion over against their absence from
official religion. Phyllis Bird, too, pleads for a different perspective.
In her essay on the place of women in the Israelite cult, 14 Bird notices
11

Cf. Van der Toorn, Family Religion in Babylonia, Syria and Israel, 153.
KTU 1.17:1.26-28 mention duties with regard to the ancestor cult, whereas
lines 31-32 refer to service in the temples of Ba'lu and Ilu.
13
S. Schroer, 'Auf dem Weg zu einer feministischen Rekonstruktion der Geschichte Israels', in: L. Schottroff et al., Feministische Exegese: Forschungsertrge
zur Bibel aus der Perspektive von Frauen, Darmstadt 1995, 100-1.
14
I join Bird in her definition of cult(us) as 'the organized, usually public, as12

that when it comes to the standard works on the history of Israelite

religion, women often are invisible as religious subjects. She therefore
proposes a shift of perspective:
(a) T h e cultus must be u n d e r s t o o d in relation to t h e total religious life
in all of its various forms a n d expressions, "private" as well as public;
heterodox, sectarian, a n d "foreign" as well as officially sanctioned; and
(b) religious institutions a n d activities must be viewed in relation t o
other social institutions, such as t h e family, and in t h e context of t h e
t o t a l social, economic, and political life. 15

By discussing the position of women in all forms of Israelite religion, be they orthodox or heterodox, part of official or family religion,
women become visible as religious subjects. Moreover, a comparison
with Ugarit and the broader ancient Near East is far more helpful
when using this perspective.
In discussing the religious position of women, I do offer a distinction, however. I distinguish between women as religious specialists
and women as worshippers. 16 In the first section of chapter 3 I will
discuss women as religious specialists. 17 Both professionals and lay
persons could fulfil such roles. Some prophetesses, for example, were
regarded as professionals, while others were lay women who prophesied what had been revealed to them in a dream or otherwise. Female
mourners also could lament the dead as professionals who were invited
to come and were renowned for their knowledge of songs of lament, or
as lay persons who came to mourn a family member or a neighbour.
Women as religious specialists fulfilled roles that were acknowledged
by others as specialist. They functioned in a mediating role between
worshippers and a deity.
In the second section of chapter 3 I will discuss women as worshippects of religious life centered in a temple, shrine, or other sacred site, maintained
by a priesthood and/or other specialized offices and roles, and finding expression
in sacrifices, offerings, teaching and oracular pronouncement, feasts, fasts, and
other ceremonies and ritual actions1; cf. P.A. Bird, 'The Place of Women in the
Israelite Cultus', in: P.D. Miller et al. (eds), Ancient Israelite Religion: Essays in
Honor of Frank Moore Cross, Philadelphia 1987, 412, n. 12.
15
Bird, 'The Place of Women in the Israelite Cultus', 399.
16
In this regard I concur with Bird, 'The Place of Women in the Israelite Cultus', 397-419, who distinguishes between women in cultic service and women as
worshippers. However, I prefer the concept of 'women as religious specialists' over
'women in cultic service'. In my mind the former is more useful in clarifying the
status pattern of women in religious life.
17
I will sometimes refer to males as religious specialists, mostly to point out
existing disymmetries.

pers. In their veneration of deities women performed certain acts, such

as praying and offering. These were acts fulfilled by all worshippers,
for which no special knowledge or skills were required.
Israelite women worshipped YHWH, but some also worshipped a
goddess (1 Kgs 15:13; Jer. 7:17-18; 44:15-30; Ezek. 8:14). As I noted
above, biblical Yahwism probably differed sometimes from Israelite
state religion. The Bible as well as extra-biblical sources point to the
veneration of a goddess or goddesses during certain historical periods.
Moreover, on various occasions the prophets criticize the monarchy
for heterodox behaviour. Before discussing the religious position of
women in Ugarit and Israel it is necessary to look at the evidence of
a possible cult of a goddess in Israel and Judah, to which end I will
offer a brief hypothetical reconstruction of Israel's history of religion.
The origin of Israel and the history of its religion are much discussed topics and no consensus has yet been reached. Scholars nowadays generally agree, however, on the Canaanite roots of Israelite
religion. 18 Opinions differ, however, on the development of Israelite
religion. According to the first model, Israel's religion was polytheistic and gradually became monotheistic. 19 According to the second
model, monotheistic Yahwism rose early in the history of Israel. 20
The second model seems to be supported by the evidence of Hebrew theophoric personal names. 21 The majority of Hebrew theophoric
personal names have the element yw, yh, yhw or '1. In the pre-monarchic period, most names were either Elohistic or Yahwistic. 22 From
18

Cf., e.g., Korpel, RiC, 621-4; C. Frevel, Aschera und der

Ausschlielichkeitsansprach Yhwhs: Beitrge zu literarischen, religionsgeschichtlichen und ikonographischen Aspekten der Ascheradiskussion
(BBB, 94/1), Weinheim 1995, 6; De
Moor, RoY; E.L. Greenstein, 'The God of Israel and the Gods of Canaan: How
Different Were They?' in: PWCJS, Division A: The Bible and Its World, 12 (1999),
47*-58*; M.S. Smith, The Origins of Biblical Monotheism: Israel's
Polytheistic
Background and the Ugaritic Texts, Oxford 2001, 17. For an overview see R.K.
Gnuse, No Other Gods: Emergent Monotheism in Israel (JSOT.S, 241), Sheffield
1997, 23-61.
19
Thus, e.g., B. Lang, Monotheism and the Prophetic Minority: An Essay in
Biblical History and Sociology (SWBAS, 1), Sheffield 1983, 13-59; M.S. Smith,
The Early History of God: Yahweh and the Other Deities in Ancient Israel, San
Fransisco 1990, 145-60; Idem, The Origins of Biblical Monotheism; Gnuse, No
Other Gods. The latter offers an overview of recent scholarship on the development
of monotheism in ancient Israel (62-128).
20
Thus, e.g., Korpel, RiC; De Moor, RoY.
21
Cf. J.H. Tigay, You Shall Have No Other Gods: Israelite Religion in the Light
of Hebrew Inscriptions (HSS, 31), Atlanta GA 1986; J.D. Fowler, Theophoric
Personal Names in Ancient Hebrew: A Comparative Study (JSOT.S, 49), Sheffield
1988; De Moor, RoY, 10-40.
22
De , RoY, 31.

the United Monarchy on, both the Bible and epigraphical sources
show a high percentage of Yahwistic names. 'The ratio of Yahwistic
names to pagan names is 94.1% to 5.9% in the inscriptions and 89%
to 11% for all pre-exilic periods represented in the Bible'. 23 Based on
the onomastic evidence one is inclined to conclude that Y H W H had
a dominant role as the national deity in Israelite religion from the
monarchic period on and that he was regarded as a very important
deity in the pre-monarchic period. 24
There are indications that Y H W H was already worshipped in the
eleventh century BCE, and possibly even earlier. 25 With regard to
Y H W H ' S origin, it is generally assumed that El and Y H W H were originally separate deities whose characteristics merged into each other. 26
Y H W H / E 1 was a deity who gradually absorbed the functions of other
deities, including those of goddesses such as El's consort, Asherah, and
Baal's consort, 'Anat. 2 7 Yet during this process of supplanting goddesses by the belief in Y H W H alone, mainly in the monarchic period,
some groups felt the need to venerate an independent goddess again.
They occasionally succeeded in reversing this process, but hardly ever
without opposition.
While the mainstream of Israelite religion seems to have worshipped Y H W H from the monarchic period on, people did not always
worship him as a single deity. When the characteristics of Y H W H
fused with those of El, the former took over El's consort, Asherah.
Moreover, the god Baal was also worshipped by some groups of Israelites and seems to have been a serious rival to YHWH. Although
much can be said about the struggle between Baal and YHWH, I will
23

Tigay, You Shall Have No Other Gods, 18.

Cf. R.S. Hess, 'Issues in the Study of Personal Names in the Hebrew Bible',
CR.BS 6 (1998), 173.
25
F.M. Cross, 'An Inscribed Arrowhead of the Eleventh Century BCE in the
Bible Lands Museum in Jerusalem', Erls 23 (1992), 21*-26*; De Moor, R0Y,
110-207 (165-6). However, other readings of the arrowhead in question have been
proposed, cf. P. Bordreuil, 'Flches phniciennes inscrites: 1981-1991 I', RB 99
(1992), 208 (no. 18); A. Lemaire, 'pigraphie palestinienne: nouveaux documents
II - dcennie 1985-1995', Henoch 17 (1995), 211 (no. 16).
26
Cf., e.g., Lang, Monotheism and the Prophetic Minority, 21-3; De Moor,
R0Y, 332-3; Smith, The Origins of Biblical Monotheism, 135-48. See M. Dijkstra,
'Yahwe-El or El Yahweh?' in: M. Augustin, K.-D. Schunck (eds), 'Dort ziehen
Schiffe dahin... ': Collected Communications to the XIVth Congress of the International Organization for the Study of the Old Testament, Paris 1992 (BEAT,
28), Frankfurt am Main 1996, 43-52, who assumes that the divine name Yahweh
originated as an epithet of the Canaanite/early Israelite El.
27
Cf. J.C. de Moor, 'The Duality in God and Man: Gen. 1:26-27 as P's Interpretation of the Yahwistic Creation Account', in: Idem (ed.), Intertextuality
in
Ugarit and Israel: Papers ... 1997 (OTS, 40), Leiden 1998, 112-25.
24

confine myself here to the question of the veneration of Asherah.

Against the belief that Asherah was Y H W H ' S consort protest was
voiced already in the eighth century BCE. If we accept Wellhausen's
proposed emendation of Hos. 14:9[8], the original text reads: '1 am
his 'Anat and his Asherah!', rejecting a legitimate place for these
goddesses in Israelite religion. 28 Moreover, Hosea stressed that the
people of Israel had a special relationship with Y H W H . TO this end he
used the marriage metaphor (Hos. 1-2). Yet by using this metaphor he
not only emphasized the intimate and personal relationship of Israel
with its God, but he also seems to have implicitly rejected Asherah
in her position as consort by transferring her role to Israel. 29
Because Hosea's explicit polemics were addressed against Baal and
not against Asherah, some scholars assume that in the eighth century
the veneration of Asherah was still accepted within Israelite cult. 30
However, the onomastic evidence does not seem to reflect this. In Hebrew theophoric names no element whatsoever occurs referring to the
goddess Asherah. 31 Yet there is a problem with the assumption of a
direct correlation between onomastics and official religion. According
to Dennis Pardee, personal names reflect popular religion rather than
official religion:
It is generally accepted that, at least to some extent, the ideology of a
pantheon is revealed in the ritual and narrative sources, while the religiosity of a people with regard to deities actually venerated is revealed
in the proper names. This is not to say that ideology cannot play a role
in name-giving; simply that serious differences between cultic practice
and name-giving can reveal a disparity between official cult and popular
veneration.32
28

See section 2.1.1.2.

Cf. R. Albertz, 'Der Ort des Monotheismus in der israelitischen Religionsgeschichte', in: W. Dietrich, M.A. Klopfenstein (eds), Ein Gott allein?: JHWHVerehrung und biblischer Monotheismus im Kontext der israelitischen und altorientalischen Religionsgeschichte (OBO, 139), Freiburg, Schweiz 1994, 77-96, who
refers to the personal relationship of YHWH and his people as one of the important characteristics that facilitated the development of Israelite religion towards
monotheism (89) [emphasis mine].
30
Thus, tentatively, Frevel, Aschera und der
Ausschlielichkeitsanspruch
Yhuihs, Bd. 1, 349-52, Bd. 2, 928.
31
Tigay, You Shall Have No Other Gods, 13-4; Fowler, Theophoric Personal
Names in Ancient Hebrew, 298, 313-4. Items 126 and 127 of N. Avigad, Hebrew
Bullae from the Time of Jeremiah, Jerusalem 1986, should most probably not
be regarded as such, cf. J.M. Hadley, The Cult of Asherah in Ancient Israel and
Judah: Evidence for a Hebrew Goddess (UCOP, 57), Cambridge 2000, 79.
32
D. Pardee, 'An Evaluation of the Proper Names from Ebla from a West
Semitic Perspective: Pantheon Distribution According to Genre', in: A. Archi
29

The picture is more complicated than this in that whereas personal

names, as an expression of Israelite popular/family religion, seem to
deny the veneration of Asherah, inscriptions from Khirbet el-Qm
and Kuntillet 'Ajrud, as well as female figurines, point to the veneration of the goddess. 33 Moreover, at Ugarit very few personal names
with theophoric elements referring to goddesses are found, although
goddesses such as Athiratu, 'Athtartu and 'Anatu play relatively important roles in Ugaritic mythology and religion. Yet the names of
these goddesses are not often attested. 3 4 Evidence from Ammon and
the Egyptian New Kingdom is in line with that found at Ugarit,
whereas data from the Punic world of the second half of the first
millennium BCE contrasts with it, for here 'thousands of stelae dedicated to Tannit have been unearthed, yet personal names formed
with Tannit are few in number. In contrast hundreds of Atart names
are extant, while Atart plays a relatively minor role in the dedicatory inscriptions'. 35 Thus, not only may there be a disparity between
official religion and theophoric personal names as an expression of
popular/family religion, but the theophoric personal names only provide part of the picture of a people's piety at the popular/family level.
Dedicatory inscriptions or other forms of popular/family religion in
Israel and Judah seem to contradict the evidence of the theophoric
personal names. According to Saul Olyan, there is no convincing explanation for this pattern. 3 6
The inscriptions of Khirbet el-Qm and Kuntillet 'Ajrud contain blessing formulas mentioning yhwh and 'rth. 37 The inscriptions from Kuntillet 'Ajrud are dated palaeographically to the end
(ed.), Eblaite Personal Names and Semitic Name-Giving: Papers of a Symposium
Held in Rome July 15-17, 1985 (ARES, 1), Roma 1988, 120.
33
J. Jeremias, F. Hartenstein, ' "JHWH und seine Aschera": "Offizielle Religion" und "Volksreligion" zur Zeit der klassischen Propheten', in: B. Janowski,
M. Kckert (eds), Religionsgeschichte Israels: Formale und materiale Aspekte
(Verffentlichungen der Wissenschaftlichen Gesellschaft fr Theologie, 15), Gtersloh 1999, 79-138, point to the fact that the biblical prophets, Hosea and Amos,
differ over official and popular religion, which complicates matters even further.
34
For example, 'trt occurs once and 'nt ten times. While the masculine 'itr does
occur, 'ttrt does not. Cf. Grndahl, PTU, 103, 111, 113-4.
35
Cf. S.M. Olyan, Asherah and the Cult of Yahweh in Israel (SBL.MS, 34),
Atlanta GA 1988, 37.
36
Olyan, Asherah and the Cult of Yahweh in Israel, 37. Hadley, The Cult of
Asherah, 79, suggests that there might be a correlation between the relative absence of names of goddesses as a theophoric element in personal names and the
relatively low number of female names that are known. This is rejected by Tigay,
You Shall Have No Other Gods, 14.
37
For an overview of the literature, cf. Renz, Rllig, HAE, Bd. 1, 47-8, 199-200.

of the ninth/beginning of the eighth century B C E . 3 8 Those that are

of interest to our discussion were found on two large pithoi which
were covered with drawings and inscriptions. The inscriptions mention 'YHWH of Samaria and his A/asherah' and 'YHWH of Teman and
his A/asherah'. 3 9 Khirbet el-Qm inscription no. 3 is dated to the last
quarter of the eighth century B C E . 4 0 Its second and third line read:
'Blessed be Uriyahu by YHWH, from his enemies by his A/asherah he
has saved him'.
Scholars generally agree that the inscriptions belong to the realm
of popular or family religion. There is no agreement, however, on
the interpretation of the word I'srth. Does it refer to the goddess
Asherah as a consort of YHWH, or does it refer to a cultic object
called asherah, which represented the goddess? 41 Crux interpretum is
the pronominal suffix. Since in Biblical Hebrew proper names do not
take pronominal suffixes, 42 it would seem that the inscriptions refer
to a cultic object. On the other hand, identification with the goddess
cannot be excluded, because a proper name can take a pronominal
suffix in other Semitic languages, such as Akkadian and Ugaritic. 43
Another translation of 'rt is also possible. Ziony Zevit proposes
to render it as 'Asherata'. He wants to see the he as a mater lectionis
indicating a final // vowel and 'arat as an older form of 'ar44
The interpretation of the inscriptions of Khirbet el-Qm and Kuntillet 'Ajrud is not easy. The word I'srth may refer to (a) the cultic object asherah, which was believed to be related to Y H W H and to share
in his blessing capacities, either as a representation of the goddess or
38

J . Naveh, Early History of the Alphabet: An Introduction to West Semitic

Epigraphy and Palaeography, Leiden 1982, 66, 69; Renz, Rllig, HAE, Bd. 1, 51.
39
For a detailed analysis, cf. Renz, Rllig, HAE, Bd. 1, 59-64; Hadley, The Cult
of Asherah, 120-36. One can read either 'his Asherah' (goddess), or 'his asherah'
(cultic object). For a discussion of the interpretation, see below.
40
Renz, Rllig, HAE, 200. Hadley, The Cult of Asherah, 84, dates it somewhat
earlier: c. 750 BCE. For a detailed analysis of the transcription and translation,
cf. Renz, Rllig, HAE, Bd. 1, 202-11; Hadley, The Cult of Asherah, 84-105.
41
A third possibility is to consider 'rt as a proper noun meaning 'cult place',
but this is less likely, cf. . Zevit, The Religions of Ancient Israel: A Synthesis of
Parallactic Approaches, London 2001, 401-2.
42
GK 125d; J.A. Emerton, ' "Yahweh and his Asherah": The Goddess or her
Symbol?' VT 49 (1999), 319.
43
Cf. Korpel, RiC, 218-9, n. 43; M. Dietrich, O. Loretz, 'Jahwe und seine Aschera': Anthropomorphes Kultbild in Mesopotamien, Ugarit und Israel: Das biblische
Bilderverbot (UBL, 9), Mnster 1992, 98-101. It should be noted that in Ugarit
these suffixes occur specifically with the names of Athiratu and 'Anatu, cf. De
Moor, ARTU, 170, n. 18.
44
Zevit, The Religions of Ancient Israel, 363-6, 400-5. Cf. P. Joon, T. Muraoka,
A Grammar of Biblical Hebrew (SubBi, 14/1), Rome 1991, 47 (7b).

as a hypostazation of YHWH; (b) the goddess, either as Asherah in

her additional role of consort or as her older form Asheratah, who
may have been regarded as more independent.
Alongside the inscriptions mentioning (the) A/asherah, a large
number of clay female figurines have been found, which have been
divided into various categories. The type that is characterized as a
'massive pillar figurine' has been found all over Judah and is dated
from the end of the eighth to the beginning of the sixth century BCE.
These figurines are generally regarded as belonging to the realm of
popular/family religion. 45 They may have represented a goddess, possibly Asherah or a merging of Astarte/Asherah, but it is also possible
that they served in rituals of sympathetic magic, conveying a woman's
prayer to become a nursing mother. 46
Judith Hadley assumes that the goddess Asherah was worshipped
during the monarchic period and she was represented by a wooden
object, the asherah. Gradually the asherah lost its identification with
the goddess and by the time of the Chronicler it had become merely
a wooden object. 47 Against Hadley's assumption, as she defended it
in an earlier article, Christian Frevel objects that the goddess cannot
be separated from her cultic symbol.
Die T h e s e , der T e r m i n u s ' a e r h h a b e allmhlich seine personale Bed e u t u n g s s e i t e verloren u n d das K u l t s y m b o l Ashere sei z u m Y H W H S y m b o l geworden, k a n n als E r k l r u n g s m o d e l l f r die biblischen Belege
nicht b e r z e u g e n . W e d e r lt sich diese A n n a h m e konsequent durchh a l t e n noch kann sie die Aufflligkeiten der biblischen Belege ausreichend erklren. Sie erzeugt erst recht W i d e r s p r c h e , wenn m a n sie
b e r die biblischen Belege h i n a u s auf die I n t e r p r e t a t i o n der Inschrif-

45

Cf. U. Winter, Frau und Gttin: Exegetische und ikonographische Studien zum
weiblichen Gottesbild im Alten Israel und in dessen Umwelt (OBO, 53), Freiburg,
Schweiz 1983, 96-134; S. Schroer, In Israel gab es Bilder: Nachrichten von darstellender Kunst im Alten Testament (OBO, 74), Freiburg, Schweiz 1987; R. Kletter,
Judaean Pillar-Figurines
and the Archaeology of Asherah (BAR International
Series, 636), Oxford 1996; .J.H. Vriezen, 'Archaeological Traces of Cult in Ancient Israel', in: B. Becking et ai, Only One God?: Monotheism in Ancient Israel
and the Veneration of the Goddess Asherah (BiSe, 77), London 2001, 65-6; Zevit,
The Religions of Ancient Israel, 273.
46
For the former interpretation, cf. Vriezen, 'Archaeological Traces of Cult in
Ancient Israel', 66; . Stern, 'Religion in Palestine in the Assyrian and Persian
Periods, in: B. Becking, M.C.A. Korpel (eds), The Crisis of Israelite Religion:
Transformation of Religious Tradition in Exilic and Post-Exilic Times (OTS, 42),
Leiden 1999, 250-1. The latter interpretation is suggested by Zevit, The Religions
of Ancient Israel, 267-74.
47
Hadley, The Cult of Asherah.

ten b e r t r g t . Es ist plausibeler davon auszugehen, da - wie auch

der Terminus '&erh nahelegt - das K u l t o b j e k t der Gttin Ascher a zuzuordnen ist. Es ist nur schwer vorstellbar, da der N a m e des
Kultobjekts beibehalten worden wre, wenn zu gleicher Zeit noch die
G t t i n gleichen Namens innerbiblisch (in 1 Kn 15,13; 2 Kn 21,7; 23,7)
bzw. auerbiblisch in unmittelbarer Nachbarschaft ( Tel
Miqn/Ekron)
"prsent'' war. 4 8

I, therefore, assume from this t h a t Asherah was venerated, in some

form at least, during some periods of the monarchy. Not only at the
level of popular/family religion, but also at the level of state religion,
Asherah played a distinct role. According to 1 Kgs 15:13, the queen
mother, Maacah, 'made an abominable image for Asherah', which
was cut down by king Asa of Judah. And king Manasseh set a carved
image of Asherah in the temple (2 Kgs 21:7). Yet Asherah's position
was not as important as t h a t of Y H W H . A S a goddess, hers was an
accompanying role (see below).
In his thorough work, Aschera und der
Ausschlielichkeitsanspruch
Yhwhs, Christian Frevel analyses the systematic arrangement of references to Asherah in the books of Kings. 49 He concludes t h a t in the
view of the Deuteronomist redactors, Asherah played an important
role in the history of Israel and Judah and she was made partly responsible for the fall of both kingdoms. However, '[e]s mu auch betont
werden, da das systematisch verwendete Motiv des Ascherakultes
nicht in allen Fllen bloe Erfindung der dtr Autoren ist, sondern
gerade in der spten Knigszeit historischen Anhalt hat'. 5 0
T h e subordinate role of Asherah as goddess may be illustrated
by 1 Kgs 15:13. If we regard the reference to Maacah's interference
with Asa's religious politics as historically reliable, this may imply
t h a t in the ninth century BCE the goddess' role in official religion was
less important than the queen mother wanted it to be. 51 Possibly the
accepted cultic symbol in official religion was a stylized tree, whereas
Maacah made a more explicit image of the goddess. 52 Although we
have to beware of a Deuteronomistic redaction of Maacah's story,
48

Frevel, Aschera und der Ausschlielichkeitsanspruch

Yhwhs, Bd. 2, 904. See
also Dietrich, Loretz, 'Jahwe und seine Aschera', 82-5.
49
Frevel, Aschera und der Ausschlielichkeitsanspruch Yhwhs, Bd. 1, 533-55.
50
Frevel, Aschera und der Ausschlielichkeitsanspruch Yhwhs, Bd. 1, 554-5.
51
Cf. Frevel, Aschera und der Ausschlielichkeitsanspruch
Yhwhs, Bd. 2, 927:
'Da diese Einmischung [of Maacah in Asa's religious politics, HJM] in einer
Aufwertung des Ascherakultes bestand, ist recht wahrscheinlich, auch wenn
Genaueres nicht mehr zu erheben ist'.
52
Hadley, The Cult of Asherah, 65.

we may assume that the worship of Asherah played a distinct role

in official religion and in the Jerusalem temple, but that she was,
nevertheless, considered to be less important than Y H W H . 5 3
Frevel suggests that Manasseh's veneration of the goddess (2 Kgs
21:7) may be seen in the light of his religious policy. By restoring the
cult of Asherah, Manasseh intended to strengthen Judah's religious
identity.
D a s Aufstellen eines Ascherakultbildes im J e r u s a l e m e r T e m p e l d r f t e
so zu d e u t e n sein, d a vorher im J e r u s a l e m e r T e m p e l kein K u l t b i l d
d e r A s c h e r a an zentraler Stelle aufgestellt war. Diese A u f w e r t u n g des
A s c h e r a h k u l t e s im 7. J h . ist als R e a k t i o n auf die b e e i n d r u k k e n d e , siegreiche, m c h t i g e u n d berlegende I t a r zu d e u t e n . Es ist keine d u r c h
assyrische Repression v e r u r s a c h t e M a n a h m e , s o n d e r n - hnlich wie die
E r s t a r k u n g des K u l t e s der Himmelsknigin auf a n d e r e r E b e n e a u c h eine A r t religionspolitische Mimesis mit d e m Ziel der Selbstvergewiss e r u n g u n d religisen Binnensicherung. Aschera soll ein Gegengewicht
darstellen, d a m i t nicht die eigene I d e n t i t t u n d das religise Selbstbewutsein a n die A t t r a k t i v i t t der M a c h t Itars verloren geht. 5 4

Thus, while at the beginning of the seventh century BCE an asherah

probably stood beside the altar of Y H W H in the official cult, Hezekiah,
supported by (proto-)deuteronomists, intended to cleanse the cult of
the veneration of Asherah (Deut. 16:21; 2 Kgs 18:4).55 Manasseh,
however, revived the worship of the goddess. During Manasseh's reign
there were at least three groups of worshippers with particular preferences. Whereas some people probably followed Manasseh in his
worship of Asherah as consort of Yahweh, others were attracted to
the Queen of Heaven (see section 3.2). A third group of worshippers
probably preferred the monotheistic worship of YHWH. Manasseh's
successor, Josiah, removed the image of Asherah from the temple (2
Kgs 23:6). His cult reform brought Israelite official religion one step
closer to monotheism. But it was the Babylonian exile that marked
the turning point from monolatry to monotheism. 56
In the post-exilic period Asherah no longer seems to have been venerated in popular/family religion. If one assumes the female figurines
represented the goddess Asherah, it is worth noting that whereas
many female figurines have been found in pre-exilic Judah, during
53

Frevel, Aschera und der Ausschlielichkeitsanspruch

Frevel, Aschera und der Ausschlielichkeitsanspruch
55
Deut. 16:21 should be regarded as pre-Josianic, cf.
Ausschlielichkeitsanspruch
Yhwh, Bd. 1, 207-9.
56
Frevel, Aschera und der Ausschlielichkeitsanspruch
54

Yhwhs, Bd. 1, 538.

Yhwhs, Bd. 2, 927-8.
Frevel, Aschera und der
Yhwh, Bd. 2, 929.

the Persian period the situation is totally different: 'in the areas of
the country occupied by Jews, not a single cultic figurine has been
found'. 5 7
It would appear that after the exile veneration of a goddess was
regarded as a grave danger. Possibly Zecharaiah's vision of the woman
in the ephah may be regarded as a reference to a goddess who was
removed to Babylon (Zech. 5:5-11). 58
Taking the evidence mentioned above into consideration, can we
conclude that Israelite religion was polytheistic? Yes and no. To explain this answer, I quote Richard Hess on the value of the onomastic
evidence:
Personal names ... preserve indications about the religious beliefs of
those who name their children. This may be important for recognizing
the presence of foreign deities among name bearers or for seeing the
gradual emergence of Israelite names bearing a form of the divine name,
Yahweh. Most significant in this area is the remarkable consistency, in
both the kingdoms of Judah and Israel, of the almost exclusive dominance of the name Yahweh in personal name forms, wherever a deity is
identified. Although other evidence attests to the presence of additional
deities in these countries, the onomastic data balances overzealous attempts to identify Israel with a polytheism identical to other nations. 59
Thus, the kingdoms Israel and Judah were not polytheistic in the
sense that the surrounding nations were. It would seem that in the
pre-monarchic period and in the early days of the monarchy other
deities beside Y H W H were venerated, but not many and possibly not
on a large scale. Already from the beginning of the monarchy Y H W H
was probably regarded as Israel's chief deity. Prom the eighth century
on protest against the worship of other gods, including Asherah, was
57

Stern, 'Religion in Palestine in the Assyrian and Persian Periods, 254 (emphasis by Stern).
58
Cf. C.L. Meyers, E.M. Meyers, Haggai, Zechariah 1-8: A New Translation
with Introduction and Commentary (AncB, 25B), New York 1987, 293-316; Frevel,
Aschera und der Ausschlielichkeitsanspruch
Yhwhs, Bd. 1, 523-4.
Lady Wisdom should not be regarded as a goddess (pace B. Lang, Wisdom
and the Book of Proverbs: A Hebrew Goddess Redefined, New York 1986), but
rather as an attempt 'innerhalb eines bereits monotheistisch gefestigten Symbolsystems, das noch Pluralismus zulie, eine weibliche Rede von Gott zu verankern,
die auf die Frauenrelalitt positiv bezug nimmt'; cf. S. Schroer, 'Auf dem Weg
zu einer feministischen Rekonstruktion der Geschichte Israels', in: L. Schottroff et
al. (eds), Feministische Exegese: Forschungsertrge zur Bibel aus der Perspektive
von Frauen, Darmstadt 1995, 138.
59
Hess, 'Issues in the Study of Personal Names in the Hebrew Bible', 187-8.

voiced by advocates of a monotheistic worship of Y H W H . I assume

these advocates of monotheism stood in a tradition which went as
far back as the days of Y H W H ' S origin. Gradually they became more
influential. Although official religion tended to polytheism during the
reign of some kings, it gradually became monolatrous and, finally,
monotheistic.
Despite the sometimes heated scholarly discussions, ultimately the
various positions taken on the origin of Israel's monotheism do not
differ that much. It seems fairly certain now that the religion of Israel
emerged from that of polytheistic Canaan. Although scholars differ
on the date when polytheism became unacceptable to the majority
of Israelites, hardly anybody doubts that goddesses were sometimes
venerated in Israel, as the Bible itself testifies. Whether the position of
these goddesses was at any time as important as that of Y H W H can no
longer be discerned. Based on the Bible and the extra-biblical information available, it would seem that the position of these goddesses,
when compared to that of YHWH, was subordinate at most and was
constantly under attack by prophets and (proto-)deuteronomists.
Given the meagre evidence for goddesses, a strong female deity,
as a focus for female worship, may have been lacking. This may have
been detrimental to the development of significant female roles in
the Israelite cult, as has been suggested by various scholars. 60 Were
women in polytheistic Ugarit in a better position to function as religious specialists?

3.1 Women as Religious Specialists

One of the most important female religious specialisms - that of
the priestess - is not recorded in the Israelite cult. The exclusion
of women from the priesthood in biblical Israel has often been related
to women's impurity. Because female priests did occur in other countries of the ancient Near East, we will examine their view regarding
the purity of women. Humans had to be pure to be in contact with the
sphere of the holy. Those who were impure were expected to refrain
from certain actions, in particular from approaching the sanctuary.
When were women considered to be impure? And what did this mean
for her access to the sphere of the divine and the (im)possibility of
performing priestly tasks?
Various female cultic functionaries occurred in Mesopotamia and
Egypt. We will discuss the functions of priestesses in Mesopotamia
and Egypt and will look into possible parallels or traces of them in
60

Cf., e.g., Winter, Frau und Gttin, 68-9. See further chapter 1.

Ugaritic and Hebrew texts. A subject often discussed in relation to

female priests is that of the sacred marriage rite. Did a sacred marriage
rite exist in Mesopotamia? And what about Ugarit and Israel? If so,
what role did women play in it?
Besides priestesses, women could also be part of the cultic personnel in other functions. Important supportive cultic roles are those of
singers, musicians and dancers. Did women also act in these roles in
Ugarit and Israel?
Women could furthermore act as professional mourners, singing
songs of lament. Was lamenting the dead a female specialization, or
did men also function as mourners?
Another religious specialism is that of magic and divination. Did
men and women both act as magicians and diviners, or were certain
areas regarded as 'male' or 'female'? Was magic and divination performed in a cultic context?
Divination and prophecy are often intertwined in recent studies.
What was the role of prophets? Did prophetesses occur as often as
their male counterparts? Were prophets held in lower esteem than
priests? Were prophets attached to a sanctuary or did they practice
their specialism outside the temple context?
For the cult to function, some basic duties had to be performed by
the lower personnel. What kind of ancillary functions were performed
by women?
A . ANCIENT NEAR EAST

In approaching deities, certain rules and regulations had to be observed by the worshippers. Of major importance in this regard was
the matter of purity and impurity. Those who were impure were not
to appear before the gods, for this would offend them. The deities and
their sanctuaries belonged to the realm of the pure and holy, which
should not be polluted by substances or persons from the realm of the
impure. 1 This applied especially to those who served the gods and participated in religious ceremonies. They were required to be pure. This
implied no physical defects or uncleanness. Persons who were crippled
or had a skin disease were excluded from sacral offices. Furthermore,
they had to avoid bodily discharges such as semen and menstrual
blood, which were considered unclean. Although impurity as a religious category was connected with sin, it was not always connected
with guilt. A male could perhaps avoid contact with a menstruat1

W i t h regard to the difference between purity and holiness, cf. . van der
Toorn, Sin and Sanction in Israel and Mesopotamia: A comparative study (SSN,
22), Assen 1985, 27-9; E.J. Wilson, "Holiness" and "Purity" in Mesopotamia
(AOAT, 237), Kevelaer & Neukirchen-Vluyn 1994.

ing woman, but a woman - unless pregnant or past her menopause could not avoid being impure because of menstruation. 2
In many ancient societies the discharge of a woman during menstruation and after childbirth were considered unclean as was she
herself. 3 Generally this would result in some sort of seclusion. The
Babylonians, for instance, held that if a man touched a musukkatu
'a woman under a taboo' while passing her, he was impure for six
days. 4 To avoid contact with a menstruating woman or anything she
contaminated, she was forbidden to perform household tasks such as
baking bread during her period. 5
The same view on impurity of menstruants was held in the Middle
Assyrian period. An edict from this period holds that palace wives
were not allowed to approach the king when they were menstruating,
for this would endanger the cultic purity of the king and make him
unfit to bring offerings to the gods. 6
Although scholars have pointed to the woes of a washerman in
the Satire of Trades as evidence for viewing menstrual blood as a
source of impurity in ancient Egypt, this is rejected by Annette Depla,
according to whom this assertion is based on an inaccurate translation
of the text. She therefore concludes, '[a]s for menstrual taboo generally
in ancient Egypt, there is insufficient evidence to substantiate it'. 7
However, menstruation was called the 'time of purification', which
indicates that menstrual blood was considered impure. 8 Moreover,
menstruation of female members of the household was a legitimate
cause for male workers at Deir el-Medina to stay at home. 9
Another person who caused impurity was the woman in childbirth.
In Mesopotamia a woman was considered impure during her preg2

Van der Toorn, Cradle, 49-50.

C.J. Vos, Woman in Old Testament Worship, Delft 1968, 62-3, 83; J. Milgrom,
Leviticus 1-16 (AncB, 3), New York 1991, 763-5; Idem, 'The Rationale for Biblical
Impurity', JANES 22 (1993), 107-11. See also section 2.1.2.
4
CAD (M) 2, 239-40. See also Van der Toorn, Sin and Sanction in Israel and
Mesopotamia, 31; Idem, Cradle, 51-2.
5
Van der Toorn, Cradle, 52.
6
E. Weidner, 'Hof- und Harems-Erlasse assyrischer Knige aus dem 2.
Jahrtausend v. Chr.' AfO 17 (1954-56), 276.
7
A. Depla, 'Women in Ancient Egyptian Wisdom Literature', in: L.J. Archer
et al. (eds), Women in Ancient Societies: An Illusion of the Night, Basingstoke,
Hampshire 1994, 42. See also ANET, 433; M. Lichtheim, Ancient Egyptian Literature: A Book of Readings, vol. 1, Berkeley 1973, 189.
8
B. Watterson, Women in Ancient Egypt, Stroud 1991, 84; G. Robins, Women
in Ancient Egypt, London 1993, 78. Cf. also A.M. Blackman, 'Purification: Egypt',
in: ERE, 10, 477.
9
P.J. Frandsen, 'Tabu', in: L, Bd. 6, 138.
3

nancy and for thirty days after the birth of her child. 10 Her impurity
was considered contagious to those assisting at childbirth and even to
passer-bys who accidentally touched her. 11 The Hittites believed that
both mother and child were unclean after parturition. Certain rites
were performed during the first days of the baby's life and a postpartem purification rite occurred either three months after the baby's
birth, if it was a boy, or four months if it was a girl. 12 In Egypt the
period of impurity apparently was shorter for a parturient; a literary
text mentions a fourteen-day period. 13
Thus, impurity as a religious danger was recognized for women
during menstruation and after childbirth in Mesopotamia, Hatti and
Egypt. Yet, as we shall see, this did not exclude women from the
priesthood.
With regard to the priesthood, various female cultic functionaries
are known in Mesopotamia. We will discuss those that are best known
and are of interest to our understanding of female priesthood in Ugarit
and Israel.
The most important female cultic functionary in Mesopotamia was
the en/ntu. U The en priestess is known to have functioned from the
second half of the third millennium until the Old Babylonian period,
after which she disappeared, to reappear again during the reign of
Nabonidus. 15 En priests generally served the major deities, the male
priests usually serving a goddess and the female priestesses a god. 16
The most famous en priestess is Enheduanna, daughter of king Sargon
of Akkad. 17 She was the en of the god Nanna at Ur. The daughters of
10

R. Labat, 'Geburt', RLA, vol. 3, 178-9; Van der Toorn, Cradle, 84.
Van der Toorn, Cradle, 51-2, 84-5.
12
G.M. Beckman, Hittite Birth Rituals (StBT, 29), Wiesbaden 1983, 251; J.
Pringle, 'Hittite Birth Rituals', in: A. Cameron, A. Kuhrt (eds), Images of Women
in Antiquity, Detroit 1983, 128-141.
13
Papyrus Westcar 19; Lichtheim, Ancient Egyptian Literature, vol. 1, 221; R.M.
Janssen, J.J. Janssen, Growing up in Ancient Egypt, London 1990, 7-8, 10-1.
14
On the en priestess, cf. J. Renger, 'Untersuchungen zum Priestertum in der
altbabylonischen Zeit: 1. Teil', ZA 58 (1967), 114-34; Henshaw, FM, 45-51. According to Henshaw, FM, 45, the translation 'high priestess' is 'misleading because, first, even though of high office, she is not presented as chief over any other
officials, and second, her functions are not those we usually associate with the
priestly one'.
15
P.-A. Beaulieu, The Reign of Nabonidus, King of Babylon 556-539 B.C., New
Haven 1989, 71, however, refers to the occurrence of an ntu priestess at the time
of Nebuchadnezzar I (1126-1105).
16
Renger, 'Untersuchungen zum Priestertum', 132-4.
17
On Enheduanna and her work, cf., e. g-, A. Sjberg, 'in-nin -gur 4 -ra: A Hymn
to the Goddess Inanna by the en-Priestess Enheduanna', ZA 65 (1975), 161-253;
I.J. Winter, 'Women in Public: The Disk of Enheduanna, the Beginning of the
11

subsequent kings generally seem to have functioned in this capacity,

too. 18 In the sixth century BCE, king Nabonidus installed his daughter, En-nigaldi-Nanna, in the capacity of entu priestess. 19 Nabonidus
decided on installing an entu priestess upon the observation of an
eclipse of the moon. Apparently opinions differed on the interpretation of the eclipse. Paul-Alain Beaulieu assumes the eclipse suited
Nabonidus' political agenda:
Of course, nobody could predict that an eclipse would happen on that
precise day, but predicting that an eclipse would happen sometime in
that period of the year was within the scientific capabilities of Babylonian astronomers. It is conceivable that, being well aware of this, the
king made advance preparations for the consecration of his daughter
and, when the eclipse did happen, intentionally twisted its ominous
meaning to fit his plans.
However, the consecration of En-nigaldi-Nanna met some opposition,
and, if it is not to be ascribed to incorrect interpretation of the eclipse,
the only other reason would be that the institution of entu priestesses
had become so obsolete that, even though the eclipse meant that Sn
wanted a priestess, the consecration of one was considered improper.20
Nabonidus called upon old records to revive the long forgotten office
of the entu.21
Both male and female ens were regarded as a spouse (dam) of their
deity. This implied that the en was considered to be head of the deity's
household. It also indicated that the relation between the en and the
deity was regarded as a symbolic marriage which was ritually enacted
in the cult, the so-called sacred marriage. The kings of the Ur III
and Isin dynasties called themselves en as well as dam of the goddess
Inannna and appear to have been regarded as representations of the
god Dumuzi. 22 With regard to the role of female ens in the sacred
marriage rite, it has been proposed that king Shulgi, the second king
Office of En-Priestess, and the Weight of Visual Evidence', in: FPOA, 189-201;
R. Harris, 'Independent Women in Ancient Mesopotamia?' in: WER, 149-50.
18
At least thirteen ens are known from Sargonic to Old Babylonian times, all
daughters or sisters of kings; cf. . Sollberger, 'Sur la chronologie des rois d'Ur et
quelques problmes connexes', AfO 17 (1954-56), 23-9; Renger, 'Untersuchungen
zum Priestertum', 126.
19
Renger, 'Untersuchungen zum Priestertum', 123-6; Beaulieu, The Reign of
Nabonidus, 23, 71-2, 122, 127-32.
20
Beaulieu, The Reign of Nabonidus, 129.
21
Beaulieu, The Reign of Nabonidus, 129-131.
22
Renger, 'Untersuchungen zum Priestertum', 133-4. On the sacred marriage,
see further below.

of the Ur III dynasty, may have been born out of a sacred marriage
between king Urnammu and an en priestess of Nanna. Yet this has
been severely criticized by Jacob Klein. 23
The en priestess lived in the gipru, which was considered part
of the sanctuary of the deity. As head of the deity , s household, she
controlled considerable economic resources as well as a large staff
of personnel. 24 The cultic functions which the en fulfilled included
singing hymns and making offerings to the gods. 25
Although the princesses who functioned as en/ ntu priestesses had
considerable authority, it would seem that their office was an instrument used by their fathers to achieve power or consolidate their position. 26
In Akkadian, the Sumerogram en is rendered ntu. The Sumerogram nin-dingir, however, is the equivalent of both ntu and ugbabtu,
which sometimes makes it difficult to distinguish between both. 2 7 In
the priestly hierarchy the nin-dingir is below the en, while the ugbabtu's
position is placed a little lower still.
Like the office of the en, that of the nin-dingir seems to have disappeared after the Old Babylonian period. 28 There are many similarities
between the en and the nin-dingir during Old Babylonian times. Both
were designated by liver omen and enthroned by the king. Like the en
priestesses, nin-dingirs were often of royal blood, or else of high birth.
They lived in gipru and often controlled temple resources and personnel. 29 Contrary to en priestesses, nin-dingir priestesses could serve
both male and female deities. While the former almost exclusively
served the major gods, the latter served both major and minor gods.
In the absence of an en - which usually was the case when serving a
minor deity - a nin-dingir was the highest cultic functionary. 30 Possibly
23

J. Klein, 'The Birth of a Crownprince in the Temple: A Neo-Sumerian Literary

Topos1, in: FPOA, 97-106. See also U. Winter, Frau und Gttin: Exegetische und
ikonographische Studien zum weiblichen Gottesbild im Alten Israel und in dessen
Umwelt (OBO, 53), Freiburg, Schweiz 1983, 338-9.
24
Renger, 'Untersuchungen zum Priestertum', 128-30.
25
Winter, 'Women in Public', 192, 201, points out that the en priestess did not
perform ritual libations herself.
26
W.G. Lambert, 'Goddesses in the Pantheon: A Reflection of Women in Society?' in: FPOA, 125; Harris, 'Independent Women in Ancient Mesopotamia?'
150. Nabonidus, for instance, consecrated his daughter, En-nigaldi-Nanna, as ntu
priestess during the second year of his reign, cf. Beaulieu, The Reign of Nabonidus,
23.
27
Cf. CAD E, 173; Winter, 'Women in Public', 196, n. 31.
28
Renger, 'Untersuchungen zum Priestertum', 111-2.
29
Renger, 'Untersuchungen zum Priestertum', 139-41.
30
Renger, 'Untersuchungen zum Priestertum', 142-4.

the nin-dingir played a role in the sacred marriage rite, representing

the goddess she served. It is difficult to explain, however, whom the
nin-dingir represented when she was the priestess of a male deity. 31
Priestesses functioned among the higher ranks in various Mesopotamian societies from the third millennium (or perhaps even earl1er) to the Old Babylonian period. The function of the highest ranking
priestess was usually fulfilled by either the en or the ntu priestess, but
local custom may have varied. Thus, at Ebla, various princesses of the
royal house became a dam-dingir of Idabal, one of the major Eblaite
deities 32 , and at Mari a comparable function seems to have been performed by the ugbabtu.33 Thus Inibshina, daughter of Yahdun-Lim,
was a nin-dingir-ra (ugbabtu) of the god Hadad ( d im). It is unclear
whether she was installed as ugbabtu priestess by her father, or by her
cousin Zimri-Lim, during whose reign she was a functionary. 34 On the
ugbabtu's role in the cult of Mari little is known.
After the Old Babylonian period, high ranking priestesses seem to
have become scarce. In thirteen-century Emar, however, the nin-dingir
is still attested, although her function may have changed. According
to Karel van der Toorn, she had no sacerdotal duty and therefore the
translation 'priestess' might be misleading. 35
Daniel Fleming has studied the ritual text for the installation of
the nin-dingir of one of Emar's major deities, Baal ( d im). 36 Through
this installation, the nin-dingir of the storm god became his human
consort. Certain features of the installation rite resemble marriage, 37
but Fleming warns against reading too much into the installation text.
According to him,
31

Renger, 'Untersuchungen zum Priestertum', 144.

A. Archi, 'The High Priestess, dam-dingir, at Ebla', in: M. Dietrich, I.
Kottsieper (eds); u. Mitw. v. H. Schaudig, "Und Mose schrieb dieses Lied auf":
Studien zum Alten Testament und zum Alten Orient, Fs. O. Loretz, (AOAT, 250),
Mnster 1998, 43-53.
33
B.F. Batto, Studies on Women at Mari, Baltimore 1974, 79-92 (87); .
Ziegler, Le Harem de Zimr-Lm: La population fminine des palais d'aprs les
archives royales de Man (Florilegium marianum, 4) (Mmoires de NABU, 5),
Paris 1999, 46-50.
34
Ziegler, Le Harem de Zimr-Lm, 46-9.
35
K. van der Toorn, 'Theology, Priests, and Worship in Canaan and Ancient
Israel', in: CANE, vol. 3, 2052.
36
D.E. Fleming, The Installation of Baal's High Priestess at Emar: A Window
on Ancient Syrian Religion (HSS, 42), Atlanta GA 1992. The text of this rite is
dated to the 13th cent. BCE, but describes a practice that is much older (2). See
also M. Dietrich, 'Das Einsetzungsritual der Entu von Emar (Emar VI/3, 369)',
UF 21 (1989), 47-100.
37
Fleming, The Installation of Baal's High Priestess at Emar, 177-9, 187-8.
32

... while any cult for the storm god will include an orientation toward fertility, we have no evidence that the nin.dingir's installation involves the sexual aspects usually associated with "sacred marriage,"
even though the nin.dingir is the human consort of the god. The last
act of the ritual 38 gives no indication of actual or symbolic consummation to follow.39
Fleming stresses the difference between sacred and divine marriage
(see below) and claims that the installation of the nin-dingir matches
neither of them. The ritual includes aspects of marriage because of
the nature of the office. Yet, '[m]any elements of the festival may
not derive from the context of marriage, and the overall interpretive
model should not serve to force the whole event into that context'. 40
However, the nin-dingir does not seem to have had a human husband.
Possibly a marriage was symbolically acted out, perhaps with the
statue of Ba'lu representing the deity, analogous to a known form of
the sacred marriage rite between a king and a goddess (see below).
Fleming doubts whether the nin-dingir of Baal at Emar was a member of the royal family, since she is referred to as the daughter of 'any
son of Emar'. 4 1 However, she did come from a wealthy family, because the installation festivities required the father's house to supply
the nin-dingir with items of certain wealth. Furthermore, her family,
especially her brothers, played a prominent role in the rites. 42 At
Ugarit, the king could be addressed as 'son of Ugarit' and his wife
as 'daughter of Ugarit' (KTU 1.40, see below). It is therefore quite
possible that the nin-dingir was a princess.
I have already referred to the sacred marriage rite, in which the en
priestess or the nin-dingir may have been involved. The definition of
the term 'sacred marriage' (hieros gamos) as well as the interpretation of the rite are matters of dispute among scholars. 43 Jacob Klein,
38

In the last act the priestess lies on her bed after being readied for her first
night in her new home.
39
Fleming, The Installation of Baal's High Priestess at Emar, 190.
40
Fleming, The Installation of Baal's High Priestess at Emar, 191. Cf. also
J.S. Cooper, 'Sacred Marriage and Popular Cult in Early Mesopotamia', in: E.
Matsushima (ed.), Official Cult and Popular Religion in the Ancient Near East:
Papers of the First Colloquium on the Ancient Near East - The City and its
Life held at the Middle Eastern Culture Center in Japan (Mitaka, Tokyo) March
20-22, 1992, Heidelberg 1993, 87-8.
41
Fleming, The Installation of Baal's High Priestess at Emar, 83.
42
Fleming, The Installation of Baal's High Priestess at Emar, 113.
43
For an overview, cf. C. Frevel, Aschera und der
Ausschlielichkeitsanspruch
Yhwhs: Beitrge zu literarischen, religionsgeschichtlichen und ikonographischen
Aspekten der Ascheradiskussion (BBB, 94/2), Weinheim 1995, 589-98.

for instance, defines it as a 'marriage or sexual union between a god

and a goddess, in ancient or primitive religions, an act which is usually connected with some form of fertility cult'. 44 Johannes Renger,
on the other hand, distinguishes between divine marriage and sacred marriage. The former refers to a marriage between gods that is
symbolically acted out in the cult, while the latter describes the reenactment of the marriage of Inanna and Dumuzi by humans. 45 I
follow Renger's distinction which nowadays is generally accepted. 46
Not much direct evidence for the sacred marriage rite has been
found; it is restricted to literary texts from the Ur ill and Old Babylonian periods (ca. 2100-1800 BCE).47 The rite probably was performed
by human representatives of the deities in this period. There is evidence that the kings of the Ur in and Isin dynasties played the role of
Dumuzi, the shepherd-king, while a priestess represented the goddess
Inanna. 4 8 As we have already seen, the identity of the female acting
as Inanna is a matter of dispute. In the ritual texts she is only referred
to as 'Inanna'. Most scholars assume that a woman, consecrated to
Inanna, acted out the deity's role. 49 Possibly, she was a nin-dingir.50
There are several hypotheses with regard to the frequency of the

44

J. Klein, 'Sacred Marriage', in: ABD, vol. 5, 866.

J. Renger, 'Heilige Hochzeit', in: RLA, Bd. 4, 255. Yet Klein, too, makes
a distinction between two types of sacred marriage rites, i.e., a carnally and a
symbolically performed rite, thus agreeing with Renger.
46
Cf., e.g., Fleming, The Installation of Baal's High Priestess at Emar, 191.
47
Some scholars assume that texts from the Sargonic and Gutian periods also
allude to the sacred marriage of Dumuzi and Inanna, cf. R. Kutscher, 'The Cult
of Dumuzi/Tammuz', in: J. Klein, A. Skaist (eds), Bar-Ilan Studies in Assyriology: Dedicated to Pinhas Artzi (Bar-Ilan Studies in Near Eastern Languages and
Culture), Ramat Gan 1990, 32-3, 43; Cooper, 'Sacred Marriage and Popular Cult
in Early Mesopotamia', 83-4.
48
Renger, 'Heilige Hochzeit', 251-9; Cooper, 'Sacred Marriage and Popular Cult
in Early Mesopotamia', 84-6; Y. Sefati, Love Songs in Sumerian Literature: Critical Edition of the Dumuzi-Inanna Songs (Bar-Ilan Studies in Near Eastern Languages and Culture), Ramat Gan 1998, 38-44.
49
Although Klein, 'Sacred Marriage', 867, does leave open the possibility that
Inanna was merely represented by her statue, which would result in a symbolic
enactment of the rite for this period, too.
50
Cf. D.R. Frayne, 'Notes on The Sacred Marriage Rite', BiOr 42 (1985), 12-22;
W.W. Hallo, 'The Birth of Kings', in: J.H. Marks, R.M. Good (eds), Love & Death
in the Ancient Near East: Essays in Honor of Marvin H. Pope, Guilford CT 1987,
49. It has also been proposed that she may have been a nu-gig or a lukur. For the
proposal of the nu-gig, cf. Renger, 'Heilige Hochzeit', 256; for the lukur, cf. S.N.
Kramer, The Sacred Marriage Rite: Aspects of Faith, Myth, and Ritual in Ancient
Sumer, Bloomington IN 1969, 93; Sefati, Love Songs in Sumerian Literature, 45-6.
On these offices, see further below.
45

rite. It may have been an annual ritual 51 , but it has also been proposed
that it took place at the coronation of a king 52 , or at the installation
of a high priestess. 53 Yet, Klein assumes that '[s]ince the only date
ever alluded to in the literary texts dealing with this ritual is New
Year's day, it is this date on which this ritual most probably took
place'. 54
Also with regard to the purpose of the sacred marriage rite various
propositions have been put forward. Some scholars mention promotion of fertility as the main purpose, 55 while others assume that it was
performed to beget a royal heir of divine descent. 56 While promotion
of fertility certainly is an aspect of the rite, it would seem that legitimation of the king is an equally, if not more, important aspect. 57
Jerrold Cooper has defended the thesis that the original purpose of
the sacred marriage rite was 'for the king, and through him the people,
to establish personal and social ties to the gods'. 58 He emphasizes the
social rather than the sexual aspects of the marriage rite.
It is the marriage relationship that is being reinforced; this is no random copulation intended to encourage fertility, but rather a sexual
relationship in a carefully circumscribed context that entails a whole
network of obligations between the partners and their kin. The prsence of the act of intercourse in the ritual may well be intended to
reinforce the legitimacy of the marriage relationship between goddess
and king. The sexual and fertility aspects of the sacred marriage, which
are indeed there, would then have developed naturally as a secondary
phenomenon from this feature of the rite, just as the bawdy songs that
are sung at weddings in some cultures are quite peripheral to the real
business at hand, the uniting of two families.59
51

Cooper, 'Sacred Marriage and Popular Cult in Early Mesopotamia', 87.

Renger, 'Heilige Hochzeit', 257.
53
Frayne, 'Notes on The Sacred Marriage Rite', 21-2.
54
Klein, 'Sacred Marriage', 868; cf. also Kutscher, 'The Cult of Dumuzi/Tammuz', 43; Cooper, 'Sacred Marriage and Popular Cult in Early Mesopotamia', 86-7; Frevel, Aschera und der Ausschlielichkeitsanspruch
Yhwhs, 592-3;
Sefati, Love Songs in Sumerian Literature, 47-8.
55
E.g., Kramer, The Sacred Marriage Rite, 49; Frayne, 'Notes on The Sacred
Marriage Rite', 6; T. Frymer-Kensky, In the Wake of the Goddesses: Women,
Culture, and the Biblical Transformation of Pagan Myth, New York 1992, 51;
Sefati, Love Songs in Sumerian Literature, 48-9.
56
Hallo, 'The Birth of Kings', 48. But compare the problems this assumption
raises in Cooper, 'Sacred Marriage and Popular Cult in Early Mesopotamia', 8990.
57
Frevel, Aschera und der Ausschlielichkeitsanspruch
Yhwhs, 594-5.
58
Cooper, 'Sacred Marriage and Popular Cult in Early Mesopotamia', 91.
59
Cooper, 'Sacred Marriage and Popular Cult in Early Mesopotamia', 91-2.
52

As a result of the sacred marriage, the gods became in-laws of the

king. The rite regulated the mutual obligations of the people and the
gods.
Next to the carnally performed ritual there also seems to have
been another type of ritual, in which the rite was performed symbolically and conceived as taking place only between the deities. Although this symbolic act is also referred to as sacred marriage by
some, it is more appropriate to define it as divine marriage. Apparently Gudea of Lagash (ca. 2143-2124 BCE) already referred to this
type of marriage rite in his inscriptions. 60 The divine marriage rite
continued to be practiced, whereas the Dumuzi-Inanna type (sacred
marriage) seems to have been abandoned. There are some allusions
to the divine marriage in Akkadian sources from the time after the
Old Babylonian period down to the first millennium. 61 In these later
times the deities were represented by their statues. 62 Yet the material from these periods is sometimes vague and difficult to interpret.
We cannot deny with certainty that a sacred marriage rite in which
Inanna/Ishtar and Dumuzi functioned did exist in later times. 63
Sacred marriage is also part of Egyptian mythology. 64 According
to this myth, a god begot a divine child by a chosen wife, generally
the wife of the ruling king. The divine child later became the new
ruler. Iconography in temples of two rulers of the Eighteenth Dynasty,
Hatshepsut and Amenophis ill, shows the god Amun performing a
sacred marriage with their mothers. According to Jan Assman, in
the mystery of begetting a divine child, the gap between heaven and
earth is bridged by a sacred marriage between a deity and a human
being. 65 In the Late Period the myth somewhat changed and the
sacred marriage became a divine marriage. 66
While the en priestess or the nin-dingir may have been involved
60

Admittedly, the texts do not offer unambiguous evidence of a symbolic performance instead of a carnal realization. Cf. Sefati, Love Songs in Sumerian Literature, 33-6.
61
Cf. . Matsushima, 'Les Rituels du Mariage Divin dans les Documents Accadiens', AcSum 10 (1988), 95-128; Sefati, Love Songs in Sumerian Literature, 46,
n. 42.
62
Frayne, 'Notes on The Sacred Marriage Rite', 12, 22; Sefati, Love Songs in
Sumerian Literature, 46-7.
63
Cooper, 'Sacred Marriage and Popular Cult in Early Mesopotamia', 94-5.
64
Cf. J. Assmann, 'Die Zeugung des Sohnes: Bild, Spiel, Erzhlung und das
Problem des gyptischen Mythos', in: J. Assmann et al., Funktionen und Leistungen des Mythos: Drei altorientalische Beispiele (OBO, 48), Freiburg, Schweiz
1982, 13-61.
65
Assmann, 'Die Zeugung des Sohnes', 38.
66
Assmann, 'Die Zeugung des Sohnes', 19.

in the sacred marriage rite, another female cultic function is often

related to sexual acts in the cult, too. The qaditu (Sum. nu-gig)
is possibly the most discussed female cultic function. Mainly due to
biblical polemics in which Heb. ' prostitute' is mentioned in juxtaposition to Heb. , the latter has often been translated 'hierodule' or 'cultic prostitute', 6 7 and as a result, Akk. qaditu was also
thought to have such a meaning. 68 Influenced by James Frazer and the
studies of the Myth and Ritual school, many scholars believed that
Mesopotamian religion should be characterized as a 'fertility religion'
and that many of its female cultic functionaries engaged in cultic prostitution. 6 9 Lately, however, this view has been refuted. Most scholars
nowadays assume there was no cultic prostitution in the ancient Near
East. 7 0
Alongside the Hebrew Bible, the theory on cultic or sacred prostitution is also based on data derived from classical sources. 71 Robert
Oden has surveyed the Classical and Patristic sources on this subject and concluded that '[a]11 the non-Christian evidence and most, if
not all, of the Christian evidence is dependent, directly or indirectly,
upon Herodotus'. 72 According to Herodotus (c. 484-430 BCE) in his
History, 1.199, every Babylonian woman once in her life had to sit in
the temple of Aphrodite and have intercourse with a stranger. The
intercourse took place outside the temple and the money was made
sacred by the sexual act. According to Herodotus, the woman could
not reject a man and had to follow the first who cast the money
into her lap. 'After their intercourse she has made herself holy in the
67

E.g., HALAT, 1005.

Cf. M.I. Gruber, 'The Hebrew qdh and her Canaanite and Akkadian Cognates', UF 18 (1986), 137-9.
69
For a critical evaluation, cf. E.J. Fisher, 'Cultic Prostitution in the Ancient
Near East? A Reassessment', BTB 6 (1976), 225-36; R.A. Oden, 'Religious Identity and the Sacred Prostitution Accusation', in: Idem, The Bible Without Theology: The Theological Tradition and Alternatives to It (New Voices in Biblical
Studies), San Francisco 1987, 131-53, 187-92.
70
Cf. J.G. Westenholz, 'Tamar, Qed, Qaditu, and Sacred Prostitution in
Mesopotamia', HTRh 82 (1989), 245-65; M.I. Gruber, 'Marital Fidelity and Intimacy: A View from Hosea 4', in: A. Brenner (ed.), A Feminist Companion to the
Latter Prophets (FCB, 8), Sheffield 1995, 176; P.A. Bird, 'The End of the Male
Cult Prostitute: A Literary-Historical and Sociological Analysis of Hebrew qd qedm', in: J.A. Emerton (ed.), Congress Volume: Cambridge 1995 (VT.S, 66),
Leiden 1997, 37-80.
71
Scholars have also referred to data concerning the sacred marriage rite in
support of the theory of cultic prostitution. This is incorrect, however, since hierogamy is not the same EIS prostitution; cf. Fisher, 'Cultic Prostitution in the Ancient
Near East?' 229-30.
72
Oden, 'Religious Identity and the Sacred Prostitution Accusation', 146.
68

goddess's sight
' 7 3 Remarkably, it is of no interest to Herodotus
whether or not the male partner was made holy by the act.
Yet Herodotus' accounts are challenged by many scholars and are
generally dismissed as 'early Greek propaganda'. 74 Referring to studies investigating the reliability of Herodotus, Oden concludes that 'our
chief source for the existence of cultic prostitution in Mesopotamia
cannot be used with any confidence'. 75 What remains is the evidence
from Mesopotamia itself. In the past scholars have identified many of
the female cultic functionaries, such as the entu, the nadtu and the
qaditu, as cultic prostitutes. 76 Yet it now becomes clear that these
scholars, in identifying with the biblical view on non-Yahwistic religions, perceived the Mesopotamian religion as sex-centered. 77 When
roles of female cultic functionaries were unclear, they were assumed
to be involved in some fertility rite having to do with cultic prostitution. However, authors who investigated primary literature in order
to describe the roles of various female cultic functionaries did not confirm this biased view. 78 Although it cannot be ruled out that in some
period some of these cultic functionaries, such as the kezertu,79 were
prostitutes, cultic prostitution, as an institution, did not exist.
Perhaps Herodotus' story can be related to prostitution of temple
slaves in Mesopotamia. 80 Muhammad Dandamaev refers to a document (UCP 9 / 1 1 53) in which a married female slave is hired out as
a prostitute. The fee accrues to her owner, in this case the temple of
73

Cf. Herodotus; transi. A.C. Godley, I: Books I-II (Loeb Classical Library,
117), Cambridge MA 1975, 250-3.
74
J. Assante, 'The kar.kid/harimtu, Prostitute or Single Woman?: A Reconsideration of the Evidence', UF 30 (1998), 8-9, n. 9. See also Fisher, 'Cultic
Prostitution in the Ancient Near East?' 225-6, according to whom 'Herodotus is
rather well known for his provincial, staunchly pro-Hellenic outlook, and must be
taken with care even in his own time when treating of other cultures'.
75
Oden, 'Religious Identity and the Sacred Prostitution Accusation', 147.
76
Oden, 'Religious Identity and the Sacred Prostitution Accusation', 148-51.
77
The same also holds for the Canaanite religion, cf. J.A. Hackett, 'Can a Sexist
Model Liberate us?: Ancient Near Eastern "Fertility" Goddesses', JFSR 5 (1989),
73; Frymer-Kensky, In the Wake of the Goddesses, 199-200; E.L. Greenstein, 'The
God of Israel and the Gods of Canaan: How Different Were They?' in: PWCJS,
Division A: The Bible and Its World, 12 (1999), 49*.
78
For a short bibliography, cf. Assante, 'The kar.kid/harimtu, Prostitute or
Single Woman?' 9, n. 10-11.
79
Cf. M.L. Gallery, 'Service Obligations of the kezertu-Women', Or. 49 (1980),
333-8.
80
This is suggested by K. van der Toorn, 'Female Prostitution in Payment of
Vows in Ancient Israel', JBL 108 (1989), 204; Idem, Cradle, 103. See, however,
the critical comment of A. Kuhrt, 'Non-Royal Women in the Late Babylonian
Period: A Survey', in: WER, 237.

Belet (Ishtar) of Uruk. 81 Although strictly speaking the slave woman

may have been a temple prostitute, since the income of her services
fell to the temple treasury, she should not be regarded as a cultic
prostitute, for her being prostituted did not have any function in the
cult. Next to this example from the first millennium BCE, Rivka Harris refers to a second millennium occurrence of prostitution under the
jurisdiction of the temple of Sippar. She emphasizes that she does not
consider them to have been cultic prostitutes. 82
Yet if the qaditu was not involved in cultic prostitution, what
was her role? The Mesopotamian qaditu was a cultic functionary.
Much is still unclear about the interpretation of her tasks, which may
have shifted over time. 83 A qaditu was a woman of special status. 8 4
She could be married 85 and have children, but unmarried qaditus
also occur. In the latter case she may have had control over her own
sexuality. This probably is the case with qaditus 'from the street .
Often the street is mentioned as the location of the qaditu. According
to Joan Westenholz, '[t]his is a legal definition of her status within the
sociological structure of Akkadian society, since the street was a place
where people not belonging to organized households congregated'. 86
The social position of a qaditu living 'on the street' may not have
differed much from that of a prostitute. 8 7
Sumerian literary texts give evidence of the high status of a nu-gig
during the third millennium BCE.88 Her position was somewhat lower

81

M.A. Dandamaev, Slavery in Babylonia, rev. ed., DeKalb IL 1984, 134-5.

Dandamaev, 132-3, assumes that another text, An. Or. 8, 14, also refers to a
slave woman who is a temple prostitute. This, however, is far from certain, cf.
Kuhrt, 'Non-Royal Women in the Late Babylonian Period 1 , 235-7; Assante, 'The
kar.kid/harimtu, Prostitute or Single Woman?' 64, n. 171-2.
82
Harris, 'Independent Women in Ancient Mesopotamia?' 149.
83
J. Renger, 'Untersuchungen zum Priestertum in der altbabylonischen Zeit: 1.
Teil', ZA 58 (1967), 179-84; Westenholz, 'Tamar', 250-5; Henshaw, FM, 206-13.
84
CAD (Q), 48.
85
Henshaw, FM, 207, refers to married qaditus in the Old Akkadian, Old BabyIonian and Neo-Assyrian periods. Also in an Emarite text a married nu-gig/qaditu
is mentioned, cf. D. Arnaud, Recherches au pays d'Astata (Emar, 6/3), Paris 1986,
131-3.
86
Westenholz, 'Tamar', 251. Pace Henshaw, FM, 212-3, who assumes such a
qaditu is a street prostitute.
87
D. Arnaud, 'La prostitution sacre en Msopotamie, un mythe historique',
RHR 183 (1973), 114. Westenholz, 'Tamar', 251, refers to texts in which a qaditu
who stands in the street is mistaken for a prostitute.
88
However, describing the status of the nu-gig in third-millennium Mesopotamia, Westenholz, 'Tamar', 260, concludes that despite the high esteem in which
she appears to be held, there is no evidence of a clerical office for the nu-gig.

in the Old Babylonian period, when her rank was below the nadtu.89
It would seem that she was held in even lower esteem during the first
millennium, when she was associated with sorcery and witchcraft (see
below).
Qaditus from property-owning families may have had means of
sustenance by way of their dowry or their share of the paternal inheritance. 90 Generally, however, they were not very rich, which may
explain the need to earn some money as a wet nurse. 91
From several texts we learn that a qaditu had a special relationship to a deity. In a ritual text from Middle or Neo-Assyrian times she
is designated as a votary of the god Adad, and at Mari she appears
as a votary of the goddess Annunitu, who is a form of Ishtar. 92
We have little information on the qaditu's functions. In the abovementioned ritual text she is described as exalting the god Adad, partaking in the procession and singing a certain song. In another text,
'The Contest between the Tamarisk and the Palm', the qaditu is
described as sprinkling water. 93 She could also play a certain role in
connection with childbirth and midwifery. A passage in the Babylonian Atram-hasis Epic reads: 'Let the midwife (abstu) rejoice in
the house of the qaditu'.94 According to several contracts, a qaditu
could also be a wet nurse.
The status of the qaditu may have changed over time, becoming more negative. In Standard Babylonian texts she is often counted
among sorceresses and witches. Joan Westenholz offers two explanations for this:
The latter instances can be accounted for by the first-millennium dualistic theory that women were either 'good' or 'bad': because the latter
were under their own control, they were considered to be the mediums
89

Renger, 'Untersuchungen zum Priestertum', 183.

CLI 22, CH 181; see section 2.1.4.
91
Cf. Renger, 'Untersuchungen zum Priestertum', 181. See also Henshaw, FM,
208 and CAD (Q), 48, for textual references on qaditus as owners of property.
92
Westenholz, 'Tamar', 253; Henshaw, FM, 208-9, 271-6.
93
W.G. Lambert, Babylonian Wisdom Literature, Oxford 1960, 160-1, rev. 1.
5-9; cf. Westenholz, 'Tamar', 253; Henshaw, FM, 209.
94
W.G. Lambert, A.R. Millard, Atra-hasis: The Babylonian Story of the Flood,
with The Sumerian Flood Story by M. Civil, Oxford 1969, 62-3, 1. 290. Westenholz, 'Tamar', 252, comments: 'Apparently, the qaditu-woman lived alone in a
special hut where she presided over childbirth and wet-nursing. Perhaps, while
the midwife tended to the physical needs of the woman in childbirth, the qaditu
presided over the spiritual requirements of the birthing'. In the Hittite kingdom,
the midwife had religious tasks besides the physical task involving the birth of
the child, see section 2.2.2.3.
90

of evil power, a dangerous, uncontrolled female power. Another interpretation is that the qadistu-woman officiated in exorcistic rituals in
which she impersonated the witch "providing a tangible object for exorcistic activity, whereas her accessories, the pal fibre mat and fir cone,
probably symbolized the 'bonds' of the sorcerers and were to be broken
or unraveled in the course of the ceremonies" . 95
The former interpretation is referred to by other scholars. Julia Assante points to the fact that '[professional and ecclesiastical independent women begin to disappear from the record after OB in gene r a l . . . , leaving us to assume radical social shifts in attitudes towards
independent women'. She explains the texts in which the qaditu occurs among the women practicing witchcraft as an expression of fear
of the single, independent woman. 96
The qaditu may have had various functions in different periods of
Mesopotamian history. There is no evidence, however of cultic prostitution being one of them. 97
At the beginning of the twentieth century not only the qaditu was
believed to be a cultic prostitute, but also the nadtu (Sum. lukur) 98
was thought to act as such. 99 Yet nowadays it is generally agreed that
nadtus were expected to live a life of chastity. 100 As Rivka Harris
explains:
The term nadtu derives from the root, nad meaning "to leave fallow"
95

Westenholz, 'Tamar', 253-4, citing S. Parpola, Letters from Assyrian Scholars

to the Kings Esarhaddon and Assurbanipal (AOAT, 5/2), Kevelaer 1983, 183.
96
Assante, 'The kar.kid/harimtu, Prostitute or Single Woman?' 53.
97
The lexical series malku = arru 1133, in which amuhtum is juxtaposed with
qaditum, should not be regarded as evidence for the latter being a cultic prostitute, cf. Renger, 'Untersuchungen zum Priestertum', 184; Gruber, 'The Hebrew
qedh and her Canaanite and Akkadian Cognates', 148; Henshaw, FM, 211.
98
On the relationship between Sum. lukur and Akk. nadtu, cf. R. Harris, 'The
nadtu Woman', in: R.D. Briggs, J.A. Brinkman (eds), Studies Presented to A.
Leo Oppenheim, June 7, 1964, Chicago IL 1964, 106-7; Henshaw, FM, 195.
99
Cf. Harris, 'The nadtu Woman', 106; Assante, 'The ka.T.kid/harimtu, Prostitute or Single Woman?' 39, n. 91.
On nadtus see also R. Harris, 'The Organization and Administration of the
Cloister in Ancient Babylonia', JESHO 6/2 (1963), 121-157; Idem, 'Independent
Women in Ancient Mesopotamia?' in: WER, 145-56 and the 'Responses to Prof.
Harris's Paper', in: WER, 157-65; Renger, 'Untersuchungen zum Priestertum',
149-76; E.C. Stone, 'The Social Role of the nadtu Women in Old Babylonian
Nippur', JESHO 25 (1982), 50-70; U. Jeyes, 'The nadtu Women of Sippar', in:
A. Cameron, A. Kuhrt (eds), Images of Women in Antiquity, Detroit 1983, 260-72;
Henshaw, FM, 192-5.
100
Stone, 'The Social Role of the nadtu Women in Old Babylonian Nippur',
55-6; Jeyes, 'The nadtu Women of Sippar', 265-7.

(the comparison of women to fields is common in ancient Near Eastern

texts). The nadtu was then a "fallow woman1' ; she was prohibited from
sexual relations throughout her life. This was a basic prohibition for all
naditu women dedicated to different gods as well and therefore possibly
living under different regulations.101
Those dedicated to the gods Shamash at Sippar and Ninurta at Nippur should not marry nor have children. 102 Some of the nadtus devoted to Marduk at Babylon, on the other hand, were married, but
they, too, were forbidden to bear children. 103 Generally nadtus came
from the upper echelons of society, from wealthy, landowning families. 104 They owned slaves who took care of the menial tasks in the
household. A few nadtus were princesses, coming from Mari and
Babylon. 105
The nadtus lived in a sequestered area of the city, separated from
the 'outside' world. At Sippar they lived in the gag 'cloister' 106 and at
Nippur their living space is described as 'the place of the nadtus'.107
The economic role of the nadtus is often emphasized and sometimes overemphasized. At Sippar many tablets have been found dealing with their economic affairs, which concerned sales, leases, loans,
inheritances and adoptions. Due to its archaeologocial history, however, this material may present a somewhat imbalanced picture of the
nadtu's importance. A comparison with the Nippur evidence corrects
the picture of the economic role played by the nadtus.108 Moreover,
'the textual material [from Sippar, HJM] might also give a distorted
picture overstressing their business activities at the expense of their
religious duties'. 109 Although they played an important role in eco101

Harris, 'Independent Women in Ancient Mesopotamia?' 151.

There are, however, a couple of cases of nadtus having a child; cf. Jeyes,
'The naditu Women of Sippar', 266-7; Assante, 'The kar.kid/harimtu, Prostitute
or Single Woman?' 39, n. 92.
103
On textual references to marriages of nadtus, cf. CH 137, 144-147; Renger,
'Untersuchungen zum Priestertum', 174-5; R. Westbrook, Old Babylonian Marriage Law (AfO.B, 23), Horn 1988, 107-8.
104
Renger, 'Untersuchungen zum Priestertum', 150-1.
105
Cf. Harris, 'The naditu Woman', 123-4; B.F. Batto, Studies on Women at
Mari, Baltimore 1974, 93-107.
106
Literally, 'locked house'. On the translation of the term gag, cf. Harris,
'The naditu Woman', 108; Assante, 'The kar.kid/harimtu, Prostitute or Single
Woman?' 38-9, n. 90.
107
Stone, 'The Social Role of the nadtu Women in Old Babylonian Nippur', 56.
108
Stone, 'The Social Role of the naditu Women in Old Babylonian Nippur',
50-70; Jeyes, 'The naditu Women of Sippar', 261-2; Harris, 'Independent Women
in Ancient Mesopotamia?' 152-3.
109
Jeyes, 'The naditu Women of Sippar', 262.
102

nomic life, it is the religious role of the nadtus that concerns us here.
At Sippar, women generally were designated by their parents as
nadtus at an early age. They entered the gag as nubile girls and
lived there until their death. They were initiated by way of a religious ceremony, which took place once a year at the festival of sebt
attirn.110 An administrative text dealing with the expenses incurred
by the cloister on the entrance of a nadtu mentions gifts (biblu) that
were donated by the gag to the girl and her family. 111 The initiate
nadtu brought her dowry with her. 112 The Sippar nadtu had a special relationship with the god Shamash and his wife Aya. Both Aya
and the initiated nadtu were called the kallatu of Shamash. Harris
has proposed that the nadtu should be regarded as the daughter-inlaw of Shamash, Aya thus being her 'mother-in-law'. 113 Ulla Jeyes, on
the other hand, assumes that 'Aja and the nadtu were in the same
position in their relationship to ama', i.e., both were a betrothed
bride of Shamash. The epithet kallatu underlined the virginal state
of the nadtu.114
The religious duties of the nadtu concerned bringing offerings and
praying for family members. 115 Princess Erishti-Aya from Mari, for
instance, wrote that she prayed continually for her father the king and
for his dynasty before Shamash and Aya. 116 A nadtu also participated
in the cult of the dead for the deceased nadtus during the festival of
sebt attim.117 Although the nadtu had a ritual role, she was no
priestess. 118
The administrative staff of the gag consisted mainly of men. 119
Possibly nadtus themselves fulfilled the office of steward in the early
days of the Old Babylonian period, but in later times only men held
110

Cf. Renger, 'Untersuchungen zum Priestertum', 153-4; Harris, 'The naditu

Woman', 110-6.
111
Harris, 'The nadtu Woman', 110-3.
112
CH 178-182; Renger, 'Untersuchungen zum Priestertum', 154-5; Harris, 'Independent Women in Ancient Mesopotamia?' 152. On the property of a Nippur
nadtu, cf. Stone, 'The Social Role of the nadtu Women in Old Babylonian Nippur', 57-60.
113
Harris, 'The naditu Woman', 113.
114
Jeyes, 'The nadtu Women of Sippar', 265-6. See also Renger, 'Untersuchungen
zum Priestertum', 154, . 302.
115
Harris, 'The nadtu Woman', 121; Jeyes, 'The nadtu Women of Sippar', 268.
116
Batto, Studies on Women at Mari, 96.
117
Harris, 'The nadtu Woman', 113-4.
118
Harris, 'The naditu Woman', 108; Renger, 'Untersuchungen zum Priestertum',
176; Henshaw, FM, 194.
119
Harris, 'The Organization and Administration of the Cloister in Ancient
Babylonia', 131-42; Renger, 'Untersuchungen zum Priestertum', 157-8.

these functions. Some naditus were (female) scribes at the gag of

Sippar. 120
As we noted above, scholars generally assume that the economic
role of the naditu was important. 1 2 1 When her economic role diminished at the end of the Old Babylonian period, the importance of the
nadtus declined, causing them eventually to disappear. 122 In the first
millennium incantation series Maql (1II.44ff.), the nadtu, like the
qaditu, is associated with witchcraft. 123 Harris explains:
In later times when t h e gag and naditu have long disappeared, an
i n s t i t u t i o n such as theirs was unimaginable. T h e y were t h e n considered
t o be p r o s t i t u t e s and witches, marginal women who were t h r e a t s to t h e
social order of t h e community. 1 2 4

In the sixth century BCE Nabonidus revived the office of the naditu,
but the revival did not outlive his reign, it would seem. 125
Various other religious functions are known from Mesopotamia:
the ugbabtu, the kulmatu, the ugtu and the itartu, to name some.
Since they are of lesser relevance to our understanding of the female
priesthood in Ugarit and Israel, I will not discuss them here. 126
It would seem that the tendency already present in the second millennium, to exclude women from cultic functions, continued into the
first millennium. Female priests rarely occur in the first millennium.
Nabonidus revived the office of the entu, but the fact that he met
with opposition probably implied that it had become unusual for a
woman to fulfill a priestly function by the time of his reign. Possibly
the sgittu was some kind of priestess during the Late Babylonian
period, but this is uncertain and she is mentioned only once. 127 Only
royal women occasionally acted as priestesses. Thus around 300 BCE
the Phoenician queen mother is referred to as priestess of
120

Harris, 'The Organization and Administration of the Cloister in Ancient

Babylonia', 138-9.
121
Cf. Harris, 'Independent Women in Ancient Mesopotamia?' 155: ' . . . a basic
reason for the establishment of the cloister was to ensure the integrity of the
paternal estate'. See also Stone, 'The Social Role of the naditu Women in Old
Babylonian Nippur', 65-6.
122
Harris, 'The naditu Woman', 135; Stone, 'The Social Role of the naditu
Women in Old Babylonian Nippur', 67-70.
123
Henshaw, FM, 164-5, 195; Assante, 'The kar.kid/harimtu, Prostitute or Single
Woman?' 53. On naditus and qaditus as midwives, cf. section 2.2.2.3.
124
Harris, 'Independent Women in Ancient Mesopotamia?' 156.
125
Jeyes, 'The naditu Women of Sippar', 262.
126
For an overview of the various functions, cf. Henshaw, FM.
127
Kuhrt, 'Non-Royal Women in the Late Babylonian Period', 221.

'Ashtart. 1 2 8
Karel van der Toorn assumes that the demand for physical perfection and, within that frame of reference, sexual purity, can be regarded
as the cause for debarring women from the priesthood. 129 Yet if women
were regarded as 'always potentially impure', as he states, I wonder
why they could fulfill priestly functions in the third and early second
millennium. Either purity regulations were not that important then,
or other considerations were also taken into account. I assume that
women's social status can also be regarded as a reason for exclusion.
In Egypt, professionalization of the priesthood led to the exclusion
of most women from priestly roles, from the New Kingdom onwards
(see below). In section 2.2.2.3 we saw that, whereas Mesopotamian
women could still fulfill some professions in the third and early second millennium, in later times their opportunities had greatly decreased. Only professions in the service of royal women (scribes, messengers) and those related to childcare (midwifery, wetnursing) were
open to women. Probably in Mesopotamia, too, professionalization of
the priesthood led to the exclusion of most women.
Although the position of female cultic functionaries in Egypt differed somewhat from that of their Mesopotamian sisters, here, too,
exclusion of women gradually developed. With regard to the Egyptian
priesthood, Herman te Velde notes:
There were two principal grades of priests: the higher grade of "servants
of the god" (hmw-ntr), a term Egyptologists usually render "prophets,"
as the Greeks did, and the subordinate "pure ones" (w'bw), or wab
priests. . . . The priests were divided into four groups or gangs of service,
now known by their Greek designation, phyle. Each phyle served one
lunar month by rotation, so that everyone had an interval of three
months between two periods of ritual service. The head or "regulator"
of a phyle was normally a prophet, while others were mostly wab priests.
. . . Women had their own phyles. After marriage a woman remained in
the phyle into which she had been initiated as a girl. All women of rank
were singers, dancers, or musicians in the temple of a god or goddess
in their hometown.130
In the Old Kingdom, many women from high-ranking families were
priestesses (hm.t-ntr) of Hathor, and, to a lesser extent, of the god128

KAI 14:14-15.
. van der Toorn, 'Theology, Priests, and Worship in Canaan and Ancient
Israel', in: CANE, vol. 3, 2052.
130
H. te Velde, 'Theology, Priests, and Worship in Ancient Egypt', in: CANE,
vol. 3, 1734. Te Velde erroneously writes hmw-ntr in stead of hmw-ntr.
129

dess Neith. Some queens were priestesses of male deities, such as

Thoth, but '[w]0men were usually associated with goddesses rather
than gods'. 131 Originally, the priesthood of Hathor, the major goddess of Egypt, was predominantly female. 132 Not only royal women,
but also common women from the upper and lower echelons of society
held the rank of hm.t-ntr of Hathor. 133 Yet during the Middle Kingdom the situation changed and gradually men took over the positions
of authority. 134
It is not clear whether the women who were hm.t-ntr of Hathor
received any income for their priestly service, nor whether they fulfilled the same function as male priests of other deities. According to
Gay Robins,
Since the masculine form 'hem netjer of Hathor' was very rare, it might
appear that the female holders of the title would have to fulfil the
same function as that carried out by the hem netjer in the cult of
other deities. In addition there is evidence that the hemet netjer was
connected with music-making in the cult. 135
With regard to the importance of music making in the cult of Hathor
during the New Kingdom, Barbara Lesko observes:
The women who served in Hathor's cult are often described as musicians or chantresses, but this may not adequately convey their importance. Music and dance were necessary features of Hathor's cult, and
the women who held the sacred cult implements were to be understood
as impersonators of the goddess. That a very highly placed woman in
the cult of Amun-Re, a chief of the concubines of Amun in the mortuary temple of Ramses II, and wife of the presiding sem-priest there

131

H.G. Fischer, 1 Priesterin', L, Bd. 4, 1100-1. See also Idem, 'Women in the
Old Kingdom and the Heracleopolitan Period', in: WER, 18-9; G. Robins, Women
in Ancient Egypt, London 1993, 142; B.S. Lesko, The Great Goddesses of Egypt,
Norman OK 1999, 239.
132
'Responses to Dr. Fischer's Paper', in: WER, 29 (Addendum by Dr. M.
Galvin): 'From the Old Kingdom and the First Intermediate Period, 226
Priestesses of Hathor have been identified, but only 10 Priests of Hathor show
up in the records'.
133
'Responses to Dr. Fischer's Paper', in: WER, 25-6; Lesko, The Great Goddesses of Egypt, 240.
134
'Responses to Dr. Fischer's Paper', in: WER, 25-30; W.A. Ward, 'Non-Royal
Women and their Occupations in the Middle Kingdom', in: WER, 34-5, 43;
Robins, Women in Ancient Egypt, 142,144; Lesko, The Great Goddesses of Egypt,
241.
135
Robins, Women in Ancient Egypt, 144.

was also a chantress of H a t h o r illustrates this. 1 3 6

Thus, during the New Kingdom, women still played an important

role in the cult of Hathor, but no longer as a priestess, so it would
seem. They participated as members of a hnr (see below). Outside
the cult of Hathor the temple priesthood was predominantly male
in the Middle Kingdom, while from the Eighteenth Dynasty onwards
women are seldom recorded as a 'servant of the god'. 137
Beside the hm.t-ntr, women could also function as w'bt priestesses,
though not in as large a number as the former. W'bt priestesses are
recorded in the Old and the Middle Kingdom. 138 In the Old Kingdom,
women performing wab service for Hathor received the same payment
as male wab priests.
Whereas priestly functions were to a large extent fulfilled by lay
persons during the Old and Middle Kingdom, this changed during
the New Kingdom, when a professionalization of the priesthood occurred. This professionalization resulted in exclusion of most women
from priestly roles from the New Kingdom period on. Women were
generally found in supportive roles beside their husbands and fathers
who served as priests. The wives and daughters of these priests served
as musicians in the cult of the same deity. 139
From the New Kingdom period on, only women of the highest social classes could function in a priestly capacity, as 'God's Wife' (hmt
ntr)u0 or 'Divine Adoratrice' (dw3t ntr). It is not exactly clear what
the latter function entailed. From the Third Intermediate period on
the dw3t ntr also held the title of God's Wife of Amun. 141 The function
of God's Wife was held by wives or daughters of kings during the New
Kingdom, but from the Third Intermediate period on by virgins who
136

Lesko, The Great Goddesses of Egypt, 111.

Fischer, 'Priesterin', 1101-2; Robins, Women in Ancient Egypt, 144-5; B.S.
Lesko, The Remarkable Women of Ancient Egypt, Providence 3 1996, 39.
138
Pace Fischer, 'Priesterin', 1101; cf. Robins, Women in Ancient Egypt, 144;
Lesko, The Great Goddesses of Egypt, 240.
139
Fischer, 'Priesterin', 1102; Robins, Women in Ancient Egypt, 149; Lesko, The
Great Goddesses of Egypt, 244.
140
It may be somewhat confusing to non-Egyptologists that the ideogram 'servant of the god' is also transcribed hmt ntr.
141
Fischer, 'Priesterin', 1101-3; Robins, 'The God's Wife of Amun in the 18th
Dynasty in Egypt', in: A. Cameron, A. Kuhrt (eds), Images of Women in Antiquity, Detroit 1983, 65-78; Idem, Women in Ancient Egypt, 149; Lesko, The
Remarkable Women of Ancient Egypt, 39-41; B.M. Bryan, 'In Women Good and
Bad Fortune are on Earth: Status and Roles of Women in Egyptian culture',
in: A.K. Capel, G.E. Markoe (eds), Mistress of the House, Mistress of Heaven:
Women in Ancient Egypt, New York 1996, 43.
137

were consecrated to the god Amun. 142 Gay Robins assumes that certain women from the Eighteenth Dynasty, such as Hatshepsut and her
daughter, Neferura, preferred their title 'God's Wife' over other royal
titles because of the prestige attached to it. 'The owning of property
made the office a powerful one, and the god's wife probably had real
authority in the cult'. 143 Moreover, Barbara Lesko notes that queens
were considered divine, like the king, and were equated with Hathor
during the New Kingdom. 144 Robins further proposes that Hatshepsut
may have used her authority as God's Wife to strenghten her position during her regency and eventually claim the throne. Thutmose
ill, who ruled after Hatshepsut, may have deliberately reduced the
importance of the God's Wife's position and stripped it of much of
its authority. 145 From the reign of Amenophis in (1388-1351/50 BCE)
until the end of the Eighteenth Dynasty the function of the God's
Wife disappeared, to reappear again in the Nineteenth and Twentieth
Dynasty as a title of apparently little importance. A change may have
been initiated by Ramesses VI (1142/40-1134/32 BCE), who installed
his unmarried daughter, Aset, as God's Wife and Divine Adoratrice.
She may have been the first of a long line of unmarried God's Wives,
daughters of either kings or high priests of Amun. Being unmarried,
there was less of a threat the God's Wife would build her own imperium. The rich and powerful God's Wife could thus serve the ruling
king in maintaining his power. 146 The reign of Nitokret I, daughter of
Psammetichus I (664-610 BCE), illustrates the economic and political
power that a God's Wife had by the end of the Third Intermediate
period. 147 Her role, however, as that of all God's Wives of Amun, was
confined to the Theban area. The Persian conquest of Egypt brought
an end to the office of the God's Wife.
Queens and princesses who became a God's Wife of Amun fulfilled
priestly tasks, especially in the Amun temple at Thebes. They held a
142

M. Gitton, J. Leclant, 'Gottesgemahlin', in: L, Bd. 2, 792-812; Robins,

Women in Ancient Egypt, 149-56. It is a matter of discussion whether all God's
Wives of Amun from the Third Intermediate period on were celibate; cf. Bryan,
'In Women Good and Bad Fortune are on Earth', 43-4; Lesko, The Great Goddesses of Egypt, 247. The title 'God's Wife' is sporadically attested before the
New Kingdom, cf. Gitton, Leclant, 'Gottesgemahlin', 793.
143
Robins, Women in Ancient Egypt, 152.
144
Lesko, The Great Goddesses of Egypt, 246.
145
Robins, Women in Ancient Egypt, 152.
146
Robins, Women in Ancient Egypt, 154; Bryan, 'In Women Good and Bad
Fortune are on Earth', 43; Lesko, The Great Goddesses of Egypt, 248-50. On the
management of the extensive properties of the Amun temple, see section 2.2.1.1.
147
Robins, Women in Ancient Egypt, 154-6; Lesko, The Remarkable Women of
Ancient Egypt, 42.

religious office which entailed participation in many ceremonies, such

as performing magic acts against Egypt's enemies, offering to the
gods and partaking in other temple rituals. 148 Perhaps these rituals
also involved some ritual with a sexual connotation. 149 They also had
to play their sistrum to keep their god in a good mood. During the
Eighteenth Dynasty God's Wives could be depicted in either priestly
or queenly attire. Later they were shown wearing queenly attire, even
when God's Wives were no longer queens, but daughters of the king.
Furthermore, scenes depicting the king in his performance of cultic
ritual were taken over to depict the God's Wife in her relation to the
gods, making her position as representative of the king almost equal
to his. 150
At Hatti the queen had an important religious position. The king
and the queen were the highest priests of the Hittite cult. They performed a priestly role in most of the major state festivals. 151 As we
saw in section 2.2.1.2, the tawananna was high priestess of the highest
goddess in the pantheon, the Sun goddess of Arinna, and played a major role in various rituals. 152 The Hittite pantheon was very large and
diverse and required the service of many kinds of priests. Although the
priesthood seems to have been dominated by males, various female
priestly functions existed, among whom the entu.153
In the Old Kingdom period, Egyptian women performed priestly
service in mortuary cults, for which they received an income as funerary priests (hmw-k3). 154 Yet it seems that in later times they no
longer functioned as funerary priests, but as mourners. 155
Singers, dancers and musicians were part of the cultic personnel,
be it generally of a somewhat lower status than priests. However, the
context in which singers, musicians and dancers occur is not always
a cultic one. Some of them could also perform in a non-liturgical
context, for instance, to entertain the king.
148

Cf. . Graefe, Untersuchungen zur Verwaltung und Geschichte der Institution

der Gottesgemahlin des Amun vom Beginn des Neuen Reiches bis zur Sptzeit,
Wiesbaden 1981; M. Gitton, Les divines pouses de la 18e dynastie, Paris 1984.
149
Robins, Women in Ancient Egypt, 151-3.
150
Robins, Women in Ancient Egypt, 156; Bryan, 'In Women Good and Bad
Fortune axe on Earth 1 , 44.
151
G. McMahon, 'Theology, Priests, and Worship in Hittite Anatolia', in: CANE,
vol. 3, 1990.
152
V. Haas, Geschichte der hethitischen Religion (HO, Abt. 1, 15), Leiden 1994,
204, 833-4; T. Bryce, The Kingdom of the Hittites, Oxford 1998, 96.
153
Cf. Haas, Geschichte der hethitischen Religion, 960-1.
154
Bryan, 'In Women Good and Bad Fortune are on Earth', 41.
155
Fischer, Priesterin, 1102; Idem, 'Women in the Old Kingdom and the Heracleopolitan Period', in: WER, 19-20. On female mourners, see below.

One of the categories of cultic musicians and singers was that of

Sum. gala/Akk. kal, a lamentation singer. In early Mesopotamia,
some of the galas were female, but in later times the function of the
kal was an exclusively male one, it would appear. 156 Yet there were
other offices involving lamenting and weeping in which women functioned as wailers and weeping women. It cannot always be discerned
whether they were part of the cult. 157
Another category of musicians and singers is that of the Sum.
nar/Akk. nru (m), nrtu (f), whose task probably included the rcitation of myths and epics. 158 This office may have already been held by
women in the Early Dynastic period. Texts referring to the nar (f)
occur from Ur III on, while in Akkadian texts the nrtu is mentioned
from the Old Babylonian period on, 'but nothing is known about
how her activity differed from that of the nru [sic], if it did'. 159 Several nrtus are mentioned in an administrative text from Mari, M.
13184, which lists women from the harem of Zimri-Lim. 160 In this
list several categories of women are mentioned, such as princesses,
wives of the king, musicians, and kitchen personnel. Some of these
women, such as the princess Inibshina, who was an ugbabtu, and a
number of kisalluhhatu's 'female courtyard sweepers', 161 were cultic
functionaries. It therefore is very well possible that these musicians,
or some of them, fulfilled cultic duties. 162 The office of nrujnrtu
could probably be inherited. A Neo-Assyrian ritual text states: PN
l.nar issi mar'tisu ina panunu izammuru 'the musician PN sings
before them together with his daughters'. 163
156

Henshaw, FM, 88-9.

Henshaw, FM, 84-114.
158
T. Jacobsen, The Harps That Once ... : Sumerian Poetry in Translation, New
Haven 1987, xiii.
159
Henshaw, FM, 96-102 (98). See also J.M. Asher-Greve, Frauen in altsumerischer Zeit (Bibliotheca Mesopotamica, 18), Malibu CA 1985, 162, n. 148;
M.G. Biga, 'Frauen in der Wirtschaft von Ebla', in: H. Waetzoldt, H. Hauptmann
(eds), Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft von Ebla: Akten der Internationalen Tagung
Heidelberg ^.-7.November 1986 (Heidelberger Studien zum Alten Orient, 2), Heidelberg 1988, 171; R. Harris, 'The Female "Sage" in Mesopotamian Literature
(with an appendix on Egypt)', in: J.G. Garnie, L.G. Perdue (eds), The Sage in
Israel and the Ancient Near East. Winona Lake 1990, 10.
160
On M. 13184, see M. Birot, 'Textes conomiques de Mari (IV)', RA 50 (1956),
57-72; N. Ziegler, Le Harem de Zimr-Lm: La population fminine des palais
d'aprs les archives royales de Mari (Florilegium marianum, 4) (Mmoires de
NABU, 5), Paris 1999, 131-40.
161
Ziegler, Le Harem de Zimr-Lm, 89, translates 'chambrires'. CAD (K), 419,
however, renders 'courtyard sweeper (as a temple official)'.
162
Cf. Henshaw, FM, 98.
163
CAD (N) 1, 377. Although the daughters of the nar are not referred to as
157

In the thirteenth century, Emar singers (zammr) played an important role in the cult, leading ritual processions and performing
hymns for specific gods. Some of the texts also mention female singers
(zammirtu), who probably participated in the cult, too. 164
In pharaonic Egypt, female musicians were attached to temples
and appeared in the roles of singers and instrumentalists. 165 Musicians either accompanied a singer or sang to their own instruments.
In the Old Kingdom period women played a limited number of instruments, i.e., the harp and percussion instruments such as the sistrum.
Flutes and oboes, on the other hand, were exclusively played by men.
Female musicians were often depicted in a funerary context, as family members (wives or daughters) who entertained the deceased tomb
owner. However, professional female musicians and singers also occur
in the tomb scenes, although their male collgues are shown more
often. 166
Singers and dancers made up a band, a hnr. In the Old Kingdom
period, membership of the hnr was restricted to women and their
overseer was female, too. This changed by the end of the Old Kingdom
period, when men were included among the singers and dancers of
the hnr. The ensembles had a function in religious as well as secular
contexts. 167
The source material of the Middle Kingdom period reveals that
women continued to act as professional musicians who performed in
the cult. 168 'The most significant changes in the roles of women are the
increasing integration of male and female musicians and the greater
variety of instruments played by women in iconographical representa-

nrtus, it seems likely they acted as such.

164
D.E. Fleming, The Installation of Baal's High Priestess at Emar: A Window
on Ancient Syrian Religion (HSS, 42), Atlanta G A 1992, 92-3.
165
The majority of Egyptian sources regarding musicians is found in a religious
context; cf. . Teeter, 'Female Musicians in Pharaonic Egypt 5 , in: K. Marshall
(ed.), Rediscovering the Muses: Women's Musical Traditions, Boston 1993, 68-9.
For female singers in a non-cultic setting, cf. M.V. Fox, The Song of Songs and
Ancient Egyptian Love Songs, Madison 1985, 192.
166
Fischer, 'Women in the Old Kingdom and the Heracleopolitan Period', 15-6,
notes that professional musicians usually were men. Teeter, 'Female Musicians in
Pharaonic Egypt', 69-78, also points to the fact that 'scenes portraying exclusively
male orchestras are more numerous than ones showing female instrumentalists or
mixed-gender bands'(72).
167
Robins, Women in Ancient Egypt, 148-9; Teeter, 'Female Musicians in
Pharaonic Egypt', 76-7.
168
Ward, 'Non-Royal Women and their Occupations in the Middle Kingdom',
35.

tions'. 169 The material from the Middle and New Kingdom period
shows women playing lute, flute and double oboe, among other instruments.
As was the case in the Old Kingdom period, most of the musical
scenes in the New Kingdom material have a funerary function. Yet
while in the former period the single female harpist appeared frequently, she is replaced in New Kingdom scenes by groups of women.
Moreover, although orchestras of mixed gender continued to occur,
more often they were exclusively female. 170
Both in the Old and the New Kingdom period the hnr consisted
of high-born women. 171 During the latter period, large numbers of
elite women, including members of the royal family, held the title of
sm'yt 'chantress' and acted as temple musician. Less documented, but
of comparable status and content, was the function of hst, which was
also held by women of privileged background. These temple musicians
served both male and female deities and probably held a part-time,
volunteer position. Often a wife of a priest would be a musician in
the same cult as her husband. 172 Queens who acted as songstresses
were believed to pacify the god with their voice. 173 Throughout the
pharaonic period female musicians appear to have held an honourable
position. 174
Beside singers and musicians, dancers also played a role in the cult.
With regard to Mesopotamia, Richard Henshaw explains: 'Much of
the cultic dancing is done as a group. A group dance is done in a
circle, but only by women
' 175 In Egypt, both male and female
dancers participated in the cult, but they generally performed in separate groups. In the Old Kingdom period, they were accompanied by
musicians and singers. During the New Kingdom period, however, female dancers usually accompanied themselves. They probably were
of a somewhat lower class than the women of the hnr.176
V-

Songs of lament were sung by a special category of religious specialist, i.e., mourners. In Mesopotamia, a deceased person was be169

Teeter, 'Female Musicians in Pharaonic Egypt', 79.

