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[219 U.S. 47, 48] As a result of the conditions caused in San Francisco by the great calamity of earthquake and fire which befell that city in April, 1906, an extraordinary session of the legislature of California was convoked. One reason stated for the call was the necessity of providing for restoring the record title to land in San Francisco. An act to accomplish [219 U.S. 47, 49] that purpose became a law upon its approval on June 16, 1906. It is copied on the margin. 1
The circuit court of appeals has certified the issues involved in a pending cause, the determination of which rests upon the validity of the statute just referred to. The pertinent facts arising on the record of the cause are stated in the certificate, and are hereafter set forth. The purpose contemplated is to obtain instructions as to
1 Chapter 59.
An Act to Provide for the Establishment and Quieting of Title to Real Property in Case of the Loss or Destruction of Public Records.
[Approved June 16, 1906.]
The people of the state of California, represented in senate and assembly, do enact as follows:
Sec. 1. Whenever the public records in the office of a county recorder have been, or shall hereafter be, lost or destroyed, in whole or in any material part, by flood, fire, or earthquake, any person who claims an estate of inheritance or for life in, and who is by himself or his tenant or other person holding under him, in the actual and peaceable possession of any real property in such county, may bring and maintain an action in rem against all the world, in the superior court for the county in which such real property is situate, to establish his title to such property, and to determine all adverse claims thereto. Any number of separate parcels of land claimed by the plaintiff may be included in the same action.
Sec. 2. The action shall be commenced by the filing of a verified complaint, in which the party so commencing the same shall be named as plaintiff, and the defendants shall be described as 'all persons claiming any interest in, or lien upon, the real property herein described, or any part thereof,' and shall contain a statement of the facts enumerated in 1 of this act, a particular description of such real property, and a specification of the estate, title, or interest of the plaintiff therein.
Sec. 3. Upon the filing of the complaint, a summons must be issued under the seal of the court, which shall contain the name of the court and county in which the action is brought, the name of the plaintiff, and a particular description of the real property involved, and shall be directed to 'all persons claiming any interest in, or lien upon the [219 U.S. 47, 50] whether the act in question 'is violative of the 14th Amendment of the Constitution of the United States,' and whether by virtue of a decree rendered by the superior
___ real property herein described, or any part thereof,' as defendants, and shall be substantially in the following form:
Action No. ___.
________ ________, plaintiff,
All Persons Claiming Any Interest in, or Lien upon, the Real Property Herein Described, or Any Part Thereof, Defendants.
The People of the State of California, to all persons claiming any interest in, or lien upon, the real property herein described, or any part thereof, defendants, Greetings:
You are hereby required to appear and answer the complaint of ________ _____, plaintiff, filed with the clerk of the above entitled court and county, within three months after the first publication of this summons, and to set forth what interest or lien, if any, you have in or upon that certain real property or any part thereof, situated in the county (or city and county) of _____, state of California, particularly described as follows: (Here insert description.)
And you are hereby notified that, unless you so appear and answer, the plaintiff will apply to the court for the relief demanded in the complaint, to wit: (Here insert a statement of the relief so demanded.)
Witness my hand and the seal of said court, this ___ day of _____, A. D. _____.
[SEAL.] ________ ________, clerk.'
Sec. 4. The summons shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation, published in the county in which the action is brought. The newspaper in which such publication is to be made shall be designated by an order of the court or a judge thereof, to be signed and filed with the clerk. No other order for the publication of the summons shall be necessary, nor shall any affidavit therefor be required, nor need any copy of the complaint be served, except as hereinafter required. The summons shall be published at least once a week for a period of two months, and to each publication thereof shall be appended a memorandum in substance as follows:
___ _____ (here insert the name) newspaper on the ___ day of _____ A. D. ____ ; (inserting the date).'
And if the affidavit provided for in 5 of this act discloses the name of any person claiming an interest in the property, or a lien thereon adverse to the plaintiff, that fact, together with the name and address ( if given), of said person, shall be stated in a memorandum to be appended to the summons in substance as follows:
Sec. 5. At the time of filing the complaint, the plaintiff shall file with the same his affidavit, fully and explicitly setting forth and showing (1) the character of his estate, right, title, interest, or claim in and possession of the property, during what period the same has existed and from whom obtained; (2) whether or not he has ever made any conveyance of the property, or any part thereof, or any interests therein, and if so, when and to whom; also a statement of any and all subsisting mortgages, deeds of trust, and other liens thereon; (3) that he does not know and has never been informed of any other person who claims or who may claim, any interest in, or lien upon, the property or any part thereof, adversely to him, or, if he does know, or has been informed of any such person, then the name and address of such person. If the plaintiff is unable to state any one or more of the matters herein required, he shall set forth and show, fully and explicitly, the reasons for such inability. Such affidavit shall constitute a part of the judgment roll. If the plaintiff be a corporation, the affidavit shall be made by an officer thereof. If the plaintiff be a person under guardianship, the affidavit shall be made by his guardian.
Sec. 6. If the said affidavit discloses the name of any person claiming any interest in, or lien upon, the property adverse to the plaintiff, the summons shall also be personally served upon such person if he can be found within the state, together with a copy of the complaint and a copy of said affidavit during the period of the publications of the summons; and to the copy of the summons delivered to any such per [219 U.S. 47, 52] The following are the facts recited in the certificate:
___ son there shall be appended a copy of the memoranda provided for in 4 hereof.
If such person resides out of this state, a copy of the summons, memoranda, complaint, and affidavit shall be within fifteen days after the first publication of the summons deposited in the United States post- office, inclosed in a sealed envelop, postage prepaid, addressed to such person at the address given in the affidavit, or if no address be given therein, then at the county seat at the county in which the action is brought. If such person resides within this state, and could not, with due diligence, be found within the state, within the period of the publication of the summons, then said copies aforesaid shall be mailed to him as above provided forthwith upon the expiration of said period of publication.
Sec. 7. Upon the completion of the publication and posting of the summons, and its service upon and mailing to the person, if any, upon whom it is hereby directed to be so specially served, the court shall have full and complete jurisdiction over the plaintiff and the said property, and of the person of everyone claiming any estate, right, title, or interest in or to, or lien upon, said property, or any part thereof, and shall be deemed to have obtained the possession and control of said property for the purposes of the action, and shall have full and complete jurisdiction to render the judgment therein which is provided for in this act.
Sec. 8. At any time within three months from the first publication of the summons, or within such further time, not exceeding thirty days, as the court may, for good cause, grant, any person having or claiming any estate, right, title, or interest, in or to, or lien upon, said property, or any part thereof, may appear and make himself a party to the action by pleading to the complaint. All answers must be verified and must specifically set forth the estate, right, title, interest, or lien so claimed.
Sec. 9. The plaintiff must, at the time of filing the complaint, and every defendant claiming any affirmative relief must, at the time of filing his answer, record in the office of the recorder of the county in which the property is situated, a notice of the pendency of the action, containing the object of the action or defense, and a particular description of the property affected thereby; and the recorder shall record the same in a book devoted exclusively to the recordation of such notices [219 U.S. 47, 53] a cloud from its title to real property, and to quiet its title thereto. The bill alleges on April 10, 1908, and at all the times prior thereto, referred to in the bill, George H. Lent
___ and shall enter, upon a map or plat of the parcels of land, to be kept by him for that purpose, on that part of the map or plat representing the parcel or parcels so described, a reference to the date of the filing of such notice and, when recorded, to the book and page of the record thereof.
Sec. 10. No judgment in any such action shall be given by default; but the court must require proof of the facts alleged in the complaint and other pleadings.
Sec. 11. The judgment shall ascertain and determine all estates, rights, titles, interests, and claims in and to said property and every part thereof, whether the same be legal or equitable, present or future, vested or contingent, or whether the same consist of mortgages or liens of any description, and shall be binding and conclusive upon every person who, at the time of the commencement of the action, had or claimed any estate, right, title, or interest in or to said property, or any part thereof, and upon every person claiming under him by title subsequent to the commencement of the action. A certified copy of the judgment in such action shall be recorded in the office of the recorder of the county in which said action was commenced, and any party or the successor in interest of any party to said action may, at his option, file for record in the office of the recorder of such county the entire judgment roll in said action.
Sec. 12. Except as herein otherwise provided, all the provisions and rules of law relating to evidence, pleading, practice, new trials and appeals, applicable to other civil actions, shall apply to the actions hereby authorized.
At any time after the issuance of the summons, any party to the action may take depositions therein, in conformity to law, upon notice to the adverse party sought to be bound by such depositions, and who have appeared in the action (if any), and upon notice filed with the clerk. The depositions may be used by any party against any other party giving or receiving the notice (except the clerk), subject to all just exceptions.
Sec. 13. The clerk shall number consecutively, in a distinct series, all actions hereby authorized, and shall keep an index and register thereof devoted exclusively to such actions.
