The standing stone (Heb. masseba)
 Both the Canaanites and Israelites – and
other ancient peoples as well – found numinous power in a standing
stone or stones. A large example is at
Shechem – it may be a
piece of the stone mentioned in Joshua 24:26, "And Joshua recorded these
things in the Book of the Law of God. Then he took a large stone and set it up
there under the oak near the holy place of the Lord (Heb., mikdash
yhwh)," literally
"the
Earlier, after receiving God's promise, Jacob set up a stone and called it Beth-El, the "house of God." (Genesis 28: 18-22.) So Jacob rose early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put under his head and set it up as a pillar and poured oil on its top. He called the name of that place Bethel; however, previously the name of the city had been Luz. Then Jacob made a vow, saying, "If God will be with me and will keep me on this journey that I take, and will give me food to eat and garments to wear, and I return to my father’s house in safety, then the Lord will be my God. This stone, which I have set up as a pillar, will be God’s house, and of all that You give me I will surely give a tenth to You." |
Not that the ancients worshiped stones! Would we say that
people praying at the Western Wall are worshiping stones? Rather, something
about a standing stone seems to radiate numinous power. We find ancient
assemblages of such stones throughout the land. Examples from Canaanite Hazor, from
Israelite Arad and from an Edomite
temple near Hazeva are on display at the Israel Museum in