Teeter, 'Female Musicians in Pharaonic Egypt', 79-85.
171
Bryan, 'In Women Good and Bad Fortune are on Earth', 41-2.
172
Robins, Women in Ancient Egypt, 145.
173
Teeter, 'Female Musicians in Pharaonic Egypt', 86.
174
Teeter, 'Female Musicians in Pharaonic Egypt', 86-91.
175
Henshaw, FM, 116.
176
E. Brunner-Traut, 'Tanz', in: LA, Bd. 6, 215-31; Fischer, 'Women in the Old
Kingdom and the Heracleopolitan Period', 15; B. Watterson, Women in Ancient
Egypt, Stroud 1991, 46-9; Bryan, 'In Women Good and Bad Fortune are on Earth',
42.
170

wailed by relatives and close friends, but professional mourners, both

women and men, could also be invited to perform the mourning rites.
They sang lamentation songs and expressed their grief in dress and
behaviour. 177 Moreover, in Mesopotamian literature goddesses played
a prominent role lamenting destruction and death. 1 7 8
In Egypt, women also could function as professional mourners.
Tomb decorations depict both male and female mourners, the latter
often outnumbering the former. 179 It would seem that, in addition
to the deceased's family members there were also professional female
mourners. The use of the title 'mourner' by women confirms this. 180
There has been much discussion on the relationship between magic
and religion. 181 Scholars have made a distinction by which they often valued religion positively and magic negatively. However, such a
distinction is based on medieval christian interpretations rather than
ancient Near Eastern views. Although there was a division of labour
between specialists who exercised problem-oriented rituals and those
who maintained the temple cult, they were both regarded as religious
officials. 'It should be kept in mind . . . that these two types of activity
were part of the same belief system and that there was none of the
hostility between them to be seen in later times between "magic" and
"religion" '. 182 I will therefore discuss the various types of female ma177

Cf. CAD (B), 34-35 (bakktu), P.W. Ferris, The Genre of Communal Lament
in the Bible and the Ancient Near East (SBL.DS, 127), Atlanta GA 1992, 27, 74-5,
87; J.A. Scurlock, 'Death and the Afterlife in Ancient Mesopotamian Thought',
in: CANE, vol. 3, 1885-6.
178
S.N. Kramer, 'The Weeping Goddess: Sumerian Prototypes of the Mater Dolorosa\ BA 46 (1983), 69-80. See also H. Behrens, 'CBS 6894: Ein Eremma fr
Dumuzi?' in: H. Behrens et al. (eds), DUMU-E 2 -DUB-BA-A: Studies in Honor
of ke W. Sjberg (Occasional Publications of the Samuel Noah Kramer Fund,
11), Philadelphia 1989, 29-31.
179
G. Robins, 'Some Images of Women in New Kingdom Art and Literature', in:
WER, 112.
180
Robins, Women in Ancient Egypt, 164. See also Fischer, 'Women in the Old
Kingdom and the Heracleopolitan Period', 19; Watterson, Women in Ancient
Egypt, 45; C.H. Roehrig, 'Women's Work: Some Occupations of Nonroyal Women
as Depicted in Ancient Egyptian Art', in: A.K. Capel, G.E. Markoe (eds), Mistress
of the House, Mistress of Heaven: Women in Ancient Egypt, New York 1996, 14.
181
For the ancient Near East, see W. Gutekunst, 'Zauber', in: L, Bd. 6, 1320-6;
J.A. Scurlock, 'Magic (ANE)', in: ABD, vol. 4, 464-8. For Ugarit, see G. del Olmo
Lete, Canaanite Religion: According to the Liturgical Texts of Ugarit, Bethesda
MD 1999, 345, 370. For the Hebrew Bible, see J.K. Kuemmerlin-McLean, 'Magic
( O T ) \ in: ABD, vol. 4, 468-71; N.R. Bowen, 'The Daughters of Your People:
Female Prophets in Ezekiel 13:17-23', JBL 118 (1999), 419-20.
182
Scurlock, 'Magic (ANE)', 465. See also Bowen, 'The Daughters of Your Peopie', 419-20.

gicians and diviners in this section on women as religious specialists.

In Mesopotamian and Hittite culture a distinction was made between black, or maliciously anti-social, magic and white, or defensive,
magic. However, the forms of magic that were used and the methods
employed by those practising malevolent and benevolent magic were
often the same. 'The distinction between the social and anti-social
uses of magic was therefore a matter of public opinion regarding the
person carrying out the activity rather than an essential difference in
the power and magic themselves 5 . 183 Malevolent magic or sorcery 184
was forbidden by law both in Mesopotamia and Hatti. 1 8 5
Although sorcery was performed by men as well as women, it seems
to have been regarded as a specifically female field.186 The kaptu
'sorceress' appears more often than the kapu 'sorcerer' in Akkadian
texts. 1 8 7 The law texts also seem to reflect the predominance of women
in the field of witchcraft. Whereas CH 2 only refers to males practising kipu, MAL A47 condemns both men and women practising
witchcraft to death, and LNB 7 condemns a woman who performs
magic. Moreover, according to Sue Rollin, law texts in which women
are the offenders of cursing might also be related to witchcraft. 188 In
two Old Babylonian letters dealing with a court case between father
and son, both parties accuse each other of having made use of witches.
The father believes his daughter-in-law and her mother to be sorceresses, while the son accuses his father of having made use of a sorceress. 189 Even ladies of high birth, such as Tawananna, the second wife
of Shupiluliuma I, could be condemned for practising sorcery. During
the reign of Murshili 11, this queen mother was believed to have been
183

S. Rollin, 'Women and Witchcraft in Ancient Assyria', in: A. Cameron, A.

Kuhrt (eds), Images of Women in Antiquity, Detroit 1983, 35.
184
I use 'sorcery' and 'witchcraft' as roughly synonymous terms, cf. Rollin,
'Women and Witchcraft in Ancient Assyria', 34.
185
CH 2; MAL A47; LNB 7; HL 44b, 111, 163, 170.
186
Cf. Rollin, 'Women and Witchcraft in Ancient Assyria', 34-45; S. Lafont,
Femmes, Droit et Justice dans l'Antiquit orientale: Contribution l'tude du
droit pnal au Proche-Orient ancien (OBO, 165), Fribourg, Suisse 1999, 431.
187
Cf. CAD (K), 291-2; G.R. Driver, J.C. Miles, The Assyrian Laws, repr. of the
ed. Oxford 1935 with suppl. add. and corr. by G.R. Driver, Aalen 1975, 118.
Especially in the incantation series Maql, several other terms are used for female practioners of sorcery: agugiltu 'sorceress', iptu 'exorcist', elntu 'deceitful
woman', pitu 'sorceress', eebtu 'ecstatic with evil magic powers', muppitu
'sorceress', mulashhatu 'snake charmer', mutpitu 'sorceress', narindatu
'witch'. Cf. Henshaw", FM, 152-3, 162-7.
188
CU 25; MAPD 17; Rollin, 'Women and Witchcraft in Ancient Assyria', 43.
189
S.D. Walters, 'The Sorceress and her Apprentice: A Case Study of an Accusation', JCS 23 (1970), 27-38.

guilty of the death of the king's first wife by performing witchcraft.

An oracle was consulted, which sanctioned that she be removed from
her office as tawananna and executed. The king, however, banished
his stepmother from the palace but spared her life. 190 Sorcery was
thus considered a very serious offence, which could lead to capital
punishment. Rollin has categorized those suspected of witchcraft in
Mesopotamian texts into five groups, of which foreign women and
women belonging to marginal social categories are most striking. She
explains the fact that women are more often accused of sorcery than
men by way of (male) fear of outsiders who might endanger society's
stability.
The symbolism of witchcraft beliefs shows a concern to protect the
norms and values of Mesopotamian civilisation against forms of deviance and anomaly which were regarded as an attack on those norms.
Women hold a particularly prominent place in the witchcraft myth, a
fact which can only be fully explained by reference to the position of
women within society itself. This has not yet been adequately analysed,
but women generally were clearly at a disadvantage in the sense that
their social and political options were fewer than those of men. This
combined with the fact that after marriage they presumably entered
their husband's household, where they were outsiders and therefore easily suspect, accounts in general terms for their position in the witchcraft
beliefs. Therefore, although both men and women, particularly those
in peripheral social groups, could be suspected of witchcraft, women
could be said to hold a doubly anomalous position.191
It would thus seem that men and women who belonged to marginal social categories were especially considered suspect of practising witchcraft. Yet women belonging to other social categories, too, could
be charged with sorcery, as the case of the Hittite queen mother,
Tawananna, shows. Tensions within families between stepmother and
son, between father and daughter-in-law, or between a second and
a first wife could bring people to use sorcery. In general, charges of
witchcraft, be they true or false, seem to reflect social tensions and
problematic power relations. 192
Unlike Mesopotamian and Hittite, Egyptian terminology is indiscriminate with regard to white and black magic. However, some
distinction probably did exist. 193 Emma Brunner-Traut argues that
190

Bryce, The Kingdom of the Hittites, 225-30. See section 2.2.1.2.

Rollin, 'Women and Witchcraft in Ancient Assyria', 44.
192
Van der Toorn, Cradle, 113.
193
Scurlock, 'Magic (ANE)', 466; J.F. Borghouts, 'Witchcraft, Magic, and Div191

malevolent magic was practised mainly by male magicians, whereas

women generally performed benevolent magic. 194
Beside the sphere of sorcery, women were also active in defensive
magic and mantic. One of the most well known practitioners of divination was the br 'haruspex', who, as a trained expert in the field
of extispicy, worked at the temple or the palace. His profession is
almost exclusively male. The female diviner, the brtu, occurs only
once. 195 In another area, that of dream interpretation, women prevailed, although men did function as 'ilu. Remarkably, '[t]he 'iltu,
the oneiromancer, apparently functioned mainly outside and below
the domain of the official, temple-centered religious life'. 196 Her lower
position may be related to the methods of dream interpretation, which
were 'interpretive rather than technical' and apparently did not require long years of training. 197 Women were also active as multu
'necromancer', but of this profession little is known. 198
Like the br, the ipu 'exorcist', seems to have used 'technical'
methods. The office of the ipu, which seems to have been fulfilled
by males only, included healing sick people and warding off illness
with the use of incantations and magic. According to Rivkah Harris,
'[w]0men remained outside the ranks of the exorcists (ipu) who
required lengthy training in difficult texts'. 199
In recent studies, prophecy is often regarded as a part of divinainations in Ancient Egypt', in: CANE, vol. 3, 1782.
194
E. Brunner-Traut, 'Die Stellung der Frau im Alten gypten', Saeculum 38
(1987), 334. However, women did make use of malevolent magic, for example to
harm a rival woman in matters of love; cf. Watterson, Women in Ancient Egypt,
54.
195
CAD (B), 112, 121-5; Harris, 'The Female "Sage" in Mesopotamian Literature', 12-3; Henshaw, FM, 136-8.
196
Harris, 'The Female "Sage" in Mesopotamian Literature', 13. But cf. Van der
Toorn, Cradle, 122, 125. On the Sa'iltu see further CAD (), 1, 109-12; Henshaw,
FM, 138-43.
197
Harris, 'The Female "Sage" in Mesopotamian Literature', 13, citing A.L. Oppenheim, The Interpretation of Dreams in the Ancient Near East (TAPhS, 46/3),
Philadelphia 1956, 225. Possibly the office of the oneiromancer (ensi) had a higher
status in the third millennium BCE. Data from the late Early Dynastic period
and the Akkad period suggest that women of high rank, such as Enheduanna, performed oneiromantic functions; cf. J.M. Asher-Greve, 'The Oldest Female Oneiromancer', in: FPOA, 27-32.
198
Cf. Henshaw, FM, 153; Van der Toorn, Cradle, 124.
199
Harris, 'The Female "Sage" in Mesopotamian Literature', 14. Henshaw, FM,
145, wonders whether the female office existed in practice, since it only occurs
as an epithet of goddesses. In Maql 111.42 iptu is used to address witches, cf.
CAD (A) 2, 431. On the astu 'physician', see section 2.2.2.3; on the distinction
between astu and iptu, cf. Henshaw, FM, 149-50.

tion, rather than being in contrast with it. 200 Although their method
may be different, divination and prophecy share the feature of communication between a divine sender and a human recipient by way of
an intermediary. On the other hand, the distinctiveness of prophecy
from (other) divinatory methods is also stressed. Whereas divinatory
fields such as extispicy supposedly used rational, 'scientific' methods,
the mode employed in prophecy was intuitive and sometimes ecstatic. 201
Beside some individual texts, prophetesses occur in two major
corpora. They are mentioned in Old Babylonian texts from Mari
and in Neo-Assyrian texts from Nineveh. At Mari, there were two
categories of prophetesses: professionals and lay persons. To the former category professionals such as the piltum 'answerer, respondent',
the muhhtum 'ecstatic' and the qabbtum 'speaker' belonged. These
prophetesses were attached to a sanctuary and served a specific deity, communicating its will to the king and other people. 202 About
one-fifth of the prophets with cultic titles was female. 203 Beside the
professional prophetesses, lay people could also act in this capacity.
There are several records of lay men and women, both named and
anonymous, who delivered a divinely inspired message. The number
of male and female lay prophets is about equal. 204 Although some lay
women went into ecstacy and delivered an oracle, most often they
experienced divine revelation in a dream. Remarkably, the dream as
a form of revelation is absent among the professional prophets and
prophetesses. People of all classes could experience a divine revelation in a dream, a maidservant as well as a wife of a free man and
a daughter of the king. 205 Like extispicy, which seems to have been
the most common form of divination in Babylonia, on a professional
level prophecy was a field mainly occupied by men. Yet prophecies
200

Cf., e.g., Van der Toorn, Cradle, 128-9; M. Nissinen, References to Prophecy in
Neo-Assyrian Sources (SAAS, 7), Helsinki 1998, 6, 167.1 adopt Herbert Huffmon's
definition of prophecy as 'inspired speech at the initiative of a divine power, speech
which is clear in itself and commonly directed to a third party; cf. H.B. Huffmon,
'Prophecy (ANE)', in: ABD, vol. 5, 477. Nissinen, 5, also offers various definitions
of prophecy.
201
Cf. . Malamat, Forerunner of Biblical Prophecy: The Mari Documents',
in: P.D. Miller et al. (eds), Ancient Israelite Religion, Philadelphia 1987, 34-5;
Nissinen, References to Prophecy in Neo-Assyrian Sources, 6-7, 32, 168.
202
B.F. Batto, Studies on Women at Man, Baltimore 1974, 119; Malamat,
Forerunner of Biblical Prophecy', 38-40; Huffmon, 'Prophecy ()', 478-80.
203
Huffmon, 'Prophecy (ANE)', 478.
204
Batto, Studies on Women at Man, 125; Huffmon, 'Prophecy (ANE)', 478.
205
Batto, Studies on Women at Man, 123; Malamat, Forerunner of Biblical
Prophecy', 43-4.

were often verified by other divinatory means, 'which were considered

more reliable and preferable to intuitive prophesying'. 206
In the Neo-Assyrian texts, too, both professional and lay prophetesses occur. The professional prophetesses are entitled mahhtu 'ecstatic', raggintu 'proclaimer', or ltu 'votary'. 207 Of the fifteen NeoAssyrian prophets that are known by name, ten are female. 208 Their
messages usually were supportive of the king's regime and his politics.
According to Martti Nissinen, 'prophecy was an established institution in the Neo-Assyrian Empire'. 209 A prophecy against the ruling
king could only be regarded as false. The woman who proclaimed
the destruction of the ruling dynasty (ABL 1217+CT 53 118) was
therefore not referred to as a prophetess, but as a slave girl. 210 The
professional Neo-Assyrian prophetesses probably had a certain status
within the cult. Many of the professional and lay prophetesses were
associated with Ishtar of Arbela. 211 Karel van der Toorn relates the
high number of female prophets in Neo-Assyria to 'the limited opportunities for female religiosity at the official level', especially the
inaccessibility of the priesthood to women. 212 Herbert Huffmon, on
the other hand, states that '[u]n1ike the Mari texts, the NA texts
do not point to a marginal status for the prophetic speakers'. 213 It
is worth noting that at Nineveh a higher percentage of professional
prophets were female (66 percent) than at Mari (20 percent).
In Egypt, a distinction between divination and prophecy did not
exist. In fact one of the two principal grades of priests in Egypt, that
of hm-ntr 'servant of the god', is rendered in bilingual texts with the
Greek word (see above). This translation is probably due to
the task of these oracle-giving priests. 214 Little is known of oracular
206

Malamat, Forerunner of Biblical Prophecy', 47.

Huffmon, 'Prophecy (ANE)\ 480; Henshaw, FM, 59-60, 158, 161-2.
208
S. Parpola, Assyrian Prophecies (SAA, 9), Helsinki 1997, xlviii; Nissinen,
References to Prophecy in Neo-Assyrian Sources, 169.
209
Nissinen, References to Prophecy in Neo-Assyrian Sources, 164: 'Form [sic]
the point of view of the Assyrian imperial ideology, prophets formed a part of the
human apparatus needed by the gods to reveal their will and make the people
- first and foremost the king - act accordingly. From a political and sociological
point of view, again, prophets belonged to the machinery of imperial propaganda,
the purpose of which was to substantiate the necessity of the existence and growth
of the imperium'.
210
Nissinen, References to Prophecy in Neo-Assyrian Sources, 166-7.
211
Huffmon, 'Prophecy (ANE)', 480; Henshaw, FM, 162.
212
Van der Toorn, Cradle, 130.
213
Huffmon, 'Prophecy (ANE)', 480.
214
Cf. H. te Velde, 'Theology, Priests, and Worship in Ancient Egypt', in: CANE,
vol. 3, 1744-5.
207

consultation in Egypt, but it is generally assumed that 'Egyptian

oracles result from a form of manipulate divination'. 215
Apart from any cultic functions, women could also act in an anciliary capacity in the temple. Weaving textiles was a woman's job.
In Late Babylonian temple archives female workers are charged with
this task. The textiles were needed for cultic services. 216
B . U G A R I T I C LITERARY T E X T S

So far, no Ugaritic texts have been found that deal with female cultic
impurity. Yet like their neighbours, the Ugaritians were aware of the
necessity to be pure when appearing before the gods. Thus several
texts mention the ritual purification of the king: yrths mlk brr 'the
king washes <and is> pure'. 217 Since the queen, too, performed sacrifices 218 , it seems reasonable to assume that she, too, had to be pure
in order to do so.
Beside the queen, no female cultic functionaries are mentioned in
the literary texts of Ugarit. At Ugarit the priesthood seems to have
been predominantly male. 219
Baruch Margalit has proposed that the naditu office, known from
second-millennium Sippar, also existed at Ugarit. He assumes ndt in
KTU 1.18:1.26 is the Ugaritic cogener of Akk. naditu.220 Yet the context, although fragmentary, does not seem to suggest this. 221 Based
on KTU 1.16:I.36-38a Margalit furthermore regards Kirtu's youngest
daughter, Thatmanatu, as a naditu of Shapshu living in a cloister. 222
His suggestion has met little approval, however. 223
Whereas in Akkadian and Hebrew texts the female cultic functionary qaditu/n occurs, in Ugaritic texts she does not. 224 Her
215

Huffmon, , Prophecy (ANE)', 481. See also Borghouts, 1 Witchcraft, Magic,

and Divinations in Ancient Egypt', 1782-3.
216
A. Kuhrt, 'Non-Royal Women in the Late Babylonian Period: A Survey', in:
WER, 221.
217
P. Merlo, P. Xella, 'The Rituals', in: HUS, 297; Del Olmo Lete, Canaanite
Religion, 37-8.
218
Merlo, Xella, 'The Rituals', 300; and see below.
219
The following categories of male temple personnel occur in Ugaritic texts: khn
'priest'; qd 'priest-diviner(?)'; sr '(temple) singer'; mhll 'purifier'; mlh 'exorcist';
S'ib mqdt 'water carrier of the sanctuary'; cf. Merlo, Xella, 'The Rituals', 300-1.
220
B. Margalit, The Ugaritic Poem of AQHT: Text, Translation,
Commentary
(BZAW, 182), Berlin 1989, 325.
221
Cf. Wyatt, RTU, 280, n. 134. Neither does DLU, vol. 2, 319, offer an entry
for ndt.
222
B. Margalit, 'K-R-T Studies', UF 27 (1995), 267-8.
223
Cf. Greenstein, in: Smith, UNP, 32; Pardee, in: C0S, vol. 1, 340; Wyatt, RTU,
224-5, and see my translation in section 2.1.3.
224
Cf. P.A. Bird, 'The End of the Male Cult Prostitute: A Literary-Historical

male counterpart, the qd, occurs in KTU 1.112:21 and in various

non-literary texts. 225 With regard to the role of the qd, scholars nowadays generally reject any interpretation related to cultic prostitution
as 'hineinprojiziert' from biblical discussions on the Hebrew equivalent. 226 They regard the qd as a cantor, a purifier or a diviner. 227
Although women did not engage in priestly functions, they did
act as singers and musicians in the cult. 228 On a mythological level,
this is exemplified in the goddess 'Anatu who played the lyre and
sang (KTU 1.3:111.4-8, to be restored after 1.7 and 1.101:16-17). Purthermore, in the Legend of Kirtu, Kirtu's youngest daughter, Thatmanatu, was ordered by her brother, Ilahu, to take her tambourine
and sing on the heights (KTU 1.16:1.41-43).229 As a musician and
singer she thus grieved her father's approaching death. The acts of
singing and mourning are closely combined here.
Mourning was done by both males and females, gods as well as humans, but it seems that women played a more prominent role in it. In
the Myth of Ba'lu, the prominent role of female mourners is not clear.
Male and female deities seem to mourn in a similar manner. Upon
receiving the news of Ba'lu's death, Ilu descended from his throne
and footstool to mourn the god. He dressed in a loin-cloth, 230 poured
dust on his head, lacerated himself and loudly lamented Ba'lu's death
and Sociological Analysis of Hebrew qd - qdm', in: J.A. Emerton (ed.),
Congress Volume: Cambridge 1995 (VT.S, 66), Leiden 1997, 44, n. 26. For the
occurrence of bn qdt, see chapter 4.
225
Cf. W. von Soden, 'Zur Stellung des "Geweihten" (qd) in Ugarit', UF 2
(1970), 329-30; Henshaw, FM, 222-5; G. del Olmo Lete, J. Sanmartin, 'Kultisches
in den keilalphabetischen Verwaltungs- und Wirtschaftstexten aus Ugarit', in: M.
Dietrich, I. Kottsieper, "Und Mose schrieb dieses Lied auf": Studien zum Alten
Testament und zum Alten Orient, Fs. O. Loretz, (AOAT, 250), Mnster 1998,
179-81. See also chapter 4.
226
Del Olmo Lete, Sanmartin, 'Kultisches in den keilalphabetischen Verwaltungsund Wirtschaftstexten aus Ugarit', 180-1. See further J.-M. de Tarragon, Le culte
Ugarit: d'apr les textes de la pratique en cuniformes alphabtiques (CRB, 19),
Paris 1980, 138-41; P. Xella, I testi rituali di Ugarit I (SS, 54), Roma 1981, 48;
Henshaw, FM, 225.
227
For the interpretation of the qd being a cantor, cf. Del Olmo Lete, Canaanite
Religion, 240; for the qd as purifier, cf. Merlo, Xella, 'The Rituals', 300; for the
qds as diviner, cf. Del Olmo Lete, Sanmartin, 'Kultisches in den keilalphabetischen
Verwaltungs- und Wirtschaftstexten aus Ugarit', 179-81; DLU, 364.
228
On female singers in the cult, see chapter 4. A male cultic singer is mentioned
in KTU 1.106:15.
229
Cf. E.L. Greenstein, 'New Readings in the Kirta Epic', IOS 18 (1998), 112-3.
See section 2.1.3.
230
On m'izrtm, cf. J.C. de Moor, The Seasonal Pattern in the Ugaritic Myth of
Ba'lu (AOAT, 16), Neukirchen-Vluyn 1971, 192; pace M. Dietrich, . Loretz, 'Die
trauer Els und Anats (KTU 1.5 VI 11-22.31 - 1.6 I 5)', UF 18 (1986), 106-8.

(KTU 1.5:VI.11-25). 'Anatu likewise mourned Ba'lu, dressing in a

loin-cloth and lacerating herself (KTU 1.5:VI.31-1.6:I.8). 231
In the Legends of Aqhatu and of Kirtu, female mourners play
a more prominent role. After the tragic death of the young hero
Aqhatu, nature had withered. Dani'ilu, unaware of his son's death,
mourned the drought, assuming it was somehow related to the wrath
of the gods. The scene of the king mourning the drought is described
from the perspective of his daughter, Pughatu. She approached the
scene from afar and saw the signs of death: first, withering vegetation,
then, birds of prey hovering over her father's house, and finally, her
father wearing a rent garment. The sight of all this made her realise
that something dreadful had happened. Spontaneously, she started
to weep, the proper behaviour for women in a situation of mourning
(KTU 1.19:1.34-35):
34

tbky.pgt.bm.lb
35

tdm'.bm.kbd

Pughatu wept from her heart,

she shed tears from her bosom.

But father and daughter did not yet know that nature was reflecting
Aqhatu's death. Thus, as Parker has noted, their behaviour cannot
be regarded as mourning for a human beloved. 232
Mourning rites for Aqhatu started with the messengers who
brought the bad tidings of his death. The way they looked indicated
that their message was one of mourning: their hair was hanging loose
and tresses had been shaved off. 233 Also they were shedding tears
(KTU 1.19:11.31-34).
Thus, it was only after father and daughter had received the news
of Aqhatu's death, that the deceased was properly bewailed. First,
Dani'ilu set out to find the remains of his son in order to bewail and
bury him. 234 After he had found his son's remains, he returned to his
home. Then the rites of wailing started (KTU 1.19:IV.8-22):
s

dn'il.bth.ym(.)gyn.
2/9ql.dn'il.lhklh.

231

Dani'ilu arrived at his house,

Dani'ilu proceeded to his palace.

Ilimilku omits the first part of Ilu's reaction when describing 'Anatu's rites.
This can partly be explained by the fact that 'Anatu wandered about. The small
omission can further be attributed to Ilimilku's writing style. When repeating a
passage, he sometimes shortened it; cf. M.C.A. Korpel, 'Exegesis in the Work of
Ilimilku of Ugarit', in: J.C. de Moor (ed.), Intertextuality in Ugarit and Israel
(OTS, 40), Leiden 1997, 101-3.
232
Cf. S.B. Parker, 'Death and Devotion: The Composition and Theme of AqhV,
in: J.H. Marks, R.M. Good (eds), Love & Death in the Ancient Near East: Essays
in Honor of Marvin H. Pope, Guilford C T 1987, 79.
233
Cf. De Moor, ARTU, 254, . 199-201.
234
'abky.w'aqbrnh '1 will bewail and bury him', KTU 1.19:111.5 passim.

'rb.b10kyt

The weeping women 235 entered,

bhklh.mspdt.
bhzrh.11 pzgm.gr.
ybk.l'aqht 12gzr.

women pounding their breasts - into his palace,

men bruising their skins - into his residence.
They wept for the hero Aqhatu,

mt.
rp 'i.

lymm.lyrhm
14
lyrhm.lnt.

they shed tears for the child of Dani'ilu the Saviour's

man.
Days became months,
months became years,

'd 15Sb't.snt.

until the seventh year

ydm'.lkdd.dn'il

ybk.l'aq16ht.gzr.
17

they wept for the hero Aqhatu,

they shed tears for the child of Dani'ilu the

Saviour's man.
Then, in the seventh year,
[mk].&b' 1 8 nt.
wj/'nf.dn'il.mJtf.Jrp 'i
Dani'ilu, the Saviour's man, answered,
19
y6.gzr.m[t.hrnmy.]
the hero, the Harnamite man, replied,
20
he raised his voice and cried:
[yjs'u gh.wysh.
'De[part from] my [house], weeping women,
i[b'.b]b[t]y 2 1 bkyt.
bhkly.mspdt
from my palace, women pounding your breasts,
22
bhzry.pzgm.gr.
from my residence, men bruising your skins!'
ydm'Akdd

dn'il.mt.
rp['i.]

Women and men, probably professionals 236 , entered Dani'ilu's house

to weep, pound their breast and lacerate themselves. It seems that
there were certain gender roles with regard to mourning. Making lacerations was a rite men performed, while women wept and pounded
their breasts. 237 It seems that 'Anatu, in lacerating herself (in the
Ba'lu Myth, KTU 1.6:1.2-5), overstepped gender boundaries. The goddess more often revealed this behaviour. 238 In the Ba'lu Myth she
furthermore buried the corpse of her husband Ba'lu, which was generally considered to be a male task (KTU 1.6:1.8-18).239 It remains a
debatable point whether the role 'Anatu played in the literary texts of
Ugarit can be regarded as paradigmatic for Ugaritic women in general
or for a specific age group. With regard to burial custom, I do not
think that 'Anatu acted in a way paradigmatic for her gender. For
235

KTU2 restores [[bt]]fa/ and proposes to read bbth.bkyt, based on the parallel
in lines 20-21. This is unnecessary, since a small variant could very well occur
within a poetic text.
236 n w y a t t , 'The Religion of Ugarit: An Overview', in: HUS, 578.
237
Cf. De Moor, The Seasonal Pattern, 201.
238
For instance when she desired to possess Aqhatu's bow, a 'warrior's weapon'
(KTU 1.17:VI.39-41). Cf. De Moor, ARTU, 239, n. 108 and N.H. Walls, The
Goddess Anat in Ugaritic Myth (SBL.DS, 135), Atlanta G A 1992, 217: 'Yet, while
Anat is a female character, her gender is ambiguous. . . . Disdaining feminine
social roles and domestic responsibility, Anat engages in the masculine activities
of hunting, warfare, and polities'.
239
Korpel, 'Exegesis in the Work of Ilimilku of Ugarit', 107, n. 120.

in the Legend of Aqhatu it was father Dani'ilu who buried his son.
Pughatu, Aqhatu's sister, did not play a role in this passage (1.19:111).
In the Legend of Aqhatu, 'Anatu's role as mourner is more in
accordance with her gender role. Upon the death of Aqhatu, which
she herself had brought about, she wept for him and perhaps she also
sang a dirge, accompanying herself on a lyre (KTU 1 . 1 9 : 1 . 1 - 8 ) . 2 4 0
The act of entering and departing by the wailing women in the Legend of Aqhatu reminds one in an antithetic manner of the Katharatu,
the goddesses related to conception, who once had entered the house
for seven days. 241 Whereas they had been present to guide Aqhatu's
beginning, the wailing women were present to guide the end of his
life. And whereas the Katharatu had been present for seven days, the
wailing women performed their mourning for seven years. 242
In the Legend of Kirtu, mourning already started while the king
was still alive. 243 Kirtu's friends were invited to a funerary banquet,
where they wept over him (KTU 1 . 1 5 : V ) . His children, too, bewailed
their father. Kirtu's son, Iluha'u, wept and mourned the approaching
death of his father. He referred to the dirges of the female mourners
that would soon be heard (KTU 1 . 1 6 : 1 . 3 - 5 ) :
3

'ap. 'ab.ik mtm 4tmtn.

'u htk.lntn

tq.

bd. 'att. 'ab srry

Will you, too, father, die like (all) mortals? 2 4 4

Alas! In your burial chamber 2 4 5 (will there be)
continuous lament 2 4 6
dirges of father's wives on the heights?

Although various translations have been offered for this passage, it is

generally agreed that Kirtu's son referred to dirges of female
mourners. 247
240

T h e context is somewhat fragmentary and the text is very difficult to interprt. For various translations, cf. De Moor, ARTU, 247-8; Pardee, in: C0S, vol. 1,
350-1; Parker, in: Smith, UNP, 67; Wyatt, RTU, 287-90.
241
K T U 1.17:11.24-27, 39-42.
242
A seven-day period of mourning was customary both in Mesopotamia and Israel. For references on Mesopotamian literature cf. A.L. Oppenheim, 'The Mother
of Nabonidus', in: ANET3, 562; T. Abusch, 'Gilgamesh's Request and Siduri's
Denial. Part II: An Analysis and Interpretation of an Old Babylonian Fragment
about Mourning and Celebration', JANES 22 (1993), 8; for Hebrew Bible references cf. Gen. 50:10; Num. 19:11-12; Job 2:12-13. Since the poet uses the literary
figure of hyperbole here, it seems reasonable to assume a mourning period of seven
days for Ugarit, too.
243
In the ancient Near East a person seriously ill was considered to be already in
the realm of death, cf., e.g., C. Barth, Die Errettung vorn Tode in den individuellen
Klage- und Dankliedern des Alten Testamentes, Zollikon 1947, 11, 60-1.
244
Cf. Tropper, UG, 773, 791.
245
On ht 'burial chamber', cf. DLU, vol. 1, 201.
246
O n ntn 'lament', cf. DLU, vol. 2, 337.
247
Cf. TO, t. 1, 549-50; De Moor, ARTU, 211; M. Dietrich, O. Loretz, 'Ugaritisch

Kirtu's youngest daughter, Thatmanatu, played the most prominent role in mourning her father's approaching death. Kirtu explicitly
asked for her to come and weep for him (KTU 1.16:1.28-30).248 She
should take her hand drum and sing on the heights (41-43). The song
she was asked to sing probably was a dirge. 249 When she found out
how seriously ill her father was, she started to mourn him (KTU
1.16:11.25-36)250:
25

sr.q[1 rm]
26

She shrieked with a [loud v]0ice;

sr.rm.7zq[th]

she shrieked, she raised her cry.

27

km.nkyt.tgr[.tspd]
28

29

Like women pounding the gate [she beat her breast],

km. skllt.til

like women in labour [she wailed].

'rym.1b1[.1bt]
wt'n2/.t[a'nt]

wfd.bk]h

32

30

31

6s[.]
Naked, without [her garment] of linen [she went],
went],
[t]1k.

lbl.sk

ybmh.b'.

and she sang [a lamentation] 2 5 1 without a vest,

And until her relative 252 was sated with her weeping,

srrt spn, srry und hebrisch jrktj spurn', UF 22 (1990), 83; Greenstein, in: Smith,
UNP, 30; Wyatt, RTU, 220; C.L. Miller, 'Patterns of Verbal Ellipsis in Ugaritic
Poetry', UF 31 (1999), 345; Tropper, UG, 793.
248
On the text and translation, see section 2.1.3. Amico, SWU, 213, proposes
this preference might be due to the fact that she had the birthright and it therefore might have been her task as 'first-born' to perform the rites of mourning.
Although a father could have a certain freedom to choose whomever he pleased
as first-born, I disagree with Amico on her interpretation. The prophecy of Thatmanatu becoming the first-born had not yet come true at this stage in the legend.
Her brother Yassubu regarded himself the successor of his father and therefore
probably still had the birthright (1.16:VI.37-38). De Moor, ARTU, 213, n. 76,
proposes that Kirtu asked for Thatmanatu because she, as the youngest daughter, had a special status as a weeping woman. However, I assume the emphasis on
T h a t m a n a t u ' s role was part of Ilimilku's agenda. The author of the Ba'lu Myth
stressed T h a t m a n a t u ' s mourning capacities by way of his description of her acts
in relation to those of her brother Iluha'u (Cf. KTU 1.16:1.12-14 and 11.25-36.)
Although the words they spoke were almost identical, the description of Thatmanatu's behaviour - shrieking, pounding her breast, wailing, going naked, weeping, gnashing her teeth - is much more elaborate. Thus, Thatmanatu's mourning
behaviour seems to be more extensive than that of her brother. She truly mourned
her father's approaching death, unlike her brother, whose action may have been
perfunctory in view of the climax of the legend.
249
Cf. Judg. 11:37-38.
250
Restoration of the text is based on J.C. de Moor, K. Spronk, 'Problematical
Passages in the Legend of Kirtu (II)', UF 14 (1982), 185, and Greenstein, in:
Smith, UNP, 34.
251
For wt'ny, cf. DLU, vol. 1, 84, s.v. 'ny (II); Greenstein, in: Smith, UNP, 34,
47, n. 135. For ta'nt, cf. De Moor, The Seasonal Pattern, 107; DLU, vol. 2, 460.
252
Literally, ybm is a brother-in-law. DLU, vol. 2, 519, suggests 'relative'. However, De Moor and Spronk, 'Problematical Passages in the Legend of Kirtu (II)',
186, assume that 'ybm is a designation of a brother . . . who is about to become
an orphan and has an obligation to take care of his unmarried sister'.

Ipn 33gzr. 'ilh'u.tbk.

[q] 34trm.tsr.
trm.tnqt
35

tbky.wtnn.
ttn

36

gh.bky

she wept before the hero Iluha'u.

She raised her voice, she shrieked,
she lifted up a wail.
She wept and gnashed her teeth;
she made her voice heard in weeping.

The wailing activities of Thatmanatu, the daughter of whom Kirtu

said that her passion was strongest (KTU 1.16:1.29-30), are narrated
far more extensively than those of her brother. This is partly due
to the fact that she is a woman, but Ilimilku's agenda in presenting Thatmanatu as the exemplary daughter (see above) also has to
do with it. We may conclude that, although both men and women
mourned the dead, women were more prominent in the performance
of wailing rites, often in a professional capacity.
According to the Ugaritic texts, magic was performed by males
as well as females. The verb hrs 'to perform magic' occurs with both
female and male subjects. Aqhatu's sister, Pughatu, performed magic
in order to revenge her brother. In disguise she went to the encampment where Yattapanu, the murderer of her brother, stayed and, at
his order, served him wine. Then she carried on with her plan (KTU
1.19:IV.59-62): 253
59

[t] 6 0 hrm.Vahlm.
ptgmrm 61ybl.lbh

She put a spell 254 on the tents,

Then [she carried out] the wish of her heart.

km. bin. j/n[.t] ml 'ah.

62
tnm.tqy msk.hwt
tqyh.sm

When for a second time she poured him wine,

for the second time she gave him a mixture to drink,
she gave [him] a [drug] to drink.

Because the text is damaged, we cannot be certain whether Pughatu

poisoned Yattapanu or plied him with wine in order to murder him
later, as biblical Judith did. In any case, she put a spell on the tents
of her adversary, using magic to harm him.
Possibly, Ilu, too, performed magic. In KTU 1.1, of which the
first column is lost and the beginning of the second column is badly
damaged, Johannes de Moor restores the word hrm (KTU 1.1:11.4,
10). However, this restoration is highly speculative. 255 Perhaps Ilu is
also associated with magic in KTU 1.12:11.61. This text with its many
problems of interpretation ends with a ritual instruction in which the
bt 'il 'House of Ilu' is paralleled with the bt hrs. The latter is possibly
to be translated 'House of Magic'. Other translations, such as 'the
253

Unfortunately the text is damaged here. Various reconstructions have been

proposed, I follow M. Dijkstra, J.C. de Moor, 'Problematical Passages in the
Legend of Aqhtu', UF 7 (1975), 213-4 and De Moor, Spronk, CARTU, 117.
254
Cf. DLU, vol. 1, 181.
255
De Moor, ARTU, 20-1.

temple of the Craftsman' and 'the house of the diviner', have also
been proposed. 256
The mlh 'whisperer, charmer' is mentioned in an incantation
against snake bites, KTU 1.100:5 et passim, where he is supposed
to drive out the poison. 257
In an incantation against the evil eye, the wicked man (bty) and
the wicked woman (btt) are mentioned in parallelism (KTU 1.96:56, 11-13). 258 The evil eye was believed to cause all sorts of harm
to people, which could be warded off by incantations. 259 It is worth
noting that both men and women were believed to have the evil eye.
In KTU 1.16:V.25-VI.14 a female creature cured Kirtu by way
of magic. When Kirtu was fatally ill, Ilu asked the deities who had
gathered together whether one of them was able to expell the disease
that had struck Kirtu. But none of the gods was able to do so. Only Ilu
himself could cast out the disease. 260 He then addressed the assembly
of the gods, informing them he would do the job himself (1.16:V.2528):
25

ank 26 'ihtrS.w'askn
27
'akn.ydt.[m]1s
grt

28

zbln

'1 myself shall perform magic and shall create,

I shall create a female being able to cast out the
disease,
to expel the illness!'

Ilu thus created Sha'tiqtu, a female being whose name means 'She
who causes to pass', and ordered her to drive out the disease of Kirtu.

256

For the former, cf. Wyatt, RTU, 168; for the latter, cf. Parker, in: Smith,
UNP, 191. See further TO, t. 1, 351, n. h.
257
Cf. DLU, vol. 2, 275; M. Dietrich, O. Loretz, Studien zu den ugaritischen
Texten: I. Mythos und Ritual in KTU 1.12, 1.24, 1-96, 1.100 und 1.114 (AOAT,
269/1), Mnster 2000, 325.
258
Although KTU 1.96 has been classified as a mythological text (De Moor,
ARTU, 109-10; TO, t. 2, 40-4), most scholars nowadays follow the interpretation
of Del Olmo Lete that this text is an incantation against the evil eye, cf. J.N. Ford,
' "Ninety-Nine by the Evil Eye and One from Natural Causes": K T U 2 1.96 in its
Near Eastern Context', UF 30 (1998), 201-78; Wyatt, RTU, 375-7; G. del Olmo
Lete, Canaanite Religion: According to the Liturgical Texts of Ugarit, Bethesda
MD 1999, 379-84.
For a totally different interpretation, cf. Smith, in: Idem, UNP, 224-8.
259
M. Meslin, 'Eye', in: EncRel(E), vol. 5, 238: 'The belief in the unlucky influence of the evil eye is universal. It rests on a valorization of the gaze reputed to
be harmful because the eye is abnormal (eyes of different colors, double pupils,
squinting); such a gaze magically reveals the malevolent intention of the soul
whose window the eye is'.
260
Likewise, in the Akkadian texts RS 17.155 and 25.460, Marduk is mentioned
as the deity able to cure diseases and to stop the work of demons causing illnesses.
Cf. M. Dietrich, 'Marduk in Ugarit', SEL 5 (1988), 79-101.

Sha'tiqtu complied and went to Kirtu's house (1.16:VI.2-14). 261 Using

the magical means provided by Ilu, Sha'tiqtu was able to cure Kirtu.
There has been some discussion on the role of Sha'tiqtu. Baruch
Margalit, for instance, asks why Ilu did not cure Kirtu directly and
gives the following answer: 1 creates S'tqt (a female!) because he
fears the wrath of his spouse Asherah who has afflicted the king for a
vow unfulfilled'. 262 Yet Margalit may be in the wrong. Although it is
generally agreed that Kirtu had become ill because he had failed to
fulfill his vow to Asherah, scholars assume the vow was payed for in
some way. The numerals in 1.16:V.8-9 probably refer to this. 263 Still,
this does not answer Margalit's question. Perhaps Wilfred Watson's
view on Sha'tiqtu's role is more plausible. He regards the opposition
between Motu (male) and Sha'tiqtu (female) as a kind of antithesis in
Ugaritic poetry. 264 Whether the antithesis was culturally determined
or part of Ilimilku's ideological programme cannot be determined. 265
With regard to divination, Ugaritic society followed Mesopotamian
tradition. 2 6 6 Various omen texts provide evidence of divinatory practices such as astrology and extispicy. Yet female diviners are mentioned neither in the literary nor in the non-literary texts from Ugarit. 267 Nor are female necromancers mentioned. Unlike biblical Israel, where the medium of En-Dor is referred to as1)^
Sam.
28:7), necromancy is a male profession at Ugarit ( 'adn 'ilm rbm, KTU
1.124:1-2). 268
Pughatu, the daughter of Dani'ilu, who knew the course of the
stars (KTU 1.19:11.2-3 par.), may be regarded as having some knowledge of astrology, yet she does not act in the capacity of a professional
astrologer.
Prophecy, as it is known from Old Babylonian Mari, Neo-Assyrian

261

See section 2.2.2.3 for the text and translation.

B. Margalit, 'The Ugaritic Creation Myth: Fact of Fiction? UF 13 (1981),
142, n. 23.
263
Cf. De Moor, ARTU, 219; S.B. Parker, The Pre-Biblical Narrative Tradition:
Essays on the Ugaritic Poems Keret and Aqhat (SBL.RBS, 24), Atlanta GA 1989,
190.
264
W.G.E. Watson, 'Antithesis in Ugaritic Verse', UF 18 (1986), 415.
265
On Ilimilku's ideological programme, see sections 2.1.4 and 2.2.1.2.
266
Cf. P. Xella, 'The Omen Texts', in: HUS, 353-8.
267
Male diviners do occur in the literary texts, for instance the exorcist officiant
(t'y) in KTU 1.169:2.
268
Cf. J. Tropper, Nekromantie: Totenbefragung im Alten Orient und im Alten
Testament (AOAT, 223), Kevelaer; Neukirchen-Vluyn 1989, 151-6; M. Dietrich,
O. Loretz, Mantik in Ugarit: Keilalphabetische Texte der Opferschau - OmenSammlungen - Nekromantie (ALASP, 3), Mnster 1990, 205-40 (215-6).
262

Nineveh and biblical Israel, does not occur in the Ugaritic texts. 269
The experience of divine revelation in dreams, however, is narrated
in two Ugaritic legends. Both to Kirtu and Dani'ilu deities appear in
a dream and inform them how to act. 270 A deity does not appear in
a dream to a woman, however.
In the last lines of KTU 1.12, which probably contain a ritual
instruction, women drawing water at the well are mentioned (s'ibt 'n,
1.12:11.59).271 Since the 'House of Ilu' and the 'House of Magic' are
mentioned in the following lines (60-61), it seems very possible that
these women performed an ancillary function in the cult.
With regard to two Ugaritic texts, KTU 1.23 and 1.132, the context of a sacred marriage liturgy has been proposed. First, some
scholars assume that KTU 1.23 describes a sacred marriage rite that
was acted out during the New Year festival. 272 Although it is likely
that this text, which combines ritual and myth, describes some sort
of ritual during the festivities of the New Year, it is going too far to
regard it as a sacred marriage liturgy. 273 Whereas in the Sumerian
texts of this genre Inanna plays a central role, receiving the king in
her bed 274 , here it is Ilu who impregnates two women ('attm), who
subsequently bear him the gods Shaharu and Shalimu. Admittedly,
the king and queen with their personnel are mentioned (1. 7), yet
their presence does not necessarily make them participants in a ritual
in which they could also be spectators. 275 Contrary to, for instance,
the sacred marriage text of Iddin-Dagan and Inanna, the Ugaritic
king and queen are not said to purify themselves in order to act out
the ritual. Further, there is a major distinction between the praise of
269

Del Olmo Lete, Canaanite Religion, 345.

There has been some discussion on whether Kirtu's and Dani'ilu's dreams
and their preceding acts should be regarded as incubation rites. Cf. Parker, The
Pre-Biblical Narrative Tradition, 100-1; Del Olmo Lete, Canaanite Religion, 333;
N. Wyatt, 'The Story of Aqhat (KTU 1.17-19)', in: HUS, 247-8.
271
Cf. De Moor, ARTU, 134; Parker, in: Smith, UNP, 191. Pace Wyatt, RTU,
167.
272
E.g., J.C. de Moor, New Year with Canaanites and Israelites (SKC, 21), Kampen 1972, part 1, 6; part 2, 17-8; Idem, ARTU, 117-8; TO, t. 1, 361, 364; Wyatt,
RTU, 324-35.
273
Cf., e.g., P.D. Miller, 'Aspects of the Religion of Ugarit', in: P.D. Miller et al.
(eds), Ancient Israelite Religion: Essays in Honor of Prank Moore Cross, Philadelphia 1987, 60-1; C. Frevel, Aschera und der Ausschlielichkeitsanspruch
Yhwhs:
Beitrge zu literarischen, religionsgeschichtlichen und ikonographischen Aspekten
der Ascheradiskussion (BBB, 94/2), Weinheim 1995, 598-614.
274
Cf., e.g., D. Reisman, 'Iddin-Dagan's Sacred Marriage Hymn', JCS 25 (1973),
195-202, esp. 11. 174-92.
275
Cf. TO, t. 1, 364; Lewis, in: Smith, UNP, 205-6.
270

Inanna, who is hailed numerous times in the hymn in which IddinDagan celebrates his sacred marriage, and the hailing of the king and
queen in KTU 1.23:7. If KTU 1.23 were some sort of sacred marriage
liturgy one would expect expressions of veneration for the goddess the
king was about to marry. Yet Ilu marries two nameless women, who
are not called goddesses. The character of the two women ( 'attm) is
not clear, they may be human (priestesses? royal wives?) or divine. 276
Instead of Inanna it is Ilu whose sexual activities are emphasized in
KTU 1.23. 277 As we have learned, the purpose of the sacred marriage
rite in Mesopotamia was not only to secure fertility for the land but
also, and probably more importantly, to confirm the ties between the
deity and the people via the king. If one was to assume KTU 1.23 to
be a sacred marriage liturgy, this would involve a definite shift, for in
Ugarit it would not be the king as a representative of the god who
married the goddess of fertility, but the king as a representative of the
god who brought fertility by marrying a human female in an unknown
capacity. This would then, in its turn, mean a shift in focus on the
female partner(s) of the marriage. However, KTU 1.132 seems to argue
against this construct (see further below). On the other hand, KTU
1.23 can be regarded as a divine marriage which was symbolically
re-enacted in the cult. 278
In short, the important position of the goddess who ritually marries the king cannot be determined in KTU 1.23. Especially if one
compares the position of Pidrayu in KTU 1.132 with the position of
the women marrying Ilu in 1.23 it is hard to accept the view that
1.23 is a sacred marriage text. The latter should rather be regarded
as describing a divine marriage.
However, it seems that KTU 1.132, a Hurro-Ugaritic offering text,
may reflect a sacred marriage rite. 279 This second text bears more
resemblance to the Sumerian sacred marriage texts than does KTU
1.23. Mention is made of the preparation of a bed for the goddess

276

Pardee, in: C0S, vol. 1, 274-83, e.g., assumes they are human, whereas, for
instance, Wyatt, RTU, 324-35, holds they are divine. If they are regarded as divine,
identification with Athiratu and Rahmay is possible, yet not certain. If one does
not accept the identification, the suckling of the gracious gods by Athiratu and,
perhaps, Rahmay (1. 24, 59, 61), can be regarded as an act of adoption, cf. Pardee,
in: C0S, vol. 1, 279, n. 36.
277
Cf. Lewis, in: Smith, UNP, 206.
278
See section 2.1.1.2.
279
Cf., e.g., G. del Olmo Lete, 'Royal Aspects of the Ugaritic Cult 1 , in: J. Quaegebeur (ed.), Ritual and Sacrifice in the Ancient Near East (OLA, 55), Leuven 1993,
57-8; Idem, Canaanite Religion, 207-12.

Pidrayu in the house of the king 280 and of the king being desacralized
(hi) again after sunset on the third and last day of the ritual.
One may wonder why it is the goddess Pidrayu who is engaged
in a sacred marriage with the Ugaritic king. Specifically the fact that
the offering text mentions Hebat, and deities related to her, raises the
question of a possible identification of the Ugaritic goddess Pidrayu
with the Hurrian goddess Hebat. And this, in turn, raises the question
whether Pidrayu was a wife instead of a daughter of Ba'lu. RS 20.24
provides an Akkadian translation of the pantheon list KTU 1.118, in
which pdry is equated with he-bat. However, in the Hurrian pantheon
Hebat is the wife of Teshshub. This Hurrian weather god, in turn, is
equated with the Ugaritic Ba'lu. 281 The relationship of KTU 1.118
to RS 20.24 might illustrate that Hurrian influence on the Ugaritic
tradition does not result in pantheon lists that are as strictly parallel
as scholars of comparative religion may wish. Based on KTU 1.24:2628, Pidrayu cannot be strictly equated with Hurrian Hebat. 282 With
Gregorio del Olmo Lete, I assume Pidrayu to be a daughter of Ba'lu
who, within the Ugaritic pantheon, was regarded as the ideal nubile
goddess. 283 It seems therefore probable that Ugaritic religion did know
a sacred marriage rite in which the king ritually married the goddess
Pidrayu.
With regard to the possibility of a role for 'Anatu in the sacred marriage rite in Ugarit, it can be noted that certain allusions
to the Inanna-Dumuzi traditions have been found in the Legend of
Aqhatu. 2 8 4 The goddess possibly proposed marriage to the young hero
(KTU 1.18:I.23-24) 285 and later on the hero tragically died (KTU
1.18:IV). Yet the occurrence of these themes in itself does not prove
they referred to a sacred marriage rite.
Although 'Anatu shared many traits with Mesopotamian Inanna/
Ishtar, it seems that in Ugaritic religion she did not play the role of
280

Following the proposed reading bbt.mlk by M. Dietrich, W. Mayer, 'Festritual

fr die Palastgttin Pidray: Der hurro-ugaritische Opfertext KTU 1.132', UF 28
(1996), 166-7. See also Del Olmo Lete, Canaanite Religion, 208, n. 126.
281
Cf. TUAT, Bd. II, 304. However, RS 20.24 equates Baal (KTU 1.118:4-10)
with Hadad/Adad. On the identification of Baal and Hadad, cf. W. Herrmann,
'Baal , in: DDD, 132.
282
Dietrich, Mayer, 'Festritual fr die Palastgttin Pidray', 170-1. Cf. further,
W.G. Lambert, 'Old Testament Mythology in its Ancient Near Eastern Context',
in: J.A. Emerton (ed.), Congress Volume: Jerusalem 1986 (VT.S, 40), Leiden
1988, 136-7.
283
Del Olmo Lete, Canaanite Religion, 207, 212.
284
Cf. M. Dijkstra, 'Some Reflections on the Legend of Aqhat', UF 11 (1979),
199-210.
285
On the problems concerning the reading of this text, see section 2.1.1.1.

the goddess marrying the king. As KTU 1.24:26-28 shows and KTU
1.132 confirms, Pidrayu is 'considered to be the divine bride par excellence'. 286 By marrying her, the king married into the divine family
of Ba'lu and became related to the gods. Yet whether a female cultic
functionary acted as a stand-in representing the goddess, or a statue of
the goddess was used in the sacred marriage rite, that is, whether the
rite was performed carnally or symbolically, cannot be determined.
Although the king played the most prominent role as officiant
in the cult, the queen and other members of the royal family also
participated in ritual actions.
The king and queen are both mentioned in KTU 1.23, a text we
already discussed in connection with sacred marriage. In the first
section of the text, which contains liturgical directions, the king and
queen are hailed: lm.mlk.lm.mlkt
'Hail, King! Hail, Queen!
(KTU 1.23:7). It cannot be discerned whether the royal couple was
present as patrons, honoured spectators, or participants.
KTU 1.40 is a ritual text that offers us insight into the liturgy for
the day of atonement. 287 Originally it probably was divided into six
sections, which mentioned the sexes in separate, paired portions. In
their discussion of KTU 1.40, Johannes de Moor and Paul Sanders
have proposed a role for the king and the queen as officiants in the
expiation ritual:
It seems that the king and queen of Ugarit, designated as "son of
Ugarit" and "daughter of Ugarit", took turns in acting as representatives of the men and women.288
The king and queen in question would have been Niqmaddu and ntt
'Netheti'. However, it is now generally agreed that the text in KTU
1.40:36 reads 'att 'Lady', and refers to the queen. 289
286

Del Olmo Lete, Canaanite Religion, 207.

On KTU 1.40, cf. J.C. de Moor, P. Sanders, 'An Ugaritic Expiation Ritual
and its Old Testament Parallels', UF 23 (1991), 283-300; Wyatt, RTU, 342-47;
Del Olmo Lete, Canaanite Religion, 144-60; L. Shedletsky, B.A. Levine, 'The mr
of the Sons and Daughters of Ugarit (KTU 2 1.40)', RB 106 (1999), 321-44; D.
Pardee, Les textes ntuels (RSO, 12), fasc. 1, Paris 2000, 92-142, 446-56.
288
De Moor, Sanders, 'An Ugaritic Expiation Ritual and its Old Testament Parallels', 295. Likewise, Amico, SWU, 280-1; Shedletsky, Levine, 'The mr of the
Sons and Daughters of Ugarit (KTU 2 1.40)', 322.
289
On the reading 'att, cf. M. Dijkstra, 'On the Identity of the Hittite Princess
Mentioned in Label KTU 6.24 (RS 17.72)', UF 22 (1990), 99, n. 12; D. Pardee,
'The Structure of RS 1.002', in: A.S. Kaye (ed.), Semitic Studies in Honor of
Wolf Leslau on the Occasion of his Eighty-Fifth Birthday November 14th, 1991,
Wiesbaden 1991, 1186, n. 7; W.H. van Soldt, Studies in the Akkadian of Ugarit:
Dating and Grammar (AOAT, 40), Kevelaer; Neukirchen-Vluyn 1991, 13.
287

KTU 1.84 is a partial parallel to KTU 1.40. In 1.84:3 the name

of 'annpdgl is mentioned, who, according to Meindert Dijkstra, may
perhaps be identified as Anani-Pe(n)diga11i, queen of Ugarit and wife
of Niqmaddu, the last king of Ugarit. 290
Although no queen can be identified by name in KTU 1.40, this
does not exclude the possibility that she fulfilled a role in the expiation ritual. 291 In view of De Moor and Sanders' hypothesis, it is
therefore unneccessary to emend bt 'ugrt into b<n>t 'ugrt (1.40:35),
as is suggested in KTU2.292
It seems that the queen is also referred to in KTU 1.115:8, where
'att 'the wife' is mentioned. 293 It has also been suggested that 'att
may refer to a priestess, 294 but in my view this is less likely. In KTU
1.115 an offering ritual is described, in which the king offers sacrifices
to various gods. Of some of the offerings the 'att may eat, and of
another offering everyone may eat (kll ylhm bh, 1.115:10). If the ritual
text did refer to a priestess, it would seem logical that she would have
been called khnt, or something similar. So here the queen is probably
mentioned. The king made the offerings and the queen was allowed
to eat from them.
Another text in which the queen is mentioned is KTU 1.161, a
liturgy that may have been 'recited and performed to commemorate
the accession of 'Ammurapi (ill), the last king of Ugarit, ca. 1200
B.C.E.'. 295 The text ends in the following way (KTU 1.161:31-34):
31

Slm.Slm.'mr[p'i]
32

w.lm.bih.

290

Hail, hail to 'Ammurapi!

And hail to his house! 296

Dijkstra, O n the Identity of the Hittite Princess Mentioned in Label KTU

6.24 (RS 17.72)', 97-101.
291
The Hittite queen plays a comparable role in expiation rituals, cf. P. Taracha,
Ersetzen und Entshnen: Das mittelhethitische Ersatzritual fr den Groknig
Tuthalija (CTH *448-4) und verwandte Texte (CHANE, 5), Leiden 2000, passim.
292
Wyatt, RTU, 346, and Del Olmo Lete, Canaanite Religion, 149, both follow
the suggested reading of KTU7. Pardee, Les textes rituels, 94, does not.
293
J.C. de Moor, 'Studies in the New Alphabetic Texts from Ras Shamra II',
UF 2 (1970), 316-7; Shedletsky, Levine, 'The mr of the Sons and Daughters of
Ugarit (KTU2 1-40)', 334. However, a plural, 'the wives', is also possible; cf. Del
Olmo Lete, Canaanite Religion, 266.
294
Cf. Del Olmo Lete, Canaanite Religion, 268, n. 40, for literature.
295
B.A. Levine, J.-M. de Tarragon, 'Dead Kings and Rephaim: The Patrons of
the Ugaritic Dynasty', JAOS 104 (1984), 649.
296
The original reading b'ah is regarded as a scribal error for either bth or bnh.
The former reading is to be preferred, cf. 1 Sam. 25:6; EA 15:6; P. Bordreuil, D.
Pardee, 'Le rituel funraire ougaritique RS 34.126', Syria 59 (1982), 128; Levine,
De Tarragon, 'Dead Kings and Rephaim', 653; J. Aboud, Die Rolle des Knigs
und seiner Familie: nach den Texten von Ugarit (FARG, 27), Mnster 1994, 164.
On the latter reading, cf. Wyatt, RTU, 440; Del Olmo Lete, Canaanite Religion,

lm. [t] ry\

33
lm.bth.

Hail to Tharyelli! 297

And hail to her house!

lm. 'ugrt

Hail to Ugarit!

34

lm.tgrh

And hail to its gates!

As a queen, Tharyelli participated in the royal funerary cult. 298

The deceased ancestors, former kings of Ugarit who were divinized,
were invoked and offerings to them were brought.
The queen is further mentioned in KTU 1.170, a fragmentary text
which probably is a list of sacrifices the queen made. The first line
of the text reads [ d]bh.m[l]kt. Pierre Bordreuil and Andr Caquot
propose the reconstruction ['id tdjbh mlkt 'quand la reine sacrifice'. 299
Not only the queen, but also the sons and daughters of the king
took part in the royal funerary cult. In KTU 1.112:6-7 the princes
and princesses are instructed to mount the altar seven times: wbn mlk
tu&n[t] mlk.t'ln.p'amt b' 'And the sons of the king and the daughters
of the king shall go up seven times'. In KTU 1.106:9-12 the sons and
daughters of the king are probably instructed to offer to Pidrayu. 3 0 0
In Ugaritic mythology some rituals are described that probably
were acted out during certain festivals. We encounter one of those
rituals in KTU 1.3:11, in a scene describing how the goddess 'Anatu
was fighting and wading knee-deep in blood. Several interpretations
have been given for this passage. Mark Smith, for instance, suggests
that 'Anatu might engage in martial cannibalism and 'that KTU 1.3
II may represent a depiction of the ban rendered from the divine
perspective'. 301 Others think the passage functioned in relation to
a cultic ritual. 302 Although parallels of the devouring goddess can
be found in other cultures, these are few. 303 I regard it more likely
that the passage reflects an Ugaritic rite. Several elements in the
passage point in that direction. First, 'Anatu beautified herself before
197.
297
Based on the transcription of Bordreuil, Pardee, 'Le rituel funraire ougaritique RS 34.126', 121-8. The reading is highly probably, cf. Levine, De Tarragon,
'Dead Kings and Rephaim', 653; Del Olmo Lete, Canaanite Religion, 197, n. 90.
298
Tropper, Nekromantie, 150.
299
P. Bordreuil, A. Caquot, 'Les textes en cuniformes alphabtiques dcouverts
en 1978 Ibn Hani', Syria 57 (1980), 354-5.
300
Cf. Del Olmo Lete, Canaanite Religion, 231.
301
M.S. Smith, 'Anat's Warfare Cannibalism and the West Semitic Ban', in:
S.W. Holloway, L.K. Handy (eds), The Pitcher is Broken: Memorial Essays for
Gsta W. Ahlstrm (JSOT.S, 190), Sheffield 1995, 368-86 (379).
302
Cf. J. Gray, 'The Blood Bath of the Goddess Anat in the Ras Shamra Texts',
UF 11 (1979), 322-3; N.H. Walls, The Goddess Anat in Ugaritic Myth (SBL.DS,
135), Atlanta GA 1992, 165-6.
303
Cf. Smith, 'Anat's Warfare Cannibalism', 376-7.

and after the fight, which may indicate this was no ordinary battle.
Secondly, the two groups she battled against were situated in a plain
between two cities. The scene of the battle may refer to Ugarit and its
harbour, Minet el-Beida, in mythological disguise. 304 After defeating
her adversaries, 'Anatu played with the heads and hands she had
chopped off 305 and then collected them to adorn herself with them.
The heads she made into a necklace, the hands she attached to her
girdle. 306 The picture that emerges is that of a fearsome deity covered
with blood. Perhaps the rite that accompanied this mythic image
was the pressing of grapes; 307 another option would be the shedding
of actual blood. Somehow there were still survivors of the battle, old
men and veterans, whom the goddess chased away. The ritual combat,
according to Gaster, was staged between two teams or their agents,
who represented the Old and the New Year or Drought and Rain. 308
Thus, the old men might represent the Old Year. When 'Anatu arrived
at her house, she arranged tables and chairs as if to serve a meal for
the warriors. Warriors played a role in several rites of ancient Near
Eastern cults. 309 Instead of dining there was fighting until the deity
was sated with it. 310 The house was then cleaned and 'Anatu washed
herself. Washing oneself often was regarded an act of ritual character
in ancient Near Eastern mytho-poetic texts. 311 The washing with dew
may reflect the rite of the rain bride. 312
304

J.C. de Moor, The Seasonal Pattern in the Ugaritic Myth of Ba'lu (AOAT,
16), Neukirchen-Vluyn 1971, 94; Idem, ARTU, 5, n. 25.
305
The habit of chopping off heads and hands was well-known in the ancient
Near East, cf. De Moor, The Seasonal Pattern, 90. It is told of the Sumerian
goddess Inanna that she played with the heads of those she had killed, cf. .
Volk, Die Balag-Komposition ru m-ma-ir-ra-bi (FAOS, 18), Stuttgart 1989,
200, 205 (Taf. 21:74-5). Of the Egyptian goddess Isis, too, it is said in a hymn
that she 'smites millions by cutting off (their) heads', cf. L.V. Zabkar, Hymns to
Isis in Her Temple at Philae, Hanover NH 1988, 58.
306
Cf. Pardee, in: C0S, vol. 1, 250, n. 76.
307
Cf. Isa. 63:1-6; M.H. Pope, Song of Songs (AncB, 7C), Garden City NY 1977,
610-1; De Moor, ARTU, 5, n. 21.
308
T.H. Gaster, Thespis: Ritual, Myth, and Drama in the Ancient Near East,
rev. ed., Garden City NY 1961, 37-40, 267.
309
Song of Songs 7:1 probably refers to a choral dance of two armies (), cf.
Pope, Song of Songs, 607. At Emar, soldiers played a part in the enthronement
rite of a mas'artu priestess. The image of a martial Ishtar also played a certain
role; cf. D. Arnaud, Recherches au pays dAtata (Emar 6/3), Paris 1986, 338-46.
310
This might be reflected in the ritual as a sham combat followed by a meal.
311
Cf. KTU 1.14:11.9-11; Del Olmo Lete, Canaanite Religion, 37-8.
312
Cf. G. Dalman, Arbeit und Sitte in Palstina, Bd. I, Gtersloh 1928, 144-6;
T.H. Gaster, ' "Ba'al is Risen . . . " : An Ancient Hebrew Passion-Play from Ras
Shamra-Ugarit', Iraq 6 (1939), 135, n. 148; R. Patai, 'The "Control of Rain" in

Thus, KTU 1.3:11 probably reflects a ritual in connection with

fertility, in which a sham combat and sympathetic magic to make
rain formed the major elements. 313 De Moor has proposed that the
rite might have been performed by a girl playing the role of 'Anatu. He
notes that some characteristics of princess Pughatu, the daughter of
king Dani'ilu, coincide with the assumed rite. 314 In KTU 1.19:IV.41-46
Pughatu washed and reddened herself in what appears to be the same
way as 'Anatu at the beginning of KTU 1.3:11. Moreover, KTU 1.13:4
7 seems to imply that this scene was repeated in the Ugaritic cult. 315
Furthermore, one of Pughatu's epithets is hspt.l'r.tl 'she who scoops
up dew from the wool' (1.19:1.2 par.), and another yd't.hlk.kbkbm 'she
who knows the course of the stars' (1.19:1.2-3 par.).316 If De Moor's
hypothesis is correct, a daughter of the king of Ugarit would have
performed a rite in connection with rain making and fertility.
KTU 1.3:111.15 par. describes how 'Anatu performed a fertility rite
on the land to be ploughed. It is likely that this was the mythological
prototype of a rite actually performed on earth. 3 1 7 Since we know
that the queen of Ugarit performed certain rites in connection with
a sacrifice on the sown land (KTU 4.149:14-16, see chapter 4), it is
imaginable that she imitated 'Anatu in promoting the fertility of the
soil.
Another rite may be referred to in KTU 1.101:5-7. Here a rite
of ablution and anointing by Ba'lu's daughter, Tallayu, is probably
described, expressed in mythological form. 318 Perhaps this can be related to a rite the king's daughter had to perform on the statue of
Ba'lu. 319
Ancient Palestine: A Study in Comparative Religion', HUCA 14 (1939), 261-2,
275; De Moor, The Seasonal Pattern, 94, 99-100.
313
According to De Moor, ARTU, 4-5, n. 21, the rite was performed during the
New Year festival. In this regard it should be noted that in the balag composition
ru m-ma-ir-ra-bi it is said of Inanna that she lets it rain (1. 76) directly after
the battle scene in which she plays with the heads of the defeated (1. 74), cf. Volk,
Die Balag-Komposition, 205.
314
De Moor, The Seasonal Pattern, 95, 100. See also D.P. Wright, Ritual in
Narrative: The Dynamics of Feasting, Mourning, and Retaliation Rites in the
Ugaritic Tale of Aqhat, Winona Lake 2001, 206-22.
315
Cf. De Moor, ARTU, 5-7, 263-4; Wright, Ritual in Narrative, 206-9.
316
The stars are regarded as a source of dew, cf. CAD, K, 46; W.G.E. Watson,
'Ugaritic and Mesopotamian Literary Texts', UF 9 (1977), 274.
317
Cf. Korpel, RiC, 433-4.
318
Cf. J.C. de Moor, 'Contributions to the Ugaritic Lexicon', UF 11 (1979),
639. Cf. for a possible Hittite parallel I. Wegner, M. Salvini, Die hethitischen
Ritualtafeln des (h)iuwa-Feses, Roma 1991, 27.
319
A parallel may be found in the treatment of the statue of Dumuzi; cf. Dalley,
in: C0S, vol. 1, 380-4.

C . HEBREW BIBLE

Whereas the male priest ( )is mentioned several times in the Hebrew Bible, a female priest is not attested. 320 In pre-monarchic times
lay persons, i.e., the heads of the families or the eldest of the tribes,
performed the priestly duties (cf., e.g., Gen. 22; Judg. 13:19). When
Israelite society changed from a (semi-)nomadic to a sedentary life,
sanctuaries were erected and priests installed to guard the sanctua r y 321 j n
m o n a r c h i c period priests belonged to the royal personnel. Their main task was to bring offerings to YHWH. While kings
such as David and Solomon could perform priestly tasks themselves,
this was no longer possible in later times. The later kings were not
permitted to make offerings to Y H W H (cf. 2 Chron. 26:18). 322
In the pre-monarchic and early monarchic periods, priests performed mantic functions. 323 To consult God through an oracle people
turned to a priest (e.g., Judg. 18:5). Other functions of biblical priests
were to teach to the people, to discern between pure and impure,
to partake in the administration of justice, to offer offerings, to bless
people and to supervise the holy precinct. 324
According to the Hebrew Bible, women were excluded from the
priesthood. 325 Scholars have suggested several reasons for this exclusion. Mary Hayter discerns four types of explanation. 326 First, there
are theories that focus on the practical and maternal considerations.
(1A) Women would lack the strength that certain priestly duties
required, for they could not slaughter sizeable animals. 327 This theory
is rejected by Hayter:
A w o m a n ' s physical s t r e n g t h was irrelevant t o t h e sacrificial d u t i e s of a
priest since, as de Vaux p o i n t s o u t , t h e priest himself seldom p e r f o r m e d
t h e a c t u a l slaughter of t h e victim (cf. Lev. 1.5; 3.2ff; 4.24ff; E x o d .
320

Cf. W. Dommershausen, ' hohen', ThWAT, Bd. 4, 68-79; H.G. Reventlow, 'Priester/Priestertum', in: TRE, Bd. 27, 383-91. On the relationship between
priests and Levites, cf. R. Nurmela, The Levites: Their Emergence as a SecondClass Priesthood (SFSHJ, 193), Atlanta GA 1998.
321
Dommershausen, ' hohen', 69; Reventlow, 'Priester/Priestertum', 383.
322
Dommershausen, ' hohen', 72-5; Reventlow, 'Priester/Priestertum', 383-4.
323
Dommershausen, ' hohen', 69-70; Reventlow, 'Priester/Priestertum', 386.
324
Reventlow, 'Priester/Priestertum', 386-8.
325
Not only women, but also all non-levitical men were excluded from the priesthood. The issue at stake here, however, is why women per se were excluded in
biblical Israel, given that they did occur - although in small numbers - in neighbouring countries.
326
M. Hayter, The New Eve in Christ: The Use and Abuse of the Bible in the
Debate about Women in the Church, London 1987; 60-79.
327
Thus C.J. Vos, Woman in Old Testament Worship, Delft 1968, 193.

24.3ff). ' T h e priest in t h e Old T e s t a m e n t is not strictly a "sacrificer"

in t h e sense of an "immolator"
blood.

his role began when he h a d t o use t h e

328

Female physiology in itself therefore is no reason to exclude women

from the priesthood.
(IB) Another explanation, also related to female physiology, refers
to women's role as mothers. Most women became mothers, which
left them little possibility for tasks outside the home. 329 It can be
assumed that women from the lower strata of society had little time
left outside their child care and household tasks. Yet women from
wealthier families had servants to take care of their children and do
other tasks in the home. Thus, for women from the upper echelons of
society these maternal considerations do not apply.
(IC) A theory which is not mentioned by Hayter but referred to
by Clarence Vos is related to the priesthood as a profession:
. . . t h e priesthood was a profession even t o t h e extent t h a t one lived
f r o m it and s u p p o r t e d his family by it - Lv. 6:9f. (16f.); D t . 18:3-8, etc.
Professions of this t y p e were h a r d l y open t o women. 3 3 0

As we have seen in section 2.2.2.3, there were many professions in

which Israelite women were not attested. Morover, professionalization
of the priesthood in Egypt also resulted in the exclusion of women
from most priestly functions. I assume that in biblical Israel, too,
the professionalization of the priesthood during the monarchic period
contributed to the exclusion of women from the priesthood. Due to
the centralization of the cult the priesthood became increasingly specialized and hierarchically ordered. Whereas women in earlier times
may have fulfilled a priestly role, during the monarchic period such a
role seems to have been eliminated. 331
(2) Hayter's second avenue of explanation is the socio-theological
hypothesis, suggesting that 'women's social status affected their theological standing in the community'. 332 According to Hayter, women
in biblical Israel lacked the authority and prestige required for pro328

Hayter, The New Eve in Christ, 63, citing R. de Vaux, Ancient Israel, London
1965, 356.
329
Vos, Woman in Old Testament Worship, Delft 1968, 193; Hayter, The New
Eve in Christ, 63-4.
330
Vos, Woman in Old Testament Worship, Delft 1968, 193.
331
P.A. Bird, 'The Place of Women in the Israelite Cultus', in: P.D. Miller et al.
(eds), Ancient Israelite Religion: Essays in Honor of Frank Moore Cross, Philadelphia 1987, 411.
332
Hayter, The New Eve in Christ, 64.

fessional priesthood. The social status of women was lower than that
of men and would have played a contributary role in the exclusion of
women from the priesthood. However, as we have seen in chapter 2,
the social status of Israelite women did not differ considerably from
that of women in Ugarit nor from women in other countries of the
ancient Near East. I concur with Hayter that women in biblical Israel
generally had a lower social status than men, but this also was the
case in other countries, which did have female priests. She does have
a point, however, in emphasizing authority and prestige as necessary
attributes of priests. As we saw in section A, during the first millennium BCE only women of the highest social classes could become
priestesses of some sort. Yet no Israelite queen or princess in a priestly
capacity is referred to in the Hebrew Bible.
(3) The third type of explanation offered by Hayter relates to
the theological status of women. In Lev. 21 the requirements of the
Israelite priesthood are described. Not only did a priest have to be a
descendant of Aaron, but he also had to be without physical deformity
or skin blemish. An Israelite priest had to be holy, and the priestly
service had to be one of holiness and purity. Hayter and others point
to the periodic uncleanness of women which made them impure and
would therefore make them unsuitable for the priesthood. 333 Since
impurity of women is often regarded as a major reason for excluding
women from the priestly office, I will treat the-subject in some detail.
As was the case in Israel's neighbouring countries, the God of
Israel was not to be approached by persons who were impure. 334 If a
person was unclean, it meant he or she was cultically unfit to enter
the sanctuary of YHWH. An Israelite woman could be (' cultically)
unclean' on two levels: contagiously and non-contagiously. If a woman
was contagiously unclean, she could transmit her uncleanness to other
persons or objects. This was not the case anymore in the second stage
of uncleanness, although she was still forbidden to enter the sanctuary
333

Cf., e.g., Vos, Woman in Old Testament Worship, Delft 1968, 193; Hayter,
The New Eve in Christ, 69-70. See the criticism of this assumption in K. De
Troyer et al. (eds), Wholly Woman, Holy Blood: A Feminist Critique of Purity
and Impurity, Harrisburg PA 2003.
334
O n the concepts of holiness and purity in the Hebrew Bible, see D.P. Wright,
The Disposal of Impurity: Elimination Rites in the Bible and in Hittite and
Mesopotamian Literature (SBL.DS, 101), Atlanta GA 1987; J. Milgrom, Leviticus
1-16 (AncB, 3), New York 1991, 730-3; P.P. Jenson, Graded Holiness: A Key to
the Priestly Conception of the World (JSOT.S, 106), Sheffield 1992, 40-55. See
also K. O'Grady, 'The Semantics of Taboo: Menstrual Prohibitions in the Hebrew
Bible', in: K. De Troyer et al. (eds), Wholly Woman, Holy Blood: A Feminist Critique of Purity and Impurity, Harrisburg PA 2003, 1-28.

or to touch holy things 335 .

The Israelite view on female impurity did not differ very much
from that of its neighbours. According to Lev. 15:19-24, a woman
who was having her monthly period was unclean for seven days. Although the text does not explicitly say so about her, she probably
had to bathe and launder her clothes after the days of her impurity. 336 Whoever touched her or the things she sat on was unclean
until the evening. If a man had sexual intercourse with her during her
period, he, too, was unclean for seven days. Elsewhere in Leviticus,
however, the regulations are much stricter. Lev. 18:19 forbids a man
to 'uncover the nakedness' of a menstruant woman and 20:18 adds to
this that they both should be 'cut off from their people'. 337 It has been
proposed that in Lev. 15 the legislators were only concerned with the
nature of the impurity and not with its penalty. 338
The story of Rachel stealing the teraphim from her father illustrates the treatment of a menstruating woman from a narrative point
of view (Gen. 31:34-35). When Laban entered Rachel's tent to search
for the household gods, she excused herself, 'Let not my lord be angry
that I cannot rise before you, for the way of women is upon me'. Although Laban searched the tent and thus touched whatever Rachel
may have touched, he probably could not imagine an impure woman
deliberately defiling the gods by keeping them in a polluted place. 339
Referring to Gen. 31:34-35, Karel van der Toorn states,
This passage from Genesis demonstrates, in my opinion, that although
the more systematic treatment of the topic is of rather recent date
(Lev. 15; cf. Ezek. 18), the train of thought behind it is deeply rooted
in the Israelite experience. The parallels with the cuneiform material
point in the same direction. There is no ground, then, for the suggestion occasionally heard that these regulations, rather bothersome to
women, would be the work of a priestly class adamant on limiting the
cultic role of women as much as possible. We are dealing here with
a widespread folk belief around which people have sometimes spun
bizarre fantasies.340
335

Vos, Woman in Old Testament Worship, 62.

Cf. Wright, The Disposal of Impurity, 189-92; Milgrom, Leviticus 1-16, 746,
934-5.
337
On this punishment, see B.A. Levine, Leviticus = ( JPSTC), Philadelphia 5749/1989, 241-2.
338
See Milgrom, Leviticus 1-16, 940-1. See also O'Grady, 'The Semantics of
Taboo', 9-11.
339
Cf. Milgrom, Leviticus 1-16, 751, 936-7; B. Herr, 'Die reine Rahel: Eine Anmerkung zu Gen 31,35', ZAW 110 (1998), 238-9.
340
Van der Toorn, Cradle, 52-3. For such a suggestion of blaming the Priestly
336

Another example of a menstruant woman in the Hebrew Bible is

Bathsheba, who is seen by king David while bathing to purify herself
from her uncleanness (2 Sam. 11:2,4). According to Moshe Garsiel,
Bathsheba's bath is 'not a deliberate ploy but the monthly ablution
required by the laws of purity'. 3 4 1
Because the impurity of a menstruant was considered contagious,
she sometimes would live in relative social isolation during the prescribed period. 342 Yet there appear to have been differences in the
level of isolation in various periods and areas. It is furthermore remarkable that the attitude in Leviticus is more lenient compared to
what is known from other texts. '[T]he evidence from other texts,
rabbinic and nonrabbinic alike, indicates that the people at large and
many of their spiritual leaders, particularly in Palestine, rejected these
leniencies, even though they were rooted in the Torah'. 343 Thus fear
dominated the attitude towards women and their vaginal discharge,
prompting males and females to adhere to stricter precautions in order to avoid contamination.
In Lam. 1:8-9 Jerusalem is metaphorically depicted as a woman
who is unclean due to her menstruation. The sins which led to the
fall of Zion are related here to ritual uncleanness. Because Woman
Jerusalem has sinned, the relations with Y H W H are severed, for which
the image of uncleanness is used. The impurity leads to isolation, to
loneliness (Lam. 1:1).344
Not only was a menstruant considered impure, but also a woman
with an irregular blood discharge lasting many days (Lev. 15:25-30).
The treatment of her uncleanness is much the same as that of the menstruant; anything she sat on or lay on would be unclean and whoever
ideology for its negative view on women's blood discharge, see, e.g., I. Be'er,
'Blood Discharge: On Female Im/Purity in the Priestly Code and in Biblical
Literature', in: A. Brenner, A Feminist Companion to Exodus to Deuteronomy
(FCB, 6), Sheffield 1994, 152-64.
341
M. Garsiel, 'The Story of David and Bathsheba: A Different Approach', CBQ
55 (1993), 255. On matters of purity and impurity in the David-Bathsheba story,
see also D.P. Wright, 'David Autem Remansit in Hierusalem: Felix Coniunctio!',
in: D.P. Wright et al. (eds), Pomegranates and Golden Bells: Studies in Biblical,
Jewish, and Near Eastern Ritual, Law, and Literature in Honor of Jacob Milgrom,
Winona Lake IN 1995, 215-30.
342
S.J.D. Cohen, 'Menstruants and the Sacred in Judaism and Christianity', in:
S.B. Pomeroy, (ed.), Women's History and Ancient History, Chapel Hill & London
1991, 273-99; Milgrom, Leviticus 1-16, 764-5, 936-7, 948-53.
This relative isolation would also hold for the parturient, see section 2.1.2.
343
Milgrom, Leviticus 1-16, 953.
344
Cf. I.W. Provan, Lamentations (NCBC), Grand Rapids MI 1991, 44-5; J.
Renkema, Klaagliederen (COT), Kampen 1993, 94-100.

touched it would also become unclean until the evening. 345 There is
a noteworthy difference, however. After the discharge has stopped,
seven more days of impurity are added, after which she had to bring
offerings, two turtledoves or two pigeons, one for a sin offering and
the other for a burnt offering. 346 Unlike the normal blood discharge of
menstruation that generally lasted less than seven days and that required only waiting for the proper period after which one could bathe
and launder one's clothes, the purification process of a woman with
abnormal blood discharge required ritual expiation. 347
The third group of impure women with vaginal discharge are the
parturients. A woman who had given birth to a child was considered
unclean for 7 + 33 days where the child was a male and for 14 +
66 days where the child was a female (Lev. 12). 348 In the first period
her impurity was contagious, comparable to that of a menstruant,
but in the second period the woman was only to avoid sancta. After
the period of 40 or 80 days she had to bring a burnt offering and a
sin offering. 349 Although childbirth was no sinful act, a sin offering or
purification offering was necessary since childbirth caused impurity
which was removed by such an offering. 350
Why is the blood of the menstruant and the discharge of the parturient considered unclean? 351 In Israel's neighbouring countries menstrual blood and lochia were believed to be the repository of demonic
forces. As Rabbinic sources show, in Jewish folklore this fear still
existed, although official Israelite religion had exorcised the demons.
345

Wright, The Disposal of Impunty, 193-5.

On these two types of offerings, see Levine, Leviticus, 3-4, 18-9; Milgrom,
Leviticus 1-16, 172-7, 253-64, 269-70, 289-92.
347
This is paralleled in Lev. 15 by regulations concerning a man's abnormal and
normal discharge of semen; cf. Levine, Leviticus, 92-9. On the offering Milgrom,
Leviticus 1-16, 269, comments: 'Her prolonged impurity is considered to have
developed enough power not just to contaminate by contact but to pollute the
sanctuary from afar. Hence, a purification offering is mandatory'.
348
On Lev. 12 see also section 2.1.2.
349
It is noteworthy that even though the number of days with regard to the sex
of the child differed, no differentiation with regard to the offering was made.
350
Levine, Leviticus, 74, explains: 'Ancient man seldom distinguished between
"sin" and "impurity". In man's relation to God, all sinfulness produced impurity.
All impurity, however contracted, could lead to sinfulness if not attended to, and
failure to deal properly with impurity aroused God's anger'.
3al
Cf. for a more extensive discussion, M. Douglas, Purity and Danger: An Analysis of Concepts of Pollution and Taboo, London 1966; Milgrom, Leviticus 116, 766-8, 1000-4; R. Whitekettle, 'Leviticus 12 and the Israelite Woman: Ritual
Process, Liminality and the Womb', ZAW 107 (1995), 393-408; Idem 'Levitical Thought and the Female Reproductive Cycle: Wombs, Wellsprings, and the
Primeval World', VT 46 (1996), 376-91; O'Grady, 'The Semantics of Taboo', 1-28.
346

Despite this, the idea of connecting physical impurity with the demonic world did not disappear but received renewed interpretation.
The demonic no longer was an autonomous force but was inherent
in the very nature of physical impurity. 'The loss of vaginal blood
and semen, both containing seed, meant the diminution of life and,
if unchecked, destruction and death'. 3 5 2 Thus, blood was associated
with life and its loss with death.
Although it was a divine commandment to 'be fruitful and multiply' (Gen. 1:28), sexual intercourse made both partners impure. According to Lev. 15:18 the male as well as the female partner had to
bathe and remained unclean until the evening. Baruch Levine points
to the fact that 'the impurity of semen made it forbidden ever to have
sex within sacred precincts, once again creating a distance between
the process of procreation and the cult'. 353 Dramatizing sexual intercourse in the cult - which probably had happened in third-millennium
Mesopotamia - or allusions to it in re-enactment or retelling of myths,
was therewith excluded. Against Levine's assertion, however, it needs
to be pointed out that in other cultures of the ancient Near East
sexual intercourse also made people impure. It seems that bathing
after having sex was a general practice not only for temple personnel
and those bringing offerings but also for other persons under ordinary
circumstances. In this regard Jacob Milgrom states:
' T h u s t h e entire ancient world is u n a n i m o u s in its concern for cultic
purity. In all cultures sexual intercourse disqualifies a person f r o m participating in t h e cult, a n d t h e same rite is prescribed for purification
f r o m sexual impurity - b a t h i n g ' . 3 5 4

As we noted, purity was absolutely essential to the execution of the

priestly office. All Israelites, men and women, were subject to strict
regulations regarding purity. The periodic uncleanness of women 'for
one quarter of that duration of her life in which she might have served
as a priest' 355 is often considered an important reason for excluding
them from the priestly office. Although Grace Emmerson shares this
352

Milgrom, Leviticus 1-16, 767. Pace K. De Troyer, 'Blood: A Threat to Holiness or toward (Another) Holiness?' in: Idem et al. (eds), Wholly Woman, Holy
Blood: A Feminist Critique of Purity and Impurity, Harrisburg PA 2003, 45-64,
who assumes the double number of days of impurity for the mother of a baby girl
is an intolerant reaction to the emphasis on women's capacity to give life in other,
polytheistic cultures of the ancient Near East.
353
Levine, Leviticus, 96.
354
Milgrom, Leviticus 1-16, 933.
355
Hayter, The New Eve in Christ, 70. See also Vos, Woman in Old Testament
Worship, 193.

assumption, she nonetheless stresses that strict regulations concerning ritual purity of women implied their involvement in the cult on
a regular base. 356 Rules would have been necessary to circumscribe
when women were allowed to participate as worshippers in the cult.
Yet women were not excluded from participation in the cult when
they were considered cultically pure.
With regard to the assumption that women were unclean for the
period of one quarter of their adult life, it can furthermore be added
that women generally did not menstruate as frequently as they do
in modern western society. Their life expectancy was shorter and the
number of children they bore larger.
"Menstruation as we know it today is largely a product of contraception and of an increase in the number of childbearing years. Until
this century, most women spent the years between their first menses
around the age of 14 and their menopause at age 35 or 40 either pregnant or breastfeeding. Today, improved nutrition and health care have
pushed the onset of first menses earlier, to about age 12, and delayed
menopause until about age 50" . 357
Breastfeeding further had its influence on the suppression of the menses (lactational amenorrhea). According to Mayer Gruber, Israelite
women nursed their babies for as long as three years. This is not to
say that they did not menstruate for the whole nursing period, but
breastfeeding would generally have suppressed the menses for up to
one and a half years. 358 Women were not considered unclean during
pregnancy and thus not excluded from the cult. Neither were they
forbidden to participate in the cult when nursing their child (Deut.
31:12). 359 Based on these data it cannot be concluded that Israelite
women were impure as a result of vaginal discharges for about one
quarter of their adult life. The overall period of exclusion from the
356

G.I. Emmerson, 'Women in Ancient Israel', in: R.E. Clements (ed.), The
World of Ancient Israel: Sociological, Anthropological and Political Perspectives,
Cambridge 1989, 379.
357
Milgrom, Leviticus 1-16, 953, citing R.M. Henig, 'Dispelling Menstrual
Myths', New York Times Magazine Mar. 7 1982, 65. See also J.C. Exum, Pragmented Women: Feminist (Sub)versions of Biblical Narratives (JSOT.S, 163),
Sheffield 1993, 138, n. 78.
358
M.I. Gruber, 'Breast-Feeding Practices in Biblical Israel and in Old Babylonian Mesopotamia', JANES 19 (1989), 61-83. According to a study of contemporary societies in the Third World the average period of lactational amenorrhea
is eighteen and a half months (62), in another study the number of thirty three
weeks is mentioned (65).
359
Gruber, 'Breast-Feeding Practices', 67-8.

cult on these grounds would have been less. 360

Emmerson therefore may be correct in supposing that strict regulations concerning ritual purity implied women did participate in
the cult on a regular basis. Rules regarding impurity regulated their
participation, it did not totally exclude them. Although impurity regulations may have contributed to the exclusion of women from the
priesthood, they cannot be regarded as the main reason.
(4) I assume that Hayter's fourth explanation constitutes the main
argument for the exclusion of women from the priesthood in biblical
Israel. Hayter points to the intention of Yahwism to distinguish itself
from other religions. 361 In this regard she refers to the veneration of
Ishtar in Babylonia, and Canaanite worship of 'fertility cult deities'. 362
She assumes women in these religions played a 'special role' in cultic
prostitution and the sacred marriage rite, and so she concludes:
It is highly probable, then, that Israel deliberately avoided a female
priesthood in order to distinguish the worship of Yahweh from that of
other fertility cult deities. ... When so many of the 'priestesses' have a
sexual function as seems to be the case in Babylon, then it was not at
all surprising that women were excluded from Yahwistic priesthood. 363
Hayter's The New Eve in Christ was published in 1987 and with
regard to her fourth explanation this seems to be based on Clarence
Vos' Woman in Old Testament Worship (1968). Since then much has
been written on cultic prostitution and sacred marriage and views on
these matters have changed. I will discuss both issues in detail below,
but for the moment confine myself to stating that rejecting cultic
prostitution is not the reason for excluding Israelite women from the
priesthood. The rejection of the idea of a deity marrying a human,
however, was, though not in the manner which Hayter assumed.
As we have seen, although quite a number of women were active in cultic functions in Egypt and Mesopotamia during the third
millennium, their number decreased during the second millennium.
Authors emphasizing the contrast between Israel and its neighbouring countries generally point to data concerning the third and early
second millennium Mesopotamia and Egypt. 364 But during the sec360

Yet Milgrom, Leviticus 1-16, 953, might be overemphasizing the point when
he says, '[t]he implication of this evidence is that the biblical woman, who was
generally in a state of pregnancy or nursing, was rarely excluded from participating
in the cult' [emphasis mine].
361
Hayter, The New Eve in Christ, 70-3.
362
On stereotyping Canaanite religion in such a way, see section 2.1.2.
363
Hayter, The New Eve in Christ, 72.
364
S.L. Gosline, 'Female Priests: A Sacerdotal Precedent from Ancient Egypt',

ond millennnium the situation changed drastically and women to a

large extent disappeared from the priesthood. Only women of high
birth remained active in cultic functions during the second half of the
second and the first millennium. The functions these women fulfilled
are referred to as priestly functions. In Egypt, the daughter of the
king was a God's Wife of Amun. And in Mesopotamia, the king's
daughter became a nin-dingir. Both in Egypt and Mesopotamia these
cultic functionaries had a kind of marital relationship with the main
deity. They were a wife of the god, whether the interpretation of this
function was sexual or not, that is, whether their 'sacred' marriage
was a carnally or a symbolically performed rite. In Yahwism, such
a function for a woman was out of the question. As Marjo Korpel
has shown convincingly, Y H W H was not a God of male gender in the
same sense as the gods of Israel's neighbours were. Unlike the gods of
Ugarit, the God of Israel is never described with male genitals. The
reason for this, according to Korpel, is that '[g]enita1s only serve a
purpose if there is a partner'. 3 6 5 The Bible seems to hint that Y H W H
had a consort during certain periods of Israelite official religion (1
Kgs 15:13; 2 Kgs 21:7), but this is presented as deviation from the
mainstream view. Generally Asherah's role seems to have been only
an additional one. In eighth-century popular/family religion she possibly was regarded as a hypostazation of YHWH. In the same century
Hosea voiced protest against the belief that Asherah was Y H W H ' S
consort and her role was even further minimized in Deuteronomic
circles (Deut. 16:21). The Deuteronomistic redactors associated her
with Baal rather than YHWH.366 According to the Deuteronomistic
redactors, a priestess in the capacity of a God's Wife or a nin-dingir
should not be tolerated in Israel and Judah. It cannot be discerned
from the Hebrew Bible whether an Israelite princess or queen ever
fulfilled such a function.
Some scholars, however, assume that royal women played a distinct priestly role, which was later erased by biblical redactors. Thus,
according to Gsta Ahlstrm, the queen mother represented the goddess Asherah in the Jerusalemite cult by playing the role of the bride
in the hieros gamos ritual. 367 Currently most scholars reject the idea
JFSR 12/1 (1996), 25-39, for example, points to the female priesthood in the
Egyptian Old Kingdom period.
365
Korpel, RiC, 123-7, 129-33 (125).
366
S.M. Olyan, Asherah and the Cult of Yahweh in Israel (SBL.MS, 34), Atlanta
GA 1988.
367
G. Ahlstrm, Aspects of Syncretism in Israelite Religion (HSoed, 5), Lund
1963, 57-88.

of a sacred marriage rite being part of the Jerusalemite cult (see further below). Those who do assume that this rite took place generally
think that the queen or a priestess took the role of the goddess rather
than the queen mother. 368
Ahlstrm's thesis was based partly on some biblical references
which point in the direction of queen mothers venerating Asherah.
First, king Asa purified the cult of Y H W H and removed his (grand?)mother Maacah 3 6 9 'from being queen mother, because she had made
an abominable image for Asherah' (1 Kgs 15:13). Secondly, a more
indirect indication may be found in the name of Nehushta, mother
of king Jehoiachin 'who did what was evil in the sight of the L O R D '
(2 Kgs 24:8-9). According to Susan Ackerman, the name Nehushta
'derives most probably from the root nh, "serpent" '. 370 In iconography Asherah is often depicted as a mistress of snakes. 371 Thirdly,
Jezebel, although no queen mother but a queen at the time of the
story, venerated Asherah as well as Baal. She had a large entourage
of cultic personnel who ate at her table (1 Kgs 18:19).372
These texts of royal women venerating Asherah have led Susan
Ackerman to propose an official cultic role for the Judaean queen
mother, analogous to the role of the tawananna in the Hittite cult.
She refers to the belief of the Davidic king being the adopted son of
Y H W H and assumes that the divine pair, Y H W H and Asherah, act as
adoptive parents of the king,

368

Cf. N.-E.A. Andreasen, 'The Role of the Queen Mother in Israelite Society',
CBQ 45 (1983), 182; S. Ackerman, 'The Queen Mother and the Cult in Ancient
Israel', JBL 112 (1993), 387.
369
O n the identification of Maacah, cf. J.M. Myers, II Chronicles (AncB, 13),
Garden City NY 1965, 79-80; S. Japhet, I & II Chronicles (OTL), London 1993,
670-1.
370
Ackerman, 'The Queen Mother and the Cult in Ancient Israel', 396. The
etymology of is a matter of dispute, however; cf. BDB, 639; HAL AT, Lf. 3,
653; T.R. Hobbs, 2 Kings (WBC, 13), Waco TX 1985, 351.
371
Ackerman, 'The Queen Mother and the Cult in Ancient Israel', 396-7. But cf.
. Keel, Ch. Uehlinger, Gttinnen, Gtter und Gottessymbole: Neue Erkenntnisse
zur Religionsgeschichte
Kanaans und Israels aufgrund bislang
unerschlossener
ikonographischer Quellen (QD, 134), 312-4.
372
A. Brenner, The Israelite Woman: Social Role and Literary Type in Biblical
Narrative (BiSe, 2), Sheffield 1985, 20-8, hypothesizes that Jezebel may have been
a high priestess of Baal. Many scholars, however, suppose the prophets of Asherah
are a deuteronomistic gloss to associate the goddess with Baal; cf., e.g., Olyan,
Asherah and the Cult of Yahweh in Israel, 8; C. Frevel, Aschera und der Ausschlielichkeitsanspruch
Yhwhs: Beitrge zu literarischen,
religionsgeschichtlichen
und ikonographischen Aspekten der Ascheradiskussion
(BBB, 94/1), Weinheim
1995, 28-38, 53, 102.