Sec. 14. Whenever judgment in an action hereby authorized shall have been entered as to any real property, no other action relative to [219 U.S. 47, 54] and Mary G. Coggeshall were severally the owners in fee simple of two adjacent lots of land in San Francisco, which lots are described in the bill. The lots and others similarly situated are known as city slip and water lots. Under the provisions of an act of the legislature of the state of California, approved March 5, 1851 (Stat. of 1851, p. 764), the state leased this property to the city of San Francisco for the term of ninety- nine years. The appellee is alleged to be the owner of the unexpired portion of this lease as successor in interest of the city's right, and to be entitled to the possession thereof until March 26, 1950. The bill alleges that the appellee has no right whatever other than this right of possession and occupation; that notwithstanding the premises, the appellee claims to be the owner in fee simple of said lands under a judgment and decree of the superior court of the state of California in and for the city and county of San Francisco, made and entered December 19, 1906, in a proceeding entitled 'Louis Zeiss, Plaintiff, vs. All Persons Claiming Any Interest in or Lien upon the Real Property Herein [219 U.S. 47, 55] Described, or Any Part Thereof, Defendants;' that said proceeding was brought under an act of the legislature of the state of California, entitled, 'An Act to Provide for the Establishment and Quieting of Title to Real Property in Case of the Loss or Destruction of Public Records,' approved June 16, 1906; that said claim of the appellee under said decree is without right, and said decree is void; that in the complaint in that proceeding the appellee, after properly setting forth the destruction of the records, alleged that he was the owner in fee simple, free of emcumbrance, of the lands which are described in the bill in this case, and that he prayed for a decree of the superior court adjudging his title to be as set forth by him; that at the time of filing his complaint he filed his affidavit setting forth the character of the estate, the source of his title, his possession, and stating that he had made no conveyance of the land, that there were no liens on it, and that he did not know and that he had never been informed of any other person who claimed or may claim any interest or lien upon the property, or any part thereof, adversely to him. The affidavit contained no averment that inquiry of any kind had been made to ascertain whether such adverse claim did exist. It is shown in the bill that in said proceeding under said act of the legislature, summons was published in the Law Recorder for the space of two months, and was also posted on the land, and after the period of publication of the summons the appellee herein obtained a decree of the court, as prayed for by him. The bill further alleges that although the appellant's grantors were at all times citizens and residents of California, not seeking to evade, but ready to accept, service of summons, and easily reached for that purpose, no service was made upon them, nor did they in any way receive notice of the pendency of the action, nor did they gain any knowledge of the existence of the decree until more than a year after its entry. A demurrer [219 U.S. 47, 56] was interposed to the bill in the court below for want of equity, which demurrer was sustained by the court and the bill was dismissed.'
Messrs. C. Irving Wright, Samuel Knight, Edward J. McCutchen, and Charles Page for the American Land Company.
[219 U.S. 47, 58] Messrs. Otto tum Suden and Garret W. McEnerney for Zeiss.
Mr. Chief Justice White, after making the foregoing statement, delivered the opinion of the court:
Although not objecting to an answer to the questions, nevertheless the American Land Company, which was the appellant below, suggests at bar a want of power to reply to the questions for a twofold reason: First, because [219 U.S. 47, 59] the certificate on its face indicates that the court below was not in a state of mind which required the instruction of this court, but was merely desirous of provoking a direct decision by this court, to avoid the delay and the public inconvenience which otherwise might result. Second, because the certificate is so broad as simply to refer the whole case to this court for decision, instead of presenting definite propositions of law for solution. While it may be that these suggestions find possible support, considering the record in a detached way, we think when the certificate is considered as a whole, and the subject with which it deals is properly weighed, the suggestions are without merit. We therefore pass to a consideration of the questions propounded.
It is apparent that the substantial considerations involved in the questions certified are embraced in the following: (a) the authority of the state to deal with the subject with which the statute is concerned; (b) upon the hypothesis of the existence of power, the sufficiency of the safeguards provided in the statute; (c) upon the like hypothesis the adequacy of the proceedings had in the particular cause with which the certificate deals. We shall consider these subjects separately.
As to power of the state.
The conditions which led to the legislation in question were stated by the supreme court of California in Title & Document Restoration Co. v. Kerrigan, 150 Cal. 289, 8 L.R.A.(N.S.) 682, 119 Am. St. Rep. 199, 88 Pac. 356. The court said:
As it is indisputable that the general welfare of society is involved in the security of the titles to real estate and in the public registry of such titles, it is obvious that the power to legislate as to such subjects inheres in the very nature of government. This being true, it follows that government possesses the power to remedy the confusion and uncertainty as to registered titles arising from a disaster like that described by the court below. We might well pursue no further the subject of the power of the state to enact the law in question, and thus leave its authority to depend upon the demonstration necessarily resulting from the obvious considerations just stated. As, however, the question of power is intimately interwoven with the sufficiency of the procedure adopted, and as a clear comprehension of the scope of the power will serve to elucidate the question of procedure, we shall briefly refer to some of the leading cases by which the elementary doctrine of power over the subject of titles to real estate, and the application of that doctrine to a case like the one in hand, is settled beyond question. That a state has the power, generally speaking, to provide for and protect individual rights to the soil within its confines, and declare what shall form a cloud on the title to such soil, was recognized in Clark v. Smith, 13 Pet. 195, 10 L. ed. 123. So, also, it is conclusively established that when the public interests demand, the law may require even a party in actual possession of land, and claiming a perfect title, to appear before a properly constituted tribunal, and establish that title by a judicial proceeding. Such was the method employed by the United States in settling, as between itself and claimants under Mexican grants, the title to property in California. Barker v. Harvey, 181 U.S. 481 , 45 L. ed. 963, 21 Sup. Ct. Rep. 690; Mitchell v. Furman, 180 U.S. 402 , 45 L. ed. 596, 21 Sup. Ct. Rep. 430; Botiller v. Dominguez, 130 U.S. 238 , 32 L. ed. 926, 9 Sup. Ct. Rep. 525; More v. Steinbach, 127 U.S. 70 , 32 L. ed. 51, 8 Sup. Ct. Rep. 1067. [219 U.S. 47, 61] The question of what authority a state possesses over titles to real estate, and what jurisdiction over the subject it may confer upon its courts, received much consideration in Arndt v. Griggs, 134 U.S. 316 , 33 L. ed. 918, 10 Sup. Ct. Rep. 557. It was there held that, even as to ordinary controversies respecting title to land, arising between rival claimants, the state possessed the power to provide for the adjudication of titles to real estate not only as against residents, but as against nonresidents, who might be brought into court by publication. In the course of the opinion the court said (p. 320):
Manifestly, under circumstances like those here presented, the principle applies with equal force in the case of unknown claimants. Undisclosed and unknown claimants [219 U.S. 47, 62] are, to say the least, as dangerous to the stability of titles as other classes. This principle received recognition and was applied in Hamilton v. Brown, 161 U.S. 256 , 40 L. ed. 691, 16 Sup. Ct. Rep. 585, where it was held to be competent for a state to make provision for promptly ascertaining, by appropriate judicial proceedings, who has succeeded to property upon the death of a person leaving such property within the state. It was said (p. 275):
The application of the doctrine of governmental power, as just stated, to a condition like the one here in question, was aptly pointed out by the supreme court of Illinois in Bertrand v. Taylor, 87 Ill. 235, where, in considering the Illinois burnt record act, the court said:
The supreme court of California, in the Kerrigan Case, supra, addressing itself to the same subject, pertinently observed:
The power exerted by the act being, then, clearly within [219 U.S. 47, 64] the legislative authority, we are brought to consider whether the lawful power was manifested in such a manner as to cause the act to be repugnant to the 14th Amendment. And this brings us to the second proposition heretofore stated, viz.:
The adequacy of the safeguards which the statute provides.
As no complaint is made concerning the provisions of the statute relating to the designation of and notice to known claimants, we put that subject out of view and address ourselves to the provisions relating to unknown claimants or claims. The action which the statute authorizes may be brought by 'any person who claims an estate of inheritance or for life in, and who is by himself or his tenant, or other person holding under him, in the actual and peaceable possession of any real property' situated in a county where 'the public records in the office of a county recorder have been lost or destroyed, in whole or in any material part, by flood, fire, or earthquake.' In the caption of the complaint the statute requires that the defendants shall be described as 'all persons claiming any interest in or lien upon the real property herein described, or any part thereof.' The summons is required to contain a description of the property affected by the suit, and to be directed to 'all persons claiming an interest in or lien upon the real property herein described, or any part thereof.' The summons is to be published at least once a week for two months, and the defendants are commanded to appear and answer within three months after the first publication of the summons. A copy of the summons is required to be posted in a conspicuous place on each separate parcel of the property described in the complaint within fifteen days after the first publication of the summons. At the time of filing the complaint a notice of the pendency of the action, giving, among other things, a particular description of the property affected thereby, must be recorded [219 U.S. 47, 65] in the office of the recorder of the county in which the property is situated, and it is made the duty of the recorder to enter, 'upon a map or plat of the parcels of land, to be kept by him for that purpose, on that part of the map or plat representing the parcel or parcels so described, a reference to the date of the filing of such notice, and, when recorded, to the book and page of the record thereof.' In considering the statute, we are bound by the construction affixed to it by the supreme court of the state, and therefore treat as embraced within its terms that which the highest court of the state has declared the statute exacts, either expressly or by necessary implication. In the Kerrigan Case, supra, it was held that the result of the provisions of the statute was 'to require the complainant to designate and to serve as known claimants all whom, with reasonable diligence, he could ascertain to be claimants,'-a construction which in effect declared that the statute prohibited the omission of a known claim or claimant, upon the conception that the rights of such claim or claimant would be foreclosed by the general designation and notice prescribed for unknown claimants. And in Hoffman v. Superior Court, 151 Cal. 386, 90 Pac. 939, where the doctrine of the Kerrigan Case was reiterated and applied, the court, after holding that the statute requires the plaintiff in his affidavit to allege in terms 'that he does not know and has never been informed' of any adverse claimants whom he has not specifically named, pointed out that failure of the plaintiff to make inquiry or to avail himself of knowledge which would be imputed to him because of facts sufficient to put him on inquiry as to the existence of adverse claims would be available 'in any subsequent attack upon the decree, upon the ground that there was extraneous fraud of the plaintiff in making a false affidavit to obtain jurisdiction.'
It is to be borne in mind that it has been settled (Griffith v. Connecticut, 218 U.S. 563 , 54 L. ed. 1151, 31 Sup. Ct. Rep. 132, and cases cited) that [219 U.S. 47, 66] the 14th Amendment does not operate to deprive the states of their lawful power, and of the right, in the exercise of such power, to resort to reasonable methods inherently belonging to the power exerted. On the contrary, the provisions of the due process clause only restrain those arbitrary and unreasonable exertions of power which are not really within lawful state power, since they are so unreasonable and unjust as to impair or destroy fundamental rights.
