Bethel: Geschichte, Kult and Theologie.

• Author: Rainey, Anson F.
• Position: Book review

Bethel: Geschichte, Kult and Theologie. By KLAUS KOENEN. Freiburg: UNIVERSITATSVERLAG. Pp. 251, illus. FS79.

Everything you always wanted to know about ancient Bethel and were afraid to ask will be found in this book. Klaus Koenen, noted author of Old Testament studies, has taken on the task of elucidating the history and religious significance of the ancient city of Bethel, famous in the ancestral narratives of Genesis and in the monarchical conflicts of the Iron Age.

This study originated in an earlier interest in the function of the sacred bull statue in the culture of ancient Israel (chapter 1). It developed into a comprehensive monograph on the best-known site of a sacred calf according to biblical tradition. The chapters reveal the extensiveness and thoroughness of the composition.

Chapter two begins with the topographic and toponymic problems. The author gives short shrift to the amateurish attempts to move Bethel from the site of the village of Beitin. Koenen understands perfectly the factors behind the identification: in the toponymy of Arab Palestine, one sure test of a genuine ancient name is when it definitely does not mean anything in Arabic. An additional control is the presence of some well-documented sound shift or cultural modification. The best-known case is that of Beitin, which is meaningless in Arabic; the plural of "house" is buyut and the Aramaic plural is battin. Beitin cannot mean "two houses," which would be Beitein and native speakers would never confuse them (contra Chapman and Taylor 2003: 178). Robinson and Smith had noted that near ancient Beth-shemesh there was a Wadi Isma'in (a segment of Nahal Soreq), and the local fellahin admitted that it was named for Isma'il = Ishmael. Robinson and Smith also found Zer'in for Jezreel (Robinson and Smith 1841: 1, 449 and n. 3). We may add that Birket Isra'il in Jerusalem was often pronounced Birket Isra'in (Kampffmeyer 1892: 32). Therefore, the final n for final l was clearly substantiated. However, lamed is generally preserved in Arabic toponyms, even in final position, so it would appear that the shift in these examples is from 'el, "god," > il > in, viz., an intentional corruption of the divine element! Ely Smith, Robinson's companion, was perhaps the earliest linguist to examine the spoken Arabic dialect of Palestine. He was fully in accord with the equation of Beitin with ancient Bet-'el as seen by Robinson. Therefore, the equation of Beitin with biblical Beth-el is...