A Canaanite temple at Azekah, first discovered in 2014, was the subject of a recent article in Biblical Archaeology Review entitled “House of the Rising Sun: Azekah’s Canaanite Temple.” The Late Bronze Age temple had two construction phases. The first was in the late 14th/early 13th century BC when a stone platform and altar were built as an open-air sanctuary. In the second phase (late 13th/early 12th century BC) walls were constructed, benches were added, and standing stones were erected. Archaeologists discovered seven deposits of lamps and empty bowls in the foundation of the temple. Inside the structure they unearthed a bronze statue of the storm god Baal, along with an amulet bearing hieroglyphs and depicting the Egyptian deities Ra, Seth, and Hathor. Late Bronze Age Azekah is mentioned in the Bible in Joshua 10:10 and 15:35. It is also later named (in the Iron Age) as one of the few cities that initially remained under Judahite control when the Babylonians attacked (Jer. 34:7).
OFF-SITE LINK:
- https://www.haaretz.com/archaeology/2024-03-10/ty-article/archaeologists-discover-canaanite-temple-of-the-rising-sun-in-central-israel/0000018e-26fe-d7d3-abce-66ffa0260000
BAR ARTICLE:
- https://library.biblicalarchaeology.org/article/house-of-the-rising-sun-azekahs-canaanite-temple/ (Subscription required)
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