This study examines the metaphor of the shepherd in Zechariah 11:4-17, which is a prominent and significant one in the Hebrew Bible. It defines Yahweh‟s relationship with the nation of Israel and those who have faith in him. But Zechariah 11:4-17 presents a shepherd image which contradicts to the basic metaphor in the Hebrew Bible. The thesis of this study argues that the differing shepherd image in Zechariah 11:4-17 is the result of the rejection by the people of the responsible shepherd, which caused Yahweh to surrender his shepherd responsibility. It is a metaphor designed to punish an unrepentant Israel. Zechariah 11:4-17 furnishes an example of a situation where Yahweh surrendered his shepherding responsibilities to those irresponsible shepherds. This example should be incorporated into the said metaphor, so as an objective and comprehensive meaning may be achieved, and one should consider this metaphorical meaning in the study of the subject. / Old Testament and Ancient Near Eastern Studies / M. Th. (Old Testament)

The bull was a potent symbol of power, strength, and, to a lesser degree, fertility to the peoples of the ancient Near East from the twelfth century until 330 BCE. This symbolism was manifested in several iconographic motifs. These motifs reveal the bull as a manifestation of divine characteristics and as an expression of the power of man, and particularly the authority of the king. The use of these iconographic motifs was not consistent across the entire area of the ancient Near East; some differed in appearance and use in the different areas of the region, and many changed over time even in the same area. In all areas and during all periods the basic core symbolism stayed the same, and the bull was always held in a special respect. / Old Testament and Ancient Near Eastern Studies / M.A. (Ancient Near Eastern Studies)

L’objet de cette thèse est l’étude d’un groupe d’ivoires, trouvés dans plusieurs sites du Proche-Orient ancien, connu sous le nom d’ivoires égyptisants. Nous avons examiné les différentes interprétations possibles, quant à l’origine et la signification de ces objets, en examinant les sources bibliographiques à notre disposition. Sans proposer une révision fondamentale des hypothèses présentées jusqu’à aujourd’hui, ce travail, en se fondant sur des témoignages archéologiques, iconographiques et textuels, essaye de mettre en évidence les différentes voies de transmission des motifs iconographiques égyptiens dans le répertoire iconographique du Proche-Orient ancien et cela notamment dans l’art de l’ivoire. Après une discussion générale sur l’ivoire et sur les différentes sources dont disposaient les artistes de l’antiquité, nous sommes arrivés à la conclusion que les ivoires égyptisants étaient le produit des artistes locaux du Proche-Orient ancien, qui se sont inspirés de l’art égyptien,soit à travers les échanges commerciaux, soit à travers les objets égyptiens trouvés dans plusieurs sites du Levant. Quant à l’interprétation de ces motifs, nous pensons que les artistes du Proche-Orient ancien ont représenté les objets de culte égyptien sans forcément comprendre la signification religieuse ou symbolique que ces motifs représentaient pour les Égyptiens. Ceci dit, ces artistes n’ignoraient pas complètement le message général attaché à ces objets ; ils ont adopté et adapté l’iconographie égyptienne en suivant les conventions de l’art proche-Oriental selon leur besoin du moment. / The purpose of this thesis is the study of a group of ivories found in several sites of the ancient Near East, known as egyptianizing ivories. We studied various interpretations as to the origin and meaning of these objects by consulting the bibliographic sources at our disposal. Without proposing a fundamental revision of the hypotheses made so far, this study, based on archaeological, iconographical and textual evidence, tries to highlight the different routes of transmission of the Egyptian iconographic motifs into the iconographical repertoire of the Ancient Near East, with a special emphasis on the art of ivory carving. After a general discussion on the ivory and the various sources available to the artists of antiquity, we concluded that the egyptianizing ivories were the product of local artists of the ancient Near East, that were inspired by the Egyptian art, either through trade or through the Egyptian artefacts found at several sites in the Levant. As for the interpretation of these motifs, we believe that the artists of the Ancient Near East have represented Egyptian cult objects without necessarily understanding the religious or symbolic meaning that these motifs had for the Egyptians. That said, these artists were not completely unaware of the general message attached to these objects; they have adopted and adapted the Egyptian iconography by following the conventions of the ancient neareastern art according to their needs.