It is this motif of divine sonship found in southern royal ideology that

I believe explains the role the queen mother plays in the Jerusalem
monarchy. For if the Judaean royal ideology holds that Yahweh is the
metaphorical father of the king, then is it not possible that the metaphorical mother of the king is to be understood as Asherah, given,
as I have argued above, that Asherah was seen by many - in both
the state and popular cult - as the consort of Yahweh? The southern
monarchy's language of divine sonship, to put the matter more bluntly,
should imply not only Yahweh, the male God, as the king's surrogate
father, but also Asherah, the female consort, eis the monarch's surrogate
mother. 373
As Ackerman herself admits, the data for her theory are sparse and her
reconstruction is speculative. She refers to the male-dominated culture, which 'tended not to include significant information concerning
women's religious activities'. 374 But this is an argumentum e silentio.
Furthermore, worshipping a goddess does not automatically make one
a representative of the deity. Ackerman's theory should therefore be
rejected. 375 What we can say about Maacah's interference with official religious politics is that she tried to enlarge the goddess' role but
failed to do so. Whether she also intended to extend her own role into
that of a priestess, or perhaps had such a role and was expelled from
it by Asa cannot be determined on the basis of the text. (On the role
of the queen see further below.)
To conclude, the reasons for exclusion of women from the priesthood in biblical Israel are threefold. First, professionalization of the
priesthood in the monarchic period in relation to centralization of
the cult probably contributed to it. Secondly, purity regulations prescribed that women were forbidden to participate in the cult for certain periods. But most importantly, in monotheistic Yahwism neither
a goddess alongside YHWH, nor a female cultic functionary in the
capacity of a 'wife' of the deity could be tolerated. It cannot be determined whether Israelite queens acted in cultic roles, but at least
from the seventh century BCE on, and possibly earlier, this seems very
unlikely.
In discussing Hayter's fourth explanation, I have briefly referred
to the alleged special role biblical women performed in cultic prostitu373

S. Ackerman, Warrior, Dancer, Seductress, Queen: Women in Judges and

Biblical Israel (AncBRL), New York 1998, 153; cf. Idem, 'The Queen Mother and
the Cult in Ancient Israel1 , 400.
374
Ackerman, 'The Queen Mother and the Cult in Ancient Israel', 388.
375
Cf. A. van der Lingen, Vrouwen rond de koningen van oud-Isral, Zoetermeer
1997, 65.

tion. We will now look into the matter more deeply. Up until recently,
scholars commonly believed that denoted 'hierodule' or 'cultic
prostitute'. 3 7 6 This translation was related to its juxtaposition to
'prostitute' in Gen. 38, Deut. 23:18-19 and Hos. 4:11-14 on the one
hand, and to theories on cultic prostitution on the other hand. 3 7 7
Lately, however, it has been shown that there is no convincing evidence for the existence of cultic prostitution either in the ancient Near
East or in Israel. 378
Literally, both Akk. qaditu and Heb. mean 'she who is consecrated' or, 'she who is set apart'. 3 7 9 To what function(s) a is
set apart is not clear from the word itself. As we have seen, the Akk.
qaditu was a woman who was dedicated to a deity. She fulfilled tasks
in the cult (singing, sprinkling water) and could also function as a
midwife and a wet nurse. It would seem that in the Late Babylonian
period she was associated with witch-craft. Possibly a functioned
in a similar manner as a consecrated woman in the Israelite cult. We
will review the passages in which the term occurs.
In Gen. 38 Tamar deceived her father-in-law into having sexual
intercourse with her in order to raise offspring for her deceased husband, Er. To this end 'she put off her widow's garments, put on a veil,
wrapped herself up, and set down at the entrance to Enaim, which
is on the road to Timnah' (v. 14). When perceiving a veiled woman
at the roadside, Judah assumed she was a . Tamar then had intercourse with Judah in exchange for a pledge to pay her a kid from
the flock. When Judah wanted to recover the pledge, he did not go
to her himself, but sent his friend Hirah the Adullamite. The latter,
376

Cf., e.g., C.J. Vos, Woman in Old Testament Worship, Delft 1968, 96-7; Brenner, The Israelite Woman, 78; Emmerson, 'Women in Ancient Israel', 387-8.
377
On 'secular' prostitution and the meaning of the root , see section 2.2.2.3.
378
J.G. Westenholz, 'Tamar, Qed, Qaditu, and Sacred Prostitution in Mesopotamia', HTRh 82 (1989), 245-65; P.A. Bird, 'The End of the Male Cult Prostitute: A Literary-Historical and Sociological Analysis of Hebrew qd - qdm',
in: J.A. Emerton (ed.), Congress Volume: Cambridge 1995 (VT.S, 66), Leiden
1997, 37-80.
379
Cf. Bird, 'The End of the Male Cult Prostitute', 38, n. 3.
M.I. Gruber, 'The Hebrew qedh and her Canaanite and Akkadian Cognates',
UF 18 (1986), 133-48, assumes ' prostitute' is derived from Proto-Semitic
qaditu and is a homonym of Akk. qaditu which denotes a consecrated woman.
The male counterpart of the , however, is not a prostitute, but a cultic
functionary, according to Gruber (133, . 1). Westenholz, 'Tamar', 248, rightly
criticizes Gruber: '[1]t is contrary to reason to separate the male and female counterparts of the same office in order to deduce that the male was a Canaanite cultic
functionary and the female was a irreligious prostitute on the basis that it is a
synonym of zn\

however, could not find the anonymous woman. Remarkably, Hirah

asked the Canaanite townspeople whether they had seen a , and
did not ask for a . According to Phyllis Bird, the shift of terms is
deliberate. Hirah made discreet inquiries, using a euphemism. Bird
explains,
Here we have an example, I think, of a common contrast between private, or "plain," speech (which may also be described as coarse) and
public, or polite, speech (which may also be described as elevated).
Such an interchange of terms does not require that the two have identical meanings, especially since euphemism is a characteristic feature of
biblical Hebrew usage in describing sexual acts and organs. A foot or a
hand is not a phallus, though both terms are used with that meaning.
And a qd, I would argue, is not a prostitute, though she may share
important characteristics with her sister of the streets and highways,
including sexual intercourse with strangers. 380
Contrary to Bird, I would rather propose that autonomy over their
own sexuality was the shared characteristic of the and the 381.
This indeed could (and in the case of the former would) lead to sexual
intercourse with strangers. Possibly such an independent position for
a religious woman would in time lead to stereotyping her negatively
as a 'loose' woman. 382
The second text in which the term occurs is Hos. 4:14. In
his polemics against improper cultic practices, the prophet Hosea employed the metaphor of marriage to describe the relationship between
383
Y H W H and his people.
Within the realm of this metaphor, apostasy was put in terms of sexual infidelity, using the verb . In Hos.
4:12-14 the first and second level of the metaphorical use of ( as put
forward by Julie Galambush) were combined to emphasize the gravity of Israel's sin and to appeal to her responsibility. The activities
of the fathers were connected with those of the daughters. Whereas
the daughters were accused of 'playing the whore' - Galambush's first
level of its metaphorical use - the fathers were accused of apostasy Galambush's second level of its metaphorical use. 384 The sexual im380

P.A. Bird, 'The Harlot as Heroine: Narrative Art and Social Presupposition
in Three Old Testament Texts 1 , in: M. Amihai et al. (eds), Narrative Research on
the Hebrew Bible (Semeia, 46), Atlanta GA 1989, 126.
381
Cf. T. Frymer-Kensky, In the Wake of the Goddesses: Women, Culture, and
the Biblical Transformation of Pagan Myth, New York 1992, 201.
382
Analogous to the development of the Akk. qaditu, see above.
383
On the marriage metaphor, see section 2.1.1.3.2.
384
J. Galambush, Jerusalem in the Book of Ezekiel: The City as Yahweh's Wife
(SBL.DS, 130), Atlanta GA 1992, 27-31. See also sections 2.1.1.3.2 (n. 161) and

proprieties of daughters and daughters-in-law constituted an attack

on the honour of those who were responsible for them, i.e., the fathers.
But the daughters' behaviour mirrored that of the fathers. Whereas
the daughters dishonoured their fathers (-in-law), the fathers dishonoured Y H W H by their promiscuous worship. 385
This form of perverted worship is described not only by use of the
verb ( v. 12), but also by associating offering ( Piel) with .
Based on the reference to and the etymology of the term , I
agree with Phyllis Bird that the should be understood as having
an essentially cultic identity. 'They represent a cultic role, but one
associated in Israelite (prophetic) thought with "Canaanite" worship,
not Yahweh worship'. 386 Hosea's association of with prostitutes
was part of his polemics against improper worship of Y H W H and was
meant to shock his audience. Yet beside the fact that the took
part in this 'Canaanite' cult, we know little about their function or
activities. 387
The third passage in which the occurs is Deut. 23:18, where
she is mentioned in connection with her male counterpart, the . In
the translation of the NRSV, Deut. 23:18 reads: 'None of the daughters of Israel shall be a temple prostitute; none of the sons of Israel
shall be a temple prostitute'. Here, too, the translators have associated the with cultic prostitution, mainly because of the following
verse, where it is forbidden to bring the fee of a prostitute into the
house of Y H W H . 3 8 8 AS a consequence of this association, the was
also viewed in this light. Yet in a well-researched article Phyllis Bird
shows that there is no convincing evidence for cultic prostitution.
2.2.2.3.
385
Cf. P.A. Bird, ' "To Play the Harlot": An Inquiry into an Old Testament Metaphor', in: P.L. Day (ed.), Gender and Difference in Ancient Israel, Minneapolis
1989, 85-6. See also E.J. Fisher, 'Cultic Prostitution in the Ancient Near East?
A Reassessment', BTB 6 (1976), 234-5; H.M. Barstad, The Religious Polemics of
Amos (VT.S, 34), Leiden 1984, 31.
Bird's interpretation of somewhat differs from Galambush. I concur with
Galambush's criticism of Bird and follow the former's interpretation; cf. Galambush, Jerusalem in the Book of Ezekiel, 29, n. 12.
386
Bird, ' "To Play the Harlot" ', 87. See also M.-Th. Wacker, 'Kosmisches Sakrament oder Verpfndung des Krpers?: "Kultprostitution" im biblischen Israel und
im hinduistischen Indien - religionsgeschichtliche berlegungen im Interesse feministischer Theologie', in: R. Jost et al (eds), Auf Israel hren: Sozialgeschichtliche
Bibelauslegung, Luzern 1992, 54-6; Bird, 'The End of the Male Cult Prostitute',
46.
387
Bird, ' "To Play the Harlot" ', 87-8.
388
O n the proposal by K. van der Toorn, 'Female Prostitution in Payment of
Vows in Ancient Israel', JBL 108 (1989), 193-205, that Israelite women would
sometimes prostitute themselves in order to fulfill a vow, see section 3.2.

She assumes the may have been 'a class of male cult personnel
functioning within the Jerusalem temple in the pre-Josianic cult'. 3 8 9
Likewise, the should also be considered 'a class of cult-related
women associated with outlying sanctuaries in pre-Josianic times, at
least through the mid-8th century BCE in the northern kingdom'. 390
In Gen. 38 the is associated with 'Canaanite practices' and in
Hos. 4:14 with a 'Canaanization' of the Israelite cult. In Deut. 23:18
the role of the ( as well as that of the )is perceived as incompatible with Yahwistic religion. Whereas Gen. 38 seems to tolerate
such a 'Canaanite' cultic role, both Hosea and Deuteronomy reject
it. Although may once have had 'a recognized place in Israelite
worship', by the 7th-6th cent. BCE this no longer was the case. 391
With regard to their presumed sexual activities, I would suggest that
the autonomy over their own sexuality led to a juxtaposition with the
. Yet this does not mean were 'cultic prostitutes'. Their association with prostitution is polemical in origin. 'Since Israel appears
to have recognized no legitimate role for women as cult functionaries during the period in which qdt are attested, it would be easy
for Israelites to assume that the presence of women at a sanctuary
involved sexual activity'. 392

In one of the texts dealing with

2

Kgs 23:7, wome
cur who appear to have some function related to the veneration of
Asherah. 393 2 Kgs 23 describes the reform of king Josiah. The text informs us on the many aspects of Israelite religion during Josiah's days
that were not in accordance with 'the book of the covenant'. Baal and
Asherah were venerated, offerings were made in high places, and the
temple of Y H W H even contained an image of Asherah. Josiah put an
end to all this. He also broke down the houses of the ' that were
in the house of the LORD, where the women did weaving for Asherah'
(v. 7). There is no ground for the proposal of some scholars, according to whom these women were involved in cultic prostitution. 3 9 4 The
text informs us that the were institutionally bound to the official Jerusalemite cult. The women probably had an ancillary function
weaving garments or vestments for cultic use, related to the worship
389

Bird, 'The End of the Male Cult Prostitute', 71.

Bird, 'The End of the Male Cult Prostitute', 46.
391
Bird, 'The End of the Male Cult Prostitute', 46.
392
Bird, ' "To Play the Harlot" ', 87. See also J.A. Hackett, 'Can a Sexist Model
Liberate us?: Ancient Near Eastern "Fertility" Goddesses', JFSR 5 (1989), 73.
393
For an overview of various interpretations, cf. Frevel, Aschera und der Ausschlielichkeitsanspruch
Yhwhs Bd. 2, 680-99.
394
Cf. Wacker, 'Kosmisches Sakrament oder Verpfndung des Krpers?' 57;
Frevel, Aschera und der Ausschlielichkeitsanspruch
Yhwhs, Bd. 2, 698.
390

of Asherah. 395
Although no female priestesses are recorded in the Hebrew Bible,
women did fulfill other functions in connection to the cult. As was the
case elsewhere in the ancient Near East, Israelite women performed as
singers, dancers and musicians. 396 'The disputed question is whether
women participated as musicians or dancers in cultic celebrations and
whether they belonged to the personnel of the sanctuary'. 3 9 7 In order
to answer this question we have only a very limited number of texts
to work with. The first text is Exod. 15:20-21, in which Miriam, who
is referred to as 'the prophetess' and 'the sister of Aaron', leads the
Israelite women in song and dance. 398 Scholars generally agree that
Exod. 15 presents two groups who take turns in singing the victory
of Y H W H over the enemy. Miriam, leading the women in song and
dance, sang back an antiphonal song to Moses and the men. 399 The
song of Miriam is a victory song of religious character. The victory
over Pharaoh is not accomplished by human strength, but by the hand
of YHWH. The context, although religious, is only indirectly cultic. 400
Yet Richard Henshaw states that the reference to Miriam's brother,
Aaron, 'may indicate a liturgical context, because the name Aaron
stands for the prototype early priesthood'. 401 A different explanation
395

Cf. Bird, 'The End of the Male Cult Prostitute', 64-74; J.M. Hadley, The Cult
of Asherah in Ancient Israel and Judah: Evidence for a Hebrew Goddess (UCOP,
57), Cambridge 2000, 74.
Beside the women mentioned in 2 Kgs 23:7, another reference to textile production in a religious context is made in Exod. 35:25-26, where women are said
to have spun yarns and linen for the temple. They are regarded as skillful lay
persons, however.
396
Cf. C. Meyers, 'Mother to Muse: An Archaeomusicological Study of Women's
Performance in Ancient Israel', in: A. Brenner, J.W. van Henten (eds), Recycling
Biblical Figures: Papers Read at a NOSTER Colloquium in Amsterdam,
12-13
May 1997 (STAR, 1), Leiden 1999, 50-77.
397
P.A. Bird, 'The Place of Women in the Israelite Cultus', in: P.D. Miller et al.
(eds), Ancient Israelite Religion: Essays in Honor of Frank Moore Cross, Philadelphia 1987, 418, n. 39.
398
O n the date of Exod. 15:20-21 and its relation to Moses' song, see, e.g., P.
Trible, 'Bringing Miriam out of the Shadows', in: A. Brenner (ed.), A Feminist
Companion to Exodus to Deuteronomy (FCB, 6), Sheffield 1994, 166-73; F. van
Dijk-Hemmes, 'Some Recent Views on the Presentation of the Song of Miriam',
in: Brenner, A Feminist Companion to Exodus to Deuteronomy, 200-6.
399
Cf., e.g., C. Houtman, Exodus, vol. 2, (HCOT), Kampen 1996, 294-5; W.H.
Propp, Exodus 1-18 (AncB, 2), New York 1999, 548.
400
U. Winter, Frau und Gttin: Exegetische und ikonographische Studien zum
weiblichen Gottesbild im Alten Israel und in dessen Umwelt (OBO, 53), Freiburg,
Schweiz 1983, 33, n. 166.
401
Henshaw, FM, 119.
Women further sing victory songs accompanied by drums and dance in Judg.

for the reference to Aaron is given by William Propp, who supposes

Miriam is identified here by her relationship to Aaron as her male
guardian, i.e., the one with authority over her. However, Propp suggests that Miriam's prophetic office might be 'directly related to her
musical performance'. 402 In 1 Chron. 25:1 the function of temple musicians is described as prophesying with lyres, harps, and cymbals. It
is remarkable that two women from Israel's pre-monarchic period who
are singers, are also called prophetess. Like Miriam, the prophetess
Deborah (Judg. 4:4) is a singer of a song of praise to Y H W H (Judg.
5). Possibly the Song of Miriam and the Song of Deborah may be understood 'to describe cultic actions, whose setting is the celebration
of Yahweh's victories, not simply as onetime historical acts, but as
repeated cultic actions recalling the great victories'. 403
Women's song is closely linked in the Bible with dancing and music
making (Exod. 15:20; 32:18-19; Judg. 11:34; 1 Sam. 18:6; 21:12; 29:5;
Jer. 3 1 : 4 , 1 3 ) . Dancing occurred in non-cultic as well as in cultic settings. It was part of the worship and was performed to praise Y H W H
(Exod. 32:19; Judg. 21:21; Pss. 149:3; 150:4). Dances by women who
sang victory songs may have had a cultic setting, yet this remains
hypothetical. In other texts, such as 2 Sam. 6:5; Pss. 149:3, 150:4,
the terms used to describe the dancers may have an inclusive meaning, referring to both men and women. It seems that in the premonarchic period girls participated in cultic dancing. Judg. 21:19
refers to a yearly festival of Y H W H during which the nubile girls of
Shiloh danced.
Music making, too, occurred in non-cultic as well as in cultic settings. 404 When celebrating a victory, women accompanied song and
dance with the rhythm of the ' hand drum'. Although the hand
drum was not exclusively played by women, it was considered a typical women's instrument. 405 Yet women also played other instruments,
such as the lyre. 406
5; 11:34; 1 Sam. 18:6-7; 21:11; 29:5; 2 Sam. 1:20. On victory songs, cf. F. van
Dijk-Hemmes, 'Traces of Women's Texts in the Hebrew Bible', in: A. Brenner, F.
van Dijk-Hemmes, On Gendering Texts: Female and Male Voices in the Hebrew
Bible (BIntS, 1), Leiden 1993, 32-42.
402
Propp, Exodus 1-18, 546-7.
403
Bird, 'The Place of Women in the Israelite Cultus', 419, n. 39. J.J. Schmitt,
'Prophecy (Preexilic Hebrew)', in: ABD, vol. 5, 482, regards Miriam's actions to
be 'more cultic than prophetic'.
404
Female singers in a non-cultic setting are mentioned in 2 Sam. 19:36(35] and
Eccl. 2:8.
405
The hand drum usually was played by young women, cf. Judg. 11:34; Ps.
68:26[25]; Jer. 31:4, 13.
406
I Sam. 18:6; Pss. 149:3; 150:4; cf. C.L. Meyers, 'Of Drums and Damsels:

An example of women performing as musicians in a clearly cultic

setting is Ps. 68:25-28. It describes a cultic procession with singers
( )in front and musicians (407( behind them, in the midst of 408
whom are maidens playing the hand drum () . There
has been much discussion on the setting and date of Psalm 68. I assume it is an early psalm with later additions, but a more specific date
cannot be given. 409 Neither can the setting be specified. 'The cultic
processional briefly described in vv 26-28 suggests a relatedness of
some kind to a festival occasion
' 410 Yet which festival being eelebrated cannot be determined. What can be said is that during the
monarchic period women played a role as temple musicians, who performed in cultic processions. 411 However, as Phyllis Bird notes, '[i]t
seems likely that the public, professional roles of musicians in the
Temple service were assigned to males, at least in the later period of
the monarchy and the Second Temple period, while women's specialized musical activity was limited to secular entertainment and funeral
dirges (a "home" ritual)'. 412
It would seem that women did not perform as musicians in the
post-exilic period. Some scholars have pointed to 1 Chron. 25:1-7,
which lists three groups of temple musicians, the families of Asaph,
Heman and Jeduthun. Of Heman not only his fourteen sons are named,
but the text also informs us that he had three daughters (v. 5). It is
suggested that the daughters of Heman served in the Temple together

Women's Performance in Ancient Israel', BA 54/1 (1991), 16-27 (21); Idem,

'Mother to Muse', 50-77; Winter, Frau und Gttin, 33, . 164. For iconographie
examples of women playing the lyre, cf. . Avigad, 'The King's Daughter and
the Lyre', IEJ 28 (1978), 146, pl. 26:C; M. Grg, 'Die Knigstochter und die
Leier', BN 14 (1981), 7-10; J.M. Hadley, 'Some Drawings and Inscriptions on
Two Pithoi from Kuntillet 'Ajrud', VT 37 (1987), 180-213 (196-207); Staatliche
Mnzsammlung Mnchen in collab. with The Israel Museum Jerusalem; texts by
B. Overbeck; Y. Meshorer, Das heilige Land; Antike Mnzen und Siegel aus einem
Jahrtausend jdischer Geschichte, Mnchen 1993, 3, 5, no. A9; ZAH 8 (1995),
320; Frevel, Aschera und der Ausschlielichkeitsanspruch
Yhwhs, Bd. 2, 876-80.
407
It is not clear what kind of stringed instrument they played.
408
There is no need to depart from the Masoretic reading, cf. J. Ridderbos, De
Psalmen, dl. 2 (COT), Kampen 1958, 195-6; .. Tate, Psalms 51-100 (WBC,
20), Dallas TX 1990, 167.
409
Cf. H.-J. Kraus, Psalmen (BKAT, 15/2), Neukirchen-Vluyn 5 1978, 628-32;
Tate, Psalms 51-100, 170, 174; De Moor, RoY, 171-91.
410
Cf. Tate, Psalms 51-100, 174-5.
411
Cf. Winter, Frau und Gttin, 33-5; Bird, 'The Place of Women in the Israelite
Cultus', 418-9, n. 39.
412
Bird, 'The Place of Women in the Israelite Cultus', 418, n. 39. On female
mourners in the Hebrew Bible, see below.

with his sons, yet this is not likely.413 Furthermore, the female singers
( )?mentioned in Ezra 2:65 || Neh. 7:67 probably did not have
a cultic function. Their place in the list of those who returned from
exile - between servants and horses - suggests they were of a low class
and probably functioned as entertainers 414
Thus, while in later times no women occurred as cultic singers,
musicians and dancers, in the pre-monarchic period and during the
early days of the monarchy, they probably did fulfill such a task.
Women did, however, remain religious specialists in their capacity as female mourners. Although men and women both mourned
a deceased relative or friend, 415 women also acted as mourners in a
professional capacity. In Jeremiah reference is made to professional
female mourners in the midst of impending disaster (Jer. 9:16-19 [1720]):
T h u s says t h e LORD of hosts:

Consider, and call for the mourning women to come;

send for the skilled women to come;
let them quickly raise a dirge over us,
so that our eyes may run down with tears,
and our eyelids flow with water.
For a sound of wailing is heard from Zion:
'How we are ruined!
We are utterly shamed,
because we have left the land,
because they have cast down our dwellings'.
Hear, women, the word of the LORD,
and let your ears receive the word of his mouth;
teach to your daughters a dirge,
and each to her neighbor a lament.

413

H.G.M. Williamson, 1 and 2 Chronicles (NCBC), Grand Rapids 1982, 168,

for instance, regards it probable that the daughters are mentioned to 'emphasise
the blessing of Heman's family'. Likewise, T.C. Eskenazi, O u t from the Shadows:
Biblical Women in the Postexilic Era', JSOT 54 (1992), 38; Japhet, I & II Chronicles, 443-4. M.L. Brenner, The Song of the Sea: Ex 15:1-21 (BZAW, 195), Berlin
1991, 45, on the other hand, considers them 'a performing choir' of temple singers.
414
Henshaw, FM, 120; Bird, 'The Place of Women in the Israelite Cultus', 418,
n. 39.
415
Cf. 2 Sam. 12:15-23; Jer. 31:15; Job 2:12; Lam. 2:10. On mourning rites in
the Hebrew Bible, cf. . Kutsch, ' "Trauerbruche" und "Selbstminderungsriten"
im Alten Testament', in: Idem, Kleine Schriften zum Alten Testament (BZAW,
168), Berlin 1986, 78-95 (79).

Professional women, skilled in mourning, 416 were called upon to sing

dirges and lament the dead who would fall in the near future. The
specialized role women had in mourning is also reflected in the socalled catalogue of mourners in Zech. 12:12-14. In this catalogue four
lineages are mentioned who will mourn as an act of contrition and
grief. After every lineage the women are mentioned separately. In
their commentary on Zech. 9-14, Carol and Eric Meyers explain:
. . . the phrase "and their women by themselves,5' which comes after
each of the four lineages and then after the summary lineage ( "the remaining families"), is really a further expression of mourning behavior.
Although this in fact would not be readily apparent to a modern reader,
unaware of the special role of women in the ancient Near East with respect to funerary customs, the prophet's audience would have heard
in the refrain mentioning women a reference to the skilled activities of
women as professional mourners. 417
Carol Meyers further assumes such skilled mourners were organized in
professional associations. She refers to biblical texts in which 'daughters of Israel' (2 Sam. 1:24) and 'daughters of the nations' (Ezek.
32:16) are called upon to lament. 'In both these texts, "daughters"
probably designates a group or guild of professional mourners (just as
"sons of prophets" denotes a prophetic guild)'. 418 The female mourners
were skilled in what probably was an extensive repertoire of dirges and
lamentation songs, which they not only may have taught to peers
and students, but may also have composed themselves. In this regard Meyers refers to 2 Chron. 35:25, where male and female singers
lamented the deceased king Josiah. 419
As was the case in surrounding countries, magic, too, was practised in Israel. In the Hebrew Bible sorcery is mentioned several times
and condemned as not being in accordance with the proper worship
of YHWH. In this condemnation, however, a gender dissymmetry becomes evident:
There is a general agreement regarding the meaning of the term keep,
usually translated "sorcery". However, there has been a tendency on
416

Cf. W. McKane, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on Jeremiah (ICC),

vol. 1, Edinburgh 1986, 208-9.
417
C.L. Meyers, E.M. Meyers, Zechariah 9-14 (AncB, 25C), New York 1993,
360.
418
Meyers, 'Mother to Muse', 64.
419
Meyers, 'Mother to Muse', 65. See also A. Brenner, The Israelite Woman:
Social Role and Literary Type in Biblical Narrative (BiSe, 2), Sheffield 1985, 378; Van Dijk-Hemmes, 'Traces of Women's Texts in the Hebrew Bible', 83-5.

the part of some interpreters and translations to use the negative and
antisocial term "sorcery" for references to female practitioners of keep,
while employing the more neutral term "magic" for references to male
practitioners. The unequal distinction between female and male practitioners seems present in the OT itself. The commandment in Exod
22:18-Eng 22:17 requires the community to put the mkaph (female) to death. However, in texts referring to the mekap (male)
either no precise penalty is given (Deut 18:10) or the judgment and
punishment are left to God (Jer 27:9; Mai 3:5).420
Since practising malevolent magic was forbidden to both males and
females in Lev. 20:27, it seems logical to assume the death penalty
mentioned in Exod. 22:18[17] not only concerned females but also
males. 421 The analogy with LNB 7 comes to mind. Probably sorcery
was regarded as a female sphere in Israel, too, as it was in Mesopotamia.
In 2 Kgs 9:22 queen Jezebel is accused of performing many harlotries and sorceries. The accusation of sorcery (*), like that of
harlotry ( ), should probably be seen in the light of Jezebel being
a worshipper of Baal. The parallelism of harlotry ( )and sorcery
( )also occurs in Nah. 3:4-5a, where it is said of Nineveh: 'Because
of the countless debaucheries of the prostitute, gracefully alluring,
mistress of sorcery, who enslaves nations through her debaucheries,
and peoples through her sorcery, I am against you, says the L O R D of
hosts'. In his commentary on Nahum, Klaas Spronk remarks:
'Harlotry and sorceries' was probably a general indication of refutable
activities; cf. 2 Kgs. 9:22 about the many ( ;cf. Nah. 3:4a) harlotries
and sorceries of Jezebel. They represent two different aspects of evil
power. Harlotry denotes the ability to seduce others, sorcery denotes
the possibility of forcing one's will upon the other. The first can be
related to Nineveh as an attractive city, the second to the idea so often
expressed in Assyrian texts that they had the mightiest gods on their
side. One could think here of the many curses added to the vassal
treaties mentioning all kinds of supernatural sanctions on breaking the
treaty ... . 422
Like the personified city of Nineveh, Jezebel, too, was regarded as an
420

J.K. Kuemmerlin-McLean, 'Magic (OT)', in: ABD, vol. 4, 468.

According to R. Westbrook, Matter of Life and Death', JANES 25 (1997),
67, sorcery was regarded as a capital offense. 'The purpose of the law is to forbid
the local authorities to exercise a prerogative of mercy with regard to witches'.
422
K. Spronk, Nahum (HCOT), Kampen 1997, 122-3.
421

evil force. Her worship of Baal and her use of magic in promoting
that worship made her a harlot and a sorceress in the eyes of the
author of 2 Kings 9. Yet the use of magic was not always condemned.
In several stories foreign magicians are mentioned (Exod. 7-9; Num.
23-24; 1 Sam. 6:2; Dan. 1:20; 2:20), but Y H W H always has greater
power than the foreign gods in whose name they perform their magic.
Furthermore, '[i]t is stressed that the magical properties bestowed
on Moses, Aaron, Balaam and Daniel stem from divine inspiration;
and that they are given to them for a specific purpose, usually as a
tool of polemics against foreigners'. 423 Thus, magic performed on the
initiative of Y H W H is not denounced.
There are a few biblical passages in which women perform magic
or practise divination. The Bible is rather reticent on their actions,
which therefore remain quite obscure. The first passage is Exod. 4:2426. Zipporah seems to have used magic to ward off the mortal danger
that threatened her husband Moses. 424 According to Athalya Brenner,
Zipporah performed 'the apotropaic act of expiation by offering to
the god-demon a part of Moses' manhood'. 4 2 5 Yet it was not a part of
Moses that Zipporah offered. She rather used the foreskin of her son,
touching Moses' penis with it, in her rite of expiation. Furthermore,
there is no need to assume that, instead of YHWH, a god-demon
threatened Moses' life. 426 Perhaps Zipporah's role was more that of
a priestess, who performed an act of purification, 427 than that of a
magician, who warded off the danger of a malicious God.
In the second passage, 1 Sam. 28, a woman practises divination.
In this chapter king Saul turned to a woman necromancer to consult
the spirit of Samuel. 1 Sam. 28:3b informs us that previously Saul had
expelled the mediums and the wizards from the land. 428 Yet when the
Philistines waged war against him and Y H W H did not answer him in
his situation of despair, 'not by dreams, or by Urim, or by prophets'
423

Brenner, The Israelite Woman, 68.

O n the interpretation of this extremely difficult passage, cf. C. Houtman,
Exodus, vol. 1, (HCOT), Kampen 1993, 432-49; Propp, Exodus 1-18, 233-8.
425
Brenner, The Israelite Woman, 71.
426
Cf. Houtman, Exodus, vol. 1, 434-5; Propp, Exodus 1-18, 233-4.
427
Cf. Propp, Exodus 1-18, 236: ' . . . by shedding Gershom's blood, Zipporah
has performed a rite of expiation/purification'.
428
K. van der Toorn, Family Religion in Babylonia, Syria and Israel: Continuity
and Change in the Forms of Religious Life (SHCANE, 7), Leiden 1996, 318, n.
6, remarks: 'The text of 1 Samuel 28:3 literally says that Saul had "removed"
(hsr) the ancestor spirits ( 'obt) and the soothsaying spirits (yidd 'nm) out
of the land, which is a strange way of putting it, since it seems difficult to remove
ghosts. It is generally assumed that those who put the questions to ( ) the
ghosts are meant'.
424

(v. 6), Saul took refuge with a medium. By night Saul and two of his
servants visited the , who was able to accede to Saul's request
to inquire of the dead about the future.
Scholars have given various explanations for the fact that Saul had
expelled the mediums and wizards. Mark Smith, for instance, assumes
v. 3b may be an addition by a Deuteronomistic editor, in whose time
necromancy was considered a form of inquiry that competed with
prophecy and was therefore condemned (2 Kgs 21:6; Isa. 8:19). 429
Karel van der Toorn, on the other hand, regards Saul's act as 'an attempt to secure the state monopoly on divination'. 430 Several scholars
have pointed to the close association with necromancy in Canaanite
religion. 431 Up to the seventh century, and perhaps even later, necromancy flourished. Yet monotheistic Yahwism which became normative condemned it. Israelites who turned to deceased ancestors for
consultations and blessings did not regard Y H W H as the exclusive controller of their destiny. 'Thus any practices, such as cults of the dead,
which looked elsewhere for favors or for a knowledge about a future
event (such as Saul's coming battle with the Philistines) challenged
the prerogatives of Yahweh'. 432
With regard to the role of the medium of En-Dor, it should be
noted that, although she is unnamed in the story, she is portrayed
as a well-known necromancer, an established professional to whom
people turned when they were in a precarious situation. Although
she was not the first religious professional king Saul consulted in his
situation of despair, her actions were taken quite seriously. 433
The third biblical text on women performing magic and divination
is Ezek. 13:17-23. Scholars generally assume that these women, who
were accused of being false prophets, were engaged in some sort of
activity in connection with magic and divination 434 In the preceding
429

M.S. Smith, The Early History of God: Yahweh and the Other Deities in
Ancient Israel, San Fransisco 1990, 127, 129.
430
Van der Toorn, Family Religion in Babylonia, Syria and Israel, 318-9.
431
Cf., e.g., J. Tropper, Nekromantie: Totenbefragung im Alten Orient und im
Alten Testament (AOAT, 223), Kevelaer; Neukirchen-Vluyn 1989; M. Dietrich, O.
Loretz, Mantik in Ugarit: Keilalphabetische Texte der Opferschau - Omensammlungen - Nekromantie (ALASP, 3), Mnster 1990, 205-26; A. Jeffers, Magic and
Divination in Ancient Palestine and Syria (SHCANE, 8), Leiden 1996, 167-81.
432
T . J . Lewis, Cults of the Dead in Ancient Israel and Ugarit (HSM, 39), Atlanta
GA 1989, 177.
433
Brenner, The Israelite Woman, 73.
434
Cf. G.Ch. Aalders, Ezechiel, vol. 1, (COT), Kampen 1955, 232-9; W. Zimmerli,
Ezechiel, 1. Tlbd., (BKAT, 13/1), Neukirchen-Vluyn 1969, 295-9; Brenner, The
Israelite Woman, 74-5; W.H. Brownlee, Ezekiel 1-19 (WBC, 28), Waco TX 1986,
193-8; Jeffers, Magic and Divination in Ancient Palestine and Syria, 93-5.

part of chapter 13, Ezekiel prophesies against false male prophets. The
small differences in Ezekiel's reference to both groups are worth noting. Unlike their male counterparts in Ezek. 13:1-16 who are called
?, the women are not referred to as prophetesses, but as 'the
daughters of your people'. Some scholars assume Ezekiel deliberately
avoided the use of the title for the false prophetesses. 435 Furthermore, the Niphal form of is used to describe the activity of
the male prophets, whereas the Hithpael form is used for that of the
females. According to some, the use of the Hithpael expresses the
prophet's contempt. 4 3 6 Renate Jost, however, disagrees with this interpretation:
Aus der Verwendung des hitpael wird in der Auslegung gern ein verchtlicher Unterton gegenber den Frauen herausgelesen. Doch scheint
mir dies eher die Auffassung der Exegeten gegenber diesen Frauen widerzuspiegeln, als die des Textes, da das hitpael auch fr das Verhalten
Ezechiels selbst verwendet wird (Ez 37,10). Hier wird zutreffen, da
das hitpael verwendet wird, um ein typisches prophetisches Verhalten
zu bezeichnen.437
It is unclear what this prophetical behaviour implied. Apparently the
prophetesses performed magic and necromancy. 438 Feminist scholars
rightly point out that Ezekiel's oracle against the prophetesses 'is as
much an act of magic or divination as what the female prophets are
engaged in'. 439 Phenomenologically there is not such a large difference
between Ezekiel and the false prophets. 'Both are using "magical"
techniques in service to their own goals'. 440 As noted above, the distinction between prophecy and divination is not as sharp as some
have contended for in the past. It is not their use of techniques that
435

Cf., e.g., Zimmerli, Ezechiel, 1. Tlbd., 296; D.I. Block, The Book of Ezekiel:
Chapters 1-24 (NICOT), Grand Rapids Ml 1997, 413.
436
Cf. Zimmerli, Ezechiel, 1. Tlbd., 296; A. Brenner, 'Introduction', in: Idem
(ed.), A Feminist Companion to the Latter Prophets (FCB, 8), Sheffield 1995, 22.
437
R. Jost, 'Die Tchter deines Volkes prophezeien', in: D. Solle (ed.), Fr Gerechtigkeit streiten: Theologie im Alltag einer bedrohten Welt, Gtersloh 1994, 59.
See also R.R. Wilson, 'Prophecy and Ecstasy: A Reexamination', JBL 98 (1979),
330-7.
438
Cf. Van der Toorn, Cradle, 123; M.C.A. Korpel, 'Avian Spirits in Ugarit and
in Ezekiel 13', in: N. Wyatt et al. (eds), Ugarit, Religion and Culture (UBL,
12), Mnster 1996, 99-113. The proposal of N.R. Bowen, 'The Daughters of Your
People: Female Prophets in Ezekiel 13:17-23', JBL 118 (1999), 417-33, that the
women were engaged in childbirth rituals, is less likely.
439
Bowen, 'The Daughters of Your People, 422. See also Jost, 'Die Tchter deines
Volkes prophezeien', 61.
440
Bowen, 'The Daughters of Your People, 422.

the prophetesses were condemned for, it is their goals, which were

considered to be in conflict with the divine will.
It is noteworthy that Ezekiel did not condemn the female prophets
more than the males. Both groups were false prophets, in that they
pretended to mediate God's word, while they prophesied their own
message. Ezekiel accused them of prophesying out of their own imagination (Ezek. 1 3 : 2 , 1 7 ) , instead of being inspired by Y H W H . Yet both
groups also seem to have enjoyed a certain influence and popularity. 441
Beside the prophetesses mentioned in Ezek. 13 who performed
necromancy and were condemned as false prophetesses, there were
others. Four female prophets are mentioned by name: Miriam, Deborah, Huldah and Noadiah. Miriam is called a prophetess in Exod.
442
1 5 : 2 0 . The term may have been given to her anachronistically.
It
is also possible that her prophetic office may have been related to her
musical performance (see above). Poetry and prophecy were both believed to be divinely inspired. 443 Furthermore, in Num. 1 2 : 1 - 2 Miriam
and Aaron claimed prophetic powers like those of Moses. Although
in Numbers 12 the uniqueness of Moses' relationship with Y H W H is
stressed, the prophetic capacity of both Miriam and Aaron is not denied. 444 Henk Jagersma points to a biblical tradition, which, though
not well represented, regards Miriam and Aaron as prophets. 445
Deborah is the second prophetess who is known by name. She
is called an }and is referred to as the 'wife of Lappidoth'
(Judg. 4:4). 446 Deborah, like Miriam, is also a singer of a song (Judg.
5). James Ackerman relates the song of Deborah to the Assyrian
assurance oracles uttered prior to battle:
What song (sir) is Deborah called on to sing in vs. 12? According to
Judges 4 the role she played is very clear: through divine oracle she
commissions the leader, assuring him victory (4:6-9) and proclaiming
the day on which YHWH has delivered the enemy into Israel's power
(4:14). We have noted that other military leaders of the ancient Near
441

C.J. Vos, Woman in Old Testament Worship, Delft 1968, 189; Brenner, The
Israelite Woman, 75; Bowen, 'The Daughters of Your People, 430.
442
Brenner, The Israelite Woman, 61; J. Barton, 'Prophecy (Postexilic Hebrew)',
in: ABD, vol. 5, 489.
443
Van der Toorn, Cradle, 131; Propp, Exodus 1-18, 547.
444
Based on the feminine singular ' and she spoke' (Num. 12:1), some
scholars suspect Aaxon is an addition here. This would explain why Miriam is
punished with leprosy for seven days while Aaron is not. Cf. P.J. Budd, Numbers
(WBC, 5), Waco TX 1984, 133; De Moor, R0Y, 231.
445
H. Jagersma, Numeri, dl. 1, (PrOT), Nijkerk 1983, refers to Exod. 4:27; 7:1;
15:20; 28:30; Mic. 6:4.
446
O n her married status, see below.

East would seek oracular guidance prior to battle. And in Assyria the
technical term for these assurance oracles was r takilti. This is the
function played by Deborah in the story, and we would argue that 5:12
is a recalling of the r given by Deborah prior to the battle against
Sisera.447
The prophetic role of Deborah thus seems to have been that of oracle
giver to the military leader of some of the tribes of Israel. In this she
acts like many of the other biblical prophets. 448
Huldah, the third prophetess mentioned by name in the Bible,
was also a married woman. Her husband Shallum was keeper of the
wardrobe and in this capacity connected to the temple (2 Kgs 22:14).
It is noteworthy that all named prophetesses whose prophecies are
valued positively are under the authority of a male relative, be it a
brother (Miriam) or a husband (Deborah, Huldah). Only of Noadiah
(Neh. 6:14), who is regarded as a false prophetess, we do not know
whether a male relative had any authority over her. The status of
Miriam, Deborah and Huldah is probably mentioned to stress their
stable position in society. 449
Various scholars have wondered why king Josiah turned to the
prophetess Huldah and not to her male colleagues Jeremiah or Zephaniah. Some assume Huldah was well known in the temple, because of
the occupation of her husband Shallum. 450 Another explanation is
that Huldah's prophecy may have been less embarrassing to the king
than that of Jeremiah or Zephaniah. She may have been in the service of the temple, and therefore less critical towards the king. 451 It
is also possible that Huldah was more respected than Jeremiah and
Zephaniah were during her lifetime. 452
Lowell Handy does not pose the question: Why Huldah, not Jeremiah (or Zephaniah)? He compares Josiah's reaction on the discovery of the scroll with that of Mesopotamian kings Esarhaddon and
Nabonidus. 453 Like Josiah, the latter kings also had received divine
447

J.S. Ackerman, 'Prophecy and Warfare in Early Israel: A Study of the

Deborah-Barak Story', BASOR 220 (1975), 10.
448
Vos, Woman in Old Testament Worship, 180.
449
Cf. Brenner, The Israelite Woman, 59; A. Malamat, Forerunner of Biblical
Prophecy: The Mari Documents', in: P.D. Miller et al. (eds), Ancient Israelite
Religion, Philadelphia 1987, 44. For another view, see S. Ackerman, Warrior,
Dancer, Seductress, Queen: Women in Judges and Biblical Israel (AncBRL), New
York 1998, 108-9.
450
Cf., e.g., Vos, Woman in Old Testament Worship, 184-5.
451
J. Priest, 'Huldah's Oracle', VT 30 (1980), 366-8.
452
Brenner, The Israelite Woman, 59.
453
L.K. Handy, 'The Role of Huldah in Josiah's Cult Reform', ZAW 106 (1994),

commands for cultic reforms, from Marduk and Nannar respectively.

They had sought confirmation for this by consulting the omen deities,
Shamash and Adad. To reach the omen gods, they went to a divination
priest, specializing in extispicy, who gave them the required answer.
According to Handy, Huldah played a comparable role in the Josiah
narrative. She communicated a question from the king to Y H W H and
recorded the deity's reply. 454
Handy assumes that, although the historical king Josiah did have
the possibility to consult the omen deities, the literary Josiah, as presented by the Deuteronomist, could not go to divination priests, but
rather had to turn to a prophet as the proper intermediary between
the ruler and YHWH.455 Huldah's role thus would have been that of
offering a double check on the will of the deity.
I agree with Handy that the religious world of the historical Josiah
(and that of the historical Huldah, for that matter) may have differed from the one presented to us by the Deuteronomist. On the
other hand, it is not unlikely that the historical Josiah, like his Mesopotamian colleagues, started a cultic reform and consulted a female
prophet, whose message was considered reliable, instead of a divination priest.
Historically, we know little about Huldah. Yet on a literary level,
her position is quite important, as Udo Rterswrden points out. The
concept of the prophet, according to the Deuteronomist, is that of a
mediator who can intercede with Y H W H on behalf of his people. Deut.
18 describes the good prophet as well as the good king. When a king
turns to a prophet, instead of to a practitioner of divination, such as
is mentioned in vv. 10-11, he is a good king. But the prophet to whom
the king turns, is also a good prophet:
'Wenn es aber positiv vermerkt wird, da sich der Knig an den Propheten wendet anstatt fremdreligise Praktiken auszuben, sagt dies nicht
nur etwas ber den Knig, sondern auch ber den Propheten aus; er
ist dann der Prophet im Sinne des Prophetengesetzes. Hulda wre also
auch von daher als Inhaberin des mosaischen Amtes gekennzeichnet.456
40-53.
454
Handy, 'The Role of Huldah in Josiah's Cult Reform', 45-6.
455
Handy, 'The Role of Huldah in Josiah's Cult Reform', 48.
The Deuteronomistic History does mention inquiry of the Urim and Thummim,
but its use seems to have been confined to the pre-monarchic and early monarchic
period, while prophecy later would replace these divinatory means; cf. Brenner,
The Israelite Woman, 58; W. Horowitz, V. Hurowitz, 'Urim and Thummim in
Light of a Psephomancy Ritual from Assur (LKA 137)', JANES 21 (1992), 96.
456
U. Rterswrden, 'Die Prophetin Hulda', in: M. Weippert, S. Timm (eds),

The Deuteronomist presents Huldah as a legitimate prophetess in

the line of Moses. The priests in the service of the king go to her as
the true mediator between Y H W H and his people. 457 Possibly she was
connected with the temple cult.
Whereas Huldah's oracle has been preserved, that of Noadiah
(Neh. 6:14) has not. Of this adversary of Nehemiah, who acted against
him in his attempt to build up the wall of Jerusalem, we know very
little. Noadiah apparently had a leading role among the prophets
who were associated with the temple and were involved in political
activities. In this capacity they delivered oracles of which Nehemiah
suspected they were false, i.e., not divinely inspired. 458 As in earlier
periods, in the post-exilic period, too, the prophetic office was open
to women. 459
In the prophecy of Joel, Y H W H promises the outpouring of his
spirit on all. 'Distinctions of age (old men and young men, 2:28), gender (sons and daughters, 2:28), social class (male and female servants,
2:29) will be swept away in this common spiritual endowment'. 460
To conclude, the religious office of prophetess was open to biblical women. Although male prophets occur more often than female
prophets, they were equally respected or disrespected, as in the case
of Noadiah and the prophetesses of Ezek. 13:17-23.461 As Phyllis Bird
notes, the office of prophet stands in an ambiguous relationship to the
cultus in biblical Israel:
W h a t e v e r t h e role of t h e p r o p h e t w i t h i n t h e cultus, it was clearly not a
priestly office. Since r e c r u i t m e n t was by divine designation (charismatic
gift) a n d n o t d e p e n d e n t u p o n family or s t a t u s , it was t h e one religious
office w i t h b r o a d power t h a t was n o t m e d i a t e d or directly controlled
by t h e cultic or civil hierarchy a n d t h e one religious office o p e n t o
women.462
Meilenstein: Festgabe fr Herbert Donner zum 16. Februar 1995 (AT, 30), Wiesbaden 1995, 240.
457
Rterswrden, 'Die Prophetin Hulda', 241-2.
458
Brenner, The Israelite Woman, 60-1.
459
Eskenazi, 'Out from the Shadows', 41.
460
B. Glazier-McDonald, 'Joel', in: C.A. Newsom, S.H. Ringe (eds), The
Women's Bible Commentary, London 2 1998, 217.
461
Pace S. Ackerman, 'Why is Miriam also among the Prophets? (And is Zipporah among the Priests?)', JBL 121 (2002), 47-80, who assumes the role of female
prophets is regarded as 'exceptional rather than acceptable within Israelite religion' (51).
462
P.A. Bird, 'The Place of Women in the Israelite Cultus', in: P.D. Miller et al.
(eds), Ancient Israelite Religion: Essays in Honor of Frank Moore Cross, Philadelphia 1987, 407.

But although the office was open to women, female prophets are attested less than males. The reason for this is the conflict of duty that
most women experienced. Their primary vocation was to be a wife
and mother. 'Women prophets probably exercised their charismatic
vocation alongside their family responsibilities or after their childrearing duties were past'. 4 6 3 In this respect it is noteworthy that the
only biblical prophetess who is referred to as a mother, the spouse of
Isaiah, does not speak any prophecy but partakes in a sign-act (Isa.
8:3). 464
Whether the women who served at the entrance of the Tent of
Meeting (Exod. 38:8; 1 Sam. 2:22) were regarded as cultic officiants is
not clear. Their service could either have been cultic or menial. Some
scholars have suggested they were singers or dancers in the cult, while
others assumed they were housekeepers or cleaners. 465 It has also been
proposed that the women may have dedicated their life to the deity. 466
And although in the past some have proposed the women may have
been cultic prostitutes, this suggestion is now generally rejected. 467
The service of the women is described using the verb , which is
also used in Num. 4:23; 8:24 for the service the Levites had to perform.
Furthermore, it 'refers to service at the sanctuary that was done by
463

Bird, 'The Place of Women in the Israelite Cultus', 407.

Some scholars assume this woman was not a prophetess in her own right, but
the wife of a prophet, viz. Mrs. Isaiah. Cf., e.g., S. Ackerman, 'Isaiah', in: C.A.
Newsom, S.H. Ringe (eds), The Women's Bible Commentary, London 21998, 173;
A. Brenner, 'Introduction', in: Idem (ed.), A Feminist Companion to the Latter
Prophets (FCB, 8), Sheffield 1995, 21. Others, however, do regard the woman as
a prophetess in her own right. Cf., e.g., A. Jepsen, 'Die Nebiah in Jes 8 3', ZAW
72 (1960), 267-8; J.D.W. Watts, Isaiah 1-33 (WBC, 24), Waco TX 1985, 113; J.
Blenkinsopp, Isaiah 1-39 (AncB, 19), New York 2000, 238.
465
For an overview of the various interpretations, cf. J.I. Durham, Exodus (WBC,
3), Waco TX 1987, 487; C. Houtman, Exodus, vol. 3, (HCOT), Leuven 2000, 56972. See further M.-Th. Wacker, ' "Religionsgeschichte Israels" oder "Theologie
des Alten Testaments" - (k)eine Alternative?: Anmerkungen aus feministischexegetischer Sicht', JBTh 10 (1995), 142-55.
466
Houtman, Exodus, vol. 3, 572.
467
Houtman, Exodus, vol. 3, 572. Recently, however, Edward Greenstein has
explained Exod. 38:8 by relating it to 1 Sam. 2:22 and Num. 17. According to
him, the mirrors used to make the bronze basin (Exod. 38:8) 'were confiscated
from the women who served at the entrance as a penalty for some infraction of
the cultic rules' (172). The kind of crime these women had committed he infers
from 1 Sam. 2:22: 'There had been some sort of fornication between them and
some of the priests' (173). Cf. E.L. Greenstein, 'Recovering "The Women Who
Served at the Entrance" ', in: G. Galil, M. Weinfeld (eds), Studies in Historical
Geography and Biblical Historiography: Presented to Zecharia Kallai (VT.S, 81),
Leiden 2000, 165-73.
464

groups of people'. 468 Based on the use of the verb the women may
have been religious officiants of a lower cultic rank. It would seem that
such a service still existed in the pre-monarchic period.
Although many scholars 469 hold that there was no hieros gamos
in Israel, some of their colleagues, influenced by the study of sacred
marriage texts in Mesopotamia, do suggest that a certain form of
sacred marriage rite was celebrated in Israel, too. They think the
Song of Songs reflects a liturgical setting for this rite. Whereas in the
first part of the twentieth century CE emphasis was put on the parallels between Song of Songs and the Akkadian Ishtar-and-Tammuz
myth, 4 7 0 this gradually shifted to a comparison with the Sumerian
sacred marriage songs of Inanna and Dumuzi. 471
It seems very unlikely that the Song of Songs would have had its
life-setting within the liturgy of the sacred marriage or that this rite
would have been performed within Israel's cult. There are similarities
between sacred marriage songs and the Song of Songs 'in some of the
ways they express love and desire, the nature motifs, the invitation
to the garden, the praise of the beloved's sweetness, and the brothersister address'. 472 However, the literary parallels that scholars refer to
are very general ones 473 and the differences are very signifcant.
Michael Fox objects to the theory of Song of Songs being a reworked sacred marriage liturgy. There are profound differences between sacred marriage texts and the Song of Songs:
468

Houtman, Exodus, vol. 3, 572.

E.g., Ph. Trible, 'Depatriarchalizing in Biblical Interpretation 1 , JAAR 41
(1973), 31-2; S. Ackerman, 'The Queen Mother and the Cult in Ancient Israel',
JBL 112 (1993), 387.
470
E.g., Th.J. Meek, 'Canticles and the Tammuz Cult', AJSL 39 (1922/23), 114; Idem, 'Babylonian Parallels to the Song of Songs', JBL 43 (1924), 245-52;
Idem, 'The Song of Songs and the Fertility Cult', in: W.H. Schoif (ed.), The Song
of Songs: A Symposium, Philadelphia 1924, 48-79; H. Schmkel, Heilige Hochzeit
und Hoheslied (AKM, 32/1), Wiesbaden 1956.
For an overview of scholars who related the interpretation of Song of Songs to
the Ishtar-Tammuz cult and for arguments against this theory, cf. H.H. Rowley,
'The Interpretation of the Song of Songs', in: Idem, The Servant of the Lord: and
other Essays on the Old Testament, 2nd rev. ed., Oxford 1965, 223-42; M.H. Pope,
Song of Songs: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary (AncB,
7C), Garden City NY 1977, 145-53.
471
E.g., S.N. Kramer, The Sacred Marriage Rite: Aspects of Faith, Myth, and
Ritual in Ancient Sumer, Bloomington IN 1969, 85-106.
472
M.V. Fox, The Song of Songs and the Ancient Egyptian Love Songs, Madison
WI 1985, 242.
473
Cf. Rowley, 'The Interpretation of the Song of Songs', 234-8, 241-2; J.B.
White, A Study of the Language of Love in the Song of Songs and Ancient Egyptian Poetry (SBL.DS, 38), Missoula MT 1978, 24.
469

Most significantly, the Song never alludes to a myth or ritual, while the
Sacred Marriage texts consistently do so. The Song makes no attempt
to effect universal fertility and well-being, as does the Sacred Marriage.
The Song never speaks of the invigoration of nature in terms of resurrection from death (as do the Tammuz litanies), nor does it present it as
an event in doubt whose realization requires divine intervention. When
the land in the Song blossoms, it does so in a natural and expected
process. Canticles, like the Egyptian love songs and unlike the Sacred
Marriage liturgies, is not interested in woman's fertility. Even when
describing the land's blossoming, the Song emphasizes not fecundity
but beauty. Sexuality in the Song is a human desire and a bond between
two individuals, not the source of universal plenitude. 474
The way in which the Song of Songs and the sacred marriage texts
speak about sexuality differs greatly. Whereas the Song of Songs is
more implicit and gentle in its erotic language, the Mesopotamian
texts display an explicit sexuality which is at times quite bold. 475
Yet the most important difference seems to be the life-setting of
the texts. White notes that if the Song of Songs were a liturgical
text and was part of the sacred marriage ritual, the ritual itself would
have to be accepted into the official cult, otherwise the text would not
have become canonical. 476 But nowhere in the Bible do we hear of this
rite, 'though ritual copulation between a king and a priestess of Astarte would hardly have escaped the prophets' notice'. 477 The sacred
marriage texts, on the other hand, reflect a life-setting that approves
of cultic sexuality as an expression of (the request for) fertility and
fecundity.
In biblical Israel the performance of cultic sexuality would not be
tolerated. In the discussion on the exclusion of women from the priesthood in Israel I already referred to the special character of Y H W H ' S

474

Fox, The Song of Songs and Ancient Egyptian Love Songs, 242.
White, A Study of the Language of Love in the Song of Songs and Ancient
Egyptian Poetry, 24; Fox, The Song of Songs and Ancient Egyptian Love Songs,
242.
476
White, A Study of the Language of Love in the Song of Songs and Ancient
Egyptian Poetry, 24.
477
Fox, The Song of Songs and Ancient Egyptian Love Songs, 242-3. 'It is curious
that although no one (so far as I know) has argued that love songs are a liturgy
for a divine marriage ritual in Egypt, where such a ritual would be a legitimate
expression of mythology, many scholars have argued that similar love songs served
just t h a t purpose in Israel, where such a ritual would be totally incompatable with
the attitudes toward religious activity reflected in the other religious literature
t h a t has survived from that culture' (239).
475

gender. He is never attributed with male genitals. 478 Whereas deities

in the mythology of neighbouring countries may be portrayed as a
sexual partner, this never happens with YHWH. It cannot be excluded
that Asherah played a role as consort of Y H W H in the Israelite cult
during certain periods. Yet she, like her Ugaritic counterpart, was regarded as an older goddess with motherly qualities, not as a young,
nubile goddess. As such, she would not have been a candidate for the
sacred marriage ritual.
The biblical prophets did not object to a sacred marriage rite in
which a king and a priestess performed a ritual marriage. What the
prophets did object to were the rites to mourn Tammuz (Ezek. 8:14).
Clearly Tammuz was worshipped in the Jerusalemite cult at least
for a certain period. Probably the dirges for Tammuz were known
in Israel and some form of the Ishtar-Tammuz myth played a role.
Its motifs and language may have somewhat influenced the Song of
Songs, but, as White and Fox have shown, the Egyptian love poetry is
closer in character to the Song of Songs than the Mesopotamian sacred
marriage texts. 479 The interpretation of the Song of Songs as a text
that deals with human sexual love, i.e., a naturalistic interpretation,
is therefore preferred and nowadays most widely accepted.
Although there are some traces of women acting as cultic functionaries in what may have been a priestly capacity - Miriam, Zipporah, Maacah, the women at the tent of meeting - no Israelite queen
or princess participated as an officiant in the cult, according to the
Hebrew Bible. Expiation rituals such as mentioned in the Ugaritic
text KTU 1.40, for instance, also occurred in biblical Israel, the most
striking parallel being Lev. 16.480 However, in this text no special role
is mentioned for either the king or the queen. Yet on the other hand,
like their Ugaritic sisters, Israelite queens in the pre-Josianic period
may have played a certain role in the cult. 481 In Israel, too, the queen
or the queen mother may have been present as a spectator or perhaps
even fulfilled some cultic functions. The Hebrew Bible records a cultic
role for the king in the early days of the monarchy. It is silent on that
of the queen, a silence that either may reflect her historical absence
or concealment of her cultic role.
478

Korpel, RiC, 125.

White, A Study of the Language of Love in the Song of Songs and Ancient
Egyptian Poetry, Fox, The Song of Songs and Ancient Egyptian Love Songs.
480
Cf. J.C. de Moor, P. Sanders, 'An Ugaritic Expiation Ritual and its Old
Testament Parallels', UF 23 (1991), 295-6.
481
Cf. M. Dietrich, . Loretz, 'Jahwe und seine Aschera':
Anthropomorphes
Kultbild in Mesopotamien,
Ugarit und Israel: Das biblische Bilderverbot (UBL,
9), Mnster 1992, 123.
479

D . CONCLUSIONS

All countries of the ancient Near East shared the belief that one had
to be pure to approach a deity. Genital discharges were regarded as a
source of impurity in all societies we have encountered. With regard
to women, their vaginal discharge was considered impure in Egypt,
Mesopotamia and Israel. A menstruant and a parturient could contaminate others and the aforementioned societies had certain rules in
order to counter this danger. Although we have no texts from Ugarit
dealing with the cultic impurity of women, we may assume that here,
too, women having vaginal discharges were regarded as impure, for
Ugaritic texts also express the necessity of being pure when appearing
before the gods.
Biblical scholars have assumed that Israelite women were considered impure for about one quarter of their life, which would contribute to their unfitness for the priesthood. Yet, as we have seen, this
period probably was shorter due to the infrequency of menstruation
and breastfeeding practices. Furthermore, strict rules with regard to
women's purity implied their participation in the cult. 482
We have discussed some of the major priestly functions of women
in Mesopotamia and Egypt. Although various high-ranking priestesses
played an important role before the second half of the second millennium BCE, it is remarkable that in Mesopotamia after the Old
Babylonian period as well as in Egypt from the New Kingdom period
on, the role of women in priestly functions diminished. The e n / n t u
and the nin-dingir, as well as the naditu, largely disappeared from the
Mesopotamian scene. In the Hittite Kingdom, however, the tawananna
still held an important position as high priestess of the chief goddess
of the pantheon, while ntus functioned as priestesses. The sacerdotal duty of the nin-dingir in thirteenth-century Emar is questioned
by some. The situation in Egypt resembled that of Mesopotamia. In
New Kingdom Egypt, women were excluded from the priesthood due
to its professionalization. What remained were supportive roles for
women. The only exception was the God's Wife of Amun. Although
at first a wife of the king could also fulfill this function, in later times
the God's Wife was an unmarried daughter of the king. She was an
important power beside the king, who generally did not pose a threat
to him due to her unmarried state. In Mesopotamia, too, it was only
royal women who sometimes acted as priestess during the first millennium BCE. It would seem that from the third to the first millennium,
royal or high-born women in high-ranking priestly functions were,
482

On women as worshippers in the cult, see section 3.2.

despite the authority of their office, an instrument used by the king

to achieve or consolidate his power.
Both in Ugarit and Israel the priesthood was predominantly male.
In Ugarit, the queen played a role in the cult. Possibly princesses also
performed certain rites. Although the queen also may have played a
role in the cult of pre-Josianic Israel, this cannot, or perhaps, can no
longer be determined on the basis of the Hebrew Bible and its silence
in this regard.
There is no evidence of cultic prostitution in the ancient Near
East. Akk. qaditu and its cognate Heb. should not be translated 'cultic prostitute' or 'hierodule'. Neither is the Ug. qd involved
in cultic prostitution. The Mesopotamian qaditu was a cultic functionary, whose status probably devalued over time. As a votary of a
god or goddess, she could play a role in the cult. She also is associated
with midwifery and childbirth. Some qaditus were contracted as wet
nurses. In the first millennium BCE she was associated with sorcery
and witchcraft. At Ugarit no qdst is attested, but her male counterpart was a cantor, a purifier or some sort of diviner. The biblical
was a member of a cult-related class of female functionaries, who were
associated with outlying sanctuaries in pre-Josianic times.
With regard to the sacred marriage rite, it seems that this rite
was carnally performed in third millennium Mesopotamia, while later
it was acted out symbolically. Ugaritic religion probably did re-enact
a sacred marriage rite, but it cannot be determined whether a female
cultic functionary played any role in it. I regard it as unlikely that the
rite would have been performed in the cult of biblical Israel. The Song
of Songs should not be interpreted as reflecting a liturgical setting for
the sacred marriage rite.
Both in Mesopotamia and Egypt, singers, musicians and dancers
were part of the cultic personnel. They were of a lower status than
the priests. The Ugaritic texts mention singers and musicians. The
goddess 'Anatu in her capacity of singer and musician may represent
women performing these arts in the cult. Also in biblical Israel, female
singers, musicians and dancers performed in a cultic context. Their
activities, however, may have been limited to the pre-monarchic and
early monarchic period.
Men as well as women mourned a deceased relative or friend, and
both could function as professional mourners. However, women more
often than men are referred to as specialized mourners and singers
of dirges. This is evident from the Ugaritic and Israelite material, as
well as from Egypt and Mesopotamia.
Malevolent magic or sorcery was forbidden in Mesopotamia and

Hatti. It was regarded as a specifically female activity. In the Hebrew

Bible sorcery is condemned as not being in accordance with the proper
worship of YHWH. The tendency to regard sorcery as a specifically
female activity is also present in the Bible.
With regard to defensive magic, a certain gender distinction seems
to have existed in Mesopotamia. Divination and exorcism were regarded as male professions, while dream interpretation was a female
sphere which could be exercised outside the context of the cult. Although in the Ugaritic texts both males and females perform magic,
divination seems to have been a male sphere in Ugarit, too. The
Hebrew Bible also attests both men and women who perform magic.
Necromancy seems to have been a male activity at Ugarit, whereas female necromancers occur in Mesopotamia and biblical Israel (1 Sam.
28; Ezek. 13:17-23).
In Egypt, no prophecy occurred in the sense of inspired speech
at the initiative of divine power. Oracular consultation did exist,
but is regarded by scholars as a form of divination. During the Old
Kingdom women from all strata of society could function as a priestess/prophetess (hm.t-ntr), but in later times only women of high birth
could hold such a position. We have no information on the occurence
of prophecy in Ugarit.
In Mesopotamia and biblical Israel prophecy did occur and played
a considerable role in religious life. Prophets held religious functions
alongside priests. Both professionals and lay persons could act as
prophets. At Old-Babylonian Mari and Neo-Assyrian Nineveh, professional prophetesses were attached to sanctuaries, probably as cultic
functionaries. Lay women from both places furthermore delivered inspired messages. At Mari, prophecy was held in lower esteem than
extispicy, which was regarded as a more rational way of becoming
informed on the will of the gods. It seems that in the Neo-Assyrian
period prophecy was held in higher esteem compared to Old-BabyIonian Mari. Moreover, the percentage of professional prophetesses at
Nineveh is much higher than at Mari (66 and 20 percent respectively).
In the Hebrew Bible, prophecy WEIS valued highly. Female prophets,
although few in number, occurred in all periods of Israelite history.
Some of them were possibly connected with the temple (Huldah, Noadiah).
Little is known about women performing ancillary functions in the
cult. In Mesopotamia and biblical Israel, women wove garments for
cultic use. In Ugarit, women possibly drew water which was used in
the cult.
The exclusion of women from the priesthood in biblical Israel is

often related to the biblical view on women's impurity. This may have
been of some influence, as probably was the professionalization of the
priesthood in relation to the centralization of the cult. But what was
most important was the danger priestesses could form as potential
'wives' of the deity. I have discussed the priestesses in Egypt and
Mesopotamia who were regarded as having some kind of marital relationship with the deity. They were considered as being the 'wife' of a
god, whether their marriage was a symbolically or carnally performed
rite. In monotheistic Yahwism, such a concept could not be tolerated,
and therefore, priestesses could not be tolerated in the cult of biblical
Israel.

3.2 Women as Worshippers

Beside the various areas in which women functioned as religious specialists, they also participated in various religious practices as worshippers. Yet since our sources are androcentric in scopus, our textual
evidence on women as worshippers in religious practices is mostly insufficient to draw firm conclusions. The participation of women as
worshippers is often hidden behind generic male language. Moreover,
their expressions of belief were recorded less often than that of men,
both in text and iconography. For instance, with regard to religious
ritual in Egypt, Gay Robins notes that the role of women may have
been more active than is shown in temple scenes and tomb imagery:
. . . on private stelae and votive cloths, women m a y be shown directly
before a deity, often H a t h o r , without t h e male intermediary found in
t h e tombs. T h i s m a y indicate t h a t t h e y had a more active p a r t in
private cult t h a n t h e t o m b scenes reveal, suggesting t h a t such a role
was regarded as irrelevant t o t h e female image presented in t h e male
world of t h e t o m b owner. 1

Still, we do have some data on women as worshippers. One of the

religious practices in which women were active as worshippers was
prayer. W h a t did women pray for?
Another religious practice was making vows.2 In the context of
biblical studies, a vow is defined as a plea for divine action (the protasis - if God . . . ), followed by a conditional promise of the worship1

G. Robins, 'Some Images of Women in New Kingdom Art and Literature', in:
WER, 108.
2
One should distinguish between a vow, an oath and a curse; cf. T.W. Cartledge, Vows in the Hebrew Bible and the Ancient Near East (JSOT.S, 147),
Sheffield 1992, 11-8.

per's response (the apodosis - then I will . . . ). 3 Did women have the
same possibilities in making vows as men? What is known about the
content and the fulfilment of vows?
One could fulfil a vow by bringing an offering. What can be known
further about the offering practice of women? Did they bring offerings
themselves, or did they have to leave this to their husbands or fathers?
Another area of religious life in which women participated was the
ancestor cult. Who were these ancestors? The deceased fathers of the
family? Or were deceased mothers also included in the cult? And who
fulfilled the cultic tasks towards the deceased ancestors? Did women
have equal authority to perform the rites, or were they only supposed
to act in the ancestor cult in the absence of men?
Festivals also were part of religious life. What can be known about
the participation of women in religious festivals? Did they participate
in sacrifical meals? Did they attend cultic gatherings?
In the Hebrew Bible, some heterodox cultic practices are described,
in which women played a prominent role. We will examine the wailing
for Dumuzi/Tammuz and the veneration of the Queen of Heaven and
discuss the assumption, voiced by some, that women were more prone
to idolatry than men.
A . ANCIENT NEAR EAST

Images of female worshippers, among them praying women, have been

found in Mesopotamia which are dated as early as the beginning of the
third millennium B C E . 4 In later periods such representations become
less frequent. Women worshipped their deities primarily by praying
to them. These prayers could be expressions of lament, petitions for
beneficiary acts from the god or goddess, requests for intercession,
and expressions of praise and thanksgiving. 5
3

Cartledge, Vows in the Hebrew Bible, 16-7.

E. Strommenger, M. Hirmer, Fnf Jahrtausende Mesopotamien: Die Kunst
von den Anfngen um 5000 v. Chr. bis zu Alexander dem Groen, Mnchen 1962,
Abb. 51-61, 106-107, 110-111.
5
O n prayer in the ancient Near East, cf. P.D. Miller, They Cried to the Lord:
The Form and Theology of Biblical Prayer, Minneapolis MN 1994, 5-31.
It often is difficult to distinguish between hymn, prayer and incantation. Generally a prayer contains elements of a hymn, exaltating a deity. Prayers can occur as
part of another type of text, such as an incantation or a ritual. Cf. . Falkenstein,
W. von Soden, Sumerische und Akkadische Hymnen und Gebete (BAW.AO),
Zrich 1953; E.S. Gerstenberger, Der bittende Mensch: Bittritual und Klagelied
des Einzelnen im Alten Testament (WMANT, 51), Neukirchen-Vluyn 1980, 74-7;
W.W. Hallo, 'Lamentations and Prayers in Sumer and Akkad', in: CANE, vol. 3,
1871-81 (1878); J. de Roos, 'Hittite Prayers', in: CANE, vol. 3, 1997; J. Assmann,
gyptische Hymnen und Gebete (OBO), Freiburg, Schweiz 2 1999.
4

One of the moments that women would cry out to the gods for
help was at childbirth. Thus, Marduk is asked in various prayers for
the well-being of both a mother and her unborn child. 6 These prayers
probably were said by midwives and other women assisting at the
birth.
The gods could also be called upon for the well-being of the king
or another influential person. At Mari, women more frequently than
men, are observed to pray for others. 7
But women would also pray for their own well-being. At the beginning of the second millennium, Mesopotamian women could express
their prayers in letters. 8 One of these so-called letter-prayers was written by a woman named Inannakam and addressed to the goddess
Nintinugga. In her prayer she voiced her difficult personal situation
and asked the goddess for help. 9
Many hymns and prayers were written in the first person and
could have been expressed by a man as well as a woman. Sometimes
the content of the prayer makes it clear whether the person praying
is male or female. 10
Also from Egypt we have a few examples of prayers by women.
One of them is a prayer by a woman called Buchanefptah:
Lobpreis deinem Ka, NEBETHETEPET!
Die Erde kssen vor der Herrin der beiden Lnder.
Ich spende Lob deinem schnen Angesicht,
ich besnftige deinen Ka Tag fr Tag.
Sei mir gndig, und ich will deine Strke verknden
allen, die dich nicht kennen und die dich kennen!
Ich will gehen fr dich zu jedermann im Hausgesinde,
Mnnern wie Frauen, und sagen:
"Gndig war mir PIPI, die Liebliche, denn sie ist besnftigt!"
Die Herrin des Hauses Buchanefpthah, gerechtfertigt,
sagt: "Eine jede, die dir folgt, die ist in Freuden.
Kein bel kommt ber sie
6

M . Stol, Birth in Babylonia and the Bible: Its Mediterranean Setting (CM,
14), Groningen 2000, 133-4.
7
.F. Batto, Studies on Women at Man, Baltimore 1974, 129-32.
8
W . W . Hallo, 'Individual Prayer in Sumerian: The Continuity of a Tradition',
JAOS 88 (1968), 71-89.
9
Falkenstein, Von Soden, Sumerische und Akkadische Hymnen und Gebete,
218-9.
10
Cf., e.g., R.D. Biggs, .ZI.GA: Ancient Mesopotamian Potency
Incantations
(TCS, 2), Locust Valley NY 1967, 44-5.

fr Kinder und Kindeskinder". 11

After an introduction in which she praises her goddess, Buchanefpthah asks for the deity's mercy. She vows to proclaim the strength
of the goddess to everyone of her household.
In the Hittite prayer KBo IV 6 the goddess Lelwani, an nether
world deity, is begged to restore the health of queen Gassuliyawiya,
the wife of king Murshili II, who had become seriously ill. The goddess
was offered various female animals as a substitute. If Lelwani would
take the illness away and make Gassuliyawiya healthy again, the latter
would praise the goddess time and again. Unfortunately, the queen
died. 12
Vows were often expressed in the context of prayer. In Mesopotamia, making vows was a common practice in which both men and
women engaged. No restrictions have been found on women making
vows while under the authority of a man. Prior to and during the
Old Babylonian period, vows were written on momumental inscriptions and in letter-prayers. In the letter-prayer of Inannakam to the
goddess Nintinugga, the former vowed to the goddess:
Wenn sie wahrhaft meine himmlische Herrin ist,
den Azag-Dmon, der in meinem Leibe ist, aus meinem Leibe herausreit
und ich meinen Fu (wieder) auf den Boden des Lebens setze,
dann will ich ihre Sklavin sein,
will ihr ihr Haus [bauen], will vor ihr dienen,
und wenn ich Gnade finde, werde ich meiner Herrin Namen 'die dem
Bedrngten hilft' nennen!13
Inannakam was probably quite wealthy, since she not only promised to
serve the deity and (publicly) praise her, but also vowed to build her
a temple. In Mesopotamia, the temple was the place where payment
to the god occurred, be it in the form of offerings, i.e., silver or goods,
or in public praise.
Vows are recorded in various types of Assyro-Babylonian literature, such as temple records, formal prayers, omen literature and
11

Assmann, gyptische Hymnen und Gebete, 387-8 (no. 161).

J. Tischler, Das hethitische Gebet der Gassulijawija: Text, bersetzung, Kommentar (Innsbrucker Beitrge zur Sprachwissenschaft, 37), Innsbruck 1981; H.A.
Hoffner, review of Tischler, Das hethitische Gebet der Gassulijawija, in: JNES 44
(1985), 156-9; T. Bryce, The Kingdom of the Hittites, Oxford 1998, 227.
13
Falkenstein, Von Soden, Sumerische und Akkadische Hymnen und Gebete,
218-9. See also Cartledge, Vows in the Hebrew Bible, 75.
12

building inscriptions. 14 Not fulfilling one's vows angered the gods and
led to trouble. If one had made a vow and pledged to offer money or
goods (ikrib)15 to a deity in return for the favour, it was considered
the deity's property which could not be withheld. Those who did not
fulfil their vow could be visited with divine wrath. The wrath of a
god could also cause the suffering of another person related to the
vow-maker. The correspondence between two women, Tarish-matum
and Belatum, and a man named Pushu-ken, demonstrates this. One
of the women was ill, or possibly they both were. They had learned
from a a 'iltu priestess that the sickness which threatened both them
and their family was caused by the wrath of a god. Their father had
made a vow and Pushu-ken should have paid the silver of the ikrib,
which up until then was held back. They urged Pushu-ken not to
delay payment any longer since their lives were at stake. 16
It was thus considered very important that vows were fulfilled, for
failing to do so caused all sorts of harm. Infant diseases, for instance,
could be diagnosed as caused by an unpaid vow. Prior to the birth of
the baby, its parents may have made a vow which they had failed to
fulfil. Because of the disdain a barren woman was held in, she was,
according to Karel van der Toorn, 'the most likely of the couple to
have committed herself by a vow'. 17
With regard to Egypt, there is little evidence of vow-making in
the literature of the Old and Middle Kingdom, but a votive stela
from Deir el-Medina offers a clear example. 18 Based on the textual
material, it would seem that making vows, in the sense of conditional
promises to deities, played only a small role in Egyptian religious
life. Tony Cartledge offers an explanation for this in the nature of
Egyptian religion:
Those who were most able to commission the inscriptions which have
come down to us were generally royalty, and thus thought to partake of the divine themselves. They were especially interested in selfjustification; and through the construction and equipping of their elaborate tombs, they tended to take matters more into their own hands
rather than pleading with the gods. Where we do find glimpses of per14

Cf. Cartledge, Vows in the Hebrew Bible, 77-91.

CAD (I/J), 62-6.
16
Cartledge, Vows in the Hebrew Bible, 88-9.
17
K. van der Toorn, 'Female Prostitution in Payment of Vows in Ancient Israel',
JBL 108 (1989), 195.
18
Berlin 20377; cf. ANET, 380-1; Assmann, gyptische Hymnen und Gebete,
371-5; M. Lichtheim, Ancient Egyptian Literature: A Book of Readings, vol. 2,
Berkeley 1976, 105-7; Cartledge, Vows in the Hebrew Bible, 95.
i5

sonal religion expressed in times of distress (as in t h e psalms of lament),

or expressed a m o n g t h e poorer classes (as at Deir el-Medineh), t h e r e
is much more evidence of vow-making, suggesting t h a t t h e practice
m a y have been more widespread in popular piety t h a n t h e e x t a n t t e x t s
reveal. 1 9

Thus, vow-making in particular seems to have been a religious practice

of non-royalty. The vow of Buchanefpthah, mentioned above, is an
expression of the personal religion of a non-royal woman.
In Hatti, most evidence on vow-making comes through royal personages, but the common people also made vows. A well-known example of a vow by a royal woman is the vow of Puduhepa expressed in
a prayer to a number of gods regarding the health of her husband, Hattushili ill. 20 To the goddess Lelwani, for example, she vowed to give a
life-size silver statue of her husband. Other gods were also promised
valuable objects in return for life and long years for Hattushili.
Making vows was thus a widespread religious practice, which occurred in Mesopotamia, Egypt and Hatti, and also in other ancient
Near Eastern cultures. 21 Vows generally were made in a situation
of distress (e.g., illness, barrenness) and could be payed by material
goods or praise. It may be assumed that the wealthier one was, the
more one could promise a deity in return for a favour.
Women brought offerings in fulfilment of their vow, but also in
other situations. They would go to sanctuaries to offer to deities
who could help them with their specific problems. 22 These sanctuaries
could be small local shrines, but women also went to larger temples.
And although men generally were responsible for the ancestor cult
and brought the offerings, women could also fulfil this task.
In Mesopotamia, Egypt and Hatti deceased family members were
commemorated in a cultic context. Most information on the cult of
the dead concerns royal ancestors, but non-royal people also venerated
their dead. 23
19

Cartledge, Vows in the Hebrew Bible, 99.

KUB XXI 27; cf. ANET, 393-4; Cartledge, Vows in the Hebrew Bible, 102-3;
De Roos, 'Hittite Prayers', 2004-5.
21
Cartledge, Vows in the Hebrew Bible, 122-33.
22
Cf. W.H.Ph. Rmer, Frauenbriefe ber Religion, Politik und Privatleben in
Mri: Untersuchungen zu G. Dossin, Archives Royales de Mari X (Paris 1967)
(AOAT, 12), Kevelaer & Neukirchen-Vluyn 1971, 30-2; Batto, Studies on Women
at Mari, 128-9; J.M. Asher-Greve, Frauen in altsumerischer Zeit (Bibliotheca
Mesopotamica, 18), Malibu CA 1985, 18, 111-4; Van der Toorn, Cradle, 95-6.
23
On the royal ancestor cult, cf. W.W. Hallo, 'Royal Ancestor Worship in the
Biblical World', in: M. Fishbane, . (eds), 'Sha'arei Talmon': Studies in the
Bible, Qumran, and the Ancient Near East Presented to Shemaryahu
Talmon,
20

In Mesopotamia, deceased family members were regarded as being

involved in the lives of the living. The ancestors who had died were
believed to dwell in the nether world, where they belonged to the
realm of the gods and acted as tutelary spirits. 'The tutelage of the
ancestors was regarded as a safeguard of the integrity of the family
or clan'. 24 The ancestors were invoked to bless the family. When the
family's integrity was threatened, for instance in the case of infertility,
the ancestors were called upon.
One had to take proper care of one's ancestors. The eldest son generally held the main responsibility for the cult of the dead as caretaker
(pqidu). He had to bring a daily offering (kispu) of some flour and
water to the ancestors. 25 These daily rites, conducted in the house
of the family, were quite informal. 26 The ancestors could be buried
within the family house or at a cemetery. In the latter case, they
could be present in the form of a statuette. Beside the daily offerings,
the head of the family had to present a full meal to the ancestors on a
monthly basis. In Babylonia, the monthly kispu was offered at the end
of the month. Presumably all living family members 'were assumed
to participate, if not in person, then at least by making a material
contribution'. 2 7 Finally, once a year in the month Abu a kind of All
Soul's Day was celebrated.
Even more important than the food offerings, so it seems, was the
invocation of the name of the dead (umam zakru). By commmorting their name, the identity of the deceased ancestors was preserved,
while the identity of the living was anchored in the past. 28 The one
who invoked the names was generally the eldest son. With regard to
his authority, Karel van der Toorn notes:
Since t h e son did not receive his a u t h o r i t y by delegation f r o m t h e ruled,
b u t by transmission and assumed devolution f r o m the ancestors, his
leadership in t h e cult of t h e ancestors h a d t h e a t t e n d a n t effect of legit-

Winona Lake IN 1992, 381-401. On the ancestor cult in Babylonia, cf. . van der
Toorn, Family Religion in Babylonia, Syria and Israel: Continuity and Change in
the Forms of Religious Life (SHCANE, 7), Leiden 1996, 42-65. On the cult of the
dead in Egypt, cf. J. Assmann, 'Totenkult, Totenglauben', in: L, Bd. 6, 659-76;
L.H. Lesko, 'Death and the Afterlife in Ancient Egyptian Thought', in: CANE,
vol. 3, 1763-74.
24
Van der Toorn, Family Religion, 62.
25
On the kispu, cf. A. Tsukimoto, Untersuchungen zur Totenpflege (kispum) im
alten Mesopotamien (AOAT, 216), Kevelaer L Neukirchen-Vluyn 1985.
26
Van der Toorn, Family Religion, 49, 58, 60.
27
Van der Toorn, Family Religion, 50.
28
Van der Toorn, Family Religion, 52.

imizing his position. Only rarely did a daughter achieve this position. 2 9

The importance of the person responsible for the ancestor cult is

further illustrated by the inscription of Adad-guppi, mother of king
Nabonidus of Babylon (556-539 BCE).30 She reported that she had introduced her son, Nabonidus, to the kings Nebuchadnezzar and Neriglissar and that these kings had treated her as if she were their own
daughter. After their death she had regularly brought them kispu
offerings, which their own children had not done. Akio Tsukimoto
doubts whether she actually did so, and assumes she mentioned it to
legitimize her son's succession to the throne:
D a r b e r hinaus kann m a n auch d a r a n zweifeln, ob sie wrtlich dauernd die "Totenpflege" fr die kniglichen Vorfahren Ihres Sohnes leistete. Dadurch, da die M u t t e r Nabonids diese Erbkindespflicht wahrnahm, wurde vor allem die Thronbesteigung Nabonids gerechtfertigt,
eine Notwendigkeit, weil Nabonid kein Knigssohn war. Wir mssen
annehmen, da die "Totenpflege" als Pflicht und auch als Recht des
Erbkindes eine so wichtige Rolle spielte, da m a n damit die gerechtfertigte Nachfolgeschaft b e h a u p t e n konnte. 3 1

Thus, it seems that taking responsibility for the ancestor cult, where
others failed, could make one a legitimate heir. 32
At Emar and Nuzi, women had to be formally endowed with male
gender in order to become legitimate heirs. As such they were responsible for the ancestor cult. Thus, a certain Lahteya adopted his
four stepdaughters as his 'sons', making them heirs with formal male
gender. He expressed the wish 'May they invoke the gods and dead
(ancestor)s of Lahteya, their father'. 3 3
Possibly women generally performed the cult of the dead for their
deceased female ancestors. A Middle Babylonian text which reads
29

Van der Toorn, Family Religion, 49.

On Adad-guppi, see also section 2.2.1.2.
31
Tsukimoto, Untersuchungen zur Totenpflege, 122-3.
32
Perhaps the reference on the stele of Idrimi of Alalakh (15th cent, BCE) to the
performance of the ancestor cult should also be seen in this light. Cf. M. Dietrich,
. Loretz, 'Die Inschrift der Statue des Knigs Idrimi von Alalah', UF 13 (1981),
206-7, 253.
33
J. Goodnick Westenholz, Cuneiform Inscriptions in the Collection of the Bible
Lands Museum Jerusalem. The Emar Tablets (CM, 13), Groningen 2000, 9-12
(no. 3). For an example of an Emarite wife given male and female status by
which she is made responsible for the ancestor cult, cf., e.g., G. Beckman, Texts
from the Vicinity of Emar: in the Collection of Jonathan Rosen (HANE/M, 2),
Padova 1996, no. RE 23. For examples from Nuzi, cf. . van der Toorn, 'Gods
and Ancestors in Emar and Nuzi\ ZA 84 (1994), 52-7.
30

'when f P N dies, f PN 2 , her (adopted) daughter, will libate water for

her', seems to suggest this. 34
It would seem that during all periods of Mesopotamian history,
with regard to the royal cult of the dead, not only the ancestors in the
male line, but also those in the female line were honoured. In thirdmillennium Mesopotamia, offerings to various deceased royal wives
and princesses are attested. 35 At Ebla, 'cult offerings to the principal
deceased ladies of the court' are found. 36 However, judging by the
terminology used in the ancestor cult of Ebla (dingir-a-mu, amu-amu), the male line seems to have been regarded as more important
than the female line. 37 In the royal ancestor cult of the Ur ill period,
departed kings as well as queens received offerings. 38
In later times, for instance, during the Neo-Assyrian period, female royal ancestors were also commemorated. The deceased wife of
the Neo-Assyrian king Esarhaddon was honoured with offerings and
believed to be involved in the life of the crown prince, Ashurbanipal. 39 Furthermore, a ritual Neo-Assyrian text contains the phrase
'they call up the (spirits of the former) queens, saying: Come, and
bury the queen, your daughter'. 40
With regard to non-royal persons, ancestral mothers may also have
been honoured together with the fathers. Yet their position was probably less prominent than that of deceased queens. In an Old BabyIonian prayer to the moon god Sin, who was regarded as a mediator
between the dead and the living, the names of men and women were
invoked. 41 In this text, which lists the ancestors of a certain Sin-nasir,
34

CAD (N) 1, 337.

J.-J. Glassner, 'Women, Hospitality and the Honor of the Family1, in: WER,

35

89.
36

A. Archi, 'The High Priestess, dam-dingir, at Ebla', in: M. Dietrich, I.

Kottsieper (eds); u. Mitw. v. H. Schaudig, "Und Mose schrieb dieses Lied auf":
Studien zum Alten Testament und zum Alten Orient, Fs. O. Loretz, (AOAT, 250),
Mnster 1998, 48.
37
P. Xella, 'Aspekte religiser Vorstellungen in Syrien nach den Ebla- und
Ugarit-Texten', UF 15 (1983), 288; Idem, "Tradition und Innovation: Bemerkungen zum Pantheon von Ebla', in: H. Waetzoldt, H. Hauptmann (eds), Wirtschaft
und Gesellschaft von Ebla: Akten der Internationalen Tagung Heidelberg 47.November 1986 (Heidelberger Studien zum Alten Orient, 2), Heidelberg 1988,
355.
38
Hallo, 'Royal Ancestor Worship in the Biblical World', 393.
39
Van der Toorn, Cradle, 139-40.
40
CAD (Q), 202; this reference was brought to my attention by T.J. Lewis,
Cults of the Dead in Ancient Israel and Ugarit (HSM, 39), Atlanta GA 1989, 121,
n. 56.
41
CBS 473 (BE 6/2, 111); cf. C. Wilcke, 'Nachlese zu A. Poebels Babylonian
Legal and Business Documents From the Time of the First Dynasty of Babylon

the names of forefathers of four generations are commemorated. 42 Of

the ancestral women, those who had become nadtus of Shamash as
well as Sin-nasir , s mother and grandmother are mentioned by name.
The other women, who were married to brothers of Sin-nasir's father
and grandfather, either are referred to as 'his wife', or go unmentioned. Sin-nasir's great-grandmother is also referred to as 'his wife'.
As we saw in section 3.1, the nadtus dedicated to Shamash were supposed to live a life of chastity and remain childless. 'Because their
integration into the household of their god was mainly symbolical,
they were the only female offspring to remain within the family' 4 3
The prayer to Sin reflects the importance attached to patrilineal
genealogy. The position of the ancestral mothers seems to have been
secondary to that of the fathers. At Emar, too, the deceased ancestors
in the male line seem to have been considered more important than
those in the female line. 44 On the other hand, with regard to the
cult of the dead, the ghosts of a person's father and mother are also
mentioned on a par: dingir abi, d innin m m ! . 4 5
In Egypt, also the dead were regarded as being involved in the
world of the living. Kings were believed to become deified upon their
death, while non-royal persons were also thought to have an afterlife.
The Egyptians believed that certain spiritual components of a person
survived physical death. 46 The dead needed to be cared for by burying
them and bringing them offerings of water and food. Thus it says in
Chiefly from Nippur (BE 6/2) Teil 1', ZA 73 (1983), 49-54; Van der Toorn, Family
Religion, 52-4.
42
According to Hallo, 'Royal Ancestor Worship in the Biblical World', 3878, who distinguishes between a cult of royal ancestors and a cult of non-royal
ancestors, the latter rarely went back more than two generations. He regards this
prayer to Sin as an exception.
43
Van der Toorn, Family Religion, 54. However, nadtus could also be honoured
at the gag they had entered. At Sippar the deceased nadtus were commemorated
during the yearly festival of sebt attim; cf. R. Harris, 'The nadtu Woman',
in: R.D. Briggs, J.A. Brinkman (eds), Studies Presented to A. Leo Oppenheim,
June 7, 1964, Chicago IL 1964, 113-4; Idem, 'Independent Women in Ancient
Mesopotamia?' in: WER, 154.
44
G. Beckman, 'Family Values on the Middle Euphrates in the Thirteenth Century B.C.E.' in: M.W. Chavalas (ed.), Emar: The History, Religion and Culture
of a Syrian Town in the Late Bronze Age, Bethesda MD 1996, 58. Cf. also D.E.
Fleming, The Installation of Baal's High Priestess at Emar: A Window on Ancient Syrian Religion (HSS, 42), Atlanta G A 1992, 295-301, who suggests that
the offerings to the ab on days 25 to 27 of the month Ab are dedicated to the
ancestral fathers.
45
K. van der Toorn, 'Ilib and the "God of the Father" ', UF 25 (1993), 381-3;
Idem, Family Religion, 58, 61.
46
Lesko, 'Death and the Afterlife in Ancient Egyptian Thought', 1763-4.

the Instruction of Any, dating from the Eighteenth Dynasty:

Libate for your father and mother,
Who are resting in the valley;
When the gods witness your action,
They will say: "Accepted" 47
Beside the funerary offerings it was considered important that one's
name was commemorated in funerary prayers. 48 The ancestors could
furthermore be honoured by placing a statue or statuette, or by erecting a stela. 49 In return, the dead were asked to intercede on behalf of
the living and to honour requests that the living expressed in 'Letters
to the Dead'. 5 0
As the Instruction of Any informs us, both father and mother were
to be venerated in the cult of the dead. 51 Yet there are some indications that in Egypt, too, ancestors in the male line were regarded as
more important than those in the female line. Administrative texts
from Deir el-Medina report the absence of workers and give as a reason
for their absence the libation for their father, brother, or son. So far,
no female relatives are mentioned. 52
Furthermore, queens could have their own graves, yet they were
smaller than those of kings. 53 Other, non-royal women generally did
not have their own tombs, but were buried with their husband. Although a wife and a mother of a tomb owner may be given a prominent
position in tomb decorations, the scenes revolve around the owner
himself. 54
And although women as well as men could become a transfigured
spirit in the next world, this ultimately lead to identification with the
male deity Osiris. 55
47

Lichtheim, Ancient Egyptian Literature, vol. 2, 137.

E. Feucht, Das Kind im Alten gypten, Frankfurt 1995, 52.
49
B.S. Lesko, 'Women's Monumental Mark on Ancient Egypt', BArR 54/1
(1991), 7-8; R.M. Janssen, J.J. Janssen, Getting Old in Ancient Egypt, London
1996, 51-5.
50
R.M. Janssen, J.J. Janssen, Getting Old in Ancient Egypt, 55-9.
51
See also Feucht, Das Kind im Alten gypten, 179, 353.
52
As R.M. Janssen, J.J. Janssen, Getting Old in Ancient Egypt, 51, note, this
'may be pure chance'. Yet on the other hand, it may be significant.
53
E. Brunner-Traut, 'Die Stellung der Frau im Alten gypten', Saeculum 38
(1987), 332.
54
G. Robins, 'Some Images of Women in New Kingdom Art and Literature', in:
WER, 106-8.
55
H.G. Fischer, 'Women in the Old Kingdom and the Heracleopolitan Period',
in: WER, 14; .M. Bryan, 'In Women Good and Bad Fortune are on Earth: Status
and Roles of Women in Egyptian Culture', in: A.K. Capel, G.E. Markoe (eds),
48

In Egypt, too, the eldest son would generally perform the cult
of the dead. The following text expresses which gender roles were
expected from sons and daughters:
Ich hatte keinen Nachfolger, um mir die Totengebete zu sagen am Tor
des Grabes,
der mir Wasser spendet, wie es der Sohn fr seinen Vater tut.
Ich war ein Edler in meiner Stadt (und) hatte keine Tochter,
die um mich klagte am Tag der jungen Gewchse, wenn man trauert. 56
Apparently it was a son's task to say funerary prayers and to bring
libations and food offerings, while a daughter should lament the deceased parents. 57 In the absence of a son, a daughter could make the
necessary offerings. 58 Occasionally, depictions show a wife bringing
offerings to her husband. 59
The connection between being an heir and the duty to take care
of the dead could also work the other way around. While in general
the eldest son, as an heir, buried his parents, a person could become
qualified as heir by taking upon himself or herself the burial of the
parents. Here, too, performing the ancestor cult could legitimize one
as heir. 60
In Egypt it was not considered necessary that a blood relative
perform the funerary offerings. Wealthy Egyptians could provide for
their own cult by installing a funerary priest or priestess. 61 It would
seem that funerary priestesses did not survive after the Old Kingdom
period. 62
Mistress of the House, Mistress of Heaven: Women in Ancient Egypt, New York
1996, 35. However, several variations in the afterlife existence of non-royal persons
are recorded. As Lesko, 'Death and the Afterlife in Ancient Egyptian Thought',
1767, explains: 'Some individuals might want to become stars in the sky with the
moon god, Thoth; others might want to remain in the lush Fields of Offering of
Osiris, the principal god of the dead; and still others might want to sail on the
brilliant sun-bark with Re in its unending cyclical voyage'.
56
Feucht, Das Kind, im Alten gypten, 51.
57
On female mourners, see section 3.1.
58
A. Depla, 'Women in Ancient Egyptian Wisdom Literature', in: L.J. Archer
et al. (eds), Women in Ancient Societies: An Illusion of the Night, Basingstoke,
Hampshire 1994, 48-9; Feucht, Das Kind im Alten gypten, 51, 92.
59
C.H. Roehrig, 'Women's work: Some occupations of nonroyal women as depicted in ancient Egyptian art', in: A.K. Capel, G.E. Markoe (eds), Mistress of
the House, Mistress of Heaven: Women in Ancient Egypt, New York 1996, 14.
60
S. Allam, 'Women as Owners of Immovables in Pharaonic Egypt', in: WER,
131; Feucht, Das Kind im Alten gypten, 87-8, 212.
61
Feucht, Das Kind im Alten gypten, 89.
62
H.G. Fischer, 'Priesterin', L, Bd. 4,1102; Idem, 'Women in the Old Kingdom

The Hittites created an extensive royal cult of the dead. Quite

informative are the two kinds of offering lists. In the first kind only
offerings to the deceased kings are mentioned, while in the second kind
queens are mentioned beside the kings, as well as other members of
the royal family. The queen's status, although somewhat lower than
that of the king, was nevertheless relatively high, for every Hittite
queen is mentioned by name. 63
Beside the ancestor cult, women also participated in other religious
gatherings that involved commemoration or celebration. In an Old
Babylonian hymn to Ishtar (AO 6035) a ritual procession is described
in which ordinary men and women participated alongside the cultic
personnel. 64 And at Emar men and women participated in the kissufestival of Ishkhara and Ninurta, and joined in a sacrificial meal. 65 A
stela of the Assyrian king Assur-nasir-pal II, dating to ca. 879 BCE,
records an enormous feast on the occassion of the dedication of his
palace at Kalkhu. It was a religious festival to which, next to the
deities of Assyria, 69,574 persons were invited, among whom were the
47,074 workmen and women who had been forced to work on the royal
palace and the city.66
Women also commemorated the death of Dumuzi. While from the
Early Dynastic to the Old Babylonian period Dumuzi played a role
in the sacred and divine marriage rites, it appears that after these
periods he ceased to be of importance within the official cult. 67 Another aspect of Dumuzi, that of the tragic husband of Inanna/Ishtar,
whose descent to the nether world was mourned in annual rites, then
became the focus of his cult. 68 Women mourned the untimely death
of the young deity and it would seem that in this mourning the grief
embraced all who died too young. 69
and the Heracleopolitan Period', 19-20; Bryan, 'In Women Good and Bad Fortune
axe on Earth', 41.
63
V. Haas, Geschichte der hethitischen Religion (HO, Abt. 1, 15), Leiden 1994,
247.
64
B.R.M. Groneberg, Lob der Itar: Gebet und Ritual an die altbabylonische
Venusgttin (Cuneiform Monographs, 8), Groningen 1997, 131-2.
65
D. Arnaud, Recherches au pays d'Astata (Emar, 6/3), Paris 1986, 385-6.
66
Cf. D.J. Wiseman, New Stela of Aur-nasir-pa1 II', Iraq 14 (1952), 24-44
(28).
67

On Dumuzi's role in the cult, cf. R. Kutscher, 'The Cult of Dumuzi/Tammuz',

in: J. Klein, A. Skaist (eds), Bar-Ilan Studies in Assyriology: Dedicated to Pinhas
Artzi (Bar-Ilan Studies in Near Eastern Languages and Culture), Ramat Gan
1990, 29-44; B. Alster, 'Tammuz ', in: DDD, 828-34.
68
On the relationship between Dumuzi's wedding to Inanna and the bewailing
of his death, cf. Alster, 'Tammuz
.832-3
,'
69
Van der Toorn, Cradle, 116, 119-20; Alster, 'Tammuz
833 ,'.

A Mari text refers to the caring for the statues of Dumuzi and
Ishtar in the fourth month, which according to the Assyrian calendar
was connected with Dumuzi. Another text, dating from the same
month, mentions the payment of a large amount of grain to female
mourners. Based on this evidence, Raphael Kutscher proposes 'that
wailing rites were performed in the fourth month with the statues
of Dumuzi and Itar'. 70 Save for a small cella in Assur, no temples
of Dumuzi are found after the Old Babylonian period, and offerings
and gifts to the god are no longer attested in texts. 71 Yet, although
he no longer played a role in the offical cult, this did not mean the
deity's part had ended. According to several references dating from
the second and first millennia BCE, the Dumuzi cult remained popular,
especially among women. 72 Thus, in a popular cult independent of
temples he was still venerated and mourned. 73
B . UGARITIC LITERARY T E X T S

Although the people at Ugarit worshipped their gods in hymns and

prayers, not many prayers are recorded in the extant texts of Ugarit.
As Klaas Spronk observes:
The genre of prayer appears to be rare in the texts of ancient Ugarit.
One should not, however, conclude from this that the people of Ugarit
did not have deep religious feelings or that they were reluctant to address their gods directly. The lack of separate hymns or prayers is
simply due to the fact that praising the gods or seeking their favours
is usually set in a larger context. Recitation of the great myths can be
seen as a means of expressing respect for the gods and their glorious
deeds.74
There are some references to men who pray, for instance Dani'ilu praying for rain (KTU 1.19:1.38-46), yet no praying woman is recorded. 75
In a situation of need or distress, such as drought or childlessness,
the Ugaritians would appeal to their gods and seek their favour. Sometimes they would make a vow in order to induce their deity to give
70

Cf. Kutscher, 'The Cult of Dumuzi/Tammuz', 40.

Kutscher, 'The Cult of Dumuzi/Tammuz', 41. According to J.A. Scurlock, 'K
164 (BA 2, P. 635): New Light on the Mourning Rites for Dumuzi?' RA 86 (1992),
53-67, the Assyrian funerary text 164 can perhaps be related to mourning rites
for Dumuzi.
72
Kutscher, 'The Cult of Dumuzi/Tammuz', 42-4.
73
The same development took place in the cult of Adonis; cf. T.N.D. Mettinger,
The Riddle of Resurrection: "Dying and Rising Gods" in the Ancient Near East
(CB.OT, 50), Stockholm 2001, 149.
74
K. Spronk, 'The Incantations', in: HUS, 272.
75
On Ugaritic prayers, cf. HUS, 145, 272-5, 286, 316.
71

them what they desired. Thus, king Kirtu vowed to the goddess Athiratu that he would give large amounts of silver and gold if he could
bring Hariya, his bride-to-be, into his house (1.14:IV.36-43). 76 Apparently, Kirtu forgot to fulfil his vow, which had serious consequences for
him: the king fell gravely ill. Although Ilu was Kirtu's personal god,
this did not restrain him from making a vow to Athiratu. Fensham
remarks on this, that it seems Kirtu did not trust Ilu completely to
fulfil his promise. 77 Yet it would seem more likely that in cases of
such importance, one tried to get help from various gods who were
believed to be somehow involved. 78 Possibly Athiratu, in her capacity
of mother goddess, was believed to be involved in promoting marital
happiness.
Kirtu not only made a vow himself, he also instructed his daughter,
Thatmanatu, to make one (KTU 1.16:1.44-45):
44

ndr.5qrb.ksp
45
bmgnfc.ii/hrs.lkl

Make a vow, 79 offer up silver,

as your personal gift, and gold for all (of us)!'

As Edward Greenstein notes, it is ironic that Kirtu, who had fallen

victim to the wrath of the goddess Athiratu because he had failed to
fulfil his vow, commanded his daughter to make a vow in order that
he would get better. 8 0
Some other references to persons making a vow have been found,
for instance, in KTU 1.22:11.16. Some consider this text to be part
of the Legend of Aqhatu, while others argue that because of the lack
of context, this cannot be determined on the basis of the present
information. 81 In line 16, which reads: ydr.hm.ym[ ], the word ydr is
considered a G imperfect of ndr 'to vow', thus: 'he vowed'. Although it
76
On Kirtu's vow, cf., e.g., S.B. Parker, 'The Vow in Ugaritic and Israelite
Narrative Literature', UF 11 (1979), 693-700; F.C. Fensham, 'Notes on Keret
194-206 (CTA 14:194B-206): The Vow at the Sanctuary of Athirat', JNWSL 14
(1988), 91-9; T.W. Cartledge, Vows in the Hebrew Bible and the Ancient Near
East (JSOT.S, 147), Sheffield 1992, 108-15.
77
Fensham, 'Notes on Keret 194-206', 91. There is no need to follow the suggestion made by S.B. Parker, 'The Historical Composition of KRT and the Cult
of El', ZAW 89 (1977), 163-7, that the vow to Asherah should be regarded as an
insertion in the original story.
78
Analogous to the situation of the Hittite queen, Puduhepa, who in her prayer
not only addressed her personal goddess, but also others; see above.
79
For this new reading, see E.L. Greenstein, 'New Readings in the Kirta Epic',
IOS 18 (1998), 114. For the larger context, see section 2.1.3.
80
Greenstein, 'New Readings in the Kirta Epic', 114.
81
For the former opinion, cf., e.g., M. Dijkstra, J.C. de Moor, 'Problematical
Passages in the Legend of Aqhtu', UF 7 (1975), 171-2. For the latter, cf., e.g.,
W.T. Pitard, New Edition of the "Rpi'ma" Texts: KTU 1.20-22', BASOR
285 (1992), 73.

is possible that the subject is Dani'ilu here, this cannot be determined

with certainty.
Another reference to making a vow occurs in a votive prayer which
is part of the cultic text KTU 1.119. In line 30 mdr is used instead
of the more common ndr: mdr b'l nml'u '(our) vow, Ba'lu, we will
fulfil'. 82 In the case of an enemy attack, a vow to Ba'lu was made,
involving a specific offering in return for deliverance. 83
To conclude, at Ugarit both males and females could make vows.
It was considered very important that vows be fulfilled. Royalty could
fulfil their vows by paying silver and gold.
Vows were generally fulfilled by bringing offerings to the deity who
had granted a certain favour. Also outside the context of vows royal
women performed offerings to the gods. The stela of Tharyelli (KTU
6.13), mentioned below, refers to a (/?-offering. Another example is
KTU 1.170, which probably lists various sacrifices the queen made.
In any case the queen participated in the offerings which were part of
the cult of the dead, as KTU 1.161 demonstrates (see below).
The cult of the dead was also performed at Ugarit. Unfortunately,
our information is restricted to the cult of the royal dead. At Ugarit,
too, the ancestors were commemorated and believed to be involved
in the life of their living descendants.
Among the duties of a son, mentioned in KTU 1.17:1.25-33, is
the task to set up a memorial pillar for his departed father. At the
commencement of the Legend of Aqhatu it is told how king Dani'ilu
grieved because he had no son. He brought offerings to the gods for
seven days, and finally Ba'lu took mercy upon him and asked Ilu to
bless Dani'ilu with a son (KTU 1.17:1.25-28):
25

wykn.bnh.bbt.
r.bqqrb

26

hklh

nsb.skn. 'il'ibh.
82

And let him have a son in (his) house,

a root within his palace,
someone to set up the stela of his ancestor god, 84

Dijkstra, De Moor, 'Problematical Passages in the Legend of Aqhtu', 172-3;

J.L. Boyd, 'The Etymological Relationship between ndr and nzr Reconsidered',
UF 17 (1985), 64-5, 72; Tropper, UG, 116; Wyatt, RTU, 421.
The word ndr further occurs in KTU 1.127:3, 13(?); cf. M. Dietrich, . Loretz,
Mantik in Ugarit: Keilalphabetische Texte der Opferschau - Omensammlungen Nekromantie (ALASP, 3), Mnster 1990, 27-8; and in the letters KTU 2.13:14
and 2.30:13.
83
Whether the offering concerned a male animal or a firstborn child is uncertain;
cf. Cartledge, Vows in the Hebrew Bible, 117-20; Wyatt, RTU, 421-2.
84
Generally, skn 'il'ibh is regarded as a singular, cf., e.g., TO, tome 1, 421;
Pardee, in: CoS, vol. 1, 344; Parker, in: Smith, UNP, 53; Wyatt, RTU, 255. However, a plural meaning is also possible, cf. T.H. Gaster, Thespis: Ritual, Myth,
and Drama in the Ancient Near East, rev. ed., Garden City NY 1961, 333; J.C.
de Moor, 'Standing Stones and Ancestor Worship', UF 27 (1995), 8.

b qds 27ztr. 'mh.

I 'ars.mss'u.qtrh
28

I 'pr.dmr. 'atrh.

in the sanctuary the solar disc 85 of his clan,

someone to make his smoke come out from the earth,
from the dust the Protectors of his place, 86

A son - and if there were more than one, the eldest son - had to
take care of the ancestor cult. By setting up a stela for his paternal
ancestor, his name was kept alive. Furthermore, a son thus enabled
his ancestor to stand with the living in the sanctuary in a symbolic
way. 87
The ancestor god is referred to in Ugaritic as 'il'ib, which is a
contraction of 'il 'god' and 'ib < 'ab 'father'. 8 8 However, the word
occurs in different genres of texts which has led scholars to propose
various interpretations. 89 First, 'il'ib is mentioned at the top of several pantheon lists and in offering lists. Wilfred Lambert assumes the
word refers to the Old Akkadian deity Ilaba, yet his proposal is not
very convincing. 90 More likely is the interpretation of Johannes de
Moor that 'il'ib refers here to an aspect or hypostasis of Ilu, viz., 'a
differentiation of El in his quality of the Father of all living beings'.
85

The translation 'solar disc' as a votive emblem for ztr was suggested by M.
Tsevat, "Traces of Hittite at the Beginning of the Ugaritic Epic of Aqhat', UF
3 (1971), 352, and is accepted by most scholars. For an overview of suggested
translations, cf. J.F. Healey, 'The Pietas of an Ideal Son in Ugarit', UF 11 (1979),
59-60. See also De Moor, 'Standing Stones and Ancestor Worship', 8.
86
The translation of this bicolon is problematic; on the various suggested translations cf. T.J. Lewis, Cults of the Dead in Ancient Israel and Ugarit (HSM, 39),
Atlanta GA 1989, 60-5. Both cola start with an accusative of place (I'ars || I'pr),
in the first colon followed by a participle (mss'u). Based on KTU 1.18:IV.24-26,
36-37 I translate qtr with 'smoke', following J.C. de Moor, 'The Ancestral Cult
in KTU 1.17:1.26-28', UF 17 (1985), 409; K. Spronk, Beatific Afterlife in Ancient
Israel and in the Ancient Near East (AOAT, 219), Kevelaer & Neukirchen-Vluyn
1986, 149. The second colon might be translated 'someone to protect', but a proleptic sentence is also possible, cf. Y. Avishur, 'The "Duties of the Son" in the
"Story of Aqhat" and Ezekiel's Prophecy on Idolatry (Ch. 8)', UF 17 (1985), 52,
and deemed most likely because of the strong parallelism between 'smoke' (of his
spirit) and 'Protectors' (as an epithet of the spirits of the dead). Cf. De Moor,
'The Ancestral Cult', 409.
87

Cf. M.H. Pope, 'The Cult of the Dead at Ugarit', in: G.D. Young (ed.), Ugarit
in Retrospect: Fifty Years of Ugarit and Ugaritic, Winona Lake IN 1981, 161; De
Moor, 'Standing Stones and Ancestor Worship', 7. For a roughly contemporary
example from Alalakh, cf. Dietrich, Loretz, 'Die Inschrift der Statue des Knigs
Idrimi von Alalah', 206-7, 253; R. Mayer-Opificius, 'Archologischer Kommentar
zur Statue des Idrimi von Alalah', UF 13 (1981), 287-9.
88
Cf. Van der Toorn, 'Ilib and" the "God of the Father" ', 379.
89
For an overview of interpretations and a list of occurences of 'il'ib both in
and outside Ugaritic, cf. Lewis, Cults of the Dead in Ancient Israel and Ugarit,
56-9; J.F. Healey, 'Ilib', in: DDD, 447-8.
90
W.G. Lambert, 'Old Akkadian Ilaba = Ugaritic Ilib?' UF 13 (1981), 299-301.

This hypostasis would be a personification of Ilu's fatherhood; as the

father of all deities he would be the divine ancestor par excellence.91
Yet this interpretation is problematic with regard to the occurrence of 'il'ib in KTU 1.17:1.26 - the list of duties of an ideal son.
Although some translate 'paternal god', i.e., the god of the father,
the family god, 92 this has been convincingly refuted by Karel van der
Toorn, according to whom 'il'ib refers to the deified father - the father
turned ancestor. 93 Van der Toorn's interpretation of the term in the
pantheon lists also offers an explanation for the occurrence in KTU
1.17:
T h e god ilib, then, s t a n d s here for a primeval deity whose reign has long
since come t o an end. . . . T h i s primeval deity can indeed be regarded
as t h e divine ancestor of t h e gods and as such as the Ancestral Spirit
t h e y were to honor, as h u m a n s were supposed to honor their deceased
ancestors. 9 4

Thus, ilib refers to the spirit of the dead ancestor, both in the human
and the divine world. It is worth noting that the ancestor cult is androcentric in scopus at Ugarit. The term seems to refer only to male
ancestors, since both elements 'il and 'ab denote masculine gender.
Does this mean that the ancestor cult was an exclusively male cult
at Ugarit, performed by males for deified male ancestors? Neither in
the pantheon lists, nor in the duties of the son is the ancestral mother
mentioned explicitly. Although various texts (KTU 1.39; 1.105; 1.106;
1.112) related to the cult of the dead mention sacrifices to major goddesses, such as Athiratu, 'Anatu, 'Athtartu and Pidrayu, there is no
indication that these goddesses are regarded as maternal ancestors.
Furthermore, the Ugaritic king list, KTU 1.113, mentions the deceased kings who became ilm.95 Although the text is in poor shape,
it would seem that the deceased queens are not mentioned in it. Likewise, KTU 1.161 seems to refer only to deceased kings. According to
Johannes de Moor, 'the 'Anatu of Gathru' in KTU 1.108:6 refers to
the deified queen who had become identified with 'Anatu after her
death. 96 However, although scholars generally agree that the context
91

J.C. de Moor, 1 the Creator', in: G. Rendsburg et al. (eds), The Bible World:
Essays in Honor of Cyrus H. Gordon, New York 1980, 184. See also Healey, 'The
Pietas of an Ideal Son in Ugarit 1 , 355.
92
E.g., Tsevat, "Traces of Hittite at the Beginning of the Ugaritic Epic of Aqhat',
351; Pardee, in: C0S, vol. 1, 344, n. 6.
93
Van der Toorn, 'Ilib and the "God of the Father" ', 379-87.
94
Van der Toorn, 'Ilib and the "God of the Father" ', 385.
95
On the character of the 'divinized' kings, see below.
96
De Moor, ARTU, 188, n. 5.

of KTU 1.108 is that of the royal ancestor cult, they do not share De
Moor's assumption. 97 I therefore conclude that, if maternal ancestors
were venerated at all, their place was clearly secondary. Perhaps they
were included in the general categories of deified (royal) ancestors,
such as 'ilm, rp'um and mlkm.98
Moreover, was the ancestor cult performed by males only? We do
know of a stela erected by a female, Tharyelli (KTU 6.13):
1

skn.ds'lyt 2tryl.ldgn.
pgr 3[s] w'alp I'akl

Stele which Tharyelli raised" for Daganu

(in commemoration of) a pgr:100
[a ram] and an ox for consumption.

Tharyelli can be identified as one of the queens of Ugarit. 101 It is uncertain, however, whether she erected the stela as an ancestral stela. 102
In the Ugaritic king list KTU 1.113, the deceased kings are referred
to as 'il. Theodore Lewis notes:
These ilu's were not worshipped in t h e same way t h a t El or Baal were
a n d we find no elaborate cult a t t e m p t i n g to make t h e m into high gods.
. . . Referring to t h e deceased as an ilu was an a t t e m p t t o describe some
t y p e of transcendent character, p e r h a p s what we would call "preternatural". T h e deceased entered into t h e revered company of t h e r p ' m and
continued to exist in t h e underworld. T h e y certainly were not cut off
f r o m any relation t o t h e living and could (as shown in K T U 1.161) be
beseeched to grant favors. 1 0 3

The text to which Lewis refers, KTU 1.161, is a liturgy of a funerary

ritual. Its function was twofold, first, to honour the deceased kings by
invoking their names and bringing them offerings, and secondly to ask
their blessing for the living. 104 The new king, 'Ammurapi, probably
97

Cf. Wyatt, RTU, 395-8; G. del Olmo Lete, Canaanite Religion: According to
the Liturgical Texts of Ugarit, Bethesda MD 1999, 184-92.
98
Lewis, Cults of the Dead in Ancient Israel and Ugarit, 95, describes the rp'um
as 'the long-dead ancestors who reside in the underworld (ars)' and the mlkm as
'the recently dead rulers1.
99
The translation '(of that) which Tharyelli offered'1 is also possible; cf., e.g.,
Spronk, Beatific Afterlife, 150.
100
The word pgr is quite difficult to translate and probably refers to some kind
of sacrifice; cf., e.g., D. Pardee, Les textes tuels (RSO, 12), fasc. 1, Paris 2000,
386-95; Tropper, UG, 783. For a different interpretation, cf. Lewis, Cults of the
Dead in Ancient Israel and Ugarit, 75; De Moor, RoY, 344-6.
101
Cf. W.H. van Soldt, Studies in the Akkadian of Ugarit: Dating and Grammar
(AOAT, 40), Kevelaer & Neukirchen-Vluyn 1991, 15-8.
102
Spronk, Beatific Afterlife, 149-51; K. van der Toorn, Family Religion in BabyIonia, Syria and Israel: Continuity and Change in the Forms of Religious Life
(SHCANE, 7), Leiden 1996, 161-3.
103
Lewis, Cults of the Dead in Ancient Israel and Ugarit, 50.
104
Cf. Spronk, Beatific Afterlife, 191; Lewis, Cults of the Dead in Ancient Israel

invoked the names of the dead himself. Since the king and queen, as
well as their sons and daughters are mentioned in the final lines (KTU
1.161:31-34), it is likely queen Tharyelli participated in the funerary
ritual and its sacrifices. 105
Furthermore, the evidence of the legendary texts from Ugarit tends
to contradict that the cult of the dead was performed by women. In
KTU 1.22:1.2-11, which probably is part of the Legend of Aqhatu,
Dani'ilu performed the rites for his deceased son instead of the other
way around. No mention is made of Pughatu bringing libations and
food offerings to her deceased brother. Although the context is fragmentary and this therefore might be an argumentum e silentio, it is
noteworthy.
We therefore have little evidence that ancestral mothers were honoured at Ugarit. If so, then probably only in a secondary manner. It
furthermore seems that women seldom performed the cult of the dead.
Possibly royal women participated in the funerary rituals.
We know that royal women participated in sacrificial meals. According to KTU 1.115:8, the 'att 'wife, lady', which probably refers to
the queen, was allowed to eat from the offerings the king had made. Of
other offerings all (kll) were allowed to eat (KTU 1.115:10). 106 This
probably refers to all present, i.e., males and females. There were,
however, festivals from which married women were excluded, namely
marzeah parties. 107 Only unmarried girls seem to have been present,
probably as servants.
On a mythical level, the goddesses participated in banquets. When
Ba'lu gave a feast to celebrate that he had a mansion of his own,
he invited both gods and goddesses (KTU 1.4:VI.44-59). 108 And at
a banquet hosted by Ilu the goddesses 'Athtartu and 'Anatu were
present as guests (KTU 1.114).
C . H E B R E W BIBLE

With regard to the participation of women in the Israelite cult, opinions differ. Some scholars point out the decline of women's participation in the Israelite cult from the early monarchic period on, while
others disregard questions of historical development and point to the
participation of female worshippers, explaining restrictions as due to
either women's or family interests. 109 Yet while the former group of
and Ugarit, 31, 95. See also KAI
105
For the text and translation,
106
See section 3.1.
107
See section 2.1.4.
108
For the text and translation,
109
Cf. M.I. Gruber, 'Women in

214:16, 21.
see section 3.1.

see section 2.1.4.

the Cult according to the Priestly Code', in: J.

scholars generally emphasizes the role of women as religious specialists, the latter underlines the role of women as worshippers.
This distinction between women as religious specialists and women
as worshippers is neither made by Mayer Gruber in his article on
women's participation in the cult. Gruber has studied the law codes
attributed to J and in comparison to those attributed to D and P. 110
His point is to show that P, which he assumes is the youngest source,
should not be held responsible for the 'virtual exclusion of women
from the cult'. 111 If women's participation in the cult was severely
limited from the early monarchy on, Gruber argues, this should be
reflected in the law codes from the various periods. It is assumed
that J and would offer women some opportunities to participate in
worship, would be most restrictive, while D would hold a position
in between. Gruber's examples from the various law codes, however,
concern women as worshippers, whereas scholars who point to limited
participation of women in the cult have their role as religious specialists in mind. Yet the picture appears to be far more complicated. Not
only is it very difficult to discern a coherent view on the position
of women based on the texts attributed to the various sources, but,
more importantly, opinions differ on which text should be attributed
to which source and on the dating of the various sources. 112
According to Exod. 23:17; 34:23 and Deut. 16:16, only men were
required to attend the religious festivals. Gruber comments: 'Deut.
16:16 simply quotes an old law found in J E at Exod. 23:17 and
at Exod. 34:23'. 113 In other Deuteronomic texts a different picture
emerges. Women are explicitly mentioned as members of the covenant
community in Deut. 29:9-14 [10-15], and they were obliged to appear
before Y H W H once every seven years to listen to the teaching of the
Torah, according to Deut. 31:10-12. Sometimes daughters and female
slaves are mentioned as categories of women who should participate
in the cult. This is the case in Deut. 12:12,18; 16:10-11,13-14, where
they are among those who should rejoice before Y H W H and partake
in sacrificial meals and religious festivals.
Also texts attributed to P 1 1 4 mention the participation of women
Neusner et al. (eds), Judaic Perspectives on Ancient Israel, Philadelphia 1987, 35,
40, n. 1 , 3 . The former view is held by, for instance, C.L. Meyers. Exponent of
the latter view are I.J. Peritz and C.J. Vos.
110
Gruber, 'Women in the Cult according to the Priestly Code', 35-48.
111
Gruber, 'Women in the Cult according to the Priestly Code', 40.
112
Cf. C. Houtman, Der Pentateuch: Die Geschichte seiner Erforschung neben
einer Auswertung (CBET, 9), Kampen 1994, 365-441.
113
Gruber, 'Women in the Cult according to the Priestly Code', 36, 40-1, n. 5.
114
The Priestly source is generally dated to the exilic or post-exilic period and

as worshippers in the cult. Lev. 12:6, for instance, regulates the offering a woman should bring after childbirth, and Num. 6:22 holds
that both men and women could undertake a Nazirite vow. Moreover,
sometimes uses inclusive language (, ), which, according to
Gruber, is 'one of the characteristic features of the cultic legislation
of P'. 1 1 5 Even the word , normally to be translated as 'man' or
'husband', sometimes has an inclusive meaning, so that it should be
rendered 'person', 116 which poses the question how often texts hitherto interpreted in an exclusive way may have been meant to be read
in an inclusive sense. This may imply that intended to include
women as participants in the cult.
According to the law codes attributed to various sources, women
in biblical Israel could be present as worshippers in the cult, but
they often were not obliged to be so. Unlike men, women's role in
worship was not essential. Women and men, therefore, were not equal
participants in worship. And, based on the law texts, a line of steady
decline in the participation of female worshippers in the Israelite cult
cannot be discerned.
Apart from the afore-mentioned laws, other biblical texts mention
women as worshippers. Exod. 35:20-36:7, a text attributed to P, 117
which narrates the construction of the Tabernacle, refers to voluntary
offerings that men and women donated to it. Women's involvement
in the offerings of gold objects and various kinds of yarn is explicitly
mentioned. 118
Beside Deut. 12:12,18 and 16:10-11,13-14, reference of women participating in sacrificial meals is also made in 1 Sam. 1:4-5 and 2 Sam.
6:19 II 1 Chron. 16:3. Women who belonged to the priestly household
were allowed to eat from the holy offerings (Lev. 10:12-15; 22:12-13;
Num. 18:18-19). Women were present at the reading of the law (Josh.
8:35) and at the religious festivals they participated with song and
dance. 119
In the post-exilic period, women also are attested as being present
regarded as younger than D. However, this dating of is questioned by some
authors; cf. Houtman, Der Pentateuch, 375-6, 432.
115
Gruber, 'Women in the Cult according to the Priestly Code', 39, 45, n. 33.
116
As is recognised by J. Milgrom, Leviticus 23-27 (AB, 3B), New York 2000,
2368.
117
Cf. M. Noth, Das zweite Buch Mose: Exodus (ATD, 5), Gttingen 5 1973,
220-1; R.E. Clements, Exodus (CNEB), Cambridge 1972, 4; J.I. Durham, Exodus
(WBC, 3), Waco TX 1987, 350, 473.
118
Cf. Durham, Exodus, 477; C. Houtman, Exodus, vol. 3, (HCOT), Leuven 2000,
352-3.
119
See section 3.1.

at cultic gatherings. Ezra 10:1 records that men, women and children
had gathered in the temple with Ezra, to participate in his mourning.
Neh. 8:2-4 mentions women who, as members of the assembly (),
were present at the public reading of the Torah at the Water Gate. 120
Women also were present at the dedication of the City Wall (Neh.
12:43).
On the other hand, women are often strikingly absent. In his article on Women and Psalms, Marc Brettler points to the androcentrie scopus of Psalms, in which women generally play only a small,
peripheral, role. 121 In only two Psalms (148:12; 68:26 [25]) do women
appear praising YHWH.122 Futhermore, the psalms rarely reflect specific experiences of women, such as childbirth. Brettler therefore wonders whether the psalms could accomodate women. 123 Using Hannah's
prayer as an example, which he regards as a psalm of thanksgiving,
Brettler offers a model of secondary usage of the psalms. He assumes
that although the psalms generally would express only a few aspects
of a woman's personal situation, she could connect these with her
own experience in reciting an existing psalm, thus removing it from
its original Sitz im Leben.124 However, although the Psalms rarely
reflect experiences such as childbirth, the first-person psalmist often
expressed situations of hope and joy, and of despair and pain, with
which women could identify.
Psalms are often prayers expressing pain or joy. Women could accommodate existing psalms as poetic prayers or use prose prayers to
voice their griefs as well as their joys. Since motherhood was of great
importance in most women's lives, their prayers were often related to
that state, either because they were childless, like Hannah, or because
they were pregnant and facing the difficulties of childbirth, like Rebekah, or because they themselves and their child(ren) faced death,
like Hagar. 125
120

Cf. T.C. Eskenazi, O u t from the Shadows: Biblical Women in the Postexilic
Era', JSOT 54 (1992), 41.
121
M.Z. Brettler, 'Women and Psalms: Toward an Understanding of the Role
of Women's Prayer in the Israelite Cult', in: V.H. Matthews et al. (eds), Gender
and Law in the Hebrew Bible and the Ancient Near East (JSOT.S, 262), Sheffield
1998, 25-56.
122
Remarkably, in both cases it concerns young women. On the latter text, see
section 3.1.
123
Brettler, 'Women and Psalms', 47.
124
Brettler, 'Women and Psalms', 44-8.
125
On prayers women prayed, cf. P.D. Miller, They Cried to the Lord: The Form
and Theology of Biblical Prayer, Minneapolis MN 1994, 233-43. Miller, 413, n. 2,
lists the following texts on prayers prayed by women: Gen. 21:16-17; 25:22; 29:35;
30:24; Exod. 15:21; Judg. 5:1-31; Ruth 1:8-9; 4:14; 1 Sam. 1:10, 12-15; 2:1-10; 1

The most well-known example of a woman praying is Hannah (1

Sam. 1:10-15). During a religious festival she went to the temple at
Shiloh to pray, pouring out her soul before Y H W H (V. 15), because
she was barren and Peninnah, the co-wife of her husband, provoked
her severely with this. She was distressed and wept bitterly (v. 10).
Y H W H had closed her womb (v. 6), and she turned to him in prayer,
expressing her suffering and sorrow. 126
Not only did she pray, Hannah also made a vow:
LORD of hosts, if only you will look on t h e misery of your servant,
a n d r e m e m b e r me, a n d not forget your servant, b u t will give t o your
servant a male child, t h e n I will set h i m before you as a nazirite until
t h e d a y of his d e a t h . He shall drink neither wine nor intoxicants, a n d
no razor shall touch his head (1 Sam. 1:11).

In the Bible men as well as women made vows. 127 Hannah vowed
that if she got a male child, she would dedicate him to Y H W H as a
Nazirite. Many scholars have wondered about the role of Elkanah, her
husband, in the vow-making and its fulfilment, the more so, since his
role seems to be larger in the LXX and possibly in 4QSam a than it is
in the MT. As Carol Meyers observes:
T h e reasons t h a t some prefer t h e L X X / 4 Q S a m a over t h e M T can b e
related t o certain ambiguities in identifying t h e agent of t h e vow a n d its
fulfilment. In 1 S a m 1:11, H a n n a h makes a v o w ; 1 S a m 1:21 has E l k a n a h
fulfilling a vow, one t h a t is not previously mentioned; a n d in 1 S a m 1:27
H a n n a h refers t o t h e t e r m s of her vow. T h e role of E l k a n a h in this votive
language is difficult. Is he p a r t i c i p a t i n g in H a n n a h , s vow or fulfilling
one of his own, which is otherwise not m e n t i o n e d ? T h e s e questions
a r e not easily resolved. B u t removing t h e agency of t h e sacrificial act
f r o m H a n n a h (with t h e L X X a n d 4 Q S a m a ) does not resolve t h e issue
either, a n d in t h e process, it deprives H a n n a h of a cultic role t h a t
legitimately belongs t o her. It is easier t o consider t h e circumscribed
cultic activities for women a t t h e t i m e of t h e L X X a n d 4 Q S a m a as a
basis for their t e x t u a l expansion t h a n t o forego t h e M T , which reflects
H a n n a h ' s premier role in t h e sacrifice of 1:24. 1 2 8
Kgs 10:9; Ps. 131.
On the ambiguity of the situation of Hannah, s66 Miller, They Cried to the
Lord, 238-9.
127
On vows in the Hebrew Bible, cf. T.W. Cartledge, Vows in the Hebrew Bible
and the Ancient Near East (JSOT.S, 147), Sheffield 1992; J. Berlinerblau, The
Vow and the 'Popular Religious Groups' of Ancient Israel: A Philological and
Sociological Inquiry (JSOT.S, 210), Sheffield 1996.
128
C. Meyers, 'The Hannah Narrative in Feminist Perspective', in: J.E. Coleson,

Another question regarding Hannah's vow is how 1 Sam. 1:11 should

be related to Num. 30:6-8, which offered a husband the right to veto
his wife's vow if he disapproved of it. A wife's vow thus could be
annulled by her husband, and that of an unbetrothed daughter by her
father. There was, however, a restriction. If the father or the husband
heard about the vow and said nothing, the vow was to be kept. Only
if the father or the husband heard about it and voiced his disapproval
could the vow be nullified. On various grounds Baruch Levine assumes
that the legislation of Num. 30 is relatively late. Whereas women in
earlier times could undertake a vow independently, '[i]t would appear
that Numbers 30 was aimed at restricting the traditional right of
women to make verbal commitments that involved cost and value'. 129
It is therefore possible that the story of 1 Sam. 1 reflects an earlier
situation in which husbands did not have the right to nullify their
wives' vows, although it is also possible that Elkanah, upon hearing
the content of Hannah's vow, approved and kept silent. 130
With regard to Num. 30, some scholars claim that the legislation
reflects a gender inequality. Jacques Berlinerblau supposes that 'the
legislation does not seek to restrict women in general, but only those
women who reside under the "jurisdiction" of a male'. 131 Women who
were not under any male authority, such as widows and divorcees,
were bound by their vows (Num. 30:9). On the other hand, no male,
whether single or married, ran the risk of his vow being annulled by
another person. According to Berlinerblau, the fact that women could
make vows is of some significance.
It seems clear t h a t t h e votive rights of men and women are characterized by a f u n d a m e n t a l asymmetry. Yet, it should also be recalled
t h a t while t h e vowing rights depicted in N u m b e r s 30 are not indicative
of a s t a t e of equality, the fact t h a t women can make vows is of some
significance. T h e y are, after all, p e r m i t t e d to initiate t h e dialogue with
Yahweh in privacy and without the prior approval of a male. This would
suggest t h a t women had the freedom to make a variety of economic decisions in t h e form of the necessary inducements and enticements which
V.H. Matthews (eds), 'Go to the Land I Will Show You': Studies in Honor of
Dwight W. Young, Winona Lake IN 1996, 123. For textual criticism of 1 Sam. 1,
cf. P.K. McCarter, 1 Samuel (AncB, 8), New York 1980, 51-8.
129
B.A. Levine, Numbers 21-36 (AncB, 4A), New York 2000, 436. See also K.
Doob Sakenfeld, 'Numbers', in: C.A. Newsom, S.H. Ringe (eds), The Women's
Bible Commentary, London 21998, 53-4.
130
Cf. Berlinerblau, The Vow and the 'Popular Religious Groups', 134-5; Meyers,
'The Hannah Narrative in Feminist Perspective', 124-5.
131
Berlinerblau, The Vow and the 'Popular Religious Groups', 137.

are offered t o t h e deity. 1 3 2

In line with Levine, Berlinerblau thus assumes that it was mainly

economic reasons that made men annul the vows of women over whom
they had authority.
Apart from Elkanah's role, another aspect of Hannah's vow requires some attention: she dedicated her son to become a lifelong
Nazirite before God. Scholars have pointed to the difference between
naziritism as a lifelong status and temporary naziritism, which is mentioned in Num. 6. 133 Like Num. 30, Levine regards Num. 6 as a relatively late law. It 'represents a late, priestly codification of religious
practices known in various forms from earlier biblical sources'. 134 According to Num. 6, a temporary Nazirite should commit himself or
herself to three behavioural restrictions: abstention from all products
of the vine, from cutting the hair of one's head, and avoidance of contact with dead persons. 135 Women as well as men could make the vow
of a Nazirite. The Bible does not attest any lifelong female Nazirites,
but temporary female Nazirites apparently did occur. Perhaps Samson's mother was regarded as one, for during her pregnancy of Samson, she was bound by the restrictions not to drink wine or strong
drink and not to eat anything unclean (Judg. 13:4-7). However, some
scholars regard her abstinence as serving that of her unborn son. 136
Hannah was not the only woman who made a vow in order to get
a son. In Prov. 31:2 king Lemuel's mother called him ' son of
my vows'. We can only guess at the gifts paid as fulfilment by this
queen, but we may assume they were costly.
Beside the mother of king Lemuel, another female votary is mentioned in the book of Proverbs, yet rather negatively (Prov. 7:14).
Prov. 7 depicts a married woman who tried to seduce a young man
into having sexual relations with her while her husband was away.
Karel van der Toorn has suggested that the woman claimed she had
132

Berlinerblau, The Vow and the 'Popular Religious Groups', 138.

Cf., e.g., G.B. Gray, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on Numbers
(ICC), Edinburgh 1903, 57-60.
134
Cf. .A. Levine, Numbers 1-20 (AncB, 4), New York 1993, 229.
135
Berlinerblau, The Vow and the 'Popular Religious Groups', 136-7, stresses
the difference between a Nazirite vow as 'a negative vow of personal consecration
made to Yahweh' which 'makes no particular demands, and is essentially a symbol
of one's devotion to the deity', and a positive vow, which is a 'promise made by
a worshipper who needs some tangible item or outcome'.
136
Cf., e.g., J. Gray, Joshua, Judges, Ruth (NCBC), Grand Rapids MI 1986, 324:
'The dedication of the hero begins in his mother's womb . . . , and is signalised by
the same abstinence from wine and fermented drink as will be incumbent on the
boy when he is born'.
133

to fulfil her vow and had no money to do so. The only way she could
think of, in order to acquire the money she needed to pay off her vow,
was by prostituting herself. Van der Toorn assumes 'that situations
such as the one hinted at in Proverbs 7 arose rather frequently in
ancient Israel'. 137 In support of his theory he refers to data from NeoBabylonian records and Herodotus' History, 1.199, as well as biblical
sources, combining Num. 30:1-16 with Deut. 23:19 [18]. The latter
text reads: 'You shall not bring the fee of a prostitute or the wages of
a male prostitute into the house of the L O R D your God in payment
for any vow, for both of these are abhorrent to the L O R D your God'.
According to Van der Toorn, desperate women who had no money to
pay the vow they had made, would occasionally prostitute themselves.
Van der Toorn's proposal is criticized by various scholars, among
whom is Claudia Camp, who rejects his thesis as 'implausible' and
'unpersuasive'. 138 With regard to Prov. 7, she states:
A g a i n s t van der T o o r n , I t h i n k it is unlikely t h a t we should imagine
a social s i t u a t i o n in which m a r r i e d w o m e n regularly engaged in a c t s
of harlotry. A l t h o u g h it is certainly t r u e t h a t laws a r e o f t e n e n a c t e d
t o c o u n t e r some existing practice, w h a t i n f o r m a t i o n we have a b o u t t h e
postexilic period suggests t o m e t h a t in P r o v e r b s 7 we a r e c o n f r o n t i n g
n o t a social reality of w a n t o n wives b u t r a t h e r a sociopsychological reality of m e n t h r e a t e n e d by a m u l t i p l y stressed social situation, including
i n t e r n a l religio-political power struggles, economically oppressive foreign rule, a n d t h e pressures of c u l t u r a l assimilation. 1 3 9

Berlinerblau agrees with Camp. 140 The scene of Prov. 7:14 is not, as
Van der Toorn assumes, representative of the religious life of an average Israelite woman, but rather a stereotyped image of the dangerous
woman.
Furthermore, according to Van der Toorn, the woman needed to
prostitute herself, because she had to fulfil her vow that same day.
137

K. van der Toorn, 'Female Prostitution in Payment of Vows in Ancient Israel',

JBL 108 (1989), 193-205 (199). See also Idem, Cradle, 93-110.
138
C.V. Camp, 'What's So Strange About the Strange Woman?' in: D. Jobling
et al. (eds), The Bible and the Politics of Exegesis, Cleveland OH 1991, 20. See
also D. Snell, review of K. van der Toorn, Van haar wieg tot haar graf, in: BiOr 46
(1989), 126; H.C. Washington, 'The Strange Woman (/ ) of Proverbs
1-9 and Post-Exilic Judaean Society', in: T.C. Eskenazi, K.H. Richards (eds),
Second Temple Studies: 2. Temple Community in the Persian Period (JSOT.S,
175), Sheffield 1994, 226, among others.
139
Camp, 'What's So Strange About the Strange Woman?' 28-9. See also section
2.1.1.1.
140

Berlinerblau, The Vow and the 'Popular Religious Groups', 141-4.

Berlinerblau wonders: '[W]here in the Old Testament is there a set

time limit regarding votive compensation?' 141 Although various texts
emphasize one should not delay payment of one's vows (Deut. 23:2224 [21-23]; Eccl. 5:3-4 [4-5]), this is not used as an argument by the
woman in Prov. 7:14.
In addition, Berlinerblau thinks Van der Toorn underestimates
women's resourcefulness to find or earn money in order to pay their
vow:
I should also like t o suggest t h a t van der T o o r n ' s a r g u m e n t u n d e r e s t i m a t e s t h e capacity of w o m e n t o earn income t h r o u g h non-sexual
activity. Even if t h e premise is accepted t h a t a w o m a n could find herself in a s i t u a t i o n where she does not have t h e necessary m e a n s t o fulfil
her vow, t h e question as t o why her only resource would be t o sell her
b o d y m u s t be posed. A m y r i a d of o t h e r revenue-enhancing activities
could be expected t o have been practised by such a n i n d i v i d u a l ' . 1 4 2

In agreement with Camp and Berlinerblau I therefore regard Van der

Toorn's theory on women prostituting themselves in order to pay their
vow as unlikely.
A negative picture of women making vows occurs once more, in
Jer. 44:15-30, where the prophet criticizes the idolatrous behaviour of
the men and women who vowed to burn incense and pour libations to
the Queen of Heaven. The women are explicitly mentioned as agents
in this chapter, and seem to have had a special relationship with
the goddess. However, Jer. 44:19 underlines the male involvement, as
does Jer. 7:18. 143 The LXX suggests that making vows to the Queen
of Heaven was done by women in particular, reading 'you women' in
Jer. 44:25, where the MT reads 'you and your wives'. 144 If so, this
was done with the approval of their husbands (cf. v. 19). About the
content of those vows little can be said (on the worship of the Queen
of Heaven, see further below).
Berlinerblau points to the polarity the Hebrew Bible portrays on
women making vows: on the one hand is the pious Hannah, vowing to YHWH, and on the other hand are dangerous and hetero-

141

Berlinerblau, The Vow and the 'Popular Religious Groups', 143.

Berlinerblau, The Vow and the 'Popular Religious Groups', 142.
143
Cf. J.A. Thompson, The Book of Jeremiah (NIC), Grand Rapids MI 1980,
679-80; R.P. Carroll, Jeremiah: A Commentary (OTL), London 1986, 734-6; G.L.
Keown et al, Jeremiah 26-52 (WBC, 27), Dallas TX 1995, 266; Berlinerblau, The
Vow and the 'Popular Religious Groups', 140-1.
144
Cf. Keown, Jeremiah 26-52, 262.
142

dox women, 'who are anything but devout Yahwists'. 145 Both opposites offer stereotyped depictions of women making vows. Only by
using implicit data can we go beyond such images of female votaries.
Berlinerblau offers two reasons for the generally accepted assumption
that women participated actively in the votive system of biblical Israel. 146 First, vows could be made in a temple, but did not need to
be made within its confines; they could also be made within a private
setting. Since many women were restricted to the domestic sphere
because of household tasks and child care, the fact that they had less
opportunities to go to the temple did not limit them in their opportunities to make a vow. Secondly, the vow was something between a
woman and her deity. She did not need her father or husband to make
the vow - they only learned of it and either approved or disapproved
of it after she had made the vow. Neither did she need a religious
specialist to mediate the vow for her - the priest's task only began
with the fulfilment of the vow.
Since cultic functionaries could not oversee whether or not vows
were actually fulfilled, they were unable to exercise any cultic punishment. Laws and narratives emphasized the divine retribution that
would befall anyone who failed to pay his or her vow. If God could generously grant a request, he could also punish a supplicant who failed
to pay. The Jephthah narrative (Judg. 11) emphasizes the conviction
that vows should be fulfilled no matter what the cost. 147
As in the surrounding countries, Israelite women also brought offerings to their God. Hannah, for example, took a three-year old bull,
an ephah of flour and a skin of wine to offer to Y H W H ( 1 Sam. 1 : 2 4 25). 148 Women sometimes brought offerings jointly with their husbands, as in the case of Hannah and Elkanah ( 1 Sam. 1:25; 2 : 1 9 ) , and
Manoah and his wife (Judg. 1 3 : 1 9 ) . Furthermore, women could also
bring offerings in connection with their ritual purification (Lev. 12;
15:25-30).
145

Berlinerblau, The Vow and the 'Popular Religious Groups', 140.

Berlinerblau, The Vow and the 'Popular Religious Groups', 147-8.
147
Berlinerblau, The Vow and the 'Popular Religious Groups', 162. On Jephthah's vow, see also D. Marcus, Jephthah and his Vow, Lubbock TX 1986, who
demonstrates that the text is sometimes ambiguous and that both interpretations
of the fulfilment of the vow - either sacrificial or non-sacrificial - are possible.
He concludes, however, that Jephthah's daughter was offered to YHWH in a nonsacrificial manner.
148
Men generally slaughtered the sacrificial animals. In Judg. 13:19 Manoah
offered a kid, and in 1 Sam. 1:25 the plural probably refers to Elkanah and Hannah.
Cf. Bird, 'The Place of Women in the Israelite Cultus', 405, n. 34, 408-9. On the
butchering of animals as a job often performed by men, see section 2.2.2.3.
146

Georg Braulik states: Wahrscheinlich hat erst das Deuteronomium

den Frauen das uneingeschrnkte Recht eingerumt, das Opfer ritual
zu leiten. Alles geschieht ja sehr verdeckt, recht vorsichtig'. 149 Yet
whether Deuteronomy grants women the right to lead the ritual, albeit concealed, is not clear. Although Braulik may be right that the
wife is co-addressed in the 'you' of the formula 'you and your family'
(Deut. 14:26; 15:20 etc.), she probably is included in this address only
as the counterpart of her husband, the head of the family. The address of a husband could include his wife, but the focal point generally
was male. Deut. 5:21 seems to be a clear example of this. Moreover,
wives who had become widows are referred to as a seperate group who
needed protection and who should share in the rejoicing (regarded as
part of the offering celebration by Braulik), which might imply that
they themselves did not (or could not) bring an offering. 150
Israelite women offered to YHWH, but also to other gods. The
prophets rebuked people who did so. Jeremiah, for example, prophesied against men and women who brought offerings to the Queen of
Heaven (Jer. 7:18; 44:15-30; see further below). And Hosea comdemned
the act of offering upon the high places (Hos. 4:13).
Offerings also played a role in the cult of the dead. 151 Based on
various biblical texts we may assume the ancestor cult was an accepted religious practice in the early biblical period. 152 The dead were
brought offerings (Deut. 26:14; Isa. 56:9-57:13; Pss. 16:3-5; 106:28)
and they were consulted by the living (Lev. 19:31; Deut. 18:9-11; 1
Sam. 28:3-25; 2 Kgs 21:6; 23:24; Isa. 8:19-20a; 19:3). When monotheistic Yahwism became the normative religion, the ancestor cult was
149

G. Braulik, 'Durften auch Frauen in Israel Opfern?: Beobachtungen zur Sinnund Festgestalt des Opfers im Deuteronomium', Liturgisches Jahrbuch 48 (1998),
222-48 (247). See also Idem, 'Haben in Israel auch Frauen geopfert?: Beobachtungen am Deuteronomium', in: S. Kreuzer, K. Lthi (eds), Zur Aktualitt des
Alten Testaments: Festschrift fr Georg Sauer zum 65. Geburtstag, Frankfurt am
Main 1992, 19-28.
150
Cf. U. Winter, Frau und Gttin: Exegetische und ikonographis che Studien zum
weiblichen Gottesbild im Alten Israel und in dessen Umwelt (OBO, 53), Freiburg,
Schweiz 1983, 38-40; P.A. Bird, 'The Place of Women in the Israelite Cultus',
in: P.D. Miller et al. (eds), Ancient Israelite Religion: Essays in Honor of Frank
Moore Cross, Philadelphia 1987, 408-9.
151
Cf. . Spronk, Beatific Afterlife in Ancient Israel and in the Ancient Near
East (AOAT, 219), Kevelaer & Neukirchen-Vluyn 1986, 247-50; T.J. Lewis, Cults
of the Dead in Ancient Israel and Ugant (HSM, 39), Atlanta G A 1989, 99-170.
152
Cf. M.S. Smith, The Early History of God: Yahweh and the Other Deities in
Ancient Israel, San Fransisco 1990, 126-32; K. van der Toorn, Family Religion
in Babylonia, Syria and Israel: Continuity and Change in the Forms of Religious
Life (SHCANE, 7), Leiden 1996, 206-35; De Moor, R0Y, 317-61.

condemned as a challenge to the belief that Y H W H was the sole controller of human destiny. 153
Just as the dead at Ugarit were called 'Urn, so, too, in biblical
Israel, the spirits of the dead could be referred to as1)
Sam.
28:13). Theodore Lewis explains:
'lhm is no more a designation equating the dead Samuel with Elohim than is ilu (in reference to the deceased) in ancient Near Eastern
texts an equation with the high gods of the Canaanite, Mesopotamian,
and Hittite pantheons. . . . By designating the dead Samuel 'lhm
the narrator chooses to emphasize the preternatural character of the
apparition. 154
Parallel to Ug. 'il'ib is the Heb. designation ' ancestor spirit'. Unlike
the Ugaritic term, however, the Hebrew does not emphasize any godlike character. 155
Another term designating the spirits of the dead is , related to
Ug. rp'um.156 Etymologically, the term is related to ' to heal', and
was originally read ' healers, saviours'. However, within normative Yahwism this name became unsuitable, since the dead were
considered powerless spirits. The vocalization ' feeble, impotent
ones' related the word to the root ' to be feeble'. 157
There are a few references in the Bible to the commemoration of
ancestors in the female line. In 2 Sam. 19:38 [37] Barzillai the Gileadite, who escorted king David, asked that he may return to his own
town: 'Please let your servant return, so that I may die in my own
town, near the graves of my father and my mother'. Barzillai explicitly referred to the graves of both his parents, not only that of his
father. 158 Graves of women are also mentioned in other texts. The
burial of Rachel is recorded in Gen. 35:19-20:
So Rachel died, and she was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is,
Bethlehem), and Jacob set up a pillar at her grave; it is the pillar of
Rachel's tomb, which is there to this day.

153

Lewis, Cults of the Dead, 100-4, 172, 176-7.

Lewis, Cults of the Dead, 115-6. See also Spronk, Beatific Afterlife, 52.
155
Cf. Van der Toorn, Family Religion, 160.
156
Cf. H. Rouillard, 'Rephaim ', in: DDD, 692-700. See also J.C. de Moor,
'Rpi'ma - Rephaim', ZAW 88 (1976), 323-45; Van der Toorn, Family Religion,
225, 230.
157
De Moor, 'Rpi'ma - Rephaim', 340-1; Van der Toorn, Family Religion, 225.
158
See also Jer. 16:7, where mourning one's father as well as one's mother is
mentioned.
154

Her tomb is also referred to in 1 Sam. 10:2, in a context of ritual

activities. It apparently had become a holy place. 159
The Israelite matriarchs were held in high esteem by their offspring, even centuries later. In the book of Ruth the people at the
gate referred to Rachel and Leah, 'who together built up the house
of Israel' (Ruth 4:11) and to Tamar, the matriarch of the house of
David (Ruth 4:12,18-20). Deutero-Isaiah referred to Sarah as the
archmother of the Israelite people (Isa. 51:2). Moreover, a matriarch
was thought to participate actively in the fate of later generations of
her family. According to Jer. 31:15, Rachel is weeping for her children
(the northern tribes) who have gone into exile (722 BCE) and is subsequently addressed by God with a prophetic message of consolation.
I therefore conclude that Rachel was thought to be somehow present
among her offspring centuries after her death, which coincides with
the view held in the ancestor cult.
Another reference to the commemoration of female ancestors may
be found in 2 Kgs 9:34-37. Jehu had ordered that Jezebel be thrown
down from a window. 'Then he went in and ate and drank; he said,
"See to that cursed woman and bury her; for she is a king's daughter" '
(2 Kgs 9:34). Lewis has proposed that the command of Jehu, ,
should be translated 'care for her (i.e., act as a pqidu on her behalf in
fulfilling the customary funerary rites including the essential services
of the cult of the dead)'. 160 As in Mesopotamia, there would have
been certain funerary rites performed by a caretaker in biblical Israel,
too. Jehu motivated his command by referring to her royal descent,
which might indicate that the cult of the dead was performed at least
for royal women. The fact that Jezebel is referred to as the daughter
of a king, i.e., Ethbaal, rather than the wife of king Ahab, is possibly
due to the narrator's intent to emphasize Jezebel's Canaanite roots.
Although there are some references to ancestors in the female line,
most notably Rachel, the cult of the dead seems to have been predominantly focused around male ancestors. Karel van der Toorn refers to
studies of Hebrew personal names in which theophoric elements referring to deified male kin occur (, , ). He concludes:
In Hebrew anthroponymics there is not one feminine kinship t e r m used
as a theophoric element, in spite of the veneration of certain women
such as Rachel (1 Samuel 10:2; Jeremiah 31:15). T h e ancestor cult was
159

Cf. Van der Toorn, Family Religion, 216; See also S. Starr Sered, Women as
Ritual Experts: The Religious Lives of Elderly Jewish Women in Jerusalem, New
York 1992, 18-22, 29.
160
Lewis, Cults of the Dead, 121.

therefore a p p a r e n t l y concerned primarily with patrilineal ancestors. 1 6 1

In its present context, the commandment to honour one's father

and mother (Exod. 20:12; Deut. 5:16) should not be regarded as involving the duty to perform funerary rites. According to Cornells
Houtman, it was an adult son's duty to provide his parents with food,
clothing and shelter, and give them an honourable burial after their
death. 162 The cult of the dead was incompatible with the exclusive
worship of YHWH, as expressed in Exod. 20:3-5 and Deut. 5:7-9.163
Yet in period before the Deuteronomistic redaction, the regulation
to honour one's parents probably included the performance of such
rites. 164 Comparing Exod. 21:6 with Deut. 15:17, we note that the
ancestor gods (), mentioned in the former text, are absent in the
latter. Although venerated in earlier times, they are non-existent in
the eyes of the Deuteronomist.
In biblical Israel, as in Ugarit and other neighbouring countries, a
son had the duty to perform the cult of the dead. It is told of Absalom,
who had no son, that he himself erected a : 'Now Absalom in his
lifetime had taken and set up for himself a pillar that is in the King's
Valley, for he said, "I have no son to keep my name in remembrance";
he called the pillar by his own name. It is called Absalom's Monument
to this day' (2 Sam. 18:18). The terminology used, ,
resembles that of the invocation of the name in the Mesopotamian
cult of the dead. 165
But whereas a son was responsible for the ancestor cult, a daughter
probably felt involved in it. Commitment to the ancestor cult somehow seems to have motivated Rachel's theft of the , the ancestor
figurines (Gen. 31). 166 According to Cheryl Exum, 'it is reasonable
161

Van der Toorn, Family Religion, 229.

C. Houtman, Exodus, vol. 3, (HCOT), Leuven 2000, 52, 57.
163
Cf. . Loretz, 'Das "Ahnen- und Gtterstatuen-Verbot" im Dekalog und die
Einzigkeit Jahwes: Zum Begriff des Gttlichen in altorientalischen und alttestamentlichen Quellen 1 , in: W. Dietrich, M.A. Klopfenstein (eds), Ein Gott allein?
(OBO, 139), Freiburg & Gttingen 1994, 495-507, who states that the first commandment was directed against ancestor gods.
164
Cf. H.C. Brichto, 'Kin, Cult, Land and Afterlife - A Biblical Complex', HUCA
44 (1973), 31, n. 49.
165
Cf. Lewis, Cults of the Dead, 118-20.
166
Although in the past the teraphim have often been regarded as household
gods, based on alleged Nuzi parallels, it is now commonly accepted that they
were ancestor figurines. Cf. H.A. Hoffner, 'Hittite tarpi and Hebrew terphm',
JNES 27 (1968), 61-8; K. van der Toorn, 'The Nature of the Biblical Teraphim
in the Light of the Cuneiform Evidence', CBQ 52 (1990), 203-22; De Moor, RoY,
342-3; T.J. Lewis, 'Teraphim ', in: DDD, 844-50.
162

to conclude that her motive has something to do with concern with

the family line . . . . ,167 Possibly Rachel's theft can be related to the
belief that the teraphim played a role in granting life to the family. 168
The teraphim were placed in houses (1 Sam. 19:13) but also in local
sanctuaries (Judg. 17:5; Hos. 3:4). 169
There was an 'intimate link between the possession of the family
inheritance and the cult of the family dead'. 170 The ancestor graves
were on the family estate. The living had inherited the land from
the dead and they had the duty to perform the cult of the dead by
offering to them and invoking their name. It would seem that some of
this practice is reflected in the story of the daughters of Zelophehad,
who were given their father's inheritance (Num. 27; 36). Although it
is not clearly stated how the name of the father is perpetuated, it is
related to the ability of the daughters to inherit the land. Possibly it
is an allusion to the duty of a daughter to invoke her deceased father's
name in the absence of sons.
The women of an Israelite family probably were present when the
male head of the family performed the cult of the dead. If daily rites
were performed in the house of the family, analogous to the situation
in Mesopotamia, attendance of female family members seems likely.
Furthermore, the story of Rachel's theft points to her involvement in
the cult. It is hard to imagine how she would have been committed
to the cult if she were not present.
Women seem to have had a special role in two cults that were
rejected by the canonical sources. The first is the cult of Tammuz,
the second the worship of the Queen of Heaven.
Wailing for Tammuz, or Dumuzi, as the god was known in Mesopotamia, is mentioned in Ezek. 8:14. In a vision the prophet Ezekiel
sees women sitting at the northern gate of the Jerusalemite temple,
weeping for Tammuz. The women's action is mentioned as the third of
four examples of temple abominations, which are presented as increasingly abominable. Beside this brief reference, nothing is mentioned
about their weeping or worship.
The cult of Tammuz can perhaps be related to the cult of Hadad
Rimmon, which probably is mentioned in Zech. 12:11: 'On that day
the mourning in Jerusalem will be as great as the mourning for Hadad167

.J.C. Exum, Fragmented Women: Feminist (Sub)versions of Biblical Narratives (JSOT.S, 163), Sheffield 1993, 128.
168
See section 2.1.2.
169
Van der Toorn, Family Religion, 218-25.
170
Van der Toorn, Family Religion, 211. See also L.E. Stager, 'The Archaeology
of the Family in Ancient Israel', BASOR 260 (1985), 23.

rimmon in the plain of Megiddo'. Scholars generally identify Hadad

Rimmon with Baal, whose death is mourned in Ugaritic mythology
by Ilu and 'Anatu. 1 7 1 However, some suppose Hadad-rimmon is a
topographical reference. 'The plain of Megiddo' would then refer to
the place where king Josiah had died (2 Chron. 35:22). According to
the Chronicler (2 Chron. 35:24-25), lamenting the king had become
an annual custom. 172
Another reference to the cult of Tammuz may occur in Dan. 11,
where the actions of Antiochus IV Epiphanes are described: 'The king
shall act as he pleases. He shall exalt himself and consider himself
greater than any god, and shall speak horrendous things against the
God of gods. . . . He shall pay no respect to the gods of his ancestors,
or to the one beloved by women; he shall pay no respect to any other
god, for he shall consider himself greater than all' (Dan. 11:36-37).
The deity that is described as 'the one beloved by women' might
be related to a cult in which women played a prominent role. Both
Tammuz and Adonis are mentioned as possible 'beloved ones'. 173
Meindert Dijkstra regards the prominent role of the women in
Ezek. 8:14 as a cultic role. Based on the use of the article in , he
proposes to regard the women weeping over Tammuz as a professional
guild of wailing women, possibly belonging to the . Their ritual
mourning was not part of a Geheimkult, but publicly performed as
part of the official cult. 174 Yet the fact that they publicly performed
the wailing does not have to mean they were acknowledged cultic
officiants. The article may denote a particular class of women, but
not necessarily a class of cultic personnel.
Dijkstra furthermore offers an explanation for the ritual of mourning being observed in the sixth month instead of the fourth month. He
assumes that the cult of Tammuz 'became affiliated with indigenous
traditions', more specifically, the Baal-Hadad-Adonis cult, which was
a continuation of the second-millennium Ba'lu cult, as it is known
171

J.C. de Moor, The Seasonal Pattern in the Ugaritic Myth of Ba'lu (AOAT,
16), Neukirchen-Vluyn 1971, 195, 200-1; R.L. Smith, Micah-Malachi (WBC, 32),
Waco TX 1984, 278-9; C.L. Meyers, E.M. Meyers, Zechariah 9-14 (AncB, 25C),
New York 1993, 343.
172
C.L. Meyers, E.M. Meyers, Zechariah 9-14, 343-4.
173
L.F. Hartman, A.A. di Leila, The Book of Daniel (AncB, 23), New York 1978,
302; J.E. Goldingay, Daniel (WBC, 30), Dallas TX 1989, 304.
174
M. Dijkstra, 'Goddess, Gods, Men and Women in Ezekiel 8', in: B. Becking, M.
Dijkstra (eds), On Reading Prophetic Texts: G ender-Specific and Related Studies
in Memory of Fokkelien van Dijk-Hemmes (BIntS, 18), Leiden 1996, 83-114; Idem,
'Daar zaten de vrouwen, die Tammuz beweenden (Ezechil 8:14)', NedThT 50
(1996), 203-14.

from Ugarit. 175

Susan Ackerman, on the other hand, relates Ezek. 8:14 to the
references to the worship of the Queen of Heaven. She assumes the
women weeping for Tammuz were devotees of Ishtar, who, following
the deity's example, lamented the death of Ishtar's lover. 176
Not convincing is Karel van der Toorn's proposal, which relates the
weeping of the women for Tammuz to the story of Jephthah's daughter
who bewails her virginity together with her companions (Judg. 1 1 : 3 7 38). 177 As Fokkelien van Dijk-Hemmes has shown, the two stories are
not analogous, rather, there are important differences which make it
plausible to assume this was a different female ritual. 178
As we noted above, Ackerman relates the wailing for Tammuz to
the veneration of the Queen of Heaven. The worship of this goddess is
mentioned in Jer. 7 : 1 7 - 1 8 and 4 4 : 1 5 - 3 0 . The prophet was instructed
not to pray for the people of Judah because of their disobedience to
Y H W H ( J e r . 7:17-18):
D o you not see w h a t t h e y are doing in t h e t o w n s of J u d a h a n d in t h e
s t r e e t s of J e r u s a l e m ? T h e children g a t h e r wood, t h e f a t h e r s kindle fire,
a n d t h e w o m e n kneed dough, t o m a k e cakes for t h e queen of heaven;
a n d t h e y p o u r out drink offerings t o other gods, t o provoke me t o anger.

When the inhabitants of Judah fled to Egypt after the destruction

of Jerusalem, they continued to worship the Queen of Heaven. They
contradicted Jeremiah's interpretation of history that worship of other
gods had led Y H W H to punish them and bring disaster over Jerusalem
and the towns of Judah. On the contrary, they believed that stopping
their worship of the Queen of Heaven had led to their misfortune (Jer.
44:15-18):
T h e n all t h e m e n who were aware t h a t their wives h a d been m a k 175

Dijkstra, 'Goddess, Gods, Men and Women in Ezekiel 8', 100-2 (100); Idem,
'Daar zaten de vrouwen, die Tammuz beweenden (Ezechil 8:14)', 211-3.
Already Jerome identified Tammuz with Adonis (Epist. 58:3). See further D.I.
Block, The Book of Ezekiel: Chapters 1-24 (NICOT), Grand Rapids MI 1997,
295, n. 65.
176
S. Ackerman, ' "And the Women Knead Dough": The worship of the Queen
of Heaven in sixth-century Judah', in: P.L. Day (ed.), Gender and Difference in
Ancient Israel, Minneapolis MN 1989, 116.
177
Van der Toorn, Cradle, 117-9.
178
F. van Dijk-Hemmes, 'Traces of Women's Texts in the Hebrew Bible', in: A.
Brenner, F. van Dijk-Hemmes, On Gendering Texts: Female and Male Voices in
the Hebrew Bible (BIntS, 1), Leiden 1993, 87-90. See also P.L. Day, 'From the
Child is Born the Woman: The Story of Jephthah's Daughter', in: P.L. Day (ed.),
Gender and Difference in Ancient Israel, Minneapolis 1989, 58-74.

ing offerings to other gods, and all the women who stood by, a great
assembly, all the people who lived in Pathros in the land of Egypt,
answered Jeremiah: "As for the word that you have spoken to us in
the name of the LORD, we are not going to listen to you. Instead, we
will do everything that we have vowed, make offerings to the queen of
heaven and pour out libations to her, just as we and our ancestors, our
kings and our officials, used to do in the towns of Judah and in the
streets of Jerusalem. We used to have plenty of food, and prospered,
and saw no misfortune. But from the time we stopped making offerings
to the queen of heaven and pouring out libations to her, we have lacked
everything and have perished by the sword and by famine".
Women played an important role in the worship of the goddess, but
the men were involved, too (Jer. 7:18; 44:19). The cult of the Queen of
Heaven probably was part of popular/family religion. 179 The women
baked cakes for the goddess, marked with her image. As we saw in
section 2.2.2.3, in the Bible baking generally was a woman's job.
These cakes possibly offer a clue to the identification of the deity.
The word used for the cakes, , is generally regarded as a loanword from Akk. kamnu 'cake'. 180 The Mesopotamian goddess Ishtar
is connected with kamnu cakes in worship ritual. 181 Of the cakes it is
futhermore said they were marked with the image of the goddess (Jer.
44:19). This mark may have been a star or a pubic triangle, but it is
also possible that the dough of the cakes was formed either by hand
or by a mold in the shape of a female figure. At Mari molds have been
found portraying a nude female figure. It has been suggested that the
figure represented Ishtar. If one accepts this suggestion, the molds
may have been used to bake cakes which would have been offered to
Ishtar in her cult. 182 However, offering cakes to deities was a common
practice in the ancient Near East, and the identification of the female
figure on the Mari molds with Ishtar is far from certain. Moreover, the
title Queen of Heaven (or Lady of Heaven) is used for other goddesses
as well.
Much has been written on the identification of the Queen of Heaven,
but no consensus has been reached. Scholars have suggested that the
179

Cf. C. Frevel, Aschera und der Ausschlielichkeitsanspruch

Yhwhs: Beitrge zu literarischen, religionsgeschichtlichen und ikonographischen Aspekten der
Ascheradiskussion (BBB, 94/1), Weinheim 1995, 436, 517-8.
180
Cf. CAD (K), 110-1; Ackerman, ' "And the Women Knead Dough"
123
. 46.
181
Ackerman, ' "And the Women Knead Dough" 115, offers various examples.
182
A. Malamat, 'Mari', 34 (1971), 21; Ackerman, ' "And the Women Knead
Dough" ', 115-6.

goddess could be identified with either Ishtar, Astarte, Asherah, Anat

or Shapshu. 183 Saul Olyan has shown that east Semitic Ishtar and
west Semitic Astarte are the most likely candidates. 184 Although he
regards the evidence as indecisive, he prefers an identification with
Astarte. I concur with Susan Ackerman, who assumes the Queen of
Heaven to be a syncretistic goddess, combining characteristics of east
Semitic Ishtar and west Semitic Astarte. 185 Whether the Queen of
Heaven should be regarded as the consort of Tammuz/Baal/Adonis
is beyond the scopus of this study.
Both in the wailing over Tammuz and the worship of the Queen of
Heaven women played a prominent role. Yet it should be kept in mind
that in both cases tasks are described that were generally attributed to
women, i.e., mourning and baking bread. As we have seen, the Queen
of Heaven was not worshipped by women only. Possibly Tammuz was
also venerated by men.
Based on Jer. 7:17-18; 44:15-30 and Ezek. 8:14, there is no reason
to assume that women were more prone to idolatry than men. This has
been suggested in the past by scholars such as Gerhard von Rad 1 8 6 and
is nowadays assumed by feminist scholars such as Susan Ackerman. 187
The latter states that women were drawn to idolatrous practices such
as the worship of the Queen of Heaven because of the religious power
they could exercise in her cult. Yet what power and authority this may
have been does not become clear. As we saw in the previous section,
apart from a role as priestess for certain royal women, authoritative
positions in the cult in first-millennium Mesopotamia were exercised
by men. Analogous to the veneration of Ishtar in Mesopotamia, we
cannot assume an authoritative position for women in the cult of
Ishtar/Astarte in biblical Israel.
If some women were drawn to heterodox cultic practices, as were
some men, the reason may perhaps be sought in the centralization
of the cult. From Hannah's story (1 Sam. 1) we do not get the im183

For an overview of various proposals, cf. S.M. Olyan, 'Some Observations

Concerning the Identity of the Queen of Heaven', UF 19 (1987), 161-3; Ackerman,
' " A n d the Women Knead Dough"', 110, 118-9, nn. 3-8; Frevel, Aschera und
der Ausschlielichkeitsanspruch
Yhwhs, 444-71; Keown, Jeremiah 26-52, 266-7;
C. Houtman, 'Queen of Heaven ' , in: DDD, 678-80.
184
Olyan, 'Some Observations Concerning the Identity of the Queen of Heaven',
161-74.
185
Ackerman, ' "And the Women Knead Dough" ', 109-24.
186
Cf. M.-Th. Wacker, ' "Religionsgeschichte Israels" oder "Theologie des Alten
Testaments" - (k)eine Alternative?: Anmerkungen aus feministisch-exegetischer
Sicht', JBTh 10 (1995), 137.
187
Ackerman, ' "And the Women Knead Dough" ', 117-8.

pression that women in the pre-monarchic period were restricted in

their access to the temple. This may have changed with the centralization of the cult. Whereas women fulfilled several roles as religious
specialists in the pre-monarchic period and during the early days of
the monarchy, these roles were either limited or eliminated during
later periods. This resulted in a decline in women's participation in
the cult as religious specialists. Yet did the participation of women as
worshippers diminish? In the light of Hannah's story we may conclude
that women had easy access to local and regional shrines. Women as
worshippers often remain hidden behind 'the facade of generic male
terminology', as Phyllis Bird observes. 'Isolated clues suggest, however, that women attended the major communal feasts and rituals,
insofar as personal and domestic circumstances permitted, and presumably contributed to the preparation of meals and of food (especially grain) offerings'. 188 Participation of women as worshippers in
pilgrim feasts became restricted with the centralization of the cult
in Jerusalem. Furthermore, worship at local and regional sanctuaries
became branded as idolatrous and, in prophetic polemics, as promiscuous, which deprived women of further opportunities to act as legitimate worshippers. Phyllis Bird analyses the religious position of
women in biblical Israel as follows:
The progressive movement from multiple cultic centers to a central
site that finally claimed sole legitimacy and control over certain ritual events necessarily restricted the participation of women in pilgrim
feasts and limited opportunities for women to seek guidance, release,
and consolation at local shrines, which were declared illegitimate or
demolished. At the same time, increased specialization and hierarchal
ordering of priestly/levitical ranks within the royal/national cultus deprived males in general (as well as Levites) of earlier priestly prerogatives, increasing the distance or sharpening the boundary between the
professional guardians of the cultus and the larger circle of male Israelites who comprised the religious assembly. Reorganization of the
cultus under the monarchy and again in the postexilic period appears
to have limited or eliminated roles earlier assigned to women. On the
other hand, there appears to have been a move (most clearly evident in
the Deuteronomic legislation) to bring women more fully and directly
into the religious assembly, so that the congregation is redefined as a
body of lay men and women.189

188
189

Bird, 'The Place of Women in the Israelite Cultus', 408.

Bird, 'The Place of Women in the Israelite Cultus', 411.

As a result of the centralization of the cult, the religious life of women

became more centered around the home. The Deuteronomist seems to
have acknowledged the danger of women becoming excluded from the
centralized cult. This would explain the emphasis we find in Deuteronomy on women as members of the covenant community.
D.

CONCLUSIONS

Due to the androcentric scopus of our material, not many prayers of

women have come down to us. We have a few prayers of women from
Mesopotamia, Egypt, Hatti and biblical Israel, but none from Ugarit.
Women prayed for help and intercession, and praised the gods/God in
thanksgiving. Women's prayers would often be related to their status
as a mother, or to the fact that they had not achieved that status,
but they could also ask the deity for help in a difficult personal situation, or pray for the well-being of themselves or another person. Both
in the ancient Near East and the Bible women would express their
thanksgiving in praise.
In the Bible as well as in the rest of the ancient Near East, vows
generally were expressed in a context of prayer. Both men and women
made vows and were supposed to fulfil them. As far as we known,
it is only in biblical Israel that women were somewhat restricted in
making vows. It was probably for economic reasons that men annulled
the vows of women over whom they had authority. Yet women in
biblical Israel participated actively in the votive system. Vows could
be made informally and did not necessarily need to be made in a
temple. Women made vows in various situations, asking the gods/God
for various beneficiary acts. The examples from the ancient Near East
and Ugarit show that they asked for the restoration of their own
health or that of a family member. Both in Mesopotamia and biblical
Israel, childless women would make vows concerning a child. People
in the ancient Near East were convinced that vows had to be kept
and that they called down misfortune upon themselves if they did
not fulfil them. Vows were generally paid to the temple in the form
of material goods or praise. Biblical Hannah vowed to dedicate the
child she asked for to YHWH. Whereas images representing the deity
or the supplicant could be offered in fulfilment of a vow in Israel's
neighbouring countries, this was inconceivable within Yahwism.
Women brought offerings in fulfilment of vows, but also for other
reasons, for example, to conciliate a deity. Both in Ugarit and biblical Israel women brought sacrifices to the gods/God. Israelite wives
sometimes jointly brought offerings with their husbands.
Offering to the ancestors as well as invoking their name in the

cult of the dead was the responsibility of the eldest son. This was
the case in Mesopotamia, Egypt, Ugarit and Israel. Women could
take care of the dead, but generally only in the absence of sons. At
Emar and Nuzi women were endowed with male gender to enable
them to become legitimate heirs and as such be responsible for the
ancestor cult. Both in Mesopotamia and Egypt taking care of the
dead could make a person, male or female, a legitimate heir. At Ugarit
women seldom seem to have performed the cult of the dead. Queens
participated in the cult and possibly brought offerings. In biblical
Israel, the ancestor cult was also performed by men. Prom Num. 27
and 36 we may perhaps conclude that daughters invoked the name of
their deceased father in the absence of sons.
In all cultures of the ancient Near East ancestors in the female
line were commemorated and venerated, but ancestors in the male
line were regarded as more important. Maternal ancestors seem to
have had a secondary position in the cult of the dead in Mesopotamia,
Egypt, Ugarit and Israel.
In Mesopotamia, Ugarit and biblical Israel, women participated in
religious festivals and sacrificial meals. During all periods of Israel's
history women were present at cultic gatherings. However, women
were not equal participants in worship, since their role was not essential, unlike that of men. Although the information on the participation of women at cultic gatherings in Ugarit is scanty, here, too, the
role of women may have been less important than that of men. The
fact that married women were forbidden to attend marzeah parties,
while unmarried girls were only present as servants, may point in that
direction.
In Mesopotamia and biblical Israel women played a prominent role
in the cult of Tammuz/Dumuzi. Possibly in Israel this cult was related to the worship of the Queen of Heaven. Yet the suggestion that
women were more prone to idolatry than men should be rejected. Due
to the centralization of the cult, women (but also men) had less opportunity to partake in it. Whereas in the pre-monarchic period and
the early days of the monarchy visiting a local shine was permitted,
it later became labelled as illegitimate. Although the Deuteronomist
redactors acknowledged the danger of women becoming excluded from
the centralized cult, they could not prevent that it offered female worshippers less opportunities to celebrate their membership as members
of the covenant community.

3.3 General Conclusions

We will now compare the status patterns of women's religious positions in the Ugaritic literary texts and the Hebrew Bible. Like the
status patterns regarding the social position of women, it would seem
that there are many correspondences between the religious positions
of women in Ugarit and Israel.
W O M E N AS RELIGIOUS SPECIALISTS

Purity was of utmost importance as regards contact with deities. No

Ugaritic texts have been found to date that deal with the impurity
of women, but we do know that the Ugaritians required purity of
those who came into contact with the gods. Several texts mention the
ritual purification of the king and we may assume that the queen,
too, had to purify herself before making sacrifices. In biblical Israel
persons must also be pure when they approached God. In this regard
the Bible holds strict regulations for women and men. Scholars have
often pointed to the periodic uncleanness of women as a major reason
to exclude women from the priesthood. However, vaginal discharges
were considered a source of impurity not only in biblical Israel, but
also in Mesopotamia, Hatti and Egypt. Yet in these latter countries
women did serve in the priesthood, at least in the second millennium
BCE. It should furthermore be noted that the strict regulations concerning Israelite women's ritual purity implied that they participated
as worshippers in the cult on a regular basis. Moreover, it is incorrect
to assume that Israelite women were unclean for about one quarter of
their life. Due to a large number of pregnancies and a long period of
breastfeeding, women menstruated less than they do in the western
world today.
Periodic impurity cannot be regarded as the major reason to exelude women from the priesthood. Scholars have often emphasized
that in contrast to Israel, in its neighbouring countries priestesses
did occur. However, the contrast is overestimated. Neither in the
Ugaritic literary texts, nor in the Hebrew Bible do female priests
occur. Those who point to the contrast between Israel and its neighbouring countries offer examples from third and early second millennium BCE Mesopotamia and Egypt. They disregard the fact that in
both Mesopotamia and Egypt the number of priestesses decreased
considerably during the second millennium. From the second half of
the second millennium on only women of high birth fulfilled a priestly
function - in Egypt as a God's Wife of Amun and in Mesopotamia as
a nin-dingir. In Hatti the queen mother acted as tawananna, and other

women also fulfilled priestly functions, though in far smaller numbers

than men, it would seem. At Emar, the nin-dingir was of high birth,
possibly a princess.
In Ugarit, the queen and princesses acted as officiants in the cult,
although they were not referred to by a specific title. The queen of
Ugarit is mentioned in various texts as a cultic officiant, often next to
the king. Royal princesses of Ugarit took part in the ancestor cult and
in offerings to major deities. Perhaps the myths that are described in
KTU 1.3:11 and KTU 1.101 were performed in ritual by a princess.
In the Hebrew Bible no description of a queen or princess in a
priestly capacity can be found. Gsta Ahlstrm and Susan Ackerman
have proposed theories for a cultic role for the Israelite queen mother,
but their theories should be rejected as too speculative. Ahlstrm
has furthermore proposed that the queen participated in a sacred
marriage ritual. The sacred marriage was probably performed in the
Mesopotamian cults of the Ur ill and Old Babylonian periods. Egyptian mythology was also familiar with the theme of sacred marriage.
Following Johannes Renger, I distinguished between sacred marriage,
which is the ritual enactment of a marriage of deities (often Inanna
and Dumuzi) by humans, and divine marriage, which is a marriage
between gods that is symbolically acted out in the cult. Currently
most scholars hold that the sacred marriage ritual was not celebrated
in Israelite worship. The evidence from Ugarit, on the other hand,
suggests that it was celebrated there. KTU 1.132 probably reflects a
sacred marriage rite in which the king of Ugarit married the goddess
Pidrayu and thus became related to the divine family of Ba'lu. KTU
1.23 should be regarded as a text on divine marriage, which was symbolically re-enacted in the cult. Although the king was present, he did
not act as a marriage partner in the symbolic re-enactment.
The rejection of the idea that a deity married a human, either
ritually or symbolically, is related to the exclusion of women from
the priesthood in biblical Israel. This probably is the main reason
for the absence of female priests in the Bible. I assumed that the
professionalization of the priesthood also contributed to it. As had
happened in Egypt and Mesopotamia, this probably resulted in the
exclusion of women from the priesthood. The centralization of the
cult resulted in a specialized and hierarchically ordered priesthood.
While Israelite women had possibly fulfilled a priestly role in earlier
times, such a role seems to have been eliminated during the monarchic
period, even for women of high birth. Concern for purity may have
played a (minor) role in the exclusion of women from the priesthood,
too, but most important was the concern for monotheistic worship

of YHWH. Monotheistic Yahwism could not tolerate a goddess alongside YHWH. The idea of a female cultic functionary in the capacity
of 'wife' of Y H W H was just as reprehensible. To ensure that Y H W H
would not be regarded as a 'sexual' partner, women were excluded
from the priesthood. If official religion had accepted female priests,
we may assume that, analogous to Israel's neighbouring countries,
only royal women would have been eligible for this office. It cannot
be excluded that royal women played a certain role in the pre-Josianic
cult as officiants, but one can only speculate on this. Protest against
the veneration of Asherah was voiced by advocates of monotheism at
least from the eighth century BCE on, and possibly even earlier. If 1
Kgs 15:13 is regarded as historically reliable, this would imply that
in the ninth century BCE Maacah was removed from her function
as queen mother because she interfered with religious politics by promoting the goddess Asherah. Perhaps her function included a priestly
role, but the Hebrew Bible is silent about this. I have assumed that
official religion in Israel gradually became monolatrous and, from the
seventh century BCE onwards, more inclined to monotheism. Whereas
monolatry still tolerated the veneration of Asherah in a subordinate
role, monotheism excluded the worship of Asherah. As a consequence,
at least from the seventh century onwards a cultic role for the queen
would have been impossible. Whether the silence of the Hebrew Bible
on royal women as officiants in the Israelite cult reflects historical
reality or concealment by Deuteronomistic redactors cannot be determined.
Beside the function of priestess, which was fulfilled by only a few
women of high birth in the ancient Near East, there were other female
cultic functions. The Hebrew Bible refers to the , a consecrated
woman with a cult-related function. Although in the past scholars regarded the as a cultic prostitute, this has now convincingly been
refuted. The association with prostitution is polemic in origin. Rather,
the were a class of functionaries whom the biblical authors associated with improper worship of YHWH, probably functioning at
the outlying sanctuaries in pre-Josianic times. It is noteworthy that
in Mesopotamia the qaditu was a cultic functionary whose status
diminished over time. In the first millennium BCE she was associated
with witchcraft and sorcery, yet she did not engage in cultic prostitution. At Ugarit, we encountered the qd, who probably was the
male counterpart of the qdh. His female counterpart is not attested
in Ugaritic, however. Scholars assume the qd either was a cantor, a
purifier or a diviner, but not a male cultic prostitute.
The naditu, well attested in Mesopotamian texts, does not occur

in Ugaritic texts, nor in the Hebrew Bible.

Exod. 38:8 and 1 Sam. 2:22 refer to women who were serving at
the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. It is not clear what the exact
function of these women was, perhaps they were religious officiants of
a lower cultic rank.
Within the cult women also fulfilled functions in relation to music.
The Ugaritic goddess 'Anatu sang and played the lyre (KTU 1.3:111.48). This mythic theme may reflect the participation of female singers
and musicians in the cult. Moreover, Thatmanatu, the youngest daughter of king Kirtu, acted as musician and singer in a context of mourning. As we will see in chapter 4, at Ugarit female singers probably participated in the cult. The fact that we have no data on female dancers
in a cultic setting may be attributed to the scarcity of information.
Also in Israel women participated in the cult as singers, musicians
and dancers. The data on female singers of songs of victory in praise
of Y H W H may have had a cultic setting, but this remains hypothetical. We have more certainty on women as dancers in the cult. Judg.
21:19 refers to a religious festival where nubile girls danced. Moreover,
various texts describing dancers in a cultic setting may perhaps be
interpreted inclusively. Ps. 68:25-28 offers a clear example of women
as cultic musicians. Although there is much discussion on the setting and date of this Psalm, we can state that women played a role
as temple musicians during the monarchic period. Israelite women
probably acted as cultic singers, musicians and dancers in the premonarchic period and the early days of the monarchy. In the later
period of the monarchy and the post-exilic period their role seems to
have been limited to secular entertainment and mourning ritual.
Mourning, although performed by men as well as women, was a
female specialism. Both in Ugarit and Israel, women played a more
prominent role in mourning than men. In KTU 1.19:IV.8-22 professional female mourners are mentioned, and the wailing activities
of Thatmanatu, the youngest daughter of king Kirtu, are narrated
quite extensively. In biblical Israel it was customary, too, for men and
women to mourn their deceased family members. Women skilled in
mourning also occur in the Hebrew Bible (Jer. 9:16-19 [17-20]; Zech.
12:12-14). Carol Meyers proposes they may have been organized into
guilds. 1
Another field in which both men and women were active was the
1

C. Meyers, 'Mother to Muse: An Archaeomusicological Study of Women's

Performance in Ancient Israel', in: A. Brenner, J.W. van Henten (eds), Recycling
Biblical Figures: Papers Read at a NOSTER Colloquium in Amsterdam, 12-13
May 1997 (STAR, 1), Leiden 1999, 64.

area of sorcery. The data on magic in Mesopotamia shows us that

persons who belonged to marginal social categories were particularly
suspected of practising witchcraft. Yet problematic power relations in
general could also lead to charges of witchcraft. The powerful always
feared that black magic could be used against them. Those who were
less powerfull or without power might use sorcery in order to achieve
what they could not attain due to their lower social position and lack
of authority. It comes as no surprise that sorcery was regarded as a
specifically female activity. At Ugarit, both men and women could be
accused of having the evil eye. Aqhatu's sister, Pughatu, used magic to
harm the murderer of her brother. Yet Ugaritic women and men could
also be associated with benevolent or defensive magic. Ilu created the
female being, Sha'tiqtu, who cured Kirtu by magical means.
It seems probable that in biblical Israel sorcery was also regarded
as a specifically female activity. A certain gender dissymmetry becomes evident in the Hebrew Bible, where formulations in law texts
are stricter towards female sorcerers than towards male sorcerers. Furthermore, queen Jezebel, who was regarded as an evil power, was
stereotyped as a sorceress. In some biblical narratives foreign male
magicians occur. The powers they perform in the name of their foreign gods are always less than Y H W H ' S powers. Moreover, the use of
magic performed by divinely inspired men (Moses, Aaron, Balaam
and Daniel) was not condemned because it was performed on the initiative of YHWH. Neither was the use of magic condemned in Exod.
4:24-26, where Zipporah performs a rite of expiation. Perhaps Zipporah's role should be regarded as that of a priestess rather than that
of a magician. That the use of magic performed on the initiative of
Y H W H was not condemned becomes evident in Ezek. 13:17-23. There
women were condemned for activities in connection with magic and
necromancy. Since both they and the prophet Ezekiel used magic, it
was not so much their use of techniques, but rather their goals, which
were believed to be in conflict with God's will, that condemned them.
Necromancy is condemned in the Hebrew Bible because those
who consulted the dead looked for the deceased to bestow favours
on them and offer them knowledge on future events, instead of turning to YHWH. Still, the female necromancer of En-Dor is not described
as an evil woman. Quite the contrary, she is portrayed as an established professional whose actions were taken quite seriously. At Ugarit,
necromancy seems to have been a male profession.
Although divination did occur at Ugarit, this seems to have been
a male profession, for female diviners are not attested in the texts.
Neither are female diviners mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. This

is consistent with the Mesopotamian data, where various functions

of defensive magic and divination which required technical methods,
such as that of the haruspex and the exorcist, were fulfilled by males,
whereas functions which required interpretive methods, such as that
of the dream interpreter, were often fulfilled by females.
Unlike divination, prophecy was practised by both genders. No
prophets are attested in the Ugaritic texts, but the data from Old
Babylonian Mari and Neo-Assyrian Nineveh confirm that men as well
as women and lay persons as well as professionals could fulfill this
function. It is noteworthy that at Mari a lower percentage of professional prophets was female than at Nineveh, namely 20 percent at
Mari over 66 percent at Nineveh. It would thus seem that a shift had
taken place, which perhaps was related to the inaccessability of the
priesthood to women, as Karel van der Toorn suggests. 2 In biblical
Israel, female prophets existed from the pre-monarchic to the postexilic period. Four of them are known by name: Miriam, Deborah,
Huldah and Noadiah. The first three, whose prophecies were valued
positively, were related to either a brother or a husband whose authority they were under. I have assumed that their status was mentioned
to stress their stable position in society. Miriam's role as prophetess may have been related to her musical performance. Deborah's
prophetic role seems to have been that of giving an oracle prior to
battle. Huldah is presented as a legitimate prophetess who possibly
was connected with the temple. The unnamed wife of Isaiah, probably a prophetess herself, took part in a prophetic sign-act. Beside
female prophetesses whose prophecies were divinely inspired, there
were those whose prophecies were not and who were regarded as false
prophetesses. Noadiah, who seems to have had a leading role among
the post-exilic prophets associated with the temple, is portrayed as a
false prophetess. So are the women of Ezek. 13:17-23, for whom the
term prophetess is not even used by Ezekiel. I concluded that female
and male prophets were equally respected in the Hebrew Bible, or disrespected if they were false prophets. The religious office of prophecy
was open to women, yet far less female prophets are attested than
males, due to the fact that women generally had their primary vocation within the family as a wife and mother.
Both in Ugarit and biblical Israel women probably fulfilled ancillary functions in the cult. At Ugarit, women drawing water at the
well (KTU 1.12) probably fulfilled such a function. Israelite women
wove vestments or garments for the cult of Asherah. Both tasks were
2

Van der Toorn, Cradle, 130.

an extension of household tasks. As we saw in section 2.2.2.3, drawing

water and weaving textiles were regarded as tasks of women.
W O M E N AS W O R S H I P P E R S

Prayer was one of the main expressions of worship open to women.

The Hebrew Bible offers various references to praying women. Well
known is the example of Hannah, who poured out her soul to Y H W H .
Women's prayers were often related to motherhood and childbirth,
which were very important issues in their lives. In the Ugaritic literary
texts, the genre of prayer rarely occurs. Klaas Spronk explains that
in the texts of Ugarit 'praising the gods or seeking their favours is
usually set in a larger context'. 3 There are a few references to men
who pray, but none to women.
In the context of prayer, people who were in a situation of distress sometimes made a vow to their god. In Ugarit as well as in
biblical Israel, both men and women acted as votaries. Ugaritic Kirtu
made a vow he failed to fulfil and, as a consequence, he fell ill. The
legend illustrates how important it was to fulfil one's vows in order
not to anger the gods. Ironically, Kirtu instructed his daughter, Thatmanatu, to make a vow in order that he would get better. In biblical
Israel, the most well known example of a woman making a vow is
Hannah, who vowed that if she got a son, she would dedicate him
as a Nazirite to YHWH. Since the role of Elkanah, Hannah's husband, seems to be larger in the LXX and possibly in 4QSam a than
it is in the MT, scholars have wondered whether Elkanah somehow
participated in Hannah's vow. Furthermore, the legislation of Num.
30:6-8 holds that a husband had the right to annul his wife's vow
and that a father had this right towards his unbetrothed daughter.
The legislation of Num. 30:6-8 is regarded as relatively late and it is
possible that 1 Sam. 1 reflects an earlier situation, in which a wife
did not require her husband's approval. Yet it is also possible that
Elkanah approved of Hannah's vow and by keeping silent showed his
consent. Some scholars have pointed to the gender dissymmetry with
regard to the votive rights of women, others, however, stress that,
although somewhat restricted, women did have the freedom to make
vows. The reasons that men had the right to annul the vows of women
over whom they had authority are assumed to have been mainly economic. Beside Hannah, another pious woman vowing to Y H W H was
king Lemuel's mother (Prov. 31:2). The Hebrew Bible shows a polarity, however, stereotyping women as either pious or dangerous in
their vowing behaviour. The seducing woman in Prov. 7:14 as well
3

K . Spronk, 'The Incantations', in: HUS, 272.

as the female worshippers of the Queen of Heaven (Jer. 44:15-30) are

presented negatively as vowing in a heterodox manner. Since women
participated actively in the votive system and could do so without a
religious intermediary and without going to the temple, cultic functionaries could neither oversee women's vowing activities, nor exercise
any punishment if vows were not fulfilled. Laws and narratives therefore stressed that divine wrath would befall those who failed to pay
their vow. This emphasis is found in both Ugarit and biblical Israel.
To fulfil their vows, women brought offerings. In KTU 1.16:1.4445, Thatmanatu is instructed to offer silver and gold. Biblical Hannah
offered a three-year old bull, an ephah of flour and a skin of wine. But
also outside the context of making vows women brought offerings. The
Ugaritic examples present royal women performing sacrifices. The examples from the Hebrew Bible refer to offerings in connection with ritual purification (Lev. 12; 15:25-30) and voluntary offerings for the construction of the Tabernacle (Exod. 35:20-36:7). Women also brought
offerings jointly with their husbands. Heterodox offerings, i.e., those
brought outside the Jerusalemite temple and those to gods other than
YHWH, were rebuked.
Bringing offerings was also part of the cult of the dead. The information regarding veneration of the dead at Ugarit is restricted to
the royal cult of the dead. The royal ancestors were commemorated
and believed to be involved in their descendants' lives. At Ugarit, the
ancestor cult seems to have been androcentric in outlook. Ancestral
fathers were venerated and mentioned by name, whereas ancestral
mothers were not mentioned explicitly. Since royal ancestral mothers
were venerated in other countries of the ancient Near East, this may
also have been the case at Ugarit, but clear evidence is lacking. Perhaps they were included in the general categories of deified (royal)
ancestors. I concluded that, if maternal ancestors were venerated at
Ugarit, their place was secondary.
Although condemned in later times, in the early biblical period the
ancestor cult was an accepted religious practice in Israel. Here, too,
the cult of the dead was predominantly addressed to ancestral fathers.
Yet there are a few references to the commemoration of ancestors in
the female line. Furthermore, Israel's matriarchs were held in high
esteem, as various references show. Rachel was believed to be moved
by the fate of her descendants (Jer. 31:15) and thus believed to be
involved in the lives of the Israelites.
With regard to the performance of the cult of the dead, this seems
to have been a male prerogative in Ugarit as well as in Israel. However,
royal women may have participated in the cult. KTU 1.161 mentions

the presence of the king and queen of Ugarit as well as their sons
and daughters at a funerary ritual. Their presence perhaps indicated
participation. Yet from KTU 1.22:1.2-11 we got the impression that
if males were present, they were responsible for the performance of
the funerary rites. It would therefore seem that women seldom were
responsible for the cult of the dead. The evidence from Mesopotamia
also points in that direction. Only in the absence of men, and sometimes only when endowed with formal male gender, could women take
responsibility for the cult of the dead. Also in biblical Israel it was the
duty of the son to perform the cult of the dead. Absalom erected a
to commemorate his name (2 Sam. 18:18). He motivated his action by stating that he had no son to keep his name in remembrance.
Possibly Num. 27 and 36 allude to the duty of a daughter to perform the cult of the dead and invoke her father's name in the absence
of sons. The story of Rachel's theft of the reveals that women
could feel very committed to the ancestor cult, even when they were
not responsible for it. Based on the story of Rachel's theft I assumed
that, analogous to the situation in Mesopotamia and Ugarit, women
in biblical Israel were present at the performance of the cult within
the family home.
Yet women in Ugarit and biblical Israel were not only present at
the performance of the cult of the dead, but also at religious festivals,
cultic gatherings and sacrificial meals. On a mythological level, the
Ugaritic goddesses participated in banquets. Royal women, too, participated in sacrificial meals at Ugarit. Prom certain kinds of festivals,
such as the marzeah parties, married women were excluded. Much is
unknown about the participation of worshippers in cultic gatherings
at Ugarit. The Hebrew Bible offers more information on female worshippers at cultic gatherings. With regard to the religious festivals,
the general rule seems to have been that women could be present as
worshippers but were not obliged to be, whereas men were required
to attend (Exod. 23:17; 34:23; Deut. 16:16). However, according to
Deut. 29:9-14 women were obliged to appear before Y H W H once in
every seven years. In the pre-exilic period, women participated in
sacrificial meals, they were present at the reading of the law and at
religious festivals. Also in the post-exilic period women participated in
cultic gatherings. Contrary to what some scholars have held, a steady
decline of women's participation as worshippers in the Israelite cult
cannot be discerned. However, the role of women was less important
than that of men; women's role in worship was not essential.
In two heterodox cults, however, Israelite women played a special
role. In the cult of Tammuz women publicly wailed for the deceased

god (Ezek. 8:14). Dijkstra assumes these women were a class of cultic
personnel 4 , but this I questioned. The cult of Tammuz possibly had
become affiliated with indigenous traditions of Baal worship. Ackerman relates the cult of Tammuz to another cult, that of the Queen
of Heaven (Jer. 7:17-18; 44:15-30). She regards the wailing women
as devotees of Ishtar. 5 On the identification of the Queen of Heaven
no consensus has been reached. Following Ackerman, I regarded it
most likely that this goddess had characteristics of both west Semitic
Astarte and east Semitic Ishtar.
Yet in the cult of the Queen of Heaven not only women, but also
men were involved as worshippers. Men may also have worshipped
Tammuz. Women had a prominent role in both cults, but this was at
least partly due to the activities they performed. Both tasks, wailing
(in the cult of Tammuz) and baking cakes (in the cult of the Queen of
Heaven) are generally attributed to women. These two heterodox cults
therefore should not be regarded as women's cults. Neither should it
be assumed that women were more prone to idolatry than men.
Due to the centralization of the cult women probably had less
opportunities to participate as worshippers. The centralization probably restricted women in their access to the temple. Because of their
personal and domestic circumstances they had less opportunities to
participate in the pilgrim feasts. They furthermore were restricted
in their access to a sanctuary, because worship at local and regional
shrines became regarded as idolatrous. The Deuteronomist redactors
acknowledged the danger that women could become excluded from the
centralized cult. They therefore emphasized women's role as members
of the religious assembly.
As we saw, many aspects of the religious positions of women
in Ugarit and Israel corresponded. Purity was required of men and
women in their contact with the gods/God both in Ugarit and Israel.
In both cultures mourning and sorcery were regarded as a female specialism, and divination as a male specialism. In both cultures women
fulfilled ancillary functions in the cult that were an extension of domestic tasks. And, most importantly, neither at Ugarit, nor in the
Hebrew Bible is the female priest attested.
4
M. Dijkstra, 'Goddess, Gods, Men and Women in Ezekiel 8', in: B. Becking, M.
Dijkstra (eds), On Reading Prophetic Texts: G ender-Specific and Related Studies
in Memory of Fokkelien van Dijk-Hemmes (BIntS, 18), Leiden 1996, 83-114; Idem,
'Daar zaten de vrouwen, die Tammuz beweenden (Ezechil 8:14)', NedThT 50
(1996), 203-14.
5
S. Ackerman, ' "And the Women Knead Dough": The worship of the Queen
of Heaven in sixth-century Judah', in: P.L. Day (ed.), Gender and Difference in
Ancient Israel, Minneapolis MN 1989, 116.

Yet there also were some differences. Some religious roles were
performed by women in Ugarit but not in Israel. However, there were
also religious specialisms that women in Israel fulfilled which are unattested in Ugarit thus far.
We will first discuss those religious specialisms that women performed in Ugarit but not in biblical Israel.
1. In Ugarit, the queen acted as officiant in the cult. Although
in some texts it cannot be discerned whether the queen was
present as a spectator or as a participant in a rite, other texts
make it clear beyond any doubt that she fulfilled the role as a
cultic officiant. In Israel such a role is not attested for the queen.
The Hebrew Bible offers very little information in this regard.
Perhaps Maacah fulfilled a priestly function from which she was
removed. Yet it is also possible she did not have a priestly function. She was removed from her position as because she
interfered with Asa's religious politics. Whether or not her intended promotion of the goddess Asherah was related to having
or gaining a position as priestess cannot be determined.
2. Princesses also acted as officiants in the cult of Ugarit and perhaps performed certain rituals. According to the Hebrew Bible,
princesses did not fulfil a cultic role.
3. In the Ugaritic cult a sacred marriage rite was performed, in
which the king ritually married the goddess Pidrayu. By this act
he married into the divine family of Ba'lu and became related
to the gods. In biblical Israel the sacred marriage rite was not
celebrated. Within Yahwism the performance of cultic sexuality
could not be tolerated. Y H W H was not a God of male gender in
the sense of Ugaritic Ilu or Ba'lu, for he was not a sexual partner,
neither in mythology, nor in the cult. If Asherah played any role
of significance in the Israelite cult, she was not regarded as a
nubile goddess such as Pidrayu, but rather as an older goddess
with motherly qualities, such as her Ugaritic counterpart. This
makes her an unlikely candidate for participation in the sacred
marriage rite. Instead of the idea of a sacred marriage by which
the king became related to the divine world, the prophets offered
another idea, that of Israel as a people being the metaphorical
marriage partner of Y H W H .
4. Ugaritic women acted as singers and musicians in the cult. During the pre-monarchic period and the early days of the monarchy

Israelite women fulfilled these roles, too, as well as that of cultic

dancer. Yet in later times they probably did not fulfil these roles
in the context of the cult anymore. I assumed this was due to
the centralization of the cult, which lead to a professionalization
of the priesthood and to elimination of various religious roles of
women.
Beside the religious specialisms that Ugaritic women performed,
there were also those that women fulfilled in biblical Israel, but not
in Ugarit.
1. One of the religious specialisms that are attested in the Hebrew
Bible but not in Ugarit is that of the . This consecrated
woman had a cult-related function, although we do not known
what it included. At Ugarit, however, the male qd is attested,
but not his female counterpart.
2. Unlike Ugarit, where necromancy seems to have been a male
specialism, female necromancers occur in the Hebrew Bible. The
rrfedium of En-Dor (1 Sam. 28) is regarded as an established
professional, and the actions of the prophesying women of Ezek.
13:17-23 are taken quite seriously by Ezekiel.
3. Prophecy is another field in which biblical women were active
as religious specialists. The Ugaritic texts published to date do
not attest any prophets, either male or female.
It is possible that women in biblical Israel had more opportunities
to fulfil religious, non-priestly roles. Yet it seems equally possible that
the small corpus of Ugaritic texts offers us an incomplete picture of
women as religious specialists. Since the abovementioned specialisms
of consecrated woman, female necromancer and prophetess are attested in Mesopotamia, they may have occurred at Ugarit, too.
With regard to women's role as worshippers there is also much
correspondence between Ugarit and Israel. In both cultures women
made vows, brought offerings, were present at the performance of the
cult of the dead and at other cultic gatherings. Yet there are some
differences, which need to be noted.
1. Whereas the Hebrew Bible offers us examples of men and women
praying, the Ugaritic literary texts only attest to men praying.
The Ugaritic texts seem to be androcentric in outlook, as we
already saw in section 2.1.2. There we encountered the theme

of childless men who wished to be blessed by the gods. In line

with this, in the Legend of Kirtu we are told that king Kirtu
prayed for a son. There is no attention for the perspective of
lady Hariya. The Hebrew Bible, on the other hand, does offer a
perspective on women who are childless. Hannah expresses her
grief in prayer to Y H W H .
2. In biblical Israel the vows of wives and unbetrothed daughters
could be annulled by the men that had authority over them,
i.e., husbands and fathers respectively. Although the Ugaritic
literary texts do not inform us on a right to annul vows, it might
be that such a right did exist at Ugarit, too. It is remarkable
that the only example we have from Ugarit of a female votary
refers to a daughter who is instructed by her father to make
a vow. She does so with his consent. Tentatively I therefore
suggest that it seems possible that at Ugarit, too, husbands
and fathers could exercise a veto against vows of their wives
and unbetrothed daughters.
3. Evidence about the commemoration of (royal) ancestral mothers
at Ugarit is lacking. Since ancestral fathers were venerated and
mentioned by name, while ancestral mothers were not, I coneluded that their place in the cult of the dead was secondary.
Although in biblical Israel the cult of the dead was predominantly addressed to males, there are a few references to the
commemoration of maternal ancestors as well as indications of
veneration of the matriarchs. Again, the outlook seems to be
less androcentric in biblical Israel.
4. The role of women as worshippers in the cult was not essential
in biblical Israel. They were not obliged to attend the religious
festivals, whereas men were. Information with regard to the obligations of Ugaritic worshippers is lacking.
Some of the differences between the status patterns of women at
Ugarit and biblical Israel are connected to Israel's religion. Within
monotheistic Yahwism, a cultic role for the queen could not be tolerated, and neither could a sacred marriage rite. Yet other differences
were clearly not related to Israel's religion, for although the specialisms of the and the female necromancer were not approved
of, they did occur in Israel but not at Ugarit. And the specialism of
prophecy, approved of in Yahwism, did not occur at Ugarit, yet it is
known from Neo-Assyrian Nineveh.