It is to be observed that the statute not only requires a disclosure by the plaintiff of all known claimants, but moreover, at the very outset, contains words of limitation that no one not in the actual and peaceable possession of property can maintain the action which it authorizes. No person can therefore be deprived of his property under the statute unless he had not only gone out of possession of such property and allowed another to acquire possession, or, if he had a claim to such property or an interest therein, had so entirely failed to disclose that fact as to enable a possessor to truthfully make the affidavit which the statute exacts of a want of all knowledge of the existence of other claimants than as disclosed in his affidavit. Besides, it is to be considered that the statute, as construed by the California court, imposed upon the one in possession seeking the establishment of an alleged title the duty to make diligent inquiry to ascertain the names of all claimants. Instead, therefore, of the statute amounting to the exertion of a purely unreasonable and arbitrary power, its provisions leave no room for that contention. On the contrary, we think the statute manifests the careful purpose of the legislature to provide every reasonable safeguard for the protection of the rights of unknown claimants, and to give such notice as, under the circumstances, would be reasonably likely to bring the fact of the pendency and the purpose of the proceeding to the attention of those interested. To argue that the provisions [219 U.S. 47, 67] of the statute are repugnant to the due process clause because a case may be conceived where rights in and to property would be adversely affected without notice being actually conveyed by the proceedings is in effect to deny the power of the state to deal with the subject. The criterion is not the possibility of conceivable injury, but the just and reasonable character of the requirements, having reference to the subject with which the statute deals. The doctrine on this subject was clearly expressed by the court of appeals of New York in Re Empire City Bank, 18 N. Y. 199, where, speaking of the right of a state to prescribe in a suitable case for constructive service, it was said:
And in accordance with this view, the supreme court of California, in the Kerrigan Case, pointed out that the statute furnished all the safeguards for which, in reason, it could have been expected to provide consistently with the condition dealt with. The court said:
The case of Ballard v. Hunter, 204 U.S. 241 , 51 L. ed. 461, 27 Sup. Ct. Rep. 261, is instructive on this feature of the case. In that case a judgment of the circuit court of Arkansas was affirmed which sustained the validity of a sale of lands for levee taxes. The Arkansas statute authorized the proceedings which had resulted in the sale, upon constructive publication against nonresidents and unknown owners. Lands of Josephine Ballard were sold under the statutory proceeding, she not having knowledge of the existence of the suit or of the fact that the taxes had been assessed against her property. In the course of the opinion the court, speaking through Mr. Justice McKenna, said (p. 261):
While we are of opinion that the views just stated demonstrate the want of merit in the contention that the statute, because of the insufficiency of its requirements, was repugnant to the 14th Amendment, a consideration of a provision of the general law of California, which, by the construction of the supreme court of California, is incorporated into the statute under consideration, would lead to the same result. Thus, in the Hoffman Case, the court said:
The right conferred by 473 of the Code, it is to be observed, is an absolute right, although the section declares that the court may impose 'such terms as may be just.' Holiness Church v. Metropolitan Church Asso. 12 Cal. App. 445, 107 Pac. 635; Gray v. Lawlor, 151 Cal. 352, 90 Pac. 691, 12 A. & E. Ann. Cas. 990.
Under this construction it might well be held, if it were necessary to do so, as establishing a rule of limitation which it was in the power of the state to prescribe, in view of the circumstances to which the limitation was made applicable. See Tyler v. Registration Ct. Judges, 175 Mass. 71, 51 L.R.A. 433, 55 N. E. 812, and State ex rel. Douglas v. Westfall, 85 Minn. 437, 57 L.R.A. 297, 89 Am. St. Rep. 571, 89 N. W. 175. See also Illinois cases concerning the power to fix a short period of limitation to meet a disaster like the one to which the statute in question relates, collected in Gormley v. Clark, 134 U.S. 346, 347 , 33 S. L. ed. 913, 10 Sup. Ct. Rep. 554.
These views dispose of all the contentions concerning the repugnancy of the statute to the 14th Amendment which we think it necessary to separately consider. In saying this we are not unmindful of a multitude of subordinate propositions pressed in
The voluminous brief of counsel, and which were all in effect urged upon the supreme court of California in the Kerrigan and Hoffman Cases, and were in those cases adversely disposed of, and which we also find to be without merit. Some of them we briefly refer to. We do not think it is important to determine the precise nature of the action authorized by [219 U.S. 47, 71] the statute, since the method of procedure which was prescribed was within the legislative competency. So, also, we do not deem it important to discuss what constitutes a judicial proceeding, since the statutory proceeding provided by the act was within the authority of the state to enact, and that it was judicial in character has been expressly determined by the court of last resort of the state. Indeed, not only these, but all the contentions proceed upon a misconception as to the legislative authority of the state and the effect thereon of the due process clause of the Constitution of the United States. The error which all the propositions involve was pointed out in Twining v. New Jersey, 211 U.S. 78 , 53 L. ed. 97, 29 Sup. Ct. Rep. 14, where, speaking by Mr. Justice Moody, the court said:
3.The adequacy of the proceedings pursued in the case referred to in the certificate.
As there is no claim that fraud, actual or constructive, was employed by Zeiss in obtaining the judgment complained of, and the proceedings conformed to the California statute, the considerations previously stated entirely dispose of this question.
It follows that both of the questions certified must be answered in the negative.
And it is so ordered.
Sec. 15. An executor, administrator, or guardian, or other person holding the possession of property in the right of another, may maintain as plaintiff, and may appear and defend in, the action herein provided for.
Sec. 16. The word 'county,' whenever used in this act, includes and applies to a consolidated city and county.
Sec. 17. The remedies provided for by this act shall be deemed cumulative, and in addition to any other remedy now or hereafter provided by law for quieting or establishing title to real property.
Sec. 18. All actions authorized hereby must be commenced before July 1st, 1909.
Sec. 19. This act shall be in force thirty days after its passage.
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text:
Essay from Hess, Richard, G. A. Klingbeil, and P. J. Ray Jr. Eds. Critical Issues From Israelite History. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 2008
By Efraín Velázquez II
Universidad Adventista de las Antillas, Puerto Rico
July 2009
The issues of settlement and the origin of Israel are commonly associated with the Late Bronze and Iron Ages. These periods have been considered the loci of the early biblical materials. However, more recently, these assumptions about the origin of the biblical texts and even the factuality of the events presented in them have been questioned. The discussion of the origins of Israel is now focused on the Persian period. Whereas this newer emphasis is somewhat strained and tends to repeat some of the unfortunate mistakes made by earlier interpreters, the debate over Israel in the Persian period nevertheless illuminates the discussion of Israel's origin in earlier periods.
During most of last century, if a group of scholars was invited to a conference on issues regarding the origins of Israel, all the papers would have had their chronological focus solely on the Late Bronze and Iron Ages.1 The consensus was that the important chapters of Israel's history took place during those periods (Albright 1935, 1939; Wright 1952; Bright 1981). The terminus a quo for Israel, as a political entity, was a violent conquest and massive settlement of Israelites in the southern Levant during the 15th or 13th century b.c.e. However, the trend in the last decade has been to focus on the Persian period for the origin of Israel.2 The earlier assumption that Israel emerged as a social entity before the 6th century b.c.e. has been labeled a "myth."3
Moreover, in many circles today, a conference on issues in early Israelite history will only feature papers on the Persian and Hellenistic periods. This essay evaluates arguments that sustain the consensus among some scholars that the Persian period might be the locus of the origin of Israel. Some might ask, have most of the papers of this conference missed the mark? Are we looking to the wrong period for the origins of Israel? The term myth, used in current debates about the emergence of Israel, is loaded with rhetorical nuances.4 In the context of this essay, myths are not biblical stories or biblical history. Here, the term myth is used loosely for any reconstruction that cannot be sustained by archaeological and/or textual data. Thompson (1992a) and Barstad (1996) argue that scholars who support an early date for the origin of Israel (the so-called maximalists) are perpetuating a "myth of Israel" and the "mythical past" of the Hebrew Bible. On the other hand, Oded (2003: 55–56) calls the so-called minimalists "mythographers," because they propose that the origin of Israel should be dated to late periods (that is, Persian or Hellenistic periods). I do not wish to engage in a diatribe that would not advance the study on the origins of Israel. Name-calling and rhetorical outbursts have done much harm and do not promote progress in this discussion. Much of today's literature is reactionary and does not advance our understanding. However, the dynamics of engaging a subject from different perspectives can be fruitful and the colorful language of these discussions generates interest. I will first present the background of the current debate regarding the origin of Israel and the methodological implications of the positions that have been proposed.
Early Myths Challenged
The picture of hordes of Israelites sweeping over the Canaanite hill country and burning all the cities in their path does not correlate well with archaeological or textual evidence. Some readers of the Hebrew Bible have invoked the "assured results" of archaeology to support their views of the devastating conquest of Canaan at the hands of the Israelites. However, these types of historical reconstructions have not stood up to the rigorous examination of archaeological data. The failure to be consistent in terms of current research has raised strong skepticism regarding the historical value of the Hebrew Scriptures. Carter and Meyers (1996: 3) have noted:
A generation ago, biblical scholars spoke confidently of the "assured results of biblical studies." These positions were given sacrosanct status, taken for granted as the foundation for all subsequent study of scripture. Recently, however, many of these consensuses have come under close scrutiny, so that what was once considered "assured" is now often questioned as a legitimate "result."
