Cyprus Within the Biblical World

Are Borders Barriers?

James H. Charlesworth, Jolyon G. R. Pruszinski, James H. Charlesworth, Jolyon G. R. Pruszinski

• Publisher: T&T Clark
• Year: 2021
• Print ISBN:
  9780567699473
• eBook ISBN:
  9780567694935
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Biblical Criticism & Interpretation

This volume moves discussion of ancient Israelite culture beyond concepts of isolation and borders, factoring in already well-known insights from classical studies and ancient history that take greater account of the impressive connections between all the countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea. Specifically, the contributors focus on Cyprus and the Bible and offer archaeological and biblical insights to consider how and in what ways, Cyprus and Cypriot culture was related to biblical life and perceptions.

Though the Mediterranean separated Palestine from Cyprus, it also joined them; archaeological finds expose significant trade relations and cultural commonalities, not only in the Hellenistic and late-Roman eras, but for many centuries prior. These relations developed and became even more intimate in the later biblical period, as evidenced by early Jewish and Christian writings. By exploring various methods of cultural contact, the contributors suggest that further examination of cultural links between Cyprus and Palestine in the biblical period can repay dividends in understanding the development of ancient Israelite religion, early Judaism, and early Christianity.

1

Cyprus and the Land of Israel

The Mediterranean as a Bridge and the Diverse Consequences of Cultural Contact

Avraham Faust

From at least the early second millennium BCE, the eastern Mediterranean served more as a bridge than a barrier, and it appears as if the land of Israel and Cyprus maintained continuous maritime connections ever since. This relationship is best exemplified in pottery, and from the Middle Bronze Age¹ onwards, ceramic objects manufactured on Cyprus were almost always present in the Southern Levant, often in large quantities. Cypriote influence can further be seen in local imitations that were quite popular in various periods.

Contacts, however, can produce a variety of outcomes, and in addition to the importation of actual artifacts, and evidence of their emulation by indigenous potters, some local groups reacted in other ways and even rejected the foreign imports. In this chapter, I briefly present the overall pattern of continued contacts between Cyprus and Canaan during the second and first millennia BCE and will then focus on two specific and distinct Iron Age phenomena—the Ashdod Ware of the southern coastal plain and the Israelite avoidance of imported pottery—each reflecting a different outcome of cultural interaction.

Cypriot Pottery in the Land of Israel during the Second and the Beginning of the First Millennium BCE: Setting the Scene

It is not my aim in this chapter to summarize the history of Cypriot importations to the land of Israel, and the brief summary below is meant to serve as a background for the more detailed discussion of the Iron Age reactions to intercultural trade.

Significant contacts, and a growing number of Cypriot imports, are clearly evident in the Middle Bronze Age, with the number of imports peaking toward the end of this period.² Importation continued in the Late Bronze Age (Figure 1.1), increasing with time until reaching a peak in the thirteenth century BCE,³ when the entire eastern Mediterranean became significantly integrated into a complex web of political and economic relations.⁴

It is commonly agreed that international trade ceased during the late thirteenth century,⁵ but recent evidence suggests that as far as Cyprus’ relations with the Southern Levant are concerned there was only a decline, and trade contacts continued throughout the era. This decline is clearly manifested in northern ports like Tyre and Dor, where connections were intense,⁶ but also in other regions, like Philistia, where influences are clear, reflecting continued contacts between the new settlers in Israel’s southern coastal plain and their contemporaries in Cyprus.⁷

Figure 1.1 A map showing the distribution of Late Bronze Age Cypriot imports in the land of Israel (prepared by Haggai Cohen Klonymus on the basis of data collected by Aaron Greener).

Key

1 Dan	36 Afula	71 Gezer
2 Anafa	37 Fukhar	72 Jericho
3 Hanita	38 Megiddo	73 Gibeon
4 Akhziv	39 Mevorakh	74 Mor
5 Gesher HaZiv	40 Sit Leila	75 Heshban
6 Hazor	41 Ta’anach	76 Batash
7 Nahariyah	42 Abu Kharaz	77 Miqne
8 Kabri	43 Ara	78 Jerusalem
9 Safed	44 Beth Shean	79 Ashdod (southern beach)
10 Acco (Persian gardens)	45 Esur	80 Ashdod
11 Acco	46 Rehov	81 Beth Shemesh
12 Uza	47 Pella	82 Harasim
13 Kison	48 Zeror	83 Zafit
14 Chinnereth	49 Dothan	84 Azekah
15 Aphek (N)	50 Jatt	85 Ashkelon
16 Shiqmona	51 Hefer	86 Zippor
17 Abu Hawam	52 Ma’abarot	87 Gedor
18 Qarney Hittin	53 Sa’idiyeh	88 Zayit
19 Wawiyat	54 Far’ah (N)	89 Beth Zur
20 Regev	55 Shechem	90 Netiv Ha’asara
21 Yiftah’el	56 Deir ‘Alla	91 Lachish
22 En Zippori	57 Michal	92 Hesi
23 Megadim	58 Aphek (S)	93 Hebron
24 Yin’am	59 Gerisa	94 Nagila
25 Nazareth	60 Umm ad Dananir	95 Eton
26 Zelef	61 Jaffa	96 Ajjul
27 Qashish	62 Shilo	97 Beit Mirsim
28 Ein el-Hilu	63 Azor	98 Rabud
29 Nami	64 Ein Samiyeh	99 Deir el-Balah
30 Rekhesh	65 Amman	100 Sera’
31 Yoqne’am	66 Humra	101 Jemmeh
32 Qiri	67 Palmachim/Yavneh Yam	102 Ridan
33 Abu Zureik	68 Bethel	103 Haror
34 Dor	69 Umeiri	104 Halif
35 En Haggit	70 Yavneh	105 Far’ah (S)

