What’s a Bamah? How Sacred Space Functioned in Ancient Israel

Well, one thing it’s not—or at least not only—is a high place. Jerome’s fourth-century Latin translation of the Bible (called the Vulgate) rendered bamah as excelsus, which led to the popular English translation “high place.” Unfortunately, this translation has for centuries colored our understanding of numerous Biblical passages.¹ Bamah appears over 100 times in the Bible, primarily referring to a cultic site of some sort. Exegetes and scholars have defined it in various ways:

• A primitive open-air installation on a natural hilltop equipped with some combination of asherah^a (sacred pole), mas\s\ebot (standing stones) and possibly altar(s).²

• An artificially raised platform upon which religious rites take place.³

• A sacrificial altar.⁴

• A mortuary installation.⁵