Some of the "assured results" of archaeology used to "prove" the reconstruction known as the "conquest" were based on incorrect interpretations of the text and limited archaeological data (Albright 1935, 1939; Wright 1952; Bright 1981). A myth was imposed on biblical history, according to my definition of the term. On the other hand, Zevit (2002a: 36) has emphasized that "earlier generations of scholars are not to be faulted for trying their best." The questions that they posed to the data were different, and they had limited information available.5 Nevertheless, in the context of this essay, historical reconstructions that use questionable methodology are called "myths." The "conquest model" proposed by Albright cannot be supported by modern scholars. Whereas the contributions of this model should be acknowledged, as Merling (1997b: 59–62) has shown, the Albrightean model is questionable on archaeological and textual grounds. Younger (1999: 200–201) has also observed that "the only apparent consensus [today] is that the Albrightean conquest model is invalidated." Most scholars now distance themselves from the mythical conquest model and the "prove the Bible" methodology.6 Another myth that was shared by many scholars was the notion that a group of Judahites came to the Judean hill country in the 6th century b.c.e. to an empty land to settle and begin a new Israel. This "new" exodus and conquest is known as the "restoration" and was supposed to have support in the archaeological record. Nelson Glueck (1934; 1935; 1939) suggested that after the Babylonian invasions7 of the southern Levant, there was an occupational gap in the area. Glueck's mistaken conclusions were perpetuated in scholarship during the rest of the 20th century (see Alt 1940; Noth 1960). However, archaeological research during the last few decades in both Cisjordan and Trans- jordan has lead to a reappraisal of the 6th-century b.c.e. destructions and the "gap" theory (see Pratico 1985: 26). There were people in the southern Levant in the 6th century b.c.e., even after the Neo-Babylonian destructions. The "restoration" model that requires an empty land is a myth. Again, particular interpretations of some biblical texts and archaeological data have led to wrong conclusions.
Myths and Methods
Any valid historical reconstruction of the origins of Israel requires a correlation between the interpretation of the biblical texts and the material culture. The traditional conquest and restoration models and their reconstructions of the origins of Israel emphasized the validation of a specific interpretation of the biblical accounts with archaeological results. The integrity of the text was based on external evidence. Because the settlement data did not "prove" that millions of Israelites burned Canaanite cities in the 15th or 13th centuries b.c.e. or that Judahites came to a deserted hill country, the biblical histories were labeled as mythical.
In the middle of the last century, more "objectivity" was placed on archaeology than on textual studies. The methodology was simple: if an archaeological discovery pointed in a different direction than a particular reconstruction of biblical history, then the biblical text must be wrong. Most of the time, the main problem was not with the biblical text but rather with the reconstruction of biblical history. The result of this methodology was that both the biblical text and the historical reconstruction were considered myths.
Several scholars have pointed out the methodological flaws of earlier historical reconstructions of the origins of Israel. Dever's stinging criticism portrays biblical archaeology as "based on supposed 'facts' that turned out to be hearsay rather than evidence." He continues: "It is no wonder, then, that reconstructions based on archeology are greeted today with about as much skepticism as are the past generation's 'assured results of biblical criticism'" (1983: 577).8 Davies's (2000: 27) observations are similar to Dever's, because he notes: "Asserting that the Israel of the Bible and that of history were essentially the same, it shackled Biblical Israel to the discipline of archaeology and left the Bible vulnerable to the charge of being worthless if it was not historically reliable." He adds: "if the archaeological sub-structure fell, so would the theology." Even though Dever and Davies consider their views to be widely divergent, their conclusions are similar: the historical value of the Bible is minimized and it is left with little theological importance.
The criticism of naive readings of the Hebrew Bible has motivated more serious studies of biblical material. The methodological problems of earlier reconstructions must be avoided and their conclusions should not be perpetuated in scholarly or even popular literature. The incorrect conquest and restoration models must be rejected as myths. Regardless of the overtones of revis ing earlier conclusions, one must recognize the value of scholarly discussion. However, a "crisis" (Childs 1970; see also Lemche 2000; Long 2002a) has been declared in biblical studies, with a "myth hunt" in full season.
The Myth Hunt
In today's myth hunt, there are no more consensuses among most scholars regarding the patriarchal narratives, the exodus, the conquest, the monarchy, the Exile, or the return (cf. Garbini 1994; Person 1993; Van Seters 1992). The problem has been that, beyond healthy scholarly discussion, hypercritical approaches to the Bible have made it almost impossible to search for the origins of Israel. Oded (2003: 55) notes that for the so-called minimalist scholars, the Hebrew Bible is "a piece of propagandistic material for political and religious ends." Oded (2003: 55–56) describes how the authors of the Hebrew Bible are perceived:
Jews during the Hellenistic period invented a series of myths, a myth of Origins, a myth of the Patriarchs, a myth of the Promised Land, a myth of the Pollution of the Land by the Canaanites, a myth of the Conquest and Judges, a myth of the United Monarchy, a myth of Exile and Return, a myth of Ezra, a Myth of the Empty Land—myth, myth, myth, "which stretches now from Genesis to 2 Kings (at least)" (Carroll 1991: 84).9
Some of the arguments that were used to "disprove" the early origins of Israel have been recycled to label the destruction by the Babylonians and the resto ration of the Judahites a myth. What are the implications of this methodology in terms of the history of the 6th and 5th centuries b.c.e. in the Judean high-lands? The discussion of Persian period remains in Judea illuminates Israel's origins in earlier periods.
The revision of biblical history described above seeks to demonstrate that the Persian period is when the Hebrew Bible was composed.10 The late 6th century b.c.e. has become the main locus of the origin of Israel. This trend in current scholarship has revived the emphasis of the study of Achaemenid times. As mentioned earlier, the current assumption is that someone who wants to discuss the origins of Israel should not be studying the Late Bronze and Iron Ages but must focus on the Persian and Hellenistic periods. Davies (2002: 2) argues that in the Persian period lies "the foundations of Second Temple Judean society" and that "many of those engaged in studies of the Second Temple period indeed regard it as the true 'biblical period'" (emphasis in the original). He bases his statement "on the grounds that there is to be found the social context in which all the scriptural books achieved their biblical form and when the majority were in fact composed, even if in many cases from some (inaccessible) earlier source materials" (Davies 2002: 2).11 Knoppers (2001: 15) does not share all the views of Davies but notes that "the Persian and Early Hellenistic periods have received significant attention in recent years as formative eras, if not the formative era, in the composition, editing and exegesis of various Hebrew scriptures" (emphasis added).
There are current approaches that are hostile, such as Grabbe's and Haak's (2001: 91), that consider the Hebrew Bible to be pure propaganda for the cause of Judaism. They caricature scholars who "embrace" and "extend" the "propaganda of the text" as being capable of wild speculation to the point that in the near future someone might suggest that "Cyrus is discovered to be a Benjaminite; Darius a worshiper of Yhwh; and Xerxes, circumcised on the eighth day."12 Nevertheless, scholars should not reject Persian period studies. Rather, they should recognize that it was a formative era for the Hebrew Scriptures. More studies on the origin of Israel should take seriously the dynamics of 6th- century b.c.e. Yehud.13 However, there is no evidence to point to the 6th century b.c.e. as the origin of all the biblical material. While modern scholars should indeed pay more attention to the Persian period14 and what went on in the Judean highlands during the 6th and 5th centuries b.c.e., we should avoid the myth hunts and the tendency to sustain absolutistic presuppositions either against or in favor of the Hebrew Bible. Ideology was precisely what created earlier myths about the origin of Israel and is the driving force behind the newer myths in current scholarship.
To Myth or Not to Myth?
Is the Persian-period origin of the Hebrew Scriptures also a myth? To myth or not to myth?—one should be able to identify what constitutes a myth. The classification of a myth as any reconstruction that overwrites archaeological and/or textual material is still valid. One of the reasons to classify Albright's conquest and Glueck's restoration models as myths is the lack of "expected" evidence of Hebrew presence in the settlements of the 13th and the 6th cen turies b.c.e. It was expected that the influx of Israelites or Judahites would demarcate new periods. These assumptions are reflected in some earlier chronologies that label the end of the Late Bronze Age the "Israelite" period and the end of the Iron Age the "Jewish period." How should one differentiate historical periods? Younker (2003b: 367) notes that two bases can be used to differentiate archaeological periods: a clear physical demarcation in the archaeological remains or "a major historical event that lead to a significant sociopolitical change" (on historical periodization, see Croce 1921: 112–16; Morris 1997: 96– 131; Ritter 1985: 313–19). Historical events are known from textual sources. Most researchers use historical events for periodization, as there is seldom a convergence of historical events and changes in material culture. Some periods from the Achaemenid and Hellenistic periods use the term yhd or yhwd for this political entity. The territory of Yehud in the Persian period was smaller than the former kingdom of Judah, but the precise limits are still under discussion (see Lipschits 2005: 154, 183) reflect physical change in the archaeological record but are due to factors not directly related to a major political event.15 Ceramic typology is one of the main sources used in archaeology for dating occupational levels. Pottery is the most important datum to date nonliterary societies and places where there is sparse epigraphical data. Are there enough physical demarcations to mark a different period at the end of the Late Bronze Age?
Ceramic Typology and Mythology
Many arguments in the debate over the mythical nature of the biblical accounts regarding the Late Bronze Age origins of Israel and the later postexilic period are based on ceramic typology. At most ancient sites, ceramic remains are the most ubiquitous artifacts. They have been used both as ethnic markers and to differentiate archaeological periods. If Israel originated in the Late Bronze Age, some would expect a change on the ceramic horizon. This as sumes that peoples can be simplistically identified by their ceramics. However, the correlation between pots and people is complex. Kletter's (1999: 21) ethnoarchaeological study warns that "sometimes there is no correlation between pottery distribution and conquests or immigrations." He suggests: "different social groups are known to have lived together and to use the same pottery, though their script and language remained separate." Ceramic continuity does not offer a final solution regarding the origins of Israel.
