Abstract:

Today's understanding of Judaism claims that Jerusalem is always at the center of worship because of the Temple of Solomon and no other place of worship has been accepted in any period. However, more than one place of worship is encountered in the early Jewish history. These places of worship, called high places (bamot in Hebrew), are places where all Israelites, including their ancestors, judges and kings, worship at an early stage. However, it is observed that after the exile of Babylon, people returned to Jerusalem and they began to clamp together around the Temple. At this point, these historical processes, which we have divided into five stages as Ancient Israel, the separation of the Kingdom, the fall of the Kingdom of Northern Israel, the Josiah’s reform and the exile of Babylon, will reveal the transformation of the places of worship. In this context, as claimed, there is no centrality of Jerusalem for worship in the early periods.

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