Local Sanctuaries and Kin-Based Cults in Early Iron Age Judah: Evidence from Lachish

This article presents a newly excavated Iron Age IIA cult room from Tel Lachish (Sanctuary BBE4) and examines its significance for the study of the organization of religious practice, situating this case within the broader corpus of Iron Age I–IIA local sanctuaries in Judah and the southern Levant. The evidence suggests that early Iron Age ritual practice was organized primarily at the level of extended kin groups, materialized in modest intramural cult rooms embedded within residential neighborhoods. These spaces reflect decentralized forms of religious authority, contrasting with the temple-centered ritual systems of the Bronze Age and with the increasing centralization of cult and religious authority in later phases of the Iron Age. By situating the Lachish evidence within a broader diachronic and regional framework, the study explores changing relationships between household ritual practices, kin-based social organization, and the development of state-level religious institutions in early Judah.