Some have emphasized the similarities of the Iron Age and the Late Bronze Age ceramic horizons. Edelman (2002: 44) suggests that there is a "direct continuation of the Late Bronze 'Canaanite' ceramic tradition." This assessment does not account for the change in composition and styles of Iron Age pottery.16 Moreover, even if there is some ceramic continuity, it does not mean that the population was homogeneous.17 It should be taken into account that pottery making is a specialized industry, and itinerant potters must have traveled among different people groups.
The most noted change in the Iron Age ceramic repertoire is the use of the collared-rim jars. The collared-rim storage jars found in the Cisjordanian high- lands have been labeled as characteristically Israelite (Aharoni 1970b). On the other hand, their presence at sites such as Aphek, Tel Mevorakh, Tel Zeror, Tell Qasile, and ºAfula and Sahab, outside the traditionally accepted Israelite regions, has caused this assumption to be questioned. More than an ethnic marker, collared-rim jars seem to indicate a regional use, because they were mostly used in the hill country and are not common in the south (Negev) or north in Galilee; slightly different storage jars appear in these areas. Because there is no textual or iconographical connection of the jars with any particular ethnic group, the relationship between collared-rim jars and Israelites remains uncertain. The origins of Israel in the southern Levant during the Late Bronze Age cannot be proven or denied based on pots. Nevertheless, the presence of an entity called "Israel" in an early period is also corroborated by the mention of Israel on the Merneptah stele and the representations at Karnak.18 On the other hand, in terms of creating mythology with ceramic typology, one could use ceramic continuity to champion the idea that Israel could not have originated in the Persian period because there is not sufficient evidence of change in the ceramic repertoire of the 6th or 5th centuries b.c.e. The Iron Age material culture continued virtually unchanged through the NeoBabylonian and well into the Persian period.19 The pottery forms from the Iron Age II continued into the Persian period in parts of Cisjordan (Barkay 1993: 106–9) and Transjordan (Hendrix, Drey, and Storfjell 1997: 1; Herr 1995: 619, 1999a: 234; Ray 2006: 76). This continuity is the main reason for the common use of the designation "Iron II/Persian" in reading pottery from the 6th and 5th centuries b.c.e.20 There is change in the Levantine material culture, but it is mainly in the coastal cities, with different ceramic repertoires and various iconographical innovations. The Phoenicians incorporated cultural elements of the West, Egypt, and to a lesser degree Mesopotamia. However, these changes are not evident in the material culture of the Yehudite highlands. The ceramic traditions changed slowly in Yehud, and there is a paucity of Western iconographical representations in Yahwistic contexts.
So, is ceramic typology enough to determine the origins of Israel in the Late Bronze Age or the Persian period? One should be careful not to be reductionistic with ethnic labels and models. Sometimes different pottery traditions on the ceramic horizon can be correlated with new peoples and/or sustenance strategies (see above). However, ceramic continuity does not exclude changes in the population. The complexity of pottery typology should temper quick conclusions about what is a myth or reality. Some pretend that it is indispensable to find a ceramic shibboleth before associating pots with people. On the other hand, others simply accept certain features in ceramics as evidence of ethnicity. One should complement the studies on ceramics and material culture with historical sources that delineate polities.21 Kletter (1999: 27) admits that "it is impossible to rely solely on archaeological evidence without the help of historical sources." One must recognize the value of ancient Near Eastern documents (including the Hebrew Bible). However, before referring to these documents, let us explore one of the most common "myth detectors" used in current studies.
The Myth Detectors
Surveys have been vested with the capability of being myth detectors. One must recognize the advancement achieved in surveys.22 Surveys are very useful in analyzing settlement patterns, regional studies, and one-period sites, among other contributions from their results.23 However, regardless of the contributions from these studies, conclusions from surveys must be handled carefully. Klingbeil (2003a) has documented some pitfalls of survey methodology. He points out the lack of transparency of the different methodologies used in surveys. Conclusions from the surveys of Glueck participated in cementing the misunderstandings about the origins of the Israelite presence in Canaan and about the postexilic period (see above).
Surveys are the heart of demographic reconstructions and have taken an important place in the discussions about the origins of Israel. Lipschits (2003: 324–25) notes that "most scholars base the population estimate on a combination of excavations and survey finds in a given region from a specified period, from which they tried to establish an estimate of total settled dunams." However, he admits that these reconstructions are largely "speculative" (2003: 325). Most of the sites surveyed have not been excavated and the difference in methods of surveying areas make them difficult to correlate. Lipschits (2003: 325 n. 4) adds that the "figures are based on the general impression of the surveyors." There are variables that are not included in survey reports. "The lack of uniformity in the survey data is partially the result of differences in the type of area surveyed." He recognizes the "serious methodological problems" of the results of surveys but points out that "the main problem is the different world views of the surveyors." He admits that "there is no way to arrive at precise estimates of the area of most types of sites" and that researchers must "be aware that such estimates contain elements of speculation" (Lipschits 2003: 325 n. 4). The value of surveys for archaeological studies should not be underestimated; there are valuable contributions made by surveys. Many sites have not been dug, with little possibility of digging them in the near future. However, surveys are not infallible myth detectors. Instead of detecting myths, some scholars have used them to breed a new generation of myths regarding the origins of Israel. One must be aware of these potential problems in relative demographical studies. Evidently, textual material should supplement material culture when it is available.24 This is consistent with Younker's (2003b: 367) suggestion that historical events are very relevant for periodization.
In studies on the Persian period origins of Israel, surveys have been used to reconstruct demographic estimates (see Hoglund 1992; Carter 1999a; Lipschits 2003). These estimates have been vested with the power of determining historical reconstructions.25 Is the Persian period the locus of the origin of Israel? This conclusion correlates with the recent claims that the real locus of biblical history is the Persian period. The first question to be answered in considering this possibility is whether there was any population in the Judean highlands during the Persian period from which an "Israel" could have originated.
The Myth of the "Empty Land"
Were the Judean highlands desolated after the Babylonian destructions? No. Neither the archaeological data nor the biblical text support an "empty land."
Barstad (2003: 3) affirms that "the majority of scholars today do not really believe that life in Judah ceased to exist during the 'exilic period.'"26 Years ago, the concepts of the "exile," an "empty land," or the "return" were questioned on textual grounds.27 However, recent revisions of biblical history have included historical reflections and some arguments based on archaeology that question the "postexilic" period.28 In the recent debate, scholars who support the catastrophic nature of the Babylonian invasions are labeled "myth holders." There are textual witnesses in the Hebrew and Babylonian corpora that attest to the critical historical events that marked the 6th century b.c.e. (see Zadok 1979; 2002; 2003). However, the devastation of Judean territory during the 6th century b.c.e. is not synonymous with Barstad's "myth of the empty land." Decades ago, Bright (1981: 324) had already denounced the "popular notion of a total deportation which left the land empty and void." He observed that this assessment was "erroneous and to be discarded." Even if Bright over emphasized destruction and annihilation, almost an "empty land," he was basing his historical reconstruction on a particular interpretation of the biblical text and the archaeological data.29 The data on settlement in the Babylonian and Persian periods is elusive due to the cultural continuity (mentioned earlier). The evidence for destruction of Judean sites has been as controversial as the Late Bronze Age sites in connection with the early origins of Israel. The results of the excavations of Jerusalem by Kenyon (1962; 1963; 1964a; 1964b; 1965a; 1965b; 1966a; 1966b; 1967a; 1967b; 1968a; 1968b; 1970; 1974) were interpreted as supporting the continuity of the habitation of Jerusalem in the 6th century b.c.e. Kenyon proposed that Jerusalem was not completely destroyed by the Babylonians. Barkay and Kloner (1986; cf. Barkay 2000) followed Kenyon in arguing that upper-class families were living in Jerusalem during the Neo-Babylonian period.30 Barstad (2003: 8, 14) has used these results to sustain his claims that life continued as usual after the Babylonian conquest.
However, these interpretations have been disputed on archaeological grounds. Lipschits (2003: 328) has presented a comprehensive overview of the excavations in Jerusalem and observes that "a clear picture emerges of the Babylonian destruction in all the different parts of the city."31 Carter (2003) has also challenged Barstad's conclusions.32 Geva (1993: 717), in his report of the Neo-Babylonian and Persian period strata from Jerusalem, argues that the description of desolation in 2 Kings corresponds to the archaeological finds.33 Nevertheless, the textual issues are more complex than what Geva presents and are outside the scope of this study.34
The archaeological record indicates that there was destruction in the city of Jerusalem, but this is not the same as a complete desolation of the land of Judah (see Lipschits 2006: 23–24). People continued to use their ancestral graves, as is evidenced in the tombs at Ketef Hinom. Perhaps there was some settlement next to the ruins of Jerusalem during the Neo-Babylonian period (as suggested by Barkay 2000), and sites in Benjamin continued to flourish and prosper. There were areas that were not even disturbed by the Babylonians (Carter 2003: 307–10; Stern 2001: 321).
Thus, there is no evidence that there was an "empty land" or massive return of Judahites that formed a "new" Israel in the southern Levant. Nor is there evidence that the inhabitants of the Judean highlands fabricated their origins in the 6th century b.c.e.
Beyond the "Myths"
It is time to move beyond the myths, especially when analyzing the origins of Israel. The myth that archaeology and biblical studies must remain apart must be buried. Recently, Rast (2003: 48) has noted that there is a "consensus that biblical texts and archaeology are discrete areas of investigation." However, even some of the most recalcitrant advocates of this separation have recognized the problems of isolating the disciplines.35 The study of the origins of Israel must integrate archaeological and textual disciplines.
