Abstract

The economic significance of the Temple in the ancient Near East has long been recognized. This thesis examines the impact of the religious cult and temple on the economy of ancient Israel. In particular, the interest is in how sacrificial gifts and offerings served as a means of revenue collection and distribution in the Israelite economy. ;The thesis begins with a study of several cultic terms in Hebrew and closely related Canaanite dialects. The meaning of these terms is conditioned by the literary genre in which they occur. In cultic texts they most often refer to a specific type of offering or ritual gift. In non-cultic texts they usually imply a tax or tribute payment. The close semantic relationship between offerings and tribute or tax payments provides considerable insight into the economic role of the cult. In several instances, the etymology of these terms is uncertain, and some new proposals are offered. ;This linguistic analysis provides a means for examining the social significance of the cult in three different Biblical periods: the league, the monarchy and the post-exilic restoration. In each instance there is an attempt to trace how certain cultic terms assume social and economic significance. For the league period, the role of the minha offering in Judges 3 is examined. Next we examine the role of the tithe in two texts from the early monarchy. The final chapter investigates the social significance of temple-rebuilding in the restoration programs of several post-exilic writers