Furthermore, the fact that female musicians, singers and dancers

did not fulfil their role within the cult in the later periods of the
monarchy is probably due to the centralization of the cult rather
than Yahwistic theology, although they were interrelated.
It is noteworthy that, in comparison to the Ugaritic literary texts,
the Hebrew Bible presents us with more information on expressions of
worship by women. It would seem that the Ugaritic literary texts are
more androcentric in outlook. Perhaps this is due to the fact that the
corpus is smaller than that of the Hebrew Bible, even though neither
is free of androcentrisms.
To conclude, while some differences between the status patterns
of the religious position of women in Ugarit and Israel are related to
the nature of Israel's religion, others are not. At Ugarit, the religious
position of the queen seems to have been stronger than in biblical
Israel. Yet in other respects it cannot be assumed that the religious
position of women at Ugarit was better than in Israel. Was it worse?
There were less female religious specialists and the outlook of some
of the texts was more androcentric. But since the Ugaritic corpus of
literary texts is smaller than the Hebrew Bible, it seems wise not to
draw that conclusion yet but to await the analysis of the non-literary
texts from Ugarit.

A Check on Reliability
It is likely that the literary texts of Ugarit and biblical Israel bear an
ideological imprint with regard to patriarchal views. Even so, these
texts probably reflect the views and circumstances of the upper classes
of society. Some of the descriptions of goddesses and legendary figures
may rest entirely on literary fiction. Therefore it is necessary to test
the findings of chapters 2 and 3 against documents which reflect the
historical situation in Ugarit and Israel: letters, seals, legal documents
and administrative records. It would have been ideal to arrange chapter 4 by subject. For several reasons, however, this appeared to be an
unpractical solution,
1. The epigraphical data from ancient Israel are so scarce that
many subjects would be lacking.
2. Several subjects represented in the literary texts are lacking in
the texts recording the historical life at Ugarit. As we shall see,
the reverse also happens.
3. By their very nature letters and legal documents may be expected to represent upper class life, too, so it seems appropriate
to take the genre of the document into consideration.
I therefore have decided to discuss the issues regarding the social and
religious position of women by the various genres of non-literary texts.
Agreements and differences between the literary and non-literary texts
will briefly be recorded in the footnotes. A more torough analysis of
agreements and differences will be offered in chapter 5.
In comparison with the Ugaritic corpus, the corpus of non-literary
texts from ancient Israel is quite small. I will therefore include data
from the Jewish colony at Elephantine in my analysis. The inhabitants
of this fortress, probably descendants of Judahites who had found a
haven here as migrants, still held contact with their fellow believers
in Judah. 1
In order to check the reliability of the literary texts, I will discuss
letters, seals and bullae, legal and administrative texts. At the end of
this chapter I will draw some general conclusions.

Cf. Porten, EPE, 125-6, 139-47.

4.1
4.1.1

Letters
T h e Letters f r o m Ugarit

In a paper on the letters from Ugarit, Israel and Elephantine, I analysed these texts in the light of the social and religious position of
women. 2 Because the corpus of extra-biblical Hebrew letters is quite
small, I included data from the Jewish colony of Elephantine in my
analysis. 3 The three corpora of letters from Ugarit, Israel and Elephantine were all available in complete editions, and these I used as
the basis for my analysis. 4 I studied the data regarding the occurrence
of women in letters and, since the three corpora differ considerably
in size, I compared them in a statistical approach. 5 I looked at the
number of women who sent letters, the number of women who were
addressees and the number of women that are mentioned in the body
of the letters, and came to the following conclusion:
At first sight it seems women in ancient Israel had a more restricted social space in comparison to Ugarit. No women are mentioned as sender
or addressee in the Hebrew letters, whereas in Ugarit both female principals and destinaries are known. In the Hebrew epistles women are
scarcely mentioned, while men are mentioned twice as often as in the
Ugaritic letters. Women at Elephantine also seem to participate more
in society. They are known to be the destinary of letters and they are
mentioned relatively often in the epistles.6
Yet it would be premature to conclude women's social position was
worse in Israel than it was at Ugarit. Two matters have to be taken
into consideration. First, the writing material differs. The Ugaritic
2

H. Marsman, 'Women in Ancient Israel: A Preliminary Exploration', in: A.

Brenner, J.W. van Henten (eds), Recycling Biblical Figures: Papers Read at a
NOSTER Colloquium in Amsterdam, 12-13 May 1997 (STAR, 1), Leiden 1999,
28-49.
3
I based the selection of the Aramaic letters that I considered to be part of
the correspondence of the Jewish colony on onomastic evidence; cf. Marsman,
'Women in Ancient Israel', 32-3.
4
The Hebrew letters were published in Renz, Rllig, HAE\ the letters from
Elephantine in TAD, vol. 1: Letters; and the Ugaritic letters in KTU1. I also ineluded the Akkadian letters from Ugarit, which have been published as a complete
edition in a 1973 PhD dissertation: Ahl, ETfU. The edition of the Aramaic letters
on ostraca, TAD, vol. 4, appeared after the paper was written.
5
I compared the data from 47 Ugaritic, 34 Akkadian, 36 Hebrew and 15 Aramaic letters. My use of statistics was fairly basic. I used the smallest corpus of
letters as the basis for arithmetic conversion; cf. Marsman, 'Women in Ancient
Israel', 34.
6
Marsman, 'Women in Ancient Israel', 41.

letters are written on clay tablets, the Elephantine letters on papyrus

and the Hebrew letters are all but one written on ostraca. 7 Archaeological findings of seals and bullae have informed us that the Israelites
also wrote letters on papyrus, most of which have been lost due to
climatological circumstances. Although it also holds for Ugarit and
Elephantine that we are dealing with a certain number of letters that
have coincidentally been preserved, the Hebrew seals and bullae offer
additional evidence which changes the picture drastically, for they
reveal that Israelite women did send letters, too (see below).
The second matter that needs to be taken into consideration is the
genre of the letters. Of the Hebrew letters, 26 out of 36 are categorized
as military letters. It is quite logical that these letters make little
mention of women, since warfare generally is a masculine sphere. If
more Hebrew letters of a different genre should show up, it is not
unlikely the statistics would reveal there were more women as senders
and receivers of letters as well as more women mentioned in the body
of the letters. 8
In my paper I also analysed the number of deities mentioned in
the letters. 9 Remarkably, goddesses are mentioned rarely in all three
corpora. It is furthermore worth noting that Y H W H is the most important deity in the Hebrew letters. The Elephantine letters mention
YHW, who can be identified with YHWH, most often. The Ugaritic
letters refer to a relatively large number of deities, reflecting a polytheistic society.
Comparing the statistics on women in the letters and those on
deities in the letters I assumed a correlation, which tended to confirm
that the social position of women was better in a polytheistic society
than it was in a monolatrous or monotheistic society. Yet numbers
only tell part of the story and statistics need to be interpreted. We
therefore will take a closer look at the content of the letters with
regard to women.
In the Ugaritic letters, the queen (mother) 10 plays a prominent
7

Erroneously, in my paper I stated that all Hebrew letters that I analysed

were written on ostraca; cf. Marsman, 'Women in Ancient Israel', 42. Mur(7):l is
written on papyrus.
8
T h e ostracon of the widow indicates such a change. See below.
9
Marsman, 'Women in Ancient Israel', 46-8.
10
As I already noted in section 2.2.1.1., it is not always easy to distinguish in
texts between the queen and the queen mother, since both are called 'queen'. In
my opinion there is still insufficient ground for Amico's hypothesis that in Ugarit
the queen mother remained 'queen' until her death and that only then the wife of
the reigning king succeeded her as 'queen', whereas until that moment she would
have been merely the king's wife, cf. Amico, SWU, 328-37.

role. She was held in high esteem, which is illustrated by the fact
that in letters addressed to her the senders call her 'adt 'lady' and
themselves 'bdm 'slaves'. The prostration formulae in letters to the
queen do not differ from those to the king. The senders say they
prostrate seven and seven times before her, just as they do before the
king. 11 Even the king himself honoured his mother in this manner:
l.p'n.'umy qlt 'At the feet of my mother I bow down' (KTU 2.13:56; 2.30:4-5), as did prince Talmiyanu (KTU 2.12) 12 and high court
officers (KTU 2.24; 2.68; RS 32.204, RSO VII, 50-1). As an example
I quote KTU 2.11, a well-preserved letter to the queen mother:
1

Z 'umy. 'adtny 2rgm

thm.tlmyn
4
. 'ahtmlk. 'bdk

To my mother, our lady, say:

Thus say Talmiyanu 13
and Ahatmilku, your servants.

At the feet of our lady from afar we bow down.

l.p'n. 'adtny 6mrhqtm

7
qlny.
s
9
'ilm tgrk tlmk
10
hnny. 'mny
11
kll.m'id 12Sim .
13
w. 'ap. 'ank lAnht.
tmny 15'm. 'adtny
16
mnm.lm
17
rgm.ttb 18l.'bdk

May the gods guard you, may they keep you well.
Here, with us,
all is very well
and also I am at rest.
There, with our lady,
is everything well?
Return word to your servants.

Though its content is not very instructive, this letter reveals that
the queen mother was informed of the king's actions and well-being
during his absence. As in Israel, the queen mother wielded considerOn the queens of Ugarit see Amico, SWU, 270-351; W.H. van Soldt, 'The
Queens of Ugarit', JEOL 29 (1985-86), 68-73; Idem, SAU, 12-9; J. Aboud, Die
Rolle des Knigs und seiner Familie nach den Texten von Ugarit(FARG, 27),
Mnster 1994, 26-35; J.-P. Vita, 'The Society of Ugarit', in: HUS, 469-70; I. Singer,
Political History of Ugarit', in: HUS, 603-733 (passim).
11
Cf. A.L. Kristensen, 'Ugaritic Epistolary Formulas: A Compaxative Study of
the Ugaritic Epistolary Formulas in the Context of the Contemporary Akkadian
Formulas in the Letters from Ugarit and Amarna', UF 9 (1977), 147-50; J.-L.
Cunchillos, 'The Correspondence of Ugarit', in: HUS, 362-3.
12
Sometimes he skipped such formality: KTU 2.11; 2.16.
13
The identity of Talmiyanu is a matter of discussion. He may have been the
crown prince. It has been suggested that Talmiyanu was the original name of
Niqmaddu in before he became king. He may have continued to use this name in
the correspondence with his mother, cf. Singer, HUS, 693, 700. If KTU 2.11 can be
related to KTU 2.16, Talmiyanu was at the Hittite court where he wrote a letter
to his mother Tharriyelli. Talmiyanu should not be identified with 'Ammithtamru
II, cf. Van Soldt, SAU, 17. However, Pardee, in: C0S, vol. 3, 89, n. 2, regards it
as plausible that Talmiyanu was a brother of Niqmaddu III.

able power. 14 The king reported to her about his vicissitudes when
he was at the Hittite court to pay his overlord the obligatory tribute
(KTU 2.13; 2.30) or when he was fighting somewhere (KTU 2.82).
The circumstance that several drafts of diplomatic letters were found
in the queen mother's residence in Ras Ibn Hani seems to indicate
that at least the young king 'Ammurapi consulted her regularly on
diplomatic correspondence. 15 KTU 2.13 and KTU 2.30 prove that she
ruled the country, at least in the king's absence, but probably often
jointly with him. Various details point in that direction. A Hittite
king courteously replied to a letter requesting information on various subjects which had been sent to him by the queen of Ugarit (RS
34.145, RSO VII, 32-4). Another foreign king, probably of Siyannu, 16
honoured queen Thariyelli with a substantial present (RS 12.33, P RU
III, 14-5). An Assyrian diplomat asked his Ugaritic colleague to let
the queen - probably the queen mother - read his letters. 17 The king
and queen jointly wrote letters of credence for Ugaritic diplomats to
the Hittite court (RS 19.70, PRU IV, 294).
Another letter of the king, KTU 2.72, testifies to the political
involvement of the queen mother. I will discuss this letter in greater
detail below (section 4.3). In the letter KTU 2.14, an Ugaritic court
official asked a colleague to intercede for him with the queen mother
Tharriyelli:
1
2

thm. 'iwrdn
1 'iwrpzn

bny. 'ahy.rgm

Thus says 'Iwrdn 1 8

To 'Iwrpzn,
my son, my brother, say:

'Urn. tgrk

May the gods guard you,

tlmk

may they keep you well.

'iky.lht
spr.d I'ikt
8
'm.tryl
9
mhy.rgmt

How about the tablet

with the letter which I sent

10

And now, may my brother,

w ht.'&hy
14

to Tharriyelli?
What did she say?

Cf. the discussion on the position of the in section 2.2.1.2.

Cf. De Moor, R0Y, 234-8.
16
Singer, HUS, 697-8.
17
RS 6.198, cf. F. Thureau-Dangin, 'Une lettre assyrienne Ras Shamra', Syria
16 (1935), 188-93.
18
The text has an unequivocal / n / according to P. Bordreuil, 'Quatre documents en cuniformes alphabtiques mal connus ou indits', Sem. 32 (1982), 7-8.
This might be a scribal error for / r / (a reverse error occurs in line 3), were it not
for the fact that 'iwrdn is also attested in KTU 4.243:30.
15

11

bny.ys'al
tryl.p rgm
13
1 mlk.my
14
w I 'iytlm

my son, ask

12

Tharriyelli. And may she mention 19

my name to the king
and to 'Iytlm

15

And now, may my brother,

my son, ask
Tharriyelli. And return word
to your brother,
your lord!

w ht 'ahy
bny.yS'al
17
try I. w rgm
18
ttb.l 'ahk
19
1 'adnk
16

Such a request seems to indicate it was deemed wise to approach the

king having previously obtained the queen mother's consent. 20 KTU
2.33 shows that even high officers sometimes preferred to approach
the king with a military request via the queen. As in other ancient
Near Eastern countries, 21 the queen was an important political factor
in Ugarit. 22 She could write a letter on her own behalf to have an
officer replaced (RS 20.13, Ug. V, 136-8). But she could also use her
power in a different way. In a badly broken syllabic letter a mortally
ill woman implores a princess or queen to take care of her children
after her death which would seem to indicate that a certain social
engagement on the part of the female members of the royal family
was expected (RS 19.80, PRU VI, 2-5). 23
KTU 2.21 is a translation of a letter to the queen of Ugarit which
was sent to her by a woman who considered herself her equal, possibly
the Hittite queen: 24
19

I regard rgm as an infinitive absolute; cf. Pardee, in: CoS, vol. 3, 114, n. 218.
Cf. Singer, HUS, 697; Pardee, in: CoS, vol. 3, 114, n. 218.
21
See for example the letter KTU 2.36+ in which the Hittite queen Puduhepa
reprimands the Ugaritic king, Niqmaddu III, for not sending adequate tribute and
for omitting to pay her a visit. Cf. J.-L. Cunchillos, in: TO, t. 2, 363-421; Van
Soldt, SAU, 9. See further section 2.2.1.1.
22
An especially powerful queen mother was Tharriyelli, widow of Ibiranu. She
continued to hold sway during the reigns of his successors Niqmaddu III and 'Ammurapi. Cf. Singer, HUS, 690-1, 696-704; J. Freu, 'La fin d'Ugarit et de l'empire
hittite', Sem. 48 (1999), 17-39 (27-8). Freu assumes that Tharriyelli was a coregent in 'Ammurapi's early years.
23
In the literary texts from Ugarit we also find an example of this. When the
virtues of princess Hariya are told, it is said of her (KTU 1.15:1.1-2): mrgb.yd.rotkt
/ mzm'a.yd.mtkt 'The hungry one - she takes (him) by the hand, the thirsty one
- she takes (him) by the hand'.
24
See line 22 ht, in broken context. RS 34.154 {RSO VII, 48-50) confirms that a
Hittite princess exchanged letters with the queen of Ugarit. Other foreign ladies,
too, sent letters with accompanying presents to the queen of Ugarit (RS 20.19, Ug.
V, 135-6; RS 20.151, Ug. V, 138-9). RS 16.111 (PRU III, 13-4) is a letter of the
20

[thm] . XXX [ ]

[Message] of [

[l.]mlA:i.'u[grt]

To the queen of Ugarit,

['a]hty.rgm

my sister, say:

[y]im.ZA;
['i]1 m.tlmk
6
[t]gr&

May it be well with you.

May the gods keep you well,
may they guard you.

Here, Ibrkd,25
my merchant, 26 has spoken to the overseeer of the
vineyard of
the queen of Ugarit.
This 27 you would have said:
Surely 28 I will send (the money)!'
I have a [pawn]29 here
[so you will p]ay! Why then
is your [payment(?)] (still) with you?
[Certainly you should] repay my silver!30
[Si]x hundred (shekel) is (still) with you,
and I am not going to make it a present to you!

hin?/, 'ibrkd
mkry.rgm.l skn gt
rnlkt. 'ugrt

10

hnkt.rgmt
'i ky.L'U'ak
12
[hb]1. 'my
13
[kt]1m.ti;. Im
14
[1m(?)]fc. 'mk
15
[k t]lm.kspy
16
[t]t[.]m'a. 'mrkm
17
w.l. 'atnnk

11

18

w.l.mlkm
/[xxx]1dA:
(traces)

19

And to the two kings

not [ ] your [

queen of Amurru to the queen of Ugarit. All this points to a lively correspondence
between royal women (see further Singer, HUS, 699, 702, n. 327), as there had been
in Mari many centuries earlier. Cf. W.H.Ph. Rmer, Frauenbriefe ber Religion,
Politik und Privatleben in Mari (AOAT, 12), Neukirchen-Vluyn 1971.
25
See on this name M. Dijkstra, 'Marginalia to the Ugaritic Letters in KTU
(I)', UF 19 (1987), 40.
26
KTU2, 169, reads mkry. But J.L. Cunchillos, 'KTU 2.21 - Lettre addresse
la reine: IBRKD a transmis le message de la Reine', UF 13 (1981), 45-8; Idem,
Estudios de Epistolografia Ugaritica (FCiBi, 3), Valencia 1989, 117-22; Dijkstra,
'Marginalia (I)', 40, all read xrry.
27
Cf. DLU, 168; Sivan, GUL, 58.
28
For 'ik with a negation meaning 'surely', see J.C. de Moor, The Seasonal
Pattern in the Ugaritic Myth of Ba'lu (AOAT, 16), Neukirchen-Vluyn 1971, 235;
for 'iky as equivalent of 'ik see S.E. Loewenstamm, 'Die ugaritische Partikel iky',
Or 53 (1984), 255-61.
29
KTU2 offers [xx]1. C. Virolleaud's copy in PRU II indicates a horizontal
wedge. For the word hbl 'pawn, surety', see DLU, 172. I propose this restoration
on the basis of the assumption that the letter is dealing with a debt. In the badly
broken lines 21 and 24 the verbal form t'ittm 'you will incur a debt' (DLU, 61)
occurs.
30
Cf. Exod. 21:34.

According to this interpretation the queen of Ugarit seems to have

borrowed money from another queen, perhaps the queen of Hatti
(Puduhepa?). Apparently she was unwilling or unable to repay this
debt and the foreign queen put some pressure on her. Line 19 might
imply that their husbands were unaware of this loan. Also interesting
is the fact that the queens were collecting information about each
other by questioning people who had recently visited the other party.
The very fragmentary letter KTU 2.2 (RS 3.334) is an alphabetic draft for what was intended to become an Akkadian letter, if
approved. This was a common procedure in Ugarit. I give this very
fragmentary letter in transliteration and tentative translation:
1

[l ]r 'i.r'y.y[\m lk]
2
[]lm.bn.

[To the ch]ief,31 my friend. May [it be well with you.]

[May it be well with the personnel 32

2/1[m ] 3 [w]gr.
I lmt.l[m]
4
bth.p lmt.plm[ ]
5
bt.l bn.7-gm[.1m
.lkm]
6
lmt .
lm.b[t.'a]7by.
Snt.ml'it.t[
]

May [ ] be [well and] the stranger. 33

Surely 34 may you be well, may be we[11
his house. Yes, may you be well. Yes, may [ ] be well
. . . of the house. To the personnel say: [Well-being
to you!]
Surely may you be well!
Surely may the h0u[se of] my [fa]ther be well!
Years of fulness may [

May children arrive to you,

may you gather (?) sons

ymgyk.bnm.
i'a[sp(?)] 9 bnm.

w bnt.ytvk[
]
and may daughters be given you [
[yp]l.bny.ht.
May my (own) sons [fal]l into 35 the pit
and [may] my daughters [dwell]36
w[tb(n)] 11 [bn]
. msgr. bnk[ ]
in the dungeon of your sons
12
[hm 'a]n./1m.&7[y ] [if I neglect(??)] the message of [my] lord!

10

31

Ahl, ETfU, 474-5, following Ginsberg, reads Iris which she translates as 'to',
but admits that 'the alternative translation "to the chief" cannot be ruled out'.
The latter is preferable because it is in line with the deliberate mixture of submissiveness and familiarity in this letter.
32
Ahl, ETfU, 474, and Virolleaud, Syria 19 (1938), 340-3, read bnm. Herdner,
CTA, 149, however, stresses: 'Selon nous, le dernier signe, qui est endommag,
n'est pas un m, mais sans aucun doute un '. On the meaning of Ug. bn, cf.,
e.g., A.F. Rainey, 'The Prince and the Pauper', UF 7 (1975), 431; DLU, 112-3;
M. Heltzer, 'The Economy of Ugarit', in: HUS, 427-31.
33
BDFSN adds [ms], thus forming the word msgr with the first two characters
of 1. 3. msgr also occurs in 1. 11. But it seems likely that groups of persons are
mentioned in this part of the letter.
34
I take as a particle lending emphasis to the precative perfect.
35
It seems likely that sht and msgr are parallel terms, both in the accusative
of place. For my interpretation see the expression used in Ps. 7:16; Prov. 26:27.
36
For the parallelism between npl and yb, see Mic. 7:8.

My reconstruction of this letter is admittedly hypothetical, but it is in

line with what we know about the strained relations between the kings
of Ugarit and their Hittite overlords. With regard to the subject of
this study it is of interest to note that bnm in line 8 can be interpreted
as an inclusive term ('children') 37 which is further specified as both
bnm 'sons' and bnt 'daughters'. Apparently the Ugaritic king wished
his overlord children of both sexes, not only sons. 38 Subsequently he
conditionally cursed his own sons and daughters in an attempt to
assure his master of his absolute loyalty.39 Perhaps line 11 implies
that under circumstances even princesses could be thrown into prison
and were then at the mercy of the sons of the enemy.
Even less certain is a passage from the badly broken tablet KTU
2.3:

(the first four lines are fragmentary)

And you have made a covenant with your lord. 40
w[kr]t.6rU 6'[1k)
6
'u [.]/1r[t]n 'u jht(?)] Either you have made her pregnant or you ruined (?)
7
a daughter of Ugarit 41 and now (I ?) &[t.'u]gri1 ht 0] [
8
And if you say, w hm. 'at.trgm[
9
and procrastinate 42 with the words (?) [
15ip.[[d]]6 hwt[ }
5

10

w 'ank. 'ubt[ ]
ank.nkn[
12
fc?.Z[x]x.x[ ]
13
w.hw.'uy.'n[ ]
14
1 ytn.w rgm[
15
w yrdnn.'an[

And as for me, I also stopped [ ](?) 43

I
mantle for(?) [
and he [
he did not give and he spoke [
and he harassed 44 him/her (?) [

16

I myself have put (it?) for you and

for me: I myself will evict you!
And if you (for your part) say
(that) the families have interceded, 45

11

[]t. 'ank.lkm [w ]
ly. 'ank. 'ass'uk
18
hm. 'at.trgm
19
wdrm.dr^m

17

37

Cf., e.g., RS 16.252:4, 7 dumu.me-sa 'her children', a boy and an girl; RS

15.138+, line 13 dumu.me 'children' = line 18 'son or daughter'. Ug. bnm is also
used inclusively in KTU 1.3:V. 19-23; cf. section 2.1.4.
38
A balanced family with children of both sexes was considered a blessing, see
section 2.1.4.
39
For the liability of princes and princesses see below on the treaty between
Murshili II and Niqmepa' of Ugarit.
40
Cf. Exod. 23:32; 31:16; 34:12,15; Num. 25:12; Deut. 4:13; 7:2; Josh. 9:6,7,11
etc.
41
For this restoration, cf. KTU 1.40:35-36; 3.4:11.
42
Cf. Arab, sawwafa 'to procrastinate, to postpone, to put off'.
43
An / 'u/ as prefix 1 c.s. is unusual. I therefore follow Pardee's proposal to
regard /'u/ as a conjunction and read 'u bt[ ]. Cf. D. Pardee, 'The Letter of
Puduhepa: The Text', AfO 29/30 (1983/84), 328, n. 67. See also KTU 2.36:15.
4i
rdy G 'harass'? See also line 23.
45
For the translation of dr' 'to intercede, mediate', cf. Arab, dari'a. The reading

20

21

w 'ap.ht.k kn

w mtnn[x.] 'mnk
'it.[p]rgmy
23
[m]'ad.r[dy] pgt
24
[xx]x[xxx].?/d'
25
[xxxxxxx] gm
26
[xxxxxx]x. kl lh
(traces)

22

now then, it has been settled.

And another matter: At you(r place)

they laugh 46 at my words.
Verily, he ha[rassed(?)] the girl
[ ] I/you know
[ ]
j ] all of him/it (?)

The sorry remains of this letter hardly allow for an interpretation

which can be presented with any amount of confidence. However,
line 5 may indicate that the sender was a king who saw himself as
the master of the addressee. It seems that the family of a girl is
defending her honour. This girl is called 'a daughter of Ugarit' in
line 7 and this renders it likely that it is the king of Ugarit who is
addressing somebody he regarded as his vassal. An Ugaritic expiation
ritual shows that even a queen of Ugarit might be addressed as a
'daughter of Ugarit', 47 so that the letter might be an indignant protest
against the rape of an Ugaritic princess at a foreign court.
Ugaritic princesses were married to foreign princes, but also to
high Ugaritic diplomats as the letter RS [Varia 26] (RS VII, 66-7)
demonstrates. As we shall see later on, Ugaritic princesses lived in luxury. Not all Ugaritic princesses married, however. It seems that their
royal father could also decide to dedicate them to a deity which probably meant that they had to live an unmarried life as a holy woman,
like the Babylonian nadtu: [ n]psy.u ydn.b'[\.sp]n / [wypk(?). d]m
.kyn.hm l'atn.bty.lh ' . . . my [s]oul and may Ba'[lu of Sapa]nu be (my)
judge [and may he pour out(?) (my) b1]00d48 like wine, if I do not
give him my daughter!' (KTU 2.31:65-66, see also 1. 58). 49 If we accept this restoration of the text, it would support the observation
that according to the literary texts, princesses could play a role.in the
is uncertain.
46
'is 'to laugh at, about someone', cf. Jer. 15:16.
47
Cf. J.C. de Moor, P. Sanders, 'An Ugaritic Expiation Ritual and Its Old
Testament Parallels', UF 23 (1991), 283-300 (290).
48
In Hebrew is a very common expression. See also the frequent paxallelism between and , e.g., Pss. 72:14; 94:21; Prov. 1:18.
According to Virolleaud's copy, PRU II, 10, the first letter after the lacuna
would be / ' / . Based on the Ugaritic expression sty kyn 'udrn't 'to drink tears like
wine', cf. KTU 1.6:1.10, De Moor, The Seasonal Pattern, 100, n. 21, suggests the
following restoration: [wyqyn.dm] ' 'and he may make me drink tears like wine'.
49
Based on 11. 15-17 KTU 2.31 can be categorized as a royal document (letter?).

cult. 50
In high-ranking families, sons wrote letters of a rather plain and
standardized nature to their mothers, and brothers wrote similar letters to their sisters (e.g., the double letter RS 20.178, Ug. V, 147-9;
see also KTU 2.11, quoted above). However, to conclude on the basis
of these epistles that 'the relationship between brothers and sisters
seems to have been close and caring' 51 is too optimistic. Scribes were
simply trained to compose such letters (KTU 5.10). The wives of important Ugaritic citizens received polite greetings from other senior
officials (RS 20.23, Ug. V, 145-7; RS 20.227, Ug. 1/, 151-4). Apparently the ruling class of Ugarit maintained polite correspondence to
foster good relations among themselves. Women were definitely part
of that network.
Less well-off girls probably had little influence over their own futures. In the letter RS 34.170 (RSO VII, 56-7) somebody, probably
a low-ranking royal administrator, offers to give 'a young girl or an
artisan' in exchange for a slave whom he has bought but whom he
must return in order to regain his own freedom. Apparently the person who was offered as replacement had no say whatsoever in the
matter. 5 2 This also illustrates the custom of debt slavery (see also
below, section 4.3.1).
The letter RS 86.2208 informs us about infertility. 53 A certain
childless woman, referred to as the daughter of Yarimu, is mentioned
in a letter of Adad-yashma, king of Sidon, to the king of Ugarit regarding various persons:
As a matter of fact, the daughter of Yarimu has been his [it is unclear
whom the Sidonian king refers to, HJM] wife a long time already, but
she did not bear (children) to him. He then sought to marry another
wife, alongside her, but she did not bear a son to him either.54 The
daughter of Yarimu then made him responsible for a knowingly committed crime,55 fettered him and handed him over to Umma-abi, her
sister, who took him into custody.
50

See section 3.1.

Thus Amico, SWU, 158.
52
Cf. also RS 20.150, Ug. V, 149-50: a letter requesting the exchange of an
unnamed slave girl for a male slave.
53
M. Yon, D. Arnaud (eds), Etudes ougaritiques I: Travaux 1985-1995 (RSO,
14), Paris 1999, 273-5.
54
It makes no sense to simply repeat the first statement, as Arnaud does in his
discussion of the letter.
55
The term used brings to mind the biblical Onan, cf. Arnaud, Etudes ougaritiques /, 300, . 137.
51

It would seem that if a marriage remained childless, this was primarily blamed on the wife. Her husband could then decide to take a
second wife. However, if the second wife did not bear him a child, the
husband was believed to be infertile and the first wife was regarded
as blameless. The first wife then apparently had the right to hand
her husband over to the authorities. In the case of the husband of
Yarimu's daughter, he was later set free by a Sidonian officer after he
had promised to pay a considerable sum of money (to his first wife?).
The daughter of Yarimu and her sister, Umma-abi, were both upper
class women, well known to the king of Ugarit and possibly related to
him. It is not known whether the daughter of Yarimu had the right to
hand over her husband due to a marriage contract which stated she
was to be his only wife, or that it was the general right of Canaanite
women after being falsely accused of infertility.
If a man was murdered in a place which was not his home town, the
inhabitants of that town had to pay his widow an indemnity, usually
3 minas of silver, if they were unable to prove their innocence. 56 In a
letter testifying to this custom, however, neither the woman nor her
murdered husband bears a name. It seems therefore probable that
they belonged to the lower classes (RS 20.22, Ug. V, 95-7).
Several letters from Ugarit concern the divorces of kings 'Ammithtamru II and 'Ammurapi. Because these letters are related to international agreements made in these matters, I will deal with them in
the section on legal texts (4.3.1).
We may conclude that the letters from Ugarit confirm the data
from chapters 2 and 3 that women of substance, especially queens,
enjoyed a lot of freedom and authority. They corresponded with each
other on an international basis, extended loans to each other (possibly
without their husband's consent being necessary), wielded considerable power in their own country and were very active in politics. On
the other hand, even princesses and queens were often subjugated to
men. Rape may have occurred even at court. This picture agrees to
a large extent with the data we analysed from the literary texts of
Ugarit. However, letters were written or commissioned by the upper
classes and for that reason represent only part of the total picture. It
will, therefore, be necessary to compare these results with the data
from seals, legal and administrative texts. First, however, we will compare the data in Ugaritic letters with those in letters from Israel and
Elephantine.

56

Cf. J. Nougayrol, PRU III, 152-60; KTU 1.19:III.49-IV.7.

4.1.2

T h e Letters from Israel

In contrast to the Ugaritic letters, women hardly ever occur in Hebrew

letters. Except for the widow's plea (see below), female senders or
addressees cannot be designated with certainty in the Hebrew letters.
And women are scarcely mentioned in the corpus of the letters.
Perhaps a reference to a woman can be found in Arad(6):28. 57
In this fragmentary letter the second line reads [..] . One might
translate ' . . . give the daughter of (?)
' 58 Unfortunately, the text
is broken at this point. The taw is followed either by an 'ayin or by
a bet, the latter being the most probable because of the height of
the curve which can be seen. A fPN starting with btb is not known
from the Hebrew Bible. In Punic inscriptions the fPN btb'l occurs. 59
Another possibility could be plus a mPN, for example,
(Gen. 24:24,47; 25:20).60 Of course a mPN, [...], is also possible.
In most of the Arad letters instructions are given, starting with ,
an infinitive absolute used as an imperative. 61 The translation '[He]
gave the daughter of [X to Y] ' seems less likely, for in those instances
in which the giving away of a daughter is discussed in the Bible, is
always mentioned before the verb ?and sometimes preceded by the
nota accus ativi.62 Only when a prohibition is uttered, does the word
order change. 63 Thus, only if a prohibitive particle preceded the verb
in line 1, would a translation such as 'Do not give the daughter of X
to Y' be possible. 64
Another possible translation would be: 'Give [x] bat [wine(?) to
Y]', bat being a measure for liquids. In most letters, however, an
abbreviation of bat is used. 65 Due to the fragmentary character, no
definitive conclusion can be made about this translation.
57

Renz, Rllig, HAE, Bd. 1, 396.

Cf. KTU 2.31:65-66, above.
59
F.L. Benz, Personal Names in the Phoenician and Punic Inscriptions (StP,
8), Rome 1972, 102.
60
The Hebrew maqqeph was introduced only as late as the 6th century CE; cf.
M. Dietrich, Neue palstinisch punktierte Bibelfragmente (Massorah, 2/1), Leiden
1968, 103-4.
61
Cf. GK 113bb; R. Meyer, Hebrische Grammatik, repr. of 3rd ed., Berlin
1992, 103,3c; J.C.L. Gibson, Hebrew and Moabite Inscriptions (Textbook of
Syrian Semitic Inscriptions, 1), Oxford 1971, 52, n. 2; Y. Aharoni, Arad Inscriptions, Jerusalem 1981,12; Renz, Rllig, HAE, Bd. 1, 355, . 2. To be more precise,
the (series of) instructions begin(s) with . Cf. the imperative in 2 Kgs 14:9.
62
Cf. Gen. 34:8,9,21; Deut. 28:32; Judg. 3:6; 1 Sam. 17:25; Jer. 29:6.
63
Cf. Judg. 21:1; Neh. 10:31; 13:25.
64
An instruction like 1[He] gave to the daughter [of X something]' is out of the
question, since in this case the line would read.[. .]
65
Cf. Renz, Rllig, HAE, Bd. 2/1, 36-8.
58

Besides the possible occurrence of a 'daughter' in the Arad letter,

women are mentioned inclusively a couple of times in the Hebrew
letters. Sometimes the sender of the letter offers greetings not only
to the addressee but also to his household (Mur(7):l; Arad(6):16;
Arad(6):21; Lak(6):1.6). 66
In 1996 Pierre Bordreuil, Felice Israel and Dennis Pardee published an ostracon from the Moussaeff collection which became known
as 'the widow's plea'. 67 In this ostracon, which is dated on palaeographic grounds to the second part of the seventh century BCE, a
widow turned to an official with a request regarding the inheritance
of her late husband: 68
1

yb[v]kk[.]yhwh s[1]m.
May Yhwh bless you in peace. And now: May
w't.ySm
2
'. 'dny.h[r] 't 'm[k] mt my lord the official listen to your handmaid. My
husband
3
'yy.V bnm.whyh.ydk.
died without sons. (I request politely that the
following) happen: (let) your hand (be)
4
'my.wntth.byd. 'mtk. 't.h with me and entrust to your handmaid the
5
nhlh 'Sr.dbrth.l'ms
inheritance about which you spoke to 'Amas6
yhw.w 'i.dh. hhtm. '
yahu. As for the wheat field that
7
r bn'mh.ntth.l'h
is in Naamah, you have (already) given (it) to
8
yw
his brother.

The requesting party referred to herself as ' your handmaid'.

This was a standard designation for a female of subservient status
66

In my paper I also referred to cities and peoples; cf. . Marsman, 'Women in

Ancient Israel: A Preliminary Exploration', in: A. Brenner, J.W. van Henten (eds),
Recycling Biblical Figures: Papers Read at a NOSTER Colloquium in Amsterdam,
12-13 May 1997 (STAR, 1), Leiden 1999, 41. However, Lak(6):1.4 mentions 4
cities in a context of military strategy, not with regard to its inhabitants. The
reading of [ ]in Lak(6):1.6 is not certain. If accepted, it might refer to those
'in Jerusalem' who had influence on the king. Jer(6):7 furthermore mentions
'to the people' in a fragmentary context, while Lak(6):1.8 refers to the king of
(the people of) Moab.
67
P. Bordreuil et al, 'Deux ostraca palo-hbreux de la collection Sh.
Moessaieff', Sem. 46 (1996), 61-76, pl. 8; Idem, 'King's Command and Widow's
Plea: Two New Hebrew Ostraca of the Biblical Period', 61 (1998), 7-13.
68
I offer text and translation as presented by Bordreuil et al, 'King's Command
and Widow's Plea', 7. On the dating of the text, cf. Bordreuil et al., 'Deux ostraca
palo-hbreux de la collection Sh. Moessaeff', 57, 70. Although its authenticity
has been questioned by some scholars, there does not appear to be enough conelusive evidence, based on laboratory analysis as well as palaeographic analysis,
to support its rejection as not genuine; cf. A. Berlejung, A. Schiile, 'Erwgungen
zu den neuen Ostraka aus der Sammlung Moussaeff', AH 11 (1998), 68-73; Bordreuil et al, 'King's Command and Widow's Plea', 8-9; A. Lemaire, 'Veuve sans
enfants dans le royaume de Juda', ZABR 5 (1999), 1-14; . Zevit, The Religions
of Ancient Israel: A Synthesis of Parallactic Approaches, London 2001, 364.

who turned to a superior. It was the female equivalent of 69. The

widow asked the official to entrust to her 'the inheritance about which
you spoke to 'Amasyahu'. The latter probably was the widow's late
husband, 70 who apparently had spoken with the official about what
was to become of his inheritance after his death. What the widow
asked was wntth.byd.'mtk.'t.hnhlh.
The phrase ntn b yd, instead of
ntn I, indicates that the widow did not plead 'that the inheritance
be given to her in perpetuity, but that she have the use thereof'. 71
According to biblical law, a wife could not inherit her husband's property. Children would normally inherit, and if there were no children,
then the husband's brothers (Num. 27:8-11). The widow did not ask
for possession of her late husband's inheritance, as has been suggested
by Eberhard Bons. 72 Jan Wagenaar has convincingly refuted Bons'
suggestion. He argues:
Inheritance rights were part of customary law. It is hardly conceivable
t h a t a widow would t u r n to an official of the town administration with
t h e request t o overturn a valid legal procedure. Since her husband died
childless, his brother became according to customary law the legal heir
of the estate. T h e woman could hardly object to this. She could only
appeal to a higher authority, if customary law was violated in one way
or the other. 7 3

The widow turned to the official because she wanted justice to be

done. 74 She had no children who would take care of her and her
brother-in-law apparently had no intention to perform the levirate
marriage. There was no written document stating that the widow
would have the usufructary rights over her husband's property after
his death, yet there apparently was an oral agreement of which the
official was aware. To this she refers while asking for the use of the
land as a source of income. Legally, 'Amasyahu's brother had the right
to inherit 'Amasyahu's property. Yet she apparently could claim the
right to usufruct of the inheritance because of her situation of need
69

Bordreuil et al., 'King's Command and Widow's Plea', 9-10.

Cf. Bordreuil et ai, 'King's Command and Widow's Plea', 11; J.A. Wagenaar,
' "Give in the Hand of Your Maidservant the Property . . . " : Some Remarks to the
Second Ostracon from the Collection of Sh. Moussaeff', ZA BR 5 (1999), 20.
71
Bordreuil et ai, 'King's Command and Widow's Plea', 10; see also Pardee,
in: C0S, vol. 3, 86, n. 4.
72
E. Bons, 'Konnte eine Witwe die nahalh ihres verstorbenen Mannes erben?:
berlegungen zum Ostrakon 2 aus der Sammlung MoessaefP, ZABR 4 (1998),
203-8.
73
Wagenaar, ' "Give in the Hand of Your Maidservant the Property . . . " ' , 25.
74
Cf. Isa. 1:17,23; 10:1-2.
70

and the oral arrangement of which the official knew. 75

4.1.3

T h e Letters from Elephantine

The letters of Elephantine which can definitely be attributed to Jewish dispatchers show an equally vivid interest in the well-being of
the male and female members of a family. 76 The letters to Jewish
women at Elephantine also testify to a fairly responsible position of
women within the family. For example, a husband instructs his wife
to buy salt 77 and (probably) cucumber seeds, 78 and to manage several
other affairs on his behalf. 79 It should be noted, however, that it is
always the husband who sends such orders to his wife and never the reverse. The same is true, however, of letters to women from non-Jewish
senders. 80 The social independence of women, whether of Jewish or
other nationality, was apparently limited by their husband or master.
A Jewish husband might even threaten his wife with death if she did
not violate the Sabbath to meet a boat carrying a load of vegetables
that he dispatched to her. 81
With regard to religious matters the position of Jewish women in
Elephantine seems to have been restricted. The priests of the temple
of YHW were all men. 82 The famous Passover Letter creates the impression that the correct observance of the Passover was for the most
part a matter between men. 83 However, another letter shows that in
the absence of her husband a wife and another woman, probably a relative, were allowed to observe the Passover rites themselves. 84 Wives
and children joined the men in mourning rites and prayer, 85 but the
75

Bordreuil et ai, 'King's Command and Widow's Plea', 11: 'In the present
instance, the wife appears to be requesting a temporary suspension of legal transfer of her husband's property to those who were legally entitled to receive it; her
request is based on the claim that the husband's brother has taken possession
of one part of the property and that he cannot therefore claim a state of need
similar to her own'. Pace Wagenaar, ' "Give in the Hand of Your Maidservant the
Property . . . " ' , 26-7, who assumes the widow asked for 'a paxcel of the common
grounds' which had been promised to her husband. See sections 2.1.5 and 4.3.3.
76
TAD 1, A3.3; A3.4; A3.7.
77
TAD 4, D7.2.
78
TAD 4, D7.3.
79
TAD 4, D7.4; D7.5; D7.7; D7.10.
80
TAD 1, A2.1; A2.2; A2.3; A2.5; A2.6; A2.7 - all letters from 'brothers' to
'sisters' (the terms need not be taken literally, cf. Porten, EPE, 90, . 5).
81
TAD 4, D7.16.
82
TAD 1, A4.3; A4.7; A4.8.
83
TAD 1, A4.1.
84
TAD 4, D7.6.
85
TAD 1, A4.7; A4.8.

offering of the meal-offering, the incense and the burnt-offering on

the altar of YHW was a task reserved for men. 86 Thus it may be coneluded that the role of women in the Jewish cult was not negligible,
but definitely secondary when compared to the role of men.

4.2 Seals and Bullae

4.2.1

Seals from Ugarit

Among the inscribed Ugaritic cylinder seals discovered so far none

belongs to a woman. 1 As a matter of fact the same is true of later
inscribed North-West Semitic seals. The overwhelming majority belonged to men. Among the 140 inscribed seals published by Pierre
Bordreuil, for example, only two belong to women. 2 Nahman Avigad
and Benjamin Sass also list very few female seals: one Phoenician,
one Aramaic, one Edomite and nine Ammonite seals among the far
greater number of seals of men. 3 However, the queen of Ugarit possessed her own seal. Several legal texts from Ugarit appear to have
been sealed by her (see below).
4.2.2

Seals and Bullae f r o m Israel

In their corpus of West Semitic Stamp Seals, Avigad and Sass classify
722 items as Hebrew or possibly Hebrew. 4 Only a very small number
of these (13) are ascribed to female owners. 5 The most common way
for Israelite people to refer to themselves on their seals is by their
patronymic, that is, as 'X son of Y' or 'XY'. A small number of
seals bear the information 'X daughter of Y'. In theory it would seem
possible that a seal of the XY-type could belong to a female. However,
86

TAD 1, A4.7:25-26; A4.8:24-25; see also A4.10.

KTU 6.15; 6.17; 6.23; 6.63; 6.66. Uncertain: KTU 6.65. See further PRU
VI, No. 25 (RS 17.53); C.F.-A. Schaeffer-Forrer, Corpus des cylindres-sceaux de
Ras Shamra-Ugarit et d'Enkomi-Alasia (Synthese, 13), Paris 1983, RS 7.174; RS
10.029.
2
P. Bordreuil, Catalogue des sceaux ouest-smitiques inscrits: de la Bibliothque Nationale, du Muse du Louvre et du Muse biblique de Bible et Terre
Sainte, Paris 1986, 53, 69-70 (nos. 54 and 78). No. 54, , is
categorized by Bordreuil as a Hebrew seal (see below). No. 78 is an Ammonite
seal, ' Belonging to Abihay daughter of Yenahem.
3
Avigad, Sass, WSS, nos. 715, 756, 867-875, 1053. See also 1102 (Aramaic or
Ammonite), 1120 (undefined seal). Their no. 867 = BordreuiPs no. 78.
4
Avigad, Sass, WSS, 548. They count 711 Hebrew items and 11 possible Hebrew items (classified as Hebrew-Phoenician, Hebrew-Aramaic, HebrewAmmonite and Hebrew/Moabite).
5
Avigad, Sass, WSS, 30.
1

a number of seals have been found of men who refer to themselves

both as 'X son of Y' and as 'XY'. 6 Thus, we have to conclude that
the implicit filiation should be interpreted as male.
Up until now, 13 seals, 5 bullae and 1 jar handle stamp have been
found bearing the inscription X bt Y.7 Most of these are of untitled
women, but there is one seal and one bulla of women with the title
:
1. ' Belonging to Ma'adana daughter of the king'. 8
On palaeographic grounds the seal is dated to the seventh century
BCE. The name Ma'adana neither occurs elsewhere in Hebrew epigraphy, nor in the Bible. Unfortunately the royal father of Ma'adanah
cannot be identified. The iconography of the seal, however, might hold
a clue. Ma'adanah's seal is decorated with a lyre, embellished with
a line of pearls along the outer edge of the box and a rosette at
its centre. Avigad, who first published the seal, has compared the
lyre with others known from ancient Near Eastern iconography. He
points to the fact that none of the other lyres described has a decorated soundbox. 9 Furthermore, the rosette decoration on the lyre 'is
reminiscent of the rosette device which replaced the lamelekh stamps
6

For example, Domleyahu son of Hosha'yahu, cf. Avigad, Sass, WSS, 193-4
(nos. 477-480); Davies, AHI, 192-3 (nos. 100.543-546); . Avigad, Hebrew Bullae
from the Time of Jeremiah: Remnants of a Burnt Archive, Jerusalem 1986, 4951. Pelatyahu son of Hosha'yahu, cf. Avigad, Sass, WS5, 227-8 (nos. 610-614);
Davies, AHI, 209-10, (nos. 100.643-648); Avigad, Hebrew Bullae from the Time of
Jeremiah, 94-6. 'Azaryahu son of Hilqiyahu, cf. Avigad, Sass, WSS, 139, 224 (nos.
307, 596); Davies, AHI, 184, 235, (nos. 100.496, 100.827); Y. Shiloh, group of
Hebrew Bullae from the City of David', IEJ 37 (1987), 32.
7
Since the two bullae bearing the inscription ( no. 4) have been
made from the same seal, I regard them as one entry here.
R. Deutsch, Messages from the Past: Hebrew Bullae from the Time of Isaiah
Through the Destruction of the First Temple: Shlomo Moussaieff Collection and
an Up to Date Corpus, Tel Aviv 1997, 66-7, incorrectly assumes there are 14 seals
and bullae of the X bt Y type. He further refers to 5 seals of daughters in the
Hecht museum which he assumes to be unpublished. Yet not all of these seals are
Hebrew seals and all of them have been published. Three of them are discussed
below (no. 3, 13 and 16), and the other two are classified as Ammonite seals. On
, cf. M. Heltzer, 'The Women in the Hebrew Epigraphy of Biblical
Times', Revue internationale des droits de l'antiquit 43 (1996), 19 (the name is
misspelled); Avigad, Sass, WSS, 325-6 (no. 868); N. Avigad et al., West Semitic
Seals: Eighth-Sixth Centuries BCE, Haifa 2000,141 (no. 114). On ,
cf. Avigad, Sass, WSS, 326 (no. 870); Avigad et al., West Semitic Seals, 143 (no.
116).
8

Avigad, Sass, WSS, 60 (no. 30).

N. Avigad, 'The King's Daughter and the Lyre', IEJ 28 (1978), 146-51, pi.
26:C (150). However, at a later date another Hebrew seal with a decorated lyre
was published, cf. no. 11, .
9

on the royal Judean storage jars in the late seventh century B.C. 110
Thus, if a connection exists between this seal and the storage jar
stamps, Ma'adanah's father might have been king Josiah or one of
his successors.
Avigad assumes 'that Princess Ma'adanah was an ardent lyreplayer and therefore she chose this instrument as the emblem for
her seal'. 11 Although it is quite possible that the princess played the
instrument, we cannot be sure about this. Manfred Grg, who stresses
the apotropaic function of the lyre and its use, might just as well be
right. 12 However, the one does not exclude the other.
2. ' Belonging to Noyah daughter of the king'.
Unlike the seal of Ma'adana, which is beautifully decorated, the bulla
of Noyah only bears an inscription of two registers separated by a
double line. 13 The bulla dates to the seventh century BCE. Robert
Deutsch assumes that due to the shape of the bulla it was not used to
seal a papyrus written document, but something else, perhaps a j a r . 1 4
The name Noyah does not occur in the Hebrew Bible, nor elsewhere
in epigraphical material.
We thus have one seal and one bulla with a fPN bearing the title
15
.
Next to this, several seals and bullae of 'sons of the king'
16
are known. Opinions differ on the meaning of the title 'son of the
king'. Some regard it as a title of an Israelite or Judahite official who
was on the permanent staff of the palace. According to these scholars
the title should not be taken in its genealogical sense. 17 Yet it seems
more likely that a man referred to as 'son of the king' was a member
of the royal family who held a position in the service of the king. This
did not have to mean he was a true prince, but he was of royal blood.
10

Avigad, 'The King's Daughter and the Lyre', 150-1. See also J.M. Cahill,
'Rosetta Stamp Seal Impressions from Ancient Judah', IEJ 45 (1995), 230-52.
11
Avigad, 'The King's Daughter and the Lyre', 151.
12
M. Grg, 'Die Knigstochter und die Leier', BN 14 (1981), 9.
13
Deutsch, Messages from the Past, 65 (no. 14).
14
Deutsch, Messages from the Past, 65.
15
On the use of the title 'daughter of the king' in the Hebrew Bible, see section
2.2.1.4.
16
G. Barkay, Bulla of Ishmael, the King's Son', BASOR 290-291 (1993), 111,
mentions 18 different seals and seal impressions, among which is one jar stamp.
See also Y. Avishur, M. Heltzer, Studies on the Royal Administration: In Ancient
Israel in the Light of Epigraphic Sources, Tel Aviv-Jaffa 2000, 62-74.
17
This view was expressed as early as 1888 by Ch. Clermont-Ganneau, 'Le
sceau de Obadyahou, fonctionnaire royal isralite', Receuil d'archologie orientale
1 (1888), 36. See further G. Brin, 'The Title )(and its Parallels', AION
29 (1969), 433-65.

He fulfilled an official function in the royal administration. 18

If a was a blood relative either of the ruling king or of (one
of) his predecessor(s), it seems reasonable to conclude that a
was also of royal blood and closely related to the king, if not literally
his daughter. 19 She probably fulfilled a certain function in the royal
administration, too. 20
3. ' Belonging to Abigayil daughter of Elhanan'.
The seal of Abigayil daughter of Elhanan is dated to the second half
of the seventh or the beginning of the sixth century BCE and of unknown provenance. 21 Apart from the double line that separates the
two registers it is not decorated. The names Abigayil and Elhanan
are attested in the Hebrew Bible. 22
4. ' Belonging to Ahamyah daughter of Mattan'.
The date and provenance of the two bullae - which were made using the same seal - are unknown 23 The two lines of inscription are
divided by a double line connected by little stripes, making it look
like a ladder. The fPN is neither known in the Bible nor in Hebrew
epigraphy, but the mPN is well known in both.
5 .

'Belonging to Hami'ohel daug
The seal of Hami'ohel daughter of Menahem was found in Jerusalem
and is dated to the seventh century BCE.24 Its centre is decorated with
a fish with fins and a long tail. 25
The name Hami'ohel does not occur in the Hebrew Bible, its
components, however, do occur in biblical personal names. 26 The
18

Cf. A.F. Rainey, 'The Prince and the Pauper', UF 7 (1975), 427-32; A.
Lemaire, 'Note sur le titre bn hmlk dans l'ancien Isral', Sem. 29 (1979), 5965; Avigad, Hebrew Bullae from the Time of Jeremiah, 27-8; Avigad, Sass, WSS,
27-8; Avishur, Heltzer, Studies on the Royal Administration, 72.
19
Cf. Lemaire, 'Note sur le titre bn hmlk dans l'ancien Isral', 65.
20
Avishur, Heltzer, Studies on the Royal Administration, 70.
21
N. Avigad, Group of Hebrew Seals from the Hecht Collection', in:
Festschrift Reuben R. Hecht, Jerusalem 1979, 124 (no. 8); see further Davies,
AHI, 240 (no. 100.867); Avigad, Sass, WSS, 61 (no. 32).
22
Abigayil occurs in 1 Sam. 25 passim, Elhanan in 2 Sam. 21:19, 23:24; 1 Chron.
11:26; 20:5.
23
Deutsch, Messages from the Past, 66 (no. 15). According to A. Lemaire, review
of Deutsch, Messages from the Past, in: BiOr 56 (1999), 175, one perhaps has to
read
.
24
R. Hestrin, M. Dayagi-Mendels, Inscribed Seals, First Temple Period,
Jerusalem 1979, 51 (no. 34). See further Davies, AHI, 173 (no. 100.412); Avigad, Sass, WSS, 63 (no. 35).
25
According to Hestrin, Dayagi-Mendels, Inscribed Seals, 51, 'as a symbol of
fertility, the fish may have some connection with the fact that the seal belonged
to a woman'.
2 6
2 )

Kgs 23:31),2)
Kgs 24:18; Jer. 52:1); the component occu

patronym Menahem is a well known personal name both in the Bible

and in Hebrew epigraphy.
6. ' Belonging to Hami'adan daughter of Ahimelek'.
The seal of Hami'adan daughter of Ahimelek is dated to the seventh
century B C E . 2 7 Apart from the double line in the middle, it is not
decorated. Since it is unperforated, it probably was set in a ring. The
name Hami'adan neither occurs in the Bible nor elsewhere in Hebrew
epigraphy. Its components, however, form part of biblical names. 28
The name Ahimelek is found in Hebrew onomasticon.
7. ' Belonging to Hannah daughter of 'Azaryah'.
Until now only one jar stamp has been published which has an inscription of the X bt Y-type, that of Hannah daughter of 'Azaryah. 29
Apart from the double stroke that divides the two lines of inscription,
the seal is not decorated. The jar handle was found during archaeological excavations in Jerusalem and is dated to the seventh century. 30
The fPN Hannah occurs both in the Hebrew Bible (1 Sam. 1:2 passim.) and on a Hebrew seal. 31 The patronym is well attested in both
biblical and extra-biblical Hebrew sources.
The fact that Hannah's seal was found on a jar handle has important implications. From a minimalist point of view, the fact that
for instance in Oholiab (Exod. 31:6, etc.).
27
N. Avigad, 1New Names on Hebrew Seals', EI 12 (1975), 66, no. 1, pi. 14/1
(Heb.). See further Hestrin, Dayagi-Mendels, Inscribed Seals, 50 (no. 33); Davies,
AHI, 161 (no. 100.324); Avigad, Sass, WSS, 63 (no. 36).
28
On the component , see seal no. 5;2)
Kgs 14:2),2)
Chron.
25:1). Hami/utal and Yeho'adda/in are both fPNN of mothers of kings.
29
It was first published in Hebrew by Ben-Dov, and treated more thoroughly
by N. Avigad, Note on an Impression from a Woman's Seal', IEJ 37 (1987),
18-19, pl. 1A-B. According to Avigad, Ben-Dov erroneously read ,
'Belonging to Tamar, daughter of 'Azaryau', cf. M. Ben-Dov, The Dig at the
Temple Mount, Jerusalem 1982, 36, which is referred to by Avigad. See further
Davies, AHI, 223 (no. 100.733); Avigad, Sass, WSS, 244 (no. 664).
A. Lemaire, 'pigraphie palestinienne: nouveaux documents II - dcennie 19851995', Henoch 17 (1995), 216 (no. 37), has proposed the reading Ihbh b//t 'zryh.
Although I have to admit that the reading is uncertain due to the effaced state of
the seal impression, I disagree with Lemaire on his proposed reading. Photograph
IB of Avigad's IEJ article clearly shows that the third letter differs from the
fifth, which is a bet. Cf. Y. Nadelman, 'Hebrew Inscriptions, Seal Impressions,
and Markings of the Iron Age II', Qedem 29 (1989), 131, who supports Avigad's
reading.
30
However, Avigad, Sass, WSS, 244 (no. 664), state: 'While this handle has
been ascribed to the late seventh or early sixth century according to the date of
the locus, it could well belong to the late eighth-century royal-jar class'.
31
Cf. below, no. 24.

seals owned by women were found might mean no more than that
they were used as jewellery, that is, as amulets. Seal impressions on
bullae imply that women used their seals for correspondence. Since
we now have a seal impression on a jar handle, it seems very likely
that women also engaged in business in Israelite society.32
8. ' Belonging to Yeho'adan daughter of Uriyahu'.
The seal of Yeho'adan daughter of 'Uriyahu is dated to the seventh century BCE and of unknown provenance. 33 The two lines of
inscription are separated by a flower motif. The name Yeho'addan is
recorded in the Hebrew Bible.34 The element also occurs in the
fPNN Ma'adanah and Hami'adan. 35 The mPN Uriyahu occurs several
times on Hebrew seals and inscriptions. The Hebrew Bible mentions
the names2)
Sam. 11:3 passim) and ( Ezra 8:16).
9 .
.
'Belonging to Yaphah daughter of
The seal of Yaphah daughter of Shema'ayahu is a perforated scaraboid
which is dated to the seventh century BCE.36 It is decorated with
a two-winged scarab beetle holding the sun disc. The fPN Yaphah
occurs neither in the Hebrew Bible nor elsewhere in Hebrew epigraphy.
The name Shema'ayahu is very common.
10. ' Belonging to Ne'ehebeth daughter of Domleyahu'.
The seal of Ne'ehebeth is dated to the end of the seventh century
BCE.37 The seal is plainly decorated with three dots on a double line.
The fPN Ne'ehebeth does not occur in the Hebrew Bible, but it is
attested in an Elephantine contract ( TAD 2, B5.1). The name of her
father, Domleyahu, occurs several times in Hebrew epigraphy.
32

This conclusion is confirmed by the evidence of the administrative texts from

Israel, see below, section 4.
33
N. Avigad, 'The Contribution of Hebrew Seals to an Understanding of Israelite
Religion and Society', in: P.D. Miller et al. (eds), Ancient Israelite Religion: Essays
in Honor of Prank Moore Cross, Philadelphia 1987, 206, fig. 13. See further Davies,
AHI, 238 (no. 100.855); Avigad, Sass, WSS, 63-4 (no. 38).
34
Jehoaddin of Jerusalem, mother of king Amaziah, 2 Kgs 14:2; vocalized Jehoaddan in 2 Chron. 25:1.
35
Cf. no. 1 and 6.
36
R. Deutsch, M. Heltzer, New Epigraphic Evidence from the Biblical Period,
Tel Aviv-Jaffa 1995, 61 (no. 64). However, R. Deutsch, A. Lemaire, Biblical Period
Personal Seals in the Shlomo Moussaieff Collection, Tel Aviv 2000, 32 (no. 26),
propose an eighth-century date.
37
G.(W.) Gesenius, Scripturae linguaeque Phoeniciae monumenta quotquot supersunt dita et inedita ad autographorum optimorumque exemplorum fidem edidit
additisque de scriptum et lingua Phoenicum commentariis illustravit, Lipsiae 1837,
221, pi. 31:67; see further Davies, AHI, 128 (no. 100.060); Avigad, Sass, WSS, 64
(no. 39).

11. ' Belonging to Na'amah daughter of Sha'al'.

The seal of Na'amah daughter of Sha'al is a perforated scaraboid seal,
dated to the eighth or seventh century BCE and of unknown provenance. 38 The centre of the seal depicts a decorated lyre flanked by two
flowers.39 Na'amah occurs as a fPN in the Hebrew Bible. 40 The name
Sha'al is well attested in Hebrew epigraphy.
12. ' Belonging to 'Amad daughter of Yeqamyahu'.
The seal of 'Amad daughter of Yeqamyahu is a seventh-century unperforated scaraboid. 41 Its only decoration is a double line dividing
the two registers. 'Amad is a hypocoristicon of ' Amudiyahu, a
name that occurs twice or possibly thrice in this overview (nos. 13, 14
and 15). In Hebrew epigraphy it occurs both as a male and a female
PN. 42 . The name Yeqamyahu occurs both in the Bible and in Hebrew
epigraphy.
1 3 .

'Belonging to 'Amudiyahu
yahu'.
The seal of 'Amudiyahu daughter of 'Azaryahu is dated to the seventh
century BCE and of unknown provenance. 43 Unlike most other seals,
it has a four-line inscription. The seal is not decorated. The fPN
'Amudiyahu occurs more often in Hebrew epigraphy (see below, nos.
14 and 15).44 'Amudiyahu is also attested as a mPN. 45 The mPN
'Azaryahu is attested on Hebrew seals and in the Bible.
14. ' ] [ Belonging to 'Amudi[yahu dau]ghter of
38

Staatliche Mnzsammlung Mnchen in collab. with The Israel Museum

Jerusalem; texts by . Overbeck, Y. Meshorer, Das heilige Land: Antike Mnzen
und Siegel aus einem Jahrtausend jdischer Geschichte, Mnchen 1993, 3, 5 (no.
A9). See further J. Kamlach et al., 'Dokumentation neuer Texte', ZA H 8 (1995),
320; M. Heltzer, 'The Recently Published West Semitic Inscribed Stamp Seals:
A Review Article', UF 31 (1999), 206 (no. 89). The latter suggests that the seal
might be Ammonite.
39
Cf. the iconography of seal no. 1, Im'dnh bt hmlk.
40
Gen 4:22; 1 Kgs 14:21,31; 2 Chron. 12:13.
41
R. Deutsch, M. Heltzer, Forty New Ancient West Semitic Inscriptions, Tel
Aviv-Jaffa 1994, 58-9, (no. 26). See further Deutsch, Lemaire, Biblical Period
Personal Seals in the Shlomo Moussaieff Collection, 33 (no. 27).
42
Cf. Deutsch, Heltzer, Forty New Ancient West Semitic Inscriptions, 59.
43
A. Lemaire, 'Nouveaux sceaux nord-ouest smitiques', Syria 63 (1986), 30910 (no. 3). See further Davies, AHI, 223 (no. 100.736); Avigad, Sass, WSS, 64 (no.
40).
44
On the vocalization and interpretation of the name, cf. Deutsch, Heltzer,
Forty New Ancient West Semitic Inscriptions, 59. Cf. also Grndahl, PTU, 108;
Heltzer, 'The Recently Published West Semitic Inscribed Stamp Seals', 206 (no.
97). For another view, see Lemaire, 'Nouveaux sceaux nord-ouest smitiques', 310;
Avigad et al., West Semitic Seals, 87 (no. 68).
45
Cf. Deutsch, Heltzer, Forty New Ancient West Semitic Inscriptions, 58-9.

Pelatyah'.
The bulla of 'Amudiyahu daughter of Pelatyah is dated to the seventh
century. 46 The two lines of the inscription are divided by a flower
motif. The reading is not quite certain, because the upper line is
barely legible. According to Deutsch the reading should be in stead
of 47. The name Pelatyah(u) is well known both in the Hebrew Bible
and in Hebrew epigraphy.
15. ' Belonging to 'Amudiyahu daughter of Shebanyahu'.
The seal of 'Amudiyahu daughter of Shebanyahu is dated to the seventh century BCE.48 It is scaraboid-shaped and not pierced, which
indicates that it probably was fixed in a metallic mounting such as
a signet ring. Apart from the double line the inscription is not decorated. The name Shebanyahu is found in the Bible and in Hebrew
epigraphy.
16. ' Belonging to 'Immanuyahu daughter of GiddeP.
The seal of 'Immanuyahu daughter of Giddel is dated to the end of the
seventh century and of unknown provenance. 49 The scaraboid-shaped
seal is perforated and decorated with a flowerbud motif dividing the
two lines of inscription. The reading is not certain, it could also be read
as: ' Belonging to 'Ananuyahu daughter of Giddel'. 50 The
PN 'Immanuyahu does not occur in the Hebrew Bible. However, in a
prophecy of Isaiah (Isa. 7:14) the mPN Immanuel ( )does occur.
The mPN Giddel occurs once more in the collection of Hebrew seals. 51
It probably is a hypocoristic form of Gedalyah, a name which is very
common both in the Hebrew Bible and in Hebrew epigraphy.

1 7 .

'Belonging to Shelema daughte
52
This bulla is of unknown provenance and date. The two registers of
the inscription are divided by a double line connected by little stripes,
in appearance looking like a ladder. The fPN Shelama does not occur
in the Bible; the mPN Shelomo, however, does, both in the Bible
46

Overbeck, Meshorer, Das Heilige Land, 8 (no. A34). See further Kamlach et
al, 'Dokumentation neuer Texte', 322.
47
Deutsch, Messages from the Past, 66, . 11.
48
C. Clermont-Ganneau, 'Three New Archaic Israelite Seals', PEFQS 34 (1902),
264-6, pl. B. See further Davies, AHI, 128 (no. 100.061); Avigad, Sass, WSS, 64
(no. 41).
49
N. Avigad, 'Two Seals of Women and other Hebrew Seals', EI 20 (1989), 90
(Heb). See further Davies, AHI, 243 (no. 100.883); Avigad, Sass, WSS, 65 (no.
42).
50
Cf. Avigad, Sass, WSS, 65 (no. 42).
51
ly'znyh (or: ly'znyhfw]) // [b]n gdl, cf. Davies, AHI, 151 (no. 100.241).
52
Deutsch, Messages from the Past, 67-8 (no. 16).

and in Hebrew epigraphy. 53 The patronym Shebanyahu is well known

in the Bible and Hebrew epigraphy (see no. 15).
18. . . . '[Belonging to] . . . daughter of Peqah'.
The name of the female owner of this bulla is lost due to its fragmentary character. 54 The two registers of inscription are divided by a
double line. The patronym Peqah is current in the Bible and Hebrew
epigraphy.
19. Among the Hebrew-Aramaic seals there is also one which belonged to a woman: ' Belonging to Yehoyishma'
daughter of awa-ar-usur'. 55 Based on palaeography alone, the seal
might be dated to the end of the seventh or the beginning of the sixth
century BCE.56 However, Avigad gives some reasons why a later date
(ca. 540 BCE) should be considered. The palaeography of the inscription is a mixture of Hebrew and Aramaic letters, the first line looking more Hebrew and the second more Aramaic in script. Together
with the fact that the patronym, awa-ar-usur, 57 is a well-known
Neo-Babylonian name, this caused Avigad to suggest that the owner
of the seal may have been the granddaughter of a Babylonian exile.
Yehoyishma"s grandfather, who might have been one of the first exiles, gave his son a Neo-Babylonian name, an act not uncommon in
those circumstances. Influenced by a religious revival among the Jewish exiles, the son gave his daughter a Yahwistic name. 58 According
to Avigad, the name Yehoyishma' is also an indication of a later date
for the seal. 59
53
Pace Deutsch, Messages from the Past, 68, I assume that his bulla no. 88,
, belonged to a man. See above on implicit filiation.
54
Deutsch, Messages from the Past, 68-9.
55
A. de Ridder, Les pierres graves (Collection de Clercq, 7/2), Paris 1911,
495, Pl. 17, 2517. It was discussed in detail by N. Avigad, 'Seals of Exiles', IEJ
15 (1965), 228-30, pl. 40E. See further Bordreuil, Catalogue des sceaux ouestsmitiques inscrits, p. 53 (no. 54); Davies, AHI, 149 (no.100.226); Avigad, Sass,
WSS, 403 (no. 1071).
56
Both Bordreuil, Catalogue des sceaux ouest-smitiques inscrits, 53, and
Davies, AHI, 149, date the seal to the end of the seventh century. According
to Avigad, 'Seals of Exiles', 229, palaeography suggests a date in the early sixth
century.
57
The Neo-Babylonian name ama-ar-usur is pronounced here as awa-arusur, cf. Avigad, 'Seals of Exiles', 229. Bordreuil mentions another possible reading
which he seems to prefer: 'Sin-(a)-arra-usur', reading a / n / as the second letter
of the patronym. The third letter of the patronym he explains as 'une erreur du
lapicide'. This reading and explanation was already proposed by R. Dussaud in De
Ridder, Les pierres graves, cf. Bordreuil, Catalogue des sceaux ouest-smitiques
inscrits, 53, n. 30.
58
Avigad, 'Seals of Exiles', 228-30.
59
Avigad, 'Seals of Exiles', 228-9.

Apart from the seals of the X bt Y-type, there are some seals of
the type X 't Y. These are:
2 0 .

'Belonging to Abigayil wif
The seal of Abigayil wife of 'Asayahu was found in Ashkelon and
is of unknown date. 60 Apart from the horizontal strokes that divide
the three registers of inscription and two vertical strokes before the
word 't, the seal is not decorated. Both PNN are known from the
Hebrew Bible, the fPN Abigayil occurs in 1 Sam. 25:3, passim, the
mPN 'Asayahu is found for instance in 2 Kgs 22:12 and is also recorded
quite often on Hebrew seals.
21. ' ][ Belonging to Adata' wife of Pashhur'.
The seal of Adata' wife of Pashhur is dated to the end of the seventh
century BCE.61 A double stroke divides the two lines of inscription.
The fPN A d a t a ' is not attested in biblical Hebrew or in extra-biblical
literature. 62 The mPN Pashhur is well known both in epigraphy and
in the Hebrew Bible.
It is remarkable that the seals of the type X 't Y are fewer in
number than those of the type X bt Y. Although the corpus of Hebrew
women's seals is in itself quite small and, consequently, conclusions
can only be tentative, it seems that unmarried Israelite women had a
greater social freedom than those who were married. This assumption
only holds if the seals of women who refer to themselves as 'X bt Y'
are unmarried. However, Ma'adanah, the daughter of the king, could
have been married to, for instance, a high official. Since in that case
the status of her father was higher than that of her husband, she
might keep referring to herself as 'daughter of the king' in business
transactions or in correspondence.
Besides the category X 't Y there is a third one, that of the X
'mt Y, of which we only have one example: 63
22. [' ]Belonging to Shelomith handmaid of
Elnathan the governor'.
60

A. Jaussen, 'Inscriptions Palmyrniennes', RB 6 (1897), 597. See further

Davies, AHI, 128 (no. 100.062); 0 . Keel, Corpus der Stempelsiegel-Amulette aus
Palstina/Israel: Von den Anfngen bis zur Perserzeit. Katalog Band 1: Von Teil
Abu Farag bis 'Atlit (OBO.A, 13), Freiburg & Gttingen 1997, 688-9.
61
A. Reifenberg, 'Some Ancient Hebrew Seals', PEQ 70 (1938), 115 (no.7), pi.
VI:7. See further Davies, AHI, 139 (no. 100.152); Avigad, Sass, WSS, 62 (no. 33).
62
In the Ugaritic onomasticon the element 'adt does occur, however, cf.
Grndahl, PTU, 90.
63
Heltzer, 'The Women in the Hebrew Epigraphy of Biblical Times', 23, proposes that the Hebrew seal reading might also be a seal of a 'handmaid'.
It seems more likely, however, that should be regarded here as a patronym,
cf. Avigad, Sass, WSS, 100 (no. 163).

The seal of Shelomith of Elnathan the governor is dated to the

end of the sixth century BCE.64 It is a scaraboid without iconography,
consisting of four registers. The upper register is left blank. Although
the inscription is damaged, the reconstruction of the text is quite
certain because of it similarity to another seal, which bears the inscription and almost certainly belongs to the same find in
the Jerusalem region. 65 The script of the seal is Aramaic, its language
Hebrew. 66
As we have already seen in the epistles, women could use the
term 'handmaid' to express their subservient position. This applies
to women of all classes. Queen Bathsheba, for instance, called herself
the of king David (1 Kgs 1:13). It would appear that the seal of
Shelomith belonged to a woman, who, although referring to herself
as , was of high status. Shelomith probably was a female official
serving the governor of Judah. 6 7 In this case would be the female
counterpart of as a designation of a high official, which is used on
various seals. Shelomith's seal was found in an official archive together
with the seal of the province of Yehud. This might indicate she worked
as an administrator. 68
There is some additional information which may offer a different
explanation, however. Elnathan was governor of Judah at the end
of the sixth century BCE and successor of Zerubbabel. The latter is
mentioned in 1 Chron. 3:19 in a genealogical context. Not only the
two sons of Zerubbabel, but also his daughter Shelomith is mentioned
there. Since women are rarely mentioned in genealogical lists, this
probably indicates she had a special role in society. Eric Meyers regards it as likely 'that Elnathan married into or attached himself to
the Davidic line in order to strengthen his position as governor in
the province of Yehud'. 69 To this end he would have married Zerubbabel's daughter, Shelomith. However, Shelomith is not called 'wife'
of Elnathan, but 'handmaid', or 'slave wife'. If we accept Meyers'
identification of the Shelomith mentioned on the seal with the daughter of Zerubbabel, the reference to her as a 'slave wife' is somewhat
64

N. Avigad, Bullae and Seals from a Post-Exilic Judean Archive (Qedem, 4),
Jerusalem 1976, 11-13, 32; L.G. Herr, The Scripts of Ancient North-West Semitic
Seals (HSM, 18), Missoula MT 1978, 28. See also Davies, AHI, 253 (no. 106.018).
65
Cf. Avigad, Bullae and Seals from a Post-Exilic Judean Archive, 1-2, 6, 11.
66
Cf. Herr, The Scripts of Ancient North-West Semitic Seals, 28-9; Avigad,
Bullae and Seals from a Post-Exilic Judean Archive, 11, 13-20.
67
Cf. DCH, vol. 1, 310.
68
Cf. Avigad, Sass, WSS, 31.
69
E.M. Meyers, 'The Shelomith Seal and the Judean Restoration: Some Additional Considerations', Erls 18 (1985), 35*.

problematic. It probably would mean that Shelomith, daughter of

Zerubbabel, and possibly other members of Zerubbabel's family, had
become slaves. Although it is possible that Elnathan married into
Zerubbabel's family - even if they had become slaves - and thus into
the Davidic line, it is equally possible that a daughter of Zerubbabel
had a high position in the province of Yehud, serving the governor,
without being married to him. 70
There is another reference to an in a possible context of marriage. A Hebrew tomb-inscription at Silwan mentions that a man and
his are buried there. The man's function is described as
' who is over the house', probably referring to a royal steward. 71
Based on this inscription and on the meaning of in the Hebrew
Bible, it seems most likely that the was a slave wife.72
It is worth noting that in both inscriptions involving an , the
women were related to a highly placed man. Shelomith was the
of a governor of Judah, whereas the of the tomb inscription is
related to a royal steward, perhaps to be identified with Shebna (Isa.
22:15-16).73

Beside the seals of which we know with certainty that they had
female owners, because the women refer to themselves as daughter,
wife or handmaid, there are a number of seals that bear only a PN.
Some of these seals, which give no further clue to the gender of the
owner, might nevertheless have been owned by women. In those cases
where the PN is known as a fPN from the Hebrew Bible, it is possible,
if not probable, that it was a woman's seal. If the PN does not occur
in the Bible, but might be a fPN, it is also discussed here. I am aware
that this assumption can only result in a small degree of probability,
since a known female structure of a PN does not necessarily indicate
that its owner was female. 74 Nevertheless, I will include them in my
70

Cf. R. Westbrook, 'The Female Slave', in: V.H. Matthews et al. (eds), Gender
and Law in the Hebrew Bible and the Ancient Near East (JSOT.S, 262), Sheffield
1998, 230.
71
Cf. . Avigad, 'The Epitaph of a Royal Steward from Siloam Village', IEJ 3
(1953), 137-52; Renz, Rllig, HAE, Bd. 1, 261-5 (Jer(7):2).
72
Cf. Avigad, 'The Epitaph of a Royal Steward', 142-3, 145-6, who is imprecise
in his use of terms, however, for he does not distinguish between maidservant, slave
wife and concubine, which clouds his argument and weakens his conclusions. See
also R. Kessler, 'Die Sklavin als Ehefrau: Zur Stellung der 'mh\ VT 52 (2002),
505.
73
The identification is proposed by Avigad, Bullae and Seals from a Post-Exilic
Judean Archive, 150-2.
74
Cf., e.g., K. Aartun, 'Herkunft und Sinn des Namens Aqht im ugaritischen
Material', in: H.L.J. Vanstiphout et al. (eds), Scripta Signa Vocis, Groningen
1986, 11-2. See also section 4.4.1, . 1.

overview, for completeness, because some PNN that until now have
been assumed to be mPNN may have been in use for both males and
females. We start with a seal that is not Hebrew, but often discussed
in the context of Hebrew female seals:
23. ' Jezebel'.
The seal of Jezebel is of unknown provenance, but on grounds of
palaeography and iconography it is assumed to be of Phoenician origin. 75 The seal is dated to 850-750 BCE.76 It is a beautifully decorated
scaraboid, depicting a richess of motifs. The upper register shows a
crouching winged sphinx with a raised tail that is doubly curved over
its back. The sphinx is facing right and holding an ankh with its foreleg. It has a woman's head, bearing a headdress. 77 The lower register
depicts a winged solar disc. Underneath it is a hawk, facing to the
right and holding a flail. The hawk is flanked by two uraei looking
outward. At the feet of the bird is a 'design which seems to represent
a bent lotus or papyrus stalk'. 78
The fPN Jezebel is known from the Hebrew Bible (1 Kgs 16:31
etc.), where it is spelled . However, this does not exclude identiflcation, as Michael Heltzer points out, for 'in the corresponding passages (I Reg. 16ff) of the Book of Kings of the Septuagint her name
is spelled . So, this spelling is corresponding to the spelling on
the Phoenician seal'. 79 It is tempting to identify the owner of the seal
with the biblical character. As Avigad states:
T h e r e is, of course, no basis for identifying t h e owner of our seal with
this famous lady, although they may have been contemporaries, and t h e
seal seems worthy of a queen. Moreover, Jezebel is a rare Phoenician
name, nowhere previously documented other t h a n in t h e Old Testa-

75

N. Avigad, 'The Seal of Jezebel', IEJ 14 (1964), 274-6, pl. 56C; Herr, The
Scripts of Ancient North-West Semitic Seals, 175. See also Davies, AHI, 148 (no.
100.215). The fact, however, that it is placed among the Hebrew seals by authors
such as Davies, AHI, 148, and J.C.L. Gibson, Hebrew and Moabite Inscriptions
(Textbook of Syrian Semitic Inscriptions, 1), Oxford 1971, 60, seems to indicate
that they tend toward an identification of the owner of the seal with the biblical
Jezebel, see below.
76
Cf. Avigad, 1 The seal of Jezebel', 276; Herr, The Scripts of Ancient NorthWest Semitic Seals, 175.
77
On human-headed sphinxes on Israelite seals cf. . Keel, Corpus der
Stempelsiegel-Amulette aus Palstina/Israel: Von den Anfngen bis zur Perserzeit
(OBO.A, 10), Freiburg & Gttingen 1995, 198-9.
78
Avigad, 'The seal of Jezebel', 274.
79
M. Heltzer, 'The Women in the Hebrew Epigraphy of Biblical Times', Revue
internationale des droits de l'antiquit 43 (1996), 13.

ment.80

Still, although it is far from certain, this might be the seal of biblical
Jezebel. In any case the elaborate and highly artistic decoration shows
that the owner must have been a woman of substance.
24. ' Belonging to Hannah'.
The seal of Hannah is dated to the late eighth or early seventh century
BCE.81 It is assumed to be a surface find of Tell ed-Duweir (Lachish).
Once again, this is a beautifully decorated seal. The upper register,
which is the largest part of the seal, shows a winged sphinx striding
to the right. The sphinx bears the crown of Lower Egypt on its male
head, and a skirt on its forelegs. Its tail curls over its back and only
one wing is showing. A shoulder-high ankh sign stands in front of
the sphinx. The lower register contains the inscription. A double line
divides both registers.
The fPN Hannah is known from the Hebrew Bible (1 Sam. 1:2
passim) and from epigraphical sources (cf. the jar stamp ,
no. 7 in this overview). It is commonly accepted that the seal under
discussion belonged to a woman. 82
25. ' Belonging to Hanuna, Yehud'.
This jar handle stamp was found in Tel Harasim. 83 Another jar handle
stamp from the same seal or one very similar to it has been found in
Babylon. Joseph Naveh assumes that Hanuna 'was most probably
the name of a woman, the feminine version of ( Hanun: 2 Sam.
10:1,2,3; Neh. 3:13,30)' and that she 'was a female official in the
administration of the province of Yehud'. 84
26. ' Belonging to Meshullemeth'.
The seal of Meshullemeth is of unknown provenance and date. 85 The
80

Avigad, 'The Seal of Jezebel', 275.

J.R. Bartlett, 'The Seal of hnh from the Neighbourhood of Tell ed-Duweir',
PEQ 108 (1976), 59-61, pl. VIII; Herr, The Scripts of Ancient North-West Semitic
Seals, 145. See also Davies, AHI, 165 (no. 100.351); Avigad, Sass, WSS, 63 (no.
37).
82
Cf. Bartlett, 'The Seal of hnh', 60; O. Keel, Ch. Uehlinger, Gttinnen,
Gtter und Gottessymbole: Neue Erkenntnisse zur Religionsgeschichte Kanaans
und Israels aufgrund bislang unerschlossener ikonographischer Quellen (QD, 134),
Freiburg 1992, 287; Avigad, Sass, WSS, 63 (no. 37).
83
J. Naveh, 'Gleanings of Some Pottery Inscriptions', IEJ 46 (1996), 45.
84
Naveh, 'Gleanings of Some Pottery Inscriptions', 45-6.
85
Avigad, 'The Contribution of Hebrew Seals to an Understanding of Israelite
Religion and Society', 206, fig. 14. See further Davies, AHI, 238 (no. 100.856);
Avigad, Sass, WSS, 125 (no. 255). Both Avigad and Davies incorrectly render the
reading 1mwlmt. A. Lemaire, 'pigraphie palestinienne: nouveaux documents II
- dcennie 1985-1995', Henoch 17 (1995), 229 (no. 117), correctly states: 'Il faut
corriger la lecture propos en LMSLMT'.
81

seal is not decorated. The fPN Meshullemeth occurs in 2 Kgs 2 1 : 1 9 . 8 6

Any attempt to identify the owner of the seal with the biblical character is highly speculative.
27. ' Sileah'.
The seal of Sileah is of unknown provenance and dated to the eighth
or seventh century BCE.87 The seal depicts a falcon facing left and
holding a flail. To its left an ankh-sign is engraved and below it the
inscription without a line dividing the iconography from the text. The
PN Sileah is attested neither in the Bible nor in Hebrew epigraphy.
The mPN ( Sallu/Salu), however, does occur on a Hebrew bulla 88
and is attested in the Bible as a variant spelling (Num. 2 5 : 1 4 ; Neh.
11:7; 12:7; 1 Chron. 9:7). Furthermore, in 2 Kgs 12:21 mention is made
of Silla, which is either a local name or a mPN. 89 Sileah, therefore,
might be a fPN.
28. ' Belonging to Sa'adah'.
The scaraboid seal of Sa'adah is of unknown provenance and dated to
the end of the eighth century BCE.90 The decorated seal is divided into
three registers. The upper register shows a four-winged uraeus, the
middle shows the inscription and, to the left of it, an ankh-sign, and
the lower register shows a winged sun disc. The four-winged uraeus
is regarded as a royal emblem. Persons using this emblem on their
seals probably had an official position in the royal administration. 91
The name Sa'adah is not attested in the Hebrew Bible. It might be
a hypocoristicon, since the mPN Sa'adyah(u) does occur in Hebrew
epigraphy. 92
29. ' Belonging to Sitrah'.
The seal of Sitrah is of unknown provenance and date. 93 It contains
three registers, the top depicting a dog- or jackal-headed two-winged
86

The mPN Meshullam occurs quite often both in the Bible and on Hebrew
seals.
87
Overbeck, Meshorer, Das Heilige Land, 4 (no. A12). See further Kamlach et
al., 'Dokumentation neuer Texte', 320.
88
Avigad, Sass, WSS, 222 (no. 589).
89
Cf. HALAT, Lf. 3, 714. The phrase is judged by A.B. Ehrlich,
Randglossen zur hebrischen Bibel: textkritisches, sprachliches und sachliches,
Hildesheim 1968, pt. 7, 308, to be 'vollends unverstndlich'. In line with this
opinion several authors have suggested emendation or omission of the phrase.
90
Avigad, 'Two Seals of Women and Other Hebrew Seals', 91 (Heb.). See further
Davies, AHI, 243 (no. 100.884); Avigad, Sass, WSS, 133 (no. 284).
91
Y. Avishur, M. Heltzer, Studies on the Royal Administration: In Ancient
Israel in the Light of Epigraphic Sources Tel Aviv-Jaffa 2000, 29-30.
92
Avigad, 'Two Seals of Women', 91; Avigad, Sass, WSS, 519.
93
C.C. Torrey, Few Ancient Seals', AASOR 2 (1923), 106 (no. 4). See also
Davies, AHI, 119 (no. 100.012); Avigad, Sass, WSS, 439 (no. 1159).

aegis, the middle holding the inscription and the bottom depicting a
two-winged beetle.
The name Sitrah is unknown in the Hebrew Bible, though it does
occur as a noun, meaning 'protection'. 94 Since the noun is feminine,
the PN might also be feminine. However, if the seal is Aramaic, which
is likely, according to Avigad and Sass, it probably is a mPN. 95
30. ' Belonging to Shulamith/Shelomith'.
The seal of Shulamith/Shelomith is dated to the eighth century BCE.96
The iconography of the seal bears a close resemblance to the one of
Hannah. 97 The upper register of the seal depicts a striding sphinx
with a human-faced head, bearing the double Egyptian crown. It is
striding to the left, holding its tail upright, curling outward. Only
one wing is showing. In front of the sphinx an ankh-sign has been
engraved. A double line divides the upper register from the lower,
which contains the inscription. The PN lmt is attested both as a
male and female name in the Hebrew Bible. 98 On Hebrew seals, it is
only attested once, as a fPN, although on other West Semitic seals
the name occurs as a mPN. 99 Thus, the seal under discussion could
just as well have belonged to a female as to a male.
So far we have 22 Hebrew seals and bullae which belonged to
women and 8 more that possibly were owned by women. This is
a relatively small number, since over 800 Hebrew seals and bullae
have been published thus far. Yet the number is large enough to conelude that Israelite women did participate in Israelite correspondence.
Moreover, the elaborate and rather internationally oriented style of
the decorations on most of these seals suggests wealthy owners who
participated in Israelite economy.
94

A connection with the mPNN ( Exod. 6:22) and ( ?Num. 13:13) has
been proposed; cf. D. Diringer, Le Iscrizioni Antico-Ebraiche Palestinesi (Publicazioni dlia R. Universit degli Studi di Firenze, Facolt di Lettere e Filosofia,
III/2), Firenze 1934, 173. W.W. Mller, 1 Altsdarabische Beitrge zum hebrisehen Lexikon', ZAW 75 (1963), 312, refers to the Old South Arabian sir, which
is a fPN.
95
Avigad, Sass, WSS, 439, 519.
96
A. Lemaire, 'Sept nouveaux sceaux nord-ouest smitiques inscrits', Sem. 41-42
(1993), 63-69.
97
Cf. above, no. 24. Lemaire, 'Sept nouveaux sceaux nord-ouest smitiques inscrits', 67, mentions several seals with striding sphinxes and concludes that the
seal of Hannah is the closest in likeness to the seal of Shulamith/Shelomith.
98
mPN: Ezra 8:10; 1 Chron. 23:9,18; 26:25,26,28; 2 Chron. 11:20. fPN: Lev.
24:11 and perhaps Song 7:1.
99
On the Hebrew seal [ ]see above, no. 22. On lmt as
a mPN on West Semitic seals, cf. Lemaire, 'Sept nouveaux sceaux nord-ouest
smitiques inscrits', 68.

4.2.3

Seals and Bullae from Elephantine

Since no comprehensive edition of all seals and bullae from Elephantine has been published as yet, it is not possible to say anything definite about the proportion of female and male owners of seals among
the Jewish inhabitants of the garrison. However, since all letters published thus far were sent by men, as we have seen, the chances are
small that many women will turn up as owners of seals.

4.3 Legal Texts

4.3.1

Legal Texts from Ugarit

Texts recording legally binding agreements, such as treaties, contracts

and deeds, also contain information about the position of women in
Ugarit.
In a dramatic and very unusual 'decree1 (RS 16.144, PRU III,
1
76) king Arhalba cursed any of his brothers 2 who would 'take' his
wife after his death. Arhalba hoped that the national god of Ugarit,
Ba'lu, would drown that man, that he would be unable to aggrandize
his throne and that his house would not flourish. Apparently Arhalba
foresaw his demise by his brother Niqmepa' who seems to have forced
him to abdicate after a disastrous mutiny against the Hittites and
probably had him executed soon afterwards. 3 Arhalba seems to hint
at the cruel custom of raping the wives of a royal predecessor after
his abdication. 4 If so, the document confirms that this terrible fate
shown to former queens did not exist just in literary fiction.5
A treaty between the king of Ugarit and the cities of Ura and
Kutupa confirms that to some extent wives and children were held
co-responsible for a man's behaviour: if he failed to repay a debt,
the king of Ugarit could hand the whole family over to the creditor
1
The form is that of a contract but the second party is not mentioned. The
usual mention of witnesses and the royal seal are missing. The somewhat unpolished language points to a hastily written draft.
2
Following Van Soldt, SA U, 505, I take it that in is-tu ahi-ya the plural sign
has dropped out. It is sometimes surmised that Arhalba refers here to the brother
who is obliged to take his wife in 'levirate' marriage. Although it is likely that
this institution did exist in Ugarit (see section 2.1.5), it is strange that the name
of the brother is not mentioned and that Arhalba would assume other brothers
would dispute his claim. Cf. Amico, SWU, 105-8.
3
Cf. I. Singer, Political History of Ugarit', in: HUS, 637.
4
The verb ahzu should not be rendered as 'take into marriage' here. For ahzu
in the sense of 'to take a woman against her will' see CH 142:61.
5
See section 2.2.1.3.

to repay the debt by serving the creditor as slaves (RS 34.179, RSO
VII, 15-6; see also RS 17.130:29, PRU IV, 103-5; RS 17.244:11, PRU
IV, 231-2).6 On the other hand, the king could redeem persons from
slavery in a foreign country (RS 17.28, PRU IV, 109-10; RS 17.108,
PRU IV, 165-66) and a man called Iwrkl, probably acting on behalf of
the king, 7 redeemed a whole family, including the wife and daughters,
from the hands of the Beirutians (KTU 3.4).
A treaty between Murshili II and Niqmepa' of Ugarit confirms
that the Ugaritic king had a harem (1. 118': dam.me-su 'his wives'). 8
The unnamed women and their children were held co-responsible in
case the Ugaritic king should violate the treaty. We know, however,
at least the name of one of them. Niqmepa' was married to a princess
of Amurru called Ahatmilku. 9 A dowry list of Ahatmilku testifies to
her personal wealth (RS 16.146+, PRU III, 182-6).10
This queen was just as 'ruthless' as her husband, Niqmepa'. When
she was already quite old and a widow she punished two of her
own sons who had rebelled against their brother, the ruling king
'Ammithtamru. 1 1 The two were banished to Alashia (Cyprus), but
their mother took care to provide sufficient support for them, including a substantial amount of silver and gold, before they left. 12
6

See section 2.2.2.4.

Cf. . Kienast, 'Rechtsurkunden in ugaritischer Sprache', UF 11 (1979), 43152 (448-50).
8
G.F. del Monte, II trattato fra Mursiii II di Hattua e Niqmepa' di Ugarit
(OrAntColl, 18), Roma 1986, 32. See also RS 17.338:9', 12'; RS 17.353:6,16'; RS
17.407:5'; RS 17.357:10', PRU IV, 84-101; RS 21.53:R4', V5', PRU VI, 127-9. The
same was true of other kings, e.g., the king of Alashia (RS 20.238:7, Ug. V, 87-9).
Amico, SWU, 341, errs in stating 'there is no definitive evidence for polygamy
even in the royal family'.
9
On this queen, see E. Lipmski, 'Ahat-milki, reine d'Ugarit, et la guerre du
Muki,' OLP 12 (1981), 79-115; Van Soldt, SAU, 14-5; J. Aboud, Die Rolle des
Knigs und seiner Familie nach den Texten von Ugarit(FARG, 27), Mnster 1994,
30-1; Singer, HUS, 641-43.
10
Amico, SWU, 84, is wrong in supposing that it would have been her terhatu.
See also, however, Amico, SWU, 273: 'trousseau'.
11
It is sometimes surmised that Ahatmilku removed them because they had
opposed his election to the throne. Cf. H. Donner, 'Art und Herkunft des Amtes
der Kniginmutter im Alten Testament', in: R. von Kienle et al. (eds), Festschrift
Johannes Friedrich zum 65. Geburtstag am 27. August 1958 gewidmet, Heidelberg
1959, 116-9. If this was the case, the queen mother was a king-maker, like Hariya
in the Legend of Kirtu, biblical Bathsheba and the Assyrian queen Naqi'a, see
section 2.2.1.2. See also Donner, 'Art und Herkunft', 111-2; T. Ishida, The Royal
Dynasties in Ancient Israel: A Study on the Formation and Development of RoyalDynastic Ideology (BZAW, 142), Berlin 1977, 155-6; Z. Ben-Barak, 'The Queen
Consort and the Struggle for Succession to the Throne', in: FPOA, 34, 37.
12
RS 17.352, see also RS 17.035, 17.362, 17.367 (PRU IV, 121-4).
7

Of some interest is a royal deed of donation (RS 16.141, PRU III,

60) according to which the king of Ugarit transferred all the possessions of a certain Bin-Yarnhanu, who had proved insolvent, to a
certain Yarimmu. 13 He also gave Yarimmu the lady Inu'umi as a marriageable girl (ana kalltu) - apparently she had belonged as such
to the household of Bin-Yamhanu. 14 Should Yarimmu subsequently
decide not to take her as his wife, 15 she could take her marriage deposit, presumably part of Bin-Yamhanu's estate, and would regain
her freedom. 16 This text confirms what we found in the literary texts,
namely, that marriageable girls could be called kit,17 that official marriage arrangements were a male affair and that formally a woman did
not have a say in the choice of her partner. 18 She could even be married off at a very young age. But she did have certain rights with
regard to her marriage deposit.
A similar case is the contract RS 16.267 (PRU III, 110). The king
freed the slave woman Shaya to become the legal wife of the high
official Shawittenu. If she died, her house, fields and everything else
would revert to her husband. 19 In any case this text as well as RS
8.208 and RS 16.250 (both discussed below) seem to indicate that
although marriage between a man from the upper class and a slave
girl was certainly possible, it was deemed a proper gesture to free her.
The declaration RS 16.252 (PRU III, 66) proves that a young
woman could be called batlatu (line 11) even though she was the
mother of two children (lines 4-5,7, 20-21). This confirms our conclusion on the basis of the literary texts that a batlatu generally was a
designation for a young woman, who did not have to be a virgin. 20
13

See on this text G. Cardascia, 'Adoption matrimoniale et lvirat dans le droit

d'Ugarit', RA 64 (1970), 119-26; Amico, SWU, 69-70.
14
By paying the terhatu a man could 'buy' a girl at a very young age as a future
bride for himself or for one of his sons. She was moved to his household then and
came under his authority. On this type of arrangement see Amico, SWU, 74, and
Van der Toorn, Cradle, 64. KTU 4.80 lists several households comprising one to
three unnamed kit under the protection of a named head of the family.
15
The reading is somewhat uncertain, see J. Nougayrol, PRU III, 60, n. 1;
Amico, SWU, 80.
16
This is not the same as 'the right to break the betrothal', Amico, SWU, 70,
80.
17

See section 2.1.4.

