Othmar Keel – författare

This pioneering work that first appeared in 1972 in German was the first to compare the conceptual world of a biblical book with ancient Near Eastern iconography. Eisenbrauns’ English edition of Keel’s classic work provides the 21st century scholar with his groundbreaking methodology. Generously illustrated with photographs and line drawings.

Othmar Keel has become well known as the author of masterly studies on the iconography and texts of the ANE and their relationship to the text of the Hebrew Bible. In this volume, he partners with Silvia Schroer to assemble ANE texts and art that bears on the idea of creation. The result is a convenient assemblage of texts and iconographical data that may be studied in concert, often leading to being able to see old texts in new ways. As with much of this Swiss scholar’s work, this new volume will prove to be a resource for all who wish to study the biblical theology of creation against its wider background.

This pioneering work that first appeared in 1972 in German was the first to compare the conceptual world of a biblical book with ancient Near Eastern iconography. Eisenbrauns’ English edition of Keel’s classic work provides the 21st century scholar with his groundbreaking methodology. Generously illustrated with photographs and line drawings.

Every culture produces special achievements. The Greek culture shines through the arts, sciences and philosophy, the Roman through politics, law and construction techniques. The achievement of the small Juda and Jerusalem is monotheism, the belief in the one God. The early form of monotheism, the one of Echnaton, remains an episode. The Jewish monotheism however was taken over by Christianity and the Islam and became therefore an element of world history. For two hundred years these religions were received as especially aggressive and a threat to peace. Othmar Keel reconstructs the gradual development of monotheism within the history of Jerusalem in the first millenium B.C. The author shows the roots of aggressiveness and intolerance and reproduces arguments which were tried to overcome and to diminish already then. By including international research, especially of Isrealic, Anglo-American and German speaking origin in his study he can deliver a conscientious analysis of biblical texts and goes even further by integrating extrabiblical texts, archaeological, epigraphic, and iconographic evidence relevant to the subject. This monumental task that has never been attempted before creates a bigger picture and has been accomplished with the utmost competence. The overview Keel created is of very different nature than the historiography of theology and religion in Israel that are only based on biblical texts. Keel provides a comprehensive study of decisive elements and processes that have influenced the nature of biblical monotheism.

English summary: The first catalogue volume of the "Corpus der Stempelsiegel-Amulette aus Palastina/Israel", published in 1997, was enthusiastically received by many reviewers. With this volume sigillography truly enters a new era (A. Lemaire, "Biblical Archaeology Review"). The importance of this work is cannot be overestimated. Whole fields of scholarship now have a new and solid foundation for further research (W.E. Aufrecht, Catholic Biblical Quarterly). The Catalogue presents by far the biggest number of such objects from legal excavations. The presentation, description and interpretation are of an unsurpassable standard. (O. Loretz, Ugarit-Forschungen). Volume I presented 2139 stamp-seal amulets from 22 sites (names beginning with A). This volume includes 1224 objects from 45 sites (B-E). The ten most important provenances are Beth Shean (255), Beth Shemesh (228), Deir el-Balah (140), Tell Beit Mirsim (105), Ekron (71), Wadi ed-Daliyeh (70), Dor (61), Dan (41), Dotan (41) und En-Samiyeh (34).While volume I offered mainly material from the Middle Bronze Age often not very spectacular form an iconographic point of view, this volume deals primarily with Late Bronze and Iron Age glyptics. At the most productive sites, Beth Shean and Beth Shemesh, 80 per cent of the material is dated to the Late Bronze Age or later periods. Deir el-Balah and Dotan yielded almost exclusively Late Bronze material, Wadi ed-Daliyeh objects from the Persian period. In terms of provenance, too, volume II comes closer to biblical contexts. Place like Beersheba, Bethel, Beth Shean, Beth Shemesh, Beth Zur, Dan, Dor, Ekron and Ein Gedi are well-known from biblical texts. This volume presents indispensable source material not only for the archaeology of Palestine/Israel, the history of the southern Levant and Egyptology, but for biblical scholarship as well. The material is documented in photographs, drawings and detailed descriptions. Parallels are provided in a more systematic way, which allows to situate each project in a precise chronological and cultural context.German description: Der erste Katalogband des aCorpus der Stempelsiegel-Amulette aus Palastina/Israel (1997) wurde von vielen Rezensenten enthusiastisch aufgenommen. aWith this volume, sigillography truly enters a new era (A. Lemaire, "Biblical Archaeology Review"). The importance of this work cannot be overestimated. Whole fields of scholarship now have a new and solid foundation for further research (W.E. Aufrecht, Catholic Biblical Quartely). Der Katalog bietet die mit Abstand grosste Zahl solcher Objekte aus legalen Grabungen. Prasentation, Beschreibung und Deutung der Stucke setzen einen unuberbietbaren Massstab (O. Loretz, Ugarit-Forschung). In Band I wurden 2139 Objekte von 22 Fundorten (Ortsnamen, die mit A beginnen) publiziert. Der vorliegende Band veroffentlicht 1224 Stempelsiegel von 45 Fundorten (B-E). Die zehn ergiebigsten sind Bet-Schean (255), Bet-Schemesch (228), Deir el-Balah (140), Bet-Mirsim (105), Ekron (74), Wadi ed-Dalije (70), Dor (61), Dan (41), Dotan (41) und En-Samije (34). Wahrend in Band I mehrheitlich mittelbronzezeitliches, ikonographisch oft wenig ergiebiges Material anfiel, dominieren in Band II spatbronze- und eisenzeitliche Stucke.Bei den materialreichsten Orten Bet-Schean und Bet-Schemesch sind 80 per cent spatbronzezeitlich oder junger; Deir el-Balah imd Dotan lieferten fast ausschliesslich spatbronzezeitliches, Wadi ed-Dalije perserzeitliches Material. Aber nicht nur zeitlich, auch geographisch steht das Fundmaterial von Band II dem biblischen Raum naher als das in Band I prasentierte. Orte wie Berscheeba, Bet-El, Bet-Schean, Bet-Schemesch, Bet-Zur, Dan, Dor, Ekron und En-Gedi sind aus biblischen Schriften bestens bekannt. Dieser Band liefert deshalb nicht nur fur die Archaologie Palastina/Israels, die Geschichte der sudlichen Levante und die Agyptologie, sondern auch fur die Bibelwissenschaft unersetzliches Quellenmaterial. Diese wird durch Fotos und Zeichnungen sowie eine detaillierte Beschreibung dokumentiert. Die systematische Angabe von Parallelen erlaubt es, jedes Stuck chronologisch und kulturgeschichtlich zu kontextualisieren.