Badè Museum of Biblical Archaeology

Making Cakes for the Queen of Heaven: Family Religion in Ancient Israel

The city of Jerusalem and its famed Temple of Solomon lay in ruins.

Uncertainty hung in the air as the Babylonian armies devastated the Kingdom of Judah in 586/87 BCE. The Prophet Jeremiah and others escaped northwards a few miles to the city of Mizpah, the main settlement in the region of Benjamin (Mizpah is typically identified with the archaeological site of Tell en-Nasbeh, excavated by W.F. Badè of the Pacific School of Religion in the 1920–30s. The majority of the Badè Museum's collection is from these excavations at Mizpah/Nasbeh).

This was a period of theological instability. The Temple, the house of the Israelite deity on earth and the center of official Judean worship and cult, was destroyed. The victorious attackers carried sacred items and the treasury from the Temple back to Babylon, along with any remaining royalty, court officials, priests, and elite families. It is not surprising that the common people who remained in the land questioned the recent nationalistic worship of Yahweh alone, focused in Jerusalem. Had not hard times come as older polytheistic ways were shunned? Could not the success of the imperial powers of first Assyria and then Babylonia be blamed on a turning away from the worship of time-honored deities along side Yahweh, especially the great Goddess who had brought bounty to the region for so long?

In telling passages in the Book of Jeremiah (7:18; 44:17–25), it is precisely at this time that the worship of the Queen of Heaven is revitalized, although it is condemned by the Prophet. This worship involved the whole family, as children gather wood for fuel, fathers light the fires, and mothers make dough and bake cakes to offer in thanks to the great Goddess.

Artifacts Holding Artifacts

Oftentimes while on excavation, archaeologists need to rely on the supplies that are available to them. For example, cigarette and match boxes were used by Dr. Badè and his team to hold various small objects, such as beads and pendants, that were excavated at Tell en-Nasbeh. Apart from the artifacts that they held, the boxes themselves are imbued with their own history and give us a window into the British Mandate of Palestine (modern-day Israel/Palestine) during the late 1920s and 1930s.

Before 1921, the territory of Israel/Palestine was under control of the waning Ottoman Empire. Tobacco cultivation and cigarette manufacture were strictly regulated by the Turkish "Régie" Tobacco Monopoly, which stated that tobacco production could only be carried out in certain regions of the Empire, most notably Egypt and parts of modern-day Turkey.

In 1921 and during the years that followed, as the Ottoman Empire disintegrated to be replaced by the modern Turkish Republic, control of Israel/Palestine came under the responsibility of Britain and was designated as the British Mandate of Palestine. Under the British, the Turkish "Régie" Tobacco Monopoly was abolished and manufacturing began in the region.

The chief factories were: Karaman, Dick and Salti, based in Haifa; the Arab Cigarette and Tobacco Factory Ltd. in Nazareth; and Baddour Ltd. located in Haifa. The regional tobacco industry was fully managed and run by Arabs. It was mostly self-sufficient, relying on locally grown crops and only a small amount of imported tobacco. Overall domestic manufacturing met the most of local demand and greatly heightened the burgeoning regional economy.

The Iron (Age) Chef: Food and Dining in Old Testament Times

Our collection at the Badè Museum is focused around the archaeology of the ancient Israelite fortified village of Mitzpeh, modern Tell en-Nasbeh. Located eight miles north Jerusalem, Mitzpeh was the main settlement in the region of the tribe of Benjamin. William F. Badè, Professor of Old Testament at PSR, excavated two-thirds of the site over five seasons from 1926 to 1935. W.F. Badè was well ahead of his time in that he collected the remains of ancient grains, seeds, and animal bones, a trend in archaeology that did not really come into vogue until the 1960s.

For ancient and modern traditional societies the procurment of food and water was a focus of daily existence. Thus it is not surprising to find so much material from the ancient site of Mitzpeh that is related to agriculture and herding. Plants and animals were raised to provide the Israelites with basic foods and other secondary products. Large cisterns aided in the gathering of water, and stone-lined silos were constructed to hold surplus grains after harvest time. Smaller amounts of grain and other food was stored in individual households for use by the extended family throughout the year.

Daily meals and holiday banquets nourished the Israelites and provided a time for family, tribal, and national unity. The farmers and herders sustained the community that gave humankind one of its most enduring set of sacred documents that feeds our spirit and intellect to this very day, the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament.