In biblical times, mounds, often referred to as "high places," held significant religious and cultural importance. These elevated sites were frequently used for worship, sacrifices, and other religious ceremonies. The concept of mounds or high places is mentioned numerous times throughout the Old Testament, reflecting both their widespread use and the theological implications associated with them.

Terminology and Description

The Hebrew word often translated as "high places" is "bāmâ," which can refer to a variety of elevated sites, including natural hills, constructed platforms, or even altars. These locations were typically chosen for their height, symbolizing a closer proximity to the divine. Mounds could be simple earthen structures or more elaborate constructions with altars and sacred stones.

Biblical References

1. Worship and Sacrifices: High places were commonly used for worship and sacrifices, both to Yahweh and to other deities. In 1 Kings 3:2-3, it is noted that "The people, however, were still sacrificing on the high places, because a house for the Name of the LORD had not yet been built." This indicates that before the construction of the Temple in Jerusalem, high places were a primary location for worship.

2. Idolatry and Reform: High places are frequently associated with idolatry and pagan practices, which were condemned by the prophets and reforming kings. For instance, 2 Kings 23:13 describes King Josiah's reforms: "The king also desecrated the high places east of Jerusalem...which Solomon king of Israel had built for Ashtoreth the abomination of the Sidonians, for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, and for Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites."

3. Divine Encounters: Some high places were sites of significant divine encounters. In Genesis 22:2, God instructs Abraham to offer Isaac as a sacrifice on one of the mountains in the region of Moriah, which can be seen as a high place. This event underscores the spiritual significance attributed to elevated locations.

4. Prohibition and Destruction: The Deuteronomic reform, as seen in Deuteronomy 12:2-3, called for the destruction of high places: "Destroy completely all the places on the high mountains, on the hills, and under every spreading tree, where the nations you are dispossessing worship their gods." This reflects the centralization of worship in Jerusalem and the rejection of syncretistic practices.

Archaeological and Cultural Context

Archaeological findings have uncovered numerous high places throughout the ancient Near East, providing insight into their construction and use. These sites often include altars, standing stones (masseboth), and other cultic objects. The prevalence of high places in surrounding cultures, such as the Canaanites and Moabites, highlights the syncretistic challenges faced by the Israelites.

Theological Implications

The use and condemnation of high places in the Bible reflect broader theological themes, such as the struggle between monotheism and idolatry, the centralization of worship, and the purity of religious practice. High places serve as a symbol of the tension between the worship of Yahweh and the allure of surrounding pagan practices.

In summary, mounds or high places in the Bible are multifaceted in their significance, serving as sites of worship, idolatry, and divine encounters. They are emblematic of the broader religious and cultural dynamics of ancient Israel and its neighbors.8510. tel -- a mound
... Definition: heap. Word Origin from an unused word Definition a mound NASB Word
Usage heap (2), mounds (1), ruin (2). heap, strength. By ...
/hebrew/8510.htm - 6k

The Temples and the Gods of Chaldaea
... Chaldaean cities: the resemblance of their ruins to natural mounds caused by their
exclusive use of brick as a building material"Their city walls: the ...
/.../chapter iithe temples and the.htm

The Old Testament and Archeology
... but the information thus gained was more or less vague, and in many cases of no
practical scientific value.[1] They saw many strange mounds and ruins, and ...
/.../the christian view of the old testament/chapter iv the old testament.htm

This Day are Opened, Our Mouths to Give Thanks
... 9. He afflicted us by the breaches, that He might punish our crimes: He raised
the mounds that thereby, He might humble our boasting. ...
/.../ephraim/hymns and homilies of ephraim the syrian/hymn ii this day are.htm

From the Flood to Abraham
... They threw up with infinite toil great mounds, which still stand as monuments
of human achievement. Many such mounds and ruins, any ...
/.../tidwell/the bible period by period/chapter iii from the flood.htm

The Earliest Chapters in Divine Revelation
... The oldest mounds of Babylonia and Egypt contain ruins of ancient temples, altars,
and abundant evidence of the religious zeal of the peoples who once ...
/.../iii the earliest chapters in.htm

Sovereignty and Salvation
... Ask the moles and the bats, whose companions they are; or ask the mounds beneath
which they are buried; or go where the idle gazer walketh through the museum ...
/.../spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 2 1856/sovereignty and salvation.htm

The Northern Mountains
... Vincent, Guadaloupe, and St. Lucia, hanging gardens compared with which
those of Babylon of old must have been Cockney mounds. The ...
//christianbookshelf.org/kingsley/at last/chapter xi the northern mountains.htm

The Sixth Word
... the whole course of man's history, in the entire spiritual evolution, whose first
steps and rude beginnings we trace in the burial mounds of prehistoric races ...
//christianbookshelf.org/beibitz/gloria crucis/vii the sixth word.htm

Of the Outer Limbs of Man, and their Use.
... Do they not, as it were by mounds, both afford protection to the eyes, so that nothing
may fall into them from above, [1870] and at the same time ornament? ...
/.../lactantius/on the workmanship of god/chap x of the outer limbs.htm

Personal Service
... eagle with my eye on the sun, with wings outstretched true to the line upward which
I soar, bound no longer to the rooks of prejudice or the mounds of worldly ...
/.../spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 6 1860/personal service.htm

Mounds (7 Occurrences)
... Multi-Version Concordance Mounds (7 Occurrences). Joshua 11:13 But as for the cities
that stood on their mounds, Israel burned none of them, except Hazor only. ...
/m/mounds.htm - 8k

Babylonia (17 Occurrences)
... BABYLONIA. bab-i-lo'-ni-a 1. Mounds 2. Explorations 3. Names 4. Semites 5. Sumerians
6. Home of the Semites 7. Immigration 8. Language 9. Script 10. ...
/b/babylonia.htm - 75k

Asshur (133 Occurrences)
... In Genesis 2:14 "Assyria" ought to be "Asshur," which was the original capital of
Assyria, a city represented by the mounds of Kalah Sherghat, on the west bank ...
/a/asshur.htm - 46k

Nineveh (23 Occurrences)
... A little more than forty years ago the French consul at Mosul began to search
the vast mounds that lay along the opposite bank of the river. ...
/n/nineveh.htm - 52k

Ramps (8 Occurrences)
... Jeremiah 32:24 Behold, the mounds, they are come to the city to take it; and the
city is given into the hand of the Chaldeans who fight against it, because of ...
/r/ramps.htm - 8k

Abarim (8 Occurrences)
... Numbers 33:47, 48); `this mountain-country of the Abarim' (Numbers 27:12 Deuteronomy
32:49); Iye-abarim, which means "Heaps of the Abarim," or "Mounds of the ...
/a/abarim.htm - 12k

Assur (2 Occurrences)
... ceased to be the chief religious center. The mounds of Assur are among the
largest in Mesopotamia. They rise abruptly from the Tigris ...
/a/assur.htm - 13k

Sherghat
... ceased to be the chief religious center. The mounds of Assur are among the
largest in Mesopotamia. They rise abruptly from the Tigris ...
/s/sherghat.htm - 12k

Sardis (3 Occurrences)
... The modern name of the necropolis is Bin Tepe or Thousand Mounds, because of the
large group of great mounds in which the kings and nobles were buried. ...
/s/sardis.htm - 13k

Forts (12 Occurrences)
... Ezekiel 17:17 Neither shall Pharaoh with his mighty army and great company help
him in the war, when they cast up mounds and build forts, to cut off many ...
/f/forts.htm - 10k

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