An understanding of the interaction between the Hebrew Bible and ancient artifacts is necessary, as King (1993: xxiii) has emphasized: "In a reconstruction of biblical history, dialogue between ancient Near East texts, principally the Bible, and archaeological evidence has much to contribute." Dialogue about the interpretation of texts and artifacts is taking place, even if it is in increasingly belligerent tones, as in the debate between so-called minimalists and maximalists, which is loaded with tendentious statements. In the current debate over the Bible as a reliable historical source, it is recognized that "at one end of the spectrum are those who insist that the Bible is literally accurate in all historical details" and at the other end are those who consider it useless as a history of Israel (McNutt 1999: 7). We must foster dialogue between scholars and not participate in a diatribe against the differing conclusions of scholars (see Carter 1999b: 28).
She also examines the Neo-Babylonian period from the perspective of biblical periodization (2003: 75–89). Oded (2003) successfully presents evidence of continuity in the biblical references to the Exile but also the distressful effects of the Babylonian invasions.
The current debate and so-called crisis in historiographical studies has served to mature both disciplines. As long as the debate does not degenerate into isolation and fragmentation, one must continue listening to provocative proposals and maturing solid arguments. On the other hand, accusations such as "myth holders" or "mythographers" do not serve to advance our disciplines. This does not mean that one should not make an effort to eliminate myths. However, in this effort, the methodology for a "myth hunt" must be clarified and the presuppositions presented consistently.
In analyzing the origins of Israel, one should move beyond models that do not take into account both textual and archaeological sources. The presuppositions of researchers are always present in the methodology chosen to study Israel and reflected in the conclusions of any study. One should be careful not to give preferential treatment of one type of evidence over another. Some readers of the Hebrew Bible have interpreted the biblical narratives naively, using archaeological data selectively to support textual claims. It is time to be more careful in the interpretation of texts and tells.
On the other hand, recent researchers have had a tendency to "read the [biblical] texts with suspicion, believing that they hide these wider and ultimately more significant, concerns beneath a veneer created by the desire to present the course of events within a familiar and locally acceptable pattern" (Williamson 1999: 241). Regarding the study of the origins of Israel, there are reasons to dispense with a faulty methodology that rejects the biblical text. The sources for the origins of Israel are so scanty that it is intellectual suicide to reject material that could throw light on the subject. Williamson (1999: 241) states that "it is churlish to ignore or undervalue any potential source material of any kind." One must avoid traditional myths and the breeding of new myths.
Is it impossible to be free from myths? Hodder (1986: 155), who has made a contribution with his groundbreaking works of postprocessual archaeology, leaves a pessimistic cloud with his evaluation of archaeology: "The theories are always open to further questions and new perspectives. There is no finishing position since there can never be any way of evaluating whether the 'right' interpretation has been arrived at." We disagree and propose that a "right" interpretation can be achieved through consistency. Researchers must be consistent in their presuppositions, methodology, and conclusions. This is the only way to study the origins of Israel beyond the myths.
If one uses a methodology that takes seriously the results of archaeological work and the content of textual data, one must conclude that the conquest model promoted by Albright is, in fact, a myth. However, this is not to say that the origins of Israel did not occur in the Late Bronze or Iron Ages. An early origin of Israel is not bound to Albright's model. The biblical narratives on the conquest are not the same as Albright's conquest model (Merling
1997b). The book of Judges emphasizes that the conquest was more a process than an event.
At the end of the Late Bronze Age, there were major changes in Canaan, as is reflected in archaeological and textual records. Historical changes and periodization should be evaluated in the light of textual material that describes these events. The data from ceramics and surveys must be used along with the available textual materials to develop a historical reconstruction. This applies to the study of the Late Bronze Age, the Iron Age, the Persian period, or any other time.
The notion that thousands of Judahites came to the Judean hill country to have a new beginning in an empty land during the Persian period is also a myth. Nevertheless, there is evidence of major destructions in Jerusalem and its environs at the end of Iron Age II. The Iron Age kingdom of Judah came to an end in the 6th century b.c.e. The Solomonic temple was razed to the ground and the Judahites were scarred forever by the Babylonian invasions. Transi tional forms in pottery emerged during the 5th century b.c.e., even though there was still much continuity in the ceramic traditions.
Yahwism after the Exile experienced discontinuity of iconographic practices and matured as it consolidated its sacred literature.36 Stern (2001: 29) insists that "upon the return from exile, the Jews purified their worship. Jewish monotheism was at last consolidated." This assumes that there were no iconographic representations of Yahweh after the Babylonian deportation. The archaeological and textual evidence supports pentateuchal Yahwism as the official, normative religion that was practiced by the majority, even though there are some iconographic representations from the Persian period that require more detailed discussion. The Persian period seems to be the time when the prohibition on representation of Yahweh was particularly widespread. Pentateuchal Yahwism thrived and became the norm that would be followed by the world's major religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
Israel did not originate in the Persian period. The arguments used to sustain this position are not convincing and can be labeled myths. However, normative Judaism took shape during Achaemenid times. The study of the Persian period should focus on the traditions of the tribal past that the Yehudites preserved as their origins. Nevertheless, we should be aware of the ideological purposes of our traditions and the objectives of our own ideologies. Only then can we go beyond the myths surrounding the origins of Israel.
1. Most of the research of archaeologists and biblical scholars in the last century has been focused on the Late Bronze to Iron II Ages (1550–587 b.c.e.).
2. The definition of "Israel" is a matter of debate in scholarly circles. Some scholars differentiate sharply between the ancient "reality" of who the Israelites were, the ideology preserved by the biblical writers, and modern perceptions of Israel. Davies (as noted by Dever 2002: 28) suggests that "biblical" and "ancient" Israel are "mere constructs, invented largely by later Jews and Christians to suit their own theological needs."
3. This is the conclusion of so-called minimalists such as Davies (1992), Lemche (1998), Thompson (1992a), and Whitelam (1996). Thompson (1999: xvii–xix) provides "recommended reading" by scholars who share his views; see some of their critics: Dever (2001), Provan (1995), and Hoffmeier (1995, 1997).
4. As used here, the term myth has nothing to do with the Greek genre of fictional stories about the gods.
5. It is impossible to assess the motives of scholars who support religious ideologies.
6. The literary/critical objections regarding the readings of the Hebrew Bible that emphasize the violence of Israel's entrance into Canaan are outside the scope of this study. Also, the harmful effects of fundamentalist uses of archaeology will not be discussed here.
7. After the initial invasion of Judah by the Babylonians in 605–4 b.c.e., the armies of Nebuchadnezzar returned to Jerusalem in 597–96 b.c.e. to frustrate further attempts of sedition. The Babylonians took over the city and deported king Jehoiachin, along with most of the Judahite aristocracy. A decade later, there was a major destruction of the city after a siege of more than a year (587–86 b.c.e.).
8. On the other hand, Long (1999: 161) points out that "today's assured results may well be tomorrow's discarded theories, and if there is any lesson to be learned from the 'biblical archaeology' debates of the past, it is that we should go slowly in declaring just what archaeology has 'proved' or 'disproved.'"
9. Oded refers to Caroll in his statement. However, it was Freedman (1963; 1976) who pro- posed the title "Primary History" for the books of Genesis through 2 Kings and their view to the exilic period in Babylon.
10. Some scholars admit that there are some early traditions that were finally written in the Persian period but also that other literature of the Hebrew Bible was finished in the Hellenistic period.
11. For Lemche (2000: 12), the Hebrew Scriptures "hardly predate the Greco-Roman period," while Thompson (1999: xv) speaks about a "Hellenistic Bible." Carter (1999a: 438–39) notes: "There is a growing sense that the Persian period is the turning point of biblical history. Virtually all scholars place much of the editing and transmission—some will argue, even the origin—of much of the Hebrew Bible in the Persian period. These newer assessments stress the significance of the social and ideological settings within the postexilic community."
12. Despite all of this colorful rhetoric, recent tablets with Hebrew names have been published by Joannès and Lemaire (1999: 17–34) that come from the period of the first three Achae menid emperors. One of the tablets, dated to the seventh year of Cyrus the Great (532 b.c.e.), refers to a "summoner" named Abda-Yaû. This is "anecdotal evidence that it was possible very early in the Achaemenid era for Jews in Babylonia to rise into official roles" (Vanderhooft 2003: 224). Stolper (1985: 283–305) published a tablet that mentions a certain Gadalâma. This person, whose name is a transcription of the Hebrew Gadalyaw, served the governor of Babylon in 486 b.c.e. as scribe-chancellor. Vanderhooft (2003: 226) cites "numerous parallels for Jewish scribes in the satraps and local administration of the empire." Grabbe and Haak (2001: 113 n. 35) note that Vanderhooft's interpretations are "fervid" but fall short of recognizing the speculative nature of his suggestions.
13. The term Yehud refers to the Persian province (539–333 b.c.e.) located in the central part of Palestine, as distinct from the Iron Age kingdom of Judah (930–586 b.c.e.). Epigraphic remains
14. Briant (2002: 4), in his comprehensive study, complains that the Persian period "had been abandoned both by the Assyriologists (for whom the fall of Babylon to Cyrus in 539 long marked the end of history) and by Classicists (who 'kidnapped' Near Eastern history as of Alexander's landing in Asia in 334)." He further notes that the Persian period has been squeezed between Hellenocentrism and Judeocentrism. Even though Briant's criticism is loaded with rhetorical exaggeration, most scholars recognize that the Persian period has been neglected. Dipping our pen into Briant's rhetoric, we might accuse some scholars of squeezing out the history of Yehud be tween the Iron Age kingdom of Judah and the Roman Judea. These specialists suppose that history ended when Jerusalem fell in 587 b.c.e. and that the next important historical period began at the birth of Jesus of Nazareth (see Betlyon 2005: 4).