See section 2.1.1.1.
19
It is not necessary to suppose that Shaya owned all this property already as
a slave before her marriage, as G. Boyer, PRU III, 299, and Amico, SWU, 206,
suppose. Her husband may have given it to her when they married. It was not
unusual for a married woman of substance to live in a separate house.
20
See section 2.1.4.
18

According to the royal decree RS 15.85 (PRU III, 52-3), the king
gave a new house and some fields to his sister, Talab'u, possibly on the
occasion of her wedding. 21 In addition, her father-in-law Arsuwanu
gave her a present (nidnu) consisting of another house and more
fields.22 Apparently a princess needed all this to live in style. King
Niqmaddu II even donated a complete city to his daughter and her
husband who bore the Hurrian name of Ekhlikushukh. The latter may
have been a foreign prince (RS 16.276, PRU III, 69-70).23 However,
ladies outside the royal family could also be the beneficiaries of houses
which the king transferred from one person to another (RS 15.168,
PRU III, 136-7), just as he could decide to give a woman's house and
fields to another woman or to another man (RS 15.150, PRU III, 171;
RS 16.135, PRU III, 89-90).
The queen also had the power to transfer houses and fields from
one person to another. According to the contract RS 16.277 (PRU
III, 50-1) queen Pisidqi, wife of Niqmaddu II, exchanged fields with a
certain Nuriyanu. 24 It is stated that the queen donated the property
in the first place, and the king only in confirmation (RS 16.277:9-13),
which seems to indicate that it was her property in the first place. 25
At a later date, during the reign of Ammithtamru II, the same queen,
who had by now become queen mother, exchanged houses and fields
with a certain Iliyanu (RS 15.86, PRU III, 51-2). In another contract,
RS 17.86+ (Ug. V, 262-3), queen Tharyelli acquired land from two
brothers and their sons. The contract was executed 'before witnesses'
- instead of the customary 'before king NN' - which seems to imply
that the queen did not always need the king's approval for her business
transactions.
In another case a contract in the name of king 'Ammithtamru II
was sealed by the queen mother, Ahatmilku (RS 16.197, PRU III,
150-1).26 The queen herself possessed fields, orchards with vines and
olives (cf., e.g., RS 17.325, Ug. I/, 264; RS 17.86+, Ug. V, 262-3;
RS 17.102, Ug. V, 263; KTU 4.143:1-2; 4.244:9), had her own major21

Nougayrol, PRU III, 179. On the reading of her name, cf. Van Soldt, SAU, 2,
. 4.
22
Both gifts are of an unusual nature. There is insufficient reason to suppose
that the father-in-law's present represented a 'bride-price' (contrast Amico, SWU,
79).
23
On diplomatic marriages, see section 2.2.1.4.
24
This Nuriyanu probably was Niqmaddu's brother, cf. Van Soldt, SAU, 7.
25
Cf. RS 15.85:21-26 (PRU III, 52-3); RS 15.150:3-6 (PRU III, 171).
26
J. Klima, 'Die Stellung der ugaritischen Frau: (Auf Grund der akkadischen
Texte von Ras Shamra)', ArOr 25 (1957), 327, suggests several reasons for the
use of the seal of the queen mother next to that of the king.

domo, 27 her own business representative (RS 17.314, PRU IV, 189),
her own circle of privileged 'friends', just like the king himself, 28 and
her own palace with an extensive staff. 29 Her children probably held
a privileged position as compared to the children of the other royal
wives and concubines. 30
The wealth of queens also comes to the light in other documents.
An unnamed queen of Ugarit redeemed 'her slave', Urteshub, from
the hands of a palace official called Tabrammi (RS 17.231, PRU IV,
238). This Tabrammi was probably the same man who appeared with
the king of Ugarit before Initeshub, viceroy of Carchemish, to settle
a dispute between them (RS 17.337, PRU IV, 168-9). So Tabrammi
was considered an equal of the king of Ugarit which accords well with
the fact that he appears to have been a high Hittite court official
who exercised control throughout Syria. 31 In RS 17.231:5 the 'slave'
Urteshub is called a dumu kur-sa 'a son of her country'. This can only
mean that he was not a real 'slave', but a citizen in full rights from
either Ugarit or Amurru. In view of his Hittite name and because of
Tabrammi's involvement Amurru is the most likely option. This renders it very likely that the queen was none other than the mysterious
bittu rabti 'daughter of the Lady (= the queen of Amurru)' who was
married to 'Ammithtamru 11.32 The queen payed 70 shekels of silver
for the man, a rather steep price for a slave - the normal price was
14-20 shekels in Ugarit. 33 Was this Urteshub perhaps an old flame of
the princess from Amurru?
The bittu rabtti was a daughter of Benteshina, king of Amurru, and
his wife Gassuliyawiya, Great Princess of Hatti and apparently the
'Lady'. 34 'Ammithtamru II married her and the pair got several sons
27

Cf. J. Nougayrol, Ug. V, 264, n. 1; M. Heltzer, The Internal Organization of

the Kingdom of Ugarit, Wiesbaden 1982, 182.
28
Cf. Heltzer, The Internal Organization of the Kingdom of Ugarit, 161-3. It
should be noted, however, that she did not appoint persons to this rank herself,
but that the king did so, cf. RS 16.348 (PRU III, 162-3); 16.353 (PRU III, 113-4).
29
Cf. Amico, SWU, 274; J.-P. Vita, 'The Society of Ugarit', in: HUS, 470.
30
This follows from royal decrees stipulating regular service to be performed for
'the children of the queen', RS 16.138:35 (PRU III, 143-5) and RS 16.204:Rev.
10' (PRU III, 119-20). Cf. Nougayrol, PRU III, 180; Amico, SWU, 101.
31
Cf. E. Laroche, Ug. III, 149-52.
32
Heltzer, The Internal Organization of the Kingdom of Ugarit, 171-2, also
assumes the slave and the queen both came from Amurru.
33
M. Heltzer, Goods, Prices and the Organization of Trade in Ugarit, Wiesbaden
1978, 16, 83.
34
The tablets dealing with the bittu rabtti are: KTU 2.72 (RS 34.124); RS
16.270 (PRU III, 41-4; PRU IV, 134-6); 17.82 (PRU IV, 147-8); RS 17.116 (PRU
IV, 132-4); RS 17.159 (PRU IV, 126-7); 17.228 (PRU IV, 141-3); 17.318+349A

(RS 17.348), the eldest and heir being Utrisharruma (RS 17.159).
So the marriage must have lasted several years. 35 But at a certain
moment 'Ammithtamru wanted to divorce his wife. In the decree by
which the Hittite king Tudhaliya 'iv' 3 6 sanctioned the divorce it is
stated that the daughter of Benteshina deliberately caused trouble,
that she 'sought to provoke' 'Ammithtamru. 3 7 The reason for dissolving the marriage apparently was this misconduct of the wife. She
had to return to her native country and had the right to take with
her everything she had brought into 'Ammithtamru's house, i.e., her
dowry. Possessions belonging to her, which 'Ammithtamru had expropriated but which her brothers declared under oath to have been
hers, 'Ammithtamru had to repay. Their son, Utrisharruma, had the
right to choose to follow his mother back to Amurru, but in that
event he lost his right to the throne of Ugarit (RS 17.159).38 Because
(PRU IV, 144-6); RS 17.348 (PRU IV, 128); RS 17.372A+360A (PRU IV, 13941); RS 17.396 (PRU IV, 127-8); RS 17.450A (PRU IV, 144); RS 17.459 (PRU
IV, 138-9); RS 18.06+17.365 (PRU IV, 137-8); RS 1957.1; tablet G. Badr (Sem.
41/42 (1991/92), 14-9). This cause clbre has been studied by many scholars and
different orders of the tablets have been proposed. Cf., e.g., J. Nougayrol, PRU IV,
1956,125-48; L.R. Fisher, 'An International Judgment', in: Idem (ed.), The Claremont Ras Shamra Tablets (AnOr, 48), Rome 1971, 11-21; J. Nougayrol, review of
L.R. Fischer (ed.), The Claremont Ras Shamra Tablets, in: RA 66 (1972), 88-90;
C. Khne, 'Ammistamru und die Tochter der "Grossen Dame" ', UF 5 (1973),
175-84; W.H. van Soldt, 'Een koninklijke echtscheiding te Ugarit: de problemen
van Ammitamru II van Ugarit met zijn echtgenote, dochter van Benteina van
Amurru (13e eeuw v. Chr.)', in: K.R. Veenhof (ed.), Schrijvend verleden: Documenten uit het Oude Nabije Oosten vertaald en toegelicht (MEOL, 24), Leiden
1983, 150-9; Amico, SWU, 287-311; D. Arnaud, M. Salvini, 'Le divorce du roi
Ammistamru d'Ougarit: Un document redcouvert', Sem. 41/42 (1991-92), 7-22;
I. Singer, Concise History of Amurru', in: S. Izre'el (ed.), Amurru Akkadian:
A Linguistic Study (HSS, 41), vol. 2, Atlanta, GA, 174-5; Idem, HUS, 680-1.
35
It was not the first political marriage of an Ugaritic king. Niqmaddu II probably married an Egyptian court lady; cf. A.R. Schulman, 'Diplomatic Marriage
in the Egyptian New Kingdom', JNES 38 (1979), 185; Vita, HUS, 469; Singer,
HUS, 625-6. Niqmepa' married Ahatmilku, a princess of Amurru (Vita, HUS,
469; Singer, HUS, 641). Nor was it the last intermarriage. Both Niqmaddu III (RS
34.136:25-26, RSO VII, 29-31) and 'Ammurapi (see below) seem to have been
married to a Hittite princess.
36
On the difficulties regarding the proper identification of kings called
Tudhaliya, see T. Bryce, The Kingdom of the Hittites, Oxford 1998, 133.
37
RS 17.159:7 ma-ru-us qaqqadi-u ub-ta'i-i, lit. 'she sought his headache'.
38
K. Spanier, 'The Northern Israelite Queen Mother in the Judaean Court:
Athalia and Abi', in: M. Lubetski et al. (eds), Boundaries of the Ancient Near
Eastern World: A Tribute to Cyrus H. Gordon (JSOT.S, 273), Sheffield 1998, 137:
'The original marriage agreement had apparently provided that this woman's son
would be the successor to the throne'. See also C.H. Gordon, 'Ugaritic rbt/rabttu',
in: L. Eslinger, G. Taylor (eds), Ascribe to the Lord: Biblical & Other Studies in

we hear nothing of him in later documents, he probably chose to follow his mother. 39 In an additional decree (RS 17.396) the viceroy,
Initeshub of Carchemish, decided that everything the former queen
had acquired in Ugarit itself - gold, silver, copper, presents, slaves,
clothes - she must leave with 'Ammithtamru.
Thereupon Initeshub, the king of Carchemish, and Shaushgamuwa,
the king of Amurru, son of Benteshina and full brother of the bittu
rabti, confirmed in a treaty (RS 1957.1) that 'Ammithtamru had sent
his wife back to Amurru and that Shaushgamuwa, the king of Amurru,
had banished her to a provincial town outside the capital of Amurru
where she lived under the custody of her brothers. Shaushgamuwa
vowed never again to speak to her and never to allow her to return
to Ugarit.
The marriage was then dissolved and the authority over the bittu
rabti was transferred from her husband to her brother. The matter
seemed to be closed. However, in 'Ammithtamru's mind the matter
was by no means closed, for after a while he seems to have wanted his
wife back, as is indicated by the retrospective passage RS 16.270:8-11
(see below). It is at this point of the story that I propose to insert
the Ugaritic letter KTU 2.72 (RS 34.124). Because this letter has
been discussed extensively in the scholarly literature, 40 I shall refrain
from a full transliteration and translation. For our subject the most
interesting lines are the following words of the king of Ugarit (KTU
2.72:17-33):
17

w.Iht bt.mlk. 'amr

And (with regard to) the letter about the daughter of

the king of Amurru,
18
ky.idhr. 'umy 19 l.pn.
that my mother wants to speak before 41 the city
qrt
(council):
20
'im.ht.l.b21 msqt
If the city now indeed sits down in anguish, then what
ytbt 22qrt.p.mn
(to do about it)? 23
I'ikt. 'ank.lht 24 bt.
I myself have sent a letter about the daughter of the
mlk. 'amr
king of Amurru!
25
ybnn.hlk 26 'm.mlk.
Yabninu has gone to the king of Amurru
'amr
27
28
w.ybl.hw.m'it
hrs.
and he brought a hundred (sheqels) of gold
and a plaid to the king of Amurru.
w.mrdtt.P9mlk. 'amr
Memory of Peter C. Craigie (JSOT.S, 67), Sheffield 1988, 127-32.
39
'Ammithtamru's son Ibiranu succeeded his father; cf. Singer, HUS, 681.
40
See especially D. Pardee, New Ugaritic Letter', BiOr 34 (1977), 3-20,
partially retracted in P. Bordreuil, D. Pardee, RSO VII, 142-50. See also Amico,
SWU, 303-6.
41
For dbr Ipn see Exod. 6:12; Num. 36:1; Judg. 11:11; 1 Kgs 3:22; Est. 8:3. The
imperfect shows that this proposal has not yet been executed; cf. Pardee, New
Ugaritic Letter', 9.

w.lqh.hw

30

mn.b.qmh

And he has taken oil (with him) in his horn

31

w.ysq.hw.l.r'is
and he poured it on the head of the daughter of the
32
bt.mlk. 'ami
king of Amurru.
33
mnm /it ['a ]
Whatever she has sinned [
34

k y . 'umy [

35

]r.A[

that my mother [ ]

(6 lines missing)
[bdm.'ijsi'ir.
'Should [I] remain [alone?]42
43
p. 'u [k.'ajbt.kly.
Well, [surely]43 I [wa]nted 44 to put an end to the
44
cover-up 45 of your [10]ver,46
b.kpr ['a]h&fc.
45
147
w. 'ank [1 ]ritk
but I do [not] hate you!
42

KTU 2.72 is a letter from an unnamed Ugaritic king, probably 'Ammithtamru 11, who wrote to his mother about the 'daughter of the
king of Amurru'. The queen mother would speak with the inhabitants
of the city of Ugarit about the wisdom of their king's behaviour.
Apparently there was talk about turmoil or about concern at the
home front. The king of Ugarit further reported in the letter that a
certain Yabninu/Yabnanu had gone to the king of Amurru and had
anointed the daughter of the king of Amurru with oil.
Problematic in this reconstruction is the reference to persons without their names. The (ex-)wife of 'Ammithtamru is usually called either the 'daughter of the Lady' or the 'daughter of Benteshina king of
Amurru'. In my reconstruction, the king of Amurru in KTU 2.72
is Shaushgamuwa, brother of the bittu rabti. The woman who is
anointed, however, is not called 'sister of the king of Amurru', but
rather 'daughter of the king of Amurru'. In RS 17.159 and 17.396
she is also referred to by that designation. Apparently the divorce of
'Ammithtamru and his wife coincided more or less with the succs42

For bdm, cf. DLU, 104, s.v. bd II, and for the restoration cf. Gen. 42:38; 2
Kgs 17:18; Isa. 49:21; Dan. 10:8. I read the last few lines as a quotation from
'Ammithtamru's letter to Amurru in which he addresses his ex-wife directly.
43
I take p. 'u as a conjunctive particle, with Bordreuil, Pardee, RSO VII, 149,
and the authors they cite. The 'u is redundant, as in w. 'u, KTU 2.34:12. I assume
that emphatic k is following in the lacuna at the beginning of line 43. Cf. 'u k in
KTU 2.39:6,8.
44
I assume a perfect of the verb 'aby here. Heb. often precedes an infinitive.
45
Cf. Heb. , Lev. 16:20. Ugaritic often uses b in an ablative sense where
Hebrew uses p , cf. Tropper, UG, 756, 82.11. I assume that the verb kpr G had
the basic meaning of 'to cover over', as in Hebrew. So in my opinion both kly and
kpr should be interpreted as infinitives.
46
Reading thus with Bordreuil, Pardee, RSO VII, 149.
47
Cf. 1 Kgs 22:8; Eccl. 2:18; see also E. Lipinski, 'The Wife's Right to Divorce in
the Light of an Ancient Near Eastern Tradition', JLA 4 (1981), 10-1; Y. Zakovitch,
'The Woman's Rights in the Biblical Law of Divorce', JLA 4 (1981), 28-46.

sion to the throne of Amurru by Shaushgamuwa, for in RS 17.348

and 1957.1, he is called 'king of Amurru'. I would propose that when
writing to his mother, 'Ammithtamru, or rather his scribe, referred
to his ex-wife in the way he was used to, calling her 'the daughter of
the king of Amurru', even though that king had since died.
Andr Caquot has suggested that this letter refers to the first
phase of 'Ammithtamru's marriage ceremony. 48 However, this has
been convincingly refuted by Dennis Pardee, who has proposed to
situate the letter historically shortly after the divorce and before the
death of the bittu rabtti.49 Following Pardee, I assume Ammithtamru
wished to be reconciled to his ex-wife. According to him, the pouring of the oil, as a prelude to reconciliation, 'may indicate that the
reconciliation was viewed as remarriage'. 50 Pardee, however, does not
go into further details of the reconstruction.
I propose the following reconstruction. It would seem that according to RS 16.270 the city council of Ugarit had initially questioned
the prudence of 'Ammithtamru's behaviour with regard to the daughter of the Lady. They had opposed the idea of a remarriage and had
given their reasons, but by then the king himself had already sent the
high court officer Yabninu (or Yabnanu) to Amurru with a lettter and
ceremonial oil to anoint the princess as his bride again. 51 Apparently
the bride was anointed as a formal act of re-betrothal. It is significant,
however, that as far as we know Yabninu/Yabnanu was not a priest. 52
The act seems to have been symbolic, not part of a ritual. In view of
the rather special circumstances it is impossible to say whether this
was the rule or an exception.
48

A. Caquot, 'Hbreu et Aramen', AC Fr 75 (1975), 430-2.

Pardee, New Ugaritic Letter', 3-20.
There are three reasons why Caquot's suggestion should be rejected. First, the
gifts Yabninu brought to the king of Amurru (11. 27-29) are too few for a royal
terhatu (Pardee, New Ugaritic Letter', 12). Secondly, the terminology of the
letter points to a transgression of the 'daughter of the king of Amurru' ('Whatever
she has sinned . . . ' 1. 33). Thirdly, anointing is not only used in marriage rites,
but can be associated 'with any important change in status wherein ritual purity
is a safeguard against disaster' (Pardee, New Ugaritic Letter', 18).
50
Pardee, New Ugaritic Letter', 19.
51
For another attestation of this act in connection with the freeing of a girl who
was probably to be married see RS 8.208, PRU III, 110-1. For the act as such see
K.R. Veenhof, review of E. Kutsch, Salbung als Rechtsakt im Alten Testament und
im alten Orient, in: DiOr 23 (1966), 308-313; M. Malul, Studies in Mesopotamian
Legal Symbolism (AOAT, 221), Neukirchen-Vluyn 1988, 161-79; . Viberg, Symbols of Law: A Contextual Analysis of Legal Symbolic Acts in the Old Testament
(CB.OT, 34), Stockholm 1992, 89-119.
52
On persons bearing this name, see Van Soldt, SA U, 156.
49

If my reconstruction of the final lines of this letter is tenable, it

seems that 'Ammithtamru felt lonely and asked his former wife to
come back to him, asserting he did not hate her. 53 He only wanted
to put an end to her secret affair with another man. This reconstruction gives further support to the theory that 'Ammithtamru's wife
did indeed commit adultery. This adultery, however, was not common knowledge. It needs to be kept in mind that the bittu rabti was
allowed to return to her native country in possession of her dowry. If
'Ammithtamru had divorced her on the grounds of adultery, she then,
according to the internationally valid laws, had no right whatsoever
to her dowry. But if the reason for a divorce was other than adultery,
the wife kept the right to her dowry. We may therefore assume that
the provoking behaviour of 'Ammithtamru's wife, the 'seeking of the
headache', was considered the official reason for the divorce. Possibly
'Ammithtamru knew about his wife's adultery, but kept it to himself. The expensively bought slave in RS 17.231 (see above) and my
reconstruction of KTU 2.72:42-45 point in that direction.
'Ammithtamru asked Shaushgamuwa to send the bittu rabti back
to Ugarit. At first Shaushgamuwa politely refused. In a letter from
Shaushgamuwa to 'Ammithtamru (RS 17.116), the brother of the bittu
rabti acknowledged that 'this woman has sinned against you' (ana ka-a-a ti-ih-ta-t, RS 17.116:10) and had spoken unseemly words
also to himself (RS 17.116:11-12). 'To me', Shaushgamuwa said, 'she
spoke words that were not at all good'. 54 In the following part of the
letter Shaushgamuwa wrote that for 'Ammithtamru's benefit he had
informed the king of Carchemish he would not send his sister to Ugarit
for a second time. This may refer to the earlier agreement between
Initeshub and Shaushgamuwa when the divorce was being settled (RS
1957.1), but it may also allude to the request of Ammithtamru to
remarry his ex-wife. If the latter is the case, Shaushgamuwa refused
to cooperate in restoring the marriage relation and called upon the
prior agreement between the king of Carchemish and himself. .
Meanwhile, however, 'Ammithtamru, who was still in Carchemish
when he wrote KTU 2.72 to his mother, must have heard the reasons
why the city council of Ugarit had spoken out against her return. The
magistrates of Ugarit questioned the fact that Ammithtamru wished
to take along the daughter of the Lady from Amurru. They wondered:
53

The verb ' to hate' is often used in a context of divorce; cf. HALAT, 1247;
Lipinski, 'The Wife's Right to Divorce', 9-27; Zakovitch, 'The Woman's Rights in
the Biblical Law of Divorce', 28-46.
54
Pace Van Soldt, SAU, 153, who reads 'you spoke . . . . ' Cf. PRU IV, 132;
Arnaud, Salvini, 'Le divorce du roi Ammistamru d'Ougarit', 10.

'Why do you wish to take along the daughter of the Lady? Wouldn't
it be a good idea to leave her in Amurru?' 55 And they explained
why they were not enthusiastic about the plans of their king. They
complained about his wife's flirtatious behaviour with several other
men. They informed their king of the fact that while he had been away
in Carchemish the queen had invited his slaves, his officers and his
cupbearers 56 and used to act coquettishly 57 (RS 16.270:24-25). The
daughter of the Lady had injured the king's authority by associating
with his subjects in such a way. Furthermore, the description of her
behaviour points to flirtations during drinking parties, which may
have amounted to adultery, because her crime is later described as
a 'great sin' (hi-t ra-ba-a, RS 17.228:6; RS 17.372A+360A:7,12), a
term used elsewhere in the ancient world for adultery. 58
When it became clear to 'Ammithtamru that the flirtations of
his ex-wife were not kept secret but were common knownledge, this
rendered a reconciliation absolutely impossible. What is more, a man
of honour had to act in such circumstances. 59 In an agreement with
Shaushgamuwa, king of Amurru, 'Ammithtamru promised to give up
his efforts to regain his wife and left it to her brother to do with her
as he saw fit (RS 16.270:29). She herself had the right to report to her
brother, Shaushgamuwa, any attempt to abduct her from Amurru (RS
16.270:34-35). If 'Ammithtamru or his sons would ever try to dispute
this agreement, he or they would have to pay a fine of 7 talents of
gold and 7 talents of copper - an enormous sum (RS 16.270:36-40).
But it seems that 'Ammithtamru could not live with this agreement. He was determined to have his former wife back, this time not
for a remarriage, but to have her executed. He succeeded in convincing Tudhaliya, the Hittite overlord of both Amurru and Ugarit, that
Shaushgamuwa of Amurru must let Ugaritic troops and ships pass
to fetch the woman for her execution (RS 18.06+17.365; 17.459) 60
55

Arnaud, Salvini, 'Le divorce du roi Ammistamru d'Ougarit', 11.

lu me a-qa-[ka], a rendering of Ugaritic qym.
57
For the reading and rendering see CAD (S), 65; I. Mrquez Rowe, 'The King
of Ugarit, his Wife, her Brother, and her Lovers', UF 32 (2000), 365-72 (372).
58
Cf. W.L. Moran, 'The Scandal of the "Great Sin" at Ugarit', JNES 18 (1959),
280-1; J.J. Rabinowitz, 'The "Great Sin" in Ancient Egyptian Marriage Contracts', JNES 18 (1959), 72-3. It is true that in RS 16.249 (PRU III, 96-8) making
a copy of the royal seal is also called a capital offense ('great sin'), but the improved understanding of RS 16.270:24-25 renders any other offense, for example
political intrigue, unlikely.
59
Adultery was regarded as a violation of a husband's exclusive rights to his
wife's sexuality, as well as a sin against the gods and a threat to public order; see
section 2.1.1.5.
60
RS 18.06+17.365:5 says that she will be transported a-na hu-ul-lu-qi 'to make
56

Shaushgamuwa now complied and handed her over to 'Ammithtamru

(RS 17.372A+360A): 'Take her and do with her what you want! If
it pleases you, throw her into the sea!' (RS 17.372A+360A: 13-14; RS
17.318+349A:5-9). 61 It appears that 'Ammithtamru paid Shaushgamuwa 1,000 or even 1,400 shekels of fine gold to hand over his own
sister (RS 17.372A+360A:Rev. 10; RS 17.228:32).62 Finally, Tudhaliya
observed that the woman had 'disappeared' 63 and that neither Amurru
nor Ugarit had the right to raise the matter ever again (RS 17.82).
According to the end of this story we may conclude that adultery was
not tolerated in Ugaritic society, whatever a woman's social position
was. Her husband had the authority over her sexuality and when she
willingly violated this, he had the right to punish her and could have
her sentenced to death. A few points are noteworthy:
1. Neither the princess herself nor her mother are ever mentioned
by name. However, the scandal does not need to be the reason
for this anonymity because in other cases the king, queen and
queen mother were designated by their titles rather than by
their names.
2. 'Ammithtamru officially divorced his wife because of misconduct
('causing him a headache'). He probably knew of her illicit affair
but assumed it was kept secret. She was sent back to Amurru
where she was banished to a provincial town.
3. After a while, 'Ammithtamru was willing to forgive her and
offered to re-marry her. But soon after he learned of her flirtatious behaviour with several other men, both of high and low
rank. This appeared to be common knowledge. Enraged, he now
wanted his former wife executed, probably by drowning at sea.
4. Men were the judges of this tragic case. Apparently the lady
defended herself vehemently, but her brother dismissed her defence as unseemly talk. Her actual words were never quoted. The
queen mothers of Ugarit and Amurru were apparently unable
or unwilling to intervene.
(her) disappear', a euphemism for killing her, cf. CAD (H), 39.
61
For casting a person into the water as a punishment of an adulterer, cf. CH
129, 133b, 142-143, 155.
62
The suggestion made by Nougayrol, PRU IV, 130, that the blood money
included the sum 'Ammithtamru had to pay because of the lady's confiscated
property in Ugarit, is unlikely. Because she was guilty of adultery she probably
had lost any right to her property.
63
hal-qa-at - again the euphemism for execution.

5. If the honour of a married man was at stake, he might take

revenge on his former wife even long after the formal divorce.
Whether or not Shaushgamuwa was able to withstand 'Ammithtamru's wish to punish his adulterous ex-wife is not clear. It
would seem that for a handsome sum he could be bribed to
hand her over. The bittu rabts brother thus became an accomplice in the capital punishment.
6. The highest court approved of this which can only mean that
the proceedings were not seen as unlawful.
Possibly this was not the only dramatic royal divorce in Ugarit. Many
scholars assume that the last king of Ugarit, 'Ammurapi, had been
married to Ekhli-Nikkal, a Hittite princess, but he divorced her. 64
Both the circumstance that she was allowed to take with her all her
movable property, 65 whether or not it had been part of her dowry (RS
17.355, PRU IV, 209-10), and the complaint of the king of Carchemish
that the king of Ugarit had maltreated 'the daughter of the Sun' ( =
the Hittite king) (RS 20.216, Ug. V, 108-10)66 seems to indicate that
in this case the Ugaritic king was the party to blame.
Of course divorces did not occur only in the royal family. RS
16.143:23-29 (PRU III, 81-3) presupposes a divorce in which a woman
took everything that was legally hers and left her husband. Because
her son remained with his father, it seems likely that she went away
voluntary. Later on the same man married a slave-girl whom he freed
for this purpose (RS 16.250, PRU III, 85-6). Polygyny must sometimes have put a strain on marriages. Children sired by a man with
another wife were disapprovingly said to have been 'born in the street'
and were apparently seen as a threat to the heritage of the sons 67 of
his first wife (RS 17.21, Ug. V, 3-5; RS 17.33, Ug. V, 5-7).
64

Cf., e.g., Nougayrol, PRU IV, 75-8; F. Pintore, II matrimonii) interdinastico

nel Vicino Oriente durante i seeoli XV-XIII, Roma 1978, 75-8; M.C. Astour, 'King
Ammurapi and the Hittite Princess', UF 12 (1980), 103-8; J. Aboud, Die Rolle
des Knigs und seiner Familie nach den Texten von Ugarit (FARG, 27), Mnster
1994, 26-35; Vita, HUS, 476-7. But see also the alternative interpretation of I.
Singer, Political History of Ugarit', in: HUS, 701-4.
65
She had to give up the mansion 'Ammurapi had given her (RS 17.226, PRU
IV, 208).
66
The fable which the king of Carchemish quotes only makes sense if the king of
Ugaxit had been stupid enough to break up his marriage with the Hittite princess
which might have earned him greater independence from his Hittite overlord.
67
In itself dumu.me might be an inclusive term (like Ugaritic bnm in certain
cases), but see below on the subject of inheritance rights of children.

If the marriage stayed intact until a man's death, could his wife
inherit his property? On the basis of RS 8.14568 Juan-Pablo Vita
supposes that this was indeed the case in Ugarit. 69 However, the mere
fact that the husband had to take special legal action to transfer all his
property to his wife indicates that without such measures she did not
have the right to inherit. 70 His aim is clearly to ensure that one of his
sons - the one who honours his mother most - will eventually inherit
everything. So it is more precise to say that the wife got the usufruct of
the inheritance or held it in trust. 7 1 Ownership in the form of usufruct
is illustrated by the case of the slave girl Shaya, whose manumission
by the king gave her the right to own all kinds of property, including
a house and fields. However, when she died, everything would go back
to her wealthy husband (RS 16.267, PRU III, 110). In Ugarit such an
usufruct construction could also be expressed by the phrase that a
mother was the mistress of the house eli mri 'over her son' (RS
16.250, PRU III, 85-6). Sons were the real heirs, however. This also
follows from RS 17.33 ( Ug. V, 5-7) according to which a wife lost
every right to the inheritance if she remarried after the death of her
husband. 72 It also follows from RS 16.252 (PRU III, 66) according to
which a woman, Alazzu, probably a widow who was acting as trustee,
shared (the inheritance) with her son Ilimilku (lines 9-15), but not
with her daughter Milkaya although the latter, too, was apparently
dependent on it. 73
A daughter did not have a normal share in the inheritance. 74 When
a man appointed his son as his sole heir, his daughters and other sons
were supposed not to dispute this decision according to RS 15.138+

68

F. Thureau-Dangin, 'Trois contrats de Ras-Shamra', Syria 18 (1937), 245-55

(249-50).
69
Vita, HUS, 480-2.
70
Cf. J. Klima, 'Untersuchungen zum ugaritischen Erbrecht: (Auf Grund der
akkadischen Urkunden aus Ras amra)', ArOr 24 (1956), 363; E. Otto, 'Sohnespflichten im antiken Syrien und Palstina', in: E. Otto, Kontinuum und Proprium:
Studien zur Sozial- und Rechtsgeschichte des Alten Orients und des Alten Testaments (Orientalia Biblica et Christiana, 8), Wiesbaden 1996, 270.
71
So correctly Amico, SWU, 207-10.
72
Amico, SWU, 212, concludes that therefore she must have 'inherited' her
husband's property. However, possession in the sense of trusteeship for the sons
begotten by her deceased husband is not the same as legal inheritance.
73
Pace Amico, SWU, 215, who states: 'There is one text which may actually
document the inheritance of daughters . . . RS 16.252'.
74
A case like that of Kirtu's youngest daughter, quoted by Amico, SWU, 213,
is not decisive because she probably became heir only in the absence of sons, i.e.,
after the death of her brothers. On daughters as heirs, see section 2.1.4.

(PRU III, 101-2). 75 A man did not leave his estate to his daughter,
he rather adopted her son as his own to make him the sole heir (RS
16.295, PRU III, 70-1). As we shall see, the administrative texts from
Ugarit confirm that wives or daughters were not regarded as heirs.
Yet, if a husband wanted to make certain provisions for his wife
after his death, he could do so. The contract RS 15.92 (PRU III, 54-6)
indicates that a man could arrange for his widow to have a claim on
the marriage deposit (terhatu) if an adoptive son did not want her to
stay in the house. In that sad case she could return to her paternal
home with the money her father had apparently given her back when
she married. 7 6 Again this text proves that not the woman herself, but
her son, even an adoptive son, was the heir to the estate. The Ugaritic
texts published thus far strongly indicate that male patrimony was
the rule in Ugarit. A woman could own or acquire property during
her lifetime, but under normal circumstances she could not inherit
property, or bequeath it to a daughter. 77
A widow could adopt a man as her son to obtain financial security. This is the case in RS 16.200 (PRU III, 64-5). 78 A woman
called Ananaya adopted a certain Shubammu as her son and king
Niqmaddu II confirmed this transaction. Shubammu contributed 500
shekels to the household of Ananaya, but this sum would remain his
personal property. If later on Shubammu should separate himself from
Ananaya, she could only take with her the gift (nadnu, possibly another word for terhatu here) that her husband had given her, but
Shubammu would take her house and her land. Although it may have
provided her with financial security, it would seem that the deal was
unfair on the part of Ananaya.
Another woman, Iyaummu, had her brother Binili adopted as a son
by her daughter Piddaya and her husband, the rich 'harbour master'
Rashapabu. 7 9 In exchange, all Iyaummu's property would be inherited
by the sons of Piddaya and Rashapabu, including their adopted son
Binili (RS 17.33, Ug. V, 5-7; see also RS 17.21 {Ug. V, 3-5). This
75

The circumstance that daughters are mentioned next to sons (and brothers)
need not imply that they themselves would have had a rightful claim to the
inheritance.
76
See RS 16.141:14-15 (PRU III, 60) for a similar case. A woman might consent
to accept other goods in exchange for her 'right' to the marriage deposit, RS
16.158 (PRU III, 62). The house of her father is not the terhatu itself, she only
accepts it as such (ki-mu- n.sal.u.a-a).
77
On mothers as testatrixes, see section 2.1.2.
78
Cf. J. Sanmartin, 'Glossen zum ugaritischen Lexikon (VI)', UF 21 (1989),
336, . 13; Vita, HUS, 479-80.
79
On the latter, cf. Van Soldt, SAU, 160-3.

adoption made it possible for Iyaummu to bequeath property indirectly to her daughter and, at the same time, to keep the property in
the family. It furthermore provided financial security for her and her
brother.
In the contract RS 21.230 (Ug. V, 173-5) a woman, Inuya, adopts
a certain Yaduba'la as a brother. Because it was stipulated that there
was no other brother but him, it is likely that the adoption was meant
to make him her lifelong companion and eventually her sole heir. 80
Probably she was a rich widow or an unmarried woman. 81 Yaduba'la
brought in 1000 shekels, 3 talents of bronze, servants, cattle and furniture, apparently in payment for his lifelong support in Inuya's household. Although the text is somewhat fragmentary it seems quite certain that Yaduba'la would loose all this the day he wanted to abandon
Inuya. 82 But if Inuya broke the contract, she would not only have to
pay a stiff fine in silver, but everything they owned together would
be divided equally. Since Yaduba'la would have had the benefit of her
daily support by then, and since she was the richer party, the advantage of the deal was patently his, regardless of whether she died or
sent him away. All these contracts demonstrate that the position of
independent women in Ugarit was very often unequal to men. Even if
they possessed considerable property their position was not as secure
as that of men.
The legal texts of Ugarit testify to the subordinate role of most
women. Usually only men are the contracting parties, and witnesses
enumerated at the end of contracts without exception are men. There
are a number of Ugaritic contracts and royal decrees in which a
woman is a party. 83 By their very nature contracts were drawn up for
80

The formula should not be constructed to imply that the woman did have a
share in the birthright, as Amico, SWU, 167, would have it. If there was no male
heir a woman was seen as having the usufruct of the heritage - not as the real
heir. See above.
81
She owned houses and fields, whereas he did not.
82
Cf. Ug. V, 175, n. 1.
83
E.g., RS 16.263 (PRU III, 49), RS 15.89 (PRU III, 53), RS 15.146+ (PRU
III, 58), RS 16.156 (PRU III, 61-2, a woman and her brother sell land to another
woman), RS 16.371 (PRU III, 72-3), RS 16.154 (PRU III, 127-8); RS 16.343 (PRU
III, 129), RS 16.131 (PRU III, 138-9), RS 16.261+ (PRU III, 159-60, in this case
the buyers are a mother with her son and her daughter); RS 17.376+ (PRU VI,
25-6, transfer of 1000 shekels of silver by a woman), RS 17.358 (PRU VI, 40),
RS 18.22:5', 30' (PRU VI, 55-7), RS 17.84 (PRU VI, 63-4), RS 17.329 (PRU VI,
64-5); RS 17.22+ (Ug. V, 8-9, sellers are a married couple), RS 17.149 (Ug. V,
9-10, buyers are a couple), etc. - all dealing with named women involved in the
transfer of real estate, often jointly with their husbands, but frequently also on
their own. Sometimes these ladies paid considerable sums, as for example in RS

wealthy people and their important transactions. The circumstance

that some women could own property should not lead us to conclude
that Ugaritic women in general were better off economically than their
sisters in ancient Israel.84 With regard to Israel, we know very little
about the actual economic status of women. 85 Moreover, it should
not be glossed over that contracts involving women form a minority
of the Ugaritic legal texts and that, with the exception of the queen,
no woman could transfer property without the consent of men (the
king, witnesses, a brother, a son, and in many cases, their husband).
The personal wealth of a woman derived in the first place from
her husband. It started with the terhatu which he had paid her father
as a marriage deposit but which the latter usually gave back to his
daughter on the day of the wedding as a parting present (see above).
Her wealth could increase through presents from her husband (RS
16.263, PRU III, 49; RS 16.200, PRU III, 64-5) or from others, for
example a brother or her father-in-law (RS 15.85, PRU III, 52-3) or
an uncle (RS 15.89, PRU III, 53). This was not only the case within
the royal family, but also among others (RS 16.253, PRU III, 156
7; RS 15.89; RS 16.263). In one of these cases (RS 16.253) other
ladies also make (much smaller) donations to the same woman on
the same occasion. Perhaps this indicates that they belonged to the
same household but would soon become dependent on the mistress of
the house on the condition that they contributed what they could to
the household from their personal belongings. If this was the case the
tablet may be regarded as a will.
A legal decision of king Niqmepa' proves that a woman could also
appear in court and win her case by adducing reliable witnesses and
written documents substantiating her claim (RS 16.245, PRU III, 945). 86
All these cases concern women belonging to the upper classes of
society. The situation was different for those who were less well off.
Just like their male counterparts, female slaves were counted as property together with cattle (RS 15.120, PRU III, 56-7; RS 16.148+, PRU
16.261+: more than 2000 shekels silver.
84
Thus, for example, Amico, SWU, 120: 'We do know for certain that women
did have certain economic rights, owning property both within marriage and after
divorce. This reality would have made the women at Ugarit far less vulnerable,
both economically and maritally, than in cultures such as Israel in which women
could not normally own property and had to depend on the continuation of their
marriages for economic security'.
85
See sections 4.3.2 and 4.4.2.
86
For other cases of women testifying in court see RS 16.254+ (PRU III, 157)
and RS 17.376 (PRU VI, 25-6).

III, 115-6; RS 21.230, Ug. V, 173-5).

4.3.2

Legal Texts from Israel

Unfortunately no legal texts such as treaties, contracts and deeds have

been preserved among the epigraphical Hebrew texts from the biblical period. 87 No doubt such documents did exist, but were probably
written on perishable materials, such as papyrus or vellum, as they
were in Elephantine, to which we must turn now to get an idea of
what might have been the practice in ancient Israel.
4.3.3

Legal Texts from Elephantine

Many contracts between Jewish parties have been preserved in Elephantine. With regard to our subject Reuven Yaron notes:
T h e position of women in Elephantine compares favourably with t h a t in
other p a r t s of the ancient Near East. This will become clear especially
when t h e law of marriage and divorce is considered in detail. Persian
influence has been invoked, but with little apparent justification . . . . It
seems rather t h a t one ought to look to Egyptian law for an explanation.
. . . In the field of the law of property and obligations we find women
enjoying full equality. They go about their transactions in the same
manner as men, and no trace of inferiority or male supervision of any
kind is discernable. 8 8

It is difficult to accept the first sweeping statement. As we have seen,

women in other parts of the ancient Near East could also run their
own business, bear witness in court or institute divorce proceedings
against their husbands. We have also found in Ugarit a number of
parallels for these activities. It would seem possible, therefore, that
women of substance enjoyed similar freedom in early Israel and that
in many respects Elephantine Jews merely continued an existing legal
practice. 89
But even if that were the case there is no reason to idealize the
legal position of women at Elephantine. A father had the authority
over his daughter. 90 Jewish women at Elephantine did not arrange
87

The ostracon MHas(7):l might be regarded as a petition; cf. Renz, Rllig,

HEA, Bd. 1, 315-29; Pardee, in: C0S, vol. 3, 77-8.
88
R. Yaron, Introduction to the Law of the Aramaic Papyri, Oxford 1961, 42-3.
89
This is the position taken by B. Porten, Archives from Elephantine: The Life
of an Ancient Jewish Military Colony, Berkeley 1968, 260-2.
90
Cf. Y. Muffs, Studies in the Aramaic Legal Papyri from Elephantine(SDIO,
8), New York 1973, 55-6. Only if the father had died or was incapable of acting as
head of the family, might a mother conclude a marriage contract for her daughter.

their own marriage. Marriage arrangements were made with a male

representative of the bride. 91 Even if she had become a widow, the
authority over a woman could revert to her parents, as the case of
Mibtahiah, daughter of Mahseiah, demonstrates. Her future husband
did not approach her directly but asked her father to give her in
marriage to him. 92 And a document of withdrawal had to be written
by a man. 93
As elsewhere in the ancient Near East, in Elephantine, too, the
marriage deposit ( )which the husband brought in was considerably smaller than the dowry brought in by the bride. 94 The dowries
that are known to us, those of Jehoishma, Mibtaiah and Tamet,
only included personal possessions. The differences in size and value
show that the dowry of a bride depended on her social status. The
Jewish woman, Jehoishma, for instance, brought some money, garments, utensils and some other items, adding up to a total value of
78.125 shekels, whereas Mibtahiah , s dowry was worth 65.5 shekels.
The dowry of the handmaid Tamet was worth little over 7 shekels.95
Jehoishma furthermore received an apartment in the house of her
father, Anani, as an 'after-gift' to her dowry (see below).
At Elephantine both spouses could repudiate their marriage partner. Whoever initiated the divorce, had to pay the 'silver of hatred'.
The wife generally would thereupon leave the house taking her dowry
with her. 96
In some marriage documents we find an explicit prohibition against
taking another wife.97 Women could be married while in slavery. The
handmaid ( )Tamet, who was married to Anani ( T A D 2, B3.3),
was freed from slavery together with her daughter Jehoishma at the
death of her master Meshullam ( TAD 2, B3.6). Although married to
one man, Anani, who was the biological father of her daughter, another man, Meshullam, was her owner and the latter therefore referred
to Jehoishma as 'your daughter whom you bore me'. 98 The marriage
contracts further contained stipulations to protect the widow. AccordEven in this case the bride herself did not become a contracting party. Cf. Yaron,
Introduction to the Law of the Aramaic Papyri, 43.
91
TAD 2, B2.6; B3.3; B3.8.
92
TAD 2, B2.6.
93
TAD 4, D2.5.
94
TAD 2, B2.6; B3.8; B6.1, B6.2; TAD 4, D3.16. This is, of course, related to
the different functions of marriage deposit and dowry, see section 2.1.1.3.1.
95
Jehoishma: TAD 2, B3.8; Mibtaiah: TAD 2, B2.6. Tamet: TAD 2, B3.3.
96
TAD 2, B2.6; B3.3; B3.8.
97
TAD 2, B2.6; B6.4.
98
Cf. Porten, EPE, 221, . 11.

ing to these texts she had the right to the usufruct of her husband's
house, his goods and property."
As in Ugarit, women were not deemed worthy to act as witnesses
to contracts. 100 Jewish men could stand surety for women, 101 but not
the other way round. When husband and wife sold a house together,
the man is the first party mentioned. 102
Also in the field of succession women seem to have been in an inferior position. 103 Since wives and daughters did not have inheritance
rights, a legal document had to be written in order to bequeath property to them. The so-called Anani-archive, for example, contains three
documents related to the bequest of an appartment to his daughter Jehoishma. 104 The apartment was given as an addition to Jehoishma's
dowry. Jehoishma had the right to the apartment and her children
were to inherit it after her, implying that her ownership rights were
restricted. 105 A man could also make special provisions for his wife
if he wanted her to have usufructary rights of his property after his
death. 106 Here, too, the property was eventually meant for the children.
In another contract, not related to the Anani-archive, the sisters
Salluah and Jethoma exchange half their share of realty with another
half of a share owned by two other women. 107 The part of realty owned
by the two sisters is referred to as granted to them by the judges and
the Troop Commander. Possibly the authorities had to probate the
estate due to the recent death of the father. 108 Hereditary-propertyholders could only be men. 109
That women could own money is testified in a contract of mutual
quitclaim. Miptahiah, daughter of Gemariah, gave six shekels as well
as a royal ration to her sister, Eswere, in exchange for the old-age
support the latter had provided for her. In the contract Miptahiah
TAD 2, B2.6; B3.3; B3.8.
Not a single document from Elephantine mentions a woman as a witness.
101
This is how I interpret TAD 4, D3.17, even though the meaning of the term
hmy is uncertain.
102
TAD 2, B3.13.
103
Yaron, Introduction to the Law of the Aramaic Papyri, 43.
104
TAD 2, B3.7; B3.10; B3.11.
105
Cf. TAD 2, B2.3; B2.4, where even the daughter does not have a right to sell
the property.
106
TAD 2, B3.5.
107
TAD 2, B5.1. It is very probable that Nehebeth, one of the persons with
whom Salluah and Jethoma make their transaction, is a woman. See also seal no.
10 in section 4.2.2.
108
Cf. Porten, EPE, 255, . 4.
109
Porten, EPE, 164, . 5.
100

renounces any claim to the money Eswere, for her part, acknowledges receipt of the money and renounces any further claim to it. 110
Another text regarding a woman owning money is the deed of obligation written by Menahem son of Shallum to Salluah daughter of
Sammuah. 111 Menahem acknowledged his debt of two shekels to his
wife Salluah. Bezalel Porten comments that 'it is not clear whether
it concerns deferred payment of part of her mohar . . . or settlement
pursuant to divorce, wherein Menahem was not able to return all her
dowry "on one day in one stroke," as usually required
' 112 In any
case, Salluah had the right to take his house or goods as security for
payment.

4.4 Administrative Texts

4.4.1

Administrative Texts from Ugarit

The administrative texts of Ugarit bear eloquent testimony to the fact

that men were considered far more important to the economic life of
Ugarit than women. Among the thousands of men enumerated in
the often very long administrative lists only very few women figure.1
This verdict is not based on masculine personal names alone - for
many women's names are grammatically masculine - but also on the
determinatives in syllabic texts from Ugarit, as well as on the names
of professions and generic terms. Whereas many men are described
as professional workers or traders, 2 Amico is right in observing that
'there is very little evidence that would argue for a female role in the
trades'. 3 Of course this does not mean that they did not participate
in professional occupations. But apparently their role generally did
not merit explicit mention. 4
110

TAD 2, B5.5.
TAD 2, B4.6.
112
Porten, EPE, 264.
1
Some terms with feminine endings, like 'inst 'inner circle' (of the court, cf.
DLU, 41), appear to denote men (e.g., KTU 4.38:5, 4.47:5, always between male
personnel). Also personal names ending in -t do not guarantee that the bearer is
a woman, as for example w. 'agyt bn.gnym in KTU 4.56:12-13, w.hgbt bn.gmhn in
KTU 4.56:28-29, yph.m'nt bn.lbn in KTU 4.632:22-23, and 'abbt.bn.gly in KTU
4.778:18 demonstrate. Compare male Hebrew personal names like ., ,
2
Cf., e.g., J. Sanmartin, 'Das Handwerk in Ugarit: Eine lexikalische Studie',
SEL 12 (1995), 169-90; M. Heltzer, 'The Economy of Ugarit', in: HUS, 425-36,
448-54; J.-P. Vita, 'The Society of Ugarit', in: HUS, 485-92.
3
Amico, SWU, 231.
4
An exception to the rule may be KTU 4.369:19, which mentions a merchant
and his wife both by their names.
111

It is no exaggeration to say that the administrative texts reveal

what I suspected all along: that the literary texts and also the letters
and legal texts from Ugarit create a far too optimistic impression of
the social and religious position of women in so far as they reflect the
circumstances of the ruling class, especially that of the royal court.
Ordinary women were probably worse off. Their contribution did not
count, not even if they participated in the economic life of the kingdom. To a large extent they were invisible.
As we shall see, the few instances where women are mentioned
by name in the administrative texts mostly concern women of substance. In a few cases, however, it is likely that we are dealing with
named women in lower positions, as in KTU 4.175:11-12: ddm l.'nqt
dd I'altt.wlmdth 'two jars for 'nqt, one jar for 'altt and her female
student'. The PN 'nqt means 'she who wears a necklace' and the PN
'altt 'Alashian woman', 5 names which men are unlikely to bear. The
circumstance that the 'Alashian' has a female apprentice further supports this interpretation. Unfortunately it is unknown what kind of
instruction she was giving. Her husband seems to have belonged to
the hrtm 'ploughmen' (KTU 4.175:10), so it is likely that her pupil
was learning some kind of handiwork. 6
Among the inclusive terms in the administrative documents of
Ugarit is bt 'house' which designates all persons belonging to the
same household. In the census list KTU 4.1027 women and children
who were lodged in the 'house' of certain wealthy Ugaritic men 8 are
enumerated. The Ugaritic hosts are mentioned by name, the foreign
women and children are not. It appears that most households took up
5

Cf. Grndahl, PTU, 98; DLU, 33.

Cf. Amico, SWU, 233.
7
J.-P. Vita, El ejrcito de Ugarit, Madrid 1995, 107-8; Idem, HUS, 459, regards
the tablet as a list of prisoners of war from Alashia. Because Alashia and Ugarit
maintained friendly relations it is more probable that it is a census of refugees
who received hospitality among certain Ugaritic families. The circumstance that
'iwrpzn is mentioned twice (11. 5,10) precludes the view that all these Ugaritic
men were married to Alashian women. Probably the Alashian husbands of the
fugitive women were engaged in warfare. A similar list of women and children
from other countries is PRU VI, No. 79. For other lists of refugees see KTU 4.339
(people 'who have returned to Ugarit', not 'who live at Ugarit', as Amico, SWU,
95, translates); 4.349; 4.360; 4.393; 4.635; RS 19.42 (PRU VI, 77-8).
8
Their relatively high rank appears from 1. 14 md rglm 'royal guards' (cf. Vita,
El ejrcito de Ugarit, 109-13, 142-3) and from 1. 17 skn 'manager', cf. De Moor,
R0Y, 349. Moreover, several of the named men axe attested in other texts as
recipients of real estate, e.g., krzn (1. 1), nwrdd (1. 3), 'iwrpzn (11. 5,10), 'armwl
(1. 9) 'a'ups (1. 12), iptb'l (1. 13), sdqlm (1. 23), tt (1. 26), trgds (1. 27), cf. Van
Soldt, SAU, 36-7.
6

only one wife ( ,att)9 with her children, but in some cases two (KTU
4.102:7,11,17,20) or three wives are mentioned (KTU 4.102:16). It
may be safely assumed that these women were married to the same
husband and that it was a policy to keep families together if possible.
Possibly these wives were slaves (RS 19.42:1,5, PRU VI, 77-8). Although these data admittedly concern foreigners, such families were
easily absorbed into Ugaritic households because polygyny was not a
strange phenomenon in the society of Ugarit.
Girls are designated as pgt (KTU 4:102:2,6,7,11,18-21), n'rt
(KTU 4:102:17) or bt 'daughter' (KTU 4.102:22,10 25,27). Because
boys are described in a very similar way as gzr (KTU 4.102:3,16,1820,23), n'r (KTU 4.102:8) and bn 'son( KTU 4.102:1,5,21) there
does not seem to exist a great difference in the age range between
these designations. 11 All six terms could also be used for relatively
young adults. 12
In KTU 4.360 unnamed wives, daughters and sons of named headmen are registered. In one case four wives are attributed to a chief who
commands no less than thirty workers (KTU 4.360:7-9), but whether
these wives were his own or belonged to his personnel remains uncertain. It was not impossible, however, for a man to have four wives.
A certain Adunu from the Ugaritic city of Shalmeya 13 had four (unnamed) wives according to a list of refugees (RS 19.42:2, PRU VI,
77-8) and according to the same text a certain Ba'lada' from the same
city and a man called Taya (?) from the Ugaritic city of Gib'ala 14 appear to have had two (unnamed) slave wives each (RS 19.42:1,4). At
least Ba'lada' seems to have been a fairly wealthy man. 15 Two others
in the same list have only one wife, however. Polygyny was something
only the rich could afford.
In six other census lists some less well-off families are described.
9

On the meaning of 'ait 'wife', see section 2.1.1.4.1. The addition of the numeral
'aht has no specific meaning. Cf. Amico, SWU, 90-1.
10
Where I suggest to read w.it.b<n>th 'and her two daughters'.
11
In any case there is insufficient reason to assume that they were all slaves.
Pace J. Macdonald, 'The Unique Ugaritic Personnel Text KTU 4.102', UF 10
(1978), 168; M. Heltzer, The Internal Organization of the Kingdom of Ugarit,
Wiesbaden 1982, 147.
12
Cf. A. van Selms, Marriage and Family Life in Ugaritic Literature (POS, 1),
London 1954, 95-6.
13
W.H. van Soldt, 'Studies in the Topography of Ugarit (1)', UF 28 (1996),
653-92 (687).
14
Van Soldt, 'Studies in the Topography of Ugarit (1)', 664-5.
15
This I conclude from KTU 4.376:1 which seems to concern the same person.
The Ib'iy mentioned in that text is most probably identical to the mla-ab-'i-ya of
RS 19.42:3.

KTU 4.295 enumerates men by name and by some gentilic term, followed by their unnamed families and cattle. Apparently the list concerns ordinary citizens, because most families are rather small: one
wife and two children (or sons) at most. Moreover, most possess only
one ox and a few sheep. 16 The same is true of KTU 4.417. The very
fragmentary tablets KTU 4.519 and 4.644 also list families of men
having only one wife and some sons and daughters. KTU 4.339, too,
enumerates men by name with their unnamed wives and children. In
this case, however, it seems fairly certain that sons are meant because some of them are designated as n'r (KTU 4.339:3, 25). 17 Also
in this text most men have only one wife which is understandable
because they were lowly servants of the court (bnm, KTU 4.339:1).
In one case, however, we have tnglyth instead of 'atth 'his wife' (KTU
4.339:10). As was seen early on by Manfred Dietrich and Oswald
Loretz, this must be a feminine form of the Hurrian term inahilu
'second-in-command'. 18 This probably is a designation of the man's
concubine. 19
16

Apparently, as in ancient Israel (Exod. 20:17), the cattle belonged to the

household.
17
The same is true of the very fragmentary tablet KTU 4.419.
18
M. Dietrich, O. Loretz, 'Zur ugaritischen Lexikographie (I)', BiOr 23 (1966),
127-33 (133).
19
In the administrative documents the word lmt occurs which some scholars
see as a homograph, meaning both 'concubine' and 'wool, woollen garment'. This
opinion was based on the fact that in KTU 4.153 b'l 'ait occurs along with b'l
lmt, which caused authors such as C. Virolleaud, PRU II, 97-8, to believe that
lmt referred to a wife of second rank. See further A.F. Rainey, 'Family Relationships in Ugarit,' Or. 34 (1965), 16; L.M. Muntingh, 'The Social and Legal
Status of a Free Ugaritic Female,' JNES 26 (1967), 106-7; C.H. Gordon, review of
C. Virolleaud, PRU V, in: JSSt 12 (1967), 110; Z.W. Falk, 'Hebrew Legal Terms:
IF, JSSt 12 (1967), 244. However, comparison with other texts (KTU 4.46; 4.144;
4.378 and 4.395) in which lmt definitively is some sort of textile or woollen product, has led Heltzer, The Internal Organization of the Kingdom of Ugarit, 43-8,
to argue that in KTU 4.153 lmt has this meaning, too. For another view see J.
Sanmartin, 'Notas de lexicografia ugaritica', UF 20 (1988), 267-70 (see also DLU,
63, s.v. 'att 2c); P. Bordreuil, 'Dcouvertes pigraphiques rcentes Ras Ibn Hani
et Ras Shamra', CRAIBL, 1987, 296; J.-M. Durand, review of S. Ribichini, P.
Xella, La Terminologia dei Tessili nei Testi di Ugarit, in: MARI 6 (1990), 659.
This implies that 'att is a homograph having a meaning different from 'wife' and
that b'l in KTU 4.153 does not mean 'master, husband', (pace Amico, SWU,
97). Several proposals have been made with regard to the homograph 'ait: (1)
an Akkadian loanword, meaning either 'rein, bridle', thus, e.g., Dietrich, Loretz,
'Zur ugaritischen Lexikographie (I)', 132; Heltzer, The Internal Organization of
the Kingdom of Ugarit, 48, or (2) 'an item made of wool or leather', M. Dietrich et
ai, 'Zur ugaritischen Lexikographie (XI): Lexikographische Einzelbemerkungen',
UF 6 (1974), 20. (3) It could also be a Hurrian loanword denoting a textile. Thus,
tentatively, W.G.E. Watson, 'Non-Semitic Words in the Ugaritic Lexicon (2)', UF

If women are listed in the administrative texts at all, it is mostly

without their name and in the same context as children. This is the
case for example in KTU 4.349 which enumerates 14 boys, 4 wives, one
girl (pgt) and one young boy (pgy, both 1. 4), all unnamed. Another
example of an unnamed woman occurs in RS 17.37 (PRU VI, 96),
according to which a herd of 113 sheep was entrusted to two named
men, as well as to the unnamed wife and son of one of them. And
RS 19.91 (PRU VI, 110) records the delivery of 21 shekels of copper
from one named man to another named man by an unnamed female
slave. RS 20.01:2 (Ug. V, 187-9) mentions a certain Matenu with
his unnamed wife and 6 oxen. A named man and his unnamed wife
(KTU 4.632:18-21) as well as a named man and his unnamed sister
(KTU 4.658:46) are together held liable for a debt in silver. In another
case only the woman, designated as the wife of a named man, is
the debtor (KTU 4.386:19). And in a list of recipients of silver one
daughter, bt.sgld, is mentioned among many men. About half of the
men are referred to as bn X, the other half are mentioned by name
and profession (KTU 4.98:13).
As we saw in section 4.3.1, wives and daughters were not entitled
to part of the inheritance. In the administrative texts of Ugarit w
nhlh 'and his nhV is often mentioned. Heltzer translates the term as
'his descendants'. 20 It would seem more appropriate to translate 'his
inheritors', i.e., the male 21 successors entitled to his inheritance. This
is suggested by a passage like the following (KTU 4.69:11.20-23) :22
bn.kzn
w.nhlh
w. nhlhm
w. nhlhm

8
3
2
2

which would seem to imply that the silver was owned (or owed) by
the estates of three generations of bn kzrs male 23 descendants. Apparently it was possible for quite a number of 'inheritors' to have the
usufruct of part of the inheritance prior to the decease of the testator. 24 Although the female members of the family who belonged to
28 (1996), 702.
20
M. Heltzer, The Rural Community in Ancient Ugarit, Wiesbaden 1976, 68-9.
21
The feminine form nhlt occurs in the meaning of 'inheritance 1 only.
22
See also KTU 4.581; 4.704:6-8.
23
Note the masculine suffix -hm.
24
Cf. Van Selms, Marriage and Family Life in Ugaritic Literature, 137-8. The
term 'inheritance' is not entirely satisfactory, cf. P.K. McCarter, R.B. Coote, 'The
Saptula Inscription from Byblos', DASOR 212 (1973), 16-22 (20-21).

the household might have shared in this usufruct, the real right to inherit seems to have been restricted to males and therefore nhlt might
also be rendered 'patrimony'. 25 Perhaps women could inherit if they
were formally declared 'male' by the testator, as was the case in Nuzi
and Emar. 26 But thus far no evidence for this practice has emerged
in Ugarit.
There are very few exceptions to the rather bleak picture of the social and economic position of women in the administrative texts from
Ugarit. The administrative texts confirm the wealth of the queen.
She had her own personnel (KTU 4.22:4), her own vineyards (KTU
4.143:1; 4.244:9), needed considerable quantities of wine for her banquets (KTU 4.149:14-15; 4.219:12; 4.230:4-5, 9; 4.246:1-3) at which
she drank from a heavy goblet made of silver and gold (KTU 4.265).
RS 16.151 (PRU III, 188) mentions an enormous amount of grain
belonging to the queen. The administrative texts also testify to the
queen's social commitment. She takes care of freed prisoners of war
(KTU 4.382:l-2) 27 and refugees (KTU 4.635:2,6). KTU 4.149:14-16
confirms 28 that the queen herself held sacrificial banquets: hmyn.
bdbhmlkt bmdr' 'five (jars) of wine in the sacrifice of the queen on the
land to be sown'. Johannes de Moor supposes that she had to perform a ritual in connection with seed-ploughing which in the myth is
ascribed to 'Anatu. 29
The administrative texts testify to a few other women who appear to be well-off. But even then such women axe rarely mentioned
by their own names. A woman Ebinuni, otherwise unknown, holds
a consignment of 70 kor of grain, together with an equally obscure
man Nuriyanu, son of Khutshakna (RS 6.345).30 Perhaps the two were
married and were both liable for the loan. In view of the considerable
amount of grain involved the pair must have been wealthy. Among
25

The king could transfer an inheritance from one male person to another, RS
16.251 (PRU III, 108-9). Here the West-Semitic term na-ha-li is used, a root also
attested in Mari, cf. A. Malamat, Mari and the Early Isarelite Experience, Oxford
1989, 48-52; Idem, Mari and the Bible, Leiden 1998, 109, 120. Goods given to a
woman were to be inherited by her sons, see, e.g., RS 15.85:30 (PRU III, 53).
26
See sections 2.1.2 and 2.1.4.
27
Cf. M. Dietrich et ai, 'Zur ugaritischen Lexicographie (VIII): Lexikographisehe Einzelbemerkungen', UF 5 (1973), 105. Line 6 of the tablet mentions asrrn
'prisoners of war'.
28
See section 3.1.
29
J.C. de Moor, The Seasonal Pattern in the Ugaritic Myth of Ba'lu (AOAT,
16), Neukirchen-Vluyn 1971, 104-5. See also Korpel, RiC, 434.
30
E. Dhorme, 'Petite tablette accadienne de Ras Shamra', Syria 16 (1935), 1945. On the term qptu cf. CAD (Q), 260. The man is a different person from the
other Nuriyanu's, cf. Van Soldt, SAU, 2, . 3.

twenty named people to whom fairly large amounts of silver had been
entrusted is one woman, Binqutubiya (RS 11.839:13, PRU III, 194-5).
Sometimes women are described as 'att 'adrt 'stately wife' (KTU
4.102:4, 7,9,16,17,28), perhaps pointing to a woman of substance. 31
In KTU 4.135:1-2 we read, 'rm.ksp 'l.sknt.syny 'Twenty shekels of
silver owed by the woman manager of the Siyyanite'. The word sknt
obviously equals the Akkadian akintu,32 a woman in charge of a
harem who handled considerable sums of money.33 According to KTU
4.290:1-2 a woman called tlgdy bought fourteen jars of oil. This is one
of the rare cases where a verbal form (Iqht) allows us to determine that
the bearer of a personal name which could just as well be a man's was
in fact a woman, apparently a fairly well-off woman. In KTU 4.659:2
Khutiyanu's unnamed daughter 34 (yd.bth) participates in a business
transaction of her father and some other servants of the court. However, these few exceptions do not alter the fact that women, especially
women who did not belong to the ruling class, were for the most part
excluded from the officially recorded economic life of Ugarit.
It occurs very rarely that all members of a family are mentioned by
name. Such an exception is KTU 4.625:19-21 b.hrbglm.glm[n] w.trhy.
'atth w.mlky.bnh 'In (the city of) Kharbu-khuliwe 35 glm[], and trhy
his wife, and Milkaya his son'. Because three other persons are mentioned subsequently, it may be assumed that glm[n] was the head of
a family which probably enjoyed a fairly high status.
A partially preserved list of named women is found in RS
19.82:Rev. (PRU VI, 83). Since some of the men listed on the other
side of the tablet appear to have been fairly important, 36 and at least
the lady Remiya mentioned in Rev. 7' was an acquaintance of the important administrator Rap'anu, 37 the women on this list were probably members of the Ugaritic elite. According to RS 19.130:2 (PRU
VI, 90) and RS 19.25:5-7 (PRU VI, 93) certain named women receive
rations. 38 Unfortunately their names have not appeared in other texts,
31

For other hypotheses, see Amico, SWU, 91-2.

Cf. De Moor, RoY, 349.
33
CAD () 1, 165-6.
34
Although a rendering 'with his house (= family)' cannot be excluded, it is
unlikely in view of line 7-8 yd.bt. 'amt 'ilmlk 'with the daughter of the female slave
of Ilimilku'.
35
Cf. Van Soldt, 'Studies in the Topography of Ugarit (1)', 670.
36
Agaptharri (Obv. 9) is probably the well-known Hurrian priest, cf. Van Soldt,
SAU, 194-5. Iwrdarri (Obv. 13) may be the sender of the letters KTU 2.10 and
2.14. He was a high Ugaritic administrator, cf. RS 17.67, Ug. V, 14-16.
37
RS 21.07A, Ugaritic V, 183-4. See on him Van Soldt, SAU, 165-80.
38
See also RS 34.036Obv. 5 and Rev. 19 (RSO VII, 19-20) where the sons of two
32

but it may be assumed that they were fairly important persons, too. 39
Yet they do not receive their rations directly, but through a man called
Yabni'ilu who is the first beneficiary on the list (RS 19.25:1,12). In
another ration list one named woman occurs among many more men
(RS 20.20, Ug. V, 191). If the Rashap'abu of this list (1. 4) is the
well-known citizen of Ugarit, 40 she, too, may have belonged to the
upper echelons. RS 15.42+:1.14-15 (PRU III, 196) again lists only
two women by name among a far greater number of men. At least
one of these women (Pizibli) seems to have belonged to the entourage
of the court. 41 RS 17.354:1-6 (PRU VI, 115-6) lists six women by
name as recipients of one jug of beer each. As in the case of RS 19.99
(PRU VI, 123-4), a list of payments to certain ladies, these women
were apparently friends of the queen. In a list of debtors, we find also
a named woman (RS 16.354:11, PRU III, 38). Since at least two of the
other debtors are important Ugaritic men, 42 she may also have belonged to the elite. A woman named Bin-khatiyama appears to have
been a landowner (RS 16.131, PRU III, 138-40).
These are the exceptions, however. The vast majority of the evidence culled from the administrative texts proves that whereas the
activities of men were recorded meticulously, the share of women in
the economy of Ugarit was probably regarded as not worth recording.
Normally wives were mentioned only in connection with their husband
and so their own names were not recorded. Apparently it was the
social status of a woman which determined whether she merited to
be mentioned by her own name. 43 But generally the naming of women
named women receive a ration. All the other recipients on this list axe referred to
as sons of men. For other raxe cases where a man is named as the son of a woman,
usually in the middle of many other persons designated as sons of men, see RS
8.207:6' (PRU III, 34); RS 15.119:Rev. 8 (PRU III, 86-8); RS 15.132:20 (PRU III,
133-4); RS 16.156:5 (PRU III, 61-2); RS 17.112:16 (PRU IV, 234); RS 17.251:25
(PRU IU, 236-7); RS 17.465:3 (Ug. V, 20-1). These occurrences of matronymics
axe in line with what we have found in the literaxy texts, viz., that the occurrence
of polygynous marriages forms a logical explanation for the use of matronyms in
royal and upper class circles (see section 2.1.2), but in view of their statistical
paucity they definitely do not support a hypothesis like '[p]erhaps Ugarit weis a
very liberal society', Amico, SWU, 144.
39
In my opinion there is insufficient reason to think that in all these cases the
women were deemed socially more important than their husbands, as surmised
by J. Nougayrol, PRU III, 180; see also C.F.-A. Schaeffer, Ug. V, 609.
40
Van Soldt, SAU, 27-29.
41
Cf. RS 16.263:11-20 (PRU III, 49).
42
Sinaru, line 2, was a wealthy merchant, cf. Nougayrol, PRU III, 255. Ayakhi,
line 6, seems to be identical to the maxi who is mentioned in RS 17.424+ (PRU
IV, 219-20) and KTU 4.338:8.
43
It is noteworthy that when ladies became insolvent so that their property had

remained the exception, whereas men were routinely called by their

own name and often by that of their fathers, too. Official functions
and professions of men are amply represented in the administrative
texts. In stark contrast with this stands the fact that apart from the
queen, hardly any reference to women, active in offices or professions,
is made in the administrative texts.
We have only a single reference to a sknt, a woman manager of a
harem. 44 And, possibly, female waterdrawers are mentioned in KTU
4.705:3-5 which reads qrs'am /s'i{.}6 bd r'ay 'two qrs '!/-garments 45
for the girls drawing water in the hands of r'ay\ These women may
have been professionals, like their male counterparts, who fulfilled an
ancillary cultic function. 46 Yet so far no other professions are mentioned in the administrative texts, such as khnt 'priestess', qdt47 'feto be sold they were designated by the name of the person under whose authority
they were or had been, for example, as 'daughter of mPN' (RS 16.140, PRU III,
45-6; RS 17.61, Ug. V, 13-4). Likewise, when the king reclaimed a house of a
woman she is referred to as 'daughter of mPN' (RS 15.139, PRU III, 166-8).
44
Other cases are very uncertain. In KTU 4.299:2,5 large quantities of an unnamed substance seem to be delivered in the hands (bd) of nskt 'female casters'
(?). If interpreted in this way, the term denotes professionals. Since the masculine
form nsk undoubtedly denotes casters of bronze and silver (cf. Heltzer, The Internal Organization of the Kingdom of Ugarit, 92-5), it is possible that the nskt were
female (silver)smiths. However, the text preceding bd is damaged and it may be
possible to read [k]bd 'in total' in which case other interpretations are possible,
for example 'ingots' (cf. KTU 1.105:22).
In KTU 4.360:11-12 somebody's sister is mentioned who is described 'as a
singer' (b.Srt, cf. M. Dietrich, . Loretz, 'Ugaritisch rd "dienen" und rt "Sngerin" ', UF 28 (1996), 162). But in this case, too, different interpretations are
possible.
45
I propose to connect qrs'u in this line and in line 8 with Akkad. qiru, a fine
fabric and a garment made from it, cf. CAD (Q), 270.
46
Cf. M. Heltzer, 'Labour in Ugarit', in: M.A. Powell (ed.), Labor in the Ancient
Near East (AOS, 68), New Haven CT 1987, 242, who refers to KTU 4.609 where
'three "waterdrawers of the sanctuary" (ib mqdt)' are mentioned.
47
Although the word qdSt occurs in Ugaxitic texts, this does not refer to a female
cultic servant. In KTU 4.69:V.ll and 4.412:1.11, the phrase bn qdt refers to a
mPN. Likewise, in the legal document RS 17.36 Bin-qadishti is a mPN. The male
cultic function of qd occurs in several texts (KTU 4.29:3; 4.36:2; 4.38:2; 4.47:1;
4.68:73; 4.126:7; 4.412:11.8; 4.752:5; RS 16.132:7). In the administrative texts, the
qdm often occur after the khnm. In ranking they seem to be subordinate to the
khnm, although from an economical point of view they probably were equals; cf. G.
del Olmo Lete, J. Sanmartin, 'Kultisches in den keilalphabetischen Verwaltungsund Wirtschaftstexten aus Ugarit', in: M. Dietrich, I. Kottsieper, "Und Mose
schrieb dieses Lied auf": Studien zum Alten Testament und zum Alten Orient,
Fs. O. Loretz, (AOAT, 250), Mnster 1998, 180. Their role is unclear, possibly
they were cantors, purifiers or diviners. At Ugarit a qdS could marry and have
children.

male cultic servant', sprt 'female scribe', mkrt 'female trader', or ysrt
'female potter'.
To some extent this may be accidental. As we have seen, the literary texts from Ugarit contain some indications of professional activity on the part of women. Other cultures from the ancient Near East
have yielded evidence for this, too, and the Hebrew Bible supports
the supposition that certain professions and offices could be held by
women. 48 But on the whole it may be said that the administrative
records confirm that the main activity of Ugaritic women was confined to managing the household, sometimes including the finances.
Their contribution to the thriving Ugaritic society and economy was
to a large extent invisible. Those whose role was recorded belonged
to the upper classes of society. Only queens and princesses fulfilled a
role in the cult.
4.4.2

Administrative Texts from Israel

Unfortunately the epigraphical Hebrew texts from the biblical period

have yielded relatively few administrative documents. No doubt such
documents did exist, but as in Elephantine, they would have been
written on papyrus or vellum which has perished in the climate of
Israel. Only lists written on materials like ostraca have survived. In
the great majority of these lists only men are enumerated, usually
identified by their own name and often also by the name of their
father. 49
To date only two administrative texts are known in which women
are mentioned. The first is an ostracon dated to the beginning of the
sixth century BCE which mentions payment to a woman called mlmt
bt 'Ikn 'Meshullemet daughter of Elikon'. She received a ration next
to five men who were also identified by their own names and that of
their fathers (X bn Y). 50 Robert Deutsch and Michael Heltzer state:
. . . our ostracon is the first example of a woman who receives something from a royal(?) or public(?) store, i.e., she works or acts on her
own behalf and receives her salary or product ration equally with the
48

See section 2.2.2.3.

See Renz, Rllig, HAE, Arad(9):76; (8):41; (8):42; (8):48; (8):49; (8):51;
(8):57; (8):59; (8):60; (8):64; (8):67; (8):69 (8):72; (8):74; (8):80; (7):31; (7):35;
(7):36; (7):38; (7):39; (7):47; (6):22; (6):23; (6):27; (6):30; (6):58; (6):110; Gar(7):l;
Gaz(7):l; Gem(7):3,4; Gib(7):l.l-62; Jer(8):30; (7):5; KAgr(9):2; Lak(7/6):26;
Lak(6):l.l; (6):1.11; (6):1.19; (6):15; Msa(7):l; (7):3; Mur(7):2; RRah(7):l;
Sam(8):l.1-102; (8):6; Seb(8):l; (8):2; R. Deutsch, M. Heltzer, New Epigraphic
Evidence from the Biblical Period, Tel Aviv-Jaffa 1995, No. (78)3; (79)4.
50
Deutsch, Heltzer, New Epigraphic Evidence, 83-8 (no. (77)2).
49

others.51

A few years later a second administrative list mentioning women was

published. In a fragmentary ostracon from Jerusalem, dated to the end
of the seventh or the beginning of the sixth century BCE, three women
are mentioned. The small fragment shows the first three lines of the
ostracon, mentioning a certain amount of wheat or barley, followed
by 'st mPN. 52 The text probably involves payment to women who
were referred to as wives of their husbands.
Inscriptions on earthenware designating the owner or destinary,
almost exclusively concern men. 53 To date the only inscription on a
jar referring to a woman is . ' Belonging to the daughter of
Ya'ama'. 54 The inscription is dated to the end of the seventh or the
beginning of the sixth century BCE. The is possibly a designation
of quality, referring to ' wine of good quality'. 55 However, it may
also be a royal emblem. By and large, these meagre facts regarding
administrative texts are in accord with what we found in Ugarit.
4.4.3

Administrative Texts from Elephantine

The administrative documents from Elephantine likewise mention far

fewer Jewish women than men. However, if they are listed, these
women are always mentioned by name. A good example is TAD 4,
D9.14, a list of names in which both men and women are enumerated
with their own names as well as the names of their fathers. Women are
recipients of rations of barley 56 or wheat, 57 and may owe or pay silver
like the men listed in the same document. 58 Several Jewish women
donate silver to a collection for YHW, the same amount as the Jewish
men on the list. They may have had the authority to manage the
finances of the household, but it is also possible that the male head
of the household, while absent, ordered them to make the donation. 59
51

Deutsch, Heltzer, New Epigraphic Evidence, 88.

J . Naveh, 'Hebrew and Aramaic Inscriptions', in: D.T. Ariel (ed.), Excavations
at the City of David. Vol. 6: Inscriptions (Qedem, 41), Jerusalem 2000, 3-4.
53
The only exception might be Renz, Rllig, HAE, Bd. 1, 268, Jer(7):13.
54
Naveh, 'Hebrew and Aramaic Inscriptions', 4-5.
55
Cf. Renz, Rllig, HAE, Bd. 1, 214, . 3; Naveh, 'Hebrew and Aramaic Inscriptions', 5.
56
TAD 3, C3.13:37-38; TAD 4, D8.8:4, 9.
57
TAD 3, C3.28:81-82, 88.
58
TAD 3, C3.4:6; TAD 4, D8.4:8, 19; D8.7:3, 5.
59
TAD 3, C3.15. Whether or not the money was eventually shared with the
Canaanite deities Eshembethel and Anathbethel (lines 126-128) is uncertain. If it
was, the heading of the list seems to suggest that the donators were not informed
of this fact.
52

However, Elephantine also lacks indications of Jewish women active

in professions or offices.

4.5

Conclusions

If we now look back at the texts testifying to Ugarit's daily life, it must
be concluded that most of the institutions and circumstances affecting
the life of women according to the literary texts are also present in
the letters, legal texts and administrative records of Ugarit. Arranged
according to the subjects of chapters 2 and 3, the non-literary texts
offer the following picture:
Wife: With regard to marriage arrangements, these were generally
made between men as heads of families. Officially a girl had no say
in the choice of a marriage partner. Marriageable girls (kit) could be
handed over from one man to another. If the man to whom she was
handed over did not wish to marry her, she was free to go and take
the terhatu with her.
Marriages generally were monogamous. The rich citizens, however,
often had more than one wife. If a marriage was monogamous and the
wife remained childless, her husband could take a second wife. If the
latter did not bear him children, either, the husband was assumed to
be the infertile partner and the first wife could hand him over to the
authorities on account of a 'knowingly committed crime'. Polygyny
could put a strain on marriages and sometimes lead to divorce. Furthermore, the children whom a man had sired outside his marriage
could form a threat to the inheritance of the sons of the first wife.
Only sons inherited. The property that women owned generally was
donated to them by their father or their husband (as terhatu, dowry,
or gifts). They could not acquire it by inheritance and they could not
bequeath it to their daughters.
As wives of wealthy citizens women participated in a social network that maintained polite correspondence. As far as we know, at
Ugarit only the queen owned a seal. To date very few Phoenician, Aramaic, Edomite and Ammonite seals belonging to women have been
found.
In the administrative texts, women and children who belonged to
a household were often not registered by their own name, but only by
that of the male head of that household. Being part of the household,
a wife and children were held co-responsible for the debts of their
husband and father. As a result, family members could be handed
over to a creditor to pay his debts.
In rich families wives had, to some extent, control over the fam-

ily's finances. They could engage in business transactions and could

dispense charity.
Misconduct of a wife could be a reason for divorce. But if a wife
had committed adultery, she could receive the death penalty. If the
wife was not to blame for the divorce, she was allowed to take her
dowry with her. Beside misconduct and adultery, polygyny could also
be a reason for divorce.
Mother: Because a woman with children could be referred to as
btlt, this designation should not be translated 'virgin1, but 'young
woman'. The relationship between a mother and her children generally
was very strong. If she could afford it, a mother took care of her sons
even if they were banished from their own country for good reasons.
As queen mother, she could exercise considerable influence on the
political scene, both domestic and international (see further below).
Sister: If their father had died, a brother had the authority over
his unwed sister. In case the sister had been married and was divorced,
the authority reverted from the husband to the father or brother.
Daughter: Sons play a far more important role in the non-literary
texts than daughters. People wished for a balanced family with sons
as well as daughters. If a girl was made pregnant, her family defended
her honour. Daughters did not have the right to inherit. Sometimes
a daughter would share in the inheritance via her son, if her father
adopted the latter.
Widow. A widow could not inherit from her husband. He could,
however, make arrangements for her to have usufructary rights over
his possessions, or donate immovable property to her. Generally their
(male) children were the ones to inherit. If the children were small,
a widow could hold the inheritance in trusteeship. A widow could
receive an indemnity from inhabitants of a town if her husband was
murdered in its territory. Even if a widow owned immovable property,
she might consider adopting a son to obtain financial security. The
arrangements made at such an adoption might be unequal on the part
of the widow. Apparently it was very important to have male children
who could take care of a person in old age. Adoption also was used
by widows to let female family members share in the inheritance of
property. The position of independent women, especially widows, was
often unequal to men. Even if they possessed property their position
seems to have been less secure than that of a man. Therefore they
made arrangements, such as adopting a son or having one's brother
adopted.
Queen: The queen of Ugarit enjoyed social freedom and authority.
Both the queen and the queen mother corresponded on an interna-

tional level. The queen had her own seal. She possessed houses, fields
and orchards, and had the power to make exchanges of possessions
with other persons. She had her own palace and her own personnel. Compared to the children of the royal wives and concubines, the
children of the queen, as first wife of the king, held a privileged position. Both the queen and the queen mother were socially committed.
They took care of those who were ill or in need. An unnamed queen
redeemed a countryman enslaved in a foreign country.
The case of the bittu rabti shows that adultery was not tolerated
at Ugarit, regardless of whether a woman was of high or low birth. It
may have been that women of high birth were not tolerated at all if
they committed adultery. Possibly the aggrieved king 'Ammithtamru
II wanted to set an example because the bittu rabti was his queen
and, as such, had injured the king's authority as well as his honour.
Queen mother: The queen mother was held in high esteem and
wielded considerable power. She ruled the country when the king was
absent but also played a very important role when her son was present.
The influential position of queen mother Ahatmilku may have been
related to the fact that she was a king-maker and had helped Ammithtamru II to accede to the throne. At Ugarit the queen mother was
involved in politics. She was consulted in diplomatic matters and was
asked to intercede with the king. She was also involved in business.
Royal wives and concubines: The 'decree' of king Arhalba may refer to the custom whereby a new king raped the queen and other wives
of his deposed predecessor. Arhalba apparently hoped to prevent this
by cursing whichever of his brothers would take his wife against her
will. The kings of Ugarit had other wives beside their first wife, the
queen.
Princesses: Ugaritic princesses were engaged in international diplomatic marriages with foreign princes, but could also be married to
high officials of their own country. They generally were very wealthy
and were owners of property, which had been given to them by their
father, their brother or other relatives. But even they could become
worthless pawns in international politics and might perhaps end up
languishing in the dungeon of foreign rulers where they were at the
mercy of enemy princes.
Legal ownership of immovable property: Not only royal ladies but
also other women from the upper classes could be owners of immovable property or hold it in trusteeship. Women could not transfer
property without the consent of men. The queen was the only exception to the rule. Women sometimes were contracting parties in
property transactions, but far more often it was a business between

men. Women never were witnesses to a contract. However, a woman

could appear in court and win a case.
Business: Women's role in the economic life of Ugarit was regarded as a marginal one. Few women were mentioned in the administrative texts, and if recorded they mostly remained nameless. Only
some women of substance were mentioned by name. Usually, however,
women were only mentioned in connection with their husband.
Professions and domestic activities: Very few female professions
are recorded in the non-literary texts. We only encountered one reference to a sknt, a female manager of a harem, and one possible reference
to female waterdrawers. One woman appears to be an instructor to
a girl, but the type of education is not specified. The main activity of Ugaritic women seems to have been confined to managing the
household and, sometimes, its finances. Their contribution to society
remained for the most part invisible.
Slavery: Female slaves had no say over their own lives, but were
regarded as another person's property. They could be exchanged for
another slave like chattel. Although female slaves could be married to
free men, it seems to have been customary to release a slave woman
upon marrying her.
Women as religious specialists: The queen of Ugarit fulfilled a certain role in the cult of Ugarit. She held sacrifical banquets and appears
to have sacrificed wine on land that was to be sown. A princess could
also play a role in Ugarit's religious life. She could be dedicated to a
deity by her father, the king. She then would probably lead a life of
chastity and perhaps fulfill a cultic role.
The information which the non-literary texts of Ugarit offer on the
social and religious position of women generally corresponds to the
data in the literary texts. Thus it may be said that the literary texts
of Ugarit are a fairly reliable source of information on the religious
and social position of women in that society. However, the conclusion
of Nougayrol, Schaeffer and Amico that the women of Ugarit enjoyed
a great deal of social and economic autonomy 1 must be qualified.
This is true only of the upper classes and even there men enjoyed far
more authority and freedom. Women were treated as their subordinates, even if they were high-born and wealthy. All men, even ordinary
workers, at least had their own identity, but their wives were hardly
ever mentioned by name. Rich women could own considerable property, but they formed the exception rather than the rule and their
inheritance went to male descendants or male family members. Fe1

See chapter 1.

male ownership often amounted to nothing more than the managing

of property with the consent of a husband or to the usufruct of real
estate which a husband had granted his wife. In court, women could
win their cases, but they were never accepted as reliable witnesses to
legal transactions. Women played little role in offices and professions.
With the exception of queens and princesses, women do not seem to
have held cultic offices. Despite its polytheism, Ugarit was a rigidly
patriarchal society which curtailed women's freedom considerably.
When arranged according to the subjects of chapters 2 and 3,
the non-literary texts from Israel and Elephantine offer the following
picture.
Wife: The Jewish women of Elephantine did not arrange their own
marriages. Those having authority over them, generally their fathers,
made the arrangements and decided on matters regarding marriage
deposit and dowry. The Elephantine women could have marriage contracts which stipulated that both spouses could initiate divorce. A
marriage contract could also contain a clause prohibiting the husband
from taking another wife. In the case of a divorce, the wife generally
had to leave the house. She maintained only the right over her dowry,
if no special provisions had been made.
A wife's social independence was limited by her husband. On two
Israelite seals a woman is referred to as fPN wife of mPN, a very small
number in comparison to the 19 seals of daughters. Still, they offer
evidence that wives did engage in correspondence. On the other hand,
married women often were not registered by their own name, but as
(nameless) wives of their named husbands.
Daughter: Although daughters occur far less often than sons in
the non-literary texts from Israel and Elephantine, their role can be
traced in the documents. A father had the authority over his daughter. Even if that daughter was a widow, her father was the one with
whom marriage arrangements were made. Daughters could be owners
of seals. They were active in correspondence and in economic life, as
the jar handle stamp of Hannah daughter of Azaryah (no. 7) underlines. Based on the number of seals found to date that were owned by
daughters in comparison to those owned by wives and handmaids, we
may assume unmarried adult daughters were less restricted in their
social freedom and were more active in social and economic life than
married women. Still, like wives, unnamed daughters are mentioned
in texts with reference to their named father only. Daughters did not
have inheritance rights. If a father wanted to bequeath property in
usufruct to his daughter, he had to write a legal document.

Widow. A widow did not have the right to inherit her husband's
property. She needed a written document to obtain the usufructary
rights. In such a case the transfer of property to those who had the
right of inheritance could be temporarily suspended, providing the
widow with a means of support. With regard to the ostracon of the
widow who wrote a plea to the official (section 4.1.2), there apparently was an oral arrangement, to which she referred. We may assume
there was a fair chance the official would honour the request since he
knew about the arrangement. At Elephantine stipulations regarding
usufructary rights were sometimes written into marriage contracts.
Princess. To date, two seals of Israelite princesses have been found.
They probably fulfilled a certain function in the royal administration.
Legal ownership of immovable property: Although women could
own property, they were not hereditary-property holders. To bequeath
property to a wife or a daughter, a man had to write a contract. The
wife or daughter then held the property in trusteeship for her (male)
children. Women could, however, exchange property with others. They
could also donate their property in exchange for (old age) support. If
women owned money, this had often come to them as their marriage
deposit, or as payment related to their divorce. Women did not act as
witnesses in contracts. Moreover, men could stand surety for women,
but the opposite did not occur, as far as we know.
Business: A wife could be responsible for various business affairs
in the absence of her husband. He instructed her what to do, however,
and held the final responsibility for the business enterprise.
Rarely did women receive payment of rations. In the Israelite administrative texts, one of them is referred to by name, but in two other
instances women are only referred to by their husband's or father's
name. In the Elephantine administrative texts, on the other hand,
named women are mentioned beside men, although women occur less
frequently in the texts. They, too, received payment of rations. According to one list women could owe or pay silver. Some women may
have independently managed the finances of the household.
Professions and domestic activities: In the texts from Israel and
Elephantine there are hardly any data on female professions. Royal
women and other highly placed women may have had a position in
the royal administration (cf. seal nos. 1, 2, 25 and 28). Furthermore,
women who referred to themselves as were not necessarily female
slaves. They could use the designation 'handmaid' in relation to a
superior to express their subservient position. Some 'handmaids' had
a high status. Shelomith, owner of seal no. 22, probably was a female
official serving Elnathan, the governor of Judah. Yet it is also possible

that she was his slave wife. The handmaid who was buried together
with the royal steward in the Silwan tomb probably was his slave wife.
Slavery : Slave women could be married to a free person. The handmaid Tamet was owned by Meshullam, but married to Anani. Only
upon the death of her master was she released from slavery.
Women as religious specialists: No female religious specialists are
attested in the texts from Israel and Elephantine. Priests were male.
Women as worshippers: Religious matters were for the most part
male matters. Men held the main responsibility for the observance
of religious rites, such as Passover. Offering was also a man's task.
Women did observe the religious rites, but their role in the cult was
secondary.
Although comparison between the Ugaritic and Israelite non-literary texts is somewhat difficult because of the scarcity of data from
ancient Israel, there are some remarkable resemblances.
1. Both in Ugarit and Israel a woman officially had no say in the
arrangement of her own marriage. The person who had authority over her, usually her father, made the arrangement.
2. Polygynous marriages occurred both in Ugarit and Israel.
3. In case of a divorce on grounds other than adultery, women had
the right to take their dowry with them.
4. Texts often refer to women as anonymous wives or daughters of
named men. Apparently registration of the fPN was often considered unimportant, provided the male who had the authority
over the woman was identified.
5. Both in Ugarit and Israel well-to-do women engaged in correspondence regarding personal and economic matters.
6. Daughters did not have the right to inherit.
7. Widows did not have inheritance rights. They could, however,
obtain usufructary rights, which generally had to be recorded
in a legal document.
8. Women could be legal owners of property or hold property in
trusteeship.
9. Neither in Ugarit, nor in Israel did women act as witnesses in
contracts.

10. Although women were active in business, their role, generally,

was marginal. If a man and woman were in business together,
the man usually had the final responsibility.
11. Women rarely occur in administrative texts as receivers of payment.
12. The non-literary texts of Ugarit and Israel offer very little information on women in professional life. The contribution of
women to social and economic life remained for the most part
invisible.
Beside these resemblances there are some noteworthy differences.
Some of these imply that the position of women was better in Ugarit
than in Israel:
1. The Ugaritic queen and queen mother were very powerful women
who enjoyed considerable social freedom and authority. Yet even
the Ugaritic queen was under the authority of her husband.
When she took that authority into her own hand and committed adultery, as the bittu rabti did, she was punished by death.
Men were the judges of this case and the queen mothers of
Amurru and Ugarit played no official role in the judicial system.
Whether in ancient Israel the queen and queen mother were less
powerfull cannot be decided on the basis of the Israelite data,
since non-literary texts which could shed light on the position
of the royal women of Israel are lacking.
2. It seems to have been customary at Ugarit to release a female
slave upon marriage. This custom may have been restricted,
however, to the circles of the upper classes. In ancient Israel
a female slave was not necessarily released upon marriage. She
could be owned by one person while married to another. Furthermore, a man belonging to the upper classes of Israelite society could be buried together with his handmaid, suggesting an
intimate relationship, without having freed her.
3. The Ugaritic non-literary texts mention women as religious specialists. The queen fulfilled a role in the cult and a princess could
lead a life of dedication to a deity. However, the Israelite data is
too scarce to draw definite conclusions on the absence of women
as religious specialists.
On the other hand, other data seems to imply that the position
of women was better in Israel than at Ugarit:

698
1. In ancient Israel women may have played a certain role in the

royal administration. Seals with a royal emblem which were

owned by women (nos. 25 and 28) as well as seals of princesses
(nos. 1 and 2) seem to point in that direction. Moreover, Shelomith, who referred to herself as the 'handmaid' of Elnathan,
may have been an official serving the governor of Judah. It would
seem that the royal administration at Ugarit was a male sphere. 2
Several women in ancient Israel owned seals, which they used
in correspondence and business enterprises. Remarkably, the
majority of these women referred to themselves as daughters,
probably indicating that they were adult unmarried women. Although some of them were attached to the royal court, it seems
reasonable to assume that not all female seal owners belonged
to that circle. Whether daughters, viz. unmarried women, were
more active socially and economically in Israel than in Ugarit
cannot be discerned on the basis of the available data.
At the beginning of this chapter I cited the conclusion of my paper on the analysis of letters from Ugarit, Israel and Elephantine.
In that initial stage of my study I suggested that women in ancient
Israel might have had a more restricted social space than women at
Ugarit. Based on the letters alone one might come to this conclusion.
Yet looking into the non-literary texts more carefully I can no longer
sustain that point of view. The non-literary texts of Ugarit and Israel
both depict a patriarchal society in which the freedom of women was
restricted by the authority men had over them.
The scarcity of epigraphical data from ancient Israel prevents us
from drawing firm conclusions. The fact that data on Israelite royal
women is lacking, whereas those on the royal women of Ugarit offer a
positive picture on their social position should be taken into consideration. Moreover, based on the information on royal women of Ugarit
scholars have assumed that the position of Ugaritic women in general
was better than that of Israelite women. The data of the administrtive texts from Ugarit contradicts such an assumption. Still, Ugaritic
slave women, owned by upper class people, may have been released
upon marriage, whereas we find no information on such a release in
the non-literary texts from Israel.
On the other hand, some of the female seal owners in Israel may
have had professions in the royal administration. However, the data
2

M. Heltzer, The Internal Organization of the Kingdom of Ugarit, Wiesbaden

1982; J.-P. Vita, 'The Society of Ugarit', in: HUS, 467-75.

on the seals can also be interpreted differently. Still, it would seem

that non-royal women were not part of the royal administration at
Ugarit.
Based on these minor differences in the non-literary texts from
Ugarit and Israel, which can only in part be compared because of
lack of data, I cannot conclude that the position of women in Ugarit
was better than that of women in Israel.

Summary and Conclusions

Having studied the descriptions of women in the literary and nonliterary texts from Ugarit and Israel, as well as in documents from
the broader context of the ancient Near East, I will now compare
the data from chapters 2 and 3 with those from chapter 4. In order
to answer the question posed in chapter 1 whether the social and
religious position of women in Israel was better, worse, or equal compared to that of women in polytheistic countries, especially Ugarit,
I will compare the main points of the status patterns of women in
Ugarit and Israel according to the literary texts with the data from
the non-literary texts. Because I will follow the order of subjects as
presented in chapters 2 and 3, repetition of some issues cannot be
avoided here.

5.1 The Social Position of Women

T H E CHOICE O F A PARTNER

According to the literary texts from Ugarit, a girl had no official say
in the choice of a marriage partner. Marriage was regarded as an
arrangement between two families. Formally the heads of the households, usually the fathers, made the arrangement. Mothers seem to
have been asked for approval, however. In KTU 1.24, the future groom
informed the bride's father that he wished to marry his daughter. We
do not learn about either Nikkalu's opinion on Yarikhu as a future
husband or about her consent in marriage. Nikallu, on the other hand,
does seem to have had a choice in whom to marry and probably was
guided in this by love.
The non-literary text RS 16.141 seems to confirm the lack of choice
for a marriageable girl. The king transferred the kit Inu'umi from the
household of Bin-Yamhanu to that of Yarimmu. No record is made
of her consent. The choice whether or not to take her as his wife was
Yarimmu's.
It would seem, however, that girls sometimes took the initiative
to contact boys, or at least actively took part in finding a partner,
as girls exceptionally did in Mesopotamia. KTU 1.16:11.27 mentions
girls pounding the gate, which probably refers to those unfortunate
enough to find the gate closed after dark. The reason for returning so
late might have been a meeting with a boy outside the town wall. Another indication that girls could take the initiative in contacting their

lover is the refusal of Ba'lu to put a window in his new house (KTU
1.4:VI.7-11). He feared that his daughters, who were marriageable
girls (kit), might fly off or be taken away. Finally, according to some,
the goddess 'Anatu proposed marriage to Aqhatu (KTU 1.18:1.23-24).
The interpretation of this passage is rather uncertain, however.
In biblical Israel, too, a marriageable girl did not have a say in
the choice of a partner. Fathers decided to whom they would give
their daughter in marriage, but a mother possibly had influence on
this. Although normally biblical brides were not consulted by their
father (cf., e.g., Achsah and Leah), Rebekah was asked for her consent in marriage (Gen. 24:57-58). The widow Abigail was approached
directly by David, who asked to marry her. She apparently needed
nobody's consent (1 Sam. 25:39-42). Future grooms seem to have had
more freedom in choosing their marriage partner than brides had.
Yet, the Song of Songs gives us reason to surmise that, as in Ugarit,
in biblical Israel girls could also take the initiative to contact boys
in secretive meetings. Love between two people could influence the
choice of marriage partners (Gen. 29:18,20; 34:3; Judg. 14:3; 1 Sam.
18:20-21).

Whereas Egyptian partners seem to have enjoyed a greater freedom of choice, the Aramaic documents from Elephantine confirm that
among Jews official marriage arrangements were an all men's sake
(TAD 2, B2.6; B3.3; B3.8). Even a widowed woman did not arrange
her own marriage.
Various factors could play a role in the choice of a marriage partner. Girls would generally marry at an early age, soon after their
menarche. The husband was usually somewhat older than his wife.
People generally married a spouse from the same social class. Exogamy occurred in the royal circles of both Ugarit and Israel. The
literary as well as the non-literary texts from Ugarit give evidence
to practices of intermarriage. In biblical Israel endogamous marriages
were preferred. Yet Israelite kings, like their Ugaritic counterparts,
sometimes married foreign women, using intermarriage as an important political tool. As a rule, appreciation of foreign women in the
Hebrew Bible is related to whether or not they posed a threat to
Yahwism. Mixed marriages were not only objected to for religious reasons, but also for ethnic reasons. During the post-exilic period, Ezra
intended to maintain the identity of the Israelite people and motivated
his attempt to preserve its group boundaries religiously. Moreover, inheritance rights, geographical, economic, social and political factors
also played a role in the preference for endogamous marriages. It is
noteworthy that endogamous marriages were also preferred in some

classes of Egyptian society and in Mari. Perhaps exogamy was less

frowned upon in Ugarit, but this is not certain.
COURTSHIP

Although so far no collection of love poems has been found at Ugarit,

love songs probably did exist, for they are quoted in literary texts such
as KTU 1.100:70-72. Moreover, in KTU 1.24:3-13 sexual pleasure is
expressed in exquisite detail, like the erotic imagery that is known
from Sumerian and Babylonian love poetry. KTU 1.14:111.38-45 offers
a description of the beloved bride which reminds one of Egyptian
and Hebrew love poetry. Yet unlike the Egyptian and Hebrew love
poetry, it is only the male who sings praise of his beloved female in
this Ugaritic text. The lack of reciprocity may be explained, however,
from the fact that the love poem is cited in a legendary context.
Still, it may imply that only within the genre of love poetry was love
expressed in a reciprocal manner.
With regard to the Hebrew Bible, the Song of Songs is the most
well known love poem. Although in the past regarded as a reworked
sacred marriage liturgy, it is nowadays generally interpreted as a
naturalistic, secular collection of love songs. However, analogous to
Mesopotamian, Egyptian and Ugaritic love poems, a certain link between the Song of Songs and celebration of the divine marriage between El and Asherah in early Israelite cult may have existed. With
reference to the conjecture of Hos. 14:9 [8] as proposed by Julius Wellhausen, I have suggested that the prophet Hosea may have initiated
the transfer of the role of Asherah to Israel. This opened the possibility that the Song could be read as an allegory of the love between
God as the groom and Israel as the bride. Describing the joys of human love, the Song of Songs reflects the divine love, setting forth
the ancient Near Eastern tradition of love poetry which describes the
lovemaking of deities.
Scholars have stressed the gender balance in descriptions of the
female and male character in the Song of Songs. However, although
the relationship between the lovers may have been one of equality,
the demands which society made on the sexes were not. Girls were
expected not to engage in sexual contact before marriage. Sex before
marriage did occur, but only in secret. Because the female character
is explored more than the male in the Song of Songs, some have
regarded it as an expression of a women's culture. Yet in view of
Egyptian parallels it seems more likely to regard it as wishful thinking
on sexually assertive women by male authors. Therefore, the literary
character of love songs as a separate genre needs to be stressed. What

was praised in literature with regard to women's freedom to engage

in sexuality was generally not tolerated in actual life.
The non-literary texts from Ugarit and Israel do not say much
about courtship, but they confirm the general impression that both
societies did not approve of women who engaged in sexual freedom.
We will return to this matter below.
M A R R I A G E AS A LEGAL INSTITUTION

Although in the past scholars have suggested otherwise, marriages

in the ancient Near East were generally patrilineal and patrilocal.
Theories regarding a matriarchal type of marriage, such as tsadiqah
marriage or beena marriage, should be rejected. Both in Ugarit and
biblical Israel it was customary for a bride to leave her paternal home
and enter the house of her husband. If a husband did not have a house
of his own and therefore had to share the quarters of his father-in-law,
this was considered a great shame in Ugarit (KTU 1.1-4).
In biblical Israel, some husbands lived in the house of their fatherin-law, yet only on a temporary basis (Jacob, Moses). Moreover, there
are a few examples of husbands continuing the line of their father-inlaw (1 Chron. 2:34; Ezra 2:61, Neh. 7:63). These, however, are the
exceptions, for in general Israelite women left their father's house to
join their husband and continue his family line.
A man who wished to marry generally went to the father of the
bride to ask for her hand (Ugarit: KTU 1.14:111.39 par.; 1.24:17-19; Israel: Gen. 34:12; 2 Sam. 3:14; 2 Kgs 14:9). Parents, especially fathers,
would often play a large role in marriage negotiations.
The negotiations would concern the marriage deposit and the
dowry. The groom and his family would pay a marriage deposit (Ug.
mhr; Heb. )to the bride's family, which functioned as a surety
between the two parties that the wedding would take place. Marriage
arrangements were considered to be binding. When the marriage deposit was paid, the young couple were regarded as inchoately married.
The amount of the marriage deposit probably could vary, depending on the social status of the bride and groom. Sometimes a father
would give his daughter (part of) the marriage deposit as an indirect dowry when she married (Gen. 31:14-15). Beside the marriage
deposit, a groom or his father could give gifts (Gen. 24:53; 34:12).
Non-literary texts from Ugarit also refer to marriage deposits (RS
15.92; RS 16.141) and to marriage gifts that were offered to a bride
(RS 15.85; RS 16.276).
On the wedding day the bride would leave her father's house. It
was customary for a father to give his daughter a dowry, which would

generally consist of moveable property, but a wealthy father could

also give his daughter land or a house. When valuable items were
involved a dowry list usually was drawn up. Although no dowry list
has been found to date in Israel, it seems very likely that dowries were
bestowed there, too. In Ugarit, an impressive dowry list of Ahatmilku
has been found, which testifies to her personal wealth (RS 16.146+).
Elephantine brides also brought in dowries. The size and value of the
dowries varied in accordance with their status ( T A D 2, B2.6; B3.3;
B3.8). A dowry was a wife's personal property and was meant to be
inherited by her children. If a woman was divorced on grounds other
than adultery, she was allowed to take her dowry with her (RS 16.143;
RS 17.159; RS 17.355).
Sometimes a dowry list was part of a marriage contract. Such a
written document was not so much a marriage certificate as a contract
stipulating the rights and duties of the two parties entering matrimony. Written marriage contracts are not mentioned explicitly in the
Hebrew Bible, nor in the literary texts from Ugarit, but there are
various indications that they were known in both cultures. Among
the documents of the Jewish colony at Elephantine, marriage contracts have been found.
M A R R I A G E AS A RELIGIOUS INSTITUTION

Scholars have generally contended that the basis of the ancient oriental marriage was civil. However, it is a misconception to deny any
religious connotation to this institution. Both in Ugarit and biblical
Israel religious connotations of marriage can be determined, as was
the case in Mesopotamia (in contrast to Egypt). Literary texts from
Ugarit mention offering to the gods (KTU 1.15:11.1-11) and a blessing
by Ilu (KTU 1.15:11.21-111.16), both of them in a marriage context.
Moreover, the marriage of the moon-god Yarikhu, which is described
in KTU 1.24 and probably alluded to in KTU 1.18:1.23-34; IV.1-42,
may have been regarded as a prototype of human marriage. Yet neither in KTU 1.23, nor in 1.24, which both describe divine marriages,
is a special ceremony mentioned. KTU 1.100 and 1.107, on the other
hand, may have constituted a marriage liturgy.
In Israel marriage was also considered a religious insitution. Biblical marriage was legitimated and sanctioned by YHWH. This became
explicit when a marriage was under attack (Num. 5:11-31). Anointment of a bride, performed as a religious rite of purification in the ancient Near East, seems to have occurred in biblical Israel, too (Ezek.
16:8-12). Wedding partners, furthermore, could take an oath in the
name of Y H W H (Ezek. 16:8; Mai. 2:14; Prov. 2:17; Ruth 3:13). And

a foreign woman marrying an Israelite was supposed to depart from

her own god(s) and accept Y H W H (Ruth 1:15-16). If she did not accept YHWH, the danger that such a strange woman would lead her
husband astray was very real (Mai. 2:11).
In the Bible marriage is regarded as a covenant between husband
and wife. This kind of covenant is not one between equal partners, but
one in which there is asymmetry of authority, i.e., the husband has
authority over the wife's sexuality. The relationship between Israel
and its God is also described in terms of a covenant. In the marriage
metaphor the prophets have taken the covenant model one step further, describing the relationship between the 'husband' Y H W H and
the 'wife' Israel (or sometimes Jerusalem) as a broken relationship.
Sexual imagery is used for the apostasy/adultery of the 'wife'. Other
West Semitic cultures used the imagery of a city as the personified
'wife' of the patron god of that city. But whereas the city was regarded
as a goddess in West Semitic thought, Jerusalem was no goddess in
the eyes of the Israelite prophets, but WEIS compared to a sinful, mortal
woman.
Feminist scholars have voiced their protest against the punishment
of the adulterous 'wife' as described by the prophets. They have regarded the picture painted in Hos. 1-3, Jer. 2-3 and Ezek. 16 and 23
as pornographic. Within the metaphor violence is excused, and even
approved of, as a means to bring back the 'wife' to her 'husband'.
Although I did not wish to dismiss the objections made by various
scholars, I did not concentrate on the effect of biblical texts on modern
readers, but on the question whether the marriage metaphor served
as a model for human marriage in biblical Israel. I concluded that
this was not the case. Scholars therefore should be cautious in deducing information on biblical marriage from the marriage metaphor. On
the other hand, metaphor theory shows us that metaphors do have a
certain impact on the perception of those who use them. Using the
imagery of marriage in a metaphorical sense has its effect on the perception of human marriage. Moreover, using the imagery of female
sexual sin to represent male social and political sins has a negative
effect on women. While the metaphorical female partner (Israel) engages in unrestrained sexuality, the male partner (YHWH) is not sexually active. Contrary to the gods of Ugarit, Y H W H ' S male sexuality
is not even described in metaphors. This seems to have a worsening
effect, for within the metaphor the 'wife' is the only sexually active
partner. Within Israelite society (and also in other countries of the
ancient Near East) the sexuality of a wife was regarded as being under
the authority of her husband. A wife had no authority over her own

sexuality. The marriage metaphor legitimizes this view.