Listening to Birth asserts that structures of power reproduce themselves by instituting particular modes of listening and sound production. Situating my research within feminist sound studies, I argue that meanings conjured around the audible, material bodies of women were carefully crafted by elites in antiquity, in order to construct gendered ideologies of kingship, civilisation, and nature. I examine these power dynamics as expressed in mythic and magical texts and iconographies, dating from the Bronze Age to later Roman antiquity. Throughout the thesis, I examine the development of symbolic systems and narrative tropes that linked mining and metallurgy with reproduction and vocality. My analysis emphasises how the invention of nature was accomplished, in part, through a metallurgical reclassification of the voices and sexualities of women as indiscrete phenomena: womb, mouth, and voice were elided with mining and smelting to form a unified semantic realm. I argue that this invention of ‘vulvar vocality’ reclassified female sounds as illicit, providing a plaform for the removal of women from the public sphere. I attempt to connect the gendered discourse found in myths and magical rituals to the political and economic domain of state-craft, to demonstrate the importance of hegemonic mythopoeic control of audible female reproduction for establishing ideologies of colonisation and extraction. I link analyses of texts and iconographies from the Bronze Age Mesopotamians, Hittites, Canaanites, Minoans, and Egyptians to later materials from the Iron Age Greeks, Israelites, and Romans—my goal is to demonstrate both the ubiquity and the continual reproduction of metallurgical ideology across the ancient world. I also present my preliminary research into the lasting impact that antique notions of vulvar vocality had on later state-craft. I begin to trace the preservation and elaboration of antique metallurgical literature by Byzantine and Islamic scholars, who in turn exerted strong influence on the Ottomans and late medieval and early modern Europeans. I outline future work to investigate the exponential rise of entrepreneurial metallurgy in late medieval and early modern Europe, arguing that this metallurgical discourse provided symbolic re-enforcement for the rapidly-accelerating mining and metal trade that formed the core of European colonial expansion. I suggest that vulvar vocality was central to early modern metallurgical, demonological, and colonial discourse, and that specific female vocalities and silences were purposefully crafted into the colonial project in order to forcibly redefine women, along with the lands and children stolen from them, as mere natural resources.

In the historical tapestry of the development of the Goddess, from 10,000 - 330 BCE one golden thread shines through. Despite the vicissitudes of differing status, she remained essentially the same, namely divine. She was continuously sought in the many mysteries, mystic ideologies and through the manifestations that she inspired. In all the countries of the Ancient Near East, the mother goddess was the life giving creatrix and regenerator of the world and the essence of the generating force that seeds new life. While her name may have altered in the various areas, along with that of her consort/lover/child, the myths and rituals which formed a major force in forming the ancient cultures would become manifest in a consciousness and a spiritual awareness. / Old Testament and Ancient Near Eastern Studies / M.A. (Language and Culture)

Text in Afrikaans / Die proefskrif ondersoek die funksie van fonteine en putte in die religie van ou Israel. Die religie van die Hebreeuse Bybel word tradisioneel beskryf as 'n historiese religie waarin Jahwe, die god van Israel, fundamenteel gemoeid is met die verlossing van sy volk in die gang van die geskiedenis, terwyl die wêreld van die natuur van marginale belang is. Dit is egter duidelik dat die natuur in die vorm van haar grondwaterbronne 'n belangrike rol in ou Israel se leefwerêld gespeel het, nie alleen as lewegewende bronne in die droē fisiese Palestynse landskap nie, maar ook in hulle narratiewe en simboliese wêrelde. Fonteine en putte was kultiese plekke en heilige ruimtes waar teofanieē plaasgevind het, konings gekroon is, regsgedinge gevoer is, voorvadergeeste opgeroep is en die nageslag van ou Israel verseker is toe die voorvaders hulle toekomstige bruide by putte ontmoet het. Deur middel van die ou Nabye Oosterse ikonografie as hulpwetenskap in die interpretasieproses, is gevind dat die rede vir die sakrale waarde wat aan die waterbronne geheg is, opgesluit is in ou Israel se kosmologie wat hulle met hulle mitologies-gesinde en natuurvererende bure gedeel het. Daarvolgens ontspring fonteine uit die kosmiese onderaardse oeroseaan om lewe en vrugbaarheid te bring aan alles wat lewe. Die beeld het daartoe aanleiding gegee dat fonteine en putte metafories vir vroulike seksualiteit en vrugbaarheid gedien het. Die waterbronne tree ook as draers van hoop op. In verhale oor die wonderbaarlike ontstaan van fonteine in die wildernis deur lewensonderhoud aan die Israetiete tydens hulle woestynomswerwinge te voorsien. Ons kan met sekerheid aanneem dat ou Israel hulle watergate as lokaliteite van integrasie, sin en orde teen die aanslae van die chaosmagte ervaar het. Deur die eeue het die mensdom nagedink oor eksistensiele kwessles soos lewe en dood, vrugbaarheid en steriliteit, die redes vir rampe en oor wat die toekoms inhou. Dit is ten diepste religieuse vrae wat die vervloe bybelskrywers vir hulle tyd en omstandighede aangespreek het deur 'n refigurasie van Palestina se waterbronne. Grondliggend aan hierdie studie as 'n herevaluering van die natuur in die Hebreeuse Bybel om menslike wesens as deel van die natuur op te stel en nie as staande bo die natuur nie. / The dissertation investigates the function of springs and wells in the religion of ancient Israel. The religion of the Hebrew Bible has traditionally been descibed as a historical religion in which Yahweh, the god of Israel, was fundamentally concerned with the salvation of Yahweh's people In history in which the world of nature is of marginal interest. However, it is evident that nature in the form of its groundwater sources played an important role, not only as life giving sources in the arid physical environment of Palestine, but also in their narrative and symbolic worlds. Springs and wells served as cultic centres and sacred places where theophanies took place, kings were crowned, lawsuits conducted, ancestral spirits conjured up and the future progeny of Israel was ensured when patriarchs betrothed their future brides at wells. By means of ancient Near Eastern iconography as an interpretation aid, this study finds the reason for the sacred value attributed to groundwater sources in the cosmology of ancient Israel which she shared with her mythically-minded and nature-worshipping neighbours. Springs were believed to arise from the cosmic subterranean ooean to bring life and fertility to all living things. This image caused springs and wells to serve as metaphor of female sexuality and fertility. They also act as agents of hope in stories of miraculous springs in the desert which provide sustenance during the Israelites' desert wanderings. We can safely conclude that ancient Israel experienced their springs and wells as localities of integration, meaning and order amidst the threatening forces of chaos. Through the ages humankind reflected on existential questions regarding life and death, fertility and sterility, the reasons for disasters and what the future holds. These are profoundly religious questions addressed by the biblical authors for their time and circumstances by implementing a refiguration of the groundwater sources of Palestine. Ultimately this study serves to re-evaluate nature in the Hebrew Bible and to construe human beings not as standing above nature, but as part of nature. / Religious Studies and Arabic / D. Litt. et Phil. (Religious Studies)

