Patrich D. Miller investigates the role religion played in the family village tribe and nation-state of ancient Israel. He situates Israels religion in context where a variety of social forces affected beliefs and where popular cults openly competed with the "official" religion. He makes extensive use of both epigraphic and artifactual evidence as he probes the complexities of Iron Age culture and society. Volumes in the Library of Ancient Israel draw on multiple disciplines--such as archaeology anthropology sociology linguistics and literary criticism--to illuminate the everyday realities and social subtleties these ancient cultures experienced. This series employs sophisticated methods resulting in original contributions that depict the reality of the people behind the Hebrew Bible and interprets these insights for a wide variety of readers.