A reference to marriage as a religious institution may also be found
in the non-literary text KTU 2.72:29-32. This letter mentions a daughter of the king of Amurru who was anointed with oil. I assumed the
daughter was the bittu rabti, the divorced wife of 'Ammithtamru II,
whom he wished to remarry.
H U S B A N D AND WIFE

Everywhere in the ancient oriental world marriage could be monogamous, bigynous or polygynous. A married man could have a relationship with a concubine or with a slave woman beside his wife.
These other women had a lower status than the first wife, who was
considered their mistress. This was also the case in Ugarit and Israel.
The Ugaritic gods, Ilu and Ba'lu, are depicted as polygynists. Unlike the gods of Ugarit, the goddesses only had one spouse. Although
the legendary kings, Kirtu and Dani'ilu, had monogamous marriages,
the non-literary texts from Ugarit offer a different picture. Like all
kings of the ancient Near East, the kings of Ugarit also had polygynous marriages. As the administrative texts reveal, other wealthy
Ugaritians could also have two or more wives. This also happened in
biblical Israel.
Yet, although polygyny and bigyny did occur in the upper circles
of both societies, marriages generally were monogamous. Most men
could not afford to keep many women. Childlessness of the first wife
seems to have been the main reason why a man entered in a bigynous
marriage. A non-literary text from Sidon (RS 86.2208) confirms that
(alleged) childlessness could be a reason for bigyny. Some Elephantine
marriage documents contain a clause that forbids the husband to take
another wife ( T A D 2, B2.6; B6.4).
Through marriage a husband achieved authority over his wife. The
Hebrew terminology (' lord, owner, husband',' lord') expresses
the gender imbalance which existed between husband and wife. So far
this terminology is not attested for a husband in Ugaritic texts, but we
may safely assume that the same gender imbalance existed there, too.
Although a husband was called 'owner', most scholars agree that a
wife should not be regarded as a husband's property. It was his wife's
sexuality that a husband had a proprietary interest in. The texts
from both Ugarit and biblical Israel illustrate that the authority of a
husband over his wife did not rule out mutual love and affection. In the
Ugaritic literary texts men as well as women could take the initiative
in having sex, and the descriptions of the love scenes are quite explicit.
Prom this I concluded that there was no taboo on sexual pleasure in

Ugarit. The Hebrew Bible also has an eye for the sexual pleasures of
both partners, although in far more guarded terms (Deut. 24:5).
Both in Ugarit and Israel, the male was considered the head of the
household. Administrative lists from Ugarit which mention households refer to a named man and his nameless wife/wives and children. Only if women belonged to the upper echelons of society were
they named in administrative lists. An Israelite administrative list
also refers to nameless wives of named husbands. However, wives are
named in two administrative texts from Elephantine (TAD 3, C3.4:6;
TAD 4, D8.4:18).
The relationship between husband and wife is regarded as an ambivalent one in the literary texts from the ancient Near East. Texts
from Mesopotamia and Egypt offer examples of the mixture of trust
and mistrust which husbands could feel towards their wives. The same
ambivalence is also encountered in texts from Ugarit and Israel. A
woman could be depicted as the ideal wife (KTU 1.14:111.41-42,46;
1.15:1.1-2; Gen. 24; Prov. 18:22; 19:14; 31:10-31), but she could also be
regarded as a threat to her husband's authority if she criticized him
(KTU 1.2:1.40, IV.28-30; 1.14:1.14; 2 Sam. 6:11-23; Est. l:16b-18). A
good wife had to take care of her husband when he was ill (KTU
1.16:VI.14-21). Indirectly, she could have power over her husband in
certain circumstances (KTU 1.4:IV; Judg. 14; 1 Kgs 1). Some biblical
wives had to resort to deception because of their submissive position
towards their husbands (Gen. 27), but others could act quite independently (1 Sam. 25:14-38; 1 Kgs 21:4-16). Yet the Bible also offers
examples of stories in which husbands care more about their own life
than that of their wife or concubine (Gen. 12; 20; Judg. 19).
Husband and wife could also be regarded as a unity, however. The
Ugaritic goddess 'Athtartu is called m b'l 'Name of Ba'lu' (KTU
1.2:1.8; 1.16VI.56), probably implying that, as some sort of manifestation or hypostazation of her consort Ba'lu, she was regarded as his
counterpart. Another example of the close relationship between husband and wife is the inter-mingling of the battles of Ba'lu and 'Anatu
(KTU 1.2:IV.23-27; 1.3:111.38-40; 1.6V.11-19). Unlike Ugaritic religion, Yahwism did not offer such an example of a close relationship
between deities. The goddess Asherah seems to have lost her independent status gradually in Israelite religion and ended as an aspect
of YHWH. But in the Hebrew Bible she is in no way related to dtp.
The non-literary texts from Ugarit reveal that women who were
married to wealthy citizens participated in a social network that maintained polite correspondence (RS 20.23; RS 20.227). At Ugarit, the
only woman of whom a seal has been found so far is the queen. And in

Ugarit's neighbouring countries very few seals owned by women have

been found. Although in ancient Israel a considerable number of seals
owned by women have been found, here, too, they form only a small
percentage of the total number. Yet we may conclude from them that
women did participate in correspondence.
In the absence of her husband, a wife could have a fairly responsible position within the family. However, the Elephantine letters show
us that such a position was always one of delegated authority. The
husband sent orders to his wife, the reverse did not occur.
A W I F E ' S OWN WORLD

Both in Ugarit and biblical Israel, the private sphere was generally
considered a female domain. With regard to the upper classes of society, this was reflected in the living quarters of women, which were
separated from the men's quarters. The Ugaritic goddesses Athiratu
and 'Anatu both had their own palaces with their own personnel, living separate from their husbands (KTU 1.4:IV.21-22; 1.3:IV.41). And
it would seem that the princesses Thatmanatu and Pughatu did not
live in their father's household either (KTU 1.16:1; 1.19:1.25-48). This
division of male and female households may have reflected the situation of the Ugaritic royal couple, who did not share the same palace
as living quarters (see below). In Ugarit, as in other countries of the
ancient Near East, women's quarters of the house probably were not
visited by strangers to the family.
In biblical Israel women also had separate dwellings or separate
living quarters. In nomadic times women had their own tent (Gen.
24:67; 31:33) and during the monarchy royal women had separate
houses or quarters (1 Kgs 7:8; 9:24; Est. 2:9,11,13,14). Archaeological
studies render it likely that there probably were also separate women's
quarters in the standard houses of the Iron Age period.
The degree of seclusion of women was correlated to their social
status. The higher women's status was, the more secluded they were.
Royal and upper class women had their personnel to do the work. Social status and living conditions thus intertwined. Servants would do
the tasks that required going out, while the mistress stayed in. Moreover, there was enough space in larger houses to make a distinction
between male (public) and female (private) quarters.
It also mattered whether a woman lived in a rural or an urban context. The Bible describes the circumstances of women living in a rural
context, where they went out to perform tasks of animal husbandry
and agriculture. Moreover, both in towns and villages women went out
to draw water. According to archaeological data on household units

in the Cisjordan hill country at the beginning of the Iron Age, women
were involved in all aspects of economic life, although a certain gender
distinction always existed. The Bible furthermore offers examples of
women acting quite independently within the sphere of the household
(1 Sam. 25; 2 Kgs 4; Prov. 31:10-31). The major goddesses of Ugarit
also performed menial tasks, despite the fact that they had servants
who fulfilled various chores (KTU 1.3:11.30-41; 1.4:11.1-11).
Beside the performance of various tasks, wives also had their moments of relaxation. Both the Ugaritic literary texts and the Hebrew
Bible offer examples of women enjoying music, song and dance. This
could occur at home or on public occasions.
It is noteworthy that in the biblical texts of the post-exilic period
the public appearance of women tends to be valued more negatively
(e.g., Prov. 7:llb-12). It is a matter of discussion whether young marriageable girls led a life of seclusion. The dichotomy between publie and private spheres seems to have been emphasized more strictly
where females were concerned. Moreover, the symbolic function of the
family became of renewed theological importance after the exile. Ideologically the freedom of women seems to have been more curtailed,
but I have called for caution not to draw too far-reaching conclusions
from a rather restricted amount of evidence.
T H E DISSOLUTION O F MARRIAGE

Although a marriage was meant to last forever, it sometimes was

dissolved. One of the major reasons to end a marriage was adultery.
I have pointed to the gender dissymmetry in the legal judgement of
adultery, which ruled that a wife could break her own marriage but a
husband could only break the marriage of another man. Adultery was
regarded as a threefold offence, against the husband, against God/the
gods and against society.
The Ugaritic literary texts offer very little information on adultery
and divorce. But the case of the bittu rabiti, as well as some other cases
in the non-literary texts from Ugarit offer convincing evidence of the
occurrence of adultery and divorce.
King 'Ammithtamru II divorced his wife on the grounds of misconduct ('causing him a headache'). She was allowed to take her dowry
with her and returned to her native country, Amurru. She may have
had an illicit affair which 'Ammithtamru knew about, but which he
kept secret. Later on he wished to remarry her, but when he found out
that it was common knowledge that the bittu rabti had misbehaved
with several men during his absence from the court, he demanded the
death penalty for his former wife. Eventually the highest court, in

the person of the Hittite king Tudhaliya IV, approved of this punishment for an adulterous wife, who had already been divorced. It would
seem that 'Ammithtamru insisted on having her executed in order to
restore his honour.
The last king of Ugarit, 'Ammurapi, probably divorced his queen,
too. The Hittite Ekhli-Nikkal was allowed to take all her movable
property with her when she returned to Hatti (RS 17.355). It would
seem that in this case not the queen, but the Ugaritic king was to
blame for the divorce (RS 20.216). It can be assumed that outside
the royal court of Ugarit people also divorced. It would seem that
polygyny put a strain on marriages which could lead to divorce (RS
16.143:23-29).
Various laws in the Hebrew Bible deal with adultery and condemn it (Lev. 18:20; 20:10; Num. 5:11-31; Deut. 22:13-27). Although
the condemnation is religiously motivated in the Bible, one should not
assume a distinction between biblical and other ancient Near Eastern
law in this respect, for also in the latter cultures adultery was regarded as a sin. Moreover, as in other ancient Near Eastern countries,
the husband of an adulteress had a say in the decision whether to prosecute and punish or pardon and accept ransom (Lev. 19:20-22; Prov.
6:32-35). The legal texts (Lev. 20:10; Deut. 22:22,24) demanded the
death penalty for adulterers, but other punishments, such as the payment of ransom, public stripping, and corporal punishment, probably
occured also. Adultery is also a theme in various biblical narratives
and prophetic books (Gen. 12:10-20; 20; 26:1-11; 2 Sam. 11-12; Hos.
1-2; Ezek. 16; 23).
Not only on account of a wife's unfaithfulness could a husband
divorce his wife, but also on account of other reasons, such as misconduct. The condemnation of divorce in Mai. 2:10-16 is probably
related to the prophet's negative view on intermarriage. Another case
of divorce, the expulsion of Hagar (Gen. 21:8-21), is narrated quite
neutrally. Unlike a husband, who could divorce his wife at will, a wife
did not have the right to initiate divorce. A woman who walked out
on a man was regarded as an adulteress (Judg. 19). When a husband
divorced his wife, he had to write her a 'certificate of divorce' (Deut.
24:1,3; Isa. 50:1; Jer. 3:8). When she was divorced without fault, she
probably had the right to retrieve her dowry.
At Elephantine not only the male marriage partner, but also the
female partner could initiate divorce. The wife generally could take
her dowry with her, but had to leave the house. This is in accordance
with Egyptian custom since the New Kingdom period.

MOTHER

Although being a mother was regarded as the most prestigious position for a woman in the ancient Near East, Ugaritic literary texts
do not take much notice of the desire of women to become a mother.
In the Legends of Kirtu and of Aqhatu the male perspective, i.e., the
desire to become a father, is mainly given. In the Hebrew Bible, on
the other hand, attention is also given to the female perspective. In a
number of stories women figure who, while initially barren, ardently
wished to become a mother.
In the Ugaritic texts childlessness is a problem that could befall both humans and deities. In the human world, neither Kirtu nor
Dani'ilu initially had a son. Among the gods, the goddess 'Anatu appeared to be childless. This was not a state she wished to continue
and she tried to overcome her problem by making love with Ba'lu in
theriomophic manifestation (KTU 1.10; 1.13:29-36). Childless deities
could resort to supernatural solutions, but humans who desired children were dependent on the blessing of the gods. In the Ugaritic literary texts (KTU 1.15:11.11-25; 1.17:1.1-33) as well as in the ancestral
narratives of the Hebrew Bible (Gen. 12:2; 15:1-6; 17:4-5; 28:14), the
men were addressed with a blessing of progeny. An androcentric bias
can be discerned in both corpora, for the women who had to bear
the children only received attention at a later stage of the story. The
focus was on the continuation of patrilineality.
Both in Ugarit and Israel conception was believed to be related
to the female orgasm (KTU 1.17:1.39-42; Gen. 18:11-12). The Bible
furthermore offers some allusions to the knowledge that infertility
could not always be blamed on the woman (Gen. 20:17; 38; Deut.
7:14; Ruth 1:5,11,21). This knowledge also existed in Ugarit. In the
letter RS 86.2208, which was sent from Sidon, a man who had taken
a second wife due to the supposed infertility of his first wife was
handed over to the authorities by his first wife after he had failed to
beget a child with the second wife. Whether this was a general right
of any wife who was wrongfully assumed to be infertile or a special
right of this certain woman of high birth cannot be determined. It is
noteworthy, however, that king Kirtu only proved to be fertile with
his third wife, who died in childbirth.
At Ugarit, the major deities who were responsible for offering fertility were male. Ilu blessed a couple with offspring and Ba'lu granted
fertility to the fields. The female deities Athiratu, 'Athtartu and
'Anatu as well as the Katharatu played a supportive role in the field
of procreation. The Hebrew Bible offers some possible traces of veneration of other gods and goddesses who granted fertility, but most

references to deities other than YHWH, such as Asherah and Baal,

are in a polemicizing, rejectionist manner. It was Y H W H alone who
granted fertility, both to humans and to the earth. Whereas Asherah's
role as a fertility goddess was a supportive one at Ugarit, the Hebrew
Bible rejects even a supportive role for Asherah as a goddess granting
fertility in the official cult.
The fact that giving birth was painful and toilsome is acknowledged in Ugaritic as well as biblical texts (KTU 1.12:1.25-27; Gen.
3:16; 2 5 : 2 2 - 2 3 ) . According to KTU 1.12:1.14-28, women gave birth in
relative confinement. This may be related to the belief that a woman
who gave birth was unclean. In the Bible this belief is expressed in
Lev. 12:1-5. Scholars have offered various answers to the question why
the number of days of impurity was doubled when the child was a girl.
I assumed this was related to the phenomenon of vaginal discharge of
the baby girl caused by maternal hormones. The mother symbolically
bore the uncleanness of the baby girl. The Hittites, too, knew a larger
number of days of impurity for mothers of baby girls.
The Ugaritic god Ilu was called both Father and Mother, i.e.,
considered to be of dual gender. This was a common characteristic of
all major gods in the ancient Near East, which Y H W H also shared.
Yet, although motherly images were used, the biblical authors avoided
using the word as an epithet of YHWH. The reluctance to compare
Y H W H to a mother was related to the choice for monotheism.
Whereas in Ugarit it was generally the father who named a child,
in biblical Israel both parents could give a child its name. It is often
assumed, however, that in Israel there was a historical development
that led to the exclusion of mothers from naming their children. In
view of the situation in Ugarit such a development seems unlikely,
but the matter needs further study.
Generally, it was uncommon to use matronyms in the ancient Near
East. Only in the context of a polygynous marriage, or to stress the
relationship of the mother to the royal family, did matronyms occur.
A mother had a substantial influence on the lives of her children.
She was the primary parent for a little child, holding the main responsibility for its socialization and education. The relationship between a
mother and her child is generally depicted as one of love and tenderness. Motherhood was a state that offered honour, security and
a certain authority. Mothers often could influence the lives of their
sons (KTU 1.6:1.53-55; Gen. 27; 1 Sam. 1:11; Prov. 31:1-9; 2 Chron.
22:2-3).

SISTER

The relationship between a sister and her brother was generally one
of affection and love. Especially in a large family, brothers could have
a certain authority over their sisters, often delegated by their father
(KTU 1.16:1.25-45; Gen. 24; Song 1:6; 8:8-9). The Hebrew Bible contains two stories about the authority brothers had with regard to their
duty to protect their sister's sexual integrity (Gen. 34; 2 Sam. 13).
These brothers seem to have been mostly concerned with the fact that
they themselves were dishonoured because their rights over their sister's sexuality were violated. Due to the Bible's androcentrism their
sister's point of view is hardly given any attention. A sister could
influence her brother's life. She could try to protect him (Exod. 2:4)
or confront him on his association with certain women (Num. 12:1;
Prov. 7:4a).
The Ugaritic literary texts also offer information on sisters. Out of
love for her murdered brother, Pughatu wished to revenge his death
(KTU 1.19:IV.28-40). The emotions of the goddess 'Anatu were directed against her brothers and sisters, whom she threatened to harm
should they rejoice in the fate of her husband Ba'lu (KTU 1.3:V.1923).
The non-literary texts from Ugarit inform us about the relationship between a royal sister and her brothers. After her divorce, the
bittu rabti returned to her native country, Amurru, and lived under
the custody of her brothers. Although no longer married, she remained
under male authority, viz., that of her brother, king Shaushgamuwa. It
is not clear whether Shaushgamuwa intended to withstand 'Ammithtamru's wish to punish the bittu rabti. Ultimately her brother did
accept a large sum of money in exchange for her life. Another sisterbrother relationship is mentioned in the contract RS 21.230, where
a rich woman adopted a man as her brother. She probably hoped to
gain lifelong support through this adoption.
A marriage between a brother and sister is prohibited in the Bible
as incestuous. Scholars have called attention to the fact that the laws
do not mention a sexual relationship between a full brother and full
sister. Neither do they prohibit a sexual relation between a father
and his daughter (see on this issue my conclusions further below).
The reason for this is probably the fact that both the full sister and
the daughter were under the authority of the addressee of the law. The
perpetrator could therefore not be penalized by a human court, but
was nonetheless guilty before YHWH. No reference to brother-sister
incest is found in the Ugaritic texts.

DAUGHTER

Although sons and daughters were both welcomed in Ugarit and Israel, sons were preferred over daughters. This preference had two reasons: transfer of land by inheritance was arranged patrilineally and,
related to this, daughters were supposed to leave their paternal family
and become a member of their husband's family. It is noteworty that
in Ugaritic literature the preference for sons over daughters is not
shared by the highest god. Ilu, to whom king Kirtu turned for offspring, blessed the king with both sons and daughters, whereas Kirtu
had only asked for sons (KTU 1.14:11.4-5). This may reflect a critique
on society, but I regard it more likely that it was part of Ilimilku's
ideological programme to defend women's capability to rule the kingdom of Ugarit in the absence of a male heir (see below). This is the
more so, since a daughter acted as a replacement for a son in both the
Legend of Kirtu (KTU 1.15:111.16) and the Legend of Aqhatu (KTU
1.19:IV). However, since a balanced family with both sons and daughters was also considered a blessing of the gods in Hatti and Egypt, it
is also possible that Ilu's blessing should be seen in this light. Possibly KTU 2.2 also expresses such a wish for a balanced family. This
would imply that the emphasis of Ilu's blessing was on a large family,
whereas Kirtu's major concern was the continuation of his family and
therefore, the need for a son.
Daughters were supposed to remain chaste until they married. A
father had to guard the respectability of his daughter. Ba'lu's refusal
to put a window in his palace should probably be seen in this light
(KTU 1.4:VI.5-14). Biblical law prescribes stoning to death for a betrothed daughter who has not remained a virgin in her father's house
(Deut. 22:20-21). The Wisdom of Jesus ben Sirach 42:9-14 describes
the concern of a father regarding his good name in connection with his
daughter's behaviour. Because of textcritical difficulties in this text
I have called for caution on conclusions about the restrictions on a
daughter's freedom of movement. In the Ugaritic literary texts nubile
daughters were not confined to the house, but could accompany their
father on a journey or go by themselves on a dangerous mission. Nor
did biblical daughters stay inside. They went out to do draw water or
perform tasks related to animal husbandry.
Ug. kit and Heb. can both be translated either 'bride' or
'daughter-in-law'. As a betrothed woman, a 'bride' could live in the
house of her father until she married. She should not have sexual
intercourse with a man other than her husband-to-be. In Gen. 19:8,
however, Lot did not guard his daughters' virginity, but offered his betrothed daughters to hostile men who intended to violate the guests

under his roof. Judg. 19 narrates the same theme of strangers receiving hospitality and subsequently being threatened with rape by
townsmen. In both texts women's sexuality is sacrificed in order to
save that of men. The men who had authority over the sexuality of
these women rather let their women be raped than be raped themselves.
Nubile girls could occasionally be present at marzeah parties in
Ugarit and Israel (KTU 1.3:1.2-15,22-25; Amos 2:7b). Although we
have little information on the marzeah, we know that men gathered at
such parties for profusive drinking. I assumed that this sometimes resuited in sexual debauchery with the women present. Married women
were therefore excluded from marzeah parties, while nubile girls could
attend to serve wine or to entertain. Married women of the upper
classes had their own drinking parties both in Ugarit and in the Bible
(Amos 4:1).
In biblical Israel, sexual intercourse with an unbetrothed girl was
not considered a capital offence. The violator had to pay a marriage
deposit to the father of the girl, and was obliged to marry her (Exod.
22:15-16 [16-17]; Deut. 22:28-29).
In all of the ancient Near East incest between a father and his
daughter was regarded as a despicable act. Condemnation, however,
generally was half-hearted. Among the Mesopotamians and the Hittites, father-daughter incest was not punished as harshly as when a
man had intercourse with a woman under another man's authority.
Incest is also condemned in the Hebrew Bible, but a prohibition on
father-daughter incest is missing in Lev. 18 and 20. This can be explained by way of a father's authority over his daughter's sexuality.
He was the person who should prosecute, but at the same time he
was the violator, which made it almost impossible for a human court
to penalize him. Incest between a father and his daughters occurs in
Gen. 19:30-38. The world is turned upside down in this story, where
daughters take the initiative to have a sexual relationship with their
father. Citing Elke Seifert, I noted that this contradicts the reality as
experienced by abused daughters. The biblical narrator condemns the
incestuous act since it is his intention to expose the despicable origin
of the Moabites and Ammonites.
The reason that is offered for the daughters of Lot to engage in sex
with their father is their desire for offspring. This is also presented as
the excuse for the incestuous relationship between the levirate widow
Tamar and her father-in-law, Judah (Gen. 38). In Lev. 18:15 and
20:12 such a relationship is condemned with the death penalty. However, in both narratives the patriarchal ideology of women who, above

anything else, wished to beget a child prevailed over incest laws.

The Ugaritic texts do not mention any case of father-daughter
incest. KTU 1.23 might refer to it, in that two women were given the
choice to become either wives or daughters from Ilu. I assumed that
in the latter case Ilu would not have had intercourse with them, but
since the women chose the former I could only reason from silence.
According to both the literary and the non-literary texts from
Ugarit, daughters did not have the right to inherit on an equal basis
with sons. Also in the Hebrew Bible, sons were the ones entitled to the
inheritance. The Elephantine evidence is in accordance with this. A
father had to write a legal document in order to bequeath property to
his daughter ( TAD 2, B3.7; B3.10; B3.11). If a biblical father had both
sons and daughters, the daughters did not inherit. Only in the absence
of sons did daughters inherit (Num. 27:1-11; 36:1-12). The daughters
of Zelophehad received the inheritance of their father but were obliged
to marry into the clan of their fathers tribe. In the absence of sons,
patrilineage could continue through a man's daughters (1 Chron. 2:3435; 23:22).
Within the corpus of Israelite seals owned by women, the seals
of the type X 't Y are fewer in number than those of the type X
bt Y. Based on this, I have tentatively concluded that unmarried
Israelite women had a greater social freedom than women who were
married. However, if women whose father had a higher status than
their husband kept referring to themselves as 'daughters', there was
no such distinction.
WIDOW

Widows generally were not under any male authority. Although some
widows were under the authority of their father-in-law (Gen. 38), or
their own father or mother, the majority of them were independent. As
such, a widow was without any male protection and could fall victim
to abuse. Both the Ugaritic literary texts and the Hebrew Bible offer
evidence of the neglect of a widow's rights and her need for protection
by the king.
The non-literary text RS 20.22 refers to the custom of paying an
indemnity to a widow of a man who was murdered in a town which
was not his home town. Even widows who owned immovable property
might consider adopting a son (RS 16.200). This would offer them
financial security as well as assurance that they were well cared for in
old age.
According to the literary texts from Ugarit and Israel, widows were
often poor, but some widows were economically independent, because

they were owners of property. They had received this property as their
dowry and sometimes as a settlement made by their late husband.
Israelite women were not entitled to inherit land from their deceased
husband. 2 Kgs 8:1-6 shows that a widow could hold the land of her
husband in trusteeship for her minor son, and Ruth 4:3 informs us that
a childless widow had usufructary rights to the land of her husband.
But a widow could not inherit the land and therefore could not sell
her husband's inheritance. This is confirmed by Elephantine marriage
contracts, which contain stipulations regarding the usufructary rights
of a widow.
The fact that a widow could not inherit also explains why a levir
often was reluctant to perform the levirate marriage, for he would not
gain materially by it. Deut. 25:5-10 mentions the legal obligation of
a man to marry the childless widow of his brother. In a patriarchal
society such as ancient Israel, only remarriage with its prospect of
begetting children gave a childless widow security. A childless widow
such as Tamar (Gen. 38) had a right to a levirate marriage. This
right seems to have taken precedence over the prohibition against
incest between a father-in-law and his daughter-in-law (Lev. 18:15),
although the text shows a certain uneasiness with the father-in-law
performing the levirate duty.
The marriage between Ruth and Boaz may be characterized as a
'levirate-type' marriage, in which there was no legal, but only a moral
obligation for the next of kin to marry the childless widow, Ruth.
And, unlike Tamar who had the duty to submit to her father-in-law's
authority, Ruth seems to have been free to choose whomsoever she
wished to marry.
The primary purpose of levirate marriage was the perpetuation
of the name of the deceased husband. Protection of the widow came
second. Although a widow did have the right to a levirate marriage,
the levir could refuse to perform the duty, which only resulted in
public humiliation. In Gen. 38 as well as Ruth 3 a young, childless
widow had to employ her sexual attractiveness to achieve her goal.
The abiguous image of the widow - she could be a virtuous woman
in need of protection, but also a seductress - was probably related
to male fear of an independent widow with autonomy over her own
sexuality.
The fact that a husband had to take legal action in order to transfer property to his wife (RS 8.145), confirms the assumption that
Ugaritic women also did not have the right to inherit from their husbands. A widow could have usufructary rights of the inheritance, but
her sons, if she had any, were the real heirs. However, a widow who

owned property could use adoption as an indirect means to bequeath

property to her daughter (RS 17.21; RS 17.33). At Elephantine, a
widow also needed a legal document in order to gain the usufructary
rights of her deceased husband's property. The ostracon of the widow
(section 4.1.2) offers further extra-biblical evidence on the absence
of a widow's right to inherit. I assumed that she needed a written
document to obtain the usufructary rights over (part of) the inheritance. The fact that the widow had a brother-in-law, but did not
mention his duty to be a levir to the official, seems to indicate that
the brother-in-law had no intention to perform the levirate marriage.
I assumed that the institution of levirate marriage existed in Ugarit, too. One of the epithets of the goddess 'Anatu is ybmt I'imm
'Levirate Widow of the Nations' (KTU 1.3:IV.39-40; 1.6:1.30-31). It
is unclear whether in Ugarit both the brother-in-law and the fatherin-law had the obligation to fulfil the duty of the levir, as was the
case in Hatti and probably in Assyria.
ORPHAN

Care for the orphan was part of the ethical values of both Ugarit and
Israel. At Ugarit, it was considered a virtue of the king to protect
the rights of widows and orphans. The Hebrew Bible also mentions
care for the orphan as part of its social ethics. The fate of an orphan
often seems to have been harsh, however. Wicked people might take
advantage of orphans in their vulnerability and sometimes made them
debt slaves. If such was the case, an orphan could only hope for the
protection of the gods/God.
QUEEN

After the women in the family we turned our attention to the roles
women fulfilled in society, starting with the women of the court. A
queen generally was quite powerful. Her power, however, was related
to the authority which her husband had delegated to her. Only in
as far as her husband permitted her was she able to exercise power.
Yet Ugaritic as well as Israelite queens exercised a certain influence on
state affairs. Both the literary texts from Ugarit and the Hebrew Bible
refer to queens engaging in national politics. Biblical queens could
write letters and edicts in the name of their husbands. Moreover, the
queen's power and influence were acknowledged by the people of her
country. The literary texts from Ugarit and Israel mention queens who
interceded on behalf of their subjects. Queens participated in official
meetings and banquets where they could exercise their influence. Various Ugaritic letters confirm this picture. High officials corresponded
with the queen, asking for her intercession with the king (e.g., KTU

2.33).
According to KTU 1.15, queens could participate in international
politics in a passive manner, as brides in matrimonial alliances. The
non-literary texts offer a somewhat different picture, in which queens
actively maintained relations with their country of birth. The queens
of Ugarit corresponded with the ladies of the courts of Hatti and
Amurru (KTU 2.21; RS 16.111; RS 20.19; RS 20.151; RS 34.154).
However, the bittu rabti seems to have been engaged in international
relations only passively, as an object of discussion. We do not learn
of any activity in maintaining such relations on her part.
Queens generally did not share their living quarters with their
husband, the king. They either had their own palace, or a separate
wing in their husband's palace. They apparently were not restricted
in movement, although it would seem that they could not always approach the king freely. The Ugaritic literary texts do not mention any
restrictions in this regard, but the Hebrew Bible offers a twofold picture. One biblical queen, Esther, did not have free access to the king,
while another, Bathsheba, did. As a result of having separate living
quarters, queens also had their own personnel. The non-literary texts
from Ugarit confirm that the queen (mother) had her own palace with
her own personnel. She was a very wealthy woman, who possessed
fields, vineyards and orchards.
QUEEN MOTHER

The queen mother generally was the second most powerful person
in the kingdom. Although her position was one of great importance,
in most cultures she did not occupy an official position which was
held independent of the fact that she was the mother of the ruling
king. The Hittite tawananna, who held an office for life, seems to
have been the exception to the rule. Scholars have suggested that, in
analogy to the tawananna, the ^may have held an official position
at the Judaean royal court. This cannot be established with certainty,
however. Although some queen mothers remained in office after their
son's death, others stepped back. The literary texts from Ugarit do
not offer any information on the possibility of an official position for
the queen mother.
Although a few queens and queen mothers in the ancient Near
East have ruled in their own right, theirs were exceptional cases, and
their rule generally was downplayed by later historiographers. This
also happened to the rule of the biblical queen mother Athaliah, who
reigned independently as a female king. According to the ideology
of the book of Kings, her six-year-rule was illegitimate, because as a

non-Davidide, non-male and non-Judahite she had no right to ascend

the throne. The literary texts from Ugarit may hint at a female heir
as the rightful successor to the Ugaritic throne, in the absence of a
male heir. This would explain the favourable role of a daughter in the
Legend of Kirtu as well as in the Legend of Aqhatu. The author of
both legends, Ilimilku, may have intended to propagate his ideological
programme in this manner. Whether the absence of a male heir should
be regarded as an event in the past or as a contemporary event is a
matter of discussion.
Some queen mothers achieved their position by acting as a promoting mother. Being favoured by the king, they were able to persuade
him to choose their son as heir to the throne instead of the firstborn son of the king. The Hebrew Bible offers two examples of such
promoting mothers: Bathsheba and Maacah. Whether Ugaritic Athiratu should be regarded as a promoting mother may be questioned.
Although she was involved in king-making, it cannot be established
whether her suggested heir, 'Athtaru, was her favourite son. Moreover,
her position as queen mother was already firmly established.
According to both the literary texts from Ugarit and the Hebrew
Bible, queen mothers generally exercised indirect power. By speaking
to the king, they could influence his decision. They could advise their
son and act as intermediary between him and his people. Some biblical
queens had considerable political power. Yet ultimately the king made
the decisions.
The non-literary texts from Ugarit confirm that the queen mother
played a prominent role at the court. She represented the king during his absence from the court (KTU 2.11; 2.13; 2.30; 2.82). The last
king of Ugarit, Ammurapi, may have ruled jointly with his mother,
Tharyelli, whom he consulted regularly on diplomatic matters. She
was involved in national and international politics. Queen mothers
may not always have been able to influence affairs, however. Although
'Ammithtamru asked his mother, Ahatmilku, to speak with the inhabitants of the city when he intended to remarry the bittu rabxti, we
do not learn of any effort on the part of the queen mothers to save
their daughter (-in-law)'s life when 'Ammithtamru wanted to have her
punished for adulterous behaviour. Whether they could not prevent
her from being killed, or did not wish to intercede, cannot be determined.
ROYAL WIVES AND CONCUBINES

Ancient Near Eastern kings generally had polygynous marriages. Besides the queen a king had a number of wives and concubines. The

Ugaritic literary texts only offer an allusion to this, but a treaty text
between Murshili II and Niqmepa' records that the Ugaritic king did
have a harem. The Hebrew Bible refers to various kings who had several wives and concubines. These women lived in the women's quarters
of the palace. To what degree they may have lived a life of seclusion
cannot be established.
Since legitimacy to the throne could be acquired via a king's
harem, royal wives and concubines sometimes became pawns in a
power struggle. The Hebrew Bible offers some examples of this. Sleeping with a concubine of the king was understood as a political act,
viz., a claim to the throne. The Bible furthermore records that royal
wives and concubines could become part of the tribute that a defeated king had to pay to his conqueror. We do not learn about any
active role for royal wives and concubines in national politics in the
Bible, but Egyptian sources inform us that these women could form
a threat to the ruling king when they participated in a court intrigue.
A royal harem was thus an expression of a king's wealth and power,
but also of his vulnerability. The fact that a king's power could be
challenged via his wives and concubines was probably the reason that
royal women lived in a harem under strict control.
The 'decree' of the Ugaritic king Arhalba (RS 16.144) seems to
hint at the custom of a new king in which he rapes the wives of his
predecessor, after the latter had been defeated. If this is the correct
interpretation of the text, it would mean that Arhalba tried to prevent
this from happening to his royal wives.
PRINCESS

The daughter of a king often engaged in a marriage that was meant

to cement political bonds. The literary t-exts from Ugarit as well as
the Hebrew Bible offer examples of such marriages in which princesses
were given in matrimony to allies of their father. The fate of these
princesses varied. They could be quite influential if their father was
more powerful than their husband (Jezebel, Athaliah).
The picture painted in the non-literary texts from Ugarit is more
or less the same. An Ugaritic princess could be married to a foreign
prince, but also to a high diplomat in her father's service (RS [Varia
26]). According to my reconstruction of KTU 2.2, a princess whose
father had failed to be loyal to his overlord, could be thrown into
prison and be at the latter's mercy. KTU 2.3 may also indicate that
the fate of a princess at a foreign court could be harsh. Her honour
could be violated and her relatives could only protest about it from
afar.

The non-literary evidence from Israel may offer a picture of influential princesses. The seal and the bulla of the two women with
the title may have been owned by blood relatives of the king
who held a function in the royal administration, analogous to men
who held the title . These women may have literally been
daughters of the king.
L E G A L OWNERSHIP OF IMMOVABLE P R O P E R T Y

After the women of the court we turned our attention to non-royal

women and their role in society. Although the literary texts of Ugarit
and Israel make little mention of women as legal owners of immovable
property, they do occur in both corpora. If women acquired property,
it was usually as a dowry, as a gift or a marriage settlement, by way of
inheritance or by purchase. However, the role of women as legal owners
of immovable property was an exceptional one. Moreover, based on the
Mesopotamian evidence they may only have had nominal autonomy
over their property.
This seems to be confirmed by the non-literary texts from Ugarit.
The personal wealth of a woman (marriage deposit, marriage gifts)
generally derived from her father, her husband and/or other male
family members. Usually men were the contracting parties in transfers
of immovable property. Although women are mentioned as owners of
property (RS 15.168; RS 16.267; RS 16.277 etc.), they often were in
conjunction with a man. Moreover, those women who were involved in
property transactions were generally royal women or ladies related to
the court. Only the queen mother could transfer property without the
consent of a man. Neither in the legal texts from Ugarit, nor in those
from Elephantine are women mentioned as witnesses to contracts.
BUSINESS

As is the case with the evidence on legal ownership, information on

women in business is scarce. Still, the Hebrew Bible does mention an
outstanding business woman (Prov. 31:10-31). In the Ugaritic literary
texts, goddesses conducted business independently. This sometimes
went against their husband's interest. Based on the literary texts, it
would seem that in Ugarit, as well as in Israel, wealthy women did
have some independence in doing business transactions and handling
profits.
Although the evidence of the non-literary texts from Ugarit is
scarce, this picture is confirmed both by the legal and administrative
texts which refer to women engaging in business (e.g., KTU 4.290:12), but these are exceptions to the rule, for the economy was a male
domain.

The women of the Jewish colony at Elephantine did not engage in

business independently, but only by order of their husband. On the
other hand, the Israelite Hannah, daughter of 'Azaryah (seal no. 7),
may have had an independent business enterprise. Since an impression of her seal is found on a jar handle, it may safely be assumed
that Judahite women like her did engage in business. Another jar
handle stamp reads 'Belonging to H a n una, Yehud' (no. 25). It has
been suggested that H a n u n a m a y have been a female official in the
administration of the Yehud province. If so, she would have engaged
in business in her function as an official.
P R O F E S S I O N S AND DOMESTIC ACTIVITIES

In daily life women were involved in various domestic activities. Many

tasks were gender related, as were most professions. Some household
tasks, however, were performed by men as well as women. In the
literary texts from Ugarit, and also in the Hebrew Bible, both men
and women were involved in food preparation and acted as hosts in
serving food. Doing one's personal laundry was also a task of both
sexes. Men and women washed their own clothes. Professional washing
was done by men, however. Women furthermore participated beside
men in large (re)building projects. According to the literary texts
from Ugarit, female slaves made bricks. The Hebrew Bible attests that
women of a prominent family helped to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.
The Hebrew Bible also offers information on women working together
with men in tasks of agriculture and animal husbandry.
But other tasks were considered a woman's job, such as drawing
water for the household. Textile production was also regarded as a
female sphere in both cultures. The spindle was even regarded as a
symbol of femininity. Women of the upper classes generally had female
personal servants, who had to perform several tasks. This mechanism
of women being in the service of other women is also encountered in
various professions.
In some professions women did participate, but only in a restricted
manner, i.e., as women who worked for women. Professional female
scribes, for instance, are attested in Mesopotamia and Egypt, and
possibly in the Hebrew Bible, but their occurrence is rare and they
often, if not mostly, seem to have worked for other women. They
do not occur in the literary texts from Ugarit. The same mechanism
might also function with regard to female messengers. Analogous to
the situation in Mesopotamia, it would seem that in the literary texts
from Ugarit female messengers generally served women. The biblical
data on female messengers can be explained in a non-contradictory

fashion.
Professional healers generally were male in the ancient Near East.
However, in the Ugaritic literary texts goddesses performed acts of
healing. In the Hebrew Bible professional female healers are not attested.
The professions of midwife and wet nurse were regarded as female
professions in Ugaritic and biblical literature. Whereas in Ugaritic
literary texts deities performed both tasks, this is not the case in the
Hebrew Bible. Y H W H is metaphorically referred to as a midwife, but
not as a wet nurse. This omission seems to be related to the fact that
in Israel's neighbouring countries wet-nursing of a prince by a deity
was regarded as a ratification of his divinity. The biblical authors may
have wanted to avoid such an image of divine legitimation of a prince.
Prostitution was also regarded as a female profession. It is not
attested in the Ugaritic literary texts, but we may assume prostitutes
did occur in Ugarit, as was the case in the whole of the ancient Near
East. In the Hebrew Bible prostitutes do occur. It was an accepted,
but not highly valued, profession.
According to the administrative texts from Ugarit, men were considered far more important to the economic life of Ugarit than women.
Although women did contribute to the economy, their contribution
was for the most part invisible. In the administrative lists women are
rarely mentioned, and if they are, they either were women of substance, or they are mentioned without the use of their personal name.
Although there are only a few administrative texts from Israel, women
are mentioned in two of them. The first text mentions a named daughter, the second text records unnamed wives. Both receive payment.
An unnamed daughter is furthermore mentioned on an earthenware
inscription. The administrative lists from Elephantine do not mention
women often, yet always by name.
Hardly any female function is mentioned in the administrative
texts from Ugarit. We have encountered a woman manager of the
harem and, possibly, female water drawers. References to a female
singer and female casters are uncertain. Professional activity of women
in Ugarit thus remains absent for the most part. Neither are female
professions mentioned in the texts of the Jewish colony at Elephantine. A few of the seals owned by Israelite women (nos. 1, 2, 22, 25
and 28) may refer to female administrators, however.
SLAVERY

Slave women were generally of a low status. The literary texts from
Ugarit and the Hebrew Bible testify that female slaves could be owned

either by institutions, such as palaces and temples, or by individuals.

Based on the Mesopotamian material I concluded that it often mattered to female slaves whether they were owned by individuals or
institutions. In the latter case they might marry and have their own
family. They had less chance of being sold. Slave women owned by
individuals, on the other hand, could become a slave concubine or a
slave wife of their (male) master. The Hebrew Bible offers examples
of female owners who gave their slave woman to their husband in order to bear offspring for them. Furthermore, the chance of being sold
seems to have been larger for slaves owned by individuals.
The non-literary texts from Ugarit also refer to female slaves
owned by individuals. They were regarded as another person's property which could be exchanged (RS 15.120; RS 20.150; RS 34.170
etc.). However, there are some examples of female slaves being freed
upon marriage (RS 16.250; RS 16.267). According to the Elephantine
documents, a handmaid could be owned by one man while she was
married to another.
Women who were born as free citizens could become slaves because of a debt which the man under whose authority they were,
had incurred. The Hebrew Bible informs us that there was a limit
for the period of debt servitude. However, minor, unbetrothed girls
were excluded from this limit. The Ugaritic literary texts are silent on
this subject, but the non-literary texts confirm the practice of debt
slavery. If a man failed to pay his debt, he could be handed over to
the creditor, together with his family, to repay the debt by serving as
slaves (RS 17.130:29; RS 17.244:11; RS 34.179). Debt slaves could be
redeemed by wealthy persons, such as the king or the queen.
The Hebrew Bible testifies to the fact that a female slave had no
authority over her own sexuality. If her owner was male, he could
make her his slave wife or slave concubine. If she should bear him
(male) children, and her owner acknowledged them, this would offer
her more status as a mother of heirs. A female slave could also be
given or hired out by her owner to someone else for sexual services.
Remarkably, in the literary texts from Ugarit two slave women offered their bodies to Ilu in order to make themselves pregnant. The
Ugaritic texts, however, reject the debauchery of handmaids. This is
in line with Mesopotamian wisdom literature which warns against
the lewdness of slave girls. I have wondered whether in both cases we
should regard this stereotype image of the lewd slave girl as a case
of 'blaming the victim', since slave women had no say over their own
sexuality, and could be the object of forcible sexual intercourse.
Women could refer to themselves as 'your handmaid' when they

turned to a superior with a request. This custom is encountered in the

Bible (1 Kgs 1:13) as well as in the extra-biblical ostracon of the widow
(section 4.1.2). Possibly, the seal of Shelomith (no. 22) should also be
interpreted in line with this custom. If this was the case, she was no
slave wife of Elnathan the governor, but had a high position in his
administration. On the other hand, the mentioned in the tomb
inscription at Silwan most likely was a slave wife. This renders an
interpretation of Shelomith as slave wife of Elnathan equally possible.

5.2 The Religious Position of Women

W O M E N AS RELIGIOUS SPECIALISTS

In the contact with deities, purity was required of men and women.
The requirement of purity is often mentioned as the reason why
women would have been excluded from the priesthood in biblical Israel. However, in this regard Israel is not unique, for in other countries
of the ancient Near East, where female priestesses existed, the demand
to be pure when appearing before a deity was also requested. I assumed that, analogous to purity regulations for men, Ugaritic women
who appeared before the gods had to be pure, too. The Hebrew Bible
offers various purity regulations for women and men in their contact
with Y H W H . I concluded that, although purity regulations may have
played a role in the exclusion of biblical women from the priesthood,
it was not the most important reason. Moreover, instead of totally
excluding women from the cult, strict regulations regarding impurity probably implied that women did participate in the cult on a
regular basis, albeit not in the priesthood, but as worshippers. The
non-literary texts do not offer any information on purity regulations.
In Mesopotamia, Hatti and Egypt, women functioned in the priesthood. Scholars who emphasize the contrast in this regard between
Israel and its neighbouring countries generally point to data relating
to the third and early second millennium BCE. It is often disregarded
that during the second millennium the situation changed drastically
due to a professionalization of the priesthood, which caused most
female priestly functions to disappear. From the second half of the
second millennium on, only women of high birth, generally queens or
princesses, remained active as priestesses. The most important female
priestly function in Egypt was that of the God's Wife of Amun, which
from the Third Intermediate Period on was fulfilled by an unmarried
daughter of the king. In Mesopotamia, the king's daughter functioned
as a nin-dingir. The God's Wife of Amun and the nin-dingir both had

a kind of marital relationship with the main deity. The fact that in
Yahwism such a function for a woman was out of the question was
probably the main reason for excluding women from the priesthood
in biblical Israel. According to the Deuteronomists, a priestess in such
a marital relationship to YHWH could not be tolerated. The evidence
of the Elephantine texts is in accordance with the Hebrew Bible: only
men were priests. Whether an Israelite queen or princess ever fulfilled
such a function historically cannot be recovered from the Hebrew
Bible. Some royal women venerated Asherah (1 Kgs 15:13; 18:19; 2
Kgs 24:8-9), but this does not automatically make them priestesses of
the goddess. It cannot be ruled out that queens acted in cultic functions in the early days of the monarchy, but from the seventh century
on this seems to have been unlikely. The silence of the Hebrew Bible
on the participation of the queen in the cult may either reflect her
historical absence or concealment of her cultic role.
The Ugaritic texts do not attest any female cultic functionaries.
As was the case in Israel, the priesthood seems to have been predominantly male. However, the queen did play a role in the cult. She is
mentioned in various literary texts as either participant or officiant
in the Ugaritic cult. It is likely that the sacrifice which the queen
brought on the sown land, mentioned in the administrative text KTU
4.149:14-16, was related to a rite performed on a mythological level
by the goddess 'Anatu. Princesses could also be cultic officiants who
brought offerings or acted out a certain ritual during a festival. The
non-literary text KTU 2.31:65-66, which possibly mentions the dedication of a princess to a deity, may confirm this.
In the past, Canaanite religion was often regarded as a 'fertility
religion'. Certain aspects of this 'fertility religion' would have found
their way into Israelite religion, one of them being cultic prostitution. In this regard it has been suggested that the was a cultic
prostitute. However, scholars have now shown that there is no convincing evidence for this assumption. The was a consecrated
woman, who had autonomy over her own sexuality. This autonomy
led to a juxtaposition with the ' prostitute'. The association of the
With the is polemic in origin. The was a member of a
cult-related class of female functionaries, who were associated with
outlying sanctuaries in pre-Josianic times. Neither in the literary nor
in the non-literary texts from Ugarit is a qdt attested. The male qd
does occur, however.
Another aspect of the 'fertility religion' that would have influenced Israelite religion was believed to be the sacred marriage rite. In
Mesopotamia this rite probably was performed carnally in the third

millennium, while later on it was acted out symbolically. At Ugarit

the sacred marriage rite was probably performed, too, but whether
this was acted out carnally or symbolically cannot be determined. It
seems unlikely that the rite was performed in biblical Israel. Contrary to the suggestion of some scholars, the Song of Songs should
not be regarded as a reworked sacred marriage liturgy, but as love
poetry dealing with human, sexual love. The non-literary texts offer
no information on the sacred marriage rite.
According to the literary texts from Ugarit , women acted as singers
and musicians in the cult. Although the reading is uncertain, a female
(cultic?) singer may also occur in an administrative text from Ugarit.
In Israel, women probably fulfilled cultic functions as singers, musicians and dancers in the pre-monarchic period and the early days of
the monarchy, but they ceased to do so in the post-exilic period. The
centralization of the cult, and related to this, the professionalization
of the priesthood, probably caused the elimination of this religious
role for women.
Mourning was an act which both men and women performed, but
women were more prominent in the performance of wailing rites, often
in a professional role. This was the case in Ugarit as well as in Israel.
An Elephantine text confirms that men as well as women performed
mourning rites.
Although men were also active in the field of sorcery, it was generally regarded as a female field in Ugarit as well as in Israel. Divination,
on the other hand, seems to have been regarded a male sphere, since
in neither culture female diviners occur. Perhaps the male qd, who
occurs in various Ugaritic non-literary texts, was a diviner. To date
female necromancers are not attested at Ugarit. It is noteworthy that
in the Bible the female necromancer of En-Dor (1 Sam. 28) is portrayed as an established professional. Her performance and title have
close parallels in Ugarit, which points to her standing in a long tradition of expertise. It is furthermore remarkable that the use of magic
is not always condemned in the Hebrew Bible. Magic performed on
the initiative of Y H W H is not denounced. However, the Bible is either
reticent or negative on women performing magic. It is often difficult
to distinguish sorcery from prophecy, especially if symbolic acts accompanied the latter. The women performing magic in Ezek. 13 were
regarded as prophetesses. Probably it was just as difficult to distinguish between benevolent and malevolent magic as it was to determine
what was true and false in prophecy.
Prophecy is known from Mari and Nineveh, but thus far it does
not occur at Ugarit. In two Ugaritic legends men experienced divine

revelation in a dream, but no deity appeared to a woman in a dream.

In biblical Israel, the prophetic office was open to women. Female
prophets are attested less than males in the Bible, although they
were equally respected, or disrespected if they were regarded as false
prophets.
W O M E N AS WORSHIPPERS

Unlike the literary texts from Ugarit, which only offer examples of men
who pray, the Hebrew Bible refers to praying women and men. According to a text from Elephantine, wives joined their men in prayer.
The Ugaritic texts seem to offer little attention to the perspective of
women in this expression of worship.
The literary texts from Ugarit and Israel record that both men
and women could act as votaries. In both cultures it was considered
very important that a vow be fulfilled. In Israel, men could annul
a vow of a woman who was under their authority. This legislation is
regarded as relatively late, and it may be that in earlier days there was
no such restriction, but we cannot be certain about that. Although a
restriction on women making vows is not recorded for Ugarit, it seems
possible that Ugaritic fathers and husbands could also veto against
the vows of their wives or unbetrothed daughters. A male vow (of
Shaushgamuwa) is mentioned in the legal texts regarding the case of
the bittu rabti.
In both cultures women brought offerings. The Ugaritic literary
texts refer to royal women performing sacrifices. It seems that in the
Hebrew Bible, women could bring offerings on their own, especially
those related to their ritual purification, or together with their husband. The fact that in a non-literary text from Elephantine offering
was regarded as a task for men seems to contradict the assumption
that Deuteronomy offered women the right to lead the offering ritual.
Performing the funerary rites related to the cult of the dead seems
to have been a male duty in both cultures, which women could only
take responsibility for in the absence of men. Furthermore, women
seem to have participated in the cult of the dead in both Ugarit and
biblical Israel, but with regard to the veneration of ancestral mothers
a difference may have existed. At Ugarit, the ancestor cult may have
been androcentric in scope. Unlike royal ancestral fathers, who are
mentioned by name in the literary texts, royal ancestral mothers are
not mentioned explicitly. It would seem that, if maternal ancestors
were venerated at Ugarit, their place was secondary. The situation
seems to have somewhat differed in biblical Israel, where the ancestor
cult still was an accepted religious practice in the early days, although

it was later condemned. As in Ugarit, the cult of the dead was predominantly focused on the male ancestors in Israel. However, there
are a few references to the commemoration of female ancestors, and
the Bible also records that the Israelite matriarchs, especially Rachel,
were held in high esteem. The non-literary texts offer no additional
information.
Women in Ugarit and Israel participated in religious festivals, cultic gatherings and sacrificial meals. The literary texts from Ugarit
record the participation of royal women, but of the women of the
lower classes we know little in this regard. The Hebrew Bible does
offer information on the participation of Israelite women in religious
festivals, cultic gatherings and sacrificial meals. Unlike men, women
were not obliged to be present, their role in worship was not essential. The information of the Elephantine letters agrees with this. The
correct observance of the Passover seems to have been for the most
part a matter between men. Women joined the men in religious rites,
but their role seems to have been secondary.
At the end of chapter 2 I summed up the differences between the
social position of women in Ugarit and Israel. Now it is time to relate
these differences to the results of my examination of the non-literary
texts in chapter 4:
1. In the Hebrew Bible a negative view is expressed on unrestrained
female sexuality. This becomes evident especially in the marriage metaphor, which employs adultery as a metaphor for idolatry. However, the disapproval of promiscuous female sexuality
also occurred in Ugarit. In this regard I have referred to the
alleged lewdness of slave girls, which should perhaps be seen as
a case of 'blaming the victim'. To this the case of the bittu rabti
can be added. Even though king 'Ammithtamru II had already
divorced her, he wished to have her punished for adultery when
he discovered that her flirtatious behaviour was common knowledge. Since she had disgraced his honour and his authority, the
king demanded to have her killed.
Part of patriarchal ideology was the conviction that men should
have authority over women and their sexuality. Fathers had
authority over daughters, brothers over sisters, husbands over
wives. If a daughter or a sister had sexual intercourse without
the consent of the man who had authority over her, the biblical stories generally are more concerned with the male honour
that needed to be restored (Gen. 34; 2 Sam. 13), than with the
woman. Her point of view, including questions whether she was

raped or not, is for the most part disregarded. Moreover, the

image of women who had authority over their own sexuality is
presented ambiguously, if not negatively in texts from Ugaritic
and Israel. This image reflects the uneasiness of an androcentrie society. 'Ammithtamru's wish to restore his honour by the
capital punishment of his adulterous wife fits the patriarchal
ideology. The non-literary texts from Ugarit confirm that this
held true of women at all levels of society. The greater freedom
of high-placed women was only apparent - in their case, too,
men decided what was proper for a woman.
2. Scholars have assumed that the freedom of movement of Israelite
women became more restricted in the post-exilic period. I have
argued that there is no scholarly consensus on this matter. The
Elephantine evidence is too meagre to be conclusive.
3. Unlike Ugaritic Ilu, the God of Israel is not invoked as 'Father'
and 'Mother'. Due to the choice for monotheism, Y H W H is
mainly presented as a male god with metaphorical female qualities. Since he was the One God of Israel, there was no room
for a female consort, nor for a priestess who served him in her
capacity as 'wife'. To this we will return below.
4. Sexual intercourse is described more freely in Ugaritic literary
texts than in the Bible. However, one should not draw too farreaching conclusions from Ugaritic literary fiction - quod licet
Iovi, non licet bovi. The non-literary texts from Ugarit do not
describe free sexual morals for women. I acknowledged that both
cultures had an eye for the experience of female sexual pleasure.
Yet, according to the morals of both cultures, women should
enjoy sexuality within marriage.
5. According to the literary texts from Ugarit and Israel, brothers
had more authority over sisters in Israel than in Ugarit. The
non-literary texts from Ugarit offer some examples however, of
brothers having authority over their sister, which contradicts the
assumption that the position of sisters would have been better
at Ugarit.
6. In the literary texts from Ugarit, daughters acted as replacements for sons. Based on the non-literary texts it cannot be
substantiated that the position of daughters would have been
better at Ugarit. Sons played a far more important role than
daughters. Ilu's blessing with sons and daughters, contrary to

Kirtu's wish for a son, can be regarded as a blessing for a balanced family, which may also be expressed in KTU 2.2. Kirtu's
wish for a son should be considered a wish for continuation of
the family line. The non-literary texts from Ugarit confirm that
Ugarit was a patrilineal society.
7. The perspective of women who are childless is given more attention in the Hebrew Bible than in the Ugaritic literary texts.
However, 'Anatu's childlessness and her attempts to overcome
this are narrated in Ugaritic literature. The non-literary texts
do not inform us directly on the grief of a childless woman. Perhaps the letter RS 86.2208, in which it is told that a childless
wife handed over her infertile husband to the authorities, may
be related to this matter. Yet this may have been a unique case
rather than a general right.
8. Some scholars have proposed that the Judaean queen mother
had an official position as , analogous to the position of the
Hittite tawananna. This cannot be established with certainty,
but the queen mother had a very high position in the Hebrew
Bible. Based on the evidence of the literary and non-literary
texts from Ugarit we may conclude that the position of the
Ugaritic queen mother was not less important than that of her
counterpart in biblical Israel.
The data of the non-literary texts from Ugarit and Israel, as far as
it is applicable, does not contradict the conclusions based on the literary texts alone. The social position of women in Ugarit and Israel,
based on the status patterns, was more or less the same. In both
cultures women belonging to the upper classes seem to have enjoyed
more freedom to partake in social and economic activities than the
mostly anonymous women belonging to the lower classes. It may be
asked, however, whether the impression that women in a lowly position enjoyed less freedom is historically reliable, or that this is a false
impression created by the fact that their activities and names were
not deemed important enough to record in written documents. In any
case, women of whatever class were subjected to men who ultimately
determined the limits of their freedom. Whether she was a queen or
a slave girl, 'licentious' behaviour of a woman was punished harshly
by men.
Whereas the social position of women in Israel did not differ significantly from that of women in Ugarit, the religious position of women
does seem to have differed, at least at first sight. When the differences

between the religious position of women in Ugarit and Israel are compared, the following can be noted:
1. At Ugarit the queen acted as officiant in the cult. The nonliterary texts from Ugarit confirm her cultic role. It cannot be
excluded that in Israel a queen acted in a cultic function, but
we can only speculate on this. The silence of the Hebrew Bible
on this subject may either reflect her historical absence or concealment of her cultic role.
2. Ugaritic princesses acted as cultic officiants, too. A restored nonliterary text from Ugarit confirms a cultic role for princesses.
The biblical and extra-biblical evidence is silent on any role in
the cult for a princess.
3. At Ugarit the sacred marriage rite was performed, while no convincing evidence was found that a similar rite ever existed in
ancient Israel. The non-literary texts of both cultures do not
offer additional evidence on this subject.
4. Ugaritic women acted as singers and musicians in the cult. Perhaps a female singer is mentioned in a non-literary text from
Ugarit. Israelite women fulfilled the roles of cultic singers and
musicians in the pre-monarchic period and the early days of
the monarchy, but probably no more in the later days of the
monarchy.
5. Vows of biblical women could be annulled by the men who had
authority over them. I tentatively suggested that this may have
been the case in Ugarit, too. Since only a male vow is mentioned
in the non-literary texts from Ugarit, so far this suggestion is
not contradicted.
6. The religious specialism of the occurred in biblical Israel, but not in Ugarit. Remarkably, the non-literary texts from
Ugarit mention a male qd, but no female qdt.
7. Another religious specialist who occurs in the literary texts from
Israel but not in those from Ugarit is the female necromancer.
Apparently she had the same level of expertise as her male counterpart in Ugarit. The non-literary texts of Ugarit and Israel
offer no additional evidence.
8. The same is true for the female prophet: she occurs in the Hebrew Bible, but not in the texts from Ugarit.

9. The Hebrew Bible refers to women who pray, while the Ugaritic
texts refer only to men who pray. An Elephantine letter also
refers to women joining the men in prayer. The non-literary
texts from Ugarit do not refer to prayer.
10. While evidence on the commemoration of ancestral mothers is
lacking at Ugarit so far, the Hebrew Bible offers some references
to it, as well as indications of veneration of the matriarchs. The
non-literary texts do not offer any additional evidence.
11. The role of women as worshippers was not essential in the Israelite cult. The Elephantine evidence confirms this. This may
have been the case for (ordinary) women at Ugarit, too, but neither the literary nor the non-literary texts offer any information
on this.
These results are clearly ambiguous and allow for different conclusions. Sometimes women in Ugarit seem to have enjoyed more privileges in religious matters (cultic role of female members of the royal
family), sometimes women in Israel (female prophets, veneration of
matriarchs), and sometimes both seem to have been underprivileged
(vows, participation in worship). It should not go unnoticed, however,
that most of the differences I found are based on silence, either on the
side of Ugarit or of Israel. The case of the female singers justifies the
assumption that the situation in early Israel may have been more
favourable to participation of women in the cult than it was later.
Therefore it is a legitimate hypothesis that the cultic roles of women
may have been removed from the final canonical writings in accordance with the religious insights of the late post-exilic period. On the
other hand, the paucity of the available Ugaritic material justifies the
assumption that certain female roles that are attested in Israel but
are still missing from the Ugaritic records may one day crop up there,
too.
The administrative texts from Ugarit unequivocally make it clear
that Ugarit, too, was a thoroughly patriarchal and patrilineal society.
The positive view of Nougayrol, Schaeffer and Amico on the position
of women at Ugarit was mainly based on the letters and legal texts,
and disregarded the evidence of the administrative texts. Although
the social position of royal women and ladies of the court may have
been quite good, this picture cannot be generalized. My findings illustrate how important it is to take social class into account.
The extra-biblical material from Israel is scarce but significant. The
female seals reveal that Israelite women did participate in correspond-

ence and economy, although those participating formed only a very

small percentage of the population. It has been suggested that some
women were employed in administrative functions. This seems possible, but, for none of the seals can it be proven. Ma'adanah and Noyah
(nos. 1 and 2) may have had seals because they were princesses, not
because of any administrative function. The seals of Hanuna and
Sa'adah may have belonged to men. Even Shelomith may only have
had a seal because she was the slave wife of Elnathan the governor.
The administrative texts from Israel, although few in number, do not
differ essentially from the Ugaritic texts. Women are referred to as
daughters or wives of men. Their names are sometimes mentioned,
but here, too, more often only their father or husband is named. It is
noteworthy that in the administrative texts from Elephantine women
are mentioned by name. Perhaps this is due to Egyptian influence.
But as we have stated when discussing the legal texts, there is no
reason to idealize the position of women at Elephantine.
In chapter 1 I referred to the presupposition that monotheistic
patriarchal religion would have had a negative influence on the position of women in Israel. In my hypothetical reconstruction of Israel's
history of religion I assumed that Y H W H had a central position in
Israelite piety from the monarchic period onwards. Discussing the
biblical and onomastic evidence, inscriptions from Khirbet el-Qom
and Kuntillet 'Ajrud, and female figurines, I concluded that Asherah
played a distinct but subordinate role as consort of Y H W H during certain historical periods of Israelite religion. A monotheistic movement,
which may have existed already in the early days of Yahwism, gradually became more influential and intended to purge the cult of the
goddess. After the exile Israelite religion became monotheistic, also
at the family/popular level, although veneration of a goddess was still
regarded as a potent danger by the biblical authors (Zech. 5:5-11).
Scholars have suggested that the lack of a goddess as a focus for
female worship may have been detrimental to the development of
significant female roles in the Israelte cult. Yet this was only partly
true, so it would seem. I have explained the absence of a cultic role
for the queen and the princess in relation to monotheistic Yahwism.
However, it should be noted that in Ugaritic religion the only female
role in the cult, beside those fulfilled by the queen and the princess,
was that of singer/musician. Neither in Ugarit, nor in Israel is a khnt
attested. Moreover, the Hebrew Bible does acknowledge the religious
specialisms of , female necromancer and prophetess. It should furthermore be taken into account that despite the fact that cultic roles
such as that of singer, musician and dancer, which were exercised by

women in the early monarchic period, seem to have disappeared in

the later days of the monarchy, the Deuteronomists emphasized the
women's role as worshippers. Although the role of female worshippers in the Israelite cult was not essential, the Bible explicitly states
they were members of the religious community. The Bible futhermore
informs us on women's expressions of piety in prayer and in the veneration of matriarchs.
It cannot be denied that the movement towards a monolatrous
and, later on, a monotheistic worship of Y H W H resulted in the exelusion of royal women from cultic functions. Whereas in Ugarit, and
also, during a somewhat earlier period, in Mesopotamia and Egypt,
royal women fulfilled an important role in the cult, this was not the
case in Israel. Possibly, Israelite queens did fulfil cultic functions in
the early days of the monarchy, but if this was the case their role was
later concealed under the influence of the monotheistic movement.
Other religious roles and specialisms did occur in the pre-exilic
period, but were not approved of by the biblical redactors. But the
following two circumstances should be taken into consideration: (1)
some religious roles and specialisms are attested in Israel and not
in Ugarit and (2) there was more attention in Israel for women's
expressions of piety.
But as indicated above, these differences may well be ascribed to
accidental deficiencies in the available sources. If other cultures of the
ancient Near East, such as Mari and Assyria, acknowledged the role
of charismatic prophetesses, there is no reason to assume that they
were repressed or absent at Ugarit. Therefore they may be expected to
crop up in Ugaritic tablets yet to be published. Conversely, authentic
documents from ancient Israel might well demonstrate one day that
in pre-exilic times the queen and/or princesses fulfilled certain cultic
functions.
Whereas the social position of women in ancient Israel was just
as underprivileged as that of women in Ugarit, the religious position of women in Israel may have grown worse towards the end of the
monarchic period when advocates of monotheism became increasingly
influential and succeeded in removing every female from Y H W H ' S entour age. This favoured an exclusive role of men in the cult, though it
did not prevent women from addressing their God.

5.3 Epilogue
At the beginning of this study we observed that the subordination
of women to men has often been justified using arguments derived

from the Hebrew Bible. In the nineteenth century CE Elizabeth Cady

Stanton and others started to suspect that this was a remnant of a patriarchal culture which was not essential to the Jewish and Christian
religious traditions. The debate about this point of view is still going
on. Many now regard patriarchalism as the historically conditioned
skin of the Bible, while others believe it cannot be simply peeled off
from its core. It would be folly to suggest a quick and easy solution to
this dilemma. Millions of women are still deeply convinced that the
dominant position of men in both social and religious matters rests
on divine authorization. Other millions have happily shed this idea as
a relic of the past and demand equality of the sexes in all social and
religious functions.
This book has tried to make good on a point often neglected by
both sides in this debate, namely the question what can be known
about the matter historically. I have demonstrated that by and large,
leaving aside minor differences, the social and religious position of
women was the same in Ugarit and Israel, and as far as I weis able
to ascertain, in the ancient Near East as a whole. Everywhere women
were subordinated to men, even though women belonging to the upper classes often enjoyed somewhat more freedom than other women.
Already in Antiquity this inequality between men and women was
presented by men as being in accordance with the will of the gods or
God. However, this line of reasoning is questionable when we take into
account that adherents of totally different religions, both polytheists
and monotheists, have made the same claim.

INDICES

Abbreviations
Abbreviations according to S.M. Schwertner, Internationales Abkiirzungsverzeichnis fr Theologie und Grenzgebiete, Berlin 21992. For the books of the Bible, deuterocanonical and Judaic literature, common abbreviations are used (see Schwertner, xxxi-xli). In addition, the following abbreviations have been adopted:
adj.
Akk.
CE
CH
CLI
CU
EA
fPN
GE
Heb.
HL
Hurr.
LN
LNB
LXX
MAL
MAPD
mPN
MT
Phoen.
PN
Ug.

adjective
Akkadian
Codex Eshnunna
Codex Hammurapi
Codex Lipit-Ishtar
Codex Ur-Namma
El Amarna
female personal name
Gilgamesh Epic
Hebrew
Hittite Law
Hurrian
local name
Neo-Babylonian Laws
Septuagint
Middle Assyrian Laws
Middle Assyrian Palace Decrees
male personal name
Masoretic Text
Phoenician
personal name
Ugaritic

The abbreviations for the states of the United States of America are conform to
the U.S. Postal Service.
The first time a work is cited full bibliographical details are given. Afterwards abbreviated titles are used for ca. 10 pages. After that full bibliographical
details are repeated, if necessary. The following short-titles and bibliographical
abbreviations are used throughout the volume:
ABD
AcSum
AfO
Ahl, ETfU

AHK

ALASP
Amico, SWU

D.N. Freedman (ed.), The Anchor Bible Dictionary, 6 vols.,

Garden City (NY) 1992.
Acta Sumerologica.
Archiv fr Orientforschung (Berlin, Graz).
S.W. Ahl, Epistolary Texts from Ugarit: Structural and Lexical Correspondences in Epistles in Akkadian and Ugaritic,
Unpubl. diss. Brandeis University 1973 [Ann Arbor Ml].
E. Edel (hrsg.), Die gyptisch-hethitische Korrespondenz aus
Boghazki in babylonischer und hethitischer Sprache (ARWAW, 77), 2 Bd., Opladen 1994.
Abhandlungen zur Literatur Alt-Syrien-Palstinas.
E.B. Amico, The Status of Women at Ugarit, Unpubl. diss.
Univ. of Wisconsin 1989 [Ann Arbor MI].

AncBRL
ARES
AuOr.S
Avigad, Sass,
WSS
BDFSN

BIntS
BN
CANE
CBET
CM
CopIntSem
C0S
Davis, AHI
DCH
DDD
DLU
DNWSI

El
FCB
FCB(SS)
FPOA

GCT
GK
Grndahl, PTU
HANE/M
HCOT
Henshaw, FM

Herdner, CTA

HUS

Anchor Bible Reference Library.

Archivi Reali di Ebla Studi (Roma).
Aula Orientalis-Supplementa (Barcelona).
N. Avigad, B. Sass, Corpus of West Semitic Stamp Seals,
Jerusalem 1997.
J.-L. Cunchillos, J.-P. Vita, Banco de datos filolgicos
semiticos noroccidentales Primera parte: datos ugariticos. I.
Textos ugariticos, Madrid 1993.
Biblical Interpretation Series.
Biblische Notizen (Bamberg).
J.M. Sasson (ed.), Civilizations of the Ancient Near East 4
vols., New York 1995.
Contributions to Biblical Exegesis and Theology (Kampen)
Cuneiform Monographs (Groningen).
Copenhagen International Seminar.
W.W. Hallo (ed.), The Context of Scripture, 3 vol., Leiden
1997-2002.
G.I. Davies, Ancient Hebrew Inscriptions: Corpus and Concordance, Cambridge 1991.
D.J.A. Clines (ed.), The Dictionary of Classical Hebrew, vol.
1- , Sheffield 1993- .
K. van der Toorn et al. (eds), Dictionary of Deities and
Demons in the Bible, Leiden 21999.
G. del Olmo Lete, J. Sanmartin, Diccionario de la lengua
Ugaritica (AuOr.S, 7-8), 2 vols., Barcelona 1996-2000.
J. Hoftijzer, K. Jongeling, Dictionary of the North-West
Semitic Inscriptions 2 parts (HdO, 1. Abt., 21), Leiden [etc.]
1995.
Eretz-Israel (Jerusalem).
The Feminist Companion to the Bible (Sheffield).
The Feminist Companion to the Bible (Second Series)
(Sheffield).
J.-M. Durand (ed.), La Femme dans le Proche-Orient Antique:
compte rendu de la xxxiiie Rencontre Assyriologique Internationale (Paris, 7-10 juillet 1986), Paris 1987.
Gender, Culture, Theory (Sheffield).
W. Gesenius, E. Kautsch, Hebrische Grammatik, Leipzig
1909 (repr. Hildesheim 1985).
F. Grndahl, Die Personennamen der Texte aus Ugarit (StP,
1), Rom 1967.
History of the Ancient Near East/Monographs.
Historical Commentary on the Old Testament.
R.A. Henshaw, Female and Male: The Cultic Personnel: The
Bible and the Rest of the Ancient Near East, Allison Park PA
1994.
A. Hernder, Corpus des tablettes en cuniformes alphabtiques
dcouvertes Ras Shamra-Ugarit de 1929 1939 (Mission de
Ras Shamra, 10), 2 vols., Paris 1963.
W.G.E. Watson, N. Wyatt (eds.), Handbook of Ugaritic Studies (HO, 1. Abt., 39), Leiden 1999.

Jewish Law Annual.

Journal of Near Eastern Studies (Chicago [II]).
Journal of Semitic Studies Monograph (Manchester).
H. Donner, W. Rllig, Kanaanische und aramische InSchriften, 3 Bd., Wiesbaden 1964.
M.C.A. Korpel, A Rift in the Clouds: Ugaritic and Hebrew
Korpel, RiC
Descriptions of the Divine (UBL, 8), Mnster 1990.
M. Dietrich et al., Die keilalphabetischen Texte aus Ugarit.
KTU
Einschliesslich der keilalphabetischen Texte ausserhalb Ugarits. Teil 1, Transkription (AOAT 24), Neukirchen-Vluyn:
Neukirchener, 1976.
M. Dietrich et al., The Cuneiform Alphabetic Texts from
KTU2
Ugarit, Ras Ibn Hani and Other Places (KTU: second, enlarged edition) (ALASP, 8), Mnster 1995.
Keilschrifturknden aus Boghazki.
KUB
J.Z. Lauterbach, Mekilta de-Rabbi Ishmael, Philadelphia 1931MekhY
35.
De Moor, ARTU J.C. de Moor, An Anthology of Religious Texts From Ugarit
(NISABA, 16), Leiden 1987.
J.C. de Moor, The Rise of Yahwism: The Roots of Israelite
De Moor, RoY
Monotheism (BEThL, 91), Leuven 21997.
De Moor, Spronk, J.C. de Moor, K. Spronk, A Cuneiform Anthology of Religious
Texts from Ugarit (SSS, 6), Leiden 1987.
CARTU
Near Eastern Archaeology.

OBO.A
Orbus Biblicus et Orientalis. Series
Archaeologica
(Freiburg/Schweiz; Gttingen).
Overtures to Biblical Theology.
OBT
Old Testament Abstracts (Washington DC).
OTA
B. Porten, The Elephantine Papyri in English (DMOA, 22),
Porten, EPE
Leiden 1996.
PrOT
De prediking van het Oude Testament.
Qadmoniot (Jerusalem).
Qad.
J. Renz, W. Rllig, Handbuch der althebrischen Epigraphik,
Renz, Rllig,
Bd. I-III, Darmstadt 1995- .
HAE
M.T. Roth, Law Collections from Mesopotamia and Asia MiRoth, LCMAM
nor (WAW, 6), Atlanta GA 1995.
Ras Shamra - Ougarit (Paris).
RSO
State Archives of Assyria Studies (Helsinki).
SAAS
Society of Biblical Literature. Resources for Biblical Study
SBL.RBS
(Atlanta GA).
Studi Epigrafici e Linguistici sul Vicino Oriente antico
SEL
(Verona (Italy)).
Studies in the History and Culture of the Ancient Near East.
SHCANE
D. Sivan, A Grammar of the Ugaritic Language (HO, 1. Abt.,
Sivan, GUL
28), Leiden 1997.
Smith, UNP
M.S. Smith et ai, Ugaritic Narrative Poetry (WAW, 9), [Atlanta GA] 1997.
W.H. van Soldt, Studies in the Akkadian of Ugarit: Dating and
Van Soldt, SAU
Grammar (AOAT, 40), Kevelaer & Neukirchen-Vluyn 1991.
Studies in Theology and Religion (Leiden).
STAR

JLA
JNES
JSSt.M
KAI

StPh
TAD

Studia Phoenicia (Leuven).

B. Porten, A. Yardeni, Textbook of Aramaic Documents from
Egypt (The Hebrew University, Department of the History of
the Jewish People. Texts and Studies for Students), 4 vols.
Winona Lake IN; Jerusalem 1986-99.
Textes Ougaritiques, 2 tomes, Paris, 1974-1989.
TO
Van der Toorn, K. van der Toorn, From her Cradle to her Grave: The Role of
Religion in the Life of the Israelite and the Babylonian Woman
Cradle
(BiSe, 23), Sheffield 1994.
Tropper, UG
J. Tropper, Ugaritische Grammatik (AOAT, 273), Mnster
2000.

TUAT
UTR
VT.S
WAW
WBC
WER

Wyatt, RTU
ZABR

Texte aus der Umwelt des Alten Testaments (Gtersloh).

Utrechtse Theologische Reeks (Utrecht).
Vetus Testamentum Supplements (Leiden).
Writings of the Ancient World (SBL).
Word Biblical Commentary.
B.S. Lesko (ed.), Women's Earliest Records: FYom Ancient
Egypt and Western Asia, Proceedings of the Conference on
Women in the Ancient Near East, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island November 5-7, 1987, (BJSt, 166), Atlanta
GA 1989.
N. Wyatt, Religious Texts from Ugarit: The Words of Ilimilku
and his Colleagues, Sheffield 1998.
Zeitschrift fr altorientalische und biblische Rechtsgeschichte
(Wiesbaden).

The Bible is cited after the New Revised Standard Version, Oxford 1989. Whenever the numeration of the verses in English and Hebrew differs, the former is
given between square brackets (e.g., Exod. 22: 18[17]).
Sumerian terms are printed in sans serif (for example, en).

Index of Authors
Aalders, G.Ch. 559
Aartun, K. 654
Abdallah, F. 87, 177, 331
Abma, R. 104, 115
Aboud, J. 532, 630, 660, 671
Abusch, T. 523
Ackerman, J.S. 562
Ackerman, S. 140, 362, 366, 546-7, 562,
564-6, 607-9, 622
Aharoni, Y. 639
Ahituv, S. 28
Ahl, S.W. 628, 634
Ahlstrm, G.W. 361, 366, 473, 545
Albenda, P. 203, 327, 407
Albertz, R. 21, 33, 63-4, 163, 199, 473,
479
Albright, W.F. 214
Alexander, P.S. 80
Allam, S. 55, 86, 93-4, 97, 109-10, 129,
133, 178, 207, 256, 262, 396, 410,
438, 583
Allen, L.C. 104
Alster, B. 52-3, 74, 124, 130, 154, 192,
199-200, 204, 255, 417-8, 584
Amico, E.B. 25, 35, 37, 40, 58, 87, 133,
135, 222, 243, 265, 267, 270, 3356, 524, 531, 628-9, 637, 659-65, 672,
674-5, 679-82, 685-6
Anbar, M. 131
Andersen, F.I. 186, 281
Anderson, A.A. 316
Andr, G. 426
Andreasen, N.-E.A. 361, 364-7, 546
Arbeli, S. 354-5
Archer, L.J. 148, 162-3, 274
Archi, A. 492, 580
Arnaud, D. 59, 77, 206, 261, 297, 322,
394, 402, 416, 439, 443, 499, 534,
584, 637, 664, 668-9
Artzi, P. 55,132, 203, 329, 331, 347, 384,
408, 411, 443
Asch van Wijck, C.M. van 13
Asher-Greve, J.M. 130, 296, 321, 327,
371, 391, 400, 405-7, 411, 413, 417,
444, 510, 516, 577
Assante, J. 416-9, 433, 441, 498-9, 5012, 504

Assmann, J. 75, 203, 496, 573, 575-6,

578
Astour, M.C. 98, 111, 671
Avigad, N. 340, 479, 554, 643-58
Avishur, Y. 388, 588, 645-6, 657
Baab, O.J. 88, 101, 113
Baar, M. de 28
Bach, A. 183
Badre, L. 303
Baines, J. 410
Bakema, M. 9
Baker-Fletcher, K. 5
Bal, M. 19
Bamberger, J. 27
Banks, O. 1
Barkay, G. 645
Barlett, J.R. 656
Barstad, H.M. 28, 46, 225, 272, 281, 550
Barth, C. 523
Barton, J. 561
Bass, D.C. 6-7, 9
Batten, L.W. 65
Batto, B.F. 132, 326, 329, 331-2, 371,
373, 375, 382, 386, 392, 408, 492,
502-3, 517, 574, 577
Baumann, G. 115
Be'er, I. 540
Beaulieu, P.-A. 348-9, 489-91
Beauvoir, S. de 12
Bechtel, L.M. 71, 250, 282-3
Beckerath, J. von 334
Becking, B. 28, 64, 66, 108
Beckman, G.M. 44, 51, 53-4, 85-6, 956, 126, 129, 192, 199-202, 207, 253,
256, 261, 296-7, 304, 354, 375, 394,
412, 422, 440, 489, 579, 581
Beek, M.A. 82
Beentjes, P.C. 279
Beer, G. 13
Behrens, H. 211, 513
Bekkenkamp, J. 24
Ben-Dov, M. 647
Ben-Barak, . 190, 260-1, 288, 347-9,
353, 355, 361-2, 366, 660
Bendor, S. 61-4, 323
Benz, F.L. 639
Berg, S.B. 426

Bergman, J. 195
Berlejung, A. 640
Berlin, A. 364
Berlinerblau, J. 474, 595-7, 599-600
Bess, S.H. 312
Bickerman, E. 339
Bierbrier, M. 179
Biga, M.G. 328, 371, 413, 510
Biggs, R.D. 132, 196, 574
Bin-Nun, S.R. 330, 347, 353, 356
Bird, P.A. 13, 29-30, 32, 38-9, 145-7,
149, 153, 187-8, 240, 275, 431, 4334, 476, 497, 519, 537, 548-55, 564-5,
600-1, 610

Birot, M. 510
Blackman, A.M. 254, 415, 488
Blau, J. 324
Bledstein, A.J. 230
Blenkinsopp, J. 565
Block, D.I. 560, 607
Boecker, H.J. 229
Boer, P.A.H. de 227, 236, 239
Boling, R.G. 188
Bongenaar, A.C.V.M. 406, 408
Bons, E. 641
Bordreuil, P. 26, 397, 478, 532-3,
640-3, 651, 665-6, 682
Borghouts, J.F. 515, 519
Bottro, J. 51, 55, 108-9
Bowen, N.R. 513, 560-1
Boyd, J.L. 587
Boyer, G. 661
Braulik, G. 601
Braun, R. 428
Brenner, A. 20-21, 25-6, 63, 67, 79,
6, 141, 238, 257, 277, 338, 361,
6, 368, 429, 433, 546, 548, 556,
65
Brenner, M.L. 555
Brettler, M.Z. 28, 594
Brichto, H.C. 183, 604
Brin, G. 645
Broekhuis, J. 195
Brooke, G.J. 26
Brooten, B.J. 16, 27, 29
Brosius, M. 271, 326-8, 330, 339,
356
Brownlee, W.H. 559
Bruin, W.M. de 135
Brunner, H. 255, 409

631,

115365558-

347,

Brunner-Traut, . 125, 131, 133, 156,

253-6, 298, 350, 375, 396, 407, 410,
442, 512, 516, 582
Bryan, .M. 45, 47, 124, 328, 334, 34953, 406-7, 507-9, 512, 582, 584
Bryce, T. 330, 333, 354-6, 382-3, 509,
515, 575, 664
Buchberger, H. 55
Budd, P.J. 251, 561
Buikema, R. 28
Bush, F.W. 237, 304, 312-4, 316-8, 340,
341
Cady Stanton, E. 9-11
Cahill, J.M. 645
C allot, O. 159
Camp, C.V. 68, 83, 149-50, 163, 166,
238, 341, 362, 364-5, 368, 598
Capomacchia, A.M.G. 347
Caquot, A. 70, 269, 533, 667
Cardascia, G. 661
Carden, M. 283, 285
Carmichael, C.M. 144, 184, 286
Carroll, B.A. 28
Carroll, R.P. 117, 120, 599
Carroll R., M.D. 474
Cartledge, T.W. 572-3, 575-7, 586-7,
595
Cassin, E. 54, 132, 256, 293
Cassuto, U. 267
Caubet, A. 160
Childs, B.S. 188
Chirichigno, G.C. 449-51
Christ, C.P. 15
Civil, M. 108-9, 221
Clements, R.E. 593
Clermont-Ganneau, Ch. 645, 650
Clifford, R.J. 60, 196
Clines, D.J.A. 7, 189, 388, 429
Coats, G.W. 313
Cogan, M. 137, 310
Cohen, C. 447-9
Cohen, S.J.D. 540
Collon, D. 157
Conrad, J. 281
Cook, J.E. 223
Cooper, J.S. 151-2, 407, 493-6
Coote, R.B. 683
Cornelius, F. 333
Crsemann, F. 101, 166, 388, 398
Craigie, P.C. 26, 367, 450

Douglas, M. 541
Crook, M.B. 277
Cross, F.M. 139, 478
Douma, A.M.H. 3
Cunchillos, J.-L. 630, 632-3
Dres, F. 1, 8
Dalley, S. 59, 535
Dressler, H.H.P. 60, 135
Dalman, G. 426, 534
Driver, G.R. 50-1, 54, 57, 85, 87-92, 94,
Daly, M. 15, 25
102, 108-9, 123, 258-60, 292-4, 2967, 301, 321, 390, 442-3, 514
Dandamaev, M.A. 50, 55, 199, 263, 406,
Durand, J.-M. 373, 682
418, 439, 442-3, 499
Darga, M. 330
Durham, J.I. 565, 593
David, M. 199
Dutcher-Walls, P. 367-8
Davies, E.W. 313-7
Ebeling, E. 152, 154, 201, 400, 438
Davies, G.I. 644, 646-53, 655-7
Eberharter, A. 152
Dawson Scanzoni, L. 14
Eck, C. van 3
Day, J. 34, 135
Edel, E. 328-32
Day, P.L. 173, 185 193, 209-10, 279, 607 Edzard, D.O. 123, 170-1, 205
Dayagi-Mendels, M. 646-7
Ehrlich, A.B. 657
De Swarte Gifford, C. 4-7, 9-11
Eilers, W. 347
Eissfeldt, O. 82, 146, 447
De Troyer, K. 538, 542
Elliger, K. 232
De Waele, D.H. 162, 279
DeBerg, B.A. 10
Emerton, J.A. 481
Decker, W. 156
Emmerson, G.I. 71, 165, 184, 188, 274,
Depla, A. 51, 56, 110, 131-2, 158, 171,
378-9, 427, 543, 548
174-5, 204-5, 207, 254-5, 295, 409,
Engelken, K. 70, 123, 140-3, 145, 148,
411, 488, 583
152-3, 235, 280, 377-9, 447-8
Desroches Noblecourt, C. 53-4, 86, 92,
Epstein, L.M. 103-4, 162
128, 152, 175, 256-7, 295, 298, 333,
Erwin Culpepper, . 15
371, 375-6, 442
Eschel, . 94
Deutsch, R. 644-6, 648-51, 688-9
Eskenazi, T.C. 64, 66, 191, 427, 429,
Dhorme, E. 684
555, 564, 594
Diamond, A.R.P. 115
Exum,
J.C. 102, 117, 120, 148, 166, 189,
Dietrich, M. 26, 43, 58, 80, 98-100, 111,
229,
239-40, 276-7, 387-8, 430, 543,
130, 133-4, 180, 208, 214, 217, 220,
605
266, 272, 328, 358, 403, 422-3, 446,
481, 483, 492, 520, 523, 526-7, 530, Eyre, C.J. 406, 410
559, 568, 579, 587-8, 639, 682, 687 Falk, Z.W. 682
Falkenstein, . 51, 139, 573-5
Dijk, J.J. 1
Fander, M. 28
Dijk, J. van 210
Fechter, F. 285, 313
Dijk, J.J.A. van 255, 410
Dijk-Hemmes, F. van 19-20, 25-6, 82, Feddes, G. 2
115-7, 165, 225, 235, 248, 552-3, Fensham, F.C. 294, 321-3, 586
Fernhout, R. 139
556, 607
Dijkstra, M. 137, 213, 216, 219, 225, Ferris, P.W. 513
245, 266-7, 420, 422, 478, 525, 530- Feucht, E. 51, 53-4, 56, 92,195,197-200,
202-3, 205-6, 253-5, 262-3, 272, 2942, 586-7, 606-7, 622, 633
5, 298, 322, 349-50, 406, 414, 582-3
Diringer, D. 658
Dodson, A. 350
Fewell, D.N. 46, 433
Dommershausen, W. 536
Finkelstein, I. 25-6
Donner, H. 104, 229, 353, 361-2, 364, Finkelstein, J.J. 445
660
Fischer, H.G. 402, 405-6, 409, 506-7,
Dossin, G. 329, 443
509, 511-3, 582-3

Fischer, I. 70, 72, 88, 144, 229, 235-6,

448, 452
Fisher, E.J. 497-8, 550
Fisher, L.R. 664
Fitzgerald, A. 116
Flanagan, J.W. 387
Fleming, D.E. 492-4, 511, 581
Ford, J.N. 526
Fortune, M.M. 258
Foster, B.R. 52, 74, 130-2, 157, 327, 392
Fowler, J.D. 477, 479
Fox, J. 304
Fox, M.V. 74-5, 78, 81-3, 110, 251, 435,
511, 566-8
Frandsen, P.J. 488
Franke, D. 253-4
Frayne, D.R. 494-6
Freedman, D.N. 186, 281
Freu, J. 632
Frevel, C. 193, 226, 477, 479, 483-5, 493,
495, 528, 546, 551, 554, 608-9
Friedan, B. 12
Friedl, C. 122-3, 140, 143-4
Frymer-Kensky, T. 44, 71, 113-5, 117,
121, 182-3, 194-5, 227, 250, 279-80,
409, 495, 498, 549
Fuchs, E. 18, 25,146, 148,153, 223, 240,
458
Furlong, I. 44
Galambush, J. 113-21, 188, 432-3, 54950
Gallery, M.L. 498
Ganzevoort, R.R. 258
Garsiel, M. 540
Gaster, T.H. 534, 587
Gelb, L.J. 129,137,157-8,167, 206, 295,
321, 371, 391, 439
Geller, M.J. 126
George, A. 418
Gerleman, G. 82
Gerlings, A.C.E. 7-8
Gerstenberger, E.S. 573
Gesenius, G.(W.) 648
Geus, C.H.J. de 61, 154, 161, 167, 373,
426, 474
Gibson, J.C.L. 139, 215, 271, 302, 304,
306, 639, 655
Gispen, W.H. 71, 288
Gitton, M. 328, 508-9
Glassner, J.-J. 151-2, 256, 328, 400, 580

Glazier-McDonald, . 113, 187, 564

Gnuse, R.K. 477
Godley, A.C. 498
Grg, M. 554, 645
Gssmann, . 2
Goldenberg, N.R. 15
Goldingay, J.E. 606
Gordis, R. 313-4, 316
Gordon, C.H. 85, 135, 159, 163, 357,
664, 682
Gordon, E.I. 192, 199
Gosline, S.L. 544
Goslinga, C.J. 238, 248, 428
Gottlieb, C. 166
Grndahl, F. 480, 649, 652, 680
Grabbe, L.L. 28
Graefe, E. 328, 509
Graetz, N. 114, 117, 120
Gray, G.B. 597
Gray, J. 302, 335, 360, 533, 597
Greenfield, J.C. 178, 299, 358, 395, 411,
414, 438
Greengus, S. 51, 53, 91, 128, 142, 173,
177, 244, 256
Greenstein, E.L. 34, 57, 137, 208-9, 2123, 218, 246-7, 265, 302, 335, 359,
421, 423-4, 477, 498, 519-20, 524,
565, 586
Groneberg, B.R.M. 132, 194, 196, 584
Grosz, K. 53, 55, 87-8, 90, 95-6, 197,
199, 206, 261, 392-4
Gruber, M.I. 13, 35, 37, 87, 202, 228,
232-3, 235, 237, 414, 429, 431, 497,
501, 543, 548, 591-3
Gunn, D.M. 46
Gutekunst, W. 513
Haag, H. 274
Haas, V. 509, 584
Haase, R. 173, 204, 258-9
Hadley, J.M. 62, 80, 226, 479-83, 552,
554
Halkes, C. 7
Hall, G. 115
Hallo, W.W. 255, 410, 494-5, 573-4, 577,
580-1
Halpern, B. 46, 342
Hamilton, V.P. 70-1, 188, 229-30, 285,
317, 452
Handy, L.K. 218, 336-7, 357, 367, 562-3
Hannig, R. 244

Hardesty, N.A. 6, 14
Harris, R. 46-7, 132, 153-4, 204, 332,
390-1, 398, 401, 405, 409-12, 419,
490-1, 499, 501-4, 510, 516, 581
Hartenstein, F. 480
Hartley, J.E. 232, 286
Hartman, L.F. 606
Haupt, P. 170
Hayter, M. 536-8, 542, 544
Healey, J.F. 267, 588, 589
Heimpel, W. 405
Helck, W. 199, 210
Heltzer, M. 105, 113, 364, 388, 421, 634,
64-6, 648-9, 652, 655, 657, 663, 679,
681-3, 687-9, 698
Henig, R.M. 543
Hens-Piazza, G. 237
Henshaw, 489, 499-500, 503-4, 510, 512,
514, 520, 552, 555
Herb, M. 156
Herdner 60, 245, 305, 634
Herion, G.A. 107
Herman, J. 286
Herman, J.L. 258
Herodotus 498
Herr, B. 539
Herr, L.G. 653, 655-6
Herrmann, W. 98, 530
Hess, R.S. 478, 485
Hestrin, R. 646-7
Hiebert, P.S. 292, 307-9
Hillers, D.R. 428
Hirmer, M. 573
Hobbs, T.R. 137, 311, 546
Hoffner, H.A. 57, 180, 192-3, 209, 211,
258, 302, 332-3, 375, 422, 428, 575,
604

Ishida, T. 23, 343, 346, 360-1, 363-4,

378, 660
Jngling, H.-W. 196, 219, 227
Jacobsen, T. 52,107-8,169-70, 202, 256,
307, 510
Jagersma, H. 251, 561
Janssen, J.J. 56, 93,125-9,157,199-203,
207, 244, 255, 257, 299, 349, 404,
407, 413, 415, 489, 582
Janssen, R.M. 56, 93, 125-9, 157, 199203, 207, 244, 255, 257, 299, 349,
404, 407, 413, 415, 489, 582
Japhet, S. 241, 246, 255
Jaussen, A. 652
Jay, N. 70, 236
Jeffers, A. 559
Jenson, P.P. 538
Jepsen, A. 447, 565
Jeremias, J. 480
Jeyes, U. 501-2, 504
Joon, P. 324, 481
Joannes, F. 299-300
Jones, D.R. 451
Jones, G.H. 312
Jost, R. 560
Judd, E.P. 64

Kmmerer, Th. 261, 297, 321

Kamlach, J. 649-50, 657
Katary, S.L.D. 396
Katzenstein, H.J. 343
Keefe, A.A. 150
Keel, O. 136, 266, 546, 652, 655-6
Kelly, J. 28
Keown, G.L. 451, 599, 609
Kessler, R. 104, 447, 450, 654
Kienast, B. 660
Kilmer, A.D. 157
Hoglund, K.G. 67
Kim, J. 68
Holloway, S.W. 428
Kim, Y.-U. 310
Hoop, R. de 33, 79, 226, 378-9
Kitchen, K.A. 96, 329, 331, 376, 383-4
Horowitz, W. 563
Klein, J. 491, 494-5
Horst, P.W. van der 279
Houtman, C. 187, 231, 276, 448-51, 552, Klein, L.R. 189, 197, 339
Klein, R.W. 342
558, 565-6, 592-3, 604, 609
Klengel, H. 25
Huehnergard, J. 300
Kletter, R. 482
Huffmon, H.B. 139, 517-9
Klima, J. 35, 662, 672
Hugenberger, G.P. 112, 187
Kloner, . 94
Hurowitz, V.A. 419, 563
Knobloch, F.W. 230
Hutter, M. 201, 234
Kool-Smit, J. 12
Ihromi 343, 361

