The 'Bull Site' and Bronze Bull Figurine
A hilltop shrine in Manasseh with a small bronze bull
Found 1977 — Found by kibbutz member and soldier Ofer Broshi; excavated by Amihai Mazar (Hebrew University) in April 1978 and 1981
Where Dhahrat et-Tawileh, ridge north of Wadi Far'ah, eastern Samaria hills (Manasseh) (West Bank (Palestinian Territories))
Dates from c. 1200–1100 BCE · Iron Age I · Judges
Now at Israel Museum, Jerusalem
How The 'Bull Site' and Bronze Bull Figurine was found
The bronze bull was picked up on a ridge-top in the hills east of Dothan. Mazar's brief excavation revealed a circular stone enclosure about 20 m across with a paved area and a large standing stone, and Iron I pottery.
What it is
A bronze zebu bull 17.5 cm long and 12.4 cm high, well cast with a hump, curved horns, and incised eyes. The enclosure had no roofed building; it was an open-air 'high place' on a hilltop, in the territory of Manasseh among the new Iron I villages.
Why it matters for the Bible
The bull was the symbol of the Canaanite god El and of Baal, and Israel's own early sin was a calf (Shemot 32). This shrine shows an early Israelite-region community worshiping at an open hilltop with a bull image, the kind of 'high place' Shoftim and Melachim describe. Mazar cautiously suggests it belonged to the settlers themselves. It puts flesh on Shoftim 2:11-13 and on Yeravam's (Jeroboam's) later calves at Bethel and Dan, which appealed to an old tradition.
The Hebrew word: bah-MAH
בָּמָה
בָּמָה is pronounced bah-MAH and means high place, open-air shrine (Strong's H1116).
People this discovery connects to
- Gideon — גִּדְעוֹן (geed-OHN) — hewer, feller
Places
- Manasseh — מְנַשֶּׁה (me-nah-SHEH) — causing to forget
Events
Israel serves Baal in the Judges period (Judges 2:11-13) · Gideon tears down his father's Baal altar (Judges 6:25-28)
The 'Bull Site' and Bronze Bull Figurine in Scripture
Exodus 32:4 First mention of bull / calf image in Scripture.
Judges 2:11-13 The generation after Yehoshua served the Baals; this Iron I hilltop shrine with a bull is that kind of worship in Manasseh.
Judges 6:25 Gideon, also of Manasseh, was told to pull down the altar of Baal and cut the Asherah beside it.
Questions people ask
What is The 'Bull Site' and Bronze Bull Figurine?
A bronze zebu bull 17.5 cm long and 12.4 cm high, well cast with a hump, curved horns, and incised eyes. The enclosure had no roofed building; it was an open-air 'high place' on a hilltop, in the territory of Manasseh among the new Iron I villages.
When was The 'Bull Site' and Bronze Bull Figurine discovered?
It was found in 1977 by Found by kibbutz member and soldier Ofer Broshi; excavated by Amihai Mazar (Hebrew University) in April 1978 and 1981, at Dhahrat et-Tawileh, ridge north of Wadi Far'ah, eastern Samaria hills (Manasseh).
Where is The 'Bull Site' and Bronze Bull Figurine today?
Israel Museum, Jerusalem.
Which Bible verses does The 'Bull Site' and Bronze Bull Figurine relate to?
Exodus 32:4, Judges 2:11-13, Judges 6:25.
Related discoveries
- מִדְיָנִיMidianite (Qurayyah) Painted WareColorful pottery of the Midianites, found from Arabia to Timna
- מִזְבֵּחַMegiddo Round Altar and Early Bronze TemplesA stepped stone altar and a row of temples in Canaan's oldest sacred area
- בָּמָהTel Rehov Open-Air Sanctuary and Horned Clay AltarsNeighborhood worship in the Northern Kingdom: a small bamah and dozens of pottery altars
- בָּמָהTel Motza TempleAn Iron IIA temple a few miles from Jerusalem
- בָּמָהCity of David Rock-Cut Sanctuary RoomsEight bedrock chambers near the Gihon with an altar, olive press and winepress, sealed in the 8th century BCE
- הַבָּמָה הַגְּדוֹלָהNebi Samwil (Tomb of Samuel) ExcavationsThe hilltop shrine of Samuel — and the search for Gibeon's 'great high place'
Sources
- A. Mazar, 'The Bull Site: An Iron Age I Open Cult Place', BASOR 247 (1982)
- Wikipedia: Bull Site
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