International trade resumed on a larger scale during the Iron II, and Cypriot pottery is again found in an increasing number of sites throughout the region.⁸ Iron II imports include various families (e.g., bichrome) but most common is the Black on Red (BoR) pottery, also known as Cypro-Phoenician pottery (Figure 1.2).⁹ BoR pottery is found throughout the region, and it appears that Ashdod Ware (Figure 1.3, and see below), common in the south, is a local imitation of this form.¹⁰

Figure 1.2 Sample of Cypro-Phoenician pottery (BoR) (based on Schreiber [2003] and prepared by Michal Marmelshtein and Sivan Landenberg).

Key

#	Type	Redrawn after:
1	BoR I	Schreiber 2003: Fig. 3:2
2	BoR II	Schreiber 2003: Fig. 4:13
3	BoR I	Schreiber 2003: Fig. 3:17
4	BoR I	Schreiber 2003: Fig. 3:11
5	BoR I	Schreiber 2003: Fig. 3:18
6	BoR II	Schreiber 2003: Fig. 4:21
7	BoR I	Schreiber 2003: Fig. 3:9

Figure 1.3 Ashdod Ware plate (prepared by Michal Marmelshtein and Sivan Landenberg).

Key

Cypriot Imports during the Iron II and the Local Reactions to International Trade

Iron Age II in the Southern Levant is one of the best archaeologically known periods in history. Not only is the region the most studied in the world,¹¹ but Iron II is extremely well represented even in the Southern Levant. This period was marked by a demographic peak¹² and usually constitutes the uppermost layer of significant occupation on most mounds. Hence, strata from this era are found in most sites and are often widely exposed. In addition, this is a “historical” period, and we also have (relative to previous eras) a wealth of textual information, both biblical and extra-biblical. All these factors have made the period both interesting to scholars and well suited to detailed social studies.¹³

In the following pages I would like to focus on two phenomena that are of interest in the context of studying the relations between Cyprus and the Southern Levant: (1) the Ashdod Ware of the southern coastal plain and (2) the Israelite ceramic assemblage.

Ashdod Ware and Cyprus

In the Iron IIA a new type of pottery appears mainly in the southern coastal plain—Ashdod Ware (Figure 1.3, sometimes also known as Late Philistine Decorated Ware [LPDW]).¹⁴ Dothan and Freedman (1967, ...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Contents 
• List of Figures
• List of Maps
• List of Contributors
• Preface: Planning the Cyprus Congress
• Foreword
• List of Abbreviations
• Is Cyprus a Neglected Dimension of Biblical Research and Are Borders Barriers?
• 1 Cyprus and the Land of Israel: The Mediterranean as a Bridge and the Diverse Consequences of Cultural Contact
• 2 “In Sorrow Thou Shalt Bring Forth Children”: Archaeological Perspectives on Delivery Practices in Canaan and Cyprus
• 3 Cyprus and the Shore of Israel during the Persian Period: According to Metal Finds
• 4 Did Lazarus Flee Jerusalem for Cyprus?
• 5 Barnabas: The Levite from Cyprus
• 6 Levites on Cyprus—Not Only in the Jerusalem Temple
• 7 Meeting the Romans: The Encounter of Paul and Sergius Paulus according to Acts
• 8 The Motivations for Paul’s Choice of Mission Areas
• 9 Cyprus and Early Christianity: Did Everybody Know Everybody?
• 10 Visions of Cyprus: A Phenomenological Background to Jewish and Christian Scripture
• Conclusions Regarding Cyprus and the Holy Land in the Biblical Period
• Cyprus and the Holy Land in History, Archaeology, and Scripture: A Selected Bibliography
• Ancient Sources Index
• Modern Authors Index
• Subject Index
• Imprint