Nissim Amzallag
Biographic Data
| ID | 643605 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Nissim Amzallag |
| GIVEN NAMES | Nissim |
| FAMILY NAME | Amzallag |
| SIGNATURE | AMZALLAG N |
| AFFILIATIONS | Ben-Gurion University of the Negev |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-9999-7052 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 13 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 11 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 13 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2009 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2024 |
| H-INDEX | 1 |
Transhumanisme et pensée magique
Yahweh and the Origins of Ancient Israel: Insights from the Archaeological Record
On the Coexistence of Technopoiesis and Technopraxis: Comments on the Paper “Refining Technopoiesis: Measures and Measuring Thinking in Ancient China”
Cultural Metallurgy—A Key Factor in the Transition from the Chalcolithic to Bronze Age in the Southern Levant
The causes of the disappearance of Late Chalcolithic society (Ghassulian) in the early fourth millenniumbcremain obscure. This study identifies the collapse as the consequence of a change in the approach to metallurgy from cosmological fundament (Late Chalcolithic) to a practical craft (EB1). This endogenous transition accounts for the cultural recession characterizing the transitional period (EB1A) and the discontinuity in ritual practices. The …
Technopoiesis—the Forgotten Dimension of Early Technique Development
A Metallurgical Perspective on the Birth of Ancient Israel
The re-emergence of the copper industry in the Arabah valley between the twelfth and ninth centuries BCE stimulated wealth and economic development across the whole Southern Levant. Combining this reality with the metallurgical background of ancient Yahwism provides a material basis for the spread, from the early Iron Age, of the worship of YHWH in ancient Israel and neighboring nations, especially Edom. These findings strengthen the Qenite hypot…
Forgotten Meaning of ʿāpār in Biblical Hebrew
It is argued in this study that ʿāpār, in the context of mining expressed in Job 28:2, 6, probably denotes neither 'dust' nor related materials ('earth', 'dirt', or 'ashes'), as is generally assumed, but 'metallic ore'. A similar designation of ʿāpār as ore is identified in Job 30:6 and Ezek. 26:12. Further examination reveals the figurative use of ʿāpār as ore in Job 22:24, Isa. 34:9, and Isa. 41:2. In contrast to the abasement, humiliation, and…
Les fondements métallurgiques du yahwisme israélite
Les attestations bibliques quant à une origine sud-désertique (Arabah, Negeb, Sinai) de YHWH ont trouvé ces dernières décennies un support dans certaines découvertes archéologiques, notamment à Kuntillet Ajrdud et dans la vallée du Nil. C’est pourquoi une origine qénite-midianite-édomite du dieu d’Israël est maintenant solidement fondée. Par ailleurs, de récentes fouilles menées dans l’Arabah y ont révélé une reprise intense de l’activité métallu…
Beyond Prestige and Magnificence: The Theological Significance of Gold in the Israelite Tabernacle
Examination of Exodus 25–31 and 35–40 shows that preciousness and aesthetic considerations were not the main precipitants of the use of gold in the tabernacle. Rather, the distribution of this metal in both the tabernacle and the priestly garments reveals a theological criterion for its use and distribution. It is suggested here that this criterion is rooted in pre-Israelite Yahwism, and that it emanates from the parallel of gold, approached as t…
What Are the "Long Nostrils" of YHWH
The mention of YHWH's "nostrils" (ʾapayīm) in the Bible is classically interpreted as a metonymy of the face and/or a metaphor for anger. The reference to their length and even to their elongation, however, rules out any entirely satisfying explanation in this semantic context. If this term is construed as a tuyère, as is identified in Dan 10:20, the use of ʾapayīm in Ex 15:8 becomes clear. This interpretation also explains the denotation of pati…
Archaic conceptions about procreation: A reinterpretation of the Chalcolithic figurines from Gilat
The symbolism of the two complementary figurines found at the Chalcolithic site of Gilat – a woman with a churn and a ram with cornets – is reconsidered. The paper argues that male sexual symbolism of the ram, the seminal associations of the cornets, and their position on the animal’s back suggest that the ram figurine expresses the belief that semen, the vital element of paternal issue, originates in the spinal cord. With her emphasized genitals…
A Return to the Dark Ages? Reply to Thornton et al. 2010
A synthetic theory pointing out the central importance of metallurgy in the emergence of Bronze Age civilizations was recently published in the AJA ("From Metallurgy to Bronze Age Civilizations: The Synthetic Theory" [2009] 497–519). In reaction, six well-known authors (Christopher Thornton, Jonathan Golden, David Killick, Vincent Pigott, Thilo Rehren, and Benjamin Roberts) have written a rebuttal devoted mainly to defending the current localizat…
From Metallurgy to Bronze Age Civilizations: The Synthetic Theory
During the past few decades, evidence for the ancient smelting of copper has been discovered in areas isolated from one another. In most of them, the beginning of metallurgy had no substantial social and cultural consequences. Accordingly, the diffusionist theory (assuming the existence of a single homeland for metallurgy and its central importance in cultural development) has been replaced by a localizationist theory, in which the emergence of m…
From Metallurgy to Bronze Age Civilizations: The Synthetic Theory
