A kernos (plural kernoi) is a distinctive type of ancient Greek pottery introduced to the Iron Age Holy Land by Aegean traders and immigrants, likely from Cyprus. It is composed of a hollow ring with several smaller vessels—sometimes in the shape of anthropomorphic figures—attached to it. These smaller vessels held liquids used for libation offerings and were usually connected to the hollow ring through openings at the bottoms of each vessel. This design allowed a single pour to fill the multiple vessels at once. Because of this design, and the fact that many are found in cultic settings, archaeologists believe kernoi served as ritual vessels for pouring libations during cultic ceremonies.
The Bible supports this interpretation, as libation offerings are mentioned several times and condemned as part of worship rituals to foreign gods. For instance, Jeremiah 19:13 reads, “And the houses of Jerusalem and the houses of the kings of Judah shall be defiled like the place of Topheth—all the houses upon whose roofs offerings have been made to the whole host of heaven, and libations have been poured out to other gods.” Jeremiah 7:18 similarly condemns libations poured out to the “queen of heaven”: “The children gather wood, the fathers kindle fire, and the women knead dough, to make cakes for the queen of heaven; and they pour out drink offerings to other gods, to provoke me to anger.” Libation offerings like these may have been offered with a kernos. Archaeologist Oded Boroski at Emory University argues that the reference to those wealthy and lazy Israelite nobles “who drink wine from bowls [Hebrew: מגרק, mizraq]” is a reference to kernoi (Amos 6:6).
A kernos (plural kernoi) is a distinctive type of ancient Greek pottery introduced to the Iron Age Holy Land by Aegean traders and immigrants, likely from Cyprus. It is composed of a hollow ring with several smaller vessels—sometimes in the shape of anthropomorphic figures—attached to it. These smaller vessels held liquids used for libation offerings and were usually connected to the hollow ring through openings at the bottoms of each vessel. This design allowed a single pour to fill the multiple vessels at once. Because of this design, and the fact that many are found in cultic settings, archaeologists […]
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