Studies of the Solomonic Temple rely on the descriptive account found in 1 Kings 5-9 as the most extensive source available for understanding the form of the ancient temple. Although the description is superfluous by contemporary standards, there is much left to be desired: the text ignores many critical details such as the presence and location of an altar and important architectural specifications.<p>Often scholarly studies of the temple attempt to resolve the difficulties and theorize the temples actual appearance. This study, however, integrates several new approaches within ancient Israelite naology that appreciate the text for its symbolic value as a created space or built environment rather than as a source of historically based data. To this end, the temple description of 1 Kings 5-9 is compared to paradigmatic features of ancient Near Eastern temples. In this light, it seems that the texts main concern is not the form but the function of the temple as a working link between the heavens and earth and the concomitant societal features sanctioned by this connection.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:VANDERBILT/oai:VANDERBILTETD:etd-01262007-112302 |
| Date | 26 January 2007 |
| Creators | McCullough, Lori Theresa |
| Contributors | Jack M. Sasson, Annalisa Azzoni |
| Publisher | VANDERBILT |
| Source Sets | Vanderbilt University Theses |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | http://etd.library.vanderbilt.edu/available/etd-01262007-112302/ |
| Rights | unrestricted, I hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached hereto a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dissertation, or project report, allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee. I hereby grant to Vanderbilt University or its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below, my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation or project report. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report. |
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