En Hazeva Edomite Cult Vessels
A pit of deliberately smashed shrine furniture beside a Judahite fortress
Found 1993 — Rudolph Cohen and Yigal Yisrael, Israel Antiquities Authority
Where En Hazeva (Mezad Hazeva), northern Arabah, south of the Dead Sea (Israel)
Dates from c. 650–580 BCE · Iron Age IIC · Josiah's reforms to the fall of Judah
Now at Israel Museum, Jerusalem (restored vessels); fortress in situ at Ein Hatzeva
How En Hazeva Edomite Cult Vessels was found
Outside the wall of the large Iron Age fortress at En Hazeva in the Arabah, a small shrine and a favissa (ritual burial pit) were found; the pit held the smashed remains of dozens of cult objects, apparently broken on purpose and buried together.
What it is
About 67 clay and stone objects restored from thousands of sherds: tall cylindrical incense stands, chalices, bowls, cups and small stone altars, plus anthropomorphic stands shaped like human figures. The style and painted decoration are Edomite, closely matching Horvat Qitmit; neutron-activation study showed the clay came from Edomite territory and locally.
Why it matters for the Bible
Someone took an entire shrine's furniture, broke it and buried it — the kind of act the Bible describes for Chizkiyahu (Hezekiah) and Yoshiyahu (Josiah) when they 'broke the pillars' and cleansed the land (2 Kings 23). The excavators proposed that Josiah's reform reached this southern outpost, though the pit may equally reflect a later Edomite or Babylonian-era event. En Hazeva is also a strong candidate for biblical Tamar, the southern boundary point of the land (Ezekiel 47:19), so an Edomite cult here shows how far foreign worship reached into Judah's fortresses.
The Hebrew word: tah-MAHR
תָּמָר
תָּמָר is pronounced tah-MAHR and means Tamar, the palm-oasis fortress on Judah's southern border (Strong's H8559).
People this discovery connects to
- Josiah — יֹאשִׁיָּהוּ (yo-shee-YAH-hoo) — YHVH supports / heals
Places
- Tamar — תָּמָר (tah-MAHR) — date palm
- Edom — אֱדוֹם (eh-DOHM) — red
Events
Josiah's purge of foreign cult objects (2 Kings 23) · Edomite presence on Judah's southern frontier
En Hazeva Edomite Cult Vessels in Scripture
1 Kings 9:18 Solomon builds 'Tamar in the wilderness'; the Hazeva fortress sequence begins in the Iron Age.
2 Kings 23:14 Josiah 'broke in pieces the pillars and cut down the Asherim' — the smashed En Hazeva vessels look like the result of such a purge.
Ezekiel 47:19 Tamar marks the southern border of the land; En Hazeva is the leading candidate for Tamar.
Questions people ask
What is En Hazeva Edomite Cult Vessels?
About 67 clay and stone objects restored from thousands of sherds: tall cylindrical incense stands, chalices, bowls, cups and small stone altars, plus anthropomorphic stands shaped like human figures. The style and painted decoration are Edomite, closely matching Horvat Qitmit; neutron-activation study showed the clay came from Edomite territory and locally.
When was En Hazeva Edomite Cult Vessels discovered?
It was found in 1993 by Rudolph Cohen and Yigal Yisrael, Israel Antiquities Authority, at En Hazeva (Mezad Hazeva), northern Arabah, south of the Dead Sea.
Where is En Hazeva Edomite Cult Vessels today?
Israel Museum, Jerusalem (restored vessels); fortress in situ at Ein Hatzeva.
Which Bible verses does En Hazeva Edomite Cult Vessels relate to?
1 Kings 9:18, 2 Kings 23:14, Ezekiel 47:19.
Related discoveries
- בֵּית יְהוָהArad Ostraca (the Eliashib Archive)Supply orders from a Judean desert fort naming the 'House of YHVH' and the Kittim
- עֵין גֶּדִיEn-Gedi (Tel Goren) Stratum VA royal perfume village by the Dead Sea, burned in the Babylonian conquest
- אֲשֵׁרָהJudean Pillar FigurinesThousands of little clay women from Judah's homes — Asherah, prayer aids or charms?
- בֶּגֶדMesad Hashavyahu Ostracon (Yavne-Yam Letter)A field worker's plea for his confiscated cloak — Torah law in a soldier's petition
- פַּרְעֹה נְכֹהMegiddo Area X: Necho's Army and the Death of JosiahA layer of Egyptian and Greek pottery from the time Pharaoh Necho killed King Yoshiyahu (2025)
- מְגִדּוֹMegiddo Stratum II and the Death of JosiahThe fortress where Pharaoh Necho II killed Judah's reforming king on his way to the Euphrates
Sources
- R. Cohen and Y. Yisrael, 'Smashing the Idols: Piecing Together an Edomite Shrine in Judah', BAR 22:4 (1996)
- P. Beck et al., 'Temple Furniture from a Favissa at En Hazeva', Atiqot 68 (2011)
- A. Cohen-Weinberger, 'Provenance of the Clay Artifacts from the Favissa at En Hazeva', Atiqot 68 (2011)