This study examines the metaphor of the shepherd in Zechariah 11:4-17, which is a prominent and significant one in the Hebrew Bible. It defines Yahweh‟s relationship with the nation of Israel and those who have faith in him. But Zechariah 11:4-17 presents a shepherd image which contradicts to the basic metaphor in the Hebrew Bible. The thesis of this study argues that the differing shepherd image in Zechariah 11:4-17 is the result of the rejection by the people of the responsible shepherd, which caused Yahweh to surrender his shepherd responsibility. It is a metaphor designed to punish an unrepentant Israel. Zechariah 11:4-17 furnishes an example of a situation where Yahweh surrendered his shepherding responsibilities to those irresponsible shepherds. This example should be incorporated into the said metaphor, so as an objective and comprehensive meaning may be achieved, and one should consider this metaphorical meaning in the study of the subject. / Old Testament and Ancient Near Eastern Studies / M. Th. (Old Testament)

The bull was a potent symbol of power, strength, and, to a lesser degree, fertility to the peoples of the ancient Near East from the twelfth century until 330 BCE. This symbolism was manifested in several iconographic motifs. These motifs reveal the bull as a manifestation of divine characteristics and as an expression of the power of man, and particularly the authority of the king. The use of these iconographic motifs was not consistent across the entire area of the ancient Near East; some differed in appearance and use in the different areas of the region, and many changed over time even in the same area. In all areas and during all periods the basic core symbolism stayed the same, and the bull was always held in a special respect. / Old Testament and Ancient Near Eastern Studies / M.A. (Ancient Near Eastern Studies)

L’intérêt historique suscité par la richesse des vestiges provenant d’Emar et d’Ougarit ainsi que de plusieurs autres cités de l’époque, notamment Alalaḫ, nous a poussé à nous intéresser à la répartition des pouvoirs en Syrie à l’époque du Bronze Récent, question pour laquelle peu d’études des synthèse ont été consacrées à l’heure actuelle.Nous concentrerons notre étude sur plusieurs villes à l’époque du Bronze Récent, depuis le début de la deuxième moitié de deuxième millénaire jusqu’au début de XIIe siècle av. J.-C.Certes, Il existe un pouvoir religieux, économique ; mais le plus souvent la notion de pouvoir sous-entend la présence d’une puissance politique à laquelle est soumise une communauté. Nous distinguerons donc les termes d’ « autorité » et de « pouvoir », ce dernier devant être considéré comme l’application et la manifestation de l’autorité.Les textes anciens représentent pour notre étude une documentation directe. Les tablettes provenant des cités syriennes de cette époque sont au cœur de notre étude. Il s’agit surtout de tablettes cunéiformes écrites en akkadien.Nous pensons qu’une recherche analytique et comparative nous aidera de mieux connaître les différents types de pouvoir en Syrie, de repérer les divers détenteurs du pouvoir au Bronze Récent et de définir les caractéristiques propres à l’organisation politique syrienne durant cette même période. / The historical interest generated by the rich archaeological remains from Emar and Ugarit as well as several other cities of the era, including Alalah, encouraged us to take an interest in the distribution of power in Syria at the Late Bronze Age, a question for which few synthesis studies have been devoted today. We focus our study on several cities during the Late Bronze Age, since the beginning of the second half of the second millennium to the early twelfth century BC.Certainly, there is a religious power and economic power, but more often the notion of power implies the presence of a political power which is subject to a community. We therefore distinguish the terms “authority” and “power”, the latter to be considered the application and demonstration of authority. The ancient texts represent a direct documentation for this study. The akkadian cuneiform tablets from the Syrian cities of this period are in the middle of our research.We believe that a comparative and analytical research will help us better understand the different types of power in Syria, to identify the various rulers of the Late Bronze Age and define the characteristics of the Syrian political organization during this period.

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