Dr. Nissim Amzallag was a Research Fellow (2013-2021) at the Department of Bible, Archaeology and Ancient Near Eastern Studies of the Ben Gurion University (BGU) of the Negev (Beer Sheba, Israel). He holds a Ph.D. in Biology, from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and another Ph.D. in Biblical Studies from BGU. Amzallag investigates the cultural dimension of metallurgy in antiquity, the metallurgical background of ancient Yahwism and its involvement in the emergence of Israel and its theology. He is the author of: The Copper Revolution – Smelters from Canaan and the Beginning of Civilization (Livna [Israel]: Hameara, 2008, in Hebrew); Esau in Jerusalem – The Rise of a Seirite Religious Elite in Zion at the Persian Period (Leuven: Peeters, 2015 ); La Forge de Dieu, Aux origines de la Bible (Paris: Cerf, 2020, in French); Psalm 29: A Canaanite Hymn to YHWH in the Psalter (Leuven: Peeters, 2021); and YHWH and the Origins of Israel – Insight from the Archaeological Record (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, scheduled to May 2023).
Last Updated
February 3, 2023
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The Bible describes YHWH as glowing (kabod), and YHWH’s heat as melting mountains, imagery connected with volcano gods, the divine patrons of metalworkers such as the Kenites, who lived in the Negev region. Indeed, the description of Israel’s encounter with YHWH at Sinai portrays a volcanic eruption, with smoke “as if from a furnace” (Exodus 19:18).
The Bible describes YHWH as glowing (kabod), and YHWH’s heat as melting mountains, imagery connected with volcano gods, the divine patrons of metalworkers such as the Kenites, who lived in the Negev region. Indeed, the description of Israel’s encounter with YHWH at Sinai portrays a volcanic eruption, with smoke “as if from a furnace” (Exodus 19:18).