15. Some of the reasons for discontinuity in the material culture could be correlated with climatic changes or different modes of subsistence within one ethnic group. However, most of the time, historical events precede change in the material culture.
16. The changes in the material culture that account for a different period after the Late Bronze Age are outside the scope of this study.
17. The pottery of the sea peoples has been used as a case for ethnic uniqueness reflected in ceramics. There is a degree of validity in this assumption, even though it is impossible to distinguish between Philistines, Shekelesh, Denyen, Weshesh, Sherden, or Teresh based solely on pottery; textual traditions are necessary.
18. The Merneptah stele is considered "the most important text for information about pre-monarchic Israel" (Edelman 2002: 35).
19. In the context of site identification, Bienkowski (2001: 349) has acknowledged that the reason why "many surveys and excavations have identified little or no diagnostic Persian material" is that "there might be an element of continuity from Iron II into the Persian period without much of a definable change in the material culture." Bienkowski (2001: 351) observes that, due to the problems of identifying material culture from the Persian period, "surveys are unreliable for locating Persian-period settlement." While his study is in the context of Transjordan, the results are consistent with Cisjordan as well.
20. Bienkowski (2001: 349) acknowledges that the use of the term "Iron II/Persian" does not simply "mask uncertainty"; it is a useful term that should be used in the preliminary reading of pottery. This term reflects the continuity of Iron Age II forms into the Persian period.
21. Four-room houses have been used as an ethnic marker for the Israelites after the conquest. But this interpretation has been questioned because as the roots of the style can be traced to the Late Bronze Age (which is not a problem for the theory of an early conquest). Similar houses outside the traditional Israelite borders have also raised questions (see Edelman 2002: 44–45). In some publications, Finkelstein (1988b: 237–59) has championed the duwwar (Arabic "circle")- style site layout as a marker of Israelite settlements. He has based his arguments on analogies with Bedouin tent encampments.
22. Klingbeil (2003a) provides a useful bibliography of up-to-date literature regarding surveys in the Levant (see also Levy 1995: 101–4; A. Mazar 1990: 10–14, 28).
23. For example, Beit-Arieh 1974, 1981a, 1981b; Gophna and Ayalon 1980; Gophna and Beck 1981; Ben-Tor and Rosenthal 1978; Ben-Tor 1979; Ben-Tor, Portugali, and Avissar 1979, 1981.
24. Van der Steen (2002a: 4) warns: "However, both the written sources and the archaeological remains have a tale to tell, about the same period and the same people, so if the two diverge it is our task to explain why they diverge and to find a historical explanation in which both have their role (see Weippert 1967: 133–39). We cannot ignore one or the other because they do not fit in our hypothesis. If that is the case the hypothesis is wrong."
25. See the conclusions of Barstad (2003) based on Carter (1999a).
26. However, Barstad (2003: n. 1) accuses Vanderhooft (1999: 104–6) and Stern (2001: 303–11) of holding to the "myth of the empty land."
27. Torrey (1898, 1910) was the first to challenge the traditional understanding of the restoration. His suggestions set the agenda for many scholars with his provocative proposals that denied the factuality of the Babylonian Exile and the Persian period. His bold claims did not gain much attention until recently.
28. Some of the scholars who have echoed Torrey's suggestions are Barstad (2003), Carroll (1991), Davies (1992), Drinkard (1987), and Grabbe (1992). These scholars agree with many of his suggestions but do not follow all of his conclusions. Drinkard (1987: 389) rehashes Torrey's contentions against the use of the terms exilic and postexilic. He argues that "exilic" is misleading; it emphasizes the exile of Judahite inhabitants to Babylon as the major factor of the Judahite dispersion. He claims that the term does "not reflect the broad dispersion of the Hebrews during this period to Egypt, Phoenicia, Syria and Ammonite, Moabite and Edomite areas (Jer 40:11)." Drinkard adds that these terms also fail to include the group that remained in the land. He maintains that the focus of the biblical narratives is on the royal family, nobles, priests, and the economically affluent that went to Babylon. His arguments are similar to the arguments of Miller and Hayes (1986: 437), who claim that the Hebrew Scriptures were written in Babylon. They propose that its authors "practically ignore the ongoing life and history of the Judean community that remained in the land and never experienced the exile."
29. Nevertheless, Bright (1981: 324) emphasized that the Babylonian destruction was "appalling and one which signaled the disruption of Jewish life in Palestine." He said: "archaeological evidence eloquently testifies that all, or virtually all, of the fortified towns in the Shephelah and the central hill country (i.e., all Judah proper) were razed to the ground, in most cases not to be re- built for many years to come." However, this description is not completely accurate.
30. He based his conclusions on the finds at the tombs of Ketef Hinom (Barkay 2000). These tombs that have been dated to the Iron Age II based on epigraphical grounds (Barkay and Kloner 1986) were used continuously until the Persian period.
31. Lipschits (2003: 132–34) uses archaeological reports to demonstrate that the city was completely destroyed and emptied (see also Ackroyd 1968: 25–29; Miller and Hayes 1986: 426). For the results of the excavations at the city of David, see Kenyon (1974: 170–71); Shiloh (1984b: 3–22); and Franken and Steiner (1990: 57). For evidence of devastation in the 6th century b.c.e. at the Ophel, see E. Mazar (1991: 139; 1993: 25–32). See also the dramatic finds from the Jewish Quarter (Avigad 1980: 52–54) and the citadel (Geva 1983: 56–58; 1993: 717–18).
32. Carter states: "Unlike Hans Barstad, I do not think that 'life went on pretty much as usual'" (2003: 311), though Barstad (2003: 6) has claimed that the studies of Carter support his position. Barstad (2003: 6) also claims that the studies of Lipschits support his views, but Lipschits denies that they do (personal communication).
33. Geva (1993: 717) explains the small number of deportees reported by Jeremiah, suggesting that "possibly, many Jerusalemites had abandoned the city even before the siege, and many others escaped during the fighting."
34. On the issue of numbers, Yamauchi (2002: 361) observes that "the biblical references to the numbers that were deported by the Babylonians under Nebuchadnezzar are incomplete and somewhat confusing." The descriptions provided in Chronicles must be interpreted by understanding the purposes of the descriptions. Oded (2003: 64) observes that "it is quite clear that 2 Chr 36:21 is a Midrash on Lev 26:33–35 and 43 concerning the cessation of cultivation of the soil because of the broken covenant." Yamauchi (2002: 363) further notes that "the Chronicler (2 Chron 46:17– 20), ignoring the people who remained in the land, gives the impression that all who were not killed were taken into exile in Babylon." He does not line up with the "mythographers" (coined by Oded 2003: 70) but emphasizes the theological nuances of the Chronicler's description. Japhet (1997: 363–74) has also pointed out that the Chronicler recognizes Judahites living in Judah and presents how and why the portrayal of Chronicles differs from the portrayal of Kings (2003: 83).
35. In the late 1980s, Carol and Eric Meyers proposed the integration of archaeology into university communities and its separation from seminaries and religious institutions (1989: 143). De- ver (1993c; 1999) also advocated a similar separation, which he later regretted as he watched the discipline "die."
36. This is not the same as accepting Frei's (2001; see Frei and Koch 1984) proposal of Reichs autorisation, which implies that the Pentateuch was produced under Persian control during Achaemenid times. I have attempted to respond to this proposal in my unpublished doctoral dissertation (Velázquez 2008).

subset: commoncrawl


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If you're someone who regularly has to bring together information from a variety of sources and then organise it into something coherent, then a personal notes organiser is a must. CintaNotes is a simple, free tool that works perfectly for those wanting to quickly pull text from any source into a central location before organising it with the help of tags.
Once installed, launch the program and CintaNotes' main window appears, which can be minimised. Now when you come across any interesting snippet of information – whether it's from the web, in an email or via a document you're reading, just select the text in the usual way, press [Ctrl] + [F12] and it'll be deposited in the CintaNotes tray as an untagged piece of text, complete with title and link to the original website or document (double-click the note to view and edit these, along with the text itself).
As your collection builds, you can organise your notes by assigning tags to them – just right-click the entry and choose Tag to do so. Type a tag or tags (separate them with spaces) and click OK, and the note will be assigned to that tag – further tags can be added, and as you type any previous tags will appear as an auto-complete entry – press the right cursor key to accept that tag and save your keys.
Your notes are saved automatically, but can be exported and imported too. There are limited customisation options, such as the colour scheme of your notes and what fonts are used to display notes (along with how many preview lines are displayed).
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Lacks some of the more sophisticated options of other organisers, but as a no-frills note-taking tool works perfectly.


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Access to Affordable Health Coverage for Women-Owned Businesses A Summary of Key Issues and Policy Options
Women business owners are growing increasingly concerned about the difficulty of securing affordable health-care coverage for employees. It is estimated that 60 percent of the 41 million uninsured Americans reside in families with members employed by small businesses. The NWBC estimates that 7.3 million of the uninsured are employees or families of employees of the 9.1 million women-owned firms in the U.S. This report takes an in-depth look at this critical issue and includes an analysis of current research and the alternative solutions that have been proposed.


