Ezekiel’s Gillûlîm and Ritual Defecation in Ancient Near Eastern Texts

The term gillûlîm, literally “dung gods,” is the favorite term in the book of Ezekiel to designate “idols,” (used 39 times out of a total of 48 times in the Hebrew Bible). The paper will attempt to show that the choice of this unusual term is based on acts of ritual defecation as part of various ceremonies attested and described in the ancient Near Eastern texts. References to acts of defecation will be examined in various texts starting with a Neo-Babylonian Akkadian text dealing with ritual practices related to the Ištar festival that took place during Ezekiel’s exile. It will be followed by two Mari Old Babylonian texts where defecation is associated with the breaking of an alliance, hence its pertinence for Ezekiel, and will end with an unusual Aramaic healing incantation. Scholars are divided about the way these texts should be understood. Should they be taken as metaphors, symbolic gestures or actual rituals?