Archaeologica.org

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/20 ... 132604.htm

The legend is that the great rulers of Canaan, the ancient land of Israel, were all men. But a recent dig by Tel Aviv University archaeologists at Tel Beth-Shemesh uncovered possible evidence of a mysterious female ruler.

Public Relations...Bronze Age Style.

Hi Min

There may well have been a Mistresses of the Lionesses who wrote to the Egyptian pharaoh about unrest in her kingdom. But it ain't the lady on that plaque that they've just dug up, in my opinion, who is a Phoenician or Canaanite goddess.



I've explained why in this post on Ishtar's Gate about the Mistress of the Lionesses.

Happy Easter/Esther/Ishtar!

I think their point was that the two Amarna tablets from c 1350 BC showed that there was a woman running the place but so what? Hatshepsut had been pharaoh of Egypt over a century before and if the Egyptians could do it than anyone could because they were the big dogs in the region....with apologies to the unlamented Arch and his non-existent "Israelites."

What the evidence does suggest is that the male-dominated writings of much later times once again are not an accurate reflection of the Late Bronze Age in Canaan. Perhaps "Jezebel" was not such an anomaly? Women actually seem to do better in polytheistic societies!

Not to pick at nits, Min:

But "Jezebel" was a wife of a ruler,
not a ruler in her own right.

This not to say I don't accept the idea that there may have been female rulers in the area.
Just not that one.

One of the few women in the OT who got to do anything significant, kb... other than make problems for men.

Well:
Rahab, Jael, and Deborah all made problems for men.
But the men were the bad guys.

I am not saying it wasn't a male dominated society.
But on occasion a woman would stand up,
and they were given credit when it happened.