Feasting in the Archaeology and Texts of the Bible and the Ancient Near East

318 Pages·2014·46.89 MB·English

by  Peter Altmann

Feasting in the Archaeology and Texts of
the Bible and the Ancient Near East

Feasting
in the Archaeology and Texts
of the Bible
and the
Ancient Near East
Edited by
P A and J F
eter ltmAnn Anling u
Winona Lake, Indiana
eisenbrAuns
2014
Copyright © 2014 Eisenbrauns
All rights reserved.
Printed in the United States of America.
www.eisenbrauns.com
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Feasting in the archaeology and texts of the Bible and the ancient Near
East / edited by Peter Altmann and Janling Fu.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and indexes.
ISBN 978-1-57506-323-2 (paperback : alk. paper)
1. Fasts and feasts—Judaism—History. 2. Bible. Old Testament—
Criticism, interpretation, etc. 3. Middle Eastern literature—History
and criticism. I. Altmann, Peter, editor. II. Fu, Janling, editor.
BM690.F394 2014
221.8′39412-—dc23
2014031308
The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of the
American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper
for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1984. ♾™
Contents
Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii
Abbreviations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix
Feasting: Backgrounds, Theoretical Perspectives,
and Introductions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
JAnling Fu And Peter AltmAnn
Conspicuous Consumption: Dining on Meat in the
Ancient Mediterranean World and Near East . . . . . . . . . . 33
Jodi mAgness
Feasts on Many Occasions: Diversity in Mesopotamian
Banquet Scenes during the Early Dynastic Period . . . . . . . . 61
steve renette
The Next Level and the Final Stage: Consistency and Change
in the Provision of Meals for the Dead in Their Different Stages
of Existence and the Accompanying Feasting Acts of the
Living, as Evidenced at Mari, Qaṭna, and Ugarit . . . . . . . . . 87
sArAh lAnge
Power to Unite and Power to Divide:
Sacred Feasting and Social Change at Iron II Tel Dan . . . . . . 117
JonAthAn s. greer
Menu: Royal Repasts and Social Class in Biblical Israel . . . . . . 129
CArol meyers
Feast and Famine: Theoretical and Comparative Perspectives
on Lack as a Backdrop for Plenty in the Hebrew Bible . . . . . 149
Peter AltmAnn
Feasting and Everyday Meals in the World of the Hebrew Bible:
The Relationship Reexamined through
Material Culture and Texts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
leAnn PACe
v
vi Contents
The Role of the Household in the Religious Feasting of
Ancient Israel and Judah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
CynthiA shAFer-elliott
Feasting and Foodways in Psalm 23 and the Contribution of
Redaction Criticism to the Interpretation of Meals . . . . . . . 223
KlAus-Peter AdAm
Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257
Indexes
Index of Authors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291
Index of Scripture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 297
Index of Other Ancient Sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 302
Preface
The study of the feast, and of foodways more generally, has come
into vogue. 1 The last 20 years have witnessed an explosion of inter-
est in the feast in anthropological, archaeological, art-historical, and
textual scholarship of the ancient Near East and Hebrew Bible. Stud-
ies have focused, for example, on the feast and foodways in identity
construction, ethnogenesis, and the transformation of social polities
and complex societies. The advance of scholarship has been swift,
but its development along multiple axes has resulted in a lack of
coherence.
One locus for the emergence of this scholarship has been the SBL
consultation “Meals and the Hebrew Bible and Its World” and the
related ASOR session “The Archaeology of Meals and the Hebrew
Bible and Its World: Foodways.” Many of the chapters in this volume
were previously presented in these sessions and subsequently re-
worked for this publication. Others of these essays have come from
individuals involved in the planning of these groups.
The volume is intended to be an introduction to and explication
of this emerging field. Its essays address an array of topics and pres-
ent a number of methodological approaches that explore the nature
of feasting in the Hebrew Bible and ancient Near Eastern texts, cul-
tures, archaeology, and iconography. Put another way, feasting and
foodways have functioned as a nexus for a number of different ap-
proaches, but the question of how these disparate bodies of knowl-
edge might fit together deserves further discussion. Although this
book does not fully untie this proverbial Gordion knot, we hope it
demonstrates the value of thinking along diverse and interdisciplin-
ary lines of investigation.
This collection would not have been possible without a veritable
chorus of voices contributing insights and valuable support. We are
thankful for numerous conversations that we have shared over the
years with many individuals on these topics in formal and informal
settings, including scholars and students who have presented papers
1. The term foodways indicates the larger framework of cultural values that
revolves around the production, distribution, consumption, and disposal of
food and, in our definition, the feast, more specifically.
vii
viii Preface
with us. The steering committees of the SBL and ASOR meals and
feasting groups in particular have offered a continual ground of sup-
port for this project and have also proven to be genial and knowl-
edgeable interlocutors.
Nathan MacDonald initially brought many of us to the table,
sometimes literally, to discuss matters of food and drink. Much of
our collaborative endeavor since then has been generated by contact
with him and through the generosity of his direction and advice.
He has not only allowed others to continue to develop scholarly
directions that he initiated; he has fostered the growth of a younger
generation of scholars.
The guidance and support from Eisenbrauns throughout this pro-
cess has been exemplary. Andrew Knapp encouraged us in the initial
proposal and organization of the volume, and Beverly McCoy has
lent a keen and unerring editing eye. We thank them both for their
prompt, professional, and courteous interactions. This work is much
better for their involvement.
Beyond this, our work necessarily bears the imprint of those who
have taught and helped shape us as thinkers and scholars. We are
grateful for their careful pruning and the example of their intellec-
tual rigor and the standards of their scholarship, which are directly
or indirectly reflected in this volume.
Finally, the foundation for this work is undoubtedly our families.
We are grateful for their continued roles in our lives and our place
at the table together with them.
—Peter AltmAnn And JAnling Fu
August 2014
Abbreviations
General
Akk. Akkadian
Aram. Aramaic
BM British Museum
CP cooking pot
EA Tell el-Amarna tablet
ED Early Dynastic period
Heb. Hebrew
J-CS Jericho-casserole
LBA Late Bronze Age
LXX Septuagint
MT Masoretic Text
niv New International Version
nJPs New Jewish Publication Society of America Version
nrsv New Revised Standard Version
Reference Works
AB Anchor Bible
ABD Freedman, D. N., et al., editors. Anchor Bible Dictionary. 6 vols.
Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1992
ABRL Anchor Bible Reference Library
AIPHOS Annuaire de l’Institut de Philologie et d’Histoire Orientales (et Slaves)
AJA American Journal of Archaeology
ANET Pritchard, J. B., editor. Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old
Testament. 3rd ed. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1969
AOAT Alter Orient und Altes Testament
ARM Archives royales de Mari: Textes cunéiformes
ARMT Archives royales de Mari: Transcrite et traduite
ATANT Abhandlungen zur Theologie des Alten und Neuen Testaments
BA Biblical Archaeologist
BAR Biblical Archaeology Review
BASOR Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research
BETL Bibliotheca Ephemeridum Theologicarum Lovaniensium
BThSt Biblisch-theologische Studien
BZAW Beihefte zur Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft
CAD Oppenheim, A. L., et al., editors. The Assyrian Dictionary of
the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago. 21 vols. (A–Z).
Chicago: Oriental Institute, 1956–2011
ix