Hazor Shrine of the Stelae
A small Canaanite chapel with a row of standing stones and hands lifted to the moon
Found 1955 — Yigael Yadin, James A. de Rothschild Expedition (Hebrew University), Area C, lower city
Where Tel Hazor (Tell el-Qedah), Upper Galilee (Israel)
Dates from c. 14th–13th century BCE · Late Bronze II · Canaanite Hazor before Joshua's conquest
Now at Israel Museum, Jerusalem (stelae and statue); shrine in situ
How Hazor Shrine of the Stelae was found
In the first season at Hazor, a small shrine in the lower city's Area C yielded a row of basalt stelae still standing in a niche, with a seated statue beside them and cult vessels on the floor, sealed by the city's 13th-century destruction.
What it is
A one-room shrine whose back niche held about ten small basalt stelae, one carved with two hands raised toward a crescent and disk. Beside them sat a basalt statue of a figure holding a cup, with a crescent pendant on its chest, and nearby a basalt lion orthostat. Offering bowls, a small altar and a mask fragment lay in front.
Why it matters for the Bible
This is the clearest picture of a Canaanite matzevah (standing stone) shrine from the very city Joshua burned (Joshua 11:10-11). The hands lifted to a crescent show worship of a moon deity, the kind of 'host of heaven' cult the Torah warns against. The shrine also shows why the Bible so often commands the smashing of standing stones: they were not idle markers but focal points of worship. Its destruction layer belongs to the fall of Canaanite Hazor in the 13th century, which many connect to Joshua 11.
The Hebrew word: mah-tzay-VAH
מַצֵּבָה
מַצֵּבָה is pronounced mah-tzay-VAH and means standing stone, sacred pillar (Strong's H4676).
People this discovery connects to
- Jabin — יָבִין (yah-VEEN) — he understands
- Joshua — יְהוֹשֻׁעַ (ye-ho-SHOO-ah) — YHVH is salvation
Places
- Hazor — חָצוֹר (chah-TZOHR) — enclosure, settlement
Events
Canaanite worship at Hazor · Burning of Hazor (Joshua 11:10-13)
Hazor Shrine of the Stelae in Scripture
Deuteronomy 16:22 'You shall not set up a sacred pillar, which YHVH your Elohim hates' — the Hazor stelae are exactly such pillars.
Joshua 11:1 First mention of Hazor in Scripture.
Joshua 11:10-11 Joshua burns Hazor, 'formerly the head of all those kingdoms'; the shrine was buried in that city's destruction.
Questions people ask
What is Hazor Shrine of the Stelae?
A one-room shrine whose back niche held about ten small basalt stelae, one carved with two hands raised toward a crescent and disk. Beside them sat a basalt statue of a figure holding a cup, with a crescent pendant on its chest, and nearby a basalt lion orthostat. Offering bowls, a small altar and a mask fragment lay in front.
When was Hazor Shrine of the Stelae discovered?
It was found in 1955 by Yigael Yadin, James A. de Rothschild Expedition (Hebrew University), Area C, lower city, at Tel Hazor (Tell el-Qedah), Upper Galilee.
Where is Hazor Shrine of the Stelae today?
Israel Museum, Jerusalem (stelae and statue); shrine in situ.
Which Bible verses does Hazor Shrine of the Stelae relate to?
Deuteronomy 16:22, Joshua 11:1, Joshua 11:10-11.
Related discoveries
- שָׂרַף בָּאֵשׁHazor's Burned Palace and Defaced StatuesThe 'head of all those kingdoms' destroyed by fire in the 13th century BCE
- רֹאשׁHazor: The Middle Bronze City Named at MariCanaan's largest city, already famous in Avraham's world
- הֵיכָלHazor Orthostat Temple (Area H)A three-room Canaanite temple whose plan foreshadows Solomon's
- יָבִיןHazor Cuneiform TabletsLetters and law fragments from the largest Canaanite archive south of Syria
- רַעַשׁHazor: Israelite Citadel and Water ShaftYadin's Omride-period fortress and the 40-metre shaft to the water table
- לְבֵנָהTel Shimron Corbelled VaultA 3,800-year-old mudbrick passage in the Canaanite city of Shimron (2023)
Sources
- Y. Yadin et al., Hazor I: An Account of the First Season of Excavations, 1955 (1958)
- Israel Museum, 'Cultic objects from the Shrine of the Stelae'
- BAS Library, NEAEHL 'Hazor'