City Gate in Ancient Israel and Her Neighbors

Daniel A. Frese, Ph.D. (2012), the University of California, San Diego, is Assistant Professor of Hebrew Language and Literature at the University of Kentucky.

• AcknowledgmentsList of FiguresList of AbbreviationsIntroduction1Sources, Goals, Methodology2Goals of the Present Study3Synchronic Analysis4The Hebrew Bible5Archaeological Data6Assyrian Reliefs7Gates and the Rural Population of Ancient Israel8Corpus of GatesSection 1: Gate Architecture1Gatehouse Architecture: the Ground Floor1Building Materials2“Gatehouse” in the Hebrew Bible3Gatehouse Passage and Chambers4Gatehouse Doors5Posts and Pivots6Metal Bands7Thresholds8Locking the Gate2Gatehouse Architecture, Part 2: the Upper Floor1Ceilings2Doorways3Windows4The Second Floor5The Gatehouse Roof6Towers3The Architectural Purpose of the Gatehouse1Three Sets of Doors?2Emergency Blockage?3Guardrooms?4Horse Hitching Stalls?5The Architectural Function of Piers and Chambers6Metrological Data7Contemporaneous Architecture in the Southern Levant8Stacked Broad Rooms9Middle Bronze Gatehouse Architecture4The Use of the Gatehouse5Gate Complexes and City Planning1Plazas2Number and Location of Gates3Water Drainage4Considerations Affecting Gate Size and Building Materials5Public Works in the Gate ComplexSection 2: Gate Functions6The Gate as a Public Space1Public Notice2Public Assembly and Public Address3Display of Corpses or Body Parts4Public Humiliation5Propaganda6Privacy in the Gate7The City Council in the Gate1Elders, Kings, and Honor in the Gate2Legal Transactions in the Gate3Judicial Proceedings in the Gate4Punishment in the Gate5Governmental Functions in the Gate8Other Gate Functions1Cultic Functions in the Gate2Commercial Use of the Gate3Agricultural Functions in the Gate4Military Functions of the Gate5Indirect Entry Gates6Social Functions of the GateSection 3: Figurative Gates And Gate Symbolism9Figurative Gates1“Gates” in the D Source2The Entrance to the Tabernacle Courtyard3The Desert Encampment “Gate”4Other Figurative Uses of שער5Possible Figurative Uses of שער6“Entering” and “Exiting” at the City Gate10Gate Symbolism1Monarchs and Building Projects2New States, New Buildings3City on a Hill4Designed to Impress5Conspicuous Consumption6The Gate as a Symbol of Community Well-Being7Gates and Prophetic Discourse11Gates as Boundaries1Gates and Liminality2Gates as Literal and Symbolic Boundaries3Magic and Ritual at the Gate4Dangerous Gateways?5Evaluation of LiminalitySummary and ConclusionAppendix A: Chart of Gatehouse DimensionsAppendix B: Chart of Average Gatehouse DimensionsAppendix C: Plans of Gates in CorpusBibliographyIndex