Ancient Treasures and the Dead Sea Scrolls

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THE FIRST TEMPLE PERIOD
AND THE LONG DAVIDIC DYNASTY

Polytheistic Beliefs

In the First Temple period, people throughout the ancient Near East prayed to a great variety of gods and goddesses. Baal, for instance, was the god of storms and war, while Astarte was the goddess of love and fertility.

These polytheistic practices were common among the early Israelites themselves-and were vehemently denounced by the prophets, as recounted in the Bible and evidenced by the many cultic figurines that were apparently deliberately destroyed. It was not until the religious reform under King Josiah, in the 7th century BCE, that the worship of the one God of Israel began to be enforced.

Audio - Curator's Tour (Dr. Adolfo Roitman)

Statuette of a bull
Statuette of a bull.
Collection ASJOS, exhibited at the Israel Museum, Jerusalem
Photo © The Israel Museum, by Dr. Jean-Luc Pilon, Canadian Museum of Civilization

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