Twarzą w twarz z przodkami. O znaczeniu maṣṣēḇôṯ, bāmôṯ i těrāpîm w religii ludowej Ugarit i Izraela

Abstract

The most important element of the world’s culture is a monotheistic religion. The Old Testament is showing Israelites as people who worshipped only one God, Yahweh. One of the most important elements of this religion was a very restrictive image ban. However, some fragments of the Bible, supported by archeology, suggest something different, showing a very complicated system of beliefs with very heavy Canaanite features. This work analyzes elements which are very important for folk religion, the cult of ancestors. They were venerated under images of maṣṣēḇôṯ (standing stones) and těrāpîm (figurines, busts of dead) in places called bāmôṯ (high places). These suggestions are supported by data from early Israel, Ugarit and other places of the ancient Near East.