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Vladimir Potanin and Mikhail Prokhorov reached an agreement on termination of a mutual trust. The trust agreement was inked by both parties on March 20, 2008 with the trust manager Andrey Klishas in order to manage mutual assets. Today, the parties signed a number of agreements which are to settle all issues related to the trusts assets as well as to free each party from mutual claims. The signed agreements also provide that business entities closed to M. Prokhorov are to purchase all OPIN shares owned by V.Potanins entities.More Topics OPIN
The ProfMedia holding has made the decision to consolidate its Internet assets and develop a unified digital platform
Holding constituents Rambler Media and Afisha will be united within the framework of a single structure. The company will be built on the base of Rambler. The General Director of the joined company will be Nikolay Molibog, who previously held the post of General Director at Afisha. Dmitry Stepanov and Yekaterina Kruglova, until recently deputy general directors at Afisha, will take on the positions of Products Director and Managing Director, respectively.More Topics ProfMedia
ProfMedia Finance closed the books for the debut ruble bond issue on July 20. The issue is guaranteed by the parent company ProfMedia Limited. Nominal value of the issued bonds is RUB 3bln, maturity is 5 years (put option in 3 years). Semiannual coupon was set at 10.5% pa till put. Standard&Poors assigned a preliminary rating B+ to this issue. The issue was arranged by ZAO Raiffeisenbank and ZAO KB Citibank.More Topics ProfMedia


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Charles Ball
Slavery in the United States: A Narrative of the Life and Adventures of Charles Ball, a Black Man, Who Lived Forty Years in Maryland, South Carolina and Georgia, as a Slave Under Various Masters, and was One Year in the Navy with Commodore Barney, During the Late War
New York: Published by John S. Taylor, 1837.
Charles Ball was born on a tobacco plantation in Calvert County, Maryland. The exact date of his birth is not certain, but most scholars agree that it was some time in 1781. When he was four, his mother and siblings were sold to another plantation and Ball never saw them again. Ball remained in Maryland and married Judah, a slave on a neighboring plantation, but they were separated when he was sold to a slave trader from Georgia. Ball was bound with 51 other slaves in neck irons, handcuffs and chains and forced to walk for over a month from Maryland to Columbia, South Carolina. There, he was sold to a cotton plantation owner, and later worked for the owner's youngest daughter in Georgia. When his owner died in 1809, Ball found himself at the mercy of the owner's sons, whose cruelty was unbearable. That year he escaped from slavery and during the span of a year walked from Georgia to Maryland.
In Maryland, he returned to his wife and children, and at the advice of his wife's owners he hired himself out for wages. Although Ball was a fugitive slave, he escaped notice for a long time and managed to save enough money to buy a farm near Baltimore. Ball's first wife died in 1816 and two years later he married again. His life as a self- proclaimed freedman, however, was precarious, and in 1830 he was captured and returned to slavery. He escaped again, hiding on a ship to Philadelphia and then returning to Baltimore. In his absence, his wife and children, who were legally freed slaves, had been sold into slavery. After learning of his family's fate, Ball returned to Pennsylvania to minimize the chance of being recaptured.
Ball's Slavery in the United States: A Narrative of the Life and Adventures of Charles Ball was published in 1836 and written with the help of Isaac Fischer. Fischer declares in his preface that he has edited the oral narrative Ball had dictated to him to omit any beliefs or feelings Ball may have expressed about slavery. This declaration of presumably significant editing has led scholars to debate the authenticity of Ball's narrative, but most agree that the narrative represents a true story. The popularity of Ball's story is well-documented. Slave narrative scholar William Andrews notes: "Ball's narrative was reprinted often in the decades following its initial publication; it directly influenced the manner and matter of later fugitive slave narratives." Fifty Years In Chains; or, The Life of an American Slave, (1859) was an abridged and unauthorized reprinted of the earlier Slavery in the United States. In the narratives, Ball describes his experiences as a slave, including the uncertainty of slave life and the ways in which the slaves are forced to suffer harsh and inhumane conditions. In particular, he recounts the qualities of his various masters, and the ways in which his fortune depended on their temperament.
Works Consulted: Andrews, William L., To Tell a Free Story: The First Century of Afro-American Autobiography, 1760-1865, Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press, 1986; Garraty, John A. and Mark C. Carnes, eds., American National Biography, vol. 2, New York: Oxford University Press, 1999; Ripley, C. Peter, et al., eds., The Black Abolitionist Papers, Vol. III: The United States, 1830-1846, Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 1991.
Harris Henderson
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Aberdeen City Jail, ID Prison Inmates
- State
- Idaho
- City
- Aberdeen
- Postal Code
- 83210
- County
- Bingham County
- Phone Number
- 208-397- 4270
- Type
- City Jail
- Location
- 17 North Main Street, Aberdeen, ID, 83210
- Official Website
- http://www.aberdeenidaho.us/policedepartment.html
About Aberdeen City Jail
Aberdeen City Jail inmate search: Mugshots, Disposition, Court Record, Arrests, Type, Bookings, Degree Level, Who's in jail, Jail Roster, Release Date, Bond, Warrant #, Booking Date.
At the Aberdeen City Jail, inmates will have some work benefits. They can work in in the kitchen, laundry room, or commissary. These jobs will help them learn skills and responsibility while also earning compensation. Aberdeen City Jail tries to help prepare inmates for returning to society.
Inmate Search
The easiest way to find an inmate is to search online here. You can also call the general information phone number to make an inquiry about an inmate at 208-397- 4270. When looking for an inmate, have available his full legal name and his date of birth.
Nationwide Inmate Records Online Check
Jail records, court & arrest records, mugshots and even judicial reports
Sending a Mail/Care Package
Inmates at the Aberdeen City Jail can send or receive mail via the USPS. It is processed Monday through Friday. Be aware that any mail you send will be open and read.
Inmates now have access to mail electronically. The mail you send will get scanned and delivered to inmates on tablets. Do not include any inappropriate messages or the mail will not be delivered to the inmates.
Send mail to:
Smart Communications – Aberdeen City Jail
Inmate's Name – ID number
17 North Main Street, Aberdeen, ID, 83210
Sending Money
You can send money either at the kiosk in the lobby of the Aberdeen City Jail or by submitting it online. The lobby kiosk is open 24 hours a day, and at the kiosk you can pay by cash or credit card. You will need to know the inmate's ID number to deposit money.
You can pay online here
It might take 24-48 hours for the inmate to have access to the money you deposit.
Phone calls
Inmates can make phone calls up to 15 minutes in length, and you should know the calls will be recorded and monitored.
Inmates can either call you collect or use a prepaid account. You can set up an account, and pay for minutes, online through Securus.
Video visitation is available at the Aberdeen City Jail. Again, you will need to create an account ahead of time with Securus. After you have an account set up, you can schedule visits online.
The video kiosks for visitation are in the lobby of the Adult Detention Center (Annex), located at 17 North Main Street, Aberdeen, ID, 83210. You can do a video visit any day of the week between 9AM and 11PM.
While it is a video chat, you will still be showing up at the Aberdeen City Jail. Remember to dress conservatively and not bring in any contraband items.
Visiting Hours
Monday — 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM
Tuesday — 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM
Wednesday — 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM
Thursday — 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM
Friday — 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM
Saturday — 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM
Sunday — 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM
Refer the map below to find the driving directions.


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The Accordion component contains several panels displayed one under another. Users can expand or collapse these panels, which makes this component useful to present information in a limited amount of space.
You can display Accordion items from the items array or a dataSource. If you use the items array, specify the title and text properties.
Enable the multiple property to allow users to select multiple panels. Use the selectedItems array to store selected items. Toggle the "Multiple enabled" checkbox in the Options demo section to see how it affects the selection.
If you want to allow users to close panels on click, set the collapsible property to true. Check the "Collapsible enabled" checkbox in the Options demo section to enable this feature.
The animationDuration property allows you to specify the animation duration when users expand/collapse a panel. Use the "Animation duration" slider in the Options demo section to see how it affects the animation.
Use the itemTemplate and itemTitleTemplate properties to customize the panel appearance. If you use the items array, you can also specify the icon property.


text:
Large Pagan Pentacle design with a pentacle image in white. Available as a Ladies Vest Top, Ladies Short Sleeve Shirt, Unisex Long Sleeve Shirt, Men's Short Sleeve Shirt or a Hoodie.
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Ideal Gift for the Pagan in your life.
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Ladies Vest & Shirt Sizes: UK Sizes
Small Size 10 | Medium Size 12 | Large Size 14 | XL Size 16 | 2XL Size 18
Long Sleeve Shirt Sizes: Unisex
Small – 34"-36" | Medium – 38" | Large – 40"-42" | XL – 44"-46" | 2XL – 48"-50"
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All sizes in inches.
Washing Instructions
To keep your garment looking good for years please wash inside out at 40 degrees or less. Iron with a cool iron inside out. Can be tumble dried on low heat.


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Happy Sunday y'all!
It has been a jam packed week over here with all the baby shower planning. But yesterday was the day and we had such a lovely time. So I just wanted to share some of the fun things I made to put this party together. I don't have a lot of photos because playing the hostess makes it hard to pick up a camera.
My friend Laura made these amazing cupcakes...they are SO GOOD! And I love that the cupcake picks were really tall. I like the look. I made them from a curtain panel I thrifted and some buttons.
I know you have seen me do a paper doily garland before but maybe it is still exciting since I added buttons? Hmmm...
Yes. Yes, I believe it is in fact thrilling to see a paper doily garland and now with added buttons.
I made this with bakers twine and double sided tape. So easy. And I used what I had on hand to cut costs too. Thrifty and thrilling. Oh yeah.
ikabags. I love, love these bags and I am so getting one for me! Here are some of my favorites...
Stripes make me ridiculously happy.The shop is from France so you will pay extra for shipping but the quality of these handmade bags are amazing! I love them and wished I owned about 10 of them.
Now back to other party details...:)
Here are a bunch filled out. Aren't they so pretty like this?recipe from Stephanie Lynn over at Under the Table and Dreaming. Her original recipe makes 12 oz so we just doubled it to save time.
I would have tied them up with string and pretty labels but with around 22 women there, I was just plain done in! And I figured the pretty tops were enough. :)
So happy I got to share this with all of you wonderful friends.
Have a fabulous day!
P.S. Sometime today or tomorrow, check out sweet Kimberly's blog who will be doing a series on parties all week. A great bunch of bloggers are sharing tips and tricks and I think some of my ideas will be included today..
Go check it out!:)