During the past few decades, evidence for the ancient smelting of copper has been discovered in areas isolated from one another. In most of them, the beginning of metallurgy had no substantial social and cultural consequences. Accordingly, the diffusionist theory (assuming the existence of a single homeland for metallurgy and its central importance in cultural development) has been replaced by a localizationist theory, in which the emergence of m…
From Metallurgy to Bronze Age Civilizations: The Synthetic Theory
During the past few decades, evidence for the ancient smelting of copper has been discovered in areas isolated from one another. In most of them, the beginning of metallurgy had no substantial social and cultural consequences. Accordingly, the diffusionist theory (assuming the existence of a single homeland for metallurgy and its central importance in cultural development) has been replaced by a localizationist theory, in which the emergence of m…
A Return to the Dark Ages? Reply to Thornton et al. 2010
A synthetic theory pointing out the central importance of metallurgy in the emergence of Bronze Age civilizations was recently published in the AJA ("From Metallurgy to Bronze Age Civilizations: The Synthetic Theory" [2009] 497–519). In reaction, six well-known authors (Christopher Thornton, Jonathan Golden, David Killick, Vincent Pigott, Thilo Rehren, and Benjamin Roberts) have written a rebuttal devoted mainly to defending the current localizat…
Archaic conceptions about procreation: A reinterpretation of the Chalcolithic figurines from Gilat
The symbolism of the two complementary figurines found at the Chalcolithic site of Gilat – a woman with a churn and a ram with cornets – is reconsidered. The paper argues that male sexual symbolism of the ram, the seminal associations of the cornets, and their position on the animal’s back suggest that the ram figurine expresses the belief that semen, the vital element of paternal issue, originates in the spinal cord. With her emphasized genitals…
What Are the "Long Nostrils" of YHWH
The mention of YHWH's "nostrils" (ʾapayīm) in the Bible is classically interpreted as a metonymy of the face and/or a metaphor for anger. The reference to their length and even to their elongation, however, rules out any entirely satisfying explanation in this semantic context. If this term is construed as a tuyère, as is identified in Dan 10:20, the use of ʾapayīm in Ex 15:8 becomes clear. This interpretation also explains the denotation of pati…
Beyond Prestige and Magnificence: The Theological Significance of Gold in the Israelite Tabernacle
Examination of Exodus 25–31 and 35–40 shows that preciousness and aesthetic considerations were not the main precipitants of the use of gold in the tabernacle. Rather, the distribution of this metal in both the tabernacle and the priestly garments reveals a theological criterion for its use and distribution. It is suggested here that this criterion is rooted in pre-Israelite Yahwism, and that it emanates from the parallel of gold, approached as t…
Les fondements métallurgiques du yahwisme israélite
Les attestations bibliques quant à une origine sud-désertique (Arabah, Negeb, Sinai) de YHWH ont trouvé ces dernières décennies un support dans certaines découvertes archéologiques, notamment à Kuntillet Ajrdud et dans la vallée du Nil. C’est pourquoi une origine qénite-midianite-édomite du dieu d’Israël est maintenant solidement fondée. Par ailleurs, de récentes fouilles menées dans l’Arabah y ont révélé une reprise intense de l’activité métallu…
Technopoiesis—the Forgotten Dimension of Early Technique Development
A Metallurgical Perspective on the Birth of Ancient Israel
The re-emergence of the copper industry in the Arabah valley between the twelfth and ninth centuries BCE stimulated wealth and economic development across the whole Southern Levant. Combining this reality with the metallurgical background of ancient Yahwism provides a material basis for the spread, from the early Iron Age, of the worship of YHWH in ancient Israel and neighboring nations, especially Edom. These findings strengthen the Qenite hypot…
Forgotten Meaning of ʿāpār in Biblical Hebrew
It is argued in this study that ʿāpār, in the context of mining expressed in Job 28:2, 6, probably denotes neither 'dust' nor related materials ('earth', 'dirt', or 'ashes'), as is generally assumed, but 'metallic ore'. A similar designation of ʿāpār as ore is identified in Job 30:6 and Ezek. 26:12. Further examination reveals the figurative use of ʿāpār as ore in Job 22:24, Isa. 34:9, and Isa. 41:2. In contrast to the abasement, humiliation, and…
Cultural Metallurgy—A Key Factor in the Transition from the Chalcolithic to Bronze Age in the Southern Levant
The causes of the disappearance of Late Chalcolithic society (Ghassulian) in the early fourth millenniumbcremain obscure. This study identifies the collapse as the consequence of a change in the approach to metallurgy from cosmological fundament (Late Chalcolithic) to a practical craft (EB1). This endogenous transition accounts for the cultural recession characterizing the transitional period (EB1A) and the discontinuity in ritual practices. The …
Yahweh and the Origins of Ancient Israel: Insights from the Archaeological Record
On the Coexistence of Technopoiesis and Technopraxis: Comments on the Paper “Refining Technopoiesis: Measures and Measuring Thinking in Ancient China”
Transhumanisme et pensée magique
History (11 works) · Archaeology (8 works) · Philosophy (8 works) · Ancient Near East History (7 works) · Archaeology and Historical Studies (6 works) · Art (6 works) · Ancient history (5 works) · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies (5 works) · Biblical Studies and Interpretation (5 works) · Theology (5 works)