Standing Stones in Ancient Israel
The Hebrew Bible refers in numerous places to standing stones. These stones had a special use, and a special name as well. The ordinary Hebrew word for “stone” is even (אֶבֶן); examples include the stones picked up by Joshua’s men (Josh 4:5), or stones thrown on agricultural ground to ruin it (2 Kgs 3:25). By contrast, a standing stone, which was a stone planted upright in the ground, was called a matzebah (מַצֵבָה). English versions sometimes render this as a “pillar,” a “sacred pillar,” a “sacred stone,” a “monument,” or a “standing-stone.”
Purpose. There are a few different ways in which standing stones were used in the Hebrew Bible. Jacob set one up in the Judean hill country, at Bethel, apparently as a memorial to commemorate the dream/vision in which God promised to protect him (Gen 28). He set up another to mark the grave of Rachel (Gen 35:20). Absalom set one up in the valley outside Jerusalem as a monument to himself (2 Sam 18:18). More often they seem to have been used in a religious setting, which is why they were prohibited in the law of Moses (Lev 26:1; Ex 23:24) and were sometimes destroyed by faithful Israelites (2 Kgs 10:26; 18:4; 23:14).
Archaeology. Archaeologists have uncovered standing stones in sacred places from a wide geographical area and a broad time span. How do we know they are in sacred places? This is indicated by surrounding material–cultic vessels, altars, idol figurines, buildings that have a clear temple layout (not residential). The following photos provide examples from a variety of periods.
Standing stone in the Early Bronze Age temple at Arad, in southern Israel, circa 25oo BC; photo by the author.
The relatively small standing stone at the far end of this broad-room temple seems to have been shaped into a flat-sided rectangle. Notice the bench around the interior of the temple, which is typical of temples in the Early Bronze Age II. A large sacrificial altar is located immediately outside this temple (to the left in this photo).
Massive set of standing stones at Gezer, Middle Bronze Age, circa 1800 BC; photo by the author.
The standing stones in this photo are massive. Each is set into the ground, yet some of the exposed uppers are more than 10 ft tall. A square limestone basin is also visible left of the path.
Massive standing stones at Gezer, Middle Bronze Age, circa 1800 BC; photo by the author.
These stones were not found in a building, and may have constituted an outdoor cult or “high place.”
Standing stones from a Late Bronze Age temple at Hazor, circa 1300 BC; photo by the author.
The group of standing stones seen in this photo were recovered from a Late Bronze Age temple at Tel Hazor, in the Jordan Valley north of the Sea of Galilee. They are made of basalt, and appear to have been at least roughly shaped. The central stone is incised with a crescent moon and a pair of upraised hands. Note also the seated deity (or perhaps a king) at the left, and the lion-shaped block to the right.
Standing stones flanking the Iron Age gate at et-Tell, circa 900 BC; photo by the author.
The massive Iron Age gate at et-Tell (identified by excavator Rami Arav as Bethsaida) is flanked by round-topped standing stones, both inside and out. In fact, the Hebrew Bible indicates that gates were sometimes used as religious installations in the time of the Israelite kings. Even in Jerusalem, Josiah destroyed “the high places of the gates which were at the entrance of the gate of Joshua the governor of the city” (2 Kgs 23:8). In the photo shown here, notice also the pile of stones at the far right, which are remnants of a cult niche that once had an offering platform and a stela of a god (now tumbled down).
Standing stone in a small shrine at Khirbet Qeiyafa, circa 1000 BC; photo by the author.
The standing stone shown here is at Khirbet Qeiyafa, in the Judean foothills west of Jerusalem. Qeiyafa was a short-lived fortress from the early 10th century BC. A number of clay model shrines and other cultic items were found together with these standing stones, again attesting to their use in a religious setting.
Five standing stones at the gate to Tel Dan, Iron Age, circa 800 BC; photo by the author.
This photo shows an installation of five standing stones just outside the gate threshold at Tel Dan. The wall behind them is the Iron Age city wall. These five stones do not appear to have been worked in any way; they are also clearly not part of the wall structure, but an installation along the base of the wall that has no architectural purpose (the stones are larger than they probably appear in this photo).
These standing stones illustrate the variety of shapes and sizes of standing stones that are known from ancient Israel. Although virtually all of the standing stones that have been discovered by archaeologists appear to come from religious settings, and this is how they most often appear in the Hebrew Bible, there were occasionally other ways they were used as well.