Korpel, M.C.A. 24, 26, 34, 36, 79-80, 83,

99, 115, 119-21, 132, 135, 137, 196,
213, 217, 220, 223, 225-8, 231, 263,
265, 268, 271-2, 274-5, 306, 357,
359-60, 420, 424, 426, 430-1, 445,
470, 481, 521-2, 535, 545, 560, 568,
684
Korte, A.-M. 224
Koschaker, P. 85, 87, 142
Kottsieper, I. 68, 70, 186, 247, 250-1
Kovacs, M.G. 418
Kramer, S.N. 34, 51, 55, 79, 98, 108-9,
129, 221, 243, 254, 294, 418, 494-5,
513, 566
Kraus, F.R. 54, 95, 297
Kraus, H.-J. 6, 554
Krebernik, M. 203
Krispijn, T.J.H. 410
Kristensen, A.L. 630
Kroeze, J.H. 289
Khne, C. 382-4, 664
Kuemmerlin-McLean, J.K. 513, 557
Kuhrt, A. 52, 54, 91, 95-6,126, 129, 205,
256, 263, 294, 300, 327, 348-9, 3701, 373, 395, 408, 418, 438-40, 443,
445, 498-9, 504, 519
Kupper, J.-R. 90
Kutler, L. 209
Kutsch, E. 304, 314, 316, 555
Kutscher, R. 494-5, 584-5
Labat, R. 200, 489
LaBianca, O.S. 25
Labuschagne, C.J. 145
Lafont, B. 382
Lafont, S. 168-70, 172-7, 184, 190, 204,
238, 243, 247, 259, 286-7, 453, 514
Lagarce, E. 159
Lagarce, J. 159
Lambert, W.G. 34, 36, 50, 76, 98, 107,
123-4, 130, 169-71, 200, 219, 405,
411, 417, 441, 491, 500, 530, 588
Lamphere, L. 141
Landsberger, B. 338, 371, 379
Lang, B. 477-8, 485
Langdon, S. 170
Lange, H.O. 210
Lanner, L. 237
Laroche, E. 663
Laut, R. 27
Layton, S.C. 428

Leclant, J. 156, 508

Leeb, C.S. 281, 308, 427
Leeuwen, C. van 281, 323
Leggett, D.A. 313, 316-7
Leick, G. 75, 82-3, 86, 124, 130, 169-70,
198, 418
Leila, A.A. di 279, 606
Lemaire, A. 478, 640, 646-9, 656, 658
Lemche, N.P. 33
Lerner, G. 2, 5
Lesko, B.S. 333, 350-2, 371-2, 376, 396,
407, 409, 415, 506-8, 582
Lesko, L.H. 578, 581, 583
Levenson, J.D. 342
Levine, B.A. 232, 234, 531-3, 539, 541-2,
596-7
Levine, E. 136, 141, 315-6, 450
Lewis, T.J. I l l , 180, 225, 272-3, 423-4,
528-9, 559, 580, 588, 590, 601-4
Lichtheim, M. 56, 156, 158, 175, 198,
201, 203, 205, 295, 372, 376, 413,
415, 488-9, 576, 582
Linder, H. 112
Lingen, A. van der 70, 189, 248, 342-4,
361-2, 366, 378-80, 547
Lion, B. 392
Lipinski, E. 139, 176-8, 186, 191, 312,
338, 660, 666, 668
Liverani, M. 367
Livingstone, A. 406
Locher, C. 175-6, 182, 256, 279, 445
Lohr, M. 13, 235
Loewenstamm, S.E. 633
Long, V.Ph. 28
Loose, A.A. 155-6
Loprieno, A. 55
Loretz, 0 . 26, 34, 58, 79-80, 98-100,111,
133-4, 180, 208, 214, 217, 220, 266,
272, 358, 403, 423, 446, 481, 483,
520, 523, 526-7, 558-9, 568, 579,
587-8, 604, 682, 687
Luckenbill, D.D. 380, 387
Lddeckens, E. 93, 97
Lundblom, J.R. 367
Maarsingh, B. 145, 323
Macdonald, J. 681
Magonet, J. 233
Maier, C. 64, 68, 116
Malamat, A. 36, 57, 132, 162, 203, 222,
326, 329, 331, 342, 347, 373, 380,

383, 408, 411, 443, 517-8, 562, 608,

684
Malul, M. 667
Mander, R 206, 328
Mankowski, RV. 338
Manniche, L. 57, 130, 198, 257, 383, 419
Marcus, D. 58, 111, 600
Margalit, B. 135, 215-6, 245, 265, 268,
335, 519, 527
Margueron, J. 373
Markoe, G.E. 409
Mrquez Rowe, I. 669
Marsman, H. 628-9, 640
Mathieu, . 74-5
Matous, L. 155, 401
Matsushima, E. 473, 496
Matthews, V.H. 183, 314
Mayer, W. 193, 422, 530
Mayer-Opificius, R. 588
Mayes, A.D.H. 145, 450
McCarter, RK. 226, 248, 342, 428, 596,
683
McClive Good, R. 358
McKane, W. 367, 451, 556
McKenzie, S.L. 62
McLaughlin, J.L. 272
McMahon, G. 509
McNamara 152
Meacham, T. 244
Meek, Th.J. 78, 566
Meier, S.A. 137, 409-11, 429
Meitzer, E.S. 93, 371
Melville, S.C. 348-9
Mendelsohn, I. 52, 55, 85, 87, 95, 104-5,
107, 143, 442
Mendenhall, G.E. 107
Merlo, R 519-20
Merton, R.K. 65
Meshorer, Y. 554, 649-50, 657
Meslin, M. 526
Mettinger, T.N.D. 139, 150, 585
Meyer, R. 639
Meyers, C.L. 40, 62, 70-1, 81-2, 104,
113, 146-7, 149, 163-5, 230, 237,
274, 485, 552-4, 556, 595-6, 606, 616
Meyers, E.M. 485, 556, 606, 653
Michel, C. 401
Miles, J.C. 50-1, 54, 57, 85, 87-92, 94,
102, 108-9, 123, 258-60, 292-4, 2967, 301, 321, 390, 442-3, 514

Milgrom, J. 232, 247-8, 286, 288-9, 435,

451, 488, 538-44, 593
Millard, A.R. 107, 219, 500
Miller, C.L. 524
Miller, RD. 134, 212, 473-4, 528, 573,
594-5
Molin, G. 361-2, 365
Mollenkott, V.R. 14, 227
Monheim Geffert, M. 19
Monte, G.F. del 660
Moor, J. de 112
Moor, J.C. de 34, 46, 57-60, 73, 76-9, 99101, 110, 111-2, 135-6, 138-9, 145,
150, 159, 208-11, 213-22, 225-6, 228,
231, 244-6, 251, 264-5, 267-73, 3036, 335, 337-8, 352, 357-9, 364, 379,
403, 420-4, 446, 477-8, 481, 520-8,
531-2, 534-5, 554, 561, 568, 586-90,
601-2, 604, 606, 631, 633, 636, 680,
684-5
Moor-Ringnalda, A.M. de 13
Moran, W.L. 50, 216, 346, 357, 382, 3845, 669
Morgenstern, J. 101, 313, 316
Morrison, M.A. 105, 113, 224, 408
Mller, C. 132
Mller, W.W. 658
Muffs, Y. 676
Mulder, M.J. 80, 363-4
Mullen, E.Th. 361-2, 367-8
Muntingh, L.M. 87, 682
Muraoka, T. 324, 481
Myers, J.M. 546
Na'aman, N. 25, 33
Nadelman, Y. 647
Nashef, Kh. 108
Naveh, J. 481, 656, 689
Neufeld, . 68, 85
Neumann, . 86, 91, 129, 293, 296, 439,
444
Newsom, C.A. 10, 289
Nicole, J. 143
Nicole, M.-C. 143
Niditch, S. 278, 287, 319, 431, 434
Nissinen, M. 517-8
Noordtzij, A. 232
Noort, E. 36
Noth, M. 232, 593
Nougayrol, J. 35, 638, 661-4, 670-1, 686
Nurmela, R. 536

O'Connor, K.M. 115

O'Connor, M. 138
O'Grady, . 538-9, 541
Ochshorn, J. 25
Oden, R.A. 497-8
Oelsner, J. 307
Oleson, J.P. 406
Olmo Lete, G. del 33, 58, 78, 139, 180,
209-10, 215, 220, 265, 267, 269, 271,
305-6, 446, 513, 519-20, 526, 528-34,
590, 687
Olyan, S.M. 480, 544, 546, 609
Oosterhoff, B.J. 367
Oppenheim, A.L. 395, 516, 523
Oren, E.D. 28
Osgood, S.J. 57, 288, 310, 312
Osiek, C. 12, 14-5, 18-9, 21
Otten, H. 330, 355
Otto, E. 168, 173, 239, 287, 301, 313,
317, 450, 453, 672
Otwell, J.H. 149, 233
Otzen, B. 241, 358
Overbeck, . 554, 649-50, 657
Owen, D.I. 155
Paradise, J. 50, 54, 86, 90, 92, 96, 127,
178, 197, 244, 253, 260-1, 298, 300,
322, 392-3
Pardee, D. 26, 77-8, 109, 111-2, 134,
138-9, 217-21, 231, 244, 266, 26872, 302, 304-6, 423-4, 446, 479, 519,
523, 529, 531-4, 587, 589, 590, 630,
632, 635, 641, 665-7, 676
Parker, S.B. 209, 217, 220, 521, 523,
526-8, 586-7
Parkinson, R.B. 131
Parpola, S. 326, 501, 518
Patai, R. 87, 141, 534
Pearce, L.E. 411
Peels, H.G.L. 267
Peritz, I. 13
Pestman, P.W. 87, 93-4, 97, 125, 129,
173-4, 176, 178-9, 207, 262, 298-9
Petschow, H.P.H. 204
Pettinato, G. 347
Phillips, A. 69, 186
Pintore, F. 671
Pitard, W.T. 586
Plger, . 165
Plaskow, J. 16
Plautz, W. 141, 145, 236

Pope, M.H. 78-9, 81-2, 229, 247, 273,

281, 534, 566, 588
Porten, . 627, 642, 676-9
Postgate, J.N. 260, 440
Posthumus-van der Goot, W.H. 4
Praag, A. van 52, 89
Pressler, C. 46, 69, 71, 103, 181-7, 250,
280, 308, 313-4, 316-7, 438, 443,
449-51, 453
Preston, J.J. 36
Priest, J. 562
Pringle, J. 412, 489
Propp, W.H. 232, 552-3, 558
Provan, I.W. 540
Rabinowitz, J.J. 174, 669
Radford Ruether, R. 15, 23-6
Rainey, A.F. 33, 634, 646, 682
Rashkow, I.N. 286
Rattray, S. 61
Reade, J. 329
Reifenberg, A. 652
Reinder, E. 171
Reis, P.T. 248, 280
Reiser, E. 373, 375
Reisman, D. 528
Renger, J. 489-92, 494-5, 499-503
Renkema, J. 540
Renz, J. 480-1, 628, 639, 654, 676, 688,
689
Reventlow, H.G. 536
Richter, H.-F. 378
Ricoeur, P. 44
Ridder, A. de 651
Ridderbos, J. 554
Riesener, I. 447-8
Ringe, S.H. 10
Ringgren, H. 80, 115, 323
Robert, Ph. de 70
Robins, G. 43,45, 75,125,131,156,158,
175, 177, 179, 199, 202-3, 257, 263,
295, 299, 329-31, 333, 343, 349, 3512, 371, 376, 383-6, 396-7, 402, 4057, 408-10, 413-5, 419, 438, 442, 444,
488, 506-9, 511-3, 572, 582
Rder, . 27
Roehrig, C.H. 408-9, 415, 513, 583
Rllig, W. 330, 480-1, 628, 639, 654,
676, 688-9
Rmer, W.H.Ph. 577, 633
Rssler-Khler, U. 205

Rogerson, J.W. 6, 27, 44

Rollin, S. 514-5
Romein-Verschoor, A. 2
Roos, J. de 573, 577
Rooy, H.F. van 46
Rosaldo, M.Z. 404
Roscher, W.H. 233
Rost, L. 281
Roth, M.T. 52-4, 87, 90-2, 94, 96-7, 123,
127, 168, 172, 176, 178, 185, 204,
259, 292-7, 299-302, 322, 374, 390,
406, 414, 417, 438, 441, 444
Roubos, K. 428
Rouillard, H. 602
Rowbotham, J.F. 347
Rowley, H.H. 312, 314, 316-7, 566
Rowton, M.B. 25
Rudolph, W. 82
Rterswrden, U. 563-4
Russell, D.E.H. 258
Ryan Johansson, S. 40
Safrai, S. 162
Sakenfeld, K.D. 288, 596
Saleh, M. 110
Salonen, E. 405, 407
Salvini, M. 535, 664, 668-9
Sanday, P.R. 36
Sanders, P. 73, 227, 264, 531, 568, 636
Sanmartin, J. 445, 520, 673, 679, 682,
687
Saporetti, C. 123, 292
Sass 643, 644, 646-53, 656-8
Sasson, J.M. 312, 314, 318
Schle, A. 640
Schngel-Straumann, . 227
Schssler Fiorenza, . 7, 9-11, 14-7, 278, 46
Schaeffer, C.F.-A. 35, 643, 686
Schloen, J.D. 217
Schmitt, J.J. 114-5, 118, 553
Schmkel, . 79, 566
Schott, S. 78, 110, 250
Schroer, S. 22, 27, 29-31, 39, 226, 361,
364-6, 475, 482, 485
Schulman, A.R. 55, 330-1, 333, 384, 664
Schulte, H. 434
Schurman, A.M. van 2-3
Schwartz, B.J. 453
Scott, R.B.Y. 165
Scurlock, J.A. 513, 515, 585

Sefati, Y. 51, 74, 79, 107-8, 169, 494-6

Segal, J.B. 233, 474
Segert, S. 268
Seifert, . 284-5
Selms, A. van 99, 133, 213, 222, 230,
360, 681, 683
Seow, C.L. 139, 304
Setel, T.D. 24, 28, 116, 146
Seux, M.-J. 196, 326, 348-9
Shaffer, A. 197
Shedletsky, L. 531-2
Sherwood, Y. 115
Shields, M.A. 113, 187
Shiloh. Y. 644
Shupak,N. 322
Siebert-Hommes, J. 27, 277, 430
Sigrist, M. 172, 300
Sikemeier, J.H. 5
Silverman Kramer, P. 276
Simpson, W.K. 257
Singer, I. 630-3, 659-60, 664-5, 671
Sivan, D. 61, 138, 208, 214, 304, 633
Sjberg, A. 489
Skaist, A. 88, 95
Skehan, P.W. 279
Sluis-Sluis, L. 9
Smelik, A. 28
Smith, C. 338, 361
Smith, D.L. 64
Smith, M.S. 34, 44, 137-9, 150, 180,
221, 244, 267, 270, 272-3, 336, 3578,403, 446, 477-8, 526, 533, 559, 601
Smith, R.L. 606
Smith-Christopher, D.L. 64-7
Sneed, M. 309
Snell, D. 108, 598
Soden, W. von 139, 152, 307, 520, 573-5
Soggin, J.A. 188
Soldt, W.H. van 531, 590, 630, 632, 95960, 662, 664, 667-8, 673, 680-1, 684,
685-6
Sollberger, E. 490
Sourouzian, H. 110
Spanier, . 340, 343, 355, 357, 361-2,
367, 664
Speiser, E.A. 57, 142
Sprinkle, J.M. 449
Spronk, K. 60, 78, 208, 219-20, 265, 2689, 272, 276, 281, 303, 359, 420-1,
525, 557, 585, 588, 590, 601, 619

Sjberg, A.W. 418

Stadelmann, R. 210
Stager, L.E. 62-3, 161, 164, 235, 605
Starr Sered, S. 603
Staubli, T. 25
Steible, H. 259
Steinberg, N. 62, 70, 105, 141, 143, 236,
284
Steiner, G. 354-5
Stemberger, G. 234
Stern, E. 224, 482, 485
Stienstra, N. 113, 115, 118, 185
Stol, M. 58, 199-200, 231, 412-5, 418,
424, 430, 442-3, 574
Stolper, M.W. 294, 396
Stone, E.C. 199, 501-4
Streck, M.P. 348
Strommenger, E. 573
Stuart, D. 186, 281
Stuart Mill, J. 1
Suurmond, J.-J. 14
Suurmond-Vonkeman, M.E. 14
Swidler, L. 16
Taber, C.R. 104
Tadmor, H. 137, 310, 341
Tanner, R. 53-4, 57, 125, 169, 197, 256,
262
Taracha, P. 532
Tarragon, J.-M. de 520, 532-3
Tate, M.E. 554
Tavares, A.A. 307
Teeter, E. 156, 511-2
Teugels, L. 70
Thissen, H.J. 158
Thompson, J.A. 599
Thompson, Th.L. 143, 452
Thureau-Dangin, F. 631, 672
Tigay, J.H. 224, 477-80
Tischler, J. 575
Toivari, J.K. 33, 56, 87, 97, 125, 175,
179, 262, 419
Tolbert, M.A. 22, 24
Toorn, K. van der 33, 61-2, 68, 75, 83,
86, 108, 111-3, 123, 171, 182-3, 1923, 196-7, 199-201, 224, 256, 280,
292-3, 295-6, 307, 310, 318-9, 416,
418, 473-5, 487-9, 492, 498, 505,
515-8, 539, 550, 558-61, 576-81, 584,
588-90, 598, 601-5, 607, 618, 661
Torrey, C.C. 657

Tosato, A. 69, 146

Tournay, R.J. 197
Trible, Ph. 16-7, 81, 227, 551-2, 277, 566
Tropper, J. 61, 98, 138, 208, 214, 304,
306, 358, 423, 446, 523-4, 527, 559,
587, 590, 666
Tsevat, M. 588-9
Tsukimoto, A. 578-9
Tsumura, D.T. 216
Uehlinger, Ch. 136, 266, 546, 656
Valier, S. 276
Van Seters, J. 86, 450, 452
Van de Mieroop, M. 327, 391-2, 401,
405, 407, 439
Vaux, R. de 70, 101,112, 310, 361-2, 537
Veenhof, K.R. 52, 109, 112, 132, 401-2,
408, 667
Veerman, A.L. 258
Velde, H. te 210, 505, 518
Vernus, P. 175
Verreet, E. 133, 208, 359, 446
Viberg, . 103, 221, 230, 236, 313-4,
316, 667
Virolleaud, Ch. 215, 219, 245, 305, 634,
636, 682
Vita, J.-P. 35, 630, 663-4, 671-3, 679-80,
698
Volk, K. 534-5
Vos, C.J. 13-4, 232-6, 488, 536-9, 542,
548, 561-2
Vriezen, K.J.H. 482
Wrthwein, E. 82
Waal, A. de 4
Wacker, M.-Th. 7,10,12,14-6,18-9, 22,
27, 550-1, 565, 609
Wagenaar, J.A. 641-2
Wagner-Hasel, B. 27
Wahl, H.M. 223, 229-30, 324

Wainwright, E.M. 11
Wakeman, M.K. 44
Wallach Scott, J. 28
Walls, N.H. 135, 209-10, 246, 269-70,
304-5, 522, 533
Walters, S.D. 514
Ward, W.A. 45, 125, 129, 255, 371-2,
405-6, 409, 505, 511
Washington, H.C. 64-8, 598
Watson, W.G.E. 26, 59, 77, 100, 135,
145, 215, 246, 271, 358, 421, 446,
527, 535, 682

Watterson, B. 36, 155-6, 175, 177, 179,

195, 409, 413, 419, 488, 512-3, 516
Watts, J.D.W. 565
Weber, M. 376
Weems, R.J. 115, 117
Wegner, I. 535
Wegner, J.R. 121, 144, 146-7, 286-7, 435
Weidner, E. 372-4, 406, 488
Weiler, G. 18, 26-7
Weinfeld, M. 347
Weippert, H. 161
Weippert, M. 415, 473
Wellhausen, J. 80
Wenham, G.J. 71, 103, 182, 188, 279,
285, 452
Werkman, L.A. 9
Wesel, U. 27
Westbrook, R. 54, 69, 86-90, 94-6, 1045,112,123-4,127-8, 143,168-9,1717, 181, 183-6, 197, 244, 256, 259,
301-2, 313-7, 321, 379, 390, 440-2,
444-5, 449-53, 502, 557, 654
Westendorf, W. 132, 195
Westenholz, A. 473
Westenholz, J.G. 96, 261, 370-1, 373,
416, 431, 497, 499-501, 548, 579
Westermann, C. 70
White, J.B. 74-5, 129, 566-8
Whitekettle, R. 541
Whybray, R.N. 166, 398
Whyte, M.K. 40
Widengren, G. 79
Wiggerman, F.A.M. 201, 234
Wiggins, S.A. 220, 267
Wijngaarden, W.D. van 13, 447
Wilcke, C. 51, 89-90, 109, 198, 200, 202,
244, 294, 418, 580

Willey, P.T. 116

Willi-Plein, I. 189, 342, 388
Williamson, H.G.M. 289, 555
Wilson, E.J. 487
Wilson, R.R. 560
Winn Leith, M.J. 120
Winter, I.J. 489, 491
Winter, U. 136, 202, 213, 215, 266, 3445, 415, 482, 486, 491, 552, 554, 601
Wiseman, D.J. 346, 584
Wolde, . van 250
Wolff, H.W. 281
Wollstonecraft, M. 2
Wright, C.J.H. 69, 145
Wright, D.P. 535, 538-41
Wyatt, N. 26, 36, 57-8, 60, 76-9, 98,
111, 133-5, 137-9, 180, 208-11, 2168, 220-1, 226, 244, 265, 272, 274,
335-6, 338, 357-9, 403, 423-4, 446,
519, 522-4, 526, 528-9, 531-2, 587,
590
Xella, P. 245, 519-20, 527, 580
Yadin, Y. 25
Yamauchi, E. 28
Yarbro Collins, A. 2, 10
Yaron, R. 676-8
Yon, M. 26, 637
Zabkar, L.V. 534
Zaccagnini, C. 51, 88, 95
Zakovitch, Y. 187-9, 452, 666, 668
Zevit, Z. 481-2, 640
Zgoll, A. 130
Ziegler, N. 372-3, 375, 405, 410, 492, 510
Zimmerli, W. 559-60
Zohary, M. 229

Index of Subjects
ablution 535
Adad-guppi 348-9, 579
administration 646, 653, 657, 695, 698,
723-5, 736
adoption 55, 85, 88-9, 128, 142, 199,
207, 229-30, 299, 322, 324, 393, 438,
529, 673-4, 691, 714, 717, 719
Adoption Papyrus 207, 442
adultery 108, 112, 116-8, 168-77, 1806, 188, 259, 456, 458, 468-9, 668-70,
691-2, 697, 706, 710-1, 731
age of marriage partners 54, 68-9
agriculture 160, 164, 407, 427, 466, 709,
724
Ahatmilku 334, 662
Amanamtagga 170
ambivalence towards women 130-1, 147,
318, 708, 718
Amos 38
Amun 195
Anani-Pe(n)diga11i 532
Anat 26, 609
ancestor cult 113, 224-5, 475, 503, 533,
573, 577-84, 587-91, 601-5, 612, 614,
620, 624-5, 730-1
ancestor, female 579-84, 589-91, 602-3,
612, 620, 625, 730-1, 735, 737
androcentrism 15, 40, 43-4, 67, 626, 712,
714, 730
animal husbandry 160, 165, 407, 427,
466, 709, 715, 724
Ankhesenamun 332-4, 415
anointment 108-12, 301, 384, 535, 667,
705
anti-Judaism 16, 21, 27
Ardat lili 201
Aset 508
Asherah 26, 79-80, 150, 225-6, 366, 457,
478, 482, 545, 547, 609, 703, 708,
713
Asherah, veneration 479-80, 482-5, 546,
551, 615, 618, 728
Ashur-shurrat 327
Astarte 480, 505, 609
astrology 527
Atram-hasis Epic 107-8, 500

authority of husband 129, 136-7, 145-9,

165, 457, 670, 706-9, 711
authority of mother 202, 239-40
authorship, female 75, 82
Aya 503
balanced family 253, 263-5, 275, 634-5,
691, 715, 733
Baranamtara 327
barrenness, see: childlessness
battle 534-5, 708
batultu 256, 661
beena marriage 101
Belet-ili 199
Bes 200
Beth Shemesh Tablet 214
betulah 279
Bible, authority 10, 13-5, 32
Bible, interpretation 6, 14
Bible, translations 6
biblical women as models 5, 12
bigyny 118, 120, 122, 126-8, 141-2, 144,
235, 444, 456, 638, 677, 690, 694,
707
birth goddesses 199, 214-6
bittu rabti 663-71, 692, 697, 707, 710,
714, 720-1, 731
blessing 211-2, 224, 226-7, 235, 459, 705,
712, 715, 733
Book of the Dead 175
breast-feeding 202, 233, 235, 237, 543,
613
Bridal Sheets of Inanna 52
btlt 270, 456, 459, 691
building activities 407, 421, 4 2 7 , 4 6 7 ,8
724
bureaucracy 409-10
business, women in 156, 391, 400-4, 466,
642, 648, 652, 676, 685, 691-3, 695,
697-8, 723-4
Canaanite culture 33
Canaanite religion 34, 458
cannibalism 205, 237, 460, 533
canon 24, 32
centralization of cult 537, 547, 572, 60911, 614, 622, 624, 626
chattel 146

childbirth 199-200, 215, 217, 230-1, 4123, 424, 430, 459, 488-9, 500, 541,
574, 593-4, 713
childlessness 126-7,176,178,192-3,1968, 208-11, 222-4, 456, 459, 471, 577,
585, 638, 707, 712, 718, 733
city as wife 116
co-wife 72, 127, 141
conception 213-5, 217, 230
concubine 123-4, 127, 133, 140-1, 143,
170-1, 188-9, 364-5, 440, 682, 707-8
concubine, royal 370-81, 457, 465, 663,
692, 721-2
consent of bride 53, 59, 70-1, 455, 701-2
consummation of marriage 51, 87, 109
Contest between the Tamarisk and the
Palm 500
correspondence 329, 347, 464, 637, 648,
652, 658, 690-1, 694, 696, 698, 708
cosmetician 409
cosmetics 132, 136
counsellor 149, 365-6
court intrigue 376, 465, 722
covenant 113-5, 456, 706
cow 209-11, 225
cult, ancillary functions 420, 487, 519,
528, 551, 571, 618, 622
cult of the dead, see: ancestor cult
cultic gathering 621, 624, 731
cultic prostitution 281, 416, 433, 498-9,
544, 547, 550-1, 565, 615, 728
dance 156, 160, 165, 457, 710
dancer 487, 506, 509, 511-2, 552-3, 555,
565, 570, 616, 626, 729, 736
dating of texts 23
daughter 201-3, 234, 252-91, 443, 44950, 461-2, 467, 470-1, 634-6, 63940, 644-52, 672-3, 678, 681-3, 688-9,
691, 694-6, 707, 715-7, 731-2, 736
daughter as 'son' 261, 321, 393, 579
daughter, freedom of movement 254,
266, 279, 694, 702, 710, 715, 732
daughter, tasks 255, 265, 267-9, 278, 386
debt slavery 263, 275, 321, 323, 442-3,
449, 452-3, 461, 467, 637, 660, 690,
726
deception 148
demon 201, 234, 541
demotion 197
depatriarchalizing principle 17

Descent of Inanna 170

desire for progeny 192-3, 208, 222-3,
458, 712, 716
Deuteronomists 483, 611-2, 728, 737
Dialogue of Pessimism 130
diplomatic marriage 330-1, 342-3, 3828, 465, 636, 664, 692, 722
divination 487, 516-8, 527, 558-60, 563,
617, 729
Divine Adoratrice 507-8
divine marriage 79, 111, 493-4, 496, 529,
614, 703, 705
divine wet nurse 415, 424, 431, 725
diviner, female 514, 516, 527
divorce 89, 92, 96, 104, 117, 174-80,
186-9, 197-8, 280, 386, 452-3, 458,
468, 638, 664, 671, 677, 690-1, 6946, 705, 710-1
double hermeneutic 19, 31
dowry 54, 88-91, 94-7, 100, 104-5, 128,
175-6, 189, 207, 259-60, 293-4, 296,
308, 384, 387, 389-90, 392-3, 395-6,
398, 438, 455, 463, 466, 503, 660,
668, 671, 677, 690-1, 694, 704-5,
710-1, 718, 723
drawing water 161, 406, 420-1, 426, 466,
709, 715, 724-5
drinking-bouts 165, 271-3, 281
dual-gendered deity 195, 219, 227-8,
458, 469-70, 713
Dumuzi 52, 74, 78, 107, 170, 494, 496,
566, 573, 584-5, 612
economic life 164, 658, 686, 693-4, 698,
710, 723
Eden 112
Edict of Ammisaduqa 442
education 202-3, 237-8, 254-5, 277, 40910

Ekhli-Nikkal 671, 711

Eloquent Peasant 322
En-nigaldi-Nanna 490
endogamy 54, 56, 61-5, 142, 149, 299,
308, 343, 455, 463, 702
Enheduanna 410, 489
Enki and Ninmah 197
Enlil 107, 109
equal schooling rights 4
erbu marriage 84-6, 704
Ereshkigal 59, 194
Erishti-Aya 503

eroticism 73-4, 76-7, 80

ethnic identity 65, 67
Eve 4
evil eye 526, 617
exchange marriages 51, 382
exclusion of women 271-2
execution 669-70
exogamy 55, 58-9, 61-4, 66, 68,187, 7023, 711, 725
experience of women 13, 19, 28
extended family 157-8, 164, 457
fall 4
family 163, 469
family religion 81-2, 163, 474-5, 481-4,
608, 736
female figurines 224, 482, 484, 736
female king 350-2, 359-60, 367-8, 464,
720-1
female slave 96, 105, 123-4, 143, 170,
175, 228-9, 405, 421, 437-54, 467,
498-9, 637, 661, 675, 693, 707, 724-7
female slave, children 444-5, 451-2
female slave, marriage 52, 55, 90, 439,
441-3, 451-3, 661, 671-2, 677, 693,
696-7, 726
female slave, morals 418, 446, 467, 469,
726
female slave, ownership 438-9, 445, 449,
467
female slave, sexuality 445-6, 453, 726
female slave, work 444, 447, 467
feminism, first wave 1-12
feminism, second wave 12-3
fertility 99, 193, 224, 458, 495, 529, 712
fertility goddess 193, 226
fertility religion 212-3, 458, 497, 728
fertility rite 535
festival 165, 573, 584, 591, 593, 612, 621,
731
food preparation 405, 419-20, 425, 466,
724
forcible sexual intercourse, see: rape
foreign women 39, 67-8, 113, 187
funerary priests 509
funerary priestess 583
Gassuliyawiya 382, 575
gebirah 360-2, 464-5, 471, 720, 733
gender boundaries 522
gender dissymmetry 169, 182, 188, 458,
476, 556, 596, 617, 619, 706-7, 710

gender distinction 156, 164, 571, 710

gender mutuality 81, 703
Gilgamesh Epic 59, 197, 418
girlfriend 123-4
God's Wife of Amun 328, 351, 507-9,
545, 569, 613, 727
goddess 15, 18, 26, 41, 116, 195, 360,
461, 615, 629, 736
goddess, role in pantheon 43-5, 194-5,
458
goddess, veneration 477, 485-6
Grimk sisters 4-5
guardianship 50, 206, 261, 297, 300, 393,
416
Gula 411
gynocentrism 18
Hadad Rimmon 605-6
handmaid 640, 652-4, 695, 698, 726
handmaid, see also: female slave
harem 364, 371-2, 374-5, 377-8, 405,
407-8, 410, 427, 465, 660, 687, 693,
722, 725
harlot, see: prostitute
Hathor 195, 199, 505-8, 572
Hatshepsut 351-2, 496, 508
healer, female 411, 423, 430, 467, 725
Hebat 530
Heket 412
Herodotus 497-8
hierarchichal order 14
higher criticism 6, 9, 11-2
historical reality of women 46
historical research 29
historiography 27-9
holiness 434-5
holy seed 65
Holy Spirit 19
homosexuality 282
household tasks 155-6, 160, 164, 166,
457
housing 155, 158-9, 161, 457
husband as owner 129, 145-6, 169, 456,
468, 707
ideology 11, 36, 45, 166
Ilimilku 36
Ilimilku, ideological programme 264-5,
359-60, 461, 471, 527
illness 127, 577
impregnation 216

impurity 119, 200-1, 231-4, 374, 459,

486-9, 505, 519, 538-44, 569, 572,
613, 622, 713, 727
Inanna 52, 74, 78, 107, 170, 194, 196,
202, 221, 307, 418, 494, 496, 530,
534-5, 566, 584
incantation priestess 412
incest 57, 79, 204, 238, 243-4, 247-9,
256-9, 273, 284-7, 379, 383, 461-2,
714, 716-8
inchoate marriage 87, 102-3, 109, 172,
175, 181, 256, 259, 270, 300-1, 455,
704
independence of women 165, 691
infant mortality 201, 218, 235
infertility 160, 452, 459, 637, 712
inheritance 56, 61-2, 66-7, 88, 91, 95,
126, 188, 206-7, 259-62, 274, 288-9,
296-9, 310-3, 315, 393-4, 396-9, 4512, 462-3, 466, 605, 641, 671-3, 678,
683, 690-1, 694-6, 702, 715, 717-8,
723
Inib-sharri 386
Instruction of Ankhsheshonqy 158, 198,
203
Instruction of Any 132, 155, 158, 175,
203, 415, 582
Instruction of Shuruppak 204, 417
Instruction to Amenemope 295, 407
Instruction to Merikare 295
Instructions of Ptahhotep 131, 175
intermarriage, see: exogamy
international marriages 51, 55, 59, 68,
330, 342-3, 381-9, 465, 664, 722
Ishkhara 108
Ishtar 59, 74, 78, 107-8, 170-1, 194-6,
307, 418, 496, 500, 518, 530, 534,
566, 584-5, 607-9
Isis 195, 412, 534
Israel, history of religion 477
Israel, kinship structure 63-4
jealousy 169-71
jewellery 648
kallah 281, 305, 307, 715
kallatu 255, 259, 503
Khirbet el-Qom 226, 480-1, 736
Khnum 413
king-making, see promoting mother
Kiru 386
kitchen personnel 405

kit 270, 661, 690, 701-2, 715

Kuntillet 'Ajrud 226, 480-1, 736
Lamashtu 201
lamentation singer 510
laundry 406, 421, 426, 466, 724
legal codes 45
letter-prayer 574-5
levirate marriage 299-302, 306, 312-8,
434, 463, 641, 718-9
liberation theology 19
liberationist approach 19-21
Lilith 201, 234
literacy 409
love between spouses 129-31, 136, 147,
457
love poetry, Egyptian 74-5, 78-81, 703
love poetry, Hebrew 78, 165, 455, 703
love poetry, Mesopotamian 73, 79-80,
107, 703
love poetry, Ugaritic 76-80, 455
love-marriages 52, 71-2
loyalist approach 14, 21
lyre 644
Ma'at 253
Maat-Hor-Neferure 331, 384
magic 482, 487, 509, 513-6, 525-6, 55660, 570, 617, 729
Magical Papyrus Harris 209-10
Maqlu 504, 516
Marduk 170-1, 196, 200, 295, 574
Mariology 19
marriage arrangement 84-106, 661, 677,
690, 694, 696, 701-2
marriage banquet 100, 111
marriage blessing 108, 110, 705
marriage contract 52-3, 88-9, 91-4, 97,
103-4, 125-7, 177-8, 191, 296, 298,
441, 455, 638, 677, 694-5, 705
marriage deposit 51, 53, 69, 86-90, 94-5,
99-100, 102-3, 111-2, 189, 247, 390,
441, 455, 462, 661, 667, 673, 675,
677, 690, 694-5, 716, 723
marriage gifts 51, 90, 103, 109, 384, 438,
455, 466, 662, 675, 690, 723
marriage metaphor 26,114-21,185, 456,
468, 479, 549, 704-7
Marriage of Martu 55, 58, 73, 455
marzeah 271-3, 280-1, 591, 612, 716
matriarchy 26-7, 101, 152, 222, 455, 460
matrilineality 101-2, 205-6, 354, 455

matrimonial property 93-4, 293, 296,

298, 389-90, 466, 691, 695, 718-9
matronym 205-6, 221-2, 241, 440, 460,
713
menial tasks 335
menstruation 488, 539-41, 543, 613
Mer-Neith 350, 352
merchant, female 402
Meshkenet 413
Message of Ludingirra to his Mother
221
messenger, female 411, 422, 429, 467,
505, 724
metaphor 50, 98, 228, 432, 468
metaphor theory 119-20
midwife 231, 411-3, 423, 430, 467, 500,
505, 574, 725
ministry, women in 8
miscarriage 199
misconduct of wife 127, 175-6, 664, 670,
691, 711
misogyny 35
mixed marriages 64-5
monogamy 120, 122-3, 128-9, 135, 145,
456, 468, 690, 707
monolatry 34, 80, 475, 484, 486, 629
monotheism 25-6, 32, 80, 457, 470, 477,
484, 486, 614-5, 629, 713, 736-8
moral arbiter 4
mot'a marriage 101
mother 191-243, 458-60, 469-70, 482,
537, 594, 691, 712-3, 732
mother as testatrix 206-7
mother, influence of 51, 59, 71, 164, 460,
660, 691, 701-2, 713
mother, relation to child 202-5, 221,
237-41, 460
mother's household 163
mourner, female 476, 487, 509, 512-3,
520-5, 555-6, 570, 616, 642, 729
music 156, 160, 165, 710
musician 247, 487, 506-7, 509-12, 520,
552-5, 570, 616, 623, 626, 729, 734,
736
myth 36, 43-4
Myth of the Guilty Slave-Girl 170
Myth of Elkinursha and Ashertu 422
Nabu 409
nadtu 126, 154, 390-1, 412, 444, 501-4,
519, 569, 581, 615

Name of Ba'lu 139, 708

name-giving 202, 220-1, 235-7, 460, 713
Nanaja 418
nanny 202
Naqi'a 347-9
Nazirite vow 597
necromancer, female 516, 527, 558-60,
571, 617, 624-5, 729, 734, 736
Nefertiti 334, 414
Neferura 508
Neith 195, 506
Neith-hotep 350, 352
Nephthys 412
Nergal 59
Ninizkimti 327
Ninlil 108-9
Ninurta 502
Nisaba 409
Nitokret 334, 350, 352, 508
nuclear family 157-8, 162, 164
Nuth 195
oath 112, 172-3, 183, 705
obeisance 337, 341, 363, 630
offerings 111, 459, 509, 532-3, 535, 573,
577, 587, 600-1, 611, 620, 624, 643,
693, 705, 730
official religion 163, 474-5, 479, 483-4
offspring 99, 108, 126, 135, 142, 145
oneiromancer, female 516, 571
onomastics 477-9, 485
orgasm, female 198, 214, 230, 459, 712,
736
orphan 321-4, 464, 719
Osiris 195
ownership of immovables 389-400, 466,
662-3, 675, 678, 684, 695-6, 717-8,
723
Parysatis 326
patriarchalism 627
patriarchy 11, 15-7, 22, 35, 735-6, 738
patrilineality 205-6, 218, 288, 399, 461,
704, 712, 715, 717, 733, 735
personal religion 473-4
physician, female 411
Poem of the Faithful Lover 74, 131
political marriage, see: diplomatic marriage
polyandry 151-3
polygyny 45, 122, 126, 128, 132-6, 141,
143, 153, 234-5, 240, 371, 378, 456,

460, 671, 681, 690-1, 696, 707, 711,

713, 721
polytheism 32, 34, 475, 477, 485-6, 629,
694, 738
popular religion 30, 474-5, 479, 481-5,
608, 736
pornography 20, 116-7, 706
potency incantations 196
prayer 25, 572-5, 585, 594-5, 611, 619,
624, 642, 730, 735, 737
pre-marital sex 83, 172, 181-2, 432, 462,
703, 715-6
pregnancy 199, 216, 230, 488-9, 543
priestess 126-7, 344, 356, 366, 486, 48996, 504-7, 509, 536, 545-7, 558, 569,
613-5, 622, 687, 727-8, 732, 736
priestess, en 489-91, 493, 569
priestess, ntu 489-91, 504, 569
priestess, nin-dingir 491-3, 545, 569, 6134, 727
priestess, ugbabtu 390, 491-2
primogeniture 346, 359, 363, 465
princess 381-9, 465-6, 636, 644-6, 692,
695, 722-3, 736
princess, role in cult 382, 508-9, 533,
535, 538, 545, 570, 614, 623, 636,
693-4, 697, 728, 734-7
prisoner 338, 375, 438, 453
progeny see: offspring
promoting mother 346-7, 357-8, 362-3,
465, 692, 721
proof texts 2, 5, 12
prophetess 37, 118, 476, 487, 517-8, 552,
560-5, 571, 618, 624-5, 729-30, 734-7
prophetic principle 24
prostitute 173,181, 322, 415-9, 424, 431,
433-5, 440-1, 445, 467, 469, 497-9,
548, 550, 558, 598-9, 615, 728
provision of food 420, 425-6, 724
Psalms 594
Ptah 195
public vs. private realm 5, 162, 166, 469
Puduhepa 109, 199, 329-30, 356, 375,
384, 577, 586
purity, see: impurity
qaditu 412, 497-501, 570, 615
qd 520, 570, 615, 728-9, 734
qdt 687
qedeshah 548-51, 570, 615, 624-5, 728,
734, 736

queen 325-45, 464, 631-4, 636, 659, 6623, 684, 691-4, 697, 719-20, 726
queen, administration 327-8
queen, banquet 327, 335, 337, 339-40,
464, 719
queen, intercession 138, 326, 336-7, 339,
363, 464, 614, 631-2, 719
queen, international politics 720
queen, living quarters 328, 337, 341,
709, 720
queen, palace 328-9, 337, 341, 464
queen, power 326, 338-9, 464, 692, 719,
721
queen, role in cult 508-9, 519, 531-3,
535, 538, 545-6, 568, 570, 587, 614,
621, 623, 625-6, 684, 693-4, 697,
728, 734-7
queen, role in economy 327-8
queen, role in politics 329-30, 335, 340,
344, 356-7, 464, 631, 692, 719, 721
queen mother 345-70, 464-5, 483, 660,
662-3, 666, 670, 692, 697, 720-1, 723
queen mother as regent 347, 350-2, 361,
366
queen mother, official position 349, 353,
356, 360-2, 464, 471, 720
queen mother, role in cult 348, 351, 356,
362, 366, 545-7, 568
queen mother, role in politics 629-31,
691
Queen of Heaven 484, 573, 599, 605,
607-8, 612, 620, 622
rain bride 534-5
Ramesses II 109-10
rape 52, 71, 172, 181, 248, 282-5, 467,
636, 659, 692, 716, 722, 732
Re 253
rejectionist approach 15, 21
remarriage 53, 72, 91-2, 178-9, 186, 189,
294, 297, 299-300, 463, 667, 669-70,
707, 710
Renenutet 195
revisionist approach 15-8, 21
River Ordeal 108, 172, 176
royal personnel 327-8, 336, 341, 371-4,
405-6, 425, 464, 663, 684, 692
Ruth 67
sabbath 451, 467
sacred marriage 26, 74-5, 78, 487, 490-6,
528-31, 544-6, 566-8, 570, 614, 623,

625, 703, 728-9, 734

sacred prostitution, see: cultic prostitution
sacrifices, see: offerings 611
sacrificial meal 591, 593, 612, 621, 731
Sammuramat 347, 349
Sargent Murray, J. 3
Sarpanitu 170-1
Satire of Trades 488
science, participation in 3
scribe, female 409-11, 422, 428-9, 467,
504-5, 688, 724
seal 340, 387, 407, 643-59, 709
seclusion 154, 160-3, 372-5, 457, 465,
469, 709-10, 722
sekretu 390
servants, female 372-4, 406, 421, 427,
466, 724
Seshat 409
sexual intercourse 372, 379, 470, 542
sexual pleasure 130, 136, 145, 470, 7078, 732
sexual violation of women 52, 69, 280-1,
714
sexuality 74
sexuality, female 71, 75, 83, 120-1, 146,
169, 176, 250, 259, 286, 372, 379
416, 432, 445-6, 453, 456, 462, 465,
467-70, 704, 706-7, 716, 726, 731
sexuality of YHWH 120-1, 456, 470, 545,
568, 706
Shamash 502-3
shaming 116, 118, 283-5
Shibtu 326, 329, 331-2, 375, 407, 442
sin 196, 223-4, 459, 469, 487, 711
Sin 192, 349
singer 4, 87, 247, 509-12, 520, 552-3,
555-6, 561, 565, 570, 616, 623, 626,
729, 734, 736
single woman 416-7, 419, 501
sister 128-9, 134-5, 142, 243-52, 460-1,
470, 666, 691, 714, 731-2
sister, influence of 244, 251
slave concubine 124, 140, 143, 197, 4401, 450, 467, 726
slave wife 144, 441, 444, 449-52, 467,
653-4, 681, 696, 726-7, 736
slave woman, see: female slave
Sobeknefru 334, 350-2
social class 23, 32, 36, 55, 62, 90

sociology of scholarship 7, 10
Song of Songs 24, 60, 78-83, 566-8, 570,
702-3, 728
sons, preference for 201-2, 234, 253, 2635, 274-5, 461, 715
sorceress 514, 558, 729
sorcery 514-6, 556-7, 570, 617
spindle 421-2, 428, 724
state religion 30, 473
status pattern 40, 47, 613
Stele of the Vultures 202
Story of Appu 193
Strange Woman 56, 60, 68, 113, 187
stripping 184, 186
sublimationist approach 18-9, 21
subordination of women 1-12, 14, 31,
146-8
subservience 337, 341
Sud 108-9
surety 400, 402
Taduhepa 384
Tale of the Boating Party 372
Tale of the Two Brothers 174, 204-5
Tammuz 74, 78, 118, 566, 568, 573, 605
Tannit 139, 150, 457, 480
Tausret 352
tawananna 353-6, 509, 515, 546, 569,
613, 720, 733
Tawananna 514-5
temple personnel 405
temple slave 438-40
Tent of Meeting 565, 616
teraphim 539, 604-5
textile production 195, 401, 403, 407-8,
421, 428, 467, 519, 551, 724
Teye 357, 414
Tharyelli 334, 533, 590-1, 630, 662
thealogy 15
theophoric personal names 477-480
Thoeris 200
Thot 253
Thoth 506
Tiy 376
tribal society 57
tribute 380, 387, 465, 722
tsadiqah marriage 101-2, 704
Ugarit 33-5
Utu 52

vaginal discharge 233, 460, 540-1, 543,

569, 613, 713
veil 123, 136, 147, 154
virginity 75, 83, 182, 256, 266, 270, 273,
278-81, 460, 462, 470, 661, 691, 715
vow 224, 240, 265, 276, 307, 403, 550,
572-3, 575-7, 585-7, 593, 595-600,
611, 619-20, 624-5, 730, 734-5
wailing women 523, 606
washer 406, 426
washing of clothes, see: laundry
weaving, see: textile production
wedding meal see: marriage banquet
Weret-yamtes 376
wet nurse 202, 213, 237, 413-5, 424, 431,
467, 500, 505, 725
widow 180, 207, 291-320, 462-4, 638,
640-1, 672-3, 677, 691, 694-6, 702,
717-9
widow, care 294-5, 303, 310
widow, independence 291-3, 307-8, 318,
462, 691, 717-8
widow, poverty 293, 302, 307-9
widow, protection 294-5, 303, 309-10,
463, 717
wife 49-191, 455-8, 652, 678, 681-3, 685,
689-90, 694-5, 701-11, 731, 736
wife as representative 132-3
wife beating 117-8, 121
wife, ideal 137, 147
wife, influence of 149
wife, personal earnings 401, 403, 408,
466
wife, royal 370-81, 457, 465, 659, 663,
692, 721-2

wife, tasks of 132, 137

Wiles of Women 52
Willard, F. 6
Wisdom, divine 18, 485
witchcraft 504, 514-5, 617
witness, female 674, 678, 693, 695-6, 723
woman as field 50, 98, 198, 502
woman as property 146
woman as vessel 198, 223
woman as vineyard 98
woman in the window 266
Woman's Bible 9-11
Womb 136
women, exclusion from priesthood 505,
507, 536-7, 571, 613-5
women, participation in cult 592-3 610,
612, 621, 625, 642, 696, 735, 737
women, social status 505, 537-8, 628,
686
women, subordination 737-8
women, (un)named 637-8, 644-58, 6601, 663, 666, 670, 679-90, 693-6, 708,
725
women's culture 82
women's history 28-30
women's quarters 154, 159-62, 328-9,
371-2, 375, 380, 457, 465, 709
women's religion 30
Yahwism 30, 34, 67-8, 474-5, 477, 545,
572, 601, 614-5, 625, 702, 708, 728,
736
ybmt I'imm 304-7, 719
Zakutu 347

Index of Textual References

H e b r e w Bible
GENESIS

1:26-27 227
1:28 542
1:28a 235
2:18 139
2:18-23 148
2:20 139
2:24 101, 112, 239
3:6 3
3:16 4, 6, 147, 230, 713
4:19 141
4:22 275, 649
5:4 275
5:7 275
5:10 275
11:11 275
11:13 275
11:15 275
11:29 62
12 148, 708
12:2 222, 712
12:7 185
12:10-20 142, 185, 711
15:1-6 222, 712
15:2 192
15:5 234
16 228, 449
16:1-8 448
16:2 142, 224
16:2-3 105
16:3 143
16:4 360
16:5-6 143, 451
16:8 360
16:9 360
16:15 236
17:4-5 222, 712
17:4-6 234
17:17 69
18-19 285
18:6-8 425
18:9-15 223
18:11-12 230, 459, 712
18:12 145-46
19:1-11 281-85

19:3 425
19:8 281, 715
19:14 281, 285
19:25 285
19:30 285
19:30-38 144, 284-5, 716
19:31 285
19:33 285
19:33-36 285
19:35 285
19:37-38 285
20 142, 148, 185, 708, 711
20:3-7 185
20:12 62, 144, 249, 305
20:17 223, 712
20:18 224
21 241, 449
21:1-7 223
21:1-14 451
21:8-21 188, 711
21:10 142, 448
21:12 448
21:16-17 594
21:19 426
21:20 143
21:21 71
22 536
24 83, 102, 147, 161, 250,
708, 714
24:5 71
24:8 71
24:9 237
24:11-21 426
24:15 62
24:15-21 278
24:16 147
24:24 639
24:28 164
24:43-46 426
24:47 639
24:50 70
24:53 70, 103, 704
24:57-58 70, 702
24:59 105, 431, 449
24:60 235
24:61 105, 427, 449

24:64-65 147
24:67 71, 161, 709
25:12 448
25:19-28 223
25:20 639
25:21 224
25:22 594
25:22-23 230, 713
26:1-11 142, 185, 1
26:34 62, 71, 141
27 148, 240, 708, i
27:1-4 425
27:17 425
27:28 213, 226
27:31 425
27:46-28:2 71
28:7 239
28:9 62
28:14 222, 712
29 45, 103
29:7 160, 427
29:9 160, 427
29:12 62
29:15-30 141
29:18 72, 147, 702
29:20 72, 702
29:21-30 70
29:24 448-9
29:30 147
29:31 142
29:32-34 234
29:35 594
30:1 141
30:1-8 223
30:1-13 229, 236
30:3 448
30:3-13 229
30:4 143, 448
30:7 143, 448
30:9 448
30:10 448
30:12 448
30:13 225
30:14-16 141
30:14-21 229
30:18 448

30:22-24 223
30:23 224
30:24 594
30:43 448
31 113, 604
31:1-21 86
31:14-15 103, 105, 704
31:28 276
31:33 161, 448, 709
31:34-35 539
31:50 276
32:6 448
32:23 447-8
33:1 448
33:2 448
33:6 448
34 68, 81, 252, 280, 460,
470, 714, 731
34:1 241
34:2 71
34:3 702
34:4 71
34:6 103
34:8 102, 639
34:9 639
34:12 102-3, 704
34:21 639
34:31 250, 432
35:8 237, 431
35:16-18 230
35:17 234, 430
35:19-20 602
35:22 379
35:25 448
35:26 448
37 68
38 144, 223, 286, 306,
309, 313-6, 318, 434,
548, 551, 712, 716-8
38:2 62
38:11 307
38:14 548
38:15 432
38:24 184, 309, 432
38:26 316-7, 286-7
38:29 237
39 153
41:45 62
42:30 146
42:38 666

43:29 241
45:8 146
46:15 275
48:5 229
49:4 379
49:22 79, 225
49:22-26 226
49:23 226
49:25 213, 225-6
50:10 523
EXODUS

1-2:10 430
1:8-2:10 277
1:15-22 430
1:16 231, 413
1:19 430
2 237, 386
2:1 277
2:4 251-2, 714
2:5 427, 449
2:5-9 431
2:7-9 237
2:9-10 229
2:15-17 161, 426
2:16 278
2:21 62, 103
3:1 103
4:18-20 86
4:24-26 558, 617
4:27 561
6:12 665
6:22 658
7-9 558
7:1 561
10:17 682
15 552
15:20 553, 561
15:20-21 552
15:21 594
16:4-36 426
17:1-7 426
18:2 187
18:7 187
20:2-6 115
20:3-5 604
20:10 451
20:12 239-40, 604
21 451
21-23 310
21:2-6 452

21:2-11 449-50, 454

21:6 604
21:7 276, 450
21:7-11 449
21:8-11 450
21:9 450
21:10 141
21:10-11 450
21:15 239
21:17 239
21:22 69
21:32 103
21:34 633
22:15-16 69, 280, 716
22:16 71, 102-3
22:18 557
22:21 309, 323
23:10-11 309
23:17 592, 621
23:26 235
23:32 635
24:3-8 536-7
24:7 104
24:7-8 114
28:30 561
31:6 647
31:16 635
32:18-19 553
32:19 553
34:11-16 62
34:12 635
34:15 635
34:23 592, 621
35:20-36:7 593, 620
35:25-26 428, 552
38:8 449, 565, 616
LEVITICUS

1:5 536
3:2-16 536
4:24-35 536
6:3 77
6:9-10 537
6:16-17 537
10:12-15 593
12 231-4, 541, 600, 620
12:1-5 233, 713
12:6 426, 593
15 539, 541
15:2-3 77
15:18 542

15:19-24 232, 539

15:25-30 540, 600, 620
16 568
16:20 666
18 61, 144, 285-6, 716
18:3 287
18:6 248, 257-8, 287, 461
18:6-7 144
18:6-23 248
18:7 238
18:8 238, 379
18:9 144, 247, 249, 305
18:11 247, 249, 305
18:15 144, 281, 287, 716,
718
18:17 287
18:18 45, 144-5, 118
18:19 539
18:20 181, 185, 711
18:29 248, 257-8, 287
19 434

5 171
5:11-31 112, 117, 183,
223, 705, 711
5:13 432
5:21-22 183
6 597
6:22 593
8:24 565
11:4-35 426
11:12 227
12 561
12:1 62, 251, 561, 714
12:1-2 561
12:2 251
13:13 658
17 565
18:18-19 593
19:11-12 523
20:2-13 426
23-24 558
25:12 635

5:16 239-40, 604

5:21 601
6:4 470
7:2 635
7:2-5 451
7:3 66
7:4 66
7:13 213, 226
7:14 223, 712
!0:18 309
10:18-19 310
1 2 :!2 592-3
!2:18 592-3
1 3 ! 7 2 4l
14117 6 0 4
14.26 6 0 !
14.29 310
15 4 5 1
15.12

323

15!12 17 4 5 1

!j^jg

2 7 6 4 5 0

15.20 6

19:20-22 143, 184, 711

19:29 434
19:31 601
19:20-22 453
20 61, 118, 248, 285-6,
716

26:33 275
26:46 275
26:59 275
27 605, 612, 621
27:1 289
27:1-11 66, 288, 310, 399,

1 6 ' n 31Q

20:9 239
20:10 181, 184, 711
20:11 238
20:12 144, 287, 716
20:17 144, 247, 249, 305
20:18 539
20:27 557
21 287, 538
21:2 248
21:7 435
21:9 83, 435
21:14 435
22:10-11 449
22:12-13 593
24:11 658
25:23 312
25:39-46 450-1
26:9 235
26:29 237

27:4 288
27:8 288
27:8-11 641
27:9 288
27:10 288
30 596-7
30:1-16 598
30:6-8 240, 596, 619
30:9 307, 596
36 61, 605, 612, 621
36:1 665
36:1-9 66
36:1-12 288, 310, 399,
717
36:6 288
36:8 288

1 ? : 1 4 2 0 310

4:13 635
5:6-10 115

21:15-17 142
21:18-21 118, 239
22:13-20 118
22:13-21 181, 280
22:13-27 711
22:20-21 83, 278, 715
22:21 182, 432
22:22 181-2, 184,711
22:23-24 83, 432
22:23-27 181

NUMBERS

5:7-9 604

22:24 182, 184, 711

4:23 565

5:14 451

22:28-29 71, 280, 716

324

l&lO-ll 592-3
16:13-14 592-3
!of
^

484] 5 4 5

20:2 2 8 1

DEUTERONOMY

>
17:17 378
18 563
18:3-8 537
18:9-11 601

378

18:10 557

18:10-11 563
145
21:10-14 69, 453

20:7 135

21:15 141

22:29 103
23:18 550-1
23:18-19 548
23:19 598
23:22-24 599
24:1 104, 186, 189, 711
24:1-4 144, 186
24:3 104, 189, 711
24:4 118
24:5 135, 145
24:17 309-10
24:19-21 309
25 316, 318
25:5 164, 308
25:5-10 306, 312-5, 718
25:7-10 317
25:9 313
25:9-10 314, 316
26:12 310
26:12-13 309
26:14 601
27:16 239
27:20 287
27:22 247, 249, 287, 305
27:23 287
28:4 235
28:32 639
28:53-57 237
28:68 449
29:1 114
29:9-14 592, 621
29:20 104
31:10-12 592
31:12 543
32:8 227
32:13-14 426
32:19 275
JOSHUA

2 433
2:1 432
2:13 239
2:18 239
6 433
8:35 593
9:6 635
9:7 635
9:11 635
9:23 449
15:16-19 105, 398-9
15:16-17 69, 103

17:3 275
24:19-28 114
JUDGES

1:12-13 69, 103

1:13-15 105, 398-9
3:5-6 62
3:6 639
4 561
4:4 553, 561
4:6-9 561
4:14 561
5 552-3, 561
5:1-31 594
5:7 239
5:12 561-2
5:28 266
5:30 136
8:19 241
8:30 141
9:3 241
11 166, 277, 600
11:1 433
11:11 665
11:30-31 276
11:34 553
11:35 276
11:37-38 524, 607
13 223
13:4-7 597
13:9 160
13:19 536, 600
14 62, 68, 102, 149, 239,
708
14:2 102
14:2-3 72
14:3 240, 702
14:19-15:2 189
16:1 434
17:1-4 308
17:5 605
18:5 536
19 148, 181, 188, 191,
283, 708, 711, 716
19:25 282
19:26 145
21 69
21:1 639
21:19 553, 616
21:21 553

1 SAMUEL

1 223, 596, 609

1:2 141, 656
1:4 275
1:4-5 234, 593
1:4-8 142
1:5 224
1:6 141, 595
1:8 147
1:9-18 224
1:10 594
1:10-11 224
1:10-15 595
1:11 224, 240, 595-6, 713
1:12-15 594
1:21 595
1:24 595
1:24-25 600
1:25 600
1:27 595
2:1-10 594
2:5 235
2:19 600
2:22 449, 565, 616
3:3 342
4:20 430
6:2 558
8:13 425
9:11 426
10:2 603
14:49 275
14:50 342, 377
17:25 387, 639
18:6 553
18:6-7 553
18:17-27 70
18:17-28 103, 342
18:20 72
18:20-21 71, 702
18:25 103
18:27 377, 387
18:27-19:17 189
19 388
19:12 266
19:13 605
19:17 388
21:11 553
21:12 553
22:3 239
25 165, 646, 710

25:2 308
25:3 652
25:6 532
25:11 425
25:14-38 148, 708
25:18 425
25:18-19 403
25:39-42 72, 702
25:42 105, 427, 449
25:44 189, 342
27:3 308
28 38, 558, 571, 624, 729
28:3b 558-9
28:3-25 601
28:6 559
28:7 527
28:13 602
29:5 553
30:5 308
2 SAMUEL

1:20 553
1:24 556
2:2 141
3:2 377
3:2-5 142
3:3 308
3:6 377
3:6-11 379
3:12-14 342
3:13-15 144
3:14 102, 704
3:29 428
5:13 141
5:13-15 142
6 166
6:5 553
6:11-23 148, 708
6:16 266
6:16-23 388
6:19 593
6:20 388
6:20-23 223
10:1 656
10:2 656
10:3 656
11-12 711
11:2 540
11:3 648
11:4 540
12:3 277

12:8 377
12:9 185
12:13 185
12:15-23 555
12:24 377
13 248, 252, 280, 425,
460-1, 470, 714, 731
13:1 248
13:2 248-9
13:4 248
13:6 248
13:10 248
13:11 248
13:13 69, 144, 249
13:18 387
13:20 83, 277
13:21 248-9, 277
14 309
14:5 307
14:24 249
15:16 377
16:20-22 377, 379
17:15-17 429
18:18 604, 621
19:24 426
19:36 553
19:37 239
19:38 602
20:3 377, 379
20:19 239
21:1-14 238
21:10 238
21:19 646
23:24 646

3:1 342, 383

3:16-28 237, 433
3:22 665
4:11 388
4:15 388
7:8 162, 380, 709
9:16 104
9:24 162, 341, 380, 709
10:1-13 338
10:9 594-5
11:1 141
11:1-3 342
11:1-13 377
11:3 141
11:3-8 343
11:19 360-1
14:21 342, 649
14:31 343, 649
15:10 361
15:13 360-2, 477, 483,
545-6, 615, 728
16:24 146
16:31 343, 388, 655
17:9-16 425
17:10-11 426
18:19 546, 728
19:2 339
19:20 239
20:1-8 380
21:4-16 148, 708
21:8 340, 428
21:10 339
21:17-29 368
22:8 666
22:44 343

1 KINGS

1 149, 241, 338-9, 363,

708
1:2 364
1:4 364
1:13 653, 727
1:15 341
1:16 341
1:17 142
2:15 142, 363
2:17 363
2:18 363
2:19 240, 341, 363
2:20 364
2:13-25 363, 379
2:20-25 341

2 KINGS

4 165, 430, 710

4:1 308, 323
4:1-7 309, 449
4:8-10 425
4:8-17 223
4:8-37 311
5:2-4 427
5:3 360
6:22 137
6:24-7:20 237
7:11-12 162
8:1 311
8:1-6 310-2, 718
8:4 311

8:5 311
8:16-18 361
8:18 343, 361, 388
9 366, 558
9:22 557
9:27 367
9:30 266, 341
9:34 603
9:34-37 603
10:1 378
10:12-14 367
10:13 360
11 344, 367, 431
11:1-2 367
11:2 237, 387
12:21 657
12:22 241
14:2 647-8
14:9 102, 639, 704
16:2 361
16:2-3 361
17:18 666
18:4 484
18:17 426
21:6 559, 601
21:7 483-4, 545
21:19 657
22:12 652
22:14 562
23 551
23:2 104
23:6 484
23:7 428, 483, 551-2
23:21 104
23:24 601
23:31 365, 646
24:8 366
24:8-9 546, 728
24:15 360, 367, 378,
24:17-18 365
24:18 646
ISAIAH

1:17 309, 641

1:21 115
1:23 309, 324, 641
3:12 368
4:1 61
7:14 77, 650
8:3 565
8:19 559

8:19-20 601
10:1-2 641
10:2 309
16:2 6 0

19:3 601
22:4 275
22:15-16 654
23:15-19 435
23:17 435
23:18 435
24:2 360
26:17 231
34:14 234
40:9 429
42:13-14 200, 227
43:6 275
45:9-12 227
47:5 360
47:7 360
47:8-9 309
49:15 237
49:21 666
49:23 237, 431
49:26 237
50:1 104, 184, 189, 711
51:2 603
54:1 280
54:5-6 115
56:9-57:13 601
57:3-13 115
60:16 431
63:1-6 534
66:9 231, 430
66:10-13 431
66:13 431
JEREMIAH

2-3 116, 706

2:33-3:20 115
3 141
3:1 118
3:6ff. 144
3:6-11 118
3:8 104, 184, 189, 711
4:11 275
4:31 231
5:28 324
6:14 275
6:26 275
7:6 309

7:17-18 477, 607, 609,

622

7:18 599, 601, 608

8:11 275
8:19 275
8:21 275
8:22 275
9:1 275
9:16-19 555, 616
13:18 360, 367
13:26 184
14:17 275
16:5 280
16:7 602
19:9 237
20:14-15 231
22:3 309
22:28 366
27:9 557
29:2 360
29:6 639
31:4 553
31:13 553
31:15 555, 603, 620
34 451
38:22-23 378
41:10 387
43:6 387
44:15-18 607
44:15-30 477, 599, 601,
607, 609, 620, 622
44:19 599, 708
44:25 599
52:1 646
EZEKIEL

1-24 118
5:10 237
8:3 225
8:14 477, 568, 605-7, 609,
622
8:14-15 118
13 38, 561
13:1-16 560
13:2 561
13:17 561
13:17-23 118, 564, 571,
559, 617-8, 624
16 115-8, 186, 243, 706,
711
16:5 105

16:8 103-4, 112, 705

16:8-12 112, 705
16:10-13 105
16:20 275
16:26 77
16:30-34 435
16:37 184
16:45 305
16:59-60 104
16:60 181
18 118, 539
18:6 119
18:11 119
18:15 119
22 118
22:7 239, 309
22:10-11 119
22:11 305
23 115-8, 120, 141, 144,
186, 243, 456, 706,
711
23:20 77, 153
23:25 185
24:15-24 118
32:16 556
37:10 560
HOSEA

1-2 80, 479, 711

1-3 115-6, 120, 706
1:2 186
1:9 60
2 186
2:4 186
2:4-5 184
2:5 184
2:7 435
2:12 184
2:18 120
2:21 181
2:23-24 213, 226
3:4 605
4:11-14 548
4:12 550
4:12-14 549
4:13 601
4:14 549, 551
5:12 60
11 227
11:4 426
14:9 80, 150, 479, 703

JOEL

1:8 68
2:28 564
2:29 564
AMOS

2:7b 280-1, 716

4:1 145, 165, 225, 281,
716
6:7 280-1
7:14-15 38
7:17 431
MICAH

1:7 435
1:14 104
6:4 561
7:8 634
NAHUM

2:8 449
3:4a 557
3:4-5a 557
3:5 184
ZECHARIAH

5:5-11 485, 736

7:10 309
9-14 556
11:9 237
12:11 605
12:12-14 556, 616
13:3 239

23:5 426
27:10 239
36:9 426
45:10 338, 387
45:12 145
45:13 387
45:14 387
45:14-15 162
68 554
68:6 309, 323
68:25-28 554, 616
68:26 553, 594
69:9 241
71:6 231, 430
72:12 309
72:14 636
81:11 426
81:17 426
82:3 323
90:2 227
94:21 636
106:28 601
109:14 239
113:9 234
123:2 360
127:3-5 234
128:3-4 234
131 595
133:1 164
146:9 309, 323
148:12 594
149:3 553
150:4 553

MALACHI

2:10 187
2:10-16 187, 711
2:11 113, 187, 706
2:12 111
2:14 104, 113, 705
3:2 426
3:5 309, 557
3:8-10 310
PSALMS

7:16 634
10:14 323
10:18 323
16:3-5 601
22:9 430
22:10 231

JOB

1:18-19 224
2:12 555
2:12-13 523
3:3 231
10:13 219
22:9 304, 310
23:14 219
24:2-3 323
24:3 309
24:21 224
26:5 77
27:11 219
29:13 310
31:9-11 185
31:16 310

31:16-17 304
38:8 227
38:28-29 227
42:1-7 224
42:13 224
42:13-15 289
42:15 399
PROVERBS

1:8 238
1:18 636
2:17 104, 113, 705
4:3 237, 239
6:6 147
6:20 238
6:20-32 435
6:25 78
6:26 181, 435
6:32-35 184, 711
7 597-8
7:4 251-2, 714
7:llb-12 162, 710
7:14 597-9, 619
9:2 425
9:3 427
9:5 426
10:1 239
12:4 147
13:4 147
15:17 147
15:20 239
15:25 309
17:1 147
17:25 239
18:22 147, 708
19:13 147
19:14 147, 708
19:15 147
19:26 239
20:4 147
20:20 239
21:25 147
23:22 239
23:25 239
24:27-34 147
26:27 634
27:15 147
28:24 239
29:3 435
30:11 239
30:17 239

30:20 181
30:21-23 452
30:23 61, 360
31 428
31:1-9 240, 713
31:1-19 365
31:2 224, 597, 619
31:10-31 146-8, 165-6,
238, 277, 311, 403,
457, 466, 708, 710,
723
31:11 146-7
31:12 166
31:13 166, 428
31:14 166
31:14-15 426
31:16 166, 398
31:18 166
31:19 428
31:22 428
31:23 146-7, 166
31:24 166, 428
31:26 238
31:27 147
31:28 146
31:31 147
RUTH

1--4 313-5, 317-8

1 5 223, 712
1 6 305
1 8 164
1 8-9 594
1 11 223, 305, 712
1 15 304
1 15-16 113, 706
1 21 223, 712
2 161, 427
2:5 427
2:8 427
2:11 239
2:22 427
2:23 427
3 318, 718
3:2 427
3:9 103
3:10 318
3:13 113, 705
3:17 223
4 104, 316
4:3 310, 312, 399, 718

4:5 308, 316

4:7 313
4:10 308, 312
4:11 603
4:11-12 235
4:12 312, 603
4:12-17 22 603 9
4:13 237
4:14 594
4:16 424
4:17 237
4:18-20 603
SONG OF SONGS

1:3 82
1:5 82
1:5-6 61, 161
1:6 82, 251, 714
1:7-8 61
1:8 161
2:2 82
2:7 82
2:9 266
2:9-10 61
2:15 82
2:16 60
3:1-4 61
3:4 164
3:5 82
3:6-11 82
3:7 82
3:10 82
3:11 82
4:1-5:1 82
4:9 78, 135
4:9-10 82
4:10 135
4:12 82, 135
4:14 82
5:1 82
5:2-7 61
5:7 251
5:8 82
5:9 82
5:16 82
6:1 82
6:3 60
6:5 78
6:8 82, 338, 377
6:9 82
7:1 82, 534, 658

7:11 60
8:1 135, 247
8:2 164
8:4 82
8:5 77
8:8 8 2

8:8-9 82, 251, 714

8:13 82
ECCLESIASTES

2:8 553
2:18 666
5:3-4 599

5:1-2 339
5:4 340
5:12 340
7 339
7-9 339
7:1-10 340
8:3 665
8:7-10 340
9:20-22 341
9:29 340, 429
9:29-32 340, 345
9:31 340
DANIEL

LAMENTATIONS

1:1 540
1:8-9 540
2:10 555
2:11 275
3:48 275
4:3 275
4:6 275
4:10 275
ESTHER

1:3 339
1:5 339
1:7-8 189
1:9 339
1:10-12 339
1:11-12 148
1:12-22 341
1:16-18 149, 708
2:3 380
2:5-7 229
2:7 324
2:9 380, 427, 709
2:10 277
2:11 380, 709
2:13 380, 709
2:14 380, 709
2:18 340
2:19-23 341
2:20 277
4 341
4:4 427
4:5 341
4:8 339
4:11 341
4:13-16 277
4:16 341, 427

1:20 558
2:20 558
5:2 338, 340, 379
5:3 338, 340, 379
5:10 340
5:10-12 365
5:23 338, 379
10:8 666
11 606

11:6 387
11:36-37 606
EZRA

1:11 67
2:1 67
2:55 429
2:61 102, 289, 704
2:65 555
6:19-21 67
8:10 658
8:16 648
9:1-2 65
10:1 594
10:16 64
NEHEMIAH

2:6 338, 340

3:12 427
3:13 656
3:30 656
5:1-5 449
5:5 275
6:14 562, 564
7:63 102, 289, 704
7:67 555
8:2-4 594
9:15 426

10:31 639
11:7 657
12:7 657
12:43 594
13:25 639
1 CHRONICLES

2:16 241
2:34 102, 704
2:34-35 143, 289, 452,
717
2:49 275
3:1-9 142
3:2 342
3:19 653
7:15 275
7:24 275, 428
9:7 657
11:26 646
14:3 141
16:3 593
20:5 646
23:9 6588
23:22 288, 717
25:1 553
25:1-7 554
25:5 554
26:25 658
26:26 658
26:28 658
2 CHRONICLES

2:16 241
9:1-12 338
11:18 378
11:18-22 363
11:20 378, 658
11:21 141, 378
12:13 649
13:21 141
15:16 360
22:2-3 240, 713
22:3 365
22:11 237, 387, 431
24:3 275
24:26 241
25:1 647-8
26:18 536
35:22 606
35:24-25 606
35:25 556

36:9 366

mSanh. IX: 1 287

mYad. III.5 80

(8):72
(8):74
(8):80
(9):76

BTALMUD

H . EL-GARRA

bSanh. 22a 223

bSanh. 101a 80
bMeg. 12b 339

(7):1 688

R a b b i n i c Sources
MISHNA

JUDITH

10-13 318
W I S D O M OF JESUS BEN
SIRACH

3:7-8 239
9:6 431
19:2 431
41:18 360
42:9-14 278, 715
TOBIT
7:12 135
7:15 135

688
688
688
688

H . GAZZE

(7):1 688
TOSEFTA

tSanh. XII. 10 80

T . GEMME

MEKHILTA

(7) :3 688
(7) :4 688

MekhY II, 167-8 187

EL-GTB
MISDRASH R A B B A

(7):l.l-62 688

EstR 3:13-14 339

New Testament
MATTHEW

1:21 77
1:23 77
LUKE

1:31 77
2:7 77

JERUSALEM

Qumran
1QH 9.35-36 227
Epigraphical texts
f r o m Israel

(6):7 640
(7):2 654
(7):7 688
(7):13 689
(8):30 688

ARAD

(6):16 640
(6):21 640

KUNTILLET 'AGRD

(9):2 688

(6):22 688
ACTS

2:17-18 5
1 CORINTHIANS

11:3-12 5
14:34-35 3, 5
GALATIANS

3:28 5
EPHESIANS

5:22-24 5
1 TIMOTHY

2:9-15 5
2:11-14 3
1 PETER

3:1-7 5
REVELATION

12:5 77

(6):23 688
(6):27 688
(6):28 639
(6):30 688
(6):58 688
(6):110 688
(7):31 688
(7):35 688
(7):36 688
(7):38 688
(7):39 688
(7) :47 688
(8):41 688
(8):42 688
(8) :48 688
(8) :49 688
(8):51 688
(8):57 688
(8):59 688
(8):60 688
(8):64 688
(8) :67 688
(8) :69 688

LACHISCH

(6):1.4 640
(6) :1.6 640
(6):1.8 640
(7/6):26 688
M ES AD HAVYH

(7):1 676'
W.

MURABBA'T

(7):1 629, 640

SAMARIA

(8):1.1-102 688

(8):6 688
T . ES-SEBA'
(8):1 6 8 8

(8):2 688
Ugaritic texts
KTU
1.1 525

774

1.1-4 101, 704

1.1:11.4 525
1.1:11.10 525
1.1:11.14 386, 397
1.1:11.15-17 337
1.1:111.1 274
1.1:111.2-3 337
1.1:111.24-25 337
1.1:IV 357
1.1:IV.13-15 221
1.1:IV.14 357
1.1JV.21 101
1.2:1.8 139, 708
1.2:1.10 134
1.2:1.14-15 337
1.2:1.30-31 337
1.2:1.40 134, 337, 708
1.2:111.5-6 337
1.2:111.14 58
1.2:111.22 58, 133
1.2:IV 357
1.2:IV.5-7 338
1.2:IV.23-27 140, 708
1.2:IV.28-30 137, 708
1.3 210
1.3:1 272
1.3:1.2-15 271, 716
1.3:1.2-17 420
1.3:1.14 133
1.3:1.14-15 101
1.3:1.15-17 272
1.3:1.22-25 271, 716
1.3:1.22-27 273
1.3:1.23 270
1.3:1.26-27 270
1.3:11 336-7, 533, 535,
614
1.3:11.1-3 137
1.3:11.2 336, 421
1.3:11.3-4 386
1.3:11.4-8 136
1.3:11.30-41 160, 420, 710
1.3:11.38-41 213
1.3:III-IV 335-6
1.3:111.3-8 160
1.3:111.4-8 270, 520, 616
1.3:111.9-10 337
1.3:111.14-17 213
1.3:111.15 535
1.3:111.30 274

TEXTS

1.3:111.37-IV.4 136
1.3:111.38-40 140, 708
1.3:111.46-47 386-7
1.3:111.47 274
1.3:IV.20 274
1.3:V.33 180
1.3:IV.33-40 336
1.3:IV.34 274, 386, 397
1.3:IV.39 134, 246
1.3:IV.39-40 304-6, 719
1.3:IV.40 58, 133-4, 377
1.3:IV.41 159, 420, 709
1.3:IV.41-42 337
1.3:V.47-53 60
1.3:IV.52-53 270
1.3:V 138, 337
1.3:V.3-4 221
1.3:V.6-7 159
1.3:V. 19-23 244, 264,
635, 714
1.3:V.26 159
1.3:V.32-33 337
1.3:VI 336
1.3:VI.16 274
1.3:VI.18-20 337
1.4 138
1.4:1.15 270
1.4:1.20-22 336, 403
1.4:1.22 218
1.4:11-111 336
1.4:11.1-11 138, 160, 710
1.4:11.3-4 421
1.4:11.5-9 421
1.4:11.10-11 337
1.4:11.26-28 336
1.4:11.28-36 336
1.4:111.17-22 446
1.4:111.20-22 273
1.4:111.25-36 336
1.4:111.26 218
1.4:111.30 218
1.4:111.35 218
1.4:IV 336, 708
1.4:IV.2-7 268
1.4:IV.18 269
1.4:IV.19 138
1.4:IV.21-22 159, 336,
709
1.4:IV.25-26 337
1.4:IV.27-39 337

1.4:IV.32 218
1.4:IV.33-38 420
1.4:IV.38-39 138
1.4:IV.54 270
1.4:IV.59-61 421, 447
1.4:IV.59-62 138
1.4:V.12-19 101
1.4:V.25-27 138, 269
1.4:V.45-48 159
1.4:VI 420
1.4:VI.5-14 266, 279, 715
1.4:VI.7-11 60, 702
1.4:VI.44-59 263, 591
1.4:VI.55-59 264
1.4:VIII.14 274
1.4:VIII.26-29 337
1.5 357
1.5:11.16 274
1.5:V 217
1.5:V.10-11 267, 273
1.5:V.17-26 209
1.5:VI.11-25 521
1.5:VI.31-1.6:I.8 521
1.6:1.2-5 522
1.6:1.8-18 522
1.6:1.10 636
1.6:1.30-31 305-6, 719
1.6:1.36-38 337
1.6:1.39-41 221
1.6:1.39-43 222
1.6:1.43-55 357
1.6:1.53-55 221, 713
1.6:1.66-67 420
1.6:11.5-9 136
1.6:11.10-37 136
1.6:11.12 135
1.6:11.26-30 136
1.6:11.30-35 245
1.6:III-IV 267
1.6:IV 359
1.6:IV.10-11 133
1.6:IV.19 222
1.6:V.11-19 140, 708
1.6:VI.10-11 222
1.6:VI.14-15 222
1.7 136, 520
1.8:11.2 218
1.10 76, 136, 209, 211,
712
1.10:1.1-5 137

1.10:11.4-5 336
1.10:11.16 58, 134, 246
1.10:11.17-18 337
1.10:11.20 134, 246
1.10:11.26-30 216
1.10:11.29 77
1.10:111 217
1.10:111.1-3 209
1.10:111.10 134
1.10:111.19-21 209
1.10:111.32-36 218
1.10:111.35-36 209
1.11 76, 136
1.12 134, 528, 618
1.12:1 217
1.12:1.14-17 445
1.12:1.14-28 713
1.12:1.16-17 336
1.12:1.18-19 217
1.12:1.25 77, 713
1.12:1.25-27 218, 713
1.12:1.28-29 220
1.12:11.59 420, 528
1.12:11.60-61 528
1.12:11.61 525
1.12:111 424
1.13 210, 213
1.13:4-7 535
1.13:7 336
1.13:9 274, 386, 397
1.13:11-12 386
1.13:12 337
1.13:22 209
1.13:23 210
1.13:23-27 210
1.13:29 209
1.13:29-32 211
1.13:29-36 209, 712
1.14-16 192
1.14:1 57-8, 218, 359
1.14:1.6 222
1.14:1.6-9 274
1.14:1.8-9 222
1.14:1.10-20 208
1.14:1.12 133
1.14:1.13 133
1.14:1.13-14 99
1.14:1.14 133, 137, 180,
708
1.14:1.14-15 208, 217

1.14:1.14-21 135
1.14:1.24-25 274
1.14:11.4-5 264, 715
1.14:11.9-11 534
1.14:11.43-47 58, 303
1.14:11.44 302
1.14:11.47-50 135
1.14:11.49 133
1.14:111.7-10 421
1.14:111.9 421
1.14:111.9-10 420
1.14:111.22-25 445
1.14:111.38-45 77, 703
1.14:111.39 99, 704
1.14:111.40 265
1.14:111.41-42 134, 137,
708
1.14:111.43 137
1.14:111.46 137, 708
1.14:IV.26-28 135
1.14:IV.34-43 266
1.14:IV.36-43 586
1.14:IV.39-41 100
1.14:IV.41 101
1.14:IV.42-43 403
1.14:V.l-2 421
1.14:V.12-17 335
1.14:V.15 57
1.14:VI.26-28 134
1.15 720
1.15:1 100
1.15:1.1-2 100, 137, 632,
708
1.15:1.1-7 386
1.15:11 100-1
1.15:11.1-11 110, 705
1.15:11.11-25 212, 712
1.15:11.18-20 213
1.15:11.21-23 100
1.15:11.21-25 218
1.15:11.21-111.16 110, 705
1.15:11.23 264
1.15:11.23-25 100
1.15:11.25-111.12 221
1.15:11.26-27 213, 424
1.15:111 360
1.15:111.2-4 265
1.15:111.13-15 265
1.15:111.16 265, 274,
359-60, 715

1.15:111.22 218
1.15:111.23-24 159
1.15:111.25-30 266
1.15:111.29-30 403
1.15:IV 335, 419
1.15:V 335, 523
1.16:1 159, 709
1.16:1.3-5 523
1.16:1.12-14 524
1.16:1.25-45 246, 714
1.16:1.28-30 524
1.16:1.29-30 525
1.16:I.36-38a 519
1.16:1.41-43 520, 524
1.16:1.44-45 586, 620
1.16:1.50-51 420
1.16:1.51 269
1.16:1.57 133
1.16:11.14-16 268
1.16:11.25-36 524
1.16:11.27 60, 83, 421, 701
1.16:IV.4 422
1.16:IV.8 422
1.16:IV.12 422
1.16:V-VI 403
1.16:V.8-9 527
1.16:V.25-28 526
1.16:V.25-VI. 14 526
1.16:VI.2-14 423, 527
1.16:VI.14-21 137, 267,
420, 708
1.16:VL33 303
1.16:VI.37-38 524
1.16:VI.45-46 303
1.16:VI.48-50 323
1.16:VI.49-50 303
1.16:VI.52-54 335
1.16:VI.56 139, 708
1.17 135, 589
1.17-19 272
1.17 I 459
1.17 1.1-33 208, 712
1.17 1.16-19 264
1.17 1.25-28 587
1.17 1.25-33 587
1.17 1.26 589
1.17 1.26-27 264
1.17 1.26-28 475
1.17 1.31-32 475
1.17 1.33 421

776

1.17:1.34-36 213
1.17:1.38-41 136
1.17:1.39-40 217
1.17:1.39-42 213, 459, 712
1.17:11.24-27 214, 523
1.17:11.26-47 213
1.17:11.39-42 523
1.17:V 335
1.17:V.7-8 303, 322
1.17:V.13-16 57
1.17: V.15-25 420
1.17:V.33-36 221
1.17:VI.17-18 386, 403
1.17:VI.39-41 522
1.17: VI.40-41 428
1.18 153
1.18:1.7-10 245, 264
1.18:1.16-17 79
1.18:1.23-24 59, 111, 180,
246, 307, 530, 702,
705
1.18:1.24-25 100
1.18:1.25-27 270
1.18:1.26 60, 519
1.18:IV 100, 530
1.18:IV.1-42 111, 705
1.18:IV.14-15 100
1.18:IV.18-19 100
1.18:IV.24-26 588
1.18:IV.36-37 588
1.19:1.1-8 523
1.19:1.2 535
1.19:1.2-3 535
1.19:1.23-25 303, 322
1.19:1.25-48 159, 709
1.19:1.34-35 521
1.19:1.38-46 585
1.19:1.49-11.11 268
1.19:11.1 269, 420
1.19:11.2-3 269, 527
1.19:11.31-34 521
1.19:111 523
1.19:111.5 521
1.19:111.29 211
1.19:IV 265, 715
1.19:IV.8-22 521, 616
1.19:IV.28-40 245, 267,
714
1.19:IV.32-35 209
1.19:IV.35 222

TEXTS

1.19:IV.40 222
1.19:IV.41-46 535
1.19:IV.51 403
1.19:IV.53-62 420
1.19:IV.59-62 525
1.21:1.40 137
1.22:1.2-11 591, 621
1.22:1.9 336
1.22:11.16 586
1.23 76, 79, 111, 134,
138, 216-7, 220, 273,
424, 528-9, 531, 614,
708, 717
1.23:7 529, 531
1.23:13 79
1.23:16 79
1.23:22-24 424
1.23:24 213, 424
1.23:28 79
1.23:33 219
1.23:38-39 420
1.23:40-49 59
1.23:41 420
1.23:43 179
1.23:44-45 420
1.23:46 57
1.23:48-51 136
1.23:49 179
1.23:51 213
1.23:51-52 217
1.23:52-53 218
1.23:55-56 136
1.23:55-57 79
1.23:56 213
1.23:59-60 218
1.23:64 134
1.24 49, 58, 76, 97, 111,
213, 216, 387, 701,
705
1.24:2-3 58
1.24:3-12 136
1.24:3-13 76, 82, 703
1.24:5-6 76
1.24:5-9 216
1.24:7 101, 218
1.24:11 76
1.24:16-39 98
1.24:17-19 704
1.24:18-19 100
1.24:19 99

1.24:26-27 270
1.24:26-28 59, 134, 160,
530-1
1.24:28 100
1.24:33 133
1.24:36 247
1.24:41-42 77, 215
1.24:44-45 99, 219
1.24:47 100
1.24:47-50 423-4
1.39 589
1.40 73, 493, 531-2, 568
1.40:35 264, 532
1.40:35-36 635
1.40:36 531
1.44:10 422
1.54:14 422
1.63:10 333
1.82 220, 269
1.82:2 220
1.82:7 269
1.82:22 323
1.84 532
1.84:3 532
1.92 272
1.92:15 269
1.92:15-19 420
1.92:25 136
1.92:25-32 137
1.96 180, 526
1.96:2 135
1.96:5-6 526
1.96:11-13 526
1.100 111, 705
1.100:1 220
1.100:2-3 220
1.100:5 526
1.100:20 134, 386, 397
1.100:70-72 76, 703
1.100:74 99
1.100:1eft edge 397
1.101 614
1.101:5-7 267, 535
1.101:16-17 136, 520
1.105 589
1.105:22 687
1.106 589
1.106:9-12 533
1.106:15 520
1.107 111, 705

1.107:40 134
1.108 590
1.108:6 336, 589
1.108:7 337
1.111:17-21 58
1.112 589
1.112:6-7 533
1.112:21 520
1.113 589-90
1.114 269, 272, 338, 420,
423, 591
1.114:9 134
1.114:9-12 272
1.114:10-11 134
1.114:17-18 159
1.114:23 134
1.114:26 134
1.115 532
1.115:8 532, 591
1.115:10 532, 591
1.118 530
1.118:4-10 530
1.119:30 587
1.124:1-2 527
1.127:3 587
1.127:13 587
1.128:16 422
1.131:15 422
1.132 528-9, 531, 614
1.141 59, 266
1.161 532, 587, 589-90,
620

1.161:31-33 337
1.161:31-34 532, 591
1.169:2 527
1.170 533, 587
2.2 634, 715, 722, 733
2.2:8 635
2.2:11 635
2.3 635, 722
2.3:5 636
2.3:7 636
2.10 685
2.11 630, 637, 721
2.12 630
2.13 631, 721
2.13:5-6 630
2.13:14 587
2.14 631, 685
2.16 630

2.21 632, 720

2.21:19 634
2.21:21 633
2.21:22 632
2.21:24 633
2.24 630
2.30 631, 721
2.30:4-5 630
2.30:13 587
2.31:15-17 636
2.31:46 219
2.31:58 636
2.31:65-66 636, 639, 728
2.33 632, 719-20
2.34:12 666
2.36+ 632
2.39:6 666
2.39:8 666
2.68 630
2.72 631, 663, 665-6, 668
2.72:17-33 665
2.72:27-29 667
2.72:29-32 707
2.72:33 667
2.72:42-45 668
2.82 631, 721
3.4 660
3.4:11 264, 635
3.9:13 272
4.22:4 684
4.29:3 687
4.36:2 687
4.38:2 687
4.38:5 679
4.46 682
4.47:1 687
4.47:5 679
4.56:12-13 679
4.56:28-29 679
4.68:73 687
4.69:11.20-23 683
4.69:V.ll 687
4.80 661
4.98:13 683
4.102 680
4.102:1 680-1
4.102:2 681
4.102:3 680-1
4.102:4 685
4.102:5 680-1

4.102:6 681
4.102:7 681, 685
4.102:8 681
4.102:9 680, 685
4.102:10 680
4.102:11 681
4.102:12 680
4.102:13 680
4.102:14 680
4.102:16 681, 685
4.102:17 680-1, 685
4.102:18-20 681
4.102:18-21 681
4.102:20 681
4.102:21 681
4.102:22 681
4.102:23 680-1
4.102:25 681
4.102:26 680
4.102:27 680-1
4.102:28 685
4.126:7 687
4.135:1-2 685
4.143:1 684
4.144 682
4.149:14-15 684
4.149:14-16 535, 684, 728
4.153 682
4.175:10 680
4.219:12 684
4.230:4-5 684
4.230:9 684
4.243:1-2 662
4.243:30 631
4.244:9 662, 684
4.246:1-3 684
4.265 684
4.278 682
4.290:1-2 685, 723
4.295 682
4.299:2 687
4.299:5 687
4.338:8 686
4.339 682
4.339:1 682
4.339:3 682
4.339:10 682
4.339:25 682
4.349 680, 683
4.360 680-1

4.360:7-9 681
4.360:11-12 687
4.369:19 679
4.376:1 681
4.382:1-2 684
4.382:6 684
4.386:19 683
4.393 680
4.399:8 272
4.412:1.11 687
4.412:11.8 687
4.417 682
4.419 682
4.519 682
4.581 683
4.609 687
4.609:20 421
4.618:3 323
4.625:19-21 685
4.632:18-21 683
4.632:22-23 679
4.632:46 683
4.635 680
4.635:2 684
4.635:6 684
4.644 682
4.659:2 685
4.659:7-8 685
4.704:6-8 683
4.705:3-5 687
4.714 266
4.752:5 687
4.778:18 679
5.10 637
5.24 214
5.175:11-12 680
6.13 587, 590
6.15 643
6.17 643
6.23 643
6.62 266
6.63 643
6.65 643
6.66 643
R A S IBN HANI

78/20:16-17 219
R A S SHAMRA

1.007:10 422
1.034+1.045:14 422

I.200 675
3.334 634
6.198 631
6.345 684
7.174 643
8.145 672, 718
8.207:6' 686
8.208 661, 667
10.029 643
II.839:13 685
12.033 631
14.016:3 272
15.010:1-9 265
15.042+:I.14-15 686
15.068 662
15.070:4 272
15.070:10 272
15.070:15 272
15.085 662, 675, 704
15.085:21-26 662
15.085:30 684
15.088:4 272
15.088:6 272
15.089 674, 675
15.092 673, 704
15.119:Rev. 8 686
15.120 675, 726
15.132:20 686
15.138+ 672
15.138+:13 635
15.139 687
15.146+ 674
15.150 662
15.150:3-6 662
15.168 662, 723
16.111 632, 720
16.131 674, 686
16.132:7 687
16.135 662
16.138:35 663
16.140 687
16.141 661, 701, 704
16.141:14-15 673
16.143 705
16.143:23-29 671, 711
16.144 659, 722
16.146+ 660, 705
16.148+ 675
16.151 684
16.154 674

16.156 674
16.156:5 686
16.158 673
16.197 662
16.200 673, 717
16.204:Rev. 10' 663
16.245 675
16.249 669
16.250 661, 671-2, 726
16.251 684
16.252 270, 661, 672
16.252:4 635
16.252:4-5 661
16.252:7 635, 661
16.252:9-15 672
16.252:20-21 661
16.253 675
16.254+ 675
16.261+ 674, 675
16.263 674, 675
16.263:11-20 686
16.267 661, 672, 723, 726
16.270 663, 667
16.270:8-11 665
16.270:24-25 669
16.270:29 669
16.270:34-35 669
16.270:36-40 669
16.276 104, 662, 704
16.277 662, 723
16.277:9-13 662
16.295 673
16.343 674
16.348 663
16.353 663
16.354:2 686
16.354:6 686
16.354:11 686
16.371 674
17.021 671, 673, 719
17.022+ 674
17.028 660
17.033 671-3, 719
17.035 660
17.036 687
17.037 683
17.061 687
17.081 218
17.082 663, 670
17.084 674

17.086+ 662
17.102 662
17.108 660
17.112:16 686
17.116 663, 668
17.116:10 668
17.116:11-12 668
17.130:29 660, 726
17.149 674
17.155 526
17.159 355, 663, 666, 705
17.159:7 664
17.226 671
17.228 663
17.228:6 669
17.228:32 670
17.231 663, 668
17.231:5 663
17.244:11 660, 726
17.251:25 686
17.314 663
17.318+349A 663
17.318+349A:5-9 670
17.325 662
17.329 674
17.337 663
17.338:9' 660
17.338:12' 660
17.348 664, 667
17.352 660
17.353:6 660
17.353:16' 660
17.354:1-6 686
17.355 671, 705, 711
17.357:10' 660
17.358 674
17.362 660
17.367 660
17.372+360A 670
17.372+360A:7 669
17.372+360A:12 669
17.372A+360A 664
17.372A+360A: 13-14 670
17.372A+360A:Rev. 10
670
17.376 675
17.376+ 674
17.396 664-6
17.407:5' 660
17.424+ 686

17.450A 664
17.459 664, 669
17.465:3 686
18.001:7 272
18.001:10 272
18.006+17.365 664, 669
18.006+17.365:5 669
18.022:5' 674
18.022:30' 674
19.025:1 686
19.025:5-7 685
19.025:12 686
19.042 680
19.042:1 681
19.042:2 681
19.042:3 681
19.042:4 681
19.042:5 681
19.070 631
19.080 632
19.082:0bv. 9 685
19.082:0bv. 13 685
19.082:Rev. 685
19.082:Rev. 7' 685
19.091 683
19.099 686
19.130:2 685
20.001:2 683
20.013 632
20.019 632, 720
20.020 686
20.022 638, 717
20.023 637, 708
20.024 530
20.150 637, 726
20.151 632, 720
20.178 637
20.216 671, 711
20.227 637, 708
20.238:7 660
21.007A 685
21.230 674, 676, 714
21.053:R4' 660
21.053:V5' 660
24.278:16 422
24.285:15 422
25.421 221
25.460 526
32.204 630
34.036:0bv. 5 685

34.036:Rev. 19 685
34.124 663, 665
34.136:25-26 664
34.145 631
34.154 632, 720
34.170 637, 726
34.179 660, 726
86.2208 211, 637, 707,
712, 733
1957.1 664-5, 667
[Varia 26] 636, 722
Texts f r o m
Elephantine
EPE
C27 53
C33 53
TAD
1 A2.1 642
1 A2.3 642
1 A2.5 642
1 A2.6 642
1 A2.7 642
1 A3.3 642
1 A3.4 642
1 A3.7 642
1 A4.1 642
1 A4.3 642
1 A4.7 642
1 A4.7:25-26 643
1 A4.8 642
1 A4.8:24-25 643
1 A4.10 643
2 B2.3 678
2 B2.4 678
2 B2.6 677-8, 702, 705,
707
2 B3.3 677-8, 702, 705
2 B3.5 678
2 B3.6 677
2 B3.7 678, 717
2 B3.8 677-8, 702, 705
2 B3.10 678, 717
2 B3.11 678, 717
2 B3.13 678
2 B4.6 679
2 B5.1 648, 678
2 B5.5 679
2 B6.1 677
2 B6.2 677

2, B6.4 677, 707

3, C3.4:6 689, 708
3, C3.13:37-38 689
3, C3.15 689
3, C3.28:81-82 689
3, C3.28:88 689
4, D2.5 677
4, D3.16 677
4, D3.17 678
4, D7.2 642
4, D7.3 642
4, D7.4 642
4, D7.5 642
4, D7.6 642
4, D7.7 642
4, D7.10 642
4, D7.16 642
4, D8.4:8 689
4, D8.4:18 708
4, D8.4:19 689
4, D8.7:3 689
4, D8.7:5 689
4, D8.8:4 689
4, D8.8:9 689
4, D9.14 689
O t h e r Ancient N e a r
E a s t e r n Texts
CODEX HAMMURAPI

2 514
117 442-3
117-118 321
118 442
119 442
128 91
129 168, 259, 670
130 172, 256
131 108, 172
132 108, 172
133b 670
135-136 179
137 502
137-143 176
138 123
138-140 89
139 87
141 127, 175
142-143 175-7, 190,
670
142:61 659
144-145 126

144-147 502
146-147 444
148-149 127, 176
150 390
154 257-8
155 259, 670
155-156 172, 176
156 259
157 204
158 204
159 53
159-161 86, 89-90, 172
160 176
162 390
163 390
163-164 89
164 390
167 390
170-171 123-4, 188,
452
171 441
171-172 390
171-174 293, 390
172 293
173-174 207
175-176 441
177 297
178-179 260, 390-1
180-182 259, 503
181 500
194 414
CODEX
ESHNUNNA

26 172, 256
27 53
27-28 51, 91
28 168

29-30 179
32 413
CODEX
LIPIT-ISHTAR

22 500
25 188, 452
27 416-7, 434
28 127, 176
30 169, 417
33 256
128 176

CODEX U R - N A M M A

5 441
6 172, 256
7 168, 172
9-11 296
H 91
15 86
25 514
25-26 444
E L AMARNA

1:10-21 385
4:6-7 382
11:16-22 109
15:6 532
22 384
25 384
26 357
28:42-49 357
29 357
29:22-3 109
31:11-14 109
74:17-19 50
75:15-17 50
81:37-38 50
90:42-44 50
H I T T I T E LAW

30 53
34 441
44b 514
111 514
163 514
170 514
189 57, 204, 247, 258
193 301, 320
194 445
195 57
195a 302
197 172
197-198 168
198 173
HSS

5 59 261
5 76 392
19 1 260
19 20 260
19 51 260


14:14-15 505
14:18 139
27:17-18 134
78:2 139
79:1 139
79:10-11 139
85:1 139
86:1 139
87:2 139
88:1 139
137:1 139
181:16 360
214:16 591
214:21 591
264 135

KBo
IV 6 575
XVII 62 202
XVII 63:IV.13'-18' 202

KUB
III 24 109
III 59 Vs. 5' 109
III 63 Vs. 15 109
XV 34:11 17-19 253
XXI 27 577
NEO-BABYLONIAN LAWS

7 514, 557
8-9 86, 90
12 294
13 54, 294
MIDDLE ASSYRIAN
LAWS

A13 172
A13-16 168
A14 172
A15 173-4
A24 174
A25 301
A27 84
A30 300-1

A30-31 51, 109

A33 292, 301
A34 91, 296
A35 294
A36 92, 301
A39 443
A40 123, 154
A41 123
A42-43 109
A43 301
A45 179, 301
A46 204
A47 514
A48 443
A50-51 417
A52 417
A55 52
A55-56 256
A59 118
MIDDLE ASSYRIAN
PALACE D E